Bang!
"Ahh!" A massive crystal hand landed inches from Chen Li Li. She narrowly avoided being crushed thanks to her high agility attribute.
"What's going on? Why haven't you dealt any damage?" Liang Wu shouted as he rushed closer, readying himself to attack the Boss.
"I don't know! When we hit him it says 'IMMUNE' instead of damage numbers like before!" Chen Li Li growled, pounding away at the Boss's side with wild abandon, frustration creeping into her voice.
"Daiyu!" Liang Wu shouted, grabbing Daiyu by her collar and pulling her back just in time. She had been completely unaware of her surroundings, focused solely on delivering heavy blows to the Boss's chest. She almost got squashed again.
"Ahh!" she screamed, struggling to free herself from his grip. Her reddened eyes and the unfocused look on her face told Liang Wu all he needed to know—she was on the verge of entering Qi Deviation.
Qi Deviation was a dangerous state where the Qi in a cultivator's body would flow in reverse, potentially being injected into the heart, which could cause the heart to burst, killing them instantly—or even worse developing a heart devil, leaving them mindless, driven only by the urge to slaughter. This state usually developed because of extreme emotions, such as fury.
"Daiyu!" Liang Wu's voice sharpened as he tried to snap her out of it, but her gaze was distant, her body shaking, far too lost to respond. She was almost on the verge of complete Qi Deviation.
He had to act fast. If he didn't stop her, she could die—or become like he had once been. When his mother died, the grief had sent him spiraling into Qi Deviation, and he had slaughtered everything in sight.
Unfortunately, the one who had awakened him from his endless state of slaughter was no longer in this world, and she had never gotten the chance to tell him how she had done it.
The only thing he remembered from his Qi Deviation was endlessly raging at the world for taking his mother from him, and waking up in the embrace of a dying woman, with her still beating heart in his grasp, and a mysterious sense of gut-wrenching grief.
Was that it? Was it the presence of a stronger emotion that awakened me? He may have just come to the realization of how he had awakened from his Qi Deviation. However, he didn't know how to induce a stronger emotion in Daiyu.
What can I do? What invoked her Qi Deviation? Fear? No… Anger? That's not it either… For me, it was sadness and fury at losing my mother to a disease that would have never contracted if she could cultivate. Ah! Was that it? As he was trying to figure out a solution, he thought back to when he fell into Qi Deviation because of the loss of a loved one. Then he remembered when he first met Daiyu. The next morning, she had said she wanted to confess her feelings to him, but was too afraid to disturb him.
"Haha! She had already told me, but I hadn't paid her any attention." He realized suddenly, a self-deprecating laugh bubbling up from his chest. "It's love!" he shouted out loud.
"What the hell are you shouting about, you lunatic!? Come and help me!" Chen Li Li yelled, struggling to hold the Crystal Guardian back on her own.
"Hold on a little longer! I need to save Daiyu!" He pulled Daiyu farther away from the fighting as he spoke.
"What!? What happened to Daiyu!?" Chen Li Li couldn't tell that Daiyu was undergoing Qi Deviation, as she had never seen it happen before.
"Focus on the Boss. We'll join you in a moment." He called over his shoulder, not sparing time for a full explanation.
"Ugh! Fine! Just be quick, I can't hold on much longer!" Chen Li Li was ducking and diving under the Boss's attacks, however her speed had visibly reduced since the start of the battle.
"Daiyu! Look at me! I'm okay, I'm not hurt anymore, see?" Liang Wu turned Daiyu to face him, showing his healed arm, hoping to pull her out of the spiraling storm within her.
"Ahh! Ahh! Let go! I have to kill!!" She struggled more violently, and it was clear that words weren't going to reach her.
"Shit!" He believed that she would regain her senses when he showed her that he was healed.
"Kiss her." His System Helper's voice suddenly said in a soft, feminine tone.
"What?" He asked in confusion. Did I mishear that? Also… when did my System Helper sound like that?
He didn't have time to ask any more questions as Daiyu broke free and charged back toward the Boss.
"If you kiss her, she will wake up." The Helper spoke again.
