# Chapter 615: The Power of the Invisibility Cloak
PS. Presenting today's chapter, and taking the opportunity to canvass votes for the Qidian 515 Fan Festival. Everyone has 8 votes, and voting also gives away Qidian coins. I humbly ask for everyone's support and appreciation!
The combined attack formation set up by dozens of evil path cultivators had not yet taken shape before Mu Lingxi shattered it into pieces.
They had never imagined that the Holy Maiden of the Demon Sect could be so terrifying, killing nearly twenty Fish-Dragon Realm experts with a flick of her fingers. She was completely different from the last time they had crossed paths.
"Last time, this Holy Maiden deliberately held back. Did you really think your Black Market was all that formidable?" Mu Lingxi rolled her eyes, looking quite proud.
"Fall back quickly! Don't let the armor-breaking needles hit you... Ah..."
Another scream echoed through the dark forest as another Fish-Dragon Realm evil path cultivator was killed by an armor-breaking needle.
At this moment, the Holy Maiden of the Demon Sect had transformed into a queen bee. Anyone struck by the needles she fired would surely die.
The group of evil path cultivators retreated in panic, avoiding her as if she were a venomous snake or scorpion.
Standing in midair, Ice Demon watched this scene with great fury.
The people he had brought were all Fish-Dragon Realm cultivators, each one a formidable evil path expert capable of standing on their own. Losing one meant losing a great deal of wealth.
Moreover, in just ten breaths' time, nearly twenty Fish-Dragon Realm evil path cultivators had been killed by her—a devastating loss.
Ice Demon said angrily, "The Holy Maiden has been hiding her true strength quite deeply. I never expected your power to be so unfathomable. This old man has underestimated you."
"Cold Wind Like Blades."
Ice Demon concentrated his spiritual power, channeling it into his withered wooden staff.
A powerful wave of energy erupted from the staff, forming a massive vortex of cold air a hundred zhang in diameter. In an instant, the surrounding vegetation turned to dust.
Even Mu Lingxi felt tremendous pressure. She quickly released her Sacred Light Protective Qi, kicked off the ground, avoided the cold air vortex, and rapidly retreated backward.
"Whoosh!"
A white dot of light flew from Mu Lingxi's left eye, transforming into a Sacred Sword that fell into her hand. She slashed it toward the cold air vortex.
"Cloud-Breaking Style."
Sharp sword energy turned into a long sword arc, tearing through the vortex and flying toward Ice Demon at its center.
Ice Demon merely sneered coldly, twisting his withered wooden staff. Within the cold air vortex, a white ice ring blade immediately condensed and shot forward, shattering the sword energy.
"Holy Maiden, you underestimate a forty-fourth-level Spiritual Power Master. Do you think you can fight this old man alone? Isn't that a bit overconfident?"
Ice Demon let out a hoarse laugh, raising his withered wooden staff with both hands. At the same time, the cold air vortex grew larger and larger, sweeping across an area several li wide. Dust, boulders, and trees all flew up, creating a scene of apocalyptic collapse.
Within the cold air vortex, one ice ring blade after another condensed, spinning and flying around, emitting a "whoosh-whoosh" whistling sound.
The devastating power of a fortieth-level Spiritual Power Master was fully unleashed.
Just as Ice Demon was about to release his spell...
Suddenly, above and behind Ice Demon, a bowl-thick purple lightning bolt condensed out of thin air, forming strange patterns. It rapidly descended and struck him on the head.
Completely unprepared, Ice Demon was hit by the lightning. The spell he had been casting halfway immediately rebounded back on him.
"Boom!"
Countless ice ring blades lost control, rushing toward the center and slashing into Ice Demon's body.
The massive cold air vortex collapsed in an instant, dispersing outward.
Suffering from the spell backlash, Ice Demon grunted, his face turning pale. His body swayed unsteadily, as if about to fall from midair.
Zhang Ruochen, wearing the Meteor Invisibility Cloak, stood above and behind Ice Demon. He was slightly surprised that his sneak attack hadn't killed this old demon.
It seemed Ice Demon must have some protective treasure on him.
"Wrath of the Thunder General."
Zhang Ruochen was only surprised for a moment before quickly casting a second spell.
Over a dozen lightning bolts condensed into a three-zhang-tall, ferocious-looking Thunder General. Holding a lightning hammer, it let out a roaring sound and smashed down onto Ice Demon's head.
"Crack!"
One of the crystal pendants on the string around Ice Demon's neck burst open, releasing a circle of cyan light that enveloped his body.
When the Thunder General struck with its lightning hammer, the cyan light blocked it, creating ripples of energy that spread outward.
Even though it was blocked, the hammer strike still made Ice Demon spit out a mouthful of blood. His body rapidly plummeted toward the ground.
Thirty li away, with a thunderous crash, Ice Demon slammed into the earth, creating a shattered crater.
Coughing up blood, Ice Demon's eyes flashed with cold light. He flew up from the pit, hovering at treetop height, and scanned his surroundings, roaring: "Who is it? Who dares to ambush this old man?"
"Sizzle!"
With his roar, a bone-chilling cold air spread from the withered wooden staff in Ice Demon's hand, freezing everything within dozens of li into a frozen wasteland. All flowers, trees, fish, insects, birds, and beasts turned into crystalline ice sculptures.
Without any warning, three zhang above Ice Demon's head, a sizzling sound emerged as a spherical lightning bolt condensed.
