Nie Li went over the first section of the Tianhen Body cultivation manual with Nie Yu. Before long, Nie Yu found a spot and began her practice.
The night grew ever darker. Black birds darted silently through the trees from time to time.
Suddenly, Nie Li's gaze sharpened toward the distance. Several kilometers away, in the forest near the cliff's edge, shadows flickered — several figures seemed to flit through the trees. His brow creased slightly. With a flick of his right hand, a dark shadow materialized from thin air and shot into the forest at high speed.
A Demon Spirit projected outward without merging with a Demon Spirit Master's body couldn't fight directly, but a Demon Spirit Master could perceive everything the Demon Spirit saw and heard in real time. That made it extremely useful at times.
An ordinary Demon Spirit projected outward was easy to detect by its aura, but the Shadow Demon Spirit could conceal its presence, making it ideal for reconnaissance, scouting terrain, and all manner of surveillance.
The Shadow Demon Spirit quickly located several figures in the distance. Through its eyes, Nie Li spotted three people cloaked in black robes, hiding among the trees.
Nie Li controlled the Shadow Demon Spirit to take cover behind a tree, its gaze cutting through the darkness to pinpoint all three.
The trio were chatting among themselves.
"So this is the Tian Hen Family's territory!"
"We need to be careful. The Tian Hen Family still has a few Gold-level powerhouses! If we run into them, we're dead for sure!"
"Are you certain that kid Nie Li lives in that dump of a house at the bottom of the mountain?"
"Of course. We already scouted during the day! His parents aren't cultivators at all. We can eliminate them without anyone ever knowing!"
As they talked, Nie Li listened through the Shadow Demon Spirit and frowned slightly. People from the Sacred Family? So these three had come to target him! But they all appeared to be only Silver level!
One of the voices was strikingly familiar. Nie Li suddenly recalled it — Overseer Yunhua of the Dark Guild!
They had crossed paths once in Ancient Lan City, and Nie Li had committed the man's voice to memory. Fortunately, only Silver-level fighters had come. Gold-level powerhouses in the City of Radiance were few, and each carried a special identity token, making it very difficult for the Dark Guild's Gold-level members to infiltrate. So the strongest among this group was nothing more than Overseer Yunhua and his associates.
Nie Li's frown deepened. The Shadow Demon Spirit released a powerful wave of perception. Faintly, he sensed the Soul Power of these three Silver-level warriors — one Silver Five Star and two Silver Three Star!
"A bit tricky," Nie Li muttered, his brow tightening. Against Silver One Star or Two Star opponents, he could handle them easily. Even Silver Three Star warriors, he could find a way to deal with. But one of them was Silver Five Star, and that made things considerably harder.
If these three reached his home, the consequences would be dire.
"Xiao Yu, run and tell the adults right away! There are Dark Guild members in the forest behind the mountain!" Nie Li said after a moment's thought.
"Dark Guild?" A flicker of fear passed through Nie Yu's eyes. She had heard adults speak of the Dark Guild's horrors ever since she was small. "What about you, Brother Nie Li? Let's run together!"
"I'll be fine. I won't fight them head-on. I'll keep watch on them from here. You hurry and fetch the adults — one of them is Silver Five Star, so make sure to bring someone Gold-level!" Nie Li said. To guard against Demon Beast attacks, the Tian Hen Family stationed a Gold-level elder on patrol every night. All he needed was to get the night watch elder here!
"Xiao Yu, hurry! There's no time to waste!" Nie Li urged anxiously.
Nie Yu cast a worried glance at Nie Li but finally nodded, and her slight figure darted away.
Watching Nie Yu disappear into the distance, Nie Li let out a quiet breath. He had sent her to find help not only to bring reinforcements but also to get her out of the way so he could act freely.
Nie Li concealed himself carefully and crept closer to where the three intruders were.
Though their strength was considerable, they were in the open while he lurked in shadow. It wasn't impossible to put up a fight.
Yunhua led the other two Silver Three Star warriors forward through the trees, picking their steps with caution.
"Hold on." Overseer Yunhua suddenly felt something amiss, as though something were watching him from the darkness. The sensation was faint — so faint that he couldn't pinpoint its source.
"What is it, Overseer?" the two Silver Three Star warriors beside him asked, confused.
"Could I have imagined it?" Overseer Yunhua furrowed his brow and let out a sharp hum. A massive phantom of a black tiger materialized in the air, its frigid gaze sweeping across the dark forest around them.
Silver Five Star Demon Spirit Master. Celestial Star Black Tiger Spirit Beast!
Even harder to deal with. Nie Li's brow creased further. He melded into the darkness, suppressing his breathing, while the Shadow Demon Spirit remained motionless behind a tree.
Nie Li was a full fifty or sixty meters from Overseer Yunhua. A Silver-level Celestial Star Black Tiger couldn't possibly sense that far. As for the Shadow Demon Spirit, it lay only five meters away from the group, its form already completely ethereal.
The Celestial Star Black Tiger's pupils emitted streaks of blue-green light as they swept the area. Nothing. Overseer Yunhua finally relaxed. "Must have been my imagination."
He recalled the Celestial Star Black Tiger. With a Demon Spirit exposed, its aura could easily be picked up by other Demon Spirit Masters. Better to stay cautious.
"You two wait here. Liu Qing, go ahead and scout. If the Tian Hen Family patrol isn't around, send us the signal," Overseer Yunhua murmured after a moment's thought. This operation was quite risky, and he had no intention of putting himself in danger first.
Liu Qing felt a twinge of resentment. Why me? But he dared not argue with Overseer Yunhua. He nodded in acknowledgment and leaped down the mountainside.
Overseer Yunhua and the other man, Liu Yan, slowed their pace.
Seeing Liu Qing pull away from Overseer Yunhua and Liu Yan, Nie Li's eyebrows rose ever so slightly. This was his chance!
Fighting all three would be far too difficult for Nie Li, but against a single Silver Three Star warrior, there was no question about the outcome. Liu Qing outranked Nie Li by two levels, but he was merely a Warrior, while Nie Li was a Demon Spirit Master!
And what Nie Li commanded was a Shadow Demon Spirit — something no ordinary person had ever encountered or understood.
Under Nie Li's control, the Shadow Demon Spirit transformed into a streak of black light, zipping back to merge with him. Nie Li's body shifted and changed.
He watched Liu Qing from a short distance away, a cold arc forming at the corner of his lips. With a thought, he erased his presence and began closing in.
"What's going on?" Liu Qing had sprinted several hundred meters when he suddenly felt a strange aura. He halted and looked around, perplexed.