Chapter 240: Phantom Reflection

Chapter 240: Phantom Reflection

Even if the Legend was injured, Ji Xinghuo didn't dare to be careless. Having two more teammates would be more beneficial than harmful.

Although Xia Qingyu and Misha's strengths weren't considered the pinnacle among superpowereds, they were not to be underestimated either, and they would definitely be of help in pursuing He Yan.

"How rich are we talking about?" Xia Qingyu asked as he climbed to his feet.

Misha also looked over.

"Dozens of Red Emperor Blood Crystals, possibly a hundred," Ji Xinghuo replied.

The leather pouch had obviously fallen from Chief Gu Luoke's body. Yesterday, when the various armies gathered at the camp, He Yan and several other Highland leaders immediately handed over the Blood Crystals they had obtained to Gu Luoke.

In the Blood Rage Tribe, Chief Gu Luoke held all the power, including the distribution of the Red Emperor Blood Crystals, and no one dared to disobey him.

They were supposed to distribute the crystals after winning the battle, but now he was dead.

Just the Blood Crystals handed over by He Yan numbered more than thirty. Combined with the crystals from the other routes, there was a high probability that there were over a hundred in total!

"Over a hundred Red Emperor Blood Crystals!"

Xia Qingyu and Misha's breathing quickened, and their eyes shone with greed.

"Who do we have to kill?" Xia Qingyu asked, trying to maintain a shred of rationality.

"He Yan," Ji Xinghuo replied without elaborating further. He urged them on, saying, "We don't have much time and must decide now. If you're with me, we need to catch up immediately. If you're afraid of the danger, then let's part ways here and meet again at Cliff's End if fate allows."

Before Xia Qingyu could respond, Misha shouted, "I'm in!"

Without another word, she swung her axe at a Highland warrior who had just emerged from the river, stealing his horse that had made it across the river with great difficulty. She then jumped onto it.

Xia Qingyu hesitated.

Ji Xinghuo didn't waste time waiting for him and urged Qinghong to run.

Misha rode after him on her newly acquired horse.

Watching their retreating backs, Xia Qingyu grit his teeth and muttered, "Wealth and honor are found in peril! Don't you dare screw me over, kid."

As he spoke, he hurried after them and leaped onto Misha's horse.

"I knew you'd come," Misha said, glancing back at him with a smile.

But Xia Qingyu's face was serious as he said, "I've seen too many people die because of greed. I hope this time, it won't be our turn."

He spoke to Misha, but his eyes were on Ji Xinghuo.

"You can leave if you want," Ji Xinghuo replied indifferently.

Of course, he understood the danger of the situation, but at the same time, he was also confident. Legends were nothing new to him; he had already killed two of them. He Yan's strength might be formidable, but compared to the other two Legends, there wasn't a qualitative gap, especially now that he was injured.

Xia Qingyu didn't know what Ji Xinghuo was thinking, and he could only shake his head helplessly. However, his heart was burning with anticipation.

"We need to speed up," Ji Xinghuo said.

According to his electromagnetic sensing, He Yan was already more than four thousand meters away. If they didn't hurry, they might exceed the five-kilometer radius of his electromagnetic sensing.

Qinghong accelerated, and up ahead were several Highland soldiers riding away on their warhorses.

As they drew closer, Ji Xinghuo raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

Crackle!

A thick bolt of lightning shot out.

The Level-5 Thunderclap struck the nearest Highland soldier, and the lightning jumped and twisted, turning several of them into charred corpses.

However, the warhorses beneath them were unharmed.

Xia Qingyu and Misha were startled. They didn't understand why Ji Xinghuo had suddenly killed these people until they saw that two of the Highland soldiers were holding spears, using their bodies to block the attack, intending harm.

"Take their horses," Ji Xinghuo said casually, as if he had just done something insignificant.

These Highland soldiers' six-legged warhorses were clearly of better quality, and since they hadn't crossed the river, the horses still had ample stamina.

