In a sky covered in dark clouds, with thunder rumbling and lightning flashing, a lone figure cut through the biting cold air. Her short platinum-white hair, cut unevenly, waved in the dark surroundings as the thick clouds veiled the mighty sun. Her robe, covered in red and black stains, smelled like rusted iron—the scent of blood.
Her legs were planted on top of a small blue blade flying in the air, her posture proud and fearless, but her fatigue, which could no longer be concealed, was apparent in her countenance.
Through the semi-transparent veil covering her face, a faint frown appeared. Her brows furrowed as she turned to look toward the horizon, to her left and right, and even behind. Hundreds of thousands of flashing dots, exuding various colors, were scattered everywhere! Each one released a cold killing intent, potent enough to kill one with a faint heart with it.
"Hateful bastards!"
Her luscious pink lips parted, but only curses you wouldn't normally associate with one as beautiful as her came out like a barrage. "The battle was dragged far too long; I've been exhausted... to think these bastards would be daring enough to capture me in an array now!"
If they tried to capture her in an array before she got tired, then even with such a handicap, it would be a piece of cake to turn the tables against them. After all, her cultivation was a level higher than the most powerful among her enemies.
It could be said to be a tactical victory for her enemies since they worked hard to wear her down until this point.
Her vision was darkening, and fatigue caught up to her exhausted mind. But through sheer will, she kept forging ahead, thinking of a breakthrough to the current situation.
The dots of light, the cultivators maintaining the array, were scattered at even intervals. They were forming a large circle, roughly a thousand kilometers in diameter. It was a great distance, but to cultivators of their realm, it was no different than being within an arm's reach.
Her sharp blue eyes, as cold as permafrost, wavered as she saw the unfading ferocity of the cultivators in the distance. Each was in the Half-Immortal to Human Immortal stages, both below her current realm of Earth Immortal. They flew towards her, waving their weapons while they held talismans in their other hands.
A ringing sound reached her ears, causing her to turn to the side in fright. Before she noticed it, a golden sword was already approaching her face!
"...!"
*CLANG!*
Covering her hands with True Qi, she deflected the sword strike. However, there wasn't only one. Another golden sword came from behind, slashing down. She didn't need to block it, however, as her blue sword moved faster than lightning, parrying the strike. Two more came, approaching her legs, but with a quick turn, which exposed her pair of healthy things for a brief moment, she evaded the last ones.
"Meng Yinuo, you demon! Now, we've finally managed to corner you! I swear to the Nine Heavens that today is the day you die!"
An old man, wearing a black robe with gold linings, whose long hair and beard were both already pure white, shouted as he retracted the golden swords. With a flick of his index finger, the flying swords, more like golden scimitars, danced in the air playfully but with deadly precision. They chased the beautiful woman's lone figure in the sky, her sword coming to her side to join the battle.
The woman, Meng Yinuo, scoffed at the old man. "Me? A demon? Look in the mirror, you damned traitor!"
With indignant anger, she waved her fingers, held in the "sword" hand sign, where the index and middle finger were held straight and tight, while the other fingers were folded and held in place with the thumb, and commanded her flying sword a little distance away to clash against the group of golden scimitars. Gold and blue sparks flashed upon each clash, and the heavens shook from the intensity of each strike.
Watching the exchange, it was obvious that the blue sword had the advantage!
"Now!"
Seeing an opening, her sword managed to deflect the scimitars simultaneously, sending them flying away. Using that instant, Meng Yinuo dashed forward along with her sword, aiming for the old man's heart. A whistling sound echoed as she flew, her aim unrelenting.
*PING!*
However, before it could even come close, a dozen more golden scimitars appeared and blocked the blue sword's path. Seeing her attack get deflected, the frown on her face deepened. 'If I only had even a quarter of my strength left!' She lamented.
Failing to send another sect leader to the land of death weighed heavily on her mind. With how her power was waning as time passed, the earlier opening seemed to be her last chance to achieve such a feat.
The dozen golden scimitars hounded the blue sword, pushing it back and causing it to become passive.
"Traitor? Us?" The old man snickered, looking down on Meng Yinuo. "What's wrong with protecting the interests of all the major sects?! This is the collective decision of the entire cultivation world!"
As if to respond to his frenzied scream, half of the golden scimitars vanished before reappearing right before Yinuo's face, as if teleporting. Each one was wrapped in True Qi, radiating intense killing intent. However, Meng Yinuo was unfazed and even smiled fearlessly.
"A mere Human Immortal wanting to kill me, an Earth Immortal?" Her mocking smile slowly turned upside down as anger flashed from her cold blue eyes. "Stop dreaming, old man!"
Her voice created a powerful shockwave, sending the incoming blades flying towards the horizon. Without even wasting her effort to look at the swords, she raised her hand, palms open, and called for her trusted partner. Her icy blue sword flew back, fitting into her hand in a firm grip, before she swung it forward, pointing the tip at the old man.
"You have wasted three decades of endless battle to push me to my limit, and you think a simple weakening array can ensure my death?" Rage radiated from each syllable she muttered. "Don't underestimate me, you fucking old bones!"
Meng Yinuo turned around, taking a step toward the other cultivators. With her single step, the distance of hundreds of kilometers vanished instantly. Before her, a group of five cultivators sporting various colored robes opened their eyes wide. They realized who appeared before them in an instant.
Before they could realize what had happened, their bodies were already disintegrating into fragments of ice. The five of them, acting as the core of the array, died in the blink of an eye!
Furthermore, it wasn't only them. Everyone within a kilometer of her position quickly froze before their bodies cracked, scattering into the cold winds like snow.
Yinue breathed out a frosty mist; her pink lips were now purple and quivering from fatigue. The last attack she just executed used up most of the minuscule amount of Qi she had left. Just as she was feeling the effect of the weakening array fade, the sound of chains clanking reached her ears. The source was close—her own wrist!
Her right hand was caught by black chains, creeping slowly up across her arm, almost reaching her body. Without missing a beat, she quickly tried to slash it with her sword, but the strike didn't even leave a scratch on the chain's surface. This was no longer at the level of a simple array.
"This is... a seal?!"