Body command feeding world

As the setting sun sank behind the western mountains, the forests outside Qinglu Village were quickly swallowed by twilight.

Wu Wei carried his newly forged iron spear on his return journey. The shaft was made of hardwood covered with a thin layer of iron, and the tip, after being quenched, gleamed with a cold, silvery light. It was thirty percent heavier than his previous wooden spear, making it more suitable for his now-strengthened arm. During the day, he had ventured deep into the western side of the mountains and hunted down three Rotting Fang Hounds. His Yang Flame Blood Essence had become increasingly refined in actual combat, and the nourishment from the bone marrow brought by the pivot made his steps more steady. Even walking on the rugged mountain path, he felt as if he were walking on flat ground.

As darkness completely fell, he stepped into the old locust grove outside the village. This was the buffer zone between Qinglu Village and the mountains. The branches of the old locust trees were twisted like ghostly claws, their bare branches stretching towards the inky night sky, completely obscuring even the starlight. The grove was eerily quiet; there were no insects chirping, no wind blowing, only the soft rustling of his footsteps on the fallen leaves, echoing repeatedly in the empty forest, sounding particularly jarring.

A faint chill crept up my ankle.

At first, Wu Wei thought it was just the chill of the night in the forest and didn't pay much attention. But the chill was no ordinary night wind; it carried a kind of gloom that penetrated to the bone marrow. It was not like the fishy chill of a rotting dog, but more like a cold venomous snake, crawling into the gaps in his skin, causing the Yang energy and blood essence in his body to stagnate slightly.

He paused, his eyes instantly sharpening like the tip of a gun.

His instincts as a former gunslinger sent chills down his spine—something was following him.

Wu Wei whirled around, his iron spear held horizontally before his chest. Yangyan Blood Essence flowed along the spear shaft, emitting a faint golden halo that illuminated an area of ​​about ten feet in front of him. But the forest was deserted; only the twisted shadows of locust tree branches swayed in the spear's light, like menacing ghosts.

"Who?"

He demanded in a deep voice, which echoed through the forest, but only met with deathly silence. The chill did not disappear; instead, it grew stronger, slowly creeping upwards from his legs, raising goosebumps wherever it passed, and making his blood flow sluggish.

Wu Wei lowered his head, his pupils suddenly contracting.

Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the locust grove, casting a long, thin shadow at his feet. At that moment, the edge of that shadow was quietly merging into a flowing, inky mist—a mist without a fixed shape, like a pool of thick ink spilled on the ground, slowly climbing upwards along his shadow!

It's a Shadowfiend!

Fragments of the original owner's memories flooded into Wu Wei's mind instantly, and his heart sank. This malevolent creature was formless and intangible, impervious to ordinary weapons. It was a shadow that ensnared people, draining their life force. Once completely ensnared, one would die from exhaustion within half an incense stick's time. What was even more terrifying was that it always lurked in the shadows; you couldn't see its true form, only feel the ever-increasing chill and the eerie pain as your shadow was devoured, as if your soul were being torn apart.

"Sizzle... sizzle..."

A faint sound came from the shadow, like countless tiny mouths gnawing. Wu Wei could clearly feel his vital energy draining away rapidly along with the shadow, his legs growing heavier and heavier, his eyelids becoming heavy, and a strong sense of drowsiness washing over him—it was the shadow demon sucking away his life force.

Fear, like a cold, venomous snake, coiled around his heart.

This wasn't the danger of a direct confrontation with a rotten-toothed hound, but rather a suffocating sense of unease stemming from the unknown and seeping into every nook and cranny. You couldn't see the enemy, you couldn't touch the enemy, you could only passively endure its erosion. This sense of powerlessness was more chilling than facing swords and spears. The shadows of the locust tree branches in the forest seemed to come alive, twisting and dancing in the corner of his eye. Each shadow was like a lurking shadow demon, making him tense all over, not daring to relax for a moment.

But Wu Wei was, after all, one of the world's top marksmanship masters, and his decisive and ruthless will was already etched into his soul.

The extreme fear lasted only a moment before he forcibly suppressed it. He took a deep breath, and the Yang Flame Blood Essence surged within him, the scorching energy flowing through his meridians to his limbs and bones, dispelling the chill within. He knew that the greater the fear, the more rampant the Shadow Fiend would become; only by remaining calm could he find a way out.

