Chapter Sixty-Six: Yushang Tamed, the Mysterious Black Shadow

"I've been waiting for you for so long. At last, you've appeared," Yu Shang murmured gently to the shadowy figure, then swiftly lashed out with the fire whip. The shadow was startled by the sudden attack; it opened its maw, as deep and endless as an abyss, and blew a chill wind that extinguished all the candles on the left, then fled onto the wall. This move played perfectly into Yu Shang's plans. He hurried to relight the extinguished candles, then swept the remaining candles to the same side, encircling the shadow so it could not escape. Again, he wielded the fire whip to drive it out. As expected, the shadow, finding no way to flee, had no choice but to leap from the wall and continue its duel with Yu Shang.

Once outside the wall, the shadow seemed to shrink several times in size, but its movements became far more agile. Seeing Yu Shang armed with a fire whip, it mimicked him, transforming part of its own shadow into a black whip. Instantly, red and black clashed, the sound of whips cracking echoed through the air. Yu Shang struck for the shadow's head; the shadow retaliated, aiming for Yu Shang's legs. Neither yielded, both attacking with reckless abandon, caring nothing for defense. In truth, Yu Shang's cultivation far surpassed the shadow's, but its rhythm was elusive, and its form impossible to grasp, making it a formidable challenge to subdue.

Just as Yu Shang hesitated, pondering how to overcome it, the shadow seized the initiative, grabbing him from behind. Yu Shang felt its immense strength, as if enchanted, rendering him unable to break free. His fire whip dropped to the floor, leaving him at the creature's mercy. The shadow began to drag Yu Shang toward the illusory wall. Desperately, Yu Shang gathered his internal energy, hoping to break free, but found that a strange force restricted them all, preventing the use of cultivation to attack others. He realized he could channel his energy, but its power was so diminished it couldn't even penetrate an ordinary wall. Clearly, this force was not the work of the small shadow alone—something stronger lurked within.

"What should we do? Yu Shang isn't just playing with the shadow anymore; it looks like he's truly trapped!" Meng Youyuan exclaimed, finally realizing the gravity of the situation. The others, sensing trouble, rushed forward to intervene, only to be stopped unexpectedly by Xiao Yin.

"If we don't hurry and rescue Yu Shang, he'll really be dragged into the world within the wall. For centuries, anyone unfortunate enough to step inside has never returned alive!" Leng Huaiyi said, anxious, for the dangers within the wall far surpassed those of this chamber.

"Even if you went over, you wouldn't help much. Listen to me: each of you take a candle and throw it at the shadow from different directions. Distract it, and that rascal will have a chance to escape. Don't worry about hurting him—his skin is thick enough!" Xiao Yin was utterly calm, seemingly unconcerned that Yu Shang might be dragged into the shadow's world.

The group hurriedly grabbed candles and hurled them at the shadow. Seeing so much fire coming at it, the shadow dodged frantically, inadvertently releasing Yu Shang's hand. Yu Shang swiftly darted aside, snatched up his fire whip, and lashed at the unprepared shadow. It shrieked, clutching its wounds, but Yu Shang leapt forward and, in a flash, bound it with the whip. The shadow, stunned, struggled desperately. Though its features were unclear, everyone sensed its panic, and saw how its body began to fade wherever it touched the fire whip.

"Lanwu, you'd better turn your fire whip back into a normal red whip. I don't want this little thing's mind broken seeing itself gradually disappear," Xin Shang said quickly, sensing trouble.

"Alright," Lanwu replied, gathering his internal energy and channeling it into the whip. Though the effect was limited in this place, it was enough to restore the whip to its normal state. The shadow, seeing the flames vanish, calmed down and stood quietly before the group, awaiting judgment.

"You strange creature, I warned you to stop, but you were too arrogant. Regret it now? You should have thought twice before acting!" Xiao Yin sized up the shadow, grinning mischievously. Turning to Yu Shang, he asked, "So, how should we deal with it? Torture it for information, or simply finish it off?" In truth, Xiao Yin was not one to relish killing; he merely wanted to scare the shadow, whose arrogance had provoked him. The shadow, however, paid him no heed, snorting coldly and turning away. Yet everyone noticed that, although the shadow ignored them, its gaze remained fixed on Yu Shang—not with hatred, but with admiration and submission.

