Chapter 258: The Backbone

Chapter 258 -256: The Backbone

The two were sent flying a hundred meters, crashing heavily to the ground and spitting out a mouthful of blood!

Dust filled the air…

The pair forced themselves up, slowly getting to their feet.

But another skeletal hand was already swooping down, giving them no time to rest!

The apocalyptic power of the attack and the swirling vortex of air seemed poised to smash Huang Ziyue and Bai Chaosi into a bloody pulp, grinding them to dust!

Just as the two, unable to dodge, could only channel all their spiritual power for a desperate, last-ditch struggle…

A figure in red suddenly appeared before them.

Her red dress billowed, her black hair flying in the wind.

It was Shen Yue.

Their hearts leaped, but before they could speak…

Shen Yue shouted sharply,

“Get back!!”

A silvery light coalesced around her, swirling like a luminous halo.

The moment the giant skeletal hand came crashing down, she brought her palms together and thrust them forward!

BANG!!

A terrifying force, like a tidal wave, overturned everything before it.

It even sent Bai Chaosi and Huang Ziyue flying!

The skull ghost overhead shrieked under the terrifying power…

Its body dissolved inch by inch, rapidly shrinking…

It turned into wisps of black mist, which then quickly dissipated.

Across the entire hillside, the moonlight that had been obscured slowly reappeared as the black mist vanished.

Bai Chaosi and Huang Ziyue sat on the ground, staring in awe at the slender figure.

She stood with her back to them, facing the wind. Though she was just a woman, with a small and delicate frame…

…every time, in a moment of crisis, she was the one who held up the world for them!

It was as if her presence alone gave all things a pillar to lean on!

Just seeing her gave their hearts an anchor, a sense of security!

Now, the black mist on the hillside had faded, and silence fell.

But under the moonlight, the spot where the black-robed man should have been was empty!

Huang Ziyue and Bai Chaosi got to their feet, both jolting in shock.

‘Where did he go?’

The three of them instantly appeared at the spot where the black-robed man had just been standing. Shen Yue frowned.

‘Logically, my attack should have severely injured that black-robed man and stripped him of his spiritual power…’

‘But I never expected him to actually get away!’

‘Is it because Xiao Ya absorbed half of my Vitality Power?’

‘So my own power was halved, and that’s why I couldn’t injure him badly?’

Thinking of Xiao Ya, her expression suddenly darkened.

‘I feel like I’ve overlooked something!’

Sure enough, a commotion could be heard from the bottom of the other side of the hill!

“Oh no, Xiao Ya!”

Wu Huo and the men from the Mystic Mechanism Building had already succeeded in capturing Hu Tu’s main body.

Just as they pinned down the Hu Tu that was about to split again, a terrifying pressure bore down on them from above.

At the same time, a cloud of black mist slammed toward them.

The Dragon Guard and the Mystic Mechanism Building members reacted quickly, gathering their spiritual power and striking out with a unified palm attack.

The combined blow from the group erupted with a massive BOOM!

The violent aftershock forced Wu Huo and the others back several steps.

When they regained their footing, they saw the black-robed man several meters away, having lifted Xiao Ya from the ground. He was about to pry open her mouth to feed her a crimson leaf.

Wu Huo was horrified. “Stop!”

He started to rush forward.

‘Miss Shen Yue said that Xiao Ya must not fall into the black-robed man’s hands!’

But he had only made it halfway when the black-robed man shot him a fierce glare.

“You’re courting death!”

He waved his hand, and a powerful wave of spiritual power slammed into Wu Huo!

Wu Huo was instantly sent flying several meters, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Seeing this, the Dragon Guard and the men from the Mystic Mechanism Building channeled their spiritual power, about to charge him to retrieve the girl.

But the black-robed man simply raised a hand, and a barrier formed of black mist blocked their path.

Inside the barrier, the black-robed man was once again prying open Xiao Ya’s mouth.

Meanwhile, Hu Tu had just managed to crawl up from the ground. Seeing the unconscious Xiao Ya in the black-robed man’s grip, his heart shuddered.

“Hall Master, what… what are you doing?”

The black-robed man inside the barrier completely ignored him.

The crimson leaf was just about to be fed into Xiao Ya’s mouth…

An intense unease spread through Hu Tu’s heart.

‘Why is the Hall Master so insistent on feeding that leaf to A zhi, even now?’

He remembered seeing the leaf fall to the ground and turn into a bug…

He instinctively felt that something terrible would happen if his sister ate it!

“Hall Master, let go! What are you doing to A zhi?!”

He charged forward, slamming into the barrier. The barrier’s power instantly sent him flying.

Hu Tu landed, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Xiao Ya as fear consumed him.

