Ghost Claw Chases Soul

The Ghost Claw's phantom image tore through the air!

Chilling! Deathly silent! Exuding a decaying aura that froze the soul!

Too fast! Cheng Xi didn't even have time to turn! The shadow of death, like a cold tide, instantly engulfed him! Yan Lingji was even more stunned by the terrifying pressure, the flames at her fingertips extinguished in an instant!

Can't dodge! Can't block!

At this critical moment!

From Cheng Xi's embrace, the Witch Script Wood Fragment, obtained from Ying Xi's wooden box and covered in cracks, emitted its last faint silver light without any warning!

Simultaneously! The Qingping Sword Sheath clutched in Yan Lingji's hand seemed to sense the pure, sinister death aura. The cloud patterns at the sheath's opening suddenly lit up! The residual Heaven-Connecting Sword Intent responded, emitting a faint hum!

The silver light of the Witch Script Wood Fragment and the sword intent of the Qingping Sword Sheath, stimulated by the threat of death, actually produced a momentary, extremely faint resonance!

Buzz!

The space around Cheng Xi and Yan Lingji twisted briefly!

Screech--!

The withered, black phantom of the Ghost Claw grazed past Cheng Xi's back and Yan Lingji's shoulder! The sharp claw wind tore through Cheng Xi's outer robe, leaving three deep, bone-revealing wounds on his back that instantly turned black and festered! The claw wind also affected the wound on Yan Lingji's shoulder that had just healed, causing blood to gush out again!

Agony! Accompanied by a bone-chilling evil energy furiously invading!

"Pfft!" Cheng Xi spat out a mouthful of black blood, his vision darkening! But using the immense force from the Ghost Claw's passing and the momentary displacement from the spatial distortion, he used his last bit of strength to drag Yan Lingji and flip onto the cliff's summit!

"Roar--!"

From the canyon below came the demon's furious roar! Clearly incredulous that his sure-kill strike had missed!

Cheng Xi dared not delay, not even bothering with the searing pain in his back or the furiously encroaching evil energy. He poured his remaining Earth Element Spiritual Energy into his legs, grabbed Yan Lingji, and fled desperately towards the outskirts of Mount Li! Behind them lay the collapsing cliff, chaotic energy turbulence, and the demon's enraged roars!

He didn't know how long he ran, until they were completely out of the Yinyu area and plunged into a dense primeval forest, Cheng Xi finally collapsed to the ground, exhausted, spitting out another mouthful of black blood. The wounds on his back felt as if frozen by ten thousand years of ice, or as if countless venomous insects were gnawing at his marrow! The sinister death aura spread wildly through his meridians, and the life force of the Jianmu Fragment could only barely slow its encroachment!

Yan Lingji also slumped to the ground, the wound on her shoulder bursting open, blood staining her red clothes, her breath shallow. The light of the Qingping Sword Sheath had dimmed to its lowest point.

[Warning! High-level sinister death aura invasion detected! Target: Corpse Fiend Ghost Claw (Curse-grade)... Invasion speed: Extremely fast... Jianmu life force suppression efficiency: 37%... System energy forced conversion suppression... Energy consumption increasing...]

The cold system prompts were like a death knell.

Cheng Xi struggled to sit against a large tree, his face ashen. Cold sweat mixed with blood soaked his clothes. He looked at Yan Lingji, also critically injured, then towards the still chaotic sky in the direction of Yinyu, his heart turning cold.

Scaring the grass... the snake was scared, but it also revealed fangs potent enough to kill! This demon's strength far exceeded expectations!

"Must... remove this ghost energy quickly..." Cheng Xi's voice was hoarse, every word sending a drilling pain through his wounds. The system's energy and the Jianmu's life force could only delay, not eradicate. If this continued, within three days, he would be completely eroded by this cursed Corpse Fiend Ghost energy, turning into a mindless husk!

Yan Lingji weakly raised her head, her flame-like eyes dulled by blood loss. She looked at the three ferocious, black wounds on Cheng Xi's back, then at the dimly glowing Qingping Sword Sheath in her hand. A flicker of struggle crossed her eyes, finally turning into resolve.

She painstakingly moved to Cheng Xi's side, extended her blood-stained hand, and trembled as she placed it on the Qingping Sword Sheath.

"Use... this..." Her voice was weak, but exceptionally firm, "The sword intent... is extremely strong and yang... perhaps... it can sever... the ghost energy..."

Channeling the residual Heaven-Connecting Sword Intent within the sheath to sever the ghost energy within his body?

Cheng Xi's pupils constricted! This was no different from playing with fire! How overbearing and sharp was the Heaven-Connecting Sword Intent? With the slightest mistake, the ghost energy wouldn't be removed, and he would first be scattered into dust by the sword intent!

But... were there any other options right now?

Looking at the near-desperate flame in Yan Lingji's eyes, feeling the furiously spreading cold death aura on his back...

Cheng Xi gritted his teeth fiercely!

"Alright!"

He sat down cross-legged, forcing himself into the deepest state of meditation. In his sea of consciousness, the system's light screen glowed to its maximum, fully deducing the optimal path and protection for channeling the sword intent into his body!

Yan Lingji took a deep breath, using her last bit of strength, she gripped the Qingping Sword Sheath with both hands, sinking her entire consciousness into it, attempting to awaken that sleeping, supremely sharp wisp of Sky-Severing Sword Intent!

The sword sheath vibrated slightly, the cloud patterns at its opening flickering unstably. A faint but pure sharpness that made the soul tremble began to slowly condense...

Just at this critical moment, when the sword intent was about to be channeled!

Whoosh!

An extremely sharp whistling sound tore through the air without warning, originating from the tree canopy above the two of them!

A poisonous needle, as thin as a hair, flashing with an azure cold light, like a long-hidden venomous snake, carrying a bone-chilling killing intent, silently shot towards Cheng Xi's unguarded brow!

The timing was malicious! The angle was cunning!

The true fatal blow was only now quietly revealing itself!