That azure sword light descended from the Ninth Heaven, tearing apart the blood-red night sky like the first gleam of sharpness that created the world!
Sword intent!
Indescribable sword intent!
There was no grand, majestic display—only an absolute will to sever all constraints and Seize a Thread of Life! This will was cold and pure, yet carried an arrogant defiance that looked down upon heaven and earth! Even the blood-red Mars that enveloped the Imperial Star seemed like nothing more than dust and smoke that could be cut away with a casual stroke before this sword light!
The sword light's target was not Cheng Xi and the Witch Maiden, but the stone cavern within the mountain belly deep in the Zhongnan Mountains, which had already collapsed and concealed a terrifying rift!
The azure light flashed and disappeared, vanishing into the darkness deep within the mountains.
There was no earth-shattering explosion, no deafening crash of mountains collapsing and earth splitting apart.
There was only an ultimate "stillness."
It was as if time and space had been forcibly frozen, severed, and reduced to nothingness the instant that sword light fell.
Then—
BOOM!!!
An invisible shockwave that swept across everything spread out from the point where the sword light had landed, like ripples stirred up by a boulder cast into a tranquil lake—silent, yet impossible to resist!
Cheng Xi and the fire witch woman were struck as though by an invisible tidal wave and sent flying instantly! Cheng Xi only had time to summon the Earth Element Spiritual Energy within him to protect himself. The Jianmu Fragment blazed with emerald light, yet the impact still made his blood and qi churn as he slammed heavily into the rocks behind him! The fire witch woman's injuries worsened further. She let out a muffled groan and spit out another mouthful of blood, Dyeing the red clothes over her chest crimson.
The trees in the forest bent backward in unison as if swept by a hurricane! The burning flames were extinguished in an instant! The thick layer of fallen leaves on the ground was swept up, forming a rotating wall of leaves!
After the shockwave passed, all was silent.
In the western sky, the azure sword scar that had lingered for so long was like a wound upon the heavens, emitting cold, razor-sharp light. Even the glow of the remaining blood-red crescent moon seemed suppressed by this sword scar, becoming far dimmer. As for that demonic Mars, a tiny, nearly imperceptible... flicker appeared in its scarlet radiance! As though its foundation had been struck by an invisible sword!
[Aftermath of the law impact has ended... Energy level: beyond recorded limits... Attribute confirmed: Supreme Clarity Immortal Light/Sky-Severing Sword Intent... Associated target: Mountain Belly Spatial Rift (completely destroyed/sealed)...]
The system prompt carried unprecedented reverence. Destroyed! Sealed! A wisp of Lord Tongtian's sword intent had crossed boundless void to destroy that terrifying rift crawling up from underground!
Cheng Xi struggled to his feet, unable to contain the shock in his heart. This was the power of a top expert of the Primordial World? The being behind that stone cavern's rift had sent them fleeing for their lives merely by extending one claw, yet it could not withstand a single sword strike from Lord Tongtian across space!
"Cough, cough..." The fire witch woman struggled to stand, but tugged at her wounds and curled up in pain. The wound on her shoulder, corroded by the monster's black energy, had become even blacker and had even begun to emit a faint fetid smell. Her aura swiftly weakened, and the flames dancing in her eyes dimmed as well.
Cheng Xi suppressed the stormy waves in his heart and walked to the woman's side. His gaze swept across the black-clad corpses on the ground before falling upon her pale, bloodstained face and the horrifying wound on her shoulder.
"You've been poisoned by Corpse Fiend Poison, along with that monster's Yin Evil Energy." Cheng Xi crouched down, his voice calm. "If it isn't removed, you'll die within half an hour."
The woman raised her eyes. Though they were somewhat unfocused from pain, unyielding flames still burned within them as she stared at Cheng Xi. She did not beg for help, nor did she show fear. There was only the wariness of a beast pushed into a desperate situation, along with a trace of... unwillingness.
Cheng Xi said no more. He extended his right hand, and emerald light flowed from the Jianmu Fragment in his palm as a gentle yet vast life aura spread out. At the same time, he focused his mind and drew upon the 15% system energy in his sea of consciousness.
[Target scan: Fire Witch Maiden (early Bloodline Awakening)... Injuries: left shoulder laceration (deep contamination: Corpse Fiend Poison/Yin evil resentment)... Treatment plan analysis: Plan one: forcibly remove with Jianmu Vitality (80% success rate; extremely high pain index; may damage her foundation)... Plan two: use fire to attack poison (requires drawing out the target's source witchfire)...]
Draw out her source witchfire? Cheng Xi's thoughts raced. This woman's flames possessed remarkable spirituality. If he could guide her own power...
"Bear with it." He gave a low shout. His left hand formed a sword finger, and a thread of pure, dense Earth Element Spiritual Energy instantly condensed at his fingertips. Mixed with Jianmu Vitality, it struck several major acupoints around the wound on the woman's shoulder!
"Urgh—ah!" The woman let out an uncontrollable cry of agony! The Earth Element Spiritual Energy was heavy as a mountain, forcibly suppressing the Yin evil resentment raging through her wound! Jianmu Vitality was like the most overbearing springwater, violently washing over the blackened wound!
The intense pain made her body convulse, but her flame-like eyes suddenly lit up! She could feel a gentle yet tenacious force forcibly suppressing the toxins raging within her body. An invigorating, cool breath of life acted like a fuse, Attempting to ignite the source fire deep in her bloodline, which had nearly been frozen by the poison!
Right now!
"Focus! Draw forth the fire!" Cheng Xi's shout crashed through the chaos in the woman's sea of consciousness like thunder!
The woman's entire body shook violently! Her instinct to survive overwhelmed everything! She bit through the tip of her tongue, and a bloody taste rushed into her mind! Every last remnant of her mental will surged wildly toward that faint yet scorching connection deep within her bloodline!
"Burn!"
A hoarse cry!
Boom!
The flickering orange-red flame at her fingertips, which had been dim and unstable, surged as though boiling oil had been poured over it! Its color instantly changed from orange-red to blazing white! The flame no longer danced and shifted with agility. Instead, it condensed into something almost tangible, carrying an ancient, primal, violent aura that could burn everything away!
The blazing-white flame followed the Earth Element Spiritual Energy and Jianmu Vitality that Cheng Xi had guided, rushing fiercely toward the blackened wound on her shoulder!
Sizzle—!!!
Like a red-hot iron pressed against ice! Piercing white smoke shot into the sky alongside a foul stench! The black energy around the wound let out a silent shriek, twisting and struggling madly like a living thing. Yet beneath the burning of the blazing-white witchfire and the cleansing of Jianmu Vitality, it swiftly melted away and vanished!
The woman was soaked through with sweat as though she had been pulled from water. Her teeth ground audibly, but she stubbornly did not utter another cry of pain! Only her eyes burned with a light even fiercer than the flames at her fingertips!
A moment later, the white smoke dispersed. Though the wound on the woman's shoulder remained gruesome, the flesh had returned to a healthy bright red, and no more black energy overflowed from it. The blazing-white flame at her fingertips slowly receded. Her face was pale as paper, and her aura was faint, yet there was now the weakness of a survivor and... a sharpness like rebirth!
She raised her head and looked deeply at Cheng Xi with flame-like eyes. Her voice was hoarse but clear:
"Yan Lingji. My name."
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