After listening to Xuan Che’s words, Yu Sheng couldn’t help but ponder deeply, forming new suspicions about the Holy Revere Hermitage and their activities within Borderland.

But a faint noise from the mist suddenly broke his thoughts.

A quiet, wet “splash,” like a foot stepping in water.

Yu Sheng immediately snapped his gaze toward the direction of the sound. Yet, all he saw were pale, milk-white mists slowly rolling in the distance.

The ground around them was dry, completely devoid of puddles, let alone anyone stepping through them.

But the absence of visible water only heightened Yu Sheng’s vigilance.

[If my ears heard it, but my eyes see nothing, something unnatural must be drawing near.]

“The sky is growing darker,” Foxy murmured quietly beside him.

Prompted by the Demon Fox Maiden, Yu Sheng immediately noticed the changing skies.

When they’d first stepped through the Door, it had still been daylight in Boundary City—and naturally, this Mistbound City, always mirroring reality, was also bathed in daylight. Even through thick fog, the sky had remained clearly illuminated.

But now, unnoticed by anyone, that bright sky had quickly dimmed, as though heavy storm clouds had quietly covered the mist-covered heavens.

Yu Sheng’s brows furrowed deeply. At that moment, the strange sound echoed again—

Splash.

The footsteps returned, closer now!

And immediately following this footstep were two more—then three—then many.

Splash. Splash. Splash. They came from every direction, growing louder and more frequent.

An instinctive alarm rose sharply in Yu Sheng’s heart. He whirled around and stared at the fog only a few meters away.

Precisely at that moment, another invisible footstep sounded, and this time he finally glimpsed a hint of movement.

Transparent splashes scattered through the mist, as if beings from another dimension were treading through unseen water, their footsteps momentarily disturbing the mist in this world.

Just as Yu Sheng caught this faint sight, a rush of displaced air surged forward—a shadowy distortion lunged toward him.

Yu Sheng swiftly lifted his battle staff, swinging it horizontally before him. Then he shifted sideways, and with only that faint shadowy outline to guide him, he kicked fiercely into empty air!

His wolf-fang staff struck something hard and invisible, erupting in bright sparks. A fierce recoil numbed his hand, but he’d halted the enemy’s advance. Staggered and vulnerable, the invisible attacker took Yu Sheng’s powerful kick squarely in its torso.

Yu Sheng felt as though he’d kicked solid metal.

In the very next moment, he knew he’d guessed right—his attacker’s stealth failed, revealing itself fully. It was a strange, armored figure encased in heavy brass armor—a knight. The force of Yu Sheng’s blow sent the brass Knight flying backward through the air.

With a loud, clanging crash, it shattered into countless pieces on impact.

Yu Sheng stood frozen, his mouth hanging open. “What the heck?!”

And what followed next was even more bizarre.

Only moments after the brass armor scattered across the ground, it started oozing a dark, viscous substance—black and vile-smelling sludge reminiscent of swamp mud. Thick blobs squirmed grotesquely from within the shattered armor, writhing and shifting like monstrous mollusks, swiftly merging into a twisted, hunched humanoid figure. It rose unsteadily, standing—

Then instantly burst into blazing flames as a huge carrot-shaped fireball of Fox Fire smashed into it, reducing it to ashes in moments.

“What is that?!” cried the little doll from Yu Sheng’s shoulder. “Something disgusting leaked out of that armor!”

“How would I know what it is!” Yu Sheng shouted back, eyes locked warily on the now motionless brass armor and the smoldering remains of black mud. He adjusted his stance, bracing for more assaults. “Should’ve brought Little Red Riding Hood—she knows everything!”

“She’s in class right now—she’s in her final year of high school!”

Yu Sheng opened his mouth to say more, but a sudden surge of murderous footsteps silenced him.

Immediately, the sound of rushing wind tore through the fog from every side.

Seemingly enraged by the destruction of the first attacker, the invisible brass Knights, previously circling cautiously, launched their full assault. Transparent shadows darted from the misty veil, accompanied by spectral water splashes, pouncing furiously from every direction.

“Watch out!” Yu Sheng shouted, barely managing to swing his wolf-fang staff to counter the foes directly before him.

In that instant, countless fine threads of black silk erupted from beside him, soundlessly piercing through the mist, spreading swiftly and weaving an intricate net—covering every space where an enemy might lurk.

Spiderweb threads stretched and spread in every direction, brushing through the empty air without discrimination. Even those unseen enemies hidden in invisibility were caught, tangled in the silvery webs. A single touch from Irene’s threads caused at least a few seconds of confusion and slowness.

