I dominated the game from the start with cards.

The vibration of the black ring abruptly stopped, but the chilling phrase "Found you" echoed repeatedly in Li Xuan's mind. An uneasy atmosphere, like an invisible net, tightly enveloped the five of them. Li Xuan took a deep breath, trying to remain calm. "The signal disappeared, but the other party is definitely still nearby. We must be careful." Bai Yao grasped Li Xuan's hand; her fingertips were icy cold, and a rare hint of seriousness appeared on her alluring face. "Xuan, can your mental perception detect anything?" Li Xuan closed his eyes, spreading his mental energy outwards, trying to capture any unusual fluctuations. The ruins, the withered grass swaying in the wind, the mutated creatures wandering in the distance… everything seemed normal, yet it seemed to conceal deadly danger. He felt a chill run down his spine; his mental perception was constantly piercing, like countless needles stabbing into his brain. "Something… very strong… but I can't see it… it's like… blending into this space…" Li Xuan managed to utter a few words, fine beads of sweat forming on his forehead. "Merge into space?" Mu Yang frowned. "Could it be some kind of spatial ability?" Ling Feng tapped his chin lightly, his eyes darting around. "Perhaps... we're not facing a human..." His voice trembled slightly, as if recalling some terrifying memory. Lin Yu, with his forthright personality, couldn't stand this oppressive atmosphere. "What's there to be afraid of! We'll meet force with force! What kind of hero hides and cowers! If you have the guts, come out and fight me three hundred rounds!" He said, swinging his giant axe as if he wanted to cleave the air. "Lin Yu! Watch out!" Li Xuan suddenly shouted, but it was too late. An invisible force slammed into Lin Yu, sending him flying like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily into the ruins. A mouthful of blood gushed from his mouth, staining the gray ground red. He struggled to get up, but found his body completely unresponsive, as if bound by some force. "Lin Yu!" Bai Yao exclaimed, wanting to rush over, but Li Xuan grabbed her. "Don't be impulsive! We don't know what the enemy is yet. Acting rashly will only put us in danger!" Li Xuan forced himself to calm down and carefully observed his surroundings. There was nothing unusual about the location where Lin Yu was attacked. How did the enemy attack? What was the method of attack? It was all a mystery, shrouded in a thick fog. Suddenly, Li Xuan's gaze fell on a piece of gravel on the ground. The gravel, which should have been embedded in the wall, was now lying on the ground, trembling slightly, as if drawn by some force. He suddenly realized that the enemy was not completely invisible, but could manipulate the surrounding environment to attack! "Everyone watch your step!" Li Xuan shouted a warning, "The enemy may be right around us, using the environment to attack!" Before he finished speaking, another piece of gravel flew out, heading straight for Mu Yang... The gravel came flying through the air with a sharp whistling sound. Mu Yang reacted quickly, rolling to the side to barely dodge it. The gravel hit the wall behind him and shattered into countless fragments. Before everyone could even catch their breath, the ground began to tremble. Pieces of rock seemed to come alive, bouncing off the ground and shooting towards them like a dense barrage of bullets. "It can manipulate objects within a certain range!" Li Xuan quickly assessed the enemy's ability. "Everyone, concentrate! Observe the ground and surrounding objects, and predict the attack trajectory!" Although Li Xuan's mental perception couldn't directly detect the enemy, it could keenly sense even the slightest vibrations. He loudly directed his teammates' actions: "Mu Yang, three o'clock, two pieces of rock! Bai Yao, watch out for falling rocks! Lin Yu, cover!" Under Li Xuan's command, the group moved like nimble dancers, dodging and weaving through the dense "bullet screen." Mu Yang calmly wielded his longsword, cleaving a flying rock in two. Despite being injured, Lin Yu gritted his teeth and persevered, using his massive body to shield Bai Yao from a falling boulder. "Ling Feng, can your 'Star Compass' pinpoint the enemy's location?" Li Xuan shouted to Ling Feng while dodging the attacks. Lingfeng held a disc shimmering with pale blue light, his brow furrowed. "This enemy is too well hidden. My Star Compass can only vaguely sense its energy fluctuations; I can't pinpoint its location." "A vague sense is enough!" A glint flashed in Li Xuan's eyes. "Tell me its approximate direction!" Lingfeng pointed to the west side of the ruins: "It's over there; the energy fluctuations are stronger there!" Li Xuan took a deep breath and said to Bai Yao, "Cover me!" Bai Yao smiled alluringly, flicking out a red ribbon that entangled several pieces of rubble hurtling towards Li Xuan. With a sharp tug, she altered their trajectory.

