Hello, is this a letter addressed to Demon Fortress?

Carlyle casually placed an old-fashioned hourglass on the ground, and the fine sand began to slip silently down.

This is a tool he specially made for training his assassins.

The passing of every grain of sand is precise.

"Let's begin."

Carlyle closed his eyes, his tone flat.

"Let the saint appear before me alive before the hourglass runs out."

"Or, watch me pierce through her chest."

"Let me see what you're capable of."

He suddenly seemed to remember something, and a playful smile appeared on his lips.

He mentioned a title he had overheard during his investigation of Lin Gui.

"Don't disappoint me... Black Feather Raven."

After saying that, he closed his eyes and stood still, as if giving Lin Gui ample time to "prepare".

Lin Gui did not hesitate and made a thought.

[Night Veil] was used at full power, completely enveloping herself and Saintess Eve.

The two figures and their presence vanished instantly from Carlyle's physical perception.

Even with his eyes closed, Carrey's vast physical perception, belonging to the legendary upper class, had already covered the entire mine.

In his normal perception, Lin Gui and the Holy Maiden seemed to have been erased from this world.

This concealment is not simply a visual deception.

Instead, it almost perfectly concealed the fluctuations of energy, the ripples of magic, sound, temperature, and even the refraction of light and the flow of air.

He had only heard about it from Warren before; he knew that Lin Gui possessed a rather excellent concealment magic.

Now that I've experienced it for myself, I realize it's more than just "outstanding".

This level of concealment is no less than the secret techniques mastered by many legendary assassins who specialize in this field.

It's even slightly better than his stealth techniques.

Most importantly, the forest ghost who used it was merely a high-level mid-rank mage.

This only proves that the magic itself is not of a high rank.

The mana consumed is enough for a high-ranking mid-level mage to sustain.

The existence of this magic is nothing short of a miracle!

"Truly...amazing magic," Carrey couldn't help but admire in his heart.

But then, his focus shifted slightly, and he caught a trace on another level.

In his "field of vision".

In the distance, a relatively clear, pale blue soul stands out like a lighthouse in the night.

And around her, there were hundreds of extremely faint ones scattered around.

But they are also tiny specks of light that belong to the fluctuations of the soul.

"Hair?" Carly immediately understood why Caesar had failed to kill the saintess.

"It's indeed a good way to disrupt the Soul-Slaying Blade's soul-locking ability, but unfortunately..."

He slowly opened his eyes, a hint of regret flashing in them.

"Unfortunately, for someone like me who can sense souls..."

"This level of interference is pointless."

He allowed Lin Gui to hide and move for a full five seconds.

They did not pull out the Soul-Slaying Blade stuck in the ground.

He casually pulled out an ordinary, thin-bladed throwing knife from the leather sheath at his waist.

Then, he casually flicked his wrist.

"call out!"

The moment the throwing knife disappeared, the air was torn apart with a sharp crack.

A cold light, almost invisible to the naked eye, instantly swept across the entire mine.

It shot with unparalleled precision into his soul's perception.

That is the core outline of the saintess's soul.

"boom!!"

A huge hole suddenly blasted open in the rock wall of the distant mine.

The gravel poured down like a torrential rain.

Immediately afterwards, a piercing scream, belonging to a young girl, came from where the smoke and dust were billowing.

Carlyle's smile faded, replaced by a sense of listless disappointment.

"It seems... I overestimated you."

He took a seemingly casual step forward.

The next instant, they appeared nearly a hundred meters away, right where the screams were coming from.

The smoke and dust slowly dissipated.

As Carlyle looked at the scene before him, the all-controlling expression on his face froze instantly.

Instead, he was met with a rare moment of stunned silence.

There was no saint's body there, not even a trace of blood.

Only a torn clay figurine, its hair mixed with its own, lay forlornly in the pile of rubble.

"A hair doll... cannot possibly confuse my soul tracking."

Carlyle frowned.

The amount of soul contained in different parts of the human body is different.

He is not a master in the realm of the soul.

However, it is still possible to distinguish the difference between the hair and the weight of one's soul.

"unless……"

He crouched down and reached out to tear off the dollop.

My fingertips touched some still warm, viscous liquid inside.

He brought his finger to his nose and smelled it.

It was blood.

The blank look on Carrey's face instantly transformed into an even more fervent and excited smile; he almost burst out laughing.

"Good lad!!!"

He was now absolutely certain that Lin Gui could see souls!

In the realm of the soul, they are far more powerful than I am.

At the very least, he couldn't create a temporary doll that could rival the original soul using blood.

One who can see souls and knows soul magic.

A monster with such top-tier concealment magic!

"I really... want you more and more!"

The light in Carlyle's eyes was almost greedy.

He decided to stop "playing around" and go all out.

He completely brought Lin Gui under his command.

With a light step, Carlyle disappeared into the shadows.

And in his soul's tracing.

