At dawn, Luoxia Ridge looked like a sheet of rice paper soaked in ink, the dense, impenetrable mist winding between the sheer cliffs.
Withered vines hung from the blade-like cliff walls. Whenever the wind blew, they made a rustling whimper, like the whispers of ghosts.
Morning dew gathered on the tips of the grass. Before it could fall, it was swept up by the mountain wind and shattered into tiny ice crystals that struck the gravel path, splashing up faint white traces.
Three magnificent steeds advanced through the morning mist, their hooves crushing the gravel with soft clip-clop sounds.
A four-person carriage followed closely behind.
The rumble, rumble of its wheels was especially jarring in the silent valley, as though striking against everyone’s taut nerves.
Three guards beside the carriage wore long swords at their waists, their wary eyes sweeping over the cliff walls on either side. Their palms had already broken out in cold sweat—
The terrain of Luoxia Ridge was treacherous and had always been a place where bandits lurked.
And now, with this eerie mist permeating the area, it was even more unnerving.
Inside the carriage, Zhiwei, disguised as “Li Xuan,” leaned against the soft cushions. His face was pale as paper, his lips tinged bluish-gray.
A few drops of deliberately produced “cold sweat” clung to his forehead. The deliberately dispersed aura of chaos blended perfectly with his appearance of being “seriously wounded and not yet recovered.”
His fingers rubbed the signal talisman at his waist, the fingertips having already warmed the talisman paper from the friction.
His gaze swept through the gap in the carriage curtain toward the cliffs on both sides—
Deep within the mist, faint red lights flickered, like bloodthirsty pupils of a beast lying in wait.
That was the unique aura of the Asuras under Ling Xi.
“Hyah!”
The coachman suddenly cracked his whip, attempting to speed up and rush through this ominous place.
But at that moment, the leading steed suddenly raised its front hooves and reared up, letting out a terrified neigh.
Caught off guard, the coachman was thrown to the ground. Before he could even get back up, a black shadow shot out from the mist.
Like a bolt of black lightning, it instantly dragged him into the dense fog.
Only a short scream remained before it completely disappeared into the silent valley.
The three guards instantly drew their swords. The blades made a faint hum as they cut through the air, and they warily stared into the depths of the mist.
Zhiwei forced himself up and pushed open the carriage door, staggering as he grabbed the doorframe.
He deliberately let his body sway, his voice hoarse yet carrying a hint of deliberately affected arrogance.
“Who goes there?”
The mist seemed to be stirred by an invisible hand, surging as it retreated to both sides.
Dozens of Asuras wearing ferocious bronze masks slowly emerged.
Every one of them was tall and powerfully built, their muscles knotted. Faint black qi swirled around their bodies, mixed with an almost imperceptible smell of blood.
Their pupils flashed with scarlet light as they stared fixedly at the carriage and guards, as though sizing up their prey.
Just then, a graceful figure slowly approached over the gravel.
It was Ling Xi.
She wore a pure-black fitted outfit that outlined her exquisite figure, yet she exuded a bone-chilling coldness.
Her raven-black hair was tied up with a black jade hairpin, while several loose strands hung beside her cheeks, swaying gently with each step.
Wisps of chaotic qi coiled around her fingertips.
The black qi seemed almost alive, writhing as it moved. Wherever it passed, the grass on the ground instantly withered and yellowed.
“Long time no see?”
Ling Xi’s voice was cold as ice. Her gaze swept over Zhiwei’s “weak” appearance, and a mocking smile curled at the corners of her lips.
“Looking at how sickly you are, are you heading to Fulong Camp to seek treatment?
“Or perhaps you intend to take the star performer from Xunhua Brothel and flee?”
Zhiwei inwardly thought, Here it comes.
Yet his face merely squeezed out a cheeky grin. He cupped his hands and said,
“Miss Ling Xi, you’re joking. Although I, Li Xuan, am no wealthy idler, I’m not the sort of person who would run off without paying his debts.
“I paid every last copper for the wine and tea at Xunhua Brothel. How did that turn into fleeing?
“Could it be that you’ve taken a liking to this handsome face of mine and deliberately chased after me?”
At those words, even the three guards beside him couldn’t help twitching at the corners of their mouths—
Their own “young master” was already in such a “seriously wounded” state, yet he still had the mind to joke around.
