The heavy iron doors of the Pavilion of Shade creaked shut behind Li Chen and Xiao Feng, sealing away the quiet calm of the shop. Outside, the pitch-black fog of the Ghost Market seemed thicker, heavy with the scent of stagnant water and fresh iron.
They had barely walked twenty paces into the narrow alleyways when the flickering green spirit-flames overhead suddenly died, plunging the path into absolute darkness.
— Master... — Xiao Feng murmured, his hand dropping to the hilt of his blade, his senses heightened by the trace of Qi he had absorbed earlier.
— Stay behind me, — Li Chen commanded quietly.
From the shadows above the bone structures, dozens of red, glowing eyes snapped open. The rustle of heavy leather armor and the clinking of spiked chains echoed through the gloom. Within seconds, a horde of cultivators in jagged red armor surrounded the alley, blocking both ends.
The crowd of onlookers in the market quickly scattered, vanishing into the fog to avoid the impending slaughter.
The tall, broad figure of a man stepped through the front rank of red-armored guards. He wore a heavy cloak made from the hide of a blood-beast, and his face was scarred from temple to jaw. A massive crimson broadsword rested casually over his shoulder, radiating a heavy, suffocating pressure that made the stone floor beneath his boots crack. Follow the newest chapters on novelping.com.
Master Blood-Fang. A mid-stage Core Formation cultivator and the undisputed tyrant of the Ghost Market's outer ring.
— So you are the arrogant brat who slaughtered the Sun-Veil dogs, — Blood-Fang rumbled, his voice like grinding boulders. He pointed his broadsword toward Li Chen’s chest. — You walked into my domain carrying high-tier loot, boy. Hand over the Abyssal Heart Cauldron and the Sun-Veil treasures, and I might grant you the privilege of becoming a blood-slave instead of meat for my hounds.
Li Chen’s crimson-violet eyes flickered with amusement in the dark. He did not raise a weapon; he simply let his hands drop to his sides as black-purple mist began to seep from his sleeves, coiling around his boots like striking vipers.
— A mid-stage Core Formation stage... — Li Chen said softly, his voice carrying an icy resonance that cut through Blood-Fang’s heavy aura. — Your meridians are bloated with unrefined, filthy blood-essence. You call yourself a master, yet you are nothing more than a bloated corpse waiting to be harvested.
Blood-Fang’s face twisted in violent fury.
BOOM!
Over twenty Blood-Skull Syndicate bandits charged forward at once, their weapons glowing with chaotic blood-light.
Li Chen’s lips curled into a ruthless smile. He raised his right hand, snapping his fingers.
"Dan Sombrio: Domain of the Devouring Night!"
A wave of pitch-black Qi erupted from Li Chen’s feet, expanding outward like a tidal wave of pure shadow. The moment the black mist touched the charging bandits, their blood-light shattered like glass. Screams of horror echoed through the alley as the shadows wrapped around their limbs, draining their vital essence in real-time to feed the hungry furnace deep inside Li Chen's body.