At this moment, five targets with almost equal intensity of the Saintess's soul fluctuations appeared simultaneously throughout the entire mine.

They are moving strangely in different directions!

"Ha, a death throes," Carlyle sneered.

The next moment, his figure flickered like a ghost throughout the mine.

"Pfft!" "Sizzle!" "Bang!"

Almost at the same time.

Five "clay figures" are scattered in different corners of the mine.

They didn't even last a second before being precisely torn to shreds by an invisible attack.

They are far apart and arranged in a tricky way.

However, with the absolute speed and perception of those who rise to the top, it's practically useless.

On the other side, in a more remote corner of the mine.

Lin Gui stopped what he was doing.

He just used the [Soil Loosening] spell to gather the loose soil on the ground.

Then, using the [Growth-Inducing Technique], several tough grass stems were induced to grow.

The clay was roughly bound together like ropes to form a crooked, palm-sized human-shaped clay figurine.

Saint Eve leaned weakly against the rock wall.

His face was ashen white from excessive blood loss, and his breathing was so weak it was almost imperceptible.

She managed to lift her heavy eyelids.

Looking at Lin Gui, who had suddenly stopped, a hint of confusion appeared in his purple eyes.

Lin Gui turned his head and met her questioning gaze, a faint smile curving his lips.

"Good news, the decoys used to lure people in Mine No. 2 have all been dealt with."

Eve tilted her head slightly, her voice as soft as a whisper.

"Is this... good news?"

The removal of the decoy means the enemy is closing in, isn't that bad news?

Lin Gui smiled but offered no explanation.

The saintess did not have a deep understanding of soul magic.

Naturally, the key information revealed behind this cannot be seen.

That means Carlyle's soul tracking and perception abilities are not strong.

It can only determine the weight of the soul.

It's far from reaching the level of the [Eye of the Netherworld] he just acquired.

It is a state of being able to clearly perceive the specific form, size, and every detail of the soul.

If Carlyle can really do it.

He wouldn't destroy those clay figures.

Instead, it will directly follow the trajectory of the disturbed soul.

They accurately targeted their true hiding place.

Within the human body, the main carriers of soul power are 3.

Hair, bones, blood.

Blood carries the greatest weight of the soul.

Carlyle believed that he had used a great deal of blood to create a clay idol with the same proportion of the saintess's soul.

Actually, that's not the case.

Lin Gui only mixed 5 drops of blood into those clay idols.

The soul that Carlyle saw was actually the saint's own.

Before he arrived, Lin Gui had already reduced her to an unbelievable level by bleeding her.

The saint's body contained approximately 4000 milliliters of blood, but now less than 100 milliliters remain.

Lin Gui's gaze returned to the Holy Maiden.

Under the vision of the [Eye of the Underworld], Eve's soul's faint light had dimmed to its absolute limit.

In reality, the Holy Maiden is now practically a dead person.

If it weren't for her own superb healing abilities that kept her alive, she would already be dead.

It was precisely because of this life-threatening state that her soul was weaker than ever before.

After leaving Carlyle's sight, Lin Gui released the remaining blood from the Saintess's body once more.

At this point, her soul was smaller than the clay idol.

It was also far less of a soul weight than when Carly first saw the saintess.

The next moment, Lin Gui's mind stirred slightly, and the demonic power within his body spread out like threads.

In an instant, hundreds and thousands of clay figures throughout the mine pit seemed to be pulled by invisible threads.

It trembled slightly, then drifted and gathered around him.

"Are you... leaving?"

The saint asked in a barely audible voice, which was almost swallowed by the dust.

Lin Gui nodded without the slightest hesitation.

"I have to lure him out."

Time was of the essence, and he didn't have time to explain further.

He quickly activated the temporary magic circle he had set up to conceal the saintess, [Night Veil].

As his understanding of the "Night Veil" reached its pinnacle.

Even without personal maintenance, this simplified concealment array can operate independently for a period of time.

Just as Lin Gui turned around to leave.

A cold and weak body suddenly hugged him gently from behind.

Eve managed to raise her arms and wrap them around his waist.

She gently pressed her pale, paper-thin cheek against his back, then released it.

She opened her purple eyes, which now seemed particularly unfocused.

His eyes held an emotion that Lin Gui could not decipher.

She looked up at him, giving him a faint smile that seemed to hold a thousand words, and said softly.

"be safe."

Lin Gui was stunned.

There wasn't even a chance to react.

Eve's figure had completely blended into the shadows created by the [Dark Night Veil Wall] and disappeared.

Almost simultaneously, a chilling sense of crisis arose.

Without a second thought, Lin Gui unleashed a burst of demonic power within his body.

The levitation spell was activated, and carrying a bunch of clay figures, it drifted away in the opposite direction from where the saintess was hiding.

The very next second after he left the spot.

A figure appeared silently in the spot where he had just been standing.

Carlyle has arrived.

The legendary assassin did not immediately give chase.

He simply stood there, his dim old eyes slightly narrowed.

