Chapter 1275: Ma Ling Unleashes Her Fury (Part One)
At this moment, Ma Ling was still very weak, though significantly better than when she had struggled out of the cave just moments before. This change in her condition was likely due to the Dānyào she had consumed earlier finally taking effect.
Still, her condition had only slightly improved. She remained very weak, just a little better than before. If one had to pinpoint the exact difference, it was that previously, walking was extremely difficult for her, but now, walking shouldn't pose a major issue. Running under the setting sun was certainly out of the question, but short-distance, normal walking seemed achievable.
Although Ma Ling was still very weak and her body remained in discomfort, she completely disregarded these negative influences. Her lifelong nemesis was right before her eyes, and all her attention was fixated solely on him. How could she possibly concern herself with her own physical state?
Faced with Ma Ling's icy, murderously intense questioning, Fu Yan's face registered confusion, yet a trace of unconcealable panic flickered in the depths of his eyes.
"Who are you? I've never seen you before!"
At Fu Yan's denial, Ma Ling let out a cold laugh, then spoke.
"You think pretending not to know me will make this matter simply pass? Heh heh, you're truly naive."
As she spoke, a flash of light streaked across Ma Ling's hand, and a dagger radiating a cold gleam suddenly appeared in her grasp.
"What do you want to do? I hope you can calm down a bit. If there's any misunderstanding, we can clarify it face-to-face. Please, don't act impulsively and harm the innocent!"
Fu Yan spoke persuasively, his tone carrying not only a hint of urgency but even a touch of sincerity.
"Heh heh, a misunderstanding? It seems I really need to provoke you a little. Perhaps then you'll remember something."
Ma Ling said with a cold laugh. The moment her words fell, her right hand, clutching the dagger, suddenly thrust violently towards Fu Yan, who lay on the ground!
This scene almost scared the soul out of Fu Yan, for the spot Ma Ling aimed her dagger at was precisely his chest!
However, the next sight made Fu Yan freeze in astonishment. Ma Ling's suddenly thrusting dagger was actually blocked—not by someone intervening to stop her, but by the golden light shield enveloping her, which had intercepted her attack.
As Fu Yan paused in surprise, Ma Ling likewise froze for a moment. It was clear that her intense rage and killing intent had made her completely forget the protective shield still enveloping her body—a shield that not only fended off external attacks to keep her safe but also prevented any foreign object from entering its confines.
Her body, too, was unable to exit the shield. Although the shield moved with her, this was merely for mobility; if her limbs or any part of her body attempted to pass beyond its confines, the shield would obstruct her path like an unyielding wall.
The difference lay in the fact that if an external object attempted to forcibly enter the shield, it would inevitably be repelled by its power. This applied to both spiritual attacks and physical objects, unless the external assault was powerful enough to completely break through the shield.
Inside the shield, however, one would not experience such resistance. Just like Ma Ling at this moment, though her attack was blocked by the shield, she herself did not suffer any rebound force. The shield gently deflected her descending dagger like a sponge, causing her no harm. Were it not for this, given her current physical state, any rebound from the shield's power would undoubtedly have resulted in injuries compounded upon existing ones, if not shaking her to death.
To fail to injure the enemy, only to be injured by one's own protective shield—that was indeed a tragically ludicrous irony. Yet, some shields functioned precisely in that manner. Fortunately, the one protecting Ma Ling was not among them; otherwise, she would surely have already collapsed onto the ground.
Their moments of astonishment were fleeting; both quickly snapped back to reality.
Fu Yan, snapping back to reality, was instantly overjoyed. He had originally thought he was destined to take that dagger strike. Although he hadn't been injured before, he currently couldn't move his body in the slightest; even struggling with all his might yielded minimal movement. Thus, if Ma Ling's dagger had successfully landed on him, even if he managed to avoid a vital spot, he would undoubtedly suffer.
The outcome, however, was that the dagger never landed, successfully blocked by the shield protecting Ma Ling. Naturally, he was overjoyed.
In stark contrast to Fu Yan's joy, Ma Ling's expression, having reacted, was far from pleasant. She had intended to savagely plunge that dagger into Fu Yan's heart, to finally unleash the years of pent-up resentment she harbored. But the very shield protecting her had blocked it, filling her with extreme disappointment. The reason for her incredibly grim expression wasn't that she blamed Yang Haoran for providing the shield—she knew Yang Haoran had set up such a powerful defense purely for her safety, and she wouldn't direct her anger at him. No, she was simply infuriated that the dagger had failed to pierce Fu Yan's heart.
"Little girl, let's talk properly," Fu Yan began. "Don't always resort to violence to solve problems. Acting like this makes one seem immature. Mature people handle things. . ."
Fu Yan, letting out a sigh of relief, intended to lecture Ma Ling on proper conduct, thereby buying himself some time. During this period, he could multitask, figuring out how to first neutralize the power of the Corpse Suppression Talisman affecting him. Once the Corpse Suppression Talisman's power was cleared, he would no longer be as passive as he was now. He had absolute confidence that he could quickly shatter the shackles Yang Haoran had placed on him.
Once he broke free, Ma Ling, standing before him, would no longer pose any threat. Conversely, killing her would be as easy as flicking a finger for him. Not only was Ma Ling currently extremely weak, but even if she were at her peak, he was confident he could easily overpower her.
What Fu Yan never expected was that before he had even finished lecturing Ma Ling, a sudden change occurred!
The shield enveloping Ma Ling's entire body suddenly vanished. This sight not only made him pause in surprise but also caused the words he was about to utter to catch in his throat.
"The shield disappeared," he mused. "Could it be that the talisman's power ran out, causing the shield to vanish?"
Fu Yan secretly pondered this, though the thought existed in his mind for only a fleeting instant before he himself overturned the conjecture.
"No, that's not right," he corrected himself. "A faint Talisman Spirit Power can still be vaguely sensed on her body's surface, and this energy shows no signs of dissipating; it remains in a stable state. This indicates that the talisman's power hasn't vanished; it has merely concealed itself on her!"
From Fu Yan's perspective, his latter conjecture seemed the most accurate. However, this thought sparked a flicker of worry in his heart, as he couldn't be sure if this concealed shield would still impede Ma Ling's actions as it had just moments before. Thus, a faint, uneasy premonition began to stir within him.
Ma Ling likewise noticed the sudden disappearance of the shield surrounding her body, and she too sensed that its power hadn't vanished but had merely become hidden.
However, whether the shield in this state would restrict her actions as it had before was a point on which she, like Fu Yan, couldn't be certain.
But in one crucial aspect, she differed from Fu Yan. At this moment, Fu Yan harbored a vague sense of unease, fearing that the now-concealed shield would no longer restrict Ma Ling's actions, thereby allowing her to harm him.
Conversely, Ma Ling, whose expression had previously been grim, now showed a trace of excitement. She vaguely felt that the shield in this state would no longer restrict her movements. Although this assumption was entirely born from her desperate desire for such an outcome, it nonetheless fueled her growing agitation.
Ma Ling said nothing. She tightened her grip on the dagger and thrust it again towards Fu Yan on the ground. Only this time, her movements were slow; she didn't plunge it into Fu Yan all at once, but rather slowly approached.
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