Li Xuan’s inner OS: If you’re going to imitate someone, at least imitate them properly. I don’t remember myself being this slick!
Ling Xi was so infuriated that she actually laughed.
She began using Pure Heart to detect the energy fluctuations around them, yet a trace of cold ruthlessness flashed in her eyes.
The chaotic qi around her fingertips grew increasingly dense.
“Smooth-tongued. I don’t have time to play riddles with you. I’m here to collect the ransom for Rushi.
“You took my star performer away without paying a single cent, and now you want to pat your butt and leave?”
“Ransom? Easy, easy!”
Zhiwei slapped his thigh and deliberately put on an unusually generous expression.
“Isn’t it just money? What’s the big deal? Let me return to Fulong Camp first.
“I’ll immediately send someone back to fetch ten thousand taels of gold and personally deliver it to Xunhua Brothel. How about that?”
“No need.”
A wisp of pitch-black chaotic qi condensed at Ling Xi’s fingertips.
The black qi spiraled around her palm, emitting a terrifying pressure.
“Leave Li Xuan behind, and we’ll consider the ransom settled.”
Before her words had even finished, she suddenly glared at Zhiwei, her gaze as sharp as a blade.
“Don’t think that this crude disguise can fool me! Speak! Where is the real Li Xuan?”
Zhiwei shrugged with a smile, the cheeky expression never leaving his face.
“He already left ahead of us. You’re too late. If you want to chase after your beloved, go to Fulong Camp!”
As he stalled for time, he quietly moved his finger, attempting to activate the signal talisman at his waist.
But before he could succeed, Ling Xi abruptly condensed the chaotic qi in her palm.
Her figure shot toward him like a ghost.
Her palm strike carried an intense corrosive aura and went straight for his face.
“Good grief, she really attacks the moment she says she will!”
Zhiwei was startled inwardly and didn’t dare relax for even an instant.
He abruptly retreated, barely avoiding Ling Xi’s palm.
Bang!
Ling Xi’s palm struck the carriage solidly.
The fine rosewood carriage instantly seemed to be burned by raging flames. Wherever the force of her palm touched, the wood rapidly carbonized into ash, with wisps of black smoke rising into the air.
The air filled with the smell of charred wood.
Zhiwei looked at the carriage that had been reduced to ashes, secretly astonished.
She can actually control chaotic qi with such precision? The power of concentrating it in a localized area is this terrifying?
If I were struck by her, I’m afraid not even my bones would remain.
Ling Xi missed with her first strike, and her expression became even more displeased.
She had thought she could easily take down this “impostor,” but she hadn’t expected his reaction to be so fast.
“You don’t have to tell me,” she sneered, her eyes dark and sinister.
“Once I capture you, I’ll naturally have a way to make you personally take me to Li Xuan.”
Zhiwei’s heart tightened, and he secretly became more vigilant.
I absolutely cannot let the chaotic qi on her body touch me. Otherwise, the consequences will be disastrous.
At that moment, Ling Xi gently placed her hands, wrapped in chaotic qi, on the shoulders of two Asuras beside her.
The two Asuras shuddered all over.
Their pupils were instantly drowned in scarlet light.
The black qi around their bodies surged like waves of ink, and their figures rapidly expanded to more than twice their original size before the naked eye.
Their muscles bulged like cast-iron blocks. Their clothing was stretched and torn apart, revealing skin covered in spiderweb-like black patterns—
This was precisely the sign that chaotic qi was corroding their flesh.
Their roars rolled up from deep within their throats, hoarse and savage like the howls of beasts.
Their claws instantly lengthened by three inches, their tips glowing with an eerie blue light. They had clearly been infused with chaotic poison.
Only pure killing desire remained in their eyes.
It was the symbol of berserk transformation.
“Tear him apart!”
Ling Xi gave a cold command, and the chaotic qi at her fingertips surged.
The two berserk Asuras seemed to have been struck in the back by a heavy hammer. They kicked off the ground and leaped several yards into the air.
Their bodies shrank into two black shooting stars midair as they charged violently toward Zhiwei.
When their feet landed, the gravel flew in every direction. Two deep footprints were stamped into the ground.
Even the withered vines on the cliff walls were shaken loose, sending clouds of dust cascading down.
The Asura on the left attacked first, swinging his claws directly at Zhiwei’s face.
