It was only a sword flash that had cleaved through the night and raised a new sun in the predawn sky. Ch'en did not care about any of that. She only cared whether that strike had worked.
So what if she had unleashed a monstrous blow? Everyone she faced was a monster. Ch'en had to turn herself into one.
Now, Skyfire was in her hand.
She was the monster.
With the greatsword resting on her shoulder, Ch'en walked forward without hesitation. She moved exceedingly slowly. For some reason, she began silently counting the total number of steps from the foot of the mountain to its summit. One step at a time, utterly resolute.
"Demon fox."
"I've come to exterminate you."
The gates flew open. A fox's howl rang across the mountains and wilderness, leaves rustled violently, and the entire mountain trembled beneath the fox's pressure.
She stared deeply at the sight atop the mountain.
The shrine maiden seemed to have been thoroughly broken. Her lively eyes had become emotionless black voids as she was pinned beneath enormous claws. Flames coiled around that damned fox, and a single paw could cover a person entirely, but Ch'en's gaze remained utterly indifferent.
"There is no longer joy or sorrow in my heart..."
Ch'en raised her sword again.
Skyfire blazed fiercely, and another sun rose into the night sky. The fox howled at the heavens, its cry covering more than half of Lungmen. Wicked flames surged upward as well, yet before Skyfire, they were like shattered ice meeting the sun. They were torn apart, consumed, and turned into nourishment for the greatsword of Skyfire.
"Looks like the Immortal was right. No incarnation of calamity can stand before this sword."
Ch'en advanced step by step.
The demon fox seemed to sense something. Its initial arrogance