"Enough, Xiao Yin. Stop teasing it. We have serious matters to attend to," Yu Shang said, smiling at Xiao Yin's mischief. He walked up to the bound shadow and, in a gentle tone as if soothing a child, said, "You can't speak, can you? Then, for everything I ask, just nod or shake your head, alright?" For reasons unknown, everyone felt a strange illusion as they watched Yu Shang's gentle manner—he seemed like a kind father, and the odd little shadow his child. The father had shed all his former coldness, leaving only patience and affection; the child, no longer mischievous, was now docile and lovable.

The shadow seemed to understand, uttering a sound like "mm-mm" and nodding vigorously. Yin Boxuan was amazed, exclaiming, "Yu Shang's charm is truly irresistible! Even this strange creature has surrendered to him, so obedient—remarkable!"

"You have to admit, when this little thing behaves, it's quite adorable," Yanxue Su said, smiling at the shadow, her gaze filled with fondness.

"Yin, are you jealous? You should take the chance to learn from Yu Shang, so you can win the girls' hearts. Otherwise, you'll keep getting chased and scolded," Lan Bingxian teased, laughing. His junior was excellent in every way, except that his words always provoked the academy's girls, who often retaliated with fists and kicks.

"Lan, you're making fun of me again. But I really should ask Yu Shang for advice—though only on winning girls' favor, not on dealing with these creatures," Yin Boxuan quipped, unbothered by his senior's jokes. In his heart, he enjoyed the playful banter with the girls, never letting feelings complicate their friendship. After all, his heart belonged to a special girl already, and he didn't want to cause pain for others by letting them fall for someone who couldn't reciprocate.

"Yin, you've got it all wrong. That rascal can attract any creature in the world, except women. No matter how alluring, women have no effect on him. I don't need to spell it out, you know what I mean. So you'd better give up, lest your luck with women gets cut off completely!" Xiao Yin ignored Yu Shang's glare, announcing loudly with unabashed enthusiasm.

"Enough! Let Yu Shang deal with the shadow. Time is short; we have another challenge ahead!" Leng Huaiyi interjected with a smile, stopping the teasing. He was surprised that Yu Shang, who always seemed unflappable, had such an awkward weakness. It explained why, back in Youming, the dual attack from the two beauties failed utterly against him. He once thought Yu Shang was a gentleman of unwavering virtue, but now it seemed he simply couldn't muster interest in women!

"No worries, Leng. Let them laugh; it seems none of them are eager to explore the treasure vault," Yu Shang said, shooting them an angry glare. It wasn't that he couldn't take a joke, but what man likes hearing others say he's lacking? Besides, it wasn't that he was incapable—he simply only felt for one woman, and was destined not to enjoy the company of others. This infuriating Xiao Yin deliberately left things unclear, provoking misunderstanding. If not for the crowd, Yu Shang would have seized him and beaten him soundly to vent his burning anger.

"Don't be so petty, rascal! It's just a joke. If you don't want people to think you're as I say, then find yourself a girl and let her take care of you!" Xiao Yin was crafty, hinting at Yu Shang to let go of that woman and start anew. Though his methods were questionable, his intentions weren't entirely bad.

"Enough. I'll deal with the matter at hand," Yu Shang replied helplessly, then turned to the shadow. "Are you the guardian of this level? All your efforts to hinder us were simply to prevent us from entering the center of the treasure vault, weren't they?" He waited intently for its answer.

The shadow, as if its secret had been uncovered, nodded sheepishly. Yu Shang smiled—just as he suspected—and continued, "Now your plan has clearly failed. Alone, you can't defeat us all. Let's compromise: we won't trouble you, and you stop scheming against us. How about it?"

The shadow nodded, crestfallen, indicating it would do as Yu Shang requested. Seeing victory at hand, Yu Shang pressed on, "Since we've won, you have no reason to keep us trapped here, right? Why not do us a favor and reveal the passage to the next challenge, so we can leave?"

This time, the shadow did not answer immediately, hesitating and reluctant. Yu Shang felt uneasy—was the little thing still unwilling to give up? After a long pause, it finally looked up at him, nodded pitifully, and agreed. The group was elated; who would have thought it could be resolved so easily? Yu Shang was truly remarkable!