: Tracesless Silhouette

Three Generals Camp.

The soldiers formed a battle formation, orderly arranged like a thick python slowly winding through the mountainous terrain.

Liu Er rode a yellow-maned horse, stroking the Xuanhuang Sword in his hand.

The sword was heavy and blunt, its blade earthy yellow with black veins resembling the roots of the earth.

The hilt was black, interspersed with rings of earthy yellow circles, embodying the essence of sedimentation and protection in the earth element.

Ning Zhuo had gifted Liu Er the Xuanhuang Mother Stone, and the national artisan Jin Li forged it using the weapon blueprints Liu Er provided.

This wasn’t a magical treasure but a weapon.

Magical treasures focus more on spellcasting, while weapons contain military tactics, which often affect people and objects, exerting positive or negative influences.

Spells and military tactics are difficult to combine; one must essentially choose one as the focus of creation.

In practical use, cultivators don’t force spells and military tactics into one magical treasure—it’s too difficult and costly.

With such resources, it’s better to craft magical treasures and weapons separately!

Liu Er gripped the hilt, feeling the weight and power of the Xuanhuang Sword, as if he could sense the pulse of the earth in a daze.

“Truly a weapon crafted by Jin Li himself.”

Liu Er cherished the weapon, knowing well that his achievements on the battlefield would largely depend on this sword.

In the shadow cast by him and his mount on the ground, a pair of eyes silently opened.

It was Wu Hen!

Wu Hen’s eyes were filled with black blood vessels, appearing eerie and gloomy.

Observing Liu Er, Wu Hen felt speechless.

Clearly, the Xuanhuang Sword was heavy and blunt, a protective treasure. With Liu Er holding the hilt in one hand and stroking the blade with the other, how could Wu Hen launch a surprise attack?

There was simply no opportunity.

If Wu Hen were acting alone, he might have chosen to wait, biding his time until Liu Er sheathed the sword, revealing an opening.

But now, Chen Lingfeng and many other Golden Core cultivators were waiting for him to act.

Wu Hen decisively abandoned Liu Er, leaping between shadows, sometimes waiting for the moment when a cultivator’s shadow connected with those of nearby trees or rocks to transfer.

Ordinary stealth techniques couldn’t achieve such excellence.

This was because the soldiers of the Three Generals Camp were marching in formation—military power flowing, the army organized, exuding the might of national defense.

Few stealth techniques could maneuver among them. Most scouts with some skill could only risk approaching a certain distance, cautiously observing from afar.

Wu Hen searched along the way and spotted a burly man in the middle of the procession.

The man was eight feet tall, with a thick, short neck and a black beard like steel needles, his Golden Core aura rolling. It was Zhang Hei.

Zhang Hei rode a black-maned horse, holding a horsewhip. Instead of stealthily moving with the army, he stood by the roadside, inspecting the troops.

Whenever he saw a cultivator moving slowly, distracted, or slacking off, he would immediately whip them while cursing loudly.

“Move faster!”

“Slacking off during formation?”

“Hey! How dare you glare at me?!”

Zhang Hei had a fiery temper when dealing with disobedient soldiers. The whip lashes made them cry out in pain, but it also alerted the soldiers, making their movements quicker and more precise, maintaining the stability of the single-file serpent formation.

Wu Hen watched from a distance without approaching.

Seeing Zhang Hei continuously whipping the soldiers left him utterly speechless.

Zhang Hei was furious, his aura turbulent and tense—clearly not in a state conducive to a sneak attack.

Just then, Zhang Hei suddenly stopped using the whip, only pointing and scolding with it, much more restrained.

As Wu Hen wondered why, he saw a carriage moving along with the procession.

When the carriage reached Zhang Hei, a small window on the compartment opened, revealing a young cultivator with fair skin and bright eyes.

The young man said to Zhang Hei in a helpless tone, “General Zhang, I could hear your scolding from far away. Are you whipping the soldiers again?”

Zhang Hei quickly denied it: “No, no. Since the strategist reported me to the elder brother, I hardly ever do such things.”

The young man shook his head: “From the sound of it, General Zhang seems to resent me for reporting you?”

Zhang Hei denied again: “How could that be!? The strategist naturally has the army’s best interests at heart. I, Old Hei, always remember your kindness. Look at my Black Serpent Spear—without the precious materials you gifted, how could it have been forged?”

“Sigh, General Zhang, take care.” Ning Zhuo let go of the curtain and returned to his solitary state.

His carriage was arranged with formations, the interior as spacious as a room, not as cramped as it appeared from outside.

In the entire Three Generals Camp, he was the only one with such special treatment. Even the Golden Core-level generals Liu, Guan, and Zhang rode Foundation Establishment-level warhorses.

Wu Hen’s heart stirred: “So that’s Ning Zhuo?”

Comparing with the intelligence in his mind, Wu Hen confirmed his guess.

His thoughts shifted, and he immediately climbed along the carriage’s large shadow, slipping unnoticed into the compartment.

Wu Hen: ! ! ?

Upon entering, he was shocked.

