His mind suddenly went blank.
For a moment, everything disappeared.
When his consciousness returned, Chen Feng found himself standing in the same place.
The Shaman was still standing before him.
The wooden fence was intact and there was no trace of the previous explosion.
Chen Feng turned around.
Su Yun was standing behind him, her eyes fixed on the Shaman. Her pupils were completely white.
"Damn it. She’s still trapped in the illusion."
Chen Feng frowned.
"How do I get her out of it? Should I feed her something?"
He immediately shook his head.
In front of him, Shaman’s body suddenly began releasing a thick black aura.
"You now, I really hate people like you who are way too sharp. I can’t believe you managed to tell the difference between reality and the dream so quickly."
The darkness spread around him like smoke. Around him, faint, ghostly figures seemed to emerge from his body, as if countless spirits were slowly escaping from within him.
And from the animal skull weapon in his hand, a long, razor-sharp scythe blade suddenly slid out, gleaming with a deadly, deathly aura.
With a burst of terrifying momentum, the shaman lunged forward. His speed was blinding.
Reacting instantly, Chen Feng activated his Eagle Steps, his body blurring as he closed the distance to match the enemy’s speed. In reality this time, he flared his hands with pure spiritual flames and unleashed the Flame Palm Strike, crashing it directly against the incoming sweep of the dark scythe.
KABOOM!
A cataclysmic shockwave erupted. The violent blast sent Chen Feng skidding backward several feet, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
Across from him, Shaman fared no better; the impact completely shattered his bone scythe, and a mouthful of dark blood sprayed from his lips.
The flames from Chen Feng’s palm seemed to burn the spirits emerging from the Shaman’s body.
The Shaman hurriedly expanded his aura, trying to extinguish the flames.
When the fire finally disappeared, the spirits and their eerie screams were gone as well.
Before Chen Feng could steady his breathing he sensed another presence.
It was the Su family elder, Su Wang.
Although his body was badly burned in several places, it seemed as if his skin was slowly healing itself and he was moving toward Su Yun.
She still hadn’t broken free from the illusion.
Why won’t this old bastard just die?! Chen Feng thought, his expression dark. He’s probably already dead, just a corpse moving on pure malicious monster-instinct now. Fine, I’ll finish you for good this time!
Chen Feng gritted his teeth, forcing his battered body to rise. But before he could take a step, a dark blur flashed before his eyes.
Shaman was already back on him. His hand had morphed into a dark claw palm wreathed in vicious black energy, slashing straight toward Chen Feng’s chest.
With no time to dodge, Chen Feng had no choice.
He forced the last reserves of his inner energy into his hand, reigniting the blazing flames and throwing out a desperate Flame Palm Strike to parry the fatal blow.
Meanwhile, the monster had already reached Su Yun.
As the grotesque Su Wang shambled closer toward her helpless, unconscious form, raising a massive hand to slaughter her, something unusual happened.
Mid-air, he suddenly froze.
Gasp—!
Yellow, pus-filled boils instantly erupted all over Su Wang’s skin.
The creature shrieked in sudden, mind-shattering agony, clutching its head as if its brain were melting from the inside out. In mere seconds, its entire body was completely covered in the hideous yellow pustules, before violently rotting away into a pile of foul-smelling sludge. It collapsed and died on the spot.
Both Chen Feng and Shaman froze, their attacks halting mid-air as they stared at the sudden, gruesome death in utter shock.
Chen Feng was the first to snap back to reality.
Capitalizing on the shaman’s momentary lapse of concentration, he exploded into motion using the Eagle Steps, closing the gap in a fraction of a second.
Before the shaman could react, Chen Feng appeared directly in front of him.
His right palm was already engulfed in flames.
Flame Palm Strike!
He thrust his palm forward at point-blank range.
The Shaman desperately tried to defend himself.
The Shaman’s arms transformed into pitch-black scales. He raised both arms in front of his face, using them to protect himself from Chen Feng’s incoming attack.
Chen Feng’s Fire Palm Strike was about to land.
But suddenly, Chen Feng stopped the attack halfway.
The Shaman was momentarily confused.
Then, a sharp pain came from his abdomen.
He looked down.
A knife was lodged in his stomach.
"When did he—?"
The Shaman couldn’t understand when Chen Feng had managed to get the knife.
It was the same knife Chen Feng had taken from the assassin he had killed earlier and stored in his inventory.
Suddenly, flames ignited around the blade.
The next instant, the knife exploded.
A violent explosion ripped through the shaman’s abdomen from the inside out!
Roaring flames tore through his torso, completely incinerating his internal organs in a fraction of a second. The impact blasted the man backward like a shattered ragdoll, sending him crashing heavily onto the blood-soaked ground.
He stab the blazing knife directly into the shaman’s face at point-blank range.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion tore through the night air. The sheer force of the blazing palm completely obliterated the shaman’s face, turning the air into a chaotic storm of fire and blood.
After the dust settled, Chen Feng stood motionless amidst the wreckage for a few moments.
Closing his eyes, he used the enhanced ambient awareness of a Martial Master.
By sensing the subtle ripples in the surrounding wind and air currents, he could easily detect any movement nearby. After a brief sweep of his senses, he realized that the remaining masked guards stationed outside had abandoned their posts and fled in sheer terror.
Behind them, the entire inn was now engulfed in flames.
Chen Feng’s gaze quickly shifted to Su yun, who was still lying motionless on the ground.
Wait. The shaman was dead, which meant any illusionary trickery should have completely dissolved by now. Yet, Suyun was still unconscious. Could something be wrong?
Panicking slightly, Chen Feng hurried over to her side.
Kneeling down, he checked her pulse and examined her condition. Fortunately, her heartbeat was steady, and she didn’t show any signs of fatal injury. It seemed she had simply fainted from the overwhelming shock and exhaustion.
However, Chen Feng lacked any deep medical knowledge. I’ll eventually need to find a professional apothecary or physician to thoroughly check her condition, he thought to himself.
At the same time, a lingering mystery weighed heavily on his mind. Why on earth did Su Wang suddenly die?
Just moments ago, the elder had been shambling forward to slaughter Suyan, practically radiating monstrous intent. But out of nowhere, grotesque boils had broken out across his skin, rotting his flesh away before he collapsed into a puddle of foul sludge.
How was that even possible? Su Wang possessed power close to the Martial Master realm, yet he had disintegrated in barely a second.
Frowning deeply, Chen Feng activated his Secret Seeking Eyes, scanning the area for any hidden anomalies.
Flicker.
A faint, ethereal blue figure suddenly materialized right near the spot where Su Wang had died.
The entity possessed a completely translucent, ghost-like body and wore elegant, flowing traditional azure robes. Its features radiated an ancient, dignified majesty, looking like an absolute powerhouse frozen in time.
As Chen Feng stared through his Secret Seeking Eyes, a transparent system notification instantly hovered over the mysterious entity:
[Su yun’s Guardian Spirit]