Stranger Danger

"How is this possible?" Xuan Youxuan completely lost control of his expression as his eyes widened like saucers. He looked like an amusing clown right now.

It wasn't because he was ill or lacking in mental fortitude. It was because something unbelievable had just happened.

Just now, he had lost track of the person who slipped into the Lightless Hell.

They weren't dead. They hadn't hidden their energies either. As the master of the Lightless Hell, he could detect any living creature in his Strange Artifact whether they were alive, dead, or hidden.

And yet, the reality was that the aura had disappeared. It had happened without warning. One moment it was there, and the next, it was completely gone.

This had never happened before.

Naturally, he was shocked and worried.

"How... how can this be..."

Before he could figure out what was going on, Jin Manshan and Ming Yueying's auras had disappeared as well.

It had disappeared in the exact same way as the intruder.

"Impossible! Impossible!"

Xuan Youxuan blurted out as he waved his hand. High above the nine heavens where only infinity existed, a stream of something flooded in from every direction and eventually transformed into a black sun. It descended from above.

As the black sun descended, the City of No Return turned pitch black. The people could not see their fingers in front of them, nor could their spirits quite distinguish their surroundings. It was as if the black sun was devouring all the light in the city.

At the same time, the black sun was shrinking rapidly. It was only as small as a Buddhist bead by the time it reached Xuan Youxuan.

This was the true form of the Lightless Hell. Pitch black in color, it looked like endless rays of pitch black light was swirling within its confines. It looked like the galaxy or the universe, strange and unfathomable.

Before this, the Lightless Hell had been residing above the nine heavens this whole time. Everyone thought that it was just the night sky, but no one knew that it was the Lightless Hell, much less an Ancient-class Strange Artifact.

If he wanted to, he could plunge the entire City of No Return into the Lightless Hell with a single thought. Everyone in the city would become his prey.

But of course, Xuan Youxuan wasn't planning to plunge the City of No Return into the Lightless Hell. He just wanted to see what the hell was going inside his Strange Artifact.

Right as he was about to catch the Strange Artifact, a hand shot forward and grabbed it before he could.

"Ooh, this looks great. Thank you very much."

"You dare!"

Caught off guard, Xuan Youxuan roared in anger and activated the Lightless Hell's ability immediately. He intended to pull it free and kill the wannabe thief.

The Lightless Hell was a powerful offensive-type Ancient-class Strange Artifact. It might only be the size of a Buddhist bead, but it wasn't something anyone could take away. He would make the thief pay for their sins!

The next moment, infinite rays of black light seeped through the hand's fingers. Each ray possessed enough power to annihilate even the toughest metal and artifacts, much less a mere flesh and blood body.

And yet, the hand gripping the Lightless Hell was unharmed. It only shook a little.

The next moment, ripples of profound light washed out of the hand. Xuan Youxuan could hear bell chimes as well.

The profound light was thick, heavy, and profound. It somehow blocked off the black light entirely.

The bell chime was low but grand. It seemed capable of shaking the firmaments and suppressing the Nine Nethers itself. The hand gradually stopped shaking because of it.

On the other hand, Xuan Youxuan's expression had undergone yet another dramatic change. It was because he discovered that his connection with the Lightless Hell was fading bit by bit.

It was as if the bell chime, the profound light, and the hand were slowly cutting off the connection.

"Impossible! I won't accept this!"

Xuan Youxuan was about to go crazy. He could accept that his opponent was unafraid of the Lightless Hell, but to dare to take it away from him right under his nose?

This should have been a laughable, futile effort. Lightless Hell was his Strange Artifact, and he had refined it with his heart's blood every day and night without fail ever since he obtained it. Today, he had mastered it to the point where he could command it like his own limbs. The only way someone could take it from him was if they killed him, but who could threaten him while he was still in possession of Lightless Hell? Only a Sage.

But now, he couldn't laugh even a bit.

It was because the situation was rapidly straying from his predictions and imagination.

He was still alive, and the master of the hand was not a Sage.

However, his Lightless Hell was seconds away from escaping him permanently.

Yes, Xuan Youxuan was certain that he would lose Lightless Hell if he did not do somethingnow.

It would be ripped out of his grasp right in front of his face.

Xuan Youxuan was angry, but he was feeling even more fear.

Lightless Hell was the foundation of his power; the roots of his existence. Without Lightless Hell, he could not even imagine what the future would be like.

"No! This cannot happen! No one can take my Lightless Hell!"

Xuan Youxuan roared as various figures began walking out of his body.

There were men, women, old people, and young children. They all possessed physical bodies, and they all looked lifelike.

If Hua Ling was here, she would discover that she had seen all of them before.

They were all Xuan Youxuan. They were all people who called themselves city lord of the City of No Return.

In other words, the city lord had never concealed his true appearance. His true appearance was just a little more varied and numerous than most people realized.

Xuan Youxuan's cultivation art was called the "Primal Demon Great Art of Splitting". It allowed him to split out a person called the Demon Body from his flesh and mind at every cultivation level.

The Demon Body inherited the original's cultivation and strength. While the original would always be in control of them, they possessed their own individual mind, consciousness, personality, and memories. They could split away from the original and act on their own. Technically speaking, they were all living, breathing people.

Xuan Youxuan was currently a Half-Sage, so his seven Demon Bodies were at least Truemen or Grandmasters. They were above average in terms of power and skill as well.

Combined with himself, Xuan Youxuan feared no one below the Half-Sage stage. That was why he did not fear the so-called number one under the Sage-stage Wei Duanliu either.

The next moment, Xuan Youxuan and the seven Demon Bodies attacked the master of the hand at the same time.

Xuan Youxuan and his seven Demon Bodies all practiced different martial arts. One excelled in the sword, and another excelled in the saber. One possessed a powerful physique, and another possessed a powerful spirit.

One thing for certain, their martial arts and Magia were all powerful and deadly.

Not only that, they could coordinate with each other and form a formation.

They were eight people acting as one. Naturally, their rapport was greater than your average person.

When all eight warriors entered their formation and unleashed their ultimate techniques, heaven and earth were sealed, and mind and soul were severed.

Xuan Youxuan didn't just want to take back the Lightless Hell. He wanted to rip and tear the wannabe thief into a million pieces.

It was at this moment a fair, slender hand appeared out of nowhere and flicked.

The gesture looked as soft and gentle as a willow leaf being blown by a gust of wind.

And yet, the simple gesture had neutralized Xuan Youxuan and his seven Demon Bodies' attacks at once. It all dissolved into dust before scattering to the wind.

Next, the beautiful hand curled a finger and tapped. Ripples began washing across space like a droplet disturbing a tranquil lake.

Every time a ripple appeared, Xuan Youxuan discovered that the distance between himself and the two hands would grow dramatically.

The hands were right in front of his eyes. It felt like he could grab them if he just reached out.

In reality, the ripples were folding space again and again like dough. This caused the actual distance between them to increase non-stop.

Therefore, the hands that looked right within reach were really untouchable.