The claw wind was sharp as a blade, causing the air to hiss. Even the surrounding mist was torn open.
The Asura on the right circled behind him, both fists clenched.
The curve of his tensed muscles was like a fully drawn bow.
With a sound that tore through the air, his fist slammed toward Zhiwei’s back.
Wherever the fist wind passed, the grass was instantly shredded.
One attacked from the front and the other from behind.
Their moves were vicious and completely without restraint.
Clearly, they intended to kill him in a single strike.
“Good!”
A fierce glint flashed through Zhiwei’s eyes.
The cheeky smile from earlier instantly disappeared, while his body’s reactions were as fast as lightning.
Facing the claws lunging toward him from the front, he did not meet them head-on.
His waist suddenly bent backward into an extremely strange arc, barely avoiding the claw’s edge.
The claws skimmed past his forehead, carrying away several strands of black hair, while simultaneously carving five deep grooves into the carriage pillar behind him.
At the same time, his right hand swiftly drew the short blade from his waist.
As his wrist turned, the blade shimmered with a faint silver light.
Using the momentum of his backward lean, he touched the ground with his toes.
His body spun like a top, and the short blade slashed toward the fist of the Asura behind him, carrying a whirlwind with it.
Clang!
The blade collided with the fist, sending sparks flying in all directions.
The black patterns on the Asura’s fist were temporarily suppressed by the silver light, and a shallow bloody mark actually appeared.
The Asura cried out in pain and suddenly increased the force of his punch.
Zhiwei’s arm went numb, and the short blade nearly slipped from his hand.
Knowing that he could not remain locked in battle, Zhiwei simultaneously raised his left hand toward his waist.
His fingertip precisely pressed the signal talisman.
The entire sequence of movements happened as swiftly as a rabbit darting away and a falcon swooping down.
He avoided the two berserk Asuras’ pincer attack while simultaneously activating the signal.
A golden streak of light shot through the mist and straight into the sky, exploding above into a dazzling golden flower.
At the same time, the berserk Asura on the left lunged again, its claws reaching for Zhiwei’s wrist.
The Asura on the right spread his arms, attempting to grab him firmly.
The two coordinated perfectly, sealing off every possible escape route.
Zhiwei’s eyes narrowed.
He exerted force through his wrist and threw the short blade into the air.
His body suddenly dropped, slipping beneath the Asura’s armpit.
At the same time, he kicked backward with his heel, striking the right Asura directly behind the knee.
The Asura lost his balance and fell forward, sending gravel flying.
Zhiwei used the recoil to leap into the air, caught the falling short blade, and landed several yards away in an open area.
His breathing was slightly disordered, but he still maintained a steady defensive stance.
“Your reactions are pretty quick. Too bad you still can’t escape!”
Ling Xi sneered and once again condensed chaotic qi at her fingertips, preparing to continue directing the Asuras to attack.
Almost simultaneously, dozens of golden runes suddenly lit up on the western cliff.
Shi Gan led thirty elite disciples out from the forest behind the cliff.
Each held a purple crystal stone.
They shouted in unison:
“Break the formation!”
Thirty crystals of the Purple Lightning Soul-Locking Formation were thrown like shooting stars into the group of Asuras brought by Ling Xi.
They suddenly exploded in midair, transforming into a sky full of purple lightning.
Like a gigantic electrical net, it wrapped around most of Ling Xi’s Asura subordinates one after another, binding them tightly.
The Asuras let out agonized roars.
They struggled madly but could not break free.
Ling Xi had already prepared for this.
At the instant the soul-locking formation crystals exploded and activated the formation, she rapidly formed hand seals.
A powerful suction force erupted from her palms.
She forcibly extracted the chaotic qi from the bodies of the trapped Asuras and absorbed it all into herself.
The black qi surrounding her body instantly surged, burning fiercely like black flames.
It forcibly burned away the incoming purple lightning—
The suppressive power of the Soul-Locking Formation not only failed to trap her, but was instead devoured by her chaotic qi, transforming into scattered purple light that disappeared into the air.
“Attack!”
At Shi Gan’s command, the disciples drew their bows and nocked their arrows.
The arrowheads were coated with specially prepared Evil-Breaking medicine.
They shot toward the remaining Asuras like a rainstorm.
But those Asuras who had not been trapped were also infused with chaotic qi by Ling Xi.
Every one of them went berserk.