The two of them each took a six-legged warhorse and continued on their way.

When they had almost caught up with He Yan, Ji Xinghuo slowed Qinghong to maintain a distance of about three thousand meters.

After chasing for a moment, Ji Xinghuo suddenly turned his head and looked up.

"What is it?" Xia Qingyu asked, but before he could get an answer, a huge and blurry shadow passed overhead, bringing with it a terrifying aura that enveloped them before disappearing ahead.

"Mist Shadow Dragon!" Ji Xinghuo exclaimed, his face filled with shock. "Is this Dragon Master also pursuing He Yan?"

"I don't know," Ji Xinghuo replied, unable to be sure.

On the battlefield, the Mist Shadow Dragon had been blocked by the fearless Blood Demon Bats and couldn't unleash its full power on the Blood Rage Tribe's army. When Chief Gu Luoke died, the Blood Demon Bats immediately lost their fighting spirit and scattered under the leadership of several Legends.

The Mist Shadow Dragon didn't pursue them and had disappeared into the sky.

And now, it had suddenly reappeared.

Ji Xinghuo's gaze followed the dragon's movement. Others might not be able to see the Mist Shadow Dragon, but in his electromagnetic sensing, he could easily locate it.

Soon, the Mist Shadow Dragon flew above the group of fleeing Highland soldiers and circled them once before diving down and breathing a blast of dragon's breath.

There were hundreds of Highland soldiers, and as soon as the Mist Shadow Dragon appeared, they scattered in all directions like a frightened flock. The dragon's breath swept through, killing over a hundred unfortunate souls.

However, He Yan was not among them.

He fled with a group of more than twenty Highland soldiers, not daring to look back.

The Mist Shadow Dragon soared higher, turning back to continue its pursuit of the Highland soldiers, but not the group that He Yan was with.

He Yan's disguise was excellent, and he managed to restrain himself from taking action, so the Dragon Master did not discover him.

The Mist Shadow Dragon eliminated several groups of fleeing Highland soldiers but still could not find He Yan. By then, He Yan had already escaped far beyond the range of its breath attack. It circled twice in the sky before finally giving up the chase and setting its sights on another group of Highland stragglers, disappearing into the horizon.

"It's finally gone."

Ji Xinghuo gazed in the direction of the dragon's departure, a sense of relief washing over him.

If the Mist Shadow Dragon had found He Yan and engaged in battle, with so many powerful beings around, the chances of him reaping the benefits would have been slim to none.

It would be best to take down He Yan in a place without any interruptions.

His electromagnetic sensing remained locked onto the target.

"Let's go."

Ji Xinghuo urged Qinghong to change direction, trailing behind He Yan while maintaining a safe distance to avoid detection.

They continued the pursuit for several hours.

The trio had traveled far from the Red River Giant Peak, heading eastward for over two hundred kilometers.

This route led back to the Blood Rage Tribe, but it was not the path they had taken before. They bypassed the gatherings of the Biao tribes and other fleeing Highland soldiers, occasionally passing through valleys between mountains, encountering fewer and fewer people as they ventured into desolate lands.

There were many times when Xia Qingyu and Misha doubted if Ji Xinghuo had lost their quarry.

They never caught sight of anyone ahead of them.

However, not long after their doubts surfaced, they would always spot signs of someone having passed by.

"There are others," Ji Xinghuo suddenly said.

"Really?" Xia Qingyu exclaimed in surprise, "We've come so far, and there are still others who can keep up?"

"They can fly," Ji Xinghuo replied.

In fact, he was surprised as well.

It was a group of five, and they were all familiar—none other than Huang Yanlan and her four teammates. They had somehow acquired a Blood Demon Bat and were using a superpower equipment similar to the "Phantom Orb" to conceal their entire team as they swiftly closed in from behind.

With her dragon-like vision, Huang Yanlan had spotted Ji Xinghuo's team from beyond the range of his electromagnetic sensing.

