Night of Despair

Chapter 320 - 320 318 grade 2

?Chapter 320: 318 grade 2 Chapter 320: 318 grade 2 Meng Chengshuang originally came here thinking that at the very least Qingchen Temple would have a few Temple Master Level experts to assist her.

But it turns out… Qingchen Temple doesn’t have a single Temple Master Level expert, Yu Hen and Yu Mo used to be, but their Daoist Skills have long since deteriorated.

Among the numerous disciples of Qingchen Temple, the highest level is merely that of a junior elite. They are considered capable in the civilian Magician circles, but in the eyes of the Nine Sects and the Seven Evil Alliance, they really aren’t enough.

Even the recently famous Zheng Rou Taoist, who has begun to distinguish herself, Meng Chengshuang inspected and found that the two so-called high-level experts from the Mud Doll Sect who were defeated by Zheng Rou actually did not reach the Temple Master Level. It’s just that Zheng Rou’s way of dealing with them was rather shocking and sparked a lot of speculation, which is why her reputation has spread.

Of course, Zheng Rou, with such achievements, is considered one of the few capable people in Qingchen Temple and ranks first in the Dao Seed Class.

“The Mud Doll Sect will definitely be planning a bigger counterattack, so this time, I hope all of us can split into two groups,” Meng Chengshuang, who is now the nominal commander-in-chief, said.

As a top expert among those at the Temple Master Level, her spiritual power is much stronger than that of old Taoists like Yu Mo and Yu Hen.

Merely sitting there, she exudes a faintly dazzling brilliance.

“Please speak, Feixia,” Yu Hen immediately said. “You are the strongest, and apart from those left to defend the Taoist Temple, all the other Dao Seed Class disciples will follow your deployment.”

“…” Meng Chengshuang was speechless—such a small number of people, even if all followed her, it wouldn’t make any difference…

Gathering her emotions, she continued, “According to the latest intelligence, most of the Mud Doll Sect’s forces have gathered at the edge of Taizhou in a village called Five Star Town, perhaps trying to stage their last counterattack. Therefore, I plan to lead a team to encircle and suppress them. Meanwhile, the authorities have informed us that a large number of Mud Doll Sect members have gathered at nearby Seagull Beach, and I need you to lead a team there to resolve the situation.”

“Split into two groups? I think it’s feasible,” old Taoist Yu Mo quickly nodded.

Now, Meng Chengshuang is indeed the strongest in Qingchen Temple; wherever she says to strike, they naturally strike.

“And for this group, the leader…” Meng Chengshuang’s gaze moved back and forth between Zheng Ying and Zheng Rou.

Without a doubt, Zheng Ying is more suited for the role, given her rich experience and stable performance in actual combat.

While Zheng Rou has also had explosive achievements, her time in cultivation is indeed too short.

“It will be Zheng Ying in charge,” Meng Chengshuang stated seriously.

“Leave it to me!” Zheng Ying felt a sense of relief, clearly sensing Zheng Rou’s threat to her position, although this threat did not cause any actual harm but merely loss of reputation.

But, to feel threatened by a newcomer who had only cultivated for a few months elicited a somewhat sour feeling in her heart.

Especially since the attention of their seniors often focused on Zheng Rou rather than her as before—whenever she returned, everyone’s attention used to be on her.

This shift made Zheng Ying feel frustrated; she just wanted an opportunity to prove that she was still there, and even if Zheng Rou was exceptionally talented, when it really came down to it, she was still more reliable!

Thinking this, she accepted the command and, unable to help herself, glanced coldly at Yu Hong.

This glance, unbeknownst to her,contained a trace of subtle relaxation—clearly, Meng Chengshuang’s final decision proved that she was still more trustworthy.

Yet, her look was met with a gentle smile from Yu Hong.

There was no dissatisfaction, annoyance, or anger that she had anticipated, but rather a casual indifference mixed with gentleness.

This made Zheng Ying feel an even greater burn within her.

The things she cared about, seemingly did not matter at all to the other party!

After the meeting, everyone returned to prepare.

Zheng Ying’s emotions were noticed by Meng Chengshuang, so she was also asked by Meng Chengshuang to stay for a while.

Inside the Quiet Room.

The two sat face to face, and incense rose straight up beside them, like a white line.

“This time, your task might be quite challenging, Junior Sister Zheng Ying. I hope you understand, we are now facing the Mud Doll Sect, which has at least three high-level experts of the same level as me. In such a situation, you must not let your personal emotions interfere. When encountering the enemy, you must join hands with your fellow disciples to form an array and not underestimate them.”

Meng Chengshuang specifically instructed.

“I understand…” Zheng Ying lowered her head.

“No, you don’t understand,” seeing her reaction, Meng Chengshuang immediately knew that she was merely paying lip service.

“You don’t realize the strength of my level. Let’s do this.” She quickly took out her smartphone, opened a separate group chat she had created earlier in the messaging app.

The group included only her, Zheng Ying, Zheng Rou, and Zheng Ming—four individuals.

These three members of the Zheng generation were the ones she reluctantly acknowledged as capable helpers; others were directly ignored.

“Let’s do a real combat simulation,” she said decisively, first notifying Zheng Ming and Zheng Rou, then sending a message to Yu Mo and Yu Hen.

With a rustle,
She stood up, pulling Zheng Ying out of the room to the backyard open space.

Ever since the last fierce battle, the backyard, simply expanded on the ruins, had been turned into a basic cultivation field.

Surrounded by a simple rubber fence to prevent falling, the ground was also covered with a thick layer of non-slip material.

Meng Chengshuang walked to one end of the cultivation field and stood firm.

“I know you all have not been very clear on why Uncle Yu Hen invited me to help. You also doubt the strength of the four swords of Zihe Palace. So this time, I will let you truly see clearly.”