They used their hardened bodies to forcibly block the arrows.
Even when arrowheads pierced their flesh, they remained completely unaffected and continued charging madly toward Shi Gan’s group.
A cold smile curled at Ling Xi’s lips, her eyes filled with disdain.
“Do you think my subordinates consist only of these people?”
As she spoke, her figure flashed.
Like a ghost, she rushed into Shi Gan’s formation.
Her palms wrapped in chaotic qi rapidly brushed across the shoulders of two disciples.
The two disciples shuddered.
Their eyes instantly turned scarlet, like puppets being controlled.
They turned the long blades in their hands and slashed toward their fellow disciples.
“Not good!”
Shi Gan’s expression changed drastically.
He wanted to stop them, but it was already too late.
“Don’t let her touch you! Spread out!”
Zhiwei shouted a warning.
At the same time, he drew the short blade from his waist and moved to meet a charging berserk Asura.
Amid the chaos, hurried footsteps came from the eastern side.
Lin Que arrived with twenty disciples, rushing in from the sealed-off retreat route to provide support.
“Quick! Purification crystals!”
Lin Que shouted loudly, throwing a white crystal forward first.
The disciples behind him responded one after another, throwing their white purification crystals toward the berserk Asuras and disciples.
The crystals exploded the instant they struck the ground, transforming into a sky full of white light mist.
One circular curtain of light after another formed, enveloping the berserk individuals.
This was precisely the Radiant Purification Formation.
The curtains of light contained pure purification power capable of dispersing chaotic qi.
The berserk individuals enveloped by the light curtains let out painful cries.
The black patterns on their bodies gradually faded, and their eyes slowly regained clarity.
Ling Xi, however, remained completely unconcerned.
Instead, she burst into laughter.
Her laughter was shrill and arrogant.
“You think this simple formation can stop me? Chaotic qi is like the undying flames of hell. It can burn everything in this world. Aside from purification masters, no one can stop chaos.”
As she spoke, she slowly walked toward several berserk Asuras trapped by the Purple Lightning Soul-Locking Formation.
She gently pressed her black-qi-wrapped palm against the purple web of light.
A shocking scene occurred.
The supposedly indestructible purple web rapidly melted the instant it came into contact with the chaotic qi, like snow beneath the blazing sun.
In the end, it transformed into specks of powder and disappeared.
The trapped Asuras regained their freedom.
They went berserk once more and rejoined the battle.
“Ling Xi, your opponent is me!”
A deep shout like thunder tore through the mist, making everyone’s eardrums tremble.
Everyone turned toward the voice.
On one of the three fine steeds sat a young man wearing a blue robe.
He suddenly threw off the guard’s cloak covering him and flipped down from the horse.
It was Li Xuan.
His figure was tall and straight. Although there was a hint of carefree playfulness on his face, his eyes contained a resolute light.
On another horse beside him, a masked guard maintained a low-key posture.
The mask concealed most of his face, revealing only his sharply defined jaw.
His aura was calm and steady.
He made no unnecessary movements, silently protecting Li Xuan from the side and rear.
Li Xuan stretched his limbs.
Soon, another carefree smile appeared on his face as he looked at Ling Xi.
“Miss Ling Xi, can’t we just talk things out?
“There’s no need for all this fighting and killing, right?
“Isn’t it just a ransom? You should’ve said so earlier. I don’t even have much of a grudge against you.”
The moment Ling Xi saw Li Xuan, a trace of delight flashed through her eyes.
It was immediately replaced by intense greed.
“So you’re here!”
She licked her lips, her gaze like that of a venomous snake locking onto its prey.
“Li Xuan, you were really hard to find.”
“Looking for me?”
Li Xuan crossed his arms and deliberately took a dramatic step backward.
“Miss Ling Xi, I don’t owe you any money, nor have I taken advantage of you. Why have you mobilized so many people to find me? What do you want?”
Chu Wanran let out a low chuckle from behind his mask.
He slightly shifted his body and stood shoulder to shoulder with Li Xuan.
Ling Xi was amused by Li Xuan’s words.
She patiently extended a hand, her tone carrying a hint of temptation.
“I want you to come with me.
“I can give you anything you want. Gold, silver, jewels—everything.
“Don’t you want to stay in Fulong Camp? Those people are all hypocrites. They aren’t worthy of having you work for them.”
