noveltune Chapter 86 The Shadow Leopard's Den: Each Member Performs Their Duties
Chapter 86 The Shadow Leopard's Den: Each Member Performs Their Duties
Black Wind Ridge
The night was as dark as ink, pressing heavily over Black Wind Ridge.
Deep within Black Wind Ridge, the cliff face appears as if cleaved by the sword of an ancient deity, its sheer rock walls barren and devoid of vegetation. Wind rushes up from the bottom of the canyon, its mournful sound like the whispered weeping of countless spirits. Moonlight cannot penetrate this place; only in the occasional moments when the clouds part, a pale light briefly illuminates the rocks eroded by wind and rain over millions of years.
Below the precipice, vines cascaded down from the cliff top like a waterfall, some as thick as an adult's arm, others as thin as snakes, intertwining densely to conceal a crack in the rock face. If it weren't for the stench of blood, no one would have noticed that there was a cave here.
The smell of blood was very strong.
It wasn't fresh blood, but blood that had been sitting for a long time and had begun to rot, mixed with the acrid smell of burnt animal fur and some indescribable, chilling aura—it was evil, a kind of presence that made you feel cold from the very marrow of your bones.
Chu Fan crouched behind the vines, parted a few branches with his hand to reveal a narrow gap. He glanced inside, then quickly withdrew, turning back and whispering, "This is it."
His voice was very low, almost a whisper. In the stillness of the night, any sound could be detected by what was inside. His fingers trembled slightly, not from fear, but from the cold—the temperature here was at least ten degrees lower than outside, and the air was damp and sticky, as if invisible moisture clung to his skin, impossible to shake off.
"Judging from the temperature and smell, there are at least two Tier 4 Shadow Leopards inside," Chu Fan said, pointing towards the cave entrance. "Can you smell it? That rusty smell is the blood of the Shadow Leopards. There's also a burnt smell; they recently ate prey that was on fire."
He paused, his brows furrowing even more deeply.
"Moreover, I can sense a very strange energy inside, unlike that of an ordinary ferocious beast. It's not a fluctuation of spiritual power, nor is it the power of blood and qi, it's... something else. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it's there, in the deepest part of the cave, like a closed eye."
Su Muyue stood beside Chu Fan, holding the Demon-Slaying Array Flag in her hand. The flag was a magical artifact passed down from her grandfather; the flagpole was carved from century-old peach wood, and the flag itself was woven from silver silkworm silk, embroidered with dense runes. At this moment, the array flag trembled slightly in her hand, like a startled snake.
She closed her eyes, channeled a wisp of spiritual energy into the array flag, and felt the echoes emanating from the depths of the cave.
"That's right. There's an aura of evil."
She opened her eyes, her gaze grave.
"These Shadow Leopards must be controlled by the evil race. If they were just ordinary ferocious beasts, the Demon-Slaying Array Flag wouldn't react. The only things that could make them tremble are the evil energy and Soul-Controlling Gu of the evil race. I can feel that disgusting, worm-like thing wriggling inside the Shadow Leopard's brain."
Lin Chen's face darkened. He was twenty-one years old this year, but he had already carried out more than a dozen missions on the border and had seen many of the evil race's methods. He had heard of the Soul-Controlling Gu—it was one of the most insidious methods of the evil race, implanting Gu worms into the bodies of ferocious beasts to control their minds and turn them into tireless, painless killing machines.
"Soul-Controlling Gu?" He repeated the name, his brows furrowing into a deep knot. "The evil race has already begun using Soul-Controlling Gu to control ferocious beasts?"
He looked into the dark cave, his voice carrying a hint of worry that he himself didn't realize.
"If they deploy Soul-Controlling Gu on a large scale, controlling the ferocious beasts along the border and causing them to attack humans instead... then our beast defense line will be in danger. At that time, we will not only have to face the evil race, but also the controlled beast tide."
No one responded.
Su Ling'er instinctively gripped the medicine pouch at her waist, her knuckles turning white. She had seen ferocious beasts controlled by the Soul-Controlling Gu—those creatures had red eyes, like two burning flames, black saliva dripping from their mouths, and their fur peeling off in patches, revealing rotting flesh beneath. They felt no pain, no fear, and no retreat. A low-level ferocious beast controlled by the Soul-Controlling Gu could be more troublesome than a normal high-level ferocious beast.
Leng Feng stood at the very front of the group, less than ten steps from the cave entrance. He didn't look back at anyone, his gaze fixed on the impenetrable darkness deep within the cave. His hand gripped the hilt of his battle sword, his knuckles white from the force. The sword was one he had received from the military; it was three feet three inches long, weighed thirty-six pounds, and had a thin blood groove on its blade that gleamed coldly in the moonlight.
"Now is not the time to think about that." His voice wasn't loud, but every word was like a nail driven into the air. "First, take care of these two Shadow Leopards and get the mission points. As for the Soul Control Gu, report it to the military when we get back and let the higher-ups handle it."
