As Shen Bai’s gaze swept over the area, the surrounding shadows began to twist and distort.

Strands of straw gathered, slowly emerging from within the shadows.

At the same time, the withered yellow straw on the ground wove itself together. In just a blink of an eye, it had formed a garment of straw.

Unlike an ordinary scarecrow, this straw garment was over five meters tall.

Shadows swirled over the withered straw as a five-meter-tall humanoid creature slowly materialized before Shen Bai.

Shen Bai stared at the shadow aberration and chuckled. "So that’s how it is. A shadow inhabiting a form. But this isn’t the standard kind; it seems to be an enhanced version."

"It’s quite strong..."

Throughout the entire process, Shen Bai remained perfectly calm.

The Mystic Heart Spell granted him sufficient composure. As long as the danger didn’t exceed the limits of his Attributes, Shen Bai could face it without flinching.

At most, he would feel a thrill of excitement.

Aberrations act purely on instinct. They don’t waste time on pointless introductions or opening pleasantries.

The moment the shadow aberration appeared, it immediately attacked Shen Bai.

The surrounding shadows coalesced into a sharp blade that slashed down at Shen Bai.

Its five-meter-tall frame, combined with the massive blade, made it look like a small giant, radiating a terrifying sense of pressure.

Shen Bai narrowed his eyes, and Blood Red Sword Qi erupted from his blade, Cold Moon.

This time, he didn’t use the Vajra Dharma Form Fist. He wanted to test his newly acquired Divine Power, the Spirit Casting Technique.

Shen Bai had already reforged Cold Moon. Its Commander Attribute made wielding the blade feel as natural as moving his own arm.

It was as if the sword were a part of his own body.

His Qi flowed into Cold Moon, transforming into Blood Red Sword Qi.

With a single swing of his sword, it was no longer hundreds of streams of Sword Qi that appeared, but nearly a thousand.

’My power has increased dramatically again,’ Shen Bai thought.

The thousand streams of Sword Qi split into sixteen groups, each one executing a different one of his sixteen Swordsmanship styles.

Each Swordsmanship style manifested its own unique form.

Facing the shadow aberration’s blade, Shen Bai’s attack unleashed a thousand streams of Blood Red Sword Qi. Like a waterfall, they instantly submerged the five-meter-tall creature.

The glorious Qi was like a dragon, the Blood Red Sword Qi like a blood moon.

The aberration’s Shadow Blade was ground down to nothing in an instant.

At the same time, Shen Bai’s Sword Qi pressed forward, closing in to eviscerate the shadow aberration and enveloping it completely.

Under the terrifying onslaught of Sword Qi, however, the straw on the shadow aberration’s body began to change.

Strands of straw sprouted from its body and plunged into the shadows on the ground.

Shen Bai raised an eyebrow, realizing he suddenly couldn’t move.

Pitch-black shadows were crawling along the light emanating from his Bright Jade Evil Body, preparing to invade him.

If they succeeded, he would be instantly controlled. And once controlled, he would be completely at the creature’s mercy, like a fish on a chopping block.

"Not bad. It’s even stronger than the Sect Leader. A pity that against me, right now, it’s not enough," Shen Bai said, shaking his head.

Before, Shen Bai might have struggled to deal with this.

But now, having obtained the Spirit Casting Technique—which had boosted his Qi—and its Commander ability, this aberration no longer seemed so difficult to handle.

"You can immobilize me, but you need to be able to launch a second attack for it to matter," Shen Bai said as he swung Cold Moon.

This time, another thousand streams of Sword Qi appeared.

However, these thousand streams of Sword Qi did not scatter. Instead, they condensed upon Shen Bai’s Cold Moon.

In a flash, a single beam of Blood Red Sword Qi, containing the power of a thousand streams, shot out like a meteor and pierced through the shadow aberration’s chest.

The Blood Red Sword Qi didn’t just pass through; it detonated violently inside the creature.

The explosion unleashed a terrifying shockwave. With the shadow aberration at its epicenter, the cold, sinister aura in the air began to diminish amidst the blast.

The shadows began to writhe, and as they did, the withered straw covering them burst into flames.

In just a few breaths, the shadow aberration vanished without a trace.

Six wisps of Evil Qi appeared, which Shen Bai promptly collected.

Combined with the four wisps he had saved from before, Shen Bai now had a total of ten wisps of Evil Qi.

’That’s enough for one Secondary Qualitative Change. This trip was definitely worthwhile,’ Shen Bai thought, holding Cold Moon.

Ten wisps of Evil Qi might seem like a lot, but for the current Shen Bai, it would be spent in an instant.

A single Secondary Qualitative Change required all ten wisps, so Shen Bai only felt marginally wealthier.

With this in mind, Shen Bai scanned his surroundings.

The sinister, cold aura was gone, proof that there were no more aberrations in the area.

Nearby, Amber was crouched on the ground, its furry face frozen in a human-like expression of shock.

Truly, as a Deceitful Beast, Amber was starting to think it might be the most useless one in existence.

From start to finish, it hadn’t even had a chance to act.

The fight between Shen Bai and the shadow aberration had seemed to drag on, but in reality, it was over in just two moves.

With just two attacks, he had finished off an aberration even more powerful than the Sect Leader.

This was especially galling since Amber was a combat-type Deceitful Beast, making it feel utterly inadequate.

"Let’s go."

Shen Bai glanced back and spoke flatly, interrupting Amber’s thoughts.

Amber snapped out of it, let out a meow, and leaped into Shen Bai’s arms.

’For an aberration to specifically target me like that, they must have used some kind of method. I’ll ask Liu Wufeng when I get back; maybe he’ll know something,’ Shen Bai mused for a moment before leaving the wilderness.

The battle had come and gone in a flash.

From start to finish, less than half an incense stick’s worth of time had passed, and that included the time it took Shen Bai to get there.