Aurora and Bis quickly looked towards the direction of the sound. The speaker was none other than Abe Hishin, who had rushed over upon hearing the commotion.
Originally, Abe Hishin, along with his subordinate Da Li Wan and a group of Shikigami, had been searching the forest for Ling Tian's whereabouts.
It was at this moment that the Spider Spirit discovered Aurora and the others and launched an attack.
Abe Hishin had initially thought that with the Spider Spirit's abilities, dealing with these two women would be a simple matter.
However, to Abe Hishin's utter astonishment, the Spider Spirit was actually killed by these two women!
The backlash from the death of a Shikigami caused Abe Hishin to spit out another mouthful of blood.
Enraged, Abe Hishin no longer bothered searching for Ling Tian and personally came to deal with these two women.
In his opinion, even if he lost Ling Tian's trail, as long as he could control or kill Aurora, it would still be a worthwhile trip. Mario Kuiet had offered an exorbitant bounty.
Aurora and Bis looked at the scene before them, their hearts sinking to the bottom.
In front of Abe Hishin stood several more Shikigami, including two Hito-gata, one Kai-gami, and Da Li Wan, who looked ferocious and not entirely human.
What terrified the two women even more was the Semi-Bingxue Nu, floating a few meters away with its feet suspended in mid-air!
Just moments ago, the two women had personally witnessed how even someone as powerful as Ling Tian had been frozen into an ice sculpture and killed by this monster!
"Please don't hurt us, we surrender!"
Aurora said, raising her hands in defeat and slowly walking towards Abe Hishin and his group.
Abe Hishin remained silent, a cold smile playing on his lips as he stared coldly at Aurora.
Soon, Aurora arrived within five meters of Abe Hishin.
At this very moment, Aurora's pupils contracted sharply. In an instant, Aurora unleashed all the remaining ice-based psionic energy she possessed!
She was putting all her effort into this one move. Aurora was a very intelligent woman. She knew that even if she and Bis fought with all their might, and even if they were at their peak, they would likely not be a match for Abe Hishin and his Shikigami.
The only way was to strike the rider before the horse, to capture the king before capturing the bandits!
As long as Abe Hishin was eliminated, the Shikigami would likely start fighting amongst themselves. In other words, even if they were eventually killed by the Shikigami, it would be worth it to have taken some down with them!
The eruption of extreme cold occurred almost instantaneously. In Aurora's eyes, Abe Hishin had no way to dodge such an attack!
The cold air from Aurora first struck the two Hito-gata Shikigami in front of Abe Hishin. These things were tough and served as shields. In almost an instant, the two Hito-gata were turned into ice sculptures!
However, Hito-gata were not humans, but rather like animated suits of armor. The extreme cold rendered the two Shikigami immobile but did not kill them!
The cold air continued to fly towards Abe Hishin. Just as he was about to meet his end, the Semi-Bingxue Nu, several meters away, suddenly opened its mouth wide!
"Hiss... hiss..."
The Semi-Bingxue Nu emitted a piercing sound, like two pieces of foam rubbing against each other near one's ear, causing extreme irritation.
Then, something unbelievable happened. The cold air released from Aurora suddenly made a sharp turn in front of Abe Hishin and flew directly towards the Semi-Bingxue Nu!
Following this, the cold air was sucked into the belly of the Semi-Bingxue Nu, which had its mouth open.
Aurora and Bis were completely stunned. This cold air, which could inflict heavy damage on any living creature, was simply swallowed.
Not only that, but the Semi-Bingxue Nu even showed a look of satisfaction after consuming the cold air. This deadly cold air had become a great tonic for the monster!
Seeing this, Abe Hishin let out a hearty laugh.
"Aurora, stop these futile struggles!
Playing with cold air against my Semi-Bingxue Nu is like a mayfly trying to shake a tree!"
Aurora could no longer unleash any psionic energy. That last move had been her limit, draining the last of her inner psionic energy.
Aurora gritted her teeth, quickly reached for her waist, drew a dagger, and hurled it fiercely at Abe Hishin. She had no other choice.
However, before the dagger was even a meter away from Abe Hishin's body, a shield suddenly appeared around him.
This shield was invisible to the naked eye, but the dagger slammed into it. A white light appeared where the dagger made contact with the shield.
It turned out that this was the Kai-gami beside Abe Hishin, who had timely intervened to protect its master.
At this moment, the Semi-Bingxue Nu opened its mouth wide again and inhaled forcefully, rapidly drawing the cold air from the two Hito-gata, who had been frozen into ice sculptures, into its mouth.
The two Hito-gata then regained their mobility, wielding their long sabers and slowly advancing towards Aurora and Bis. The two women were now in despair!
"Very well, Ms. Aurora, you have thoroughly angered me!
Originally, I intended to give you a quick end, to let you die peacefully. But now, I have changed my mind. I will refine you into a Shikigami, ensuring your soul never finds peace!
However, I must say, the soul of a psionic power user would likely make for a very capable Shikigami, haha..."
Expressions of despair appeared on Aurora and Bis's faces. However, something unexpected happened again. From the grass not far from Abe Hishin, an animal resembling a tanuki suddenly let out a piercing cry!
To call it a tanuki is to call it a Raccoon Dog, the animal mentioned in the idiom "birds of a feather flock together." This is a very common wild animal in Japan, found not only in the wilderness but also in cities.
These animals are very intelligent and easily develop spiritual awareness, which is why Onmyoji often keep them.
Raccoon Dogs have very keen senses and excellent olfactory abilities, making them adept at tracking. They are often used by Onmyoji in urban environments or for tracking prey.
Abe Hishin recognized that the cry of this Raccoon Dog was a warning!
What happened next made Abe Hishin's blood run cold. In the sky, which was just beginning to lighten, over twenty fireballs the size of human heads suddenly appeared!
These fireballs circled in the sky, like countless Kongming lanterns. Suddenly, these fireballs flew towards Abe Hishin!
As an Onmyoji, Abe Hishin was extremely sensitive to the spiritual energy and power of heaven and earth. He could feel the immense energy contained within these fireballs!