All Lost

"Am I too late?"

Luo Bingli's gaze swept over the ground covered with gelatinous fungal carpet, over the monster that looked up at her, and finally settled on the corpse of the woman surnamed Fu.

She didn't know this woman before, only having heard her name by chance on some occasions.

A fickle woman.

But after staring at the other party's gruesome corpse for several breaths, Luo Bingli couldn't help but sigh softly.

Every great calamity that befalls the world is a slow and gradual process, taking anywhere from ten to several decades to evolve into an uncontrollable catastrophe.

As Mortal Shedding expert, this woman surnamed Fu could have chosen to live a life of compromise, just like the fat man surnamed Zhou, and continue to enjoy everything that came with the power she held.

In this era of military formations, as the absolute high-ranking members of the sect, they no longer need to stand on the front line against calamities as they did ten thousand years ago, but she still chooses to fight to the death here.

Now that the old man surnamed Tian is dead and the woman surnamed Fu is dead, it is highly likely that Taishi Ran, who risked his life to hold off Lou Ji, will also die.

Of the five people in the group, three have already left.

They came to face the calamity, yet died as easily as a feather.

Her emotions surged, but Luo Bingli had no time to lament the passing of these people, for the monster had appeared before her without warning.

Without any hesitation, he pressed his palm directly towards her face.

Seeing this sudden turn of events, Luo Bingli even had time to think about other things during the brief interval between the palm strikes.

She thought of the corpse of the woman surnamed Fu, whose skull had been crushed by five fingers before she died.

It seems that this is how she died.

This monster's teleportation technique, which produces no fluctuations in vital energy, combined with the strange energy surrounding him, could almost guarantee a perfect first-encounter kill for most Mortal Shedding in the world.

As her thoughts raced, the opponent's palm gradually enlarged before her eyes. However, Luo Bingli made no attempt to dodge. She slightly raised her hand, striking first and grabbing the opponent's wrist as it attacked.

With a sudden burst of force, the powerful impact caused Xu Yuan's wrist to crack.

However, Xu Yuan's physical condition was no longer as weak as when he was in the Soul Condensation, and he unleashed a force that was no weaker than Luo Bingli's almost simultaneously.

After a few breaths of struggle, a knowing glint flashed in Luo Bingli's eyes, as if she had obtained the information she wanted.

She then abruptly changed her move, leaning slightly forward and pulling the hand gripping Xu Yuan's wrist at a subtle angle, instantly dissipating the immense force on it!

Xu Yuan's body was suddenly thrown forward by the powerful inertia, and then Luo Bingli grabbed his wrist and swung him around in the air like a toy.

Xu Yuan tried to stop himself in mid-air, but it was in vain. The powerful inertia and the force in Luo Bingli's hand made it impossible for him to resist.

The silent, misty space was suddenly filled with a sickening whistling sound, followed by a deafening roar of flesh crashing to the ground.

Luo Bingli slammed Xu Yuan, who had attacked in an instant, back to the ground.

However, Luo Bingli, who had gained the upper hand, did not choose to press her advantage. Instead, she stood still and looked at her right hand, which had just made contact with her opponent.

Her fingers were long and slender, with distinct knuckles, radiating a light that was impossible to look directly at.

Under her gaze,

"Bang!"

With a muffled thud, the palm exploded without warning.

Despite witnessing this bizarre scene, Luo Bingli remained calm and composed, as if she had expected it.

The woman surnamed Fu mentioned in her message that the monster was indeed surrounded by a strange membrane that could reverse the deconstruction of Source Qi techniques.

However, it now seems that the thin film could even directly dismantle her body, which has already become completely Qi-based.

Thinking of this, Luo Bingli's Qi surged, and his right hand, which had been shattered, instantly reformed. His gaze fell on the center of the rising smoke and dust.

This strange membrane has a natural restraint on her now; unless it is broken, killing her opponent is nothing short of a pipe dream.

However, their exchange just now allowed her to discover even more things.

The opponent's speed and strength were not actually that great; compared to martial arts cultivators, he was roughly at the initial stage of the Mortal Shedding.

Moreover, the opponent's physical body is somewhat strange, seemingly achieving its current strength only with the help of some external force.

"You don't eat well."

As I pondered, a voice, like a dreamlike whisper, suddenly came from the smoke and dust below.

