The black shoulder pad had shattered, exposing the flesh underneath. Yet there was neither crimson tissue or blood, only a jet-black expanse infested with writhing roots and soft shoots. The roots and shoots grew rapidly, weaving and regenerating.0

Despite resembling something out of a nightmare, they radiated incredibly potent vitality. The Fengdu soldier was decked out in spirit artifacts of the North Yin tradition and wielded gloom qi. Who could have guessed that his core cultivation technique was the Greenwood Flourish Wither Mantra?1

This was clearly a secret technique—an arcanum. The ethereal threads of life and death transformed into a fist of raw power aimed at An Jing. Still shaking off the aftereffects of the ghostly shade's intrusion, the soldier moved with some stiffness. However, his punch launched with the explosive...0