"Ah! Screw it, it's worth a try!" Liang Wu sprinted after her, catching her from behind and pulling her into his arms. His left arm wrapped tightly around her waist as he gently turned her face toward him, his right hand tilting her chin up. Leaning down, he positioned his lips just above hers.
Bang!
"Ow!" She headbutted his nose in her struggle to get free, causing him to stagger slightly.
"Damn it!" He spun her around, holding the back of her head this time to stop her from struggling, and without hesitation, leaned in for the kiss.
He held it for several seconds, feeling her body slowly relax. Finally, when he saw the redness fade from her eyes and her focus return, he pulled away, a smile on his face.
"Are you awake now?" he asked, his voice soft.
She blinked, shaking her head slowly.
"No? Should I kiss you again?" He chuckled.
She nodded, her expression shy but clear.
"Oka—"
Boom!
"Ahh! Liang Wu! You bastard, help me!" Chen Li Li's desperate scream tore through the moment.
"Oh, shit!" Liang Wu whipped his head around to see Chen Li Li, arms crossed in front of her chest, barely blocking the Boss's massive fist. Though her cultivation was near the Boss's level, she was visibly struggling.
Without hesitation, he ran toward her. As he did, his body began to grow taller, black crystals forming over his skin. By the time he reached her, he had taken on the form of the Crystal Guardian, albeit his crystal skin was black, a contrast from the Boss's red crystal.
He hadn't just been cheering the girls on from the sidelines earlier. He was also mesmerizing the Boss's Qi fluctuations so he could mimic them for his Beast Transformation Technique.
Bang!
Liang Wu's massive crystalline fist connected with the Boss's face—or rather the place on its head where there should have been a face, but was a smooth crystal surface instead.
IMMUNE!
"WHAT THE HELL!" A booming voice echoed out from Liang Wu's crystal form. Where the voice came from was unknown, even to him.
His attack somehow dealt zero damage, in fact, it couldn't even deal zero. The Crystal Guardian had become immune to damage.
"YOU TWO GET OUT! THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG HERE!" He shouted, his deep voice reverberating off the walls.
Daiyu and Chen Li Li were currently staring in amazement at the giant black crystal form Liang Wu had taken on.
"Daiyu, let's go," Chen Li Li said as she limped towards the entrance. Her legs were aching from running around constantly.
"What about Liang Wu?" Daiyu asked, worried about leaving Liang Wu behind.
"Look at him. He'll be fine. You should worry about yourself first." Chen Li Li said.
Liang Wu was whaling punches onto the Crystal Guardians chest, however, its HP was even fluctuating.
"Hum…" Daiyu hummed absent-mindedly as she looked over her shoulder at Liang Wu grappling with the Crystal Guardian while she walked to the entrance.
As they neared the exit—
Bang!
"Owie!" Chen Li Li exclaimed as her face inexplicably collided with an invisible wall at the doorway leading out of the Boss chamber.
"WHAT HAPPENED? WHY AREN'T YOU LEAVING?" Liang Wu asked as he looked back to see why Chen Li Li exclaimed in pain.
"Uu… there's an invisible wall." She called back as she rubbed her sore face.
"THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! THERE ISN'T SUPPOSED TO BE ANYTHING BLOCKING THE ENTRANCE!" He had designed the Boss rooms so they could be entered and exited from, but if you left during a Boss fight, the Boss would reset its health bar.
"Whether it's impossible or not, there's one here now!" She shouted angrily as she kicked the invisible wall in frustration, wincing in pain as her foot met resistance, nearly breaking her toes."Ow!"
Bang!
A heavy blow from the Boss landed on Liang Wu, cracking his crystalline chest. Staggering back, he looked down at the damage, realizing the urgency of the situation.
Bang!
IMMUNE!
He threw a counter punch back, but dealt no damage again. Maybe I can break through the invisible wall in this form? Might as well try.
"STEP ASIDE! I'LL BREAK THROUGH IT!" He roared, charging at the invisible wall.
BOOOM!!
He kicked the invisible wall; the recoil caused him to be flung back.
"DID THAT WORK!?" He asked as he climbed up from the ground.
Knock!
Chen Li Li reached out and knocked on the invisible wall. "No! What do we do!?" She yelled, fear beginning to set in.