Upon hearing these sudden words, Luo Bingli frowned instantly, her eyes gleaming with divine light piercing through the smoke below as she stared at the man who was slowly rising from the ground.

Xu Yuan stared at her with his empty, dark eyes and uttered three words in a low voice:

"You can leave now."

"."

Without replying, a serious expression appeared in Luo Bingli's eyes for the first time.

Even the strongest beast is nothing more than a creature to be slaughtered, yet Xu Changtian has now actually spoken.

This is both good news and bad news.

The other party should retain some intelligence, at least the intelligence to seek advantage and avoid harm.

But similarly, small things can reveal great truths.

Since the other party knows how to seek advantage and avoid harm, and even chose to persuade her to back down with words, it means that she does indeed have something that can threaten the other party.

What is it that allows her to threaten him now?

"."

In an instant, Luo Bingli thought of many things.

Thoughts popped into my mind, only to be rejected in an instant.

As one of these thoughts arose, Luo Bingli's pupils, which had been gleaming with divine light, suddenly contracted, and she abruptly lowered her gaze to look at her right hand, which had just been dismantled.

Because of the information provided by Fu Qinggeng and her own ingrained thinking about the Great Calamity, she actually overlooked a very basic common sense in the cultivation world.

No matter how bizarre the effects of a technique may seem, it still requires the support of the Source Qi.

And the same is true for the thin film surrounding the other side.

When she tested him earlier, she didn't use much of her Source Qi to gather in her right hand, but it took the other party about nine breaths to dismantle her energy state in her right hand.

With this thought in mind, Luo Bingli's gaze towards Xu Yuan now held a hint of understanding.

Since the other party's membrane requires energy to maintain, it means that the Source Qi that the other party can construct also has an upper limit.

If this critical point is broken in an instant, the opponent can be injured or even killed!

Thoughts flashed through my mind,

Having deduced possible methods of countering the enemy, Luo Bingli did not hesitate, and her aura suddenly surged.

She didn't have much time left. Taishi Ran risked his life, he couldn't stop Lou Ji for long. She had to eliminate her as quickly as possible.

For a moment, the space became quiet.

Standing on the ground, Xu Yuan looked up at the figure whose radiance resembled that of a deity descending to earth. A hint of confusion flashed in his dark eyes, as if he did not understand what the other party wanted to do.

But the next moment, he knew.

The figure in the sky transformed into a streak of light, appearing in front of him in an instant at a speed beyond his sight.

Upon seeing the ball of light appear before him, Xu Yuan's face instinctively flushed with anger.

He didn't understand. He had already said he wouldn't eat her anymore, so why wouldn't this disgusting thing leave?!

Driven by primal rage, Xu Yuan unleashed a palm strike towards the approaching "ball of light." At the same time, countless intertwined willow branches sprouted from the ground and from his body, entangled with the object.

Unfortunately, in this state, Luo Bingli was much faster than him.

Before the palm blade and willow branch touched her body, she had already used her slender index finger to hold a particle of light in front of Xu Yuan.

Upon catching a glimpse of that tiny particle of light, the anger in Xu Yuan's eyes vanished at a visible speed, replaced by a hint of fear.

He sensed a dangerous aura emanating from that tiny particle of light.

Without thinking, Xu Yuan suddenly withdrew his strength and tried to retreat, but his speed was no match for Luo Bingli.

The pitch-black fog became eerily silent in that instant.

The fear on Xu Yuan's face

The coldness in Luo Bingli's eyes

And all the thousands of willow branches that had reached out seemed to freeze at that moment.

"."

"."

"."

The light particles transformed into a beam of light, radiating dazzling brilliance and instantly dispelling the eerie fog that shrouded half the city.

There was no roar, no explosion, only a crisp "crack" as the beam of light reached the thin film surrounding Xu Yuan.

Within a few breaths, the dazzling beam of light gradually weakened, eventually turning into specks of starlight and dissipating into the void.

Everything returned to calm. In front of Luo Bingli, there was only a headless corpse. The willow branches that had rushed towards her froze in place, and a bottomless hole about a foot deep appeared in the ground behind her!

Is it over?

Luo Bingli looked at the calamity that had begun, its head smashed, but there was no sign of relief in her eyes.

Although she still couldn't sense any life force from the other person, that person was, after all, the beginning of a great calamity.

