"Boss, this young girl's abilities are so powerful and so strange. We're probably not going to hold up," one of them said.
"Yeah, I've never seen such a strange Fire Fox Curse," another chimed in.
"She's not just an alchemist," said a third.
Up in the air, Zhao Shuning declared, "You've delayed me. Since that's the case, I'll make up for my losses from you."
Previously, her master had given her a mental method, saying that she could try it when she reached the Mysterious Rank. It was generally a move only available to Five - Dao Spirit Alchemists.
It involved fully combining her spiritual power and spiritual energy to form a new force. According to her will, she could make the magical artifacts she summoned change shape at will. She hadn't had the chance to try it before, but now, with these people, it was a perfect opportunity to practice.
Zhao Shuning's slender hand made a gentle gesture, and a new spirit of the artifact appeared behind her. It looked like a yellow - billed magpie.
Zhao Shuning parted her red lips slightly and said, "Go!"
Immediately, the magpie seemed to come to life and shot towards the mantis - shaped magical artifact of one of the spirit alchemists. A magpie preys on a mantis; it's the mantis's natural enemy.
In less than a moment, the mantis was damaged. The magpie pecked out its eyes. One of the big men, affected in his true form, let out a loud cry, covered his eyes, and his body collapsed.
Zhao Shuning focused her mind. The magpie flapped its wings and gave a sharp shake. Its body suddenly grew several times larger and turned into the shape of an eagle.
At this moment, the spirit alchemist whose magical artifact was a rat felt even more uneasy. He hurriedly stepped back, but the rat - shaped magical artifact, once targeted by the eagle, couldn't escape the space of this alley no matter how it scurried. Before this, Zhao Shuning had already sealed the alley with her spiritual power.
"Come back!" The big man stamped his foot impatiently, trying to retrieve his magical artifact. But just as the spiritual energy was almost fully retrieved, the eagle swooped down like an arrow. Its sharp claws firmly grabbed the rat's tail and then yanked back all the spiritual energy that was about to be retrieved.
The eagle's claws pierced the rat's belly, and in that instant, the big man's magical artifact was torn into thousands of pieces by the eagle.
"Pfft!" The big man spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. His body went straight and he fell to the ground. His condition was no better than that of the spirit alchemist who had covered his eyes and cried out earlier.
Zhao Shuning retrieved her spiritual artifact. She felt a bit fatigued. The Demon - Exorcising Ghost Curse taught by her master was effective, but she was still not familiar with it. She could only form a rough shape of the creature, which consumed a great deal of her spiritual energy and spiritual power.
For example, after dealing with those two spirit alchemists, Zhao Shuning's small back was already soaked with sweat. But on the surface, she still looked calm.
Because there was still one spirit alchemist standing in front of her, the strong man whom the other four had called the boss. He hadn't summoned his magical artifact earlier, and Zhao Shuning didn't know how to deal with him for the moment. After dealing with the previous two and sealing the space of this alley, most of Zhao Shuning's spiritual power and spiritual energy had been consumed.
The remaining big man opposite was filled with rage in his eyes. But now, he didn't dare to act rashly. He was afraid that if he took a step forward, he would end up like his two brothers, dead under the little girl's magical artifact in the air. That little girl was truly terrifying.
Chen Guang had seen many ruthless spirit alchemists, but a young girl like Zhao Shuning, who was so ruthless, fast, and vicious in her attacks, was the first he'd ever met.
Chen Guang's legs were trembling. The roots of Zhao Shuning's hair were wet with sweat. The two stared at each other silently.
Chen Guang swallowed hard and then said, "Senior, you've killed my two brothers. Let's call it quits here."
Zhao Shuning glanced at the young girl on the ground and then at Chen Guang. She said slowly, "If I hadn't shown up, this girl would surely have been humiliated by you, and after that, she would have surely died. And if I were just an ordinary person like her, without any spiritual power or spiritual energy, it might be me lying dead on the ground now."
Zhao Shuning knew that if the situation were reversed, these big men in front of her would surely not spare her.
"So you're not going to let me go?"
"Yes."
After Zhao Shuning said that, a sharp sword suddenly appeared in her hand, and she stabbed it fiercely in Chen Guang's direction.
Now, unlike Chen Guang, whose spiritual energy was still full, Zhao Shuning could only win by surprise.
"Indestructible Shield!" Chen Guang let out a roar. All around his body, many iron - like pieces began to grow densely. They quickly turned into a spherical shape, perfectly protecting Chen Guang inside.
The sword struck the Indestructible Shield and was directly bounced back. Zhao Shuning took three steps back before she managed to steady her mind.
Seeing that the danger had passed, Chen Guang revealed his true form again.
"So this is your spiritual artifact?"
"It's for self - protection. I didn't expect that today a little girl like you would force me to use this equipment."
The previously listless Zhao Shuning's big eyes began to sparkle when she saw Chen Guang's Indestructible Shield.
"Good stuff! Good stuff!" Such an Indestructible Shield should be able to sell for a hundred spirit stones in this black market. Her own body - protecting armor was far inferior to this shield.
Zhao Shuning's eyes sparkled with greed, and Chen Guang seemed like prey in her sight.
"Alright, let's make a deal," she said.
"What deal?"
"You give me this Indestructible Shield. I'll break your arms, and then I'll let you go."
There were almost sparks in Chen Guang's eyes. He glared at Zhao Shuning and said fiercely, "Don't think I don't know. When you attacked me just now, your body was already getting fatigued. If I make a move now, it's still uncertain who will win between us."
Zhao Shuning's eyes darkened slightly. Chen Guang had seen through her attack just now.
"So? Do you want to try?"
Zhao Shuning was putting on a brave front. She thought that even if she couldn't get the Indestructible Shield in the end, with the protection of the Red Lotus, she could still take away the girl on the ground.
Chen Guang hesitated. Zhao Shuning's confident look made him start to doubt his own judgment.
"So, do you want to make the deal or not?"
"I—"
Just as Chen Guang was hesitating, an ordinary big man in the small shop shouted, "Boss, don't believe her. I saw that the hand of this dead girl is already shaking. She's out of strength."
Zhao Shuning was so regretful that she wished she could dig a hole and hide in it. How could she have forgotten that there were still two slip - ups in the small shop!