“Come with you?”
Li Xuan raised an eyebrow, his tone teasing.
“What benefits do I get from going with you?
“Do you want me to make these ‘charcoal-head’ Asuras play Chinese chess?
“Besides, you control the Asuras and drive them berserk, slaughtering innocent people. How much better are you yourself?”
“Slaughtering innocents?”
Ling Xi looked as though she had just heard the greatest joke in the world.
She burst into wild laughter, her voice shrill and piercing.
“Hahahaha! You think these people are good people?
“They’re all murderers with blood on their hands, bandits and villains who rob and plunder. Where is the innocence?
“I’m merely acting on behalf of Heaven and cleaning up this trash!”
Li Xuan was rendered speechless by her twisted reasoning.
He rolled his eyes and secretly complained inwardly.
Is this woman freaking crazy?
She kills people herself and still makes it sound so righteous.
Could the chaotic qi have corroded her brain?
Although my previous incarnation was also a woman, I really can’t handle this kind of moody, bloodthirsty lunatic.
“In any case, what you’re doing is wrong!”
Li Xuan put away his joking expression, his tone becoming more serious.
“I won’t go with you. Give it up.”
“You refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit!”
Ling Xi’s patience was completely exhausted.
The smile vanished from her face, replaced by intense killing intent.
“Hehehe—”
Ling Xi threw her head back and let out a venomous, wild laugh.
Her ten fingers flew as she formed hand seals with lightning speed.
A vortex of pitch-black suction suddenly surged from her palm.
Two distant berserk Asuras were caught off guard.
Their massive bodies were dragged forward by an invisible force.
The chaotic qi inside them surged out like a black tide bursting through a dam, pouring from their seven orifices.
It transformed into two thick pillars of black qi that thundered into her palms!
The black mist around her body instantly boiled and surged.
It condensed from wisps of smoke into pitch-black armor covered in overlapping scales.
Every piece of armor radiated a cold, dark gleam.
The pressure around her body surged like a raging storm, violently scattering the surrounding mist.
The red light in her eyes intensified, like two clusters of dancing blood flames.
Her killing intent practically solidified, making everyone’s skin prickle.
“Today, none of you are leaving!”
Before her furious shout had even faded, she condensed the chaotic qi she had just absorbed at her fingertips.
Several pitch-black arrows instantly took shape.
Their edges were razor-sharp, with strange dark-red patterns flowing across their surfaces.
They carried a pressure terrifying enough to make one’s heart tremble.
Like meteors chasing the moon, they shot toward the defenseless Li Xuan.
“If you won’t come with me, then I’ll turn you completely into my chaos!”
“Not a chance!”
A cold glint flashed through Chu Wanran’s eyes.
The aura beneath his mask suddenly became as cold as ten-thousand-year-old ice.
At the same time, he softly uttered the incantation:
“Dark Ruins · Traversal!”
Before his words had finished, the shadow behind him suddenly surged and expanded, transforming into a three-meter-tall three-dimensional wall of shadows.
Dark-purple spatial ripples flowed across its surface, like a boundary marker cutting through reality.
It firmly blocked Li Xuan’s path.
The black arrows howled toward them.
The instant they struck the shadow wall, they were swallowed by invisible spatial rifts.
Not even the slightest echo remained, as though they had never existed.
“It’s nothing more than a spatial trick that steals the heavens and changes the sun. You dare oppose me?”
Ling Xi laughed even more wildly, her pupils blood-red.
The suction force in her palm surged once again—
This time, it directly targeted the Asuras trapped by the Purple Lightning Soul-Locking Formation.
Those Asuras were already suffering from torn muscles and severed meridians beneath the silver-white lightning.
Now that their chaotic qi was forcibly extracted, they immediately let out heart-rending screams.
Their veins bulged like black snakes.
Black blood seeped from the patterns across their skin.
Eventually, they transformed into thick clouds of black mist and surged completely toward Ling Xi.
The black armor around her became increasingly solid.
Two blood-colored cracks suddenly split open around her shoulder armor.
Two crescent-shaped bone blades emerged.
The blades were covered in chaotic poison mist.
Drops of poisonous liquid fell to the ground, corroding it into little pits.
She slammed her toes against the ground.
The bluestone instantly crumbled into powder.
Her figure transformed into a ghostly black shadow.
