BXBX NOVEL Chapter 165: The Silent Viper
The city lord spun around, eyes wide in shock, as Xu Lian stepped through the doorway. Her expression remained emotionless, her gaze as cold as if she were looking at a dead man.
"Who are you?" the city lord spat, his voice trembling with a mix of fury and fear.
But mostly fury—he had never imagined anyone would find him here, especially right before the formation would activate.
This meant there would be a delay, as all of the evil cultivators would have to evacuate before the formation started, or else they would die along with the unsuspecting citizens.
His hands twitched, already gathering the dark spiritual qi surging through his body. He had not expected to be found, and it was right before he would evacuate.
Xu Lian\'s voice was cold, sharp as the blade she held. "The one who accepted the mission for your head."
Before he could reply or react, she moved. Her figure flickered, and in an instant, she was upon him, her blade drawn and infused with powerful spiritual qi.
The city lord barely managed to throw up a defensive barrier, desperately trying to protect himself, but it was futile.
Xu Lian\'s blade sliced through the barrier like thin air, cutting across his chest in one fluid motion.
He stumbled back, shock and pain twisting his features as dark energy leaked from the gaping wound. Clutching at his chest, he tried to stem the flow of energy.
His anger flared, and he snarled through gritted teeth, "Do you even know who I am?"
His hands glowed with an ominous, dark light as he summoned every ounce of dark energy he could to strike back at Xu Lian.
But she was already in motion again. Her body danced through the air, each movement graceful and precise as she unleashed a series of strikes that left the city lord scrambling to defend himself.
He lashed out wildly, sending blasts of dark qi in her direction, but she easily dodged them.
Her blade moved rapidly, cutting through his attempts like a master facing a novice.
"You… you can\'t stop this!" the city lord roared, his voice filled with desperation as he realized the gravity of the situation.
His heart pounded as the realization hit him—he had severely underestimated his opponent. "The formation is already in place! The sacrifice is nearly complete!"
Xu Lian\'s eyes narrowed, and her expression remained calm. She could sense the weakening formation, knowing the other Shadow Serpents had already dismantled the nodes throughout the city.
The ritual was falling apart, and the city lord\'s grand plan was unraveling before his eyes.
With a single, powerful strike, Xu Lian sent him crashing to the ground. His body slammed against the cold stone floor, and the sound echoed through the chamber as he struggled to rise, his strength fading.
"You\'re wrong," she said calmly, her voice carrying a finality that sent chills down his spine.
"Your formation has already been dismantled. Your men are dead. Your plan has failed."
The city lord\'s eyes widened in disbelief. His mind raced, trying to process her words.
\'How could this be? Everything had been planned so carefully. His formation, his loyal followers—none of it was supposed to fail.\'
But now, as he lay bleeding on the ground, the truth was undeniable. He had lost. "No… it can\'t be…" he muttered weakly, his voice filled with disbelief.
He had never imagined someone could destroy his year-long plan.
Yes, a year-long plan. He had meticulously plotted everything the moment he became city lord, and it was because of the careful planning that he had been able to set up the formation without anyone noticing.
Xu Lian stepped forward, her blade raised for the final blow. She met his eyes, showing no emotion, no hesitation. "It\'s over."
With one swift motion, her blade cut cleanly through the city lord\'s neck. His head rolled to the side, and his body collapsed with a dull thud.
The dark energy that once filled the room dissipated, fading into nothingness. The sacrificial formation he had worked so hard to create had been shattered, leaving the city untouched.
As Xu Lian stood over the lifeless body, the remaining energy from the ritual disappeared completely.
Meanwhile, the city, still in the midst of its grand festival, remained blissfully unaware of the danger that had almost consumed it.
Fireworks lit up the night sky, and laughter filled the air as people continued to celebrate, completely unaware of how close they had come to being sacrificed, their lives nearly used as fuel for a dark and sinister ritual.
Xu Lian wiped the blood from her blade, her movements slow and methodical. Her expression remained calm as if this had been just another mission.
To her, it was. She followed Xu Qianghua\'s orders: \'Complete all missions accepted without fail.\'
She turned and left the chamber, not sparing another glance at the city lord\'s lifeless body. The mission was complete, and the threat was neutralized.
Outside the city lord\'s mansion, the remaining Shadow Serpents were wrapping up their own tasks.
In an inn near the main market square, the lead Serpent poured the final drop of their signature dissolving poison onto the bodies of the fallen evil cultivators.
Within seconds, the corpses began to disintegrate, breaking down into tiny particles that evaporated into the air, leaving no trace behind.
Simultaneously, the other nodes scattered throughout the city had been dismantled.
The evil cultivators stationed to maintain the flow of spiritual energy were all slain without mercy, their bodies erased by the same dissolving poison.
The formation, which had been moments away from activation, was now nothing more than a failed plan, forgotten beneath the joyful atmosphere of the festival above.
The Serpents melted back into the shadows, their presence unnoticed by the festival-goers.
As fireworks lit up the sky and the people cheered, the city remained blissfully ignorant of the danger that had lurked so close.
The Shadow Serpents had completed their task, vanishing into the night as quietly as they had arrived, leaving behind no trace of the chaos they had averted.
Xu Lian, known to her enemies as "The Silent Viper," moved through the streets, blending seamlessly into the shadows as she returned to the rendezvous point.
Her mission was over, the city was safe, and the night was peaceful again.