With a thunderous crack, in the blink of an eye, the divine manifestation vanished from the lake's surface, and Zhang Miaolin vanished with it. Only Cold Smoke Lady remained, standing in the air with her umbrella in hand. The inky radiance on the umbrella had entirely faded, returning it to its translucent appearance.
Baiyi's temperament differed from ordinary people's, and she was still able to face this calmly. The others, however, were all dumbfounded.
Everyone across dozens of miles of the lake had seen that divine manifestation over a hundred feet tall, standing atop a turtle and serpent. Countless people had recognized it as an incarnation of Great Emperor Zhenwu. Yet what followed had plainly made a living person disappear outright. It had the effect of a stage trick, but it carried an extraordinarily unsettling implication.
A void art? Or some special magical artifact?
All sides on the lake fell silent for a time, and even the Panhuang Sword Sect made no sound. Seizing this opening, Cheng Jishi arrived outside the suspended Sky Beam Mountain Island. Thunder surged here, and vital energy rolled like dragons. The environment was exceptionally hostile, so he did not dare approach too closely. After waiting briefly, someone appeared.
Cheng Jishi called out, "Mr. Lu."
As the arbiter of the four sects' talisman contest for the elixir, Lu Lian looked like an old farmer who had just set down his hoe, utterly unremarkable. Seeing Cheng Jishi arrive, a smile appeared on his plain, sallow face.
"General Cheng."
"Crane Sorcerer instructed me to place this object on the island to suppress the evil aura."
"Please, please."
Seeing that Lu Lian had no objections, Cheng Jishi tossed the shapeshifting witch curse in his hand onto the island. Yet no change could be seen. Cheng Jishi did not concern