Slender willows sway in the breeze

Chapter 104 Is that all the skill you've got?

Gu Changzhou nodded slightly, "We must be on guard. The eldest prince's situation in the palace is delicate. He has not been favored by His Majesty for many years, and it is hard to guarantee that he will not harbor any disloyal thoughts."

Liu Sijun sighed softly. In the palace, people's hearts are complicated and various forces are deeply intertwined. If one is not careful, one will fall into an abyss of no return.

"So what should we do next?"

"Let's investigate discreetly for now. I'll immediately arrange for shadow guards to secretly search throughout the palace. You have unique insights into alchemy; let's see if we can find any clues from yesterday's events."

Liu Sijun nodded slightly, "Okay, I'll let you know as soon as I find anything."

Just then, a shadow guard quietly appeared in the hall and knelt on one knee: "My lord, we have just received news that there have been unexplained spiritual energy fluctuations coming from the spirit bamboo forest in the southwest corner of the palace recently, and some guards have heard strange noises, but they found nothing when they went to investigate."

Gu Changzhou and Liu Sijun exchanged a glance.

It seems that there are far more secrets hidden in this palace than they imagined.

"I'll go check out the Spirit Bamboo Forest first. Be careful."

Liu Sijun nodded: "The situation in the Spirit Bamboo Forest is unclear, so please be careful."

Although Gu Changzhou's cultivation was profound, that evil cultivator was also extremely powerful, and he was hiding in the shadows, making him impossible to guard against.

"Don't worry, I will act cautiously."

Gu Changzhou's voice suddenly softened. Liu Sijun blinked, and by the time she came to her senses, he had already disappeared from the main hall.

Gu Changzhou and his shadow guards arrived at the Spirit Bamboo Forest.

The moment you step inside, a thick, yin energy hits you, creating a stark contrast with the outside temperature.

The bamboo rustled in the breeze, creating an eerie rhythm.

Gu Changzhou circulated his spiritual power, spreading his senses outwards in an attempt to detect the unusual fluctuations in spiritual power.

The shadow guards followed closely behind, their blades drawn, vigilantly observing their surroundings.

Suddenly, Gu Changzhou's expression tightened: "Be careful, there's movement ahead."

As soon as he finished speaking, a faint black mist began to swirl slowly deep within the bamboo forest. Within the mist, countless twisted figures seemed to be struggling and howling, like wronged souls trapped inside.

Gu Changzhou signaled to the shadow guards to conceal their presence.

The two cautiously approached the cloud of black mist.

As they drew closer, a strong, rotten stench assaulted their nostrils, making them want to vomit.

Suddenly, a sharp, piercing sound came from the black mist, sounding like both crying and laughing, sending chills down one's spine.

Immediately afterwards, a huge black cat rushed out of the black mist.

"Be careful, this is a Shadow Leopard, it's extremely aggressive!"

Gu Changzhou loudly reminded the shadow guard, and at the same time quickly drew the sword from his waist. The sword instantly burst out with a dazzling light, illuminating the surrounding darkness.

With a roar, the Shadow Leopard pounced on Gu Changzhou like a black lightning bolt.

Gu Changzhou dodged the attack with a swift movement, and at the same time swung his sword, sending a sharp sword aura towards the Evil Shadow Leopard.

The Shadow Leopard nimbly twisted its body, easily dodging the sword energy, and launched another attack.

Seeing this, the Shadow Guard launched a surprise attack from the side, attempting to distract the Shadow Leopard. However, the Shadow Leopard seemed to sense the Shadow Guard's intentions, suddenly changing direction in mid-air and pouncing on the Shadow Guard instead.

The shadow guard couldn't dodge in time and was slashed on the arm by the Shadow Leopard's claws, his clothes instantly stained with blood.

Seizing the opportunity, Gu Changzhou concentrated all his spiritual power into his sword and unleashed a powerful sword move, a massive golden sword beam slashing towards the Shadow Leopard. The Shadow Leopard sensed this powerful threat and tried to dodge, but it was too late.

The sword light struck it heavily, producing a deafening roar.

The Shadow Leopard let out a shrill scream as its body was cleaved in two by the sword light, turning into a cloud of black smoke and dissipating into the air.

However, at that moment, a figure shrouded in black robes slowly emerged from the mist, holding a scepter that emitted a ghostly light in his hand.

A blood-red gem is set at the top of the scepter, and within the gem, countless souls seem to be struggling in agony.

The man in black robes slowly raised his head, revealing a pair of eyes that gleamed with worry. He stared intently at Gu Changzhou and the shadow guard in his hand, his eyes filled with resentment and murderous intent.

"How dare you harm my spirit pet! You deserve to die!"

The man in the black robe had a hoarse voice, as harsh as sandpaper being rubbed.

With a gentle wave of his scepter, the blood-red gem shone brightly, and the surrounding darkness instantly surged as if it were solid, pressing in on Gu Changzhou and the shadow guards.

Despite the critical situation, Gu Changzhou remained calm. He quickly channeled his spiritual energy into the shadow guard's body to help suppress the spreading wound, while shouting, "What evil spirits are causing trouble in the forbidden area of ​​the palace?"

The man in black robes sneered: "A dying man has no need to know."

Before he finished speaking, the man in black robes swung his scepter again, and countless black tentacles emerged from the darkness, reaching out to grab the two of them like ghosts.

Wherever the tentacles passed, the air was corroded, producing a hissing sound.

Gu Changzhou shouted, and the longsword in his hand shone brightly, creating numerous sword shadows that clashed fiercely with the black tentacles.

Each clash unleashed a powerful surge of spiritual energy, causing the surrounding spiritual bamboo to snap in two.

The shadow guard also endured the pain and circulated his spiritual power to assist Gu Changzhou from the side.

The blade in his hand gleamed coldly as he seized the opportunity to stab at the black tentacles. However, the tentacles were exceptionally tough, and the blade only left a shallow mark.

A hint of disdain flashed in the black-robed man's eyes: "Is this all the skill you have? You dare to contend with me?"

He muttered incantations, and the blood-red gem on the scepter shone even brighter. The black tentacles instantly became thicker and more powerful, and their attacks became even more ferocious.

While fending off the attacks of the black tentacles, Gu Changzhou carefully observed the movements of the man in black robes.

He noticed that the blood-red gemstone flashed with a slightly different rhythm each time the man in black robes swung his scepter, and guessed that this might be the key to breaking the man in black robes' evil magic.

Just then, a black tentacle suddenly attacked Gu Changzhou while he was distracted.

Gu Changzhou was unable to dodge in time and was hit on the shoulder by the tentacle. He was sent flying backward and crashed heavily into a spirit bamboo.

"Master Hou!"

Seeing this, the shadow guards were extremely anxious and rushed over without thinking, trying to block the subsequent attacks for Gu Changzhou.

But the ubiquitous tentacles entangled him, preventing him from moving an inch.

Gu Changzhou quickly steadied himself. He gritted his teeth, endured the excruciating pain in his shoulder, and channeled all his spiritual energy to charge at the man in black robes once more.

This time, he stared intently at the blood-red gem on the black robe and scepter, trying to catch the fleeting rhythm of its light.

As the man in black robes swung his scepter again, Gu Changzhou seized the opportunity, and a dazzling golden light shot out from his sword, precisely striking the moment the blood-red gem shimmered.

There was a loud noise of "Boom!"

The blood-red gemstone exploded instantly, and the man in black robes let out a scream as his scepter broke.

(End of this chapter)