The bone blades emitted a shrill whistle as they tore through the air, slashing directly at Chu Wanran’s face like the sickles of Death.
“Remnant of the Dark Realm, you think you’re worthy of stopping me?!”
Chu Wanran lightly touched the ground with his toes.
Taking Li Xuan with him, he floated several feet away like a willow leaf, barely avoiding the fatal strike.
The bone blade skimmed his robe before crashing down.
The ground split open with a thunderous boom, forming a trench two zhang long and three chi deep.
Black corrosive patterns spread wildly along the trench walls like spiderwebs.
Everywhere they passed, the rocks transformed into foul-smelling black sludge.
At the same time, the folding fan in Chu Wanran’s hand snapped open.
The phantom of ink bamboo suddenly expanded several yards.
Dozens of vines wrapped in dark-golden streams of light shot out like spirit snakes, directly binding Ling Xi’s wrists.
Dozens more sharp bamboo spikes followed with piercing sounds, their cold dark gleams sealing off every vital point around her.
“Parlor tricks!”
Ling Xi swept her left arm, the bone blade cutting through the air.
Amid the howling dark wind, the bamboo spikes shattered one after another.
The moment the broken ends touched the black mist surrounding her body, they were instantly corroded into ash.
Not even a wisp of smoke remained.
Her right hand suddenly struck the ground.
Chaotic qi from her palm seeped into the soil like ink.
The ground instantly split open with several cracks a foot wide.
Several pitch-black qi snakes with scales shimmering ominously crawled out from the fissures.
Black poison dripped from their fangs.
They opened their enormous mouths and coiled toward Chu Wanran’s ankles.
The moment the poison touched the ground, it corroded small pits that emitted black smoke.
Chu Wanran’s eyes remained unchanged.
His folding fan snapped shut.
His fingertip rapidly tapped across the fan.
Dark-golden runes flowed along the ribs of the fan like living creatures.
“Dark Ruins · Prison!”
He lightly flicked his left foot.
A dark-black talisman landed and exploded.
The shadow beneath him spread like spilled ink.
It instantly transformed into a half-zhang-square Dark Realm domain.
Inside the domain, ink bamboo erupted from the ground.
The bamboo joints cracked loudly.
The emerald-green bamboo stalks shimmered with dark-golden light.
They instantly bound the remaining qi snakes tightly while frantically devouring the chaotic qi within them, causing them to gradually dissipate amid agonized screams.
“A Dark Realm domain? You think you can trap me with that?”
Ling Xi’s killing intent boiled in her eyes.
She suddenly spread both arms.
The scales of the black armor around her body writhed violently.
Chaotic qi condensed within her palms into two black spears more than three meters long.
Black arcs of flame coiled around their tips, crackling as they burned the surrounding air.
They radiated a pressure capable of destroying Heaven and Earth.
“Today, I’ll show you what true chaotic power is!”
The spears pointed directly at Chu Wanran’s heart.
The spear wind carried corrosive energy, almost tearing apart the surrounding space.
Clearly, she intended to break through his defenses head-on with overwhelming force and kill Chu Wanran at close range.
Chu Wanran’s brows beneath his mask furrowed slightly.
He could clearly sense that Ling Xi’s power was approaching its peak—
After absorbing the chaotic qi of dozens of Asuras, her aura had become almost uncontrollable.
But he did not retreat even half a step.
His folding fan opened once more.
The Dark Realm domain instantly expanded.
The phantom ink bamboo merged with the domain.
A towering bamboo forest several zhang high suddenly erupted from the ground.
The bamboo stalks intertwined like an iron wall, firmly blocking the spears’ assault.
Clang—!
A tremendous crash rang out.
The spearheads collided with the bamboo stalks, sending sparks flying through the air and shaking loose rocks from the surrounding cliffs.
“If you want to hurt him, get through me first!”
He shouted fiercely, his voice causing the Dark Realm domain to tremble slightly.
Then he said in a low voice:
“Dark Ruins · Spatial Lock!”
As his voice fell, an invisible dark-purple spatial barrier instantly expanded outward from him.
Like a black sphere of light expanding wildly, it firmly trapped Ling Xi, who had been caught off guard.
Ling Xi suddenly leaped backward.
Her shoulder slammed heavily into the barrier.
She immediately felt an immense spatial force bearing down on her.
