There was no earth-shattering roar when the hammer struck.
The dark red hammerhead plunged into the wellhead, like a piece of red-hot iron sinking into ice water, emitting only a dull thud as it drilled down into the ground along the rock strata.
The next instant, a tremor rose from beneath my feet.
It wasn't a violent shaking that caused the sky to collapse, but a subtle, tingling tremor that spread in all directions along the stone path, along the base of the walls, and along every crevice in the rock strata.
The Soul Guidance Lamp along the street flickered a few times in succession, and then went out in large numbers, plunging most of the street into darkness instantly.
One node of the earth's ley line branch was forcibly severed.
The originally slowly flowing black Rakshasa energy, like a punctured water sac, surged wildly through the cracks in the rock strata, some of it gushing to the ground, while others rushed towards the Pope's Palace along the main vein.
The once steady leyline tides suddenly became disordered, and the entire rock strata south of the city began to hum softly.
"What happened?!"
"The earth shook?!"
The patrolmen's exclamations rose and fell, and the clanging of armor created a chaotic scene.
The soul-guided detection tower spun wildly, but it only detected the overflowing, sinister black energy, unable to pinpoint even the slightest trace of human intervention.
That was the wisp of Asura essence that Tang San had buried, which had long since merged with the black energy of the earth's veins, looking like an out-of-control situation caused by the natural expansion of the fissure.
Tang San, hammer in hand, vanished into the shadows at the alley entrance in a flash.
There was no stopping, no looking back.
The first blow was just the beginning; what followed was the real chaos.
Deep within the Pope's Palace, Bibi Dong opened her eyes almost at the same instant the tremor struck.
A burst of purplish-black Soul Power erupted from her body, and her expression darkened slightly.
The earth's veins are disordered.
This wasn't a minor fluctuation; the southern branch of the city had completely collapsed, and black energy was rushing towards the core along the main vein.
If these disturbances disrupt the refining of the Rakshasa's essence, her progress over the past two years will be greatly hampered.
"Useless! Can't even protect the earth's veins!"
With a low growl in her throat, she didn't hesitate for a moment, and her body swayed as she sank into the ground.
The purplish-black Soul Power pressed down on the raging black energy, like an invisible hand trying to force the runaway black energy back into the rock strata.
With the Pope personally in charge, the city's defenses instantly contracted inwards.
The guards stationed in the streets and alleys received orders, and most of them assembled towards the Pope's Palace to assist in suppressing the leyline disturbances.
Nearly two-thirds of the guards around the Tranquil Mind Hall were also withdrawn, leaving only the most basic sentry posts.
Everyone's attention was focused on the Rakshasa origin deep underground, and no one would have thought that the source of this turmoil was not the natural fissure at all.
This was exactly the step Tang San had calculated.
Bibi Dong may not care about the Soul Master guarding the city, nor about the safety of the common people, but she could never care about the foundation of the Rakshasa God Trial.
If the earth's veins are disrupted, she will inevitably have to get involved personally, making it difficult to manage both ends.
Tranquil Mind Hall, the tremors of the protective barrier traveled through the walls.
Xiao Wu suddenly opened her eyes, her eyes showing no panic, but rather a bright light.
They've arrived.
The opportunity she had been waiting for for three days finally arrived.
The junction of the two layers of restrictions was being violently distorted by the tremors of the earth's veins, and the originally fine patterns were being torn apart with gaps.
The wisp of her soft bone Soul Power that she had probed earlier was stuck at the deepest part of the crevice, and now, with the force of the vibration, it was able to be torn open.
"Now."
She let out a low shout, and pink Soul Power instantly erupted from her body.
Without holding back or testing the waters, all the Soul Power he had honed to its peak over two years surged forth, forcefully pushing outwards through that crack.
The Soft Bone Rabbit's Martial Soul is known for its resilience; the more it is compressed, the stronger its explosive elasticity becomes.
"Click--"
A very faint, crisp sound was heard, almost inaudible amidst the deafening roar.
A finger-width rift was forcibly torn open at the junction of the two layers of restrictions.
Xiao Wu's eyes narrowed, and her Soul Power surged wildly into the crack, spreading outwards like a wedge.
The backlash from the restriction slammed into her, causing her blood to surge and a trickle of blood to spill from the corner of her mouth, yet she didn't retreat an inch.
If you cancel, you'll miss out.
She waited two years, not to back down at the last minute.
The pink light grew stronger and stronger, and the crack grew larger and larger, from the width of a finger to the width of an arm, and then to a point where a person could pass through.
With a muffled thud, a corner of the outermost layer of the barrier shattered completely.
Xiao Wu's figure flickered, transforming into a pink afterimage, and she slipped out of the crack.
When her feet touched the bluestone slabs outside the hall, she took a slight breath and raised her hand to wipe the blood from the corner of her mouth.
It's been two years.
She finally walked out of the palace that had imprisoned her for more than seven hundred days.