Moreover, although Xu Changtian still maintained his human form, judging from the fact that the wooden sword had almost torn his upper body apart, the structure of his body had obviously changed, and the fatal weakness that was fatal to humans might no longer apply to him.

But in her wary gaze,

The headless corpse, which had been standing for a moment, fell to its knees and then collapsed onto the ground like a lump of mud.

Upon seeing this scene,

Luo Bingli breathed a slight sigh of relief, but a large amount of Source Qi surged around her again, and a particle of light quickly condensed at her fingertip once more.

For a major calamity, vigilance cannot be relaxed until the opponent is completely annihilated.

In the silent, dilapidated ruins, the dazzling light grew brighter and brighter. Just as the spell was about to take shape again, a heartbeat rang out at an inopportune moment.

The moment the sound rang out, Luo Bingli.

This monster is still alive, as expected.

Then, in his sight, the headless corpse that had been lying on the ground like mud rose up from the ground in a bizarre posture.

Without any hesitation, the light particles in Luo Bingli's hand burst forth with dazzling light once again.

At that moment, the headless corpse suddenly reached out and touched the wooden knife stuck in its chest.

The instant his fingertips touched the hilt of the knife, a violent, murderous aura instantly enveloped the area within a radius of several hundred feet.

In a daze, Luo Bingli seemed to find herself in a dark space. When she looked up, she saw a huge ancient willow tree with countless corpses hanging upside down!

Despite her powerful cultivation, she regained her senses in a very short time, and the light particles at her fingertips transformed into beams of light, surging towards the opponent's torso once again.

But this time,

The monster, however, drew its wooden sword first and swung it vertically at her.

One strike cuts everything down.

The dazzling beam of light was sliced open by the eerie blade and shot off to both sides!

As the light faded, two deep, rounded pits appeared on the ground behind the headless corpse.

Seeing this scene that was beyond her comprehension, a look of surprise and uncertainty flashed in Luo Bingli's beautiful eyes.

She could clearly sense that the monster was moving even faster than before.

Before she could think, the headless corpse had already raised the wooden sword in its hand high and swung it down at her in mid-air.

And with this action from the other party,

As the light dispelled the mist and the air became clear again, countless ink-splashed Sword Qi suddenly appeared, shooting towards her in an instant.

A flash of light, and the Sword Qi landed, tearing countless deep sword marks, each tens of feet long, across the already ravaged ground.

When Luo Bingli reappeared, she was already hundreds of feet away.

In her field of vision,

The headless monster's body was undergoing changes.

After she pulled out the blade, the slash that had nearly torn her upper body apart was healing at a visible speed, and the head that she had just blasted apart was slowly reforming.

You don't want to leave.

After a brief silence, Xu Yuan, now completely unharmed, stared at the woman hundreds of feet away, a crazed killing intent flashing in his dark eyes. "Then... I... will... eat... her."

With that, he raised the Willowwood Ghost Blade in his hand again and gently swung it down at his opponent.

Unlike the last time when sword Sword Qi splashed across the sky like ink, this time, Luo Bingli failed to detect any incoming Qi.

While wondering,

A sudden gust of wind pressure struck her body, which was constructed from Source Qi, and instantly tore her entire body in two.

This invisible strike was imbued with the strange energy swirling around the opponent.

Due to the special structure of her Qi-body, Luo Bingli did not die immediately, but looking at the figure exuding a terrifying aura, a sense of helplessness unconsciously appeared in her eyes.

Is this what true calamity is?

Meanwhile, another battle was raging on the other side of the ruins of Huizhou.

Taishi Ran made his move immediately after Lou Ji finished speaking.

Lou Ji had already made her stance clear: since their paths diverged, the only option was to confront each other with swords drawn.

and,

Taishi Ran also wanted to try; he wanted to see if, in the final moments of his life, he could drag the Black Scale Chief, who had chosen to aid and abet evil, down to hell with him.

Even if there's only a one percent chance, he'll still give it a try.

The result of this attempt was not unexpected for Taishi Ran.

He failed.

Kneeling on the ground, Taishi Ran's mouth was constantly gushing blood, which had already stained the ground beneath his feet.

He slowly raised his eyes to look at the figure still standing in mid-air, but this time, he found that Lou Ji was not looking at him, but was looking into the depths of the mist.

Just as she was wondering, Lou Ji's smiling voice drifted over:

"Hey, that woman you had high hopes for seems to have been chased away by Changtian."