The chaotic qi around her body seemed to be frozen, forcibly suppressed back into her body.
Her throat turned sweet, and a thread of black blood slid from the corner of her mouth.
She raised her eyes.
All around her was now a stretch of silent darkness—
This was Chu Wanran’s ultimate killing move, an independent sealed space with a range of one hundred zhang.
Dark-purple spatial rifts wound around the surroundings, radiating an eerie glow.
Ling Xi attempted to activate her chaotic qi, only to discover that her limbs were as though buried in a swamp weighing ten thousand jin.
Every inch she moved required enormous effort, let alone using any spatial techniques.
And Chu Wanran’s aura permeated the entire Dark Realm, like a deity controlling everything.
None of her movements could escape his notice.
“No! You remnant! Let me out!”
Ling Xi screamed frantically.
Her venomous voice repeatedly echoed through the sealed space.
Yet she could only watch helplessly as her power was gradually devoured by the Dark Realm, her entire aura becoming increasingly feeble.
With Ling Xi captured, the berserk Asuras that had lost the support of her chaotic qi suddenly slowed.
Their massive bodies began to sway violently.
The scarlet light in their eyes rapidly faded like a receding tide.
In the end, only emptiness remained.
One after another, they collapsed to the ground without another sound.
Li Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.
He stepped forward and took several white purification crystals from his robes.
These crystals had all been infused beforehand with his own Pure Heart qi and contained dense Pure Heart spiritual energy.
He threw the crystals toward the Stone Gan disciples and Asuras who had been driven berserk.
The crystals exploded upon landing.
White purification light enveloped them, rapidly dispersing the remaining chaotic qi within their bodies.
The disciples quickly regained consciousness.
The Asuras, however, let out painful roars beneath the purification light before ultimately transforming into wisps of black qi and dissipating.
While using the Marrow-Washing Technique to regulate the disciples’ bodies, Li Xuan complained inwardly:
I’m freaking exhausted.
I never expected Ling Xi to be this crazy.
I shouldn’t have meddled and saved Old Zhan back then.
And now look at me—I ended up forming this cursed karmic entanglement.
Next time I run into something like this, I’m definitely charging a fee.
Chu Wanran walked over to him.
Through his mask, he gently rubbed the top of Li Xuan’s head.
The movement carried a subtle affection.
“You’ve worked hard. Next time, I’ll make preparations in advance and won’t let you get this exhausted again.”
The mist gradually dispersed.
Sunlight pierced through the clouds like golden swords, spilling across Luoxia Ridge and illuminating the devastation covering the ground.
Broken weapons, charred pieces of wood, and faint traces of blood lay scattered across the gravel path.
The chaotic qi and purification light lingering in the air intertwined before gradually dissipating.
Deep among the branches of a withered tree, a black shadow quietly lurked.
It was Qin Gui.
He wore a dark ink-colored brocade robe with subtle patterns.
The silver-gray rune marking at the outer corner of his left eye was concealed by the shadows.
Every trace of his aura was completely restrained, as though he had merged with the rocks and mountain itself.
He remained utterly motionless.
Only the faintest glimmer flashed through his eyes as he silently observed the battle—
He neither approached nor spoke.
He was simply an observer standing outside the affair, his gaze as sharp as a hawk’s, taking in every detail of the battlefield.
Li Xuan walked over to Chu Wanran.
His gaze fell upon the place on Chu Wanran’s shoulder where the chaotic qi had grazed him.
The robe there was torn, revealing a patch of reddened skin.
Worried, Li Xuan reached out and touched it.
His voice carried both heartache and reproach.
“A-Ran, are you all right? I told you to be careful. How did you still end up getting hurt?
“If I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have let you stand in front of me. I could’ve dodged it myself.”
Chu Wanran shook his head, his voice still gentle.
“I’m fine. It’s only a superficial wound. As long as you’re safe, this injury doesn’t matter.”
He raised his hand.
In his palm was the Spatial Lock, now shrunk to the size of his palm.
Ling Xi was trapped inside and continued struggling frantically.
Although his eyes could not be seen clearly behind the mask, the coldness in his voice was unmistakable.
“This time, we finally caught her. That settles one matter that has been weighing on my mind.”
No one noticed that, deep in the shadows of the battlefield where the fierce battle had just taken place, a black figure had already quietly departed—
as though it had never appeared at all.