"No..."
The moment the Eight-Sided Hammer tore through the air toward her, time seemed to stretch.
Lin Shisan knelt before the Nine Yang Cauldron, warm blood still pouring from the bloody hole in his chest.
He saw the Eight-Sided Hammer, wreathed in dark cyan spiritual light, fly out of Zi Yuner's blind spot. The runes on its face flashed with dazzling light amid the wind and fire, like an iron beast lunging out of the darkness. He wanted to shout, to warn her, but blood surged up and choked his throat. He wanted to rush over, but his knees barely rose half an inch before crashing back onto the stone.
But he could do nothing. He could only watch helplessly as the glowing hammer smashed toward Zi Yuner's back. Like a wooden stake nailed to the spot, he did not even have the strength to reach out to her, three zhang away.
Bang...
A deafening crash exploded through the Nine Yang Pavilion.
The impact shook the entire Nine Yang Pavilion, as though it had suffered a grievous blow. Even several of its protective restrictions snapped.
Time froze. The Eight-Sided Hammer stopped three inches from Zi Yuner's back, its head seized by a hand.
At some point, Zi Yuner's right hand had reached behind her, her five spread fingers sinking deep into the face of the Eight-Sided Hammer.
Dark cyan spiritual light writhed violently between her fingers, giving off a shrill sizzling sound. Her grip crushed the hammer's face half an inch inward.
The recoil split the web of Qingxuan's hand around the handle and numbed his entire right arm from shoulder to fingertips. The Eight-Sided Hammer flew from his grasp, spinning through the Wind-Fire Vortex before slamming into the stone wall. It smashed out a deep crater roughly a zhang