Clang.

She smoothly drew her sword with a backhand, the tip pointing downwards toward the ground.

Standing opposite her, Zheng Ying paused slightly at this sight and also quickly formed a starting hand Seal.

She indeed wasn’t clear how strong Meng Chengshuang was. In fact, with Qingchen Temple’s disciples being secluded in Taizhou, they lacked proper awareness of Temple Master Level experts.

Especially as the Yu Generation elders like Yu Hen and Yu Mo had diminished in strength, this lack of awareness became even more entrenched.

Zheng Ying’s current power, if truly matching Yu Mo or Yu Hen, is only slightly inferior.

As long as she isn’t swiftly crushed by spiritual power, she might, under one-on-one circumstances, be able to drag her seniors down by leveraging her faster recovery due to youth, thus achieving victory.

In such a scenario where she can barely catch up to her seniors, those in the Dao Seed Class really had no chance to face a Temple Master Level expert.

Even in major competitions, they would have no opportunity to encounter one, given the vast difference between them.

And now, this was a good opportunity to come into contact with that level.

As the two confronted each other.

Yu Hong’s figure suddenly appeared by the courtyard.

Not only him, Zheng Ming had also arrived, and together with the five individuals from the Yu Generation, everyone was present.

Right after the meeting at Qingchen Temple dispersed, most of its force had gathered here again.

“Three counts, start.” Seeing that everyone had arrived, Meng Chengshuang spoke in a cold tone.

“One.”

“Two.”

“Three!”

In that instant, the two of them made their move simultaneously.

Zheng Ying quickly formed a seal, and in the blink of an eye, a pure white mummy engulfed in black flames appeared beside her.

The mummy’s eyes were blood-red, and as soon as it appeared, it ferociously charged at Meng Chengshuang.

This was one of the strongest Fear Shadows in Zheng Ying’s collection, and given that her opponent was a renowned expert, she decisively used nearly her full power at the outset.

Invoking the Guanwu Skill generally meant calling upon the most difficult Fear Shadow, which was akin to risking one’s life due to the potential backlash.

Thus, a standard full-force attempt would involve summoning the second strongest Fear Shadow.

That was exactly what Zheng Ying was doing at the moment.

As the mummy moved swiftly, the black flames trailing behind it formed a dark passage, its momentum formidable.

Yu Hong was somewhat curious and focused closely on how Meng Chengshuang would respond.

To him, this mummy’s spiritual power was almost comparable to his Third Layer Fear Shadow.

It was only weaker than a language speaker. Subsequent supernatural entities like the small Black Giant were uniquely powerful and beyond comparison.

“Watch closely.” Meng Chengshuang held a long sword and stepped forward.

Swoosh!

She suddenly swung, casting a silvery sword shadow in front of her.

The sword shadow transformed from ethereal to solid, quickly turning a deep sunset red and forming a hemispherical protective shield around her.

At this moment, the mummy had reached her and swung its hand to strike.

Puff.

Numerous white bandages on the mummy’s arm automatically detached, resembling numerous ropes that wrapped around Meng Chengshuang’s body.

This was the true ability of this Fear Shadow.

The bandages not only possessed a strong binding force to instantly seal away most of the victim’s spiritual power, but also carried a subtle curse named Fog Disperse.

This curse could make someone feel drowsy and unable to concentrate enough to release techniques.

In the past, once the mummy got close to her opponents, Zheng Ying almost always secured the victory.

But at this moment, her expression did not relax at all.

Because…

Whoosh!

The mummy’s arm slammed down, hitting the crimson hemispherical shield, but it was like hitting a tremendously tough bulletproof glass wall.

Not only did the protective shield remain intact, the mummy’s own arm started emitting wisps of black smoke, and the area in contact with the shield suffered extensive damage.

The white cursing bandages that shot out were even more ineffective, catching fire upon touching the shield, burning into black ash and vanishing.

“See? This is Daoist Skills’ Sharpness. Only after reaching the Seventh Layer of your Guanwu Skill can you grasp this intrinsic trait,” Meng Chengshuang said seriously.

She looked at Zheng Ying, who was shocked, and continued.

“Actually, I can totally ignore your attacking techniques because even if you were to strike me directly, your Fear Shadow couldn’t harm me. With Sharpness, the more you attack me, the more severe your injuries become.”

She sheathed her long sword and spread her arms.

“Don’t believe it? Try again.”

Swoosh!

The mummy lunged forward again, its arms blurring into afterimages, wildly smashing onto her body.

But without exception, with each strike, the mummy’s arms became further charred.

Until…

Puff.

The mummy’s arms and even half of its body turned into charred remains, and it suddenly froze.

Two seconds later, it silently turned into black ash and completely dissipated.

Snap.

Zheng Ying staggered, half-kneeling on the ground, clutching her head, and incredulously watching the scene unfold before her.

“She really didn’t move at all…” Yu Hong couldn’t help but whisper.

He had watched from beginning to end, missing nothing, so he could be sure that Meng Chengshuang hadn’t used any techniques afterwards.

She simply stood there, allowing Zheng Ying to attack.

“The interaction between spiritual wills means that once they contact, they influence each other; the stronger will naturally erodes and influences the weaker, and the weaker cannot resist. This is a natural law,” Meng Chengshuang spoke lightly, “All of your techniques are ineffective against me because of this.”

“A true willpower adept, even if the whole world scorns him, spits on him, he remains indifferent. A sufficiently strong personal will can keep him unshaken by any weaker wills. In the study of psyche, this is known as the principle of Absolute Boundary.”

She stepped towards Zheng Ying.

“That is, once you cross the Absolute Boundary, the strong-willed are immune to all spiritual attacks below that level.”