His sharp gaze seemed to penetrate the rock strata.

In his unique soul perception.

Countless delicate "lines" belonging to the fluctuations of the saintess's soul.

It extends from every corner of the mine, passing through countless extremely faint points of soul light.

Finally, the point was pointed to the kid who had just flown away.

Most of these light spots are as small as dust.

It's those hairs buried in different corners.

Only from one direction did the soul fluctuations coming from were slightly stronger.

However, it was still very weak, and did not match the size of the soul that Carlyle sensed from the Saintess's true form.

"A diversionary tactic?"

Sensing Lin Gui's undisguised movements, Kaire hesitated for a moment.

The opponent did not use that amazing concealment magic.

Instead, it was exposed naked to its own senses, moving out of the mine?

Such an obvious move clearly indicates an attempt to lure him out.

But... here, Carlyle did not sense the existence of a matching soul.

The saintess... is not here.

A disdainful sneer flickered across Carlyle's lips.

Forget it, as long as we capture that brat, the Holy Maiden will naturally come out later.

Without that magical protection, there is no need for soul tracking.

Once her senses cover the entire mine, she has nowhere to hide.

Without the slightest hesitation, he swiftly pursued the path Lin Gui had taken.

On the other side, with the blessing of fully proficient levitation skills.

Lin Gui flew at a rapid speed and soon arrived at the entrance.

His purpose was very clear.

Lure Carrey out of the mine and into the more open wilderness.

Use these clay figures to buy time.

He was certain that the other party would "cooperate" with this almost blatant diversionary tactic.

the reason is simple:

First, there is no soul quantity in the mine that matches the Saintess's.

Second, Lin Gui knows the art of levitation.

If we really let him enter the wilderness without any hindrance.

Using the [Levitation] skill, one can continuously ascend until reaching a certain height.

Even legendary assassins find it difficult to reach above the clouds with their attacks.

He only needs to hold out for 3 minutes before the game is over.

Carlyle is clearly aware of this as well.

Previously, Lin Gui had considered taking the Holy Maiden and running away together.

With her replenishing magic from behind, they could maintain high-altitude flight for a long time.

Perhaps we can gradually break free from that soul-searching that uses hair as a medium.

But he can't.

Doing that would completely enrage Carlyle.

The moment he takes off and gathers his strength, he will likely face a merciless and decisive blow from his opponent.

Moreover, the area above the clouds... is itself a taboo.

It's unclear when exactly, but the high altitude has become a forbidden zone for living beings.

Without exception, all the mages who attempted to use levitation to pass through the clouds mysteriously disappeared.

Lin Gui didn't know the reason, nor did he want to risk his life to verify that terrible rumor.

At this moment, he was manipulating his staff, leading the pile of clay figures used as bait.

It shot out of the mine like an arrow, pushing its speed to the limit.

Behind them, a continuous roar came from the depths of the mine.

That's Carlyle clearing the road.

Or, to put it another way, to clear the traps that the rebels had previously set up in an attempt to stop Lin Gui.

Lin Gui was fully aware of the traps set by the rebels.

In a mere second, he activated the trap at the entrance, designed to block people, in an attempt to hinder Carrey's astonishing speed.

However, this obstacle is negligible.

Lin Gui rushed out of the mine pit in less than five seconds.

A chilling killing intent pursued him from behind.

He could even feel the air being torn apart at high speed, creating sharp fluctuations.

Carlyle caught up, and his speed was beyond imagination!

At the critical moment.

Lin Gui's mind raced as he manipulated a clay puppet mixed with the saintess's blood.

It crashed violently into an inconspicuous crevice in the rock to its side.

That area was the untriggered area of ​​the Binding Array and Explosive Runes that the rebel trap team had previously laid.

"boom!"

The moment the clay figure struck the rock wall, a blinding burst of magical light erupted.

Countless energy tentacles appeared out of thin air, coiling around the blurry black figure that followed closely behind.

Immediately afterwards, the buried explosive runes were detonated in a chain reaction.

The flames and shockwaves temporarily engulfed that area.

Succeeded?

No.

Lin Gui didn't even have time to feel fortunate.

Then we saw the raging energy turbulence being torn apart by an invisible hand.

The torrent that could engulf the extraordinary warriors was nothing to Carlyle.

He stepped out from the crowd, completely unharmed.

But for the first time, a hint of urgency flashed in those dim old eyes.

There are only 2 minutes left.

And that's how it got delayed.

Lin Gui finally broke out of the mine pit completely.

They plunged headlong into the real wilderness.

The pale moonlight shone on the desolate, undulating hills.

The night wind howled, whipping up dust and withered grass from the ground, making a whistling sound.

In the distance, the twisted, withered tree shadows resembled menacing monsters.

Further away, the faint, low roars of an unknown monster could be heard.

Here, the complex terrain of the mine no longer obstructs the view, and the space is open.

For Lin Gui, it also means... nowhere to hide.