The Dust Settled

Zuo Yunxuan fell.

But the finger strike he delivered just before he died carried a thin, razor-sharp sword qi. It raced through Bai Xiaowen's meridians, and his lower leg instantly went numb.

It did not stop there. The sword qi traveled upward, and Bai Xiaowen gradually lost control of his knee and thigh as well. He swayed, then dropped to the ground.

Bai Xiaowen received a notification:

You have been affected by the Bone-Eroding Stance of the Heaven-Hiding Sword Art. You must pass a check every 10 seconds or suffer permanent paralysis in the affected limb. When the Bone-Eroding Stance's sword qi reaches your heart or vital areas inside your skull, you must pass an Instant-Death Check.

Bai Xiaowen sucked in a cold breath. Zuo Yunxuan had only jabbed a finger into his leg, yet it had inflicted such a vicious effect! The dying counterattack of a Level 8 Lord was terrifying.

At the rate the Bone-Eroding Stance's sword qi was spreading, it would probably reach his heart within a minute. Then Bai Xiaowen would face an Instant-Death Check. If he failed, he would die on the spot.

And Bai Xiaowen had not completed his second main quest yet! In other words, his gains from the Spirit Realm were not guaranteed. If he forced a return to Earth, everything he stood to gain from killing Zuo Yunxuan would go up in smoke.

Handing Zuo Yunxuan's dropped chest to his teammates would not help, either. The Kill Contribution belonged to Bai Xiaowen, and if he left, the chest would vanish with him.

Worse still, Bai Xiaowen remained in combat. He probably could not leave combat until the Bone-Eroding Stance wore off. That meant he could not wait ten seconds and return to Earth, unless he used a Return Scroll...