He turned his head slightly, and the moonlight shone on his profile, making the old scar that stretched from his brow bone to his chin shine.
"What we need to do now is to get out of here alive."
Lin Chen took a deep breath, suppressing the jumbled worries in his mind. Leng Feng was right. Thinking about those things now was useless; they needed to get through the immediate hurdle first.
He drew his Star Sword from his waist, its blade reflecting a cold, silvery light in the moonlight. His face was reflected on the blade—a young, taut face, filled with murderous intent. He quickly scanned the surrounding terrain, his mind racing, forming a complete tactical plan in less than ten breaths.
"Okay, let's divide the work and work together."
His voice became calm and decisive, unlike that of a young man in his early twenties, but more like that of a veteran who had fought on the battlefield for many years.
"Leng Feng, you hold off the main leopard head-on. Your defense is the highest, you can withstand the attack. Don't engage in a direct confrontation, just stall for time and buy us some time."
"Chu Fan, set up a killing formation at the cave entrance. Make it dense, with both sword energy formations and binding formations to prevent them from escaping. Remember, don't leave any blind spots—if they break out, it will be difficult to catch them again."
"Ling'er, use the Blazing Flame Pill to create smoke. Don't try to harm them, just try to disrupt their vision. The Shadow Leopards can see everything in the dark, but in the face of bright light and thick smoke, they are no different from blind people."
"Mu Yue, set up the trapping formation. Don't get too close to the cave entrance. Step back five paces and set up behind Leng Feng. When the main leopard charges out, trap it. Your formation is the key to this battle—if we can't trap it, all our plans will be in vain."
"I'm in charge of finding the opportunity to deliver the fatal blow. The main leopard's weakness is the white mark on its forehead, which is where the Soul-Controlling Gu is located. As long as we hit that spot, the Soul-Controlling Gu will die, and the main leopard will be crippled."
"clear!"
The four responded in unison, their voices echoing briefly in the empty valley before being swallowed by the night wind.
No one hesitated, no one asked a single question. They had worked together on so many missions that their mutual trust didn't need words to confirm it.
Chu Fan was the first to move.
He took out eight array flags from his storage bag, each about the size of a palm, with different runes embroidered on them in silver thread—some in the shape of swords, some in the shape of chains, and some in the shape of flames. He squatted on either side of the cave entrance, clearing away the rubble and dead branches with his hands, and inserted the array flags one by one into the ground. The position of each flag was precisely calculated, with the spacing accurate to the inch and the angle accurate to the degree.
On the first side, three steps to the left of the cave entrance, is the lock formation flag.
On the second side, three steps to the right of the cave entrance, is the sword formation flag.
On the third side, three feet directly above the cave entrance, is a sealing flag.
As he planted the flags, he activated the runes on them with his spiritual power. Each time a flag was activated, it would briefly glow, as if a flame were burning inside. After all eight flags were planted, Chu Fan stepped back a few paces, formed hand seals, and uttered a low shout: "Activate the formation!"
The array flags on the ground lit up simultaneously, and golden array patterns spread and intertwined across the ground, forming a semi-circular killing array. Those golden patterns seemed alive, flowing slowly and radiating a chilling sense of oppression. The moment he activated the array, countless sword energies would shoot out from the array patterns, shredding anything that stepped into it to pieces.
Su Muyue set up a beast-trapping formation five steps inside the cave entrance. She didn't use formation flags, but formation plates—palm-sized, round copper plates covered with densely engraved formation patterns.
She crouched down and embedded the three array plates into the ground one by one, drawing lines connecting the array patterns between them with her fingers. Her movements were light and steady, like embroidery, each stroke precise to the millimeter. Silver spiritual energy flowed from her fingertips, leaving glowing marks on the soil, like silver snakes winding across the ground.
After setting up the Beast Trapping Formation, she stood up and stepped outside. The formation patterns on the ground were faintly visible, almost invisible to the naked eye—this was a characteristic of the Beast Trapping Formation; it was invisible when not activated, but took shape instantly when activated. The Shadow Leopard would not notice anything unusual before stepping on it.
Su Ling'er took out more than a dozen Blazing Flame Pills from her pill bag and held them in her palms. The pills were red, with a layer of fine lines on their surface, resembling miniature volcanoes. She could feel the spiritual energy inside the pills surging, as if a fire was trapped inside, ready to burst through the pill walls at any moment.
She took a deep breath and tightened her fingers slightly to prevent the pill from rolling off.
Leng Feng stood motionless at the cave entrance.
His eyes had adjusted to the darkness inside the cave. By the faint moonlight filtering through the cave entrance, he could vaguely see two crimson lights deep within the cave—the eyes of the Shadow Leopard, coldly staring towards the cave entrance.
He gripped his sword tightly, the hemp rope wrapped around the hilt already soaked with sweat.
"I'm going in," he said.
"Be careful." Lin Chen patted his shoulder.
Leng Feng did not answer. He took a deep breath and stepped into the cave.