Clinging to the Witcher world to become a god of martial arts

Chapter 241 The Shadow

The barrier was removed, and the outside world's energy flowed in without any obstruction.

After his spirituality improved, the negative energy did not have as strong an effect on his mind as before. Lorne released his spiritual power and extended it into the distance.

Unfortunately, his mental strength was not strong enough, and his perception range was limited, confined to the area around his body.

Estelle glanced in the direction of the City of Hope; the leaden clouds seemed to be hanging lower.

"First, proceed as planned, walk to the edge of the ruins, and find an entry route. The primary goal is to confirm the specific form of the Death Mark and how to obtain it."

"Alright." Lorne pressed the Shadow Hunter at his waist. The cold touch came through the scabbard. He infused it with a trace of Heavenly River Qi, and the blade trembled faintly.

He gazed at the vast, deathly shadow, his eyes now devoid of any hesitation or confusion, only a clear calm and sharp resolve.

"Let's go."

The two didn't linger and quickly left the temporary base, their figures gradually disappearing into the gray-black mist...

This desolate forest was deathly silent, and the pervasive gray-black mist added to its mystery. Decaying branches were piled on the ground, turning into gray smoke when a breeze passed through them.

Lorne took a deep breath, the cold, decaying air filling his lungs, and his clear, lake-blue eyes revealed more to him.

The negative energy particles floating in the air, appearing grayish-black, are no longer a blurry mist, but rather like swarms of tiny, malicious flying insects, moving along a slow and murky trajectory.

His heightened spirituality made his perception more subtle, and the withered forest appeared distinct in his eyes.

Some trees simply lose their vitality, while others begin to breed a sticky darkness from within, varying in the degree to which they are eroded by negative energy.

Further away, the massive shadowy outline of the City of Hope, and the leaden-gray death cloud, even from a great distance, continuously emanated extremely unsettling fluctuations.

"How are you feeling?" Estelle's voice pulled him back from his reverie.

She had stopped her chilling whispers, but a faint chill still lingered around her, radiating magical fluctuations that froze and repelled any negative energy particles that tried to approach.

A clear stream amidst turbidity and pollution.

"Once you activate your senses, you need to be distracted to pay attention," Lorne stated, pointing out the drawback as he tried to describe this entirely new experience. "However, it also allows you to see things more clearly at a deeper level."

He pointed to a spot in the shadows of the City of Hope that was relatively close to the edge but had a noticeably higher concentration of energy: "There, the flow of negative energy is converging abnormally."

Estelle looked in the direction he pointed, her pale blue eyes narrowing slightly, a glimmer of ice magic flashing deep within her pupils.

After a moment, she nodded slightly, a hint of admiration in her eyes.

Even she herself had to pay special attention to observe it, while for Lorne, it was all within the normal range of perception.

Compared to the other two, I suddenly seem... a bit slow-witted?

She turned to face the main ruins of the City of Return, which were shrouded in an even thicker gray-black fog, making even the leaden clouds seem to hang lower.

"The central observation tower is probably located in the original city center area, roughly in that direction according to Cologne's intelligence."

She pointed vaguely to a location, which was precisely the area where Lorne sensed the greatest and deepest malice.

"The concentration of negative energy will be higher, which may give rise to more troublesome things, and there may even be formal wizards from other wizarding forces."

"Stay close to me, watch your step and any unusual energy points. Don't touch any unknown objects, especially things that look intact or have runes on them. They might be traps left by the official wizards of the Silver Scales."

The two left the rocky hollow and stepped into the withered forest.

Beneath my feet lay soft, damp, grayish-black soil, devoid of any life, which made a slight squelching sound when stepped on.

Lorne used his internal energy, and with the Nine Dragons Appearing movement technique, his steps were very stable, and he would not get caught up in it.

Estelle walked ahead, her steps light, as if the mud beneath her feet was not soaked in negative energy, but a smooth ice surface.

She didn't cast any spells; she only needed to release the magic of the frost property, and her body would be surrounded by a low-temperature field that repelled negative energy and left faint frost marks in her path.

Lorne followed closely behind, his hand resting on the hilt of Shadowhunter's sword.

Danger can easily lurk in the shadows. He could feel the subtle malice coming from all directions at all times, making him feel extremely uncomfortable.

We must remain vigilant at all times and not let our guard down until we find traces of the death sign.

After walking for about a mile, the dead trees gradually thinned out, and a wide, rubble-strewn slope appeared ahead.

This place once seemed to be an auxiliary building complex on the outskirts of Guiwang City, but now only ruins remain, soaked in a light gray-black mist.

"Stop." Estelle suddenly raised her hand, signaling Lorne to stop, and she sensed an unusual fluctuation in her mental perception.

The moment she spoke, Lorne also sensed something amiss, and a wave of malice locked onto the two of them emanated from her.

Behind a pile of half-collapsed low walls on the left, an extremely faint but sticky and malicious energy fluctuation emanated from within, built of some kind of dark stone.

That wasn't the death aura of the undead, because it still emanated life energy; it was more like... a corrupted and twisted supernatural being!

"Behind the low wall on the left," Lorne immediately reminded him, his voice exceptionally clear in the silent ruins.

Estelle didn't turn around, but simply nodded slightly, and tiny, deep blue ice crystals silently began to gather between the fingers of her right hand. "It has discovered us."

"Be careful!"

Before he finished speaking, several dark figures suddenly emerged from behind the low wall!

It wasn't a limb, but a huge, withered vine-like tentacle covered in dark purple moss that lashed out at the two of them like lightning!

It moved extremely fast, bringing with it a foul, putrid wind.

Lorne's pupils contracted, and his heightened spiritual perception instantly conveyed the trajectory, speed, and even the chaotic and turbid energy fluctuations within the vines.

Without the slightest hesitation, he exerted force with his waist and the Shadow Hunter was drawn with a clang!

The jet-black blade was almost invisible in the dim light, with only a faint chill running through it, accompanied by a roar like that of a ferocious beast!

"laugh!"

One of the first vines to strike snapped in two, leaving no blood at the break, only a large amount of foul-smelling black sap.

The cross-sections did not split open immediately at first, but rather remained bonded together for a period of time before suddenly separating.

The other vines were also precisely severed by several deep blue ice blades that Estelle casually swung, the severed limbs twisting and struggling on the ground, quickly covered by the spreading frost.

Frost Magic Property!