"So what if it's formless? So what if it's cold and yin?" Wu Wei muttered to himself, a resolute glint in his eyes. "All evil spirits fear the yang, and you are no exception!"

He stopped trying to find the Shadow Fiend's true form, and instead abruptly withdrew his spear, gripping the shaft tightly with both hands. His Yang Flame Blood Essence surged into the spear without reservation. In an instant, the golden aura around the iron spear surged, as if a raging fire had been ignited, illuminating an area of ​​about ten feet around as if it were daytime. The twisted shadows of the locust tree branches instantly retreated under the intense light, revealing bare branches.

The shadowy aura beneath his feet emitted a piercing "sizzle" under the intense sunlight. The dark mist that was climbing it began to melt and retreat rapidly, like ice and snow meeting fire, shrinking back into the shadows of the ground and trying to hide in the shadows of the locust tree roots.

"Trying to run away?"

Wu Wei's eyes sharpened, and he suddenly exerted force with his wrist, thrusting the iron spear at an extremely tricky angle towards the shadow beneath his feet!

This shot, though not aimed at any physical object, precisely pierced the core of the shadow where the Shadow Fiend was hiding. He knew that although the Shadow Fiend was formless, it needed to rely on the shadow to exist. As long as the vessel it relied on was destroyed, or it was completely purified with the power of pure yang, it could be killed.

"Flame-Splittering Spear!"

With a low shout, the Yangyan Blood Essence condensed into a point of dazzling golden light at the tip of the spear. The spear tip pierced the air, carrying a scorching wind, and plunged fiercely into the shadows on the ground.

"Awooo—!"

A piercing, shrill scream, seemingly not from the mortal world but from the deepest hell, pierced the spot where the spear tip had pierced. The inky mist churned violently, like boiling water, and countless tiny inky threads struggled to emerge from the mist, only to instantly turn to ash under the scorching heat of the sun.

Wu Wei didn't stop. With a slight twist of his wrist, the tip of his spear swirled around the ground, and the Yang Flame Blood Essence erupted from the spear tip, transforming into a ball of golden flame that completely enveloped the shadows on the ground. The flames scorched the Shadow Fiend's body and the fallen leaves on the ground, making crackling sounds. A faint smell of burning filled the forest, mixed with the stench of the Shadow Fiend dissolving.

The chilling aura that had been clinging to his body quickly receded, and the feeling of blood and qi draining away disappeared. Wu Wei could clearly feel that the aura of the Shadow Fiend was rapidly weakening. The shadow it was attached to was completely purified by the Yang Flame, and the dark mist contracted and dissipated like the receding tide, eventually turning into a wisp of pale black fiendish energy, which was completely annihilated under the burning of the Yang Flame, leaving not even a trace.

The chill in the forest dissipated, the moonlight shone down again, and the shadows of the locust tree branches returned to normal, no longer so eerie and distorted.

Wu Wei slowly sheathed his spear, the yang flames at the tip gradually receding, leaving only a faint afterglow. He breathed slightly, the forced activation of the yang flame blood essence had still been a burden on his body, but the surge of power within him and the sense of clarity after slaying Shadow Fiend made the corners of his mouth turn up slightly.

From initial fear to forced composure, and then to decisively drawing his spear to kill, this transformation in just a few breaths perfectly exemplifies his exceptional skill as a spearman. He doesn't believe in fate, only in the spear in his hand. Even when facing an invisible and intangible shadow demon, even when fear surges within him, he will never retreat a single step.

Wu Wei looked up into the distance, where the lights of Qinglu Village were faintly visible in the night. He knew this was just another test he was facing in this world. As he grew stronger, he would encounter even more powerful and bizarre evil spirits, and perhaps even the legendary high-level evil lords.

But he wasn't afraid.

The iron spear in his hand gleamed coldly, the Yang Flame Blood Essence surged within him, and the primal power of the Pivot quietly nourished his bone marrow. His path of spearmanship had only just begun; every battle, every kill, added sharpness to his spear.

"There are still more evil spirits, more challenges..." Wu Wei gripped his iron spear tightly, his eyes sharp as a blade. "Come on, my spear, Wu Wei's, has been waiting for someone to test its power!"

He turned and continued walking towards Qinglu Village. His footsteps echoed through the woods, but this time they carried no hesitation or fear, only unwavering resolve and determination. A night breeze blew through the locust grove, bringing a touch of coolness, but it could no longer shake the burning passion and sharpness in his heart.