Ji Xinghuo halted and waited.

Amidst the howling wind, the Blood Demon Bat descended from the sky, revealing its presence.

"It's you!" Huang Yanlan looked down at the trio, her face betraying her surprise. "What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice laced with suspicion.

Ji Xinghuo countered with a question of his own, "Are you here to pursue He Yan?"

He guessed that Huang Yanlan was relying on her sense of smell to track their target, but he wasn't sure if it was her own ability or that of one of her teammates.

At the mention of He Yan, the expressions of the five on the Blood Demon Bat changed. Huang Yanlan's four teammates gripped their weapons tightly, their faces filled with wariness and a hint of hostility. Despite Ji Xinghuo having saved two of them before, in this moment, that debt of gratitude meant little.

The atmosphere between the two groups suddenly grew tense.

Huang Yanlan fixed her gaze on Ji Xinghuo and said, "Let's join forces. If we succeed, we'll split the spoils evenly."

Ji Xinghuo's eyes swept over her teammates.

While Huang Yanlan was indeed powerful, the other four were far inferior. Facing He Yan, their chances of survival were slim. She seemed to be aware of this, and he wondered what method she had used to convince them to take on this risky endeavor.

"Everyone will get what they deserve."

Ji Xinghuo flatly refused the offer of cooperation.

"Hmph." Huang Yanlan started to get angry, but then she noticed the invisible thorn in Ji Xinghuo's hand, remembering his exceptional marksmanship and strength. Realizing that her teammates might perish before she could even reach him, she forcibly suppressed her anger.

"Fine, then. Let's each do our best, and I hope we won't become enemies." With that, she signaled for the Blood Demon Bat to take off, concealing their presence as they flew in the direction of He Yan.

"Why not work together? With more people, we'd have a better chance of succeeding," Xia Qingyu questioned.

"They're not worthy," Ji Xinghuo replied bluntly.

Unless Huang Yanlan had some powerful trump card up her sleeve, sending her and her four teammates to face He Yan would be akin to sending them to their deaths.

Xia Qingyu and Misha were left speechless. In their eyes, Huang Yanlan, the Dragon Warrior, was already incredibly formidable.

Yet, in Ji Xinghuo's eyes, they weren't even worthy of collaboration.

"Let's go."

Ji Xinghuo urged Qinghong to quicken her pace, as Huang Yanlan had taken the lead and might alert their target.

Even if he wanted to be the opportunist, he had to arrive in time.

From then on, Ji Xinghuo tracked two targets simultaneously—one was He Yan and his group of over twenty Highland soldiers ahead of them, and the other was Huang Yanlan in the sky above, who remained vigilant, always keeping a safe distance from He Yan while concealing her presence.

"What do you mean?" Xia Qingyu asked, not understanding.

"He's covering his tracks," Ji Xinghuo replied.

Ahead, as Ji Xinghuo and his companions rounded a mountain ridge, they came upon a lake nestled among the mountains. The lake was surrounded by open grasslands, creating a picturesque scene with lush aquatic plants. However, on the lake's shore, a brutal slaughter was taking place. He Yan, wielding a battle axe and a sharp blade, had launched a sudden attack on members of his clan who were drinking by the water.

More than twenty Highland soldiers lay dead, with only a handful still fleeing in different directions.

He Yan easily caught up to them, killing each one mercilessly.

"Ah..."

The last Highland soldier's scream was cut short as He Yan, holding a bloodied battle axe, turned and faced the sky. With a deep, solemn voice, he said, "I know you've been following me from behind, coveting the Red Emperor Blood Crystals. Show yourselves and let me see if you have the skills to take them."

He reached into his waist pouch and pulled out a leather bag, grabbing a handful of blood crystals that shimmered a brilliant red in the palm of his hand under the sunlight.

"Red Emperor Blood Crystals!"

Xia Qingyu and Misha, who were lying on the ground with only half of their heads exposed, stared wide-eyed at the sight.