He couldn’t afford to think. Protecting his sister had become his obsession!

He instantly split into nine figures and charged the barrier once more!

“A zhi, wake up!!”

The nine Hu Tus struck as one, their full power slamming into the barrier and making it tremble.

Inside, the black-robed man’s hands paused, and he frowned.

“Annoying pest!”

With a raise of his hand, a powerful force shot toward one of the nine Hu Tus!

It was the most inconspicuous one—the main body.

A black Qi Blade pierced straight through Hu Tu’s chest.

The precision of the strike shocked the heavily injured Wu Huo and the others.

‘The black-robed man could actually pinpoint Hu Tu’s main body among all the clones!’

Hu Tu violently spat out black blood and was slammed heavily to the ground.

The other eight Hu Tus instantly reeled as if they’d suffered the same grievous blow, clutching their chests and simultaneously spitting up blood.

And inside the barrier, held in the black-robed man’s grip, Xiao Ya’s eyelids fluttered open just in time to see this scene.

It felt as if her very bones and blood were being reshaped in that brief moment.

The pain made her consciousness hazy, but she could still see Hu Tu struggling to his feet outside the Barrier.

Even with blood pouring from his chest, he still charged toward them.

“Let… let go… let go of my sister…”

Xiao Ya glanced over, watching as Hu Tu was once again brutally repelled by the Barrier and thrown to the ground.

In that moment, the rims of her eyes turned red. It was hard to say if it was from being choked by the black-robed man or from witnessing the scene before her.

The black-robed man in front of her had already noticed she was awake. He spoke:

“Awake? Eat this, and you can get what you desire!”

Staring at the leaf held to her lips, Xiao Ya clamped her mouth shut and glared at him.

Seeing this, the black-robed man wasted no more words. He applied force with his hand, intending to pry her mouth open.

Hu Tu lay on the ground, shouting:

“A zhi!! Don’t!!”

Xiao Ya clenched her jaw tightly, twisting her neck and struggling with all her might.

The black-robed man tried several times. Seeing he couldn’t force her mouth open, he grew vicious and squeezed with his knuckles.

CRACK!

Xiao Ya’s jaw was instantly dislocated.

“AHH!!”

The hanging jaw and the piercing pain instantly drained the color from her face as she let out a bloodcurdling scream.

Hu Tu’s eyes widened.

“A zhi!!”

“Let her go, Hall Master! Why are you doing this to her…?”

Hu Tu charged forward again in a frenzy, but his futile effort was no more than a mantis trying to stop a chariot. All he could do was scream in agony, unable to save Xiao Ya from the black-robed man’s grasp!

The black-robed man pinched the leaf between his fingers, about to stuff it into Xiao Ya’s mouth.

“Stop!”

With a sharp cry, Shen Yue struck out with her palm.

The black barrier instantly exploded and disintegrated!

A powerful force shot straight for the black-robed man’s face.

The black-robed man hadn’t expected Shen Yue to arrive so quickly. He had no time to react properly, but he instantly raised a hand and unleashed a powerful wave of spiritual power.

The two forces collided.

BANG!!

The aftershock sent everyone flying.

Xiao Ya was also thrown to the ground.

She fell to the ground, curling up from the pain, trembling uncontrollably. Clutching her jaw, she rolled on the ground, letting out waves of agonized cries.

Meanwhile, the black-robed man, severely injured by Shen Yue’s attack, landed on the ground. The moment he did, the black mist surrounding his body began to visibly dissipate.

His spiritual power was scattering!

‘Half of this woman’s Vitality Power was clearly stolen, so how can she still strip away my spiritual power?’

He clutched his chest, glaring viciously at Shen Yue!

He understood that this was not the time for a head-on confrontation with Shen Yue. His target was Xiao Ya!

He glanced at Xiao Ya, who wasn’t far from him.

His figure flickered as he tried to grab Xiao Ya and flee.

But Shen Yue had already anticipated his move.

“You think you can run?!”

The Vitality Power in her hand transformed into an invisible Qi Blade that instantly slashed toward him.

The black-robed man was just about to grab Xiao Ya when the Qi Blade bore down on him. He threw himself to the side, but he was a step too slow.

SLASH!

Unable to dodge in time, his entire arm was sliced clean off by the Qi Blade!

The arm fell to the ground, and he staggered from the pain.

At that moment, the black mist around his body completely vanished.

The face hidden beneath the mist was revealed to everyone!

His face was pale from the pain… He wanted to cover it with his hand, but it was too late!

When Shen Yue, Huang Ziyue, and Bai Chaosi saw his face, they all froze in shock.

‘Isn’t that face… the same as the man in black from Wilderness Mountain!’