Seizing the opportunity, Li Xuan pulled out a black rune from his waist, infused it with his spiritual power, and hurled it towards the ruins to the west. The rune exploded in mid-air, turning into a cloud of black mist that rapidly spread outwards.

"Ah!" A painful roar came from the mist, and a dark shadow flashed by.

"Hit!" Lin Yu shouted excitedly. However, the enemy's counterattack was even more ferocious. The ground shook violently, and pebbles rained down, their target concentrated on Bai Yao. "It's changed its attack strategy!" Li Xuan's heart sank. "It wants to take care of Bai Yao first!" Bai Yao moved nimbly, dodging left and right in the rain of pebbles, but she wasn't a combat-type ability user after all, and facing such a dense attack, she gradually became overwhelmed. A piece of pebbles cut her arm, and blood stained her sleeve. "Bai Yao!" Li Xuan called out anxiously, but he couldn't get close to help. The enemy's attacks were too dense; if he got close, he would only become a burden to Bai Yao. "I'm fine!" Bai Yao gritted her teeth, enduring the pain, and her ribbons danced even faster, deflecting the incoming pebbles one by one. However, the enemy's attacks grew more and more intense, and Bai Yao's strength gradually ran out. Just then, Mu Yang suddenly spoke up, "I remember! I once saw a similar record in an ancient book. This kind of enemy is called 'Shadow Fiend.' They can blend into the shadows and manipulate the surrounding environment to attack..." His voice trembled slightly with tension, "The ancient book recorded a method to counter the Shadow Fiend..." Before Mu Yang could finish speaking, a huge boulder fell from the sky, heading straight for Bai Yao... "Bai Yao!" Li Xuan roared in despair. The boulder, accompanied by a whooshing sound, crashed down on Bai Yao. At the critical moment, Mu Yang's figure shot out like an arrow, catching Bai Yao and knocking her to the ground. With a deafening roar, rubble flew everywhere, and dust filled the air. "Cough cough..." Bai Yao struggled to crawl out of the rubble, her arm wound still bleeding, her face as pale as paper. "Mu Yang, are you alright?" Mu Yang got up from the ground, dusted himself off, and shook his head: "I'm fine, how about you?" "I'm okay..." Bai Yao's voice was weak. “This attack method, this stealth technique…” Mu Yang frowned, muttering to himself, “I remember! I once saw a similar record in an ancient book. This kind of enemy is called ‘Shadow Fiend.’ They can blend into the shadows and manipulate the surrounding environment to attack…” Li Xuan rushed out of the dust and asked anxiously, “Shadow Fiend? What is that? Is there any way to deal with it?” “Shadow Fiend is an extremely dangerous creature. They feed on fear and despair and can use the power of shadows to enhance themselves,” Mu Yang quickly explained. “The ancient book records that the Shadow Fiend’s true form is extremely fragile. As long as you find its true form and destroy it, you can completely eliminate it. But Shadow Fiends are extremely good at hiding and can create illusions to confuse the enemy. Finding its true form is not easy…” Mu Yang tried hard to recall the contents of the ancient book, hoping to find a way to restrain the Shadow Fiend. Time was running out, and the enemy’s attacks became increasingly fierce. Debris, dust, and broken steel bars poured down like a torrential rain, enveloping everyone. Just then, the Shadow Fiend revealed a small opening during one of its attacks. As it hurled a boulder at Li Xuan, a brief distortion appeared in the shadows. "Now!" Li Xuan's mind raced, his mental focus sharpening as he detected that subtle fluctuation. He shoved Lin Yu aside and shouted, "Cover me!" Bai Yao and Mu Yang reacted instantly, launching simultaneous attacks to draw the Shadow Fiend's attention. Seizing the opportunity, Li Xuan unleashed his special ability, his figure blurring as he charged towards the distorted shadow. However, just as Li Xuan was about to touch the Shadow Fiend's true form, a black barrier suddenly appeared, violently repelling him. Li Xuan crashed heavily to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood. "Damn it!" Li Xuan struggled to his feet, feeling utterly powerless. The Shadow Fiend let out a chilling laugh, slowly