Just the blood crystals in He Yan's hand numbered more than thirty!

These were the most sought-after treasures on the Bloodsoaked Highland.

A single crystal could be exchanged for a two-star superpower equipment, and possessing just a few would be enough to ensure years of cultivation without worrying about resources.

"Don't be impulsive," Ji Xinghuo whispered.

His electromagnetic sensing was silent and invisible, a passive form of perception that he had kept well-hidden during their journey. Now, with the distance between them, he was certain that He Yan had not detected their presence.

Instead, He Yan had sensed Huang Yanlan's presence.

Indeed, Huang Yanlan revealed herself in the sky, descending with her Blood Demon Bat a thousand meters away from He Yan. She and her teammates landed on the ground.

"It's you..." He Yan looked at the five people in the distance with disdain. "You dare to covet the blood crystals? You're courting death."

He put the blood crystals back into the leather bag and secured it safely.

Then, he stomped the ground forcefully.

Boom!

The grass by the lake exploded, and He Yan shot forward like an arrow, rushing towards the five people.

Huang Yanlan and her teammates had already spread out in a formation. Huang Yanlan and the Martial Artist were at the forefront, followed by Xie Fengke and Ying Wu, with Zhi Wu bringing up the rear. Huang Yanlan's eyes blazed with a fiery light, her body adorned with dragon scales, and she brandished a large sword, unfazed by the approaching enemy.

The distance between the two groups closed rapidly.

Ying Wu loosed the first arrow, aiming directly for He Yan's throat, but he didn't even bother to dodge, allowing the arrow to strike his body.

The Bloodthirsty Blazing Fire formed a layer of fiery protection around him, causing the arrow to shatter into fragments that turned to ash. Xie Fengke's massive air blade faced a similar fate, unable to cut through the flames, and the poison it carried failed to have any effect, as if it were merely tickling He Yan.

Several arrows failed to pierce the flames, and He Yan was already within a hundred meters of them.

Huang Yanlan let out a loud battle cry and charged with her sword.

The Martial Artist followed closely behind her.

Just as the two sides were about to clash, He Yan vanished, only to reappear behind them, but he didn't turn to attack them.

He abruptly halted, and his eyes flashed with a black light.

In an instant.

The shadows beneath Huang Yanlan and her teammates came to life, and beside each of them rose a pitch-black figure, as if formed from viscous darkness. These figures had no facial features, but their silhouettes matched He Yan's exactly, and they wielded battle axes and sharp blades.

"Phantom Reflection!"

Ji Xinghuo, who was observing from a distance, felt a chill run down his spine upon witnessing this scene, and Xia Qingyu exclaimed in surprise.

Phantom Reflection was a super-limit superpower, an extremely rare ability that could create a reflection with half the strength of the original, making it an incredibly versatile ability in group battles.

The user of Phantom Reflection could also swap positions with any of the reflections.

Like shadows, they were elusive and unpredictable.

This was one of the most desired superpowers by both "Evil Spirit" and "Shadow Blade."

Unexpectedly, He Yan, a Highland Fresh Blood Warrior who favored direct combat, had successfully fused with such an unusual species.

Huang Yanlan and her teammates were caught off guard.

Even though the reflections only possessed half of He Yan's strength, they were still formidable opponents. Huang Yanlan and her team frantically tried to counter the menacing shadows that were right beside them.

Several screams echoed.

Apart from Huang Yanlan, her four teammates were no match for the reflections.

The Martial Artist, Xie Fengke, and Zhi Wu were all slain by the reflections with a single strike, unable to put up any resistance. Ying Wu managed to evade the shadows for a few seconds with her agile movements, but she, too, was soon caught and chopped into pieces.

As their targets died, the phantom reflections also vanished.

Only Huang Yanlan managed to repel her reflection.

But before she could catch her breath, He Yan reappeared behind her. Amidst maniacal laughter, his bloodied battle axe, trailing scorching flames, slashed towards her neck.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end