The charging Brass Knights faltered abruptly. Some stumbled and collapsed, others stiffened oddly in place, their cloaking spells disrupted. One after another, they appeared in midair as glassy figures cloaked in rippling water, hazy and translucent.

Yu Sheng seized this perfect moment, swinging his Wolf-Tooth Staff straight into an enemy frozen directly before him. The brass armor shattered on impact, bursting into fragments as thick, black sludge exploded outward like mud squeezed violently from a container.

Foxy lunged ferociously at another Brass Knight midair, first kicking it away, then pouncing close. She grabbed its arm and ripped it off in one brutal tug, quickly followed by its helmet, thick breastplate, and armored legs. In mere seconds, the Brass Knight was completely dismantled by her beastly strength. Blue foxfire erupted behind her, swiftly incinerating the black ooze to nothingness.

Just then, a chilling air emerged, accompanied by the clear ringing sound of metal.

Yu Sheng instinctively turned toward the sound. Xuan Che stepped forward, holding a sword that shimmered faintly with icy-blue frost. Wherever the blade passed, even the heavy fog froze instantly, drifting down as tiny crystals of ice.

Frost flowed outward, spreading rapidly from Xuan Che to fill the entire mist-covered street.

Yu Sheng was captivated, inwardly exclaiming: [Cultivation techniques are really something else. Look at these effects!]

He saw Xuan Che step forward, casually throwing the frosted sword from his grasp—not at the enemy, but allowing it to hover gracefully behind him, as though guided by an invisible hand. Then, Xuan Che raised one hand and quickly sketched several golden symbols in midair. Simultaneously, he flipped his other hand, conjuring more than a dozen different pills and throwing them into his mouth one after another.

Yu Sheng stared blankly: [……?]

Immediately, waves of dazzling colors began to shine around Xuan Che, intensifying further with every pill he swallowed. Without hesitation, Xuan Che then took out a stack of talisman papers from nowhere, scattering them into the air. The talismans ignited spontaneously, transforming into streams of glowing energy swirling protectively around him. Before the talismans finished burning, he grabbed another handful of pills, tossing them carelessly into his mouth as if they cost nothing.

After repeating this bizarre sequence several times, Xuan Che finally paused. He approached one Brass Knight, now immobilized midair by Irene’s threads, bent slightly at the knees, raised his fist, breathed deep, and delivered—a simple, ordinary punch.

Yu Sheng heard a dull “puff,” like a handful of dust scattered by a breath, followed immediately by a low, eerie vibration.

In that instant, the fog covering the entire neighborhood vanished. A gentle breeze swept through, revealing seven or eight Brass Knights—and even the distant buildings behind them—gone without a trace.

Yu Sheng even suspected the space beyond had briefly distorted. In fact, faint, suspicious cracks shimmered in midair.

But he had no time to marvel at Xuan Che’s absurdly spectacular punch.

Because in the same instant the fog dispersed, causing numerous Brass Knights to become visible, Yu Sheng suddenly sensed something—a familiar presence he’d created from his own blood.

It was the artificial Saintess!

Her aura approached with shocking speed, nearly teleporting from her hidden position. Yu Sheng barely had time to glance upward, and saw, just ten meters away, a black shadow ripple into existence. From within it, the tall, slender, metallic Doll leapt forward—her movements graceful like a dance, yet swift as lightning—as she lunged at Xuan Che, who hadn’t even finished retracting his fist.

In the blink of an eye, just before those deadly blades reached him, Xuan Che’s form flickered. His body dissolved into lightning, instantly flashing more than a dozen meters away. Almost simultaneously, several scorching, brilliant rays streaked past Yu Sheng’s face, fiercely targeting the artificial Saintess.

Irene (Pro) had held back from attacking until now, knowing the Brass Knights, though strange, posed little threat against Yu Sheng, Foxy, and especially Xuan Che. But Yu Sheng had warned about the artificial Saintess lurking nearby. Aware of her limited energy reserves, she’d restrained herself—until this very moment.

Facing these sudden, unfamiliar rays, the Saintess reacted immediately. She twisted her body sideways, bending her joints grotesquely to nearly breaking limits, somehow dodging most of the beams.

But one of Irene’s rays still pierced her side.

The armor, immune to foxfire and virtually impervious to bullets and most spells, now showed vulnerability. Irene’s beam easily tore through, burning cleanly into the metallic shell.