A figure materialized within the dark clouds, and as the figure drew closer, everyone could finally see its true form.

He was tall and slender, with a somewhat sinister face. Upon closer inspection, his features bore a striking resemblance to those of the Blood Demon.

"I am the Shadow Demon. You are the ones who killed my brother, Blood Demon, aren't you?" The Shadow Demon cracked his neck. "Now hand over the culprit to me."

The disciples then realized what was happening and cried out in surprise.

"Ah! The demons are coming!"

"The demons are attacking us!"

"Quickly go and invite the Fifth Elder and Grandmaster Uncle!"

...

The disciples were immediately thrown into chaos.

At this moment, the Fifth Elder quickly stepped forward and maintained order. "Everyone, don't panic, gather together, don't scatter."

The disciples gathered together as instructed, while some timid disciples trembled with fear and hid behind the others.

Shu Lan had sensed something was wrong as soon as the dark clouds enveloped the shuttle.

He immediately came out of the room and ran into Shadow Fiend searching for the person who killed Blood Fiend.

“I am the one,” Shu Lan stepped forward. “I killed the Blood Demon.”

"You?" Shadow Demon sized Shu Lan up and down, speaking with some disdain. "Is the Star River Sect out of people? They actually sent a callow child."

Shu Lan usually concealed his cultivation level. Due to the space between his eyebrows, no one except himself could see his cultivation level unless he wanted to. Even those with higher cultivation levels couldn't see through him, so the Shadow Demon couldn't tell that he was a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

"As long as I can defeat you, that's fine." Shu Lan didn't get angry after hearing Shadow Demon's words, she just said calmly.

"Hahaha, arrogant brat!" Shadow Demon seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world and laughed mercilessly.

"How did you find your way here?" Shu Lan asked the question that everyone was concerned about.

"This is all thanks to that disciple who had the Illusion Bell." The Shadow Demon stopped laughing and looked at Ye Feiyu with narrowed eyes.

The disciples followed the direction the Shadow Demon was looking and saw Ye Feiyu still holding the Illusion Bell in a daze, completely bewildered.

"Ah! It was him!"

"It's all his fault! That's why we were attacked by the demons!"

...

"Damn it!" Kong Xiang cursed under his breath, "They actually used this Illusionary Sound Bell to locate us!"

Ye Feiyu was also feeling terrible. He had cursed himself a thousand times in his heart. It was all his fault for being so impulsive and picking up such a dangerous thing, which had now implicated everyone.

When Shu Lan saw that the person the Shadow Demon was pointing to was Ye Feiyu, all she could feel was a bitter smile.

How could he forget? The protagonist's halo isn't just about attracting opportunities; it's also a troublemaker. Where there's a protagonist, there's bound to be calamity—that's no joke.

Qin An, who arrived shortly after, overheard Shadow Demon's words and glared angrily at Ye Feiyu. He was unaware of any "protagonist halo" nonsense; all he knew was that Ye Feiyu had caused trouble for his master.

"When you killed my brother, Blood Demon, his life lamp went out, and I followed the connection between us to that village." Shadow Demon said, smiling at Ye Feiyu, "I thought I wouldn't be able to find you. Later, I sensed the Illusion Bell that I gave to my brother, and I followed the connection of the Illusion Bell to find this place."

"So, thank you for the guidance. I'll make sure you die a quick death." Shadow Demon looked at Ye Feiyu and laughed heartily.

"I will not allow you to harm the disciples!" Shu Lan said, summoning his Cloud Jade Sword. He charged towards the Shadow Demon, leaving behind the words, "Fifth Elder, protect the disciples."

The Fifth Elder nodded solemnly. He knew that with his early Nascent Soul cultivation, he couldn't help Shu Lan. Only by protecting everyone from the rear could he prevent Shu Lan from being distracted.

Shu Lan swung her sword, unleashing a massive burst of sword energy towards the Shadow Demon. The Shadow Demon, however, transformed into countless shadows, dodging Shu Lan's attack. Shu Lan continued to thrust her sword several times, but the Shadow Demon evaded them all.

The Shadow Demon brandished his spear and thrust it towards Shu Lan. Shu Lan swiftly dodged the Shadow Demon's attack using her extremely fast movements.

The two were locked in a stalemate, neither able to gain the upper hand for the time being.

Qin An looked at Shu Lan in mid-air, feeling very worried.

"Master is still injured!" Qin An stared intently at Shu Lan, his voice filled with anxiety.

"Don't worry, your master will be alright." The Fifth Elder comforted Qin An after hearing his words.

As if Qin An had predicted, Shu Lan's injuries flared up, causing him to slow down considerably. This gave the Shadow Demon an opening, who immediately stabbed him in several places with his spear. Blood instantly stained Shu Lan's pristine white clothes, a glaring sight.

Qin An immediately collapsed to his feet, crying out, "Master, Master is injured!"

The Fifth Elder stopped Qin An, who was about to step forward. His eyes were filled with worry, and his expression was very serious. "Don't cause trouble for your master. Stay here. All we can do is trust your master. He will be safe and sound."

Shu Lan fought in the air while pondering a way to break the deadlock. Even after being stabbed several times, it did not disrupt his composure.

Looking at the shadow of the Shadow Demon, a sudden inspiration flashed through Shu Lan's mind.

Shadows, malevolent entities, the flames of Yin!

That's right, it's the Yin Water Flame! How could he have forgotten about his own spiritual fire? The Yin Water Flame can burn all evil and yin things; it can even burn in water. And shadows are evil and yin things, which is exactly what the Yin Water Flame can deal with.

So, Shu Lan raised her hand and summoned the Taiyin Water Flame. The Taiyin Water Flame was pale blue, unlike the icy blue Ice Spirit Flame. The Ice Spirit Flame had a very low external temperature but an extremely high internal temperature. The Taiyin Water Flame seemed to have no temperature, but once ignited, its temperature would become extremely high.

The Shadow Demon stared at the pale blue flame in Shu Lan's hand, and for some reason, the hairs on his body stood on end. His sixth sense was frantically telling him to get away from the flame; danger was imminent.

The Shadow Demon immediately became cautious, but it still couldn't escape being set ablaze by the Yin Water Flame.

When those shadows were ignited by the Yin Water Flame, they vanished rapidly, forcing the Shadow Demon to reassemble its shadow and reveal its true form. Even so, it could not escape the burning of the Yin Water Flame.

The Shadow Demon couldn't extinguish the Yin Water Flame no matter what it did, and could only scream in agony, "Ah, what the hell is this?!" He watched helplessly as he was burned to ashes, powerless to do anything about it.

When the Shadow Demon was engulfed by the Taiyin Water Flame, Shu Lan rushed to his side and pierced his heart with her sword, eliminating any future threat.

After eliminating the Shadow Demon, Shu Lan slowly descended from the sky.

His face paled for a moment, and he coughed a few times, covering his mouth with his hand. It turned out that the battle had aggravated his old injuries.

At that moment, a dark figure rushed towards Shu Lan.