Inside the building, Xue Ji was struggling to hold on. Just before the dark magic erupted, she forcibly seized the spiritual energy from the surrounding space and used it to create a magical shield to protect herself and Shaya.
The azure shield held back the raging dark magic. As if detecting prey, the black lightning, after erupting, did not continue to spread out but instead converged relentlessly toward Xue Ji.
‘Dammit, who on earth left this dark magic behind?’
Xue Ji was already stretched to her limits—protecting the others in the building while simultaneously slowing its collapse. Now, this black lightning was assaulting her. It morphed into scorpions, snakes, centipedes, and all sorts of venomous creatures, swarming toward her endlessly. Xue Ji could only defend passively.
Shaya returned to her human form. Her petite body wielded Fenrir’s Winter—a blade longer than she was tall. She channeled the power of the moon, mingled with the aura of winter, unleashing slash after slash.
As her fighting spirit soared to its peak, the wolf within her drew the phantom of Fenrir to possess her. Each swing of her sword released three streaks of sword energy.
Each wave of energy carried the sacred light of the moon and an overwhelming frost, tearing apart, freezing, and purifying the venomous creatures conjured from the black lightning.
‘Besides vampires, something else is involved. This building is a trap specifically set for the Pioneers.’
Meanwhile, deep within a tropical rainforest, three shamans—dressed in tatters, their bodies covered in ritual markings—circled a decaying corpse. On the corpse’s abdomen, a map was laid out using internal organs. They repeated a bizarre dance ritual nearby, their movements following a sinister rhythm.
One was missing a hand, another a leg, and the third was headless. Their bodies trembled unnaturally, creating an eerie scene. From their missing limbs, a black liquid continuously flowed, steadily staining the rotting corpse.
The two shamans with mouths chanted incessantly, singing in a language not of this world.
Or perhaps these strange sounds couldn’t even be called a language—just the ravings of madmen. Yet, these very acts of madness stirred a pitch-black thunderstorm on the other side of the globe, right around Xue Ji.
For every venomous creature Shaya destroyed, wounds would inexplicably appear on the shamans’ bodies. Black liquid oozed from these injuries, speeding up the erosion of the corpse.
Back with Xue Ji, the more Shaya fought, the more frenzied the black lightning became. The venomous creatures multiplied at an increasing rate, swarming around the two in dense waves.
But the tighter the encirclement, the greater the damage inflicted by Shaya’s slashes. On the other end, the wounds on the three shamans began to hinder their movements. Their ritual slowed, and the flow of black liquid dwindled.
Shaya’s current body couldn’t sustain the possession by Fenrir for long. If dragged out, she too would suffer backlash from Fenrir’s power.
Though the opposing sides had never met, they were already locked in a stalemate, fighting to the death.
Shaya’s movements gradually slowed. Nearly an hour of intense combat had left her feeling the strain.
“Xue Ji, something’s wrong. Why hasn’t anyone outside noticed what’s happening in here yet?!” Shaya didn’t even have time to turn her head to check on Xue Ji.
This was the second time since her return as a Sage that Xue Ji encountered a threat that could truly endanger her—even though her current spiritual power was only that of a mid-level Awakened.
The first time was when Ling Xiaoxia had fallen into madness and demonized…
“Distortion. The black aura within these lightning bolts is distorting space and time.”
“Any ideas?” Shaya exhaled a cold breath, her body beginning to tremble.
“Endure it. Fight to the end and see which side collapses first,” Xue Ji replied with effort. “All dark arts—the more intense they are, the greater the burden on the caster.”
Both were at the end of their strength, and the three shamans were in a similar state.
Their bodies were now covered in countless wounds, some deep enough to reveal bone. Had they not preemptively bound their abdomens with hemp rope, their internal organs would have spilled out.
This long-distance duel placed immense pressure on both sides, but clearly, the three shamans on the offensive were growing impatient.
The one missing a hand and the one missing a leg exchanged a glance, as if reaching a decision. Each picked up a bowl of poisonous concoction beside them and poured it into their mouths. They no longer had the stamina to drag this out—they changed tactics, aiming to perish together with their opponents.
Xue Ji sensed the change in the black lightning: its initial frenzy turned conservative, and the encirclement was breached by Shaya’s sword energy.
“They’re going all out! Shaya, come closer.” Having fought to this extent, Xue Ji abandoned any thought of emerging unscathed.
“Lilith, come out!” Xue Ji gripped Shaya’s sword-wielding hand and shouted.
Lilith cried out worriedly, “No, you two won’t be able to handle it!”
“Trust me. We can do this,” Xue Ji responded firmly.
Through the hand Xue Ji held tightly, Shaya felt her surging fighting spirit. Their hearts burned as one in that moment.
“Lilith, don’t be such a mother hen. You’ve been waiting for this moment too!” It was the first time Shaya had called Lilith by name.
Lilith had been anxiously watching their battle from within the consciousness space, itching to jump out and help. But doing so would only add to Xue Ji’s burden—never before had she felt so frustrated since her birth.
Xue Ji and Lilith shared one heart and one body. The sentiments of all three resonated through their joined hands on the sword, reaching the peak of harmony.
“Let’s fight!” Their voices rang out simultaneously.
Lilith once again merged with Xue Ji, but this time, her hair was not black—instead, it turned white, with eyes burning crimson.
Shadows coiled around Xue Ji, loosening her tied hair and completely corroding her combat suit. In its place appeared a long gown woven from dark silk and pale chains, like a night goddess’s wedding dress.
The phantom of Fenrir behind Shaya merged with the power of shadows. Her fur transformed into black flames, and her body grew to match Xue Ji’s height, her silver-gray hair flowing wildly.
Xue Ji, Shaya, Lilith: “Bring it on!”
Together, the three raised Fenrir’s Winter. An unparalleled, immense force erupted through the surrounded building, altering the winds and clouds within a hundred meters.
The interwoven powers of black and white drained all color from the world. Between heaven and earth, everything became a monochrome domain—even sound vanished. Only a streak of crimson survived, racing toward the epicenter of the change and leaving a dazzling trail.
Under this domain, the black lightning was forcibly downgraded into a weakened gray. The enormous demonic head it had formed paled in comparison to this single sword strike.
“Heaven and Earth Annihilation • Slash!”
As Xue Ji, Shaya, and Lilith swung the sword together, the world lost its contours. Only boundless white remained, alongside an immense black, surging like a tidal wave.