emerging from the shadows. It resembled a human, its entire body shrouded in black mist, obscuring its features, except for a pair of scarlet eyes that gleamed with an eerie light. "Insolent humans, daring to challenge my power!" Shadow Fiend's voice, like that of the deepest abyss of hell, was filled with coldness and cruelty. Shadow Fiend launched an even more powerful attack, unleashing a torrent of skills like a storm. The ground trembled violently, cracks spreading as if the entire world was collapsing. "I'll cover you, you guys find an opportunity to attack its main body!" Bai Yao shouted, her red ribbon transforming into sharp blades, shattering the flying debris and energy blasts. Mu Yang calmly wielded his longsword, searching for Shadow Fiend's weakness. Lin Yu struggled on the ground, using his last strength to provide support. Ling Feng continuously tried to pinpoint Shadow Fiend's location with his Star Compass, hoping to find its weakness. Li Xuan concentrated his senses again, desperately searching for a way to break through Shadow Fiend's defenses. The battle reached a fever pitch, everyone fighting desperately, but Shadow Fiend's power seemed inexhaustible, and the situation grew increasingly unfavorable. Just when everyone was about to give up, Shadow Fiend suddenly stopped attacking. It hovered in mid-air, its scarlet eyes fixed on Li Xuan, a sinister smile playing on its lips. "The game has only just begun..." The Shadow Fiend's attacks suddenly escalated. No longer were simple boulders or steel bars, but shockwaves infused with shadow energy, like roaring black waves, sweeping towards everyone wave after wave. The ground cracked, space distorted, and the entire battlefield seemed to transform into an apocalyptic inferno. Bai Yao's red ribbons danced wildly, weaving an impenetrable defensive net to withstand the Shadow Fiend's attacks. However, the Shadow Fiend's energy was too powerful; cracks gradually appeared in the ribbons' defense, and Bai Yao's face grew increasingly pale. Mu Yang wielded his longsword, unleashing sharp flashes of light, attempting to find and attack the Shadow Fiend's true form. But each of his attacks was easily neutralized by the Shadow Fiend, and he was even injured by the rebounding shadow energy. Although Lin Yu was severely injured, he gritted his teeth and persevered, using his last strength to unleash flames to provide cover for Bai Yao and Mu Yang. The flames illuminated the dark battlefield and the resolute faces of the warriors. Ling Feng continuously adjusted the Star Compass, attempting to pinpoint the Shadow Fiend's location and find its weakness. The Star Compass's pointer spun wildly, yet remained unstable, as if interfered with by a powerful force. Li Xuan closed his eyes tightly, pushing his mental power to its limit, sensing everything around him. He felt the Shadow Fiend's energy fluctuations growing stronger and more chaotic, as if concealing some great secret.

“Its energy… is wrong…” Li Xuan suddenly opened his eyes, a glint of light flashing in them. “It’s gathering power, preparing to launch an even more powerful attack!” As soon as Li Xuan finished speaking, Shadow Fiend’s attack suddenly stopped.

It hovered in mid-air, its scarlet eyes staring at Li Xuan, a strange smile playing on its lips.

The surrounding air seemed to freeze, oppressively thick and suffocating. "Why...did it stop?" Lin Yu asked weakly, his voice filled with doubt and unease. Bai Yao and Mu Yang also ceased their attacks, watching Ying Sha warily, both harboring a sense of foreboding. Ling Feng's star compass suddenly stopped spinning, its pointer pointing to the darkness behind Ying Sha. He looked up at the darkness, his eyes filled with shock. "There...is something there..." Ling Feng's voice trembled, as if he had seen something terrifying. Just as everyone was filled with doubt, a figure slowly emerged from the darkness. The figure was tall and imposing, shrouded in a black cloak, his face obscured, only a pair of cold eyes flashing with chilling light. With each step he took, the surrounding air seemed to solidify further, the immense pressure weighing on everyone's nerves. "It seems the show is about to begin..." Ying Sha's voice was low and hoarse, tinged with excitement and cruelty.