Without pausing, she immediately slipped behind a pillar outside the hall and looked up towards the south of the city.
In the darkness, a figure in black was rapidly approaching, moving with astonishing speed yet maintaining remarkable stability.
It was him.
Tang San had just turned the corner when he saw the pink figure under the pillar.
It was faster than he had expected.
He thought he would have to wait a while longer before she could break the seal from the inside, but to his surprise, she seized the opportunity as soon as the earth's veins trembled.
Two years had passed, and her grasp of timing and her use of Soul Power were no longer those of the girl who needed his protection.
Their eyes met briefly in the darkness.
There were no choked-up tears of reunion, no rambling greetings.
Tang San only said one word, "Go."
Xiao Wu nodded, and with a swift movement, she followed. The two of them side by side disappeared into the shadows of the alleyways, hurrying westward into the city.
On the way, they encountered two teams of guards who rushed over after hearing the commotion. Before they could even raise an alarm, Tang San flicked out two dark red energy blasts from his fingertips, which accurately struck the back of their necks.
The two men groaned and fell to the ground without making a sound.
Clean and efficient, without any unnecessary delays.
"Head west, the western part of the city is mostly deserted," Tang San said in a low voice as he moved forward.
"After leaving the city, we'll head into the mountains, shake off our pursuers, and then rest."
"Okay," Xiao Wu replied, her pace not slowing down at all.
She knew now was not the time for reminiscing; only by successfully breaking out of the city could she be truly safe.
The two moved extremely fast, taking advantage of the darkness and the cover of the streets and alleys, heading west.
The scattered guards they encountered along the way were either silently taken down by Tang San or bypassed by the two of them.
The chaos in the south of the city continues, with most of the troops tied up around the Pope's Palace, leaving the western defenses as empty as a tattered net.
Deep underground, Bibi Dong finally managed to push the surging black energy back into the rock strata.
The tremors of the earth's veins gradually subsided, and the core essence stabilized.
But her expression was even more somber than before.
wrong.
If it were a natural crack expansion, the force of the collapse wouldn't be so precise, hitting the weakest point of the branch perfectly, causing chaos without exploding, and drawing all her attention.
Luring the tiger away from the mountain.
The moment this thought crossed her mind, she felt a chill and instantly scanned the direction of the Tranquil Mind Hall with her divine sense.
It's empty.
A corner of the barrier was broken, and the hall was empty; the pink aura of Soul Power was gone.
"Good, very good."
Bibi Dong gritted her teeth, her body churning with black energy.
The bait she had laid two years ago was snatched away right in front of her.
The opponent had accurately predicted her weakness, precisely targeting the ley lines, forcing her to personally suppress the attack, and then seize the opportunity to rescue people.
She was led by the nose from beginning to end.
"Send the order! Martial law throughout the city! Seal off all four gates! All patrol teams, pursue them westward!"
The chilling command traveled out through divine thought, carrying with it boundless rage.
"We want them alive or dead! We'll turn the Western Border Mountains upside down if we have to, and bring them back!"
The moment the Pope flew into a rage, alarms sounded throughout the entire Spirit City.
The guards who had been heading towards the Pope's Palace immediately turned around and pursued the enemy westward.
The guards at all four gates were in position, blocking all exits from the city.
The soul-guided detection towers all turned westward, frantically sweeping across the two escaping auras.
But it was too late.
Thirty miles west of the city, atop a mountain, Chen Jieqi's fingertips glowed with a faint holy light as he steadily pressed down on the sealing array beneath him.
When the earth's veins were shaking most violently, a lot of black energy surged westward along the main vein, but it was all blocked by his seal.
The tremors subsided, the black energy receded, the seal remained intact, and the Western Territory was not affected in the slightest.
He looked up and gazed in the direction of Spirit City.
Two auras swept out from the west of the city, one in front and one behind, one dark and one pink, moving at great speed, heading straight for the Western Border Mountains.
Dozens of pursuers followed behind, their auras menacing, but they were kept at a considerable distance.
They ran away.
Chen Jieqi nodded slightly.
It went even more smoothly than he had expected.
He showed no intention of offering help.
Their grudges are their own business.
Successfully rescuing people and breaking through the encirclement is a testament to the enemy's skill; whether they can shake off the pursuers is also a matter of their own destiny.
It's enough for him to guard his own territory and prevent pollution from spreading.
The night wind swept across the mountaintop, carrying bits of grass, and the white-clad figure fluttered slightly.
He sat down cross-legged again, his palms still pressed against the ground, sensing the aftershocks of the earth's veins.
This mess is finally over.
But he knew this was just the beginning.
Tang San led his men back to the Slaughter City, Asura Origin will only grow stronger; Bibi Dong, having suffered such a great loss, will never let it go.
The mainland will no longer be peaceful.
In the darkness of the night, two figures rushed into the dense forest of the mountains, pursued by a roaring army.
The game of killing and protection has only just begun.