Jiang Ying remained silent, save for a cold, inward sneer.
Just some cheap parlor tricks. Did he really think she had never seen the world? An Illusion Technique of this caliber wasn’t enough to scare her.
Jiang Ying glanced at Xiao Fensi. The girl was still being led by the hunchbacked old man, standing woodenly in place without a single reaction.
Jiang Ying immediately snapped, "Old man, let that child go at once!"
The old man did not answer. His brownish-gray robes rippled, and from within that hunched frame came a series of old, sinister, "cackle-cackle-cackle" laughs. The sound was hoarse and grating, as if he had been choking on centuries of phlegm.
Jiang Ying felt the surrounding gloom and chill grow even heavier. The old man continued to grip Xiao Fensi tightly without letting go, a gesture that reeked of provocation.
Jiang Ying began to grow angry. What, was kidnapping a child something to be proud of?
Since you refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit, don't blame me for being impolite!
She whipped a Repel Talisman from her sleeve and flung it toward the old man.
"Back!"
The Repel Talisman burst into a bright flame. Jiang Ying was currently at the Qi Condensation 7th Layer; a single Repel Talisman could push back a Cultivator of similar level by six or seven paces. Even for someone with a stable stance or heavy build, she could force them back at least four or five steps.
Furthermore, the Repel Talisman possessed a locking mechanism. Once it landed on the old man, it would repel only him, causing no harm whatsoever to Xiao Fensi. That would be her chance to swoop in and carry the girl away.
The Repel Talisman hit the old man dead on!
Jiang Ying’s heart leaped with joy. She tossed an Acceleration Talisman at her feet and lunged toward him, but suddenly, she witnessed something utterly bizarre.
Just as the Repel Talisman was about to land on the old man, his hunched figure began to tremble like a sieve. Immediately after, the brownish-gray cloak began to inflate like a balloon being filled with air. The sagging cloak stretched to its limit, as if a hideous insect were spreading its wings from beneath his back.
The night was too thick for Jiang Ying to see exactly what was under the cloak, but she saw the Repel Talisman pass straight through the old man's body. The cloak then fell back, and the talisman vanished into thin air—either swallowed up or blocked by the falling fabric.
In any case, the Repel Talisman had failed to cause any knockback effect.
Jiang Ying’s gaze tightened. *Something is wrong. This is nothing like a common Illusion Technique!*
Then what could it be?
The old man gave her no time to ponder. From beneath his cloak came a wet *splat*, and a jet of viscous black sludge shot straight toward her face.
Jiang Ying instantly pulled out a Shield Talisman, raising a spherical barrier to block her front. The sludge hadn't even arrived, yet a pungent, foul stench hit her like a physical blow! The Shield Talisman could block attacks, but it could not block that nauseating odor.
Jiang Ying held her breath, but the stench was so overpowering she couldn't help but gag. She had prepared plenty of attack, defense, and even strange auxiliary talismans before leaving today, but she had never imagined that someone would resort to a stink attack…
The world of cultivation was truly treacherous! She vowed that after this, she would definitely prepare more nose-clearing talismans!
Jiang Ying flashed to the side, narrowly dodging the foul, black sludge.
"Water Sword, coalesce!"
With a sharp *whoosh*, a crystalline Water Sword condensed at her fingertips and thrust toward the sludge. The strike was swift; it collided with the muck with a wet *splat*. Upon impact, the sludge exploded outward and scattered, rising in trails of white mist before sinking into the ground and disappearing.
*Slash!*
The Water Sword cut through the cloak and pierced the old man’s arm. Yet, the old man didn't even let out a cry of pain. He didn't even pause or stumble; instead, he erupted with another burst of black sludge, which came surging toward Jiang Ying once more.
Jiang Ying was slightly alarmed. This old man—did he have no sense of pain?
There were cultivation methods that could achieve this. Some Cultivators would temper their bodies into stone or diamond, becoming impervious to blades and immune to pain. But she had clearly felt her Water Sword pass through the old man's body just now…
What kind of strange, twisted art was he practicing? Even as a top student who had read countless books, Jiang Ying couldn't guess his school of techniques.
Suspicions mounting, Jiang Ying exchanged a few more moves with him. Though the old man’s form was uncanny, his footwork was sluggish. Her Water Sword pierced through the muck and struck his body several times, yet it caused absolutely no actual damage.
The old man seemed to grow tired of wasting time. He suddenly exploded in a large mass of sludge and, pulling Xiao Fensi along, began to dash forward.
But he had taken only a few steps when he found, quite suddenly, that a thick fog had enveloped the area! The water vapor was so heavy that it slowed his pace, and his field of vision was reduced to less than a yard. He found it difficult to escape!
Jiang Ying sneered. *Want to run? It's not that easy.*
While trading blows, she had been keeping an ace up her sleeve. With her right hand, she had cast the Water Sword, but with her left, she had silently woven a Water Mist Spell, laying down thick fog as she moved. She had practiced casting spells with both hands many times in her past life, back when her cultivation had reached a dead end and she had nothing else to do to pass the time.
Though she had trapped him, Jiang Ying still felt a measure of worry. She realized that while the old man’s cultivation level was on par with her own, her spells were failing to suppress him!
She couldn't suppress him, and she couldn't use the Repel Talisman to push him back and rescue Xiao Fensi. What was she supposed to do now?
Trapped by the mist and unable to flee, the "cackling" sound from beneath the old man's cloak grew increasingly hoarse and heavy; he was clearly enraged. His body, shrouded in the cloak, began to shudder violently. As he shook, the cloak tightened inward, making the already prominent hunch in his back bulge even further. Suddenly, the hunch collapsed!
The cloak wrapping his back immediately went limp like a deflated bag, exploding outward. Both sides of the cloak spread like insect wings once again!
With a sticky *pop*, a massive wave of black sludge burst and poured out from beneath the cloak! The sludge flowed endlessly, rushing toward Jiang Ying. The ground was instantly covered, emitting a harsh hissing sound as plumes of thick white smoke rose into the air.
Jiang Ying immediately whipped out three Shield Talismans, layering them in a ring to block her front!
The force of the sludge was immense, and it was upon her in an instant.
*BOOM!*
The outermost shield was struck by the sludge. The muck crazily eroded and hammered against the barrier, accompanied by a biting, ghostly chill. The shield trembled, and deep cracks quickly spiderwebbed across its surface.
A moment later, with a sharp *snap*, the shield shattered!
Under the sheer force of the impact, Jiang Ying found it impossible to hold her ground. She struggled to maintain her balance, but was ultimately forced to stagger back several paces.