Ning Zhuo was sitting against the carriage wall,低头 studying a mechanical text.

To his left stood a mechanical ape clad in heavy armor, exuding a strong bloody aura.

To his right sat a mechanical doll in the form of an adult woman, with a Golden Core aura.

Both the mechanical ape and the female doll seemed formidable to Wu Hen.

What caught his attention most was the long mechanical scythe held by the female doll.

From this scythe, Wu Hen sensed principles he was all too familiar with.

Those related to the “strange.”

“Night Rain Demon Weapon?!”

“And not an ordinary one at that!”

Wu Hen’s heart raced, unable to stay calm.

Relying on the uniqueness of his cultivation technique and spells, he had managed to infiltrate the Three Generals Camp and sneak into Canglin Immortal City to gather intelligence.

This was because techniques and spells related to the strange were hard to comprehend and even harder to cultivate.

Thus, most cultivators lacked understanding, making it difficult to guard against such methods.

A more practical and feasible approach than mastering the cultivation oneself was to collect related magical treasures for research and use.

Hence, after the Night Rain Imperial Dynasty, many powerful cultivators extensively collected Night Rain Demon Weapons.

Wu Hen held his breath and carefully left the carriage.

The female mechanical doll emitted a Golden Core aura and wielded an extraordinary Night Rain Demon Weapon. Wu Hen had no confidence in偷袭 Ning Zhuo.

Even if he succeeded, the spells he relied on would lose their usual advantage against the scythe.

Once entangled, with the entire army closing in, could Wu Hen escape alive?

He had infiltrated to achieve military merits, not to commit suicide!

So, Ning Zhuo wasn’t a suitable target either.

Wu Hen left the carriage somewhat狼狈ly, moving along the procession until he reached the rear, where he saw Guan Hong.

Guan Hong sat on a red-maned horse, not stroking his weapon, the Blood Dragon Blade, nor scolding the soldiers, but… combing his beard.

His beard was thick, eight feet long, black and glossy, almost dragging on the ground as he moved.

Guan Hong spent time every day specifically grooming his long beard.

Seeing this, Wu Hen’s spirits lifted—he had finally found a suitable target!

He immediately hid in the red-maned horse’s shadow, quietly gathering his energy.

Spell—Tracesless Silhouette!

In that instant, the shadow beneath Guan Hong suddenly expanded, and Wu Hen emerged from it.

His face was gaunt and pale, his black hair disheveled, clad in a tattered black robe. The edges of the robe and the tips of his hair were tinged with shadow, connecting him and Guan Hong’s figures as if by an unseen thread.

Wu Hen’s mana surged from his hands, forming a pair of scissors aimed squarely at Guan Hong’s neck.

If they connected, Guan Hong’s head would be severed like his shadow.

At this critical moment, Guan Hong’s heart pounded, seized by an intense sense of crisis.

Simultaneously, the soldiers marching behind him saw Wu Hen and cried out in alarm.

Guan Hong didn’t have time to turn his head; his divine sense focused, detecting the previously unnoticed Wu Hen.

He “saw” Wu Hen about to剪 his neck and instinctively raised his right arm to meet the scissors.

Reflected on the ground, Guan Hong’s raised right arm提前 made contact with the scissors’ tip.

Guan Hong felt excruciating pain!

Wu Hen felt the scissors sink into flesh, hard to withdraw.

He had to make the best of it, closing the scissor blades.

Even a tough man like Guan Hong grunted in pain, a huge wound appearing on his right arm, nearly severing it completely!

With rich combat experience, he didn’t hesitate, drawing the Blood Dragon Blade with his left hand and slashing at Wu Hen.

Wu Hen let out a strange laugh and钻 into the horse’s shadow.

Blade Technique—Hundred Zhang Chase!

The bloody blade light locked onto Wu Hen, following him into the horse’s shadow.

The next moment, Guan Hong’s red-maned horse whinnied in agony and suddenly exploded, flesh and blood flying, blade energy raging.

Guan Hong had clearly locked onto Wu Hen but mistakenly struck his own mount instead.

Injured and unable to counterattack Wu Hen, he had caused his own horse’s death!

After striking, Wu Hen immediately transferred through the shadows疯狂ly.

Numerous spells砸 on the ground, not harming him in the slightest.

Within a dozen breaths, he successfully escaped the enemy forces, fully displaying the style of the strange path.

As the soldiers attacked Wu Hen, the formation fell into disarray, causing the Three Generals Camp’s single-file serpent formation to falter, revealing a significant weakness.

Seeing this, the several Golden Core cultivators waiting outside seized the moment to act together!

Instantly, multiple spells from four directions struck the soldiers of the Three Generals Camp.

The Three Generals Camp, always in formation, reacted immediately.

Liu Er and Zhang Hei simultaneously出手, each intercepting a spell mid-air.

Guan Hong, injured, was a step slower, only blocking half.

Ning Zhuo ordered Yuan Dasheng to act, bearing the brunt of most of another spell’s power.

The remaining two or three spells hit the soldiers, killing over thirty cultivators on the spot.

(End of )