Ice Demon, having cultivated for a hundred years, was indeed an old demon. After two sneak attacks, his vigilance had greatly increased.
By the time Zhang Ruochen made his third move and had just condensed the spherical lightning bolt, Ice Demon immediately sensed it. He raised his withered wooden staff and struck upward, shooting out a three-meter-long ice spike.
Although it was only a first-level ice spell, when unleashed by a forty-fourth-level Spiritual Power Master, it could unleash devastating penetrating power.
Even a Fish-Dragon Ninth Change cultivator who had cultivated a Glazed Treasure Body would be severely injured if struck by the ice spike. The Glazed Treasure Body's endurance had its limits.
Zhang Ruochen hadn't expected Ice Demon's vigilance to be so high. He immediately activated his movement technique and dodged to the side.
"Whoosh!"
The three-meter-long ice spike, like a jade spear, flew past the edge of Zhang Ruochen's waist, shot into the sky, and pierced through the clouds.
Although the Meteor Invisibility Cloak was extraordinary, allowing him to evade the Heavenly Eye of a Spiritual Power Master and the five senses of martial cultivators, once Zhang Ruochen touched external objects or used martial techniques or spells, the other party would still detect him.
Therefore, when Zhang Ruochen wore the Meteor Invisibility Cloak to ambush an opponent stronger than himself, he only had one chance.
If he failed, the opponent could locate him through fluctuations in his true qi or spells, leaving him nowhere to hide.
That was exactly the case with Ice Demon now.
Although he couldn't see Zhang Ruochen's figure, he could sense the fluctuations of spells and heaven-earth spiritual energy. So, he swung his withered wooden staff again and unleashed a second-level spell: Frost Storm.
Overwhelming frost condensed. Anyone below Fish-Dragon Seventh Change who was touched by the frost energy would immediately freeze into an ice sculpture.
Even cultivators above Fish-Dragon Seventh Change would be in grave danger if caught in the storm.
Since he had already been detected, Zhang Ruochen decided to stop hiding.
His body materialized in midair, like a liquid humanoid creature turning into a streak of light. In an instant, he rushed in front of Ice Demon and executed a first-level spell, Wind-Thunder Finger, aiming for Ice Demon's brow.
Even a forty-fourth-level Spiritual Power Master, when engaged in close combat, mostly used first-level and second-level spells. Although their power wasn't as great as higher-level spells, they could be cast quickly, making them very suitable for close-range fighting.
Without a martial cultivator to protect him, if he tried to cast a powerful third-level or fourth-level spell, he would likely be killed before he could release it.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen rapidly approaching, Ice Demon's pupils dilated.
Zhang Ruochen's speed was as fast as a beam of light. Ice Demon had no time to dodge before the Wind-Thunder Finger struck his brow.
"Bang!"
Another crystal on the pendant around Ice Demon's neck shattered.
At the same time, his body flew backward and crashed to the ground again.
The reason Zhang Ruochen's speed had become so fast was because he was wearing the Meteor Invisibility Cloak.
This treasure could not only make him invisible but also double his speed. That was where the name "Meteor" came from.
Doubling one's speed might not seem like much, but that was a grave misconception.
When two equally powerful experts fought, even if one's speed increased by just a fraction, it could greatly improve their chances of victory.
If speed doubled, one could almost crush the opponent without any effort.
A Fish-Dragon Ninth Change cultivator was only twice as fast as a Fish-Dragon First Change cultivator. Yet the gap between them was like heaven and earth.
With Zhang Ruochen's current strength, he could contend with an ordinary Fish-Dragon Ninth Change cultivator. Wearing the Meteor Invisibility Cloak, his speed was almost unmatched in the Fish-Dragon Realm.
"Blocking my three lethal attacks in a row."
Zhang Ruochen's gaze fixed on the crystal pendant around Ice Demon's neck. He noticed that three crystals were missing, leaving only two.
Ice Demon's protective treasure must be that crystal pendant.
Mu Lingxi had already finished off the remaining evil path cultivators and caught up. She lightly tapped her toe in the air, creating ripples of true qi, and landed as gracefully as a swallow on the top of a maple tree to Ice Demon's left.
Mu Lingxi looked down at the disheveled Ice Demon and laughed, "I heard that Ice Demon has a 'Seven Star Pendant,' a relic from the Middle Ages found in a high-level ruin. Someone once offered seven cities in exchange for it, but he refused. Now, only two are left?"
Ice Demon stood on the ground, burning with fury.
As Mu Lingxi had said, the Seven Star Pendant was a priceless treasure. Possessing it was like having seven extra lives.
But each use consumed one crystal, and they were irreplaceable.
Over the years, he had been very careful, using only two crystals.
The first time was twenty years ago, when he was besieged by the imperial army in the Eastern Domain Sacred Land. He had no choice but to use one to save his life.
The second time was when a Half-Saint wanted to kill him, attacking from a thousand li away. Forced into a corner, Ice Demon used another crystal to protect himself and then used other means to escape.
Both times were extremely dangerous, life-and-death moments where he had no choice but to use the crystals on the Seven Star Pendant.
However, Ice Demon had always felt it was worth it. With the Seven Star Pendant, he had escaped death twice. Otherwise, he would have died twenty years ago.
But today, Ice Demon was furious and utterly frustrated. In a sneak attack by a junior, he had wasted three crystals—equivalent to wasting three lives.
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