Xiao Chen had resigned himself to death, his eyes shut tight, when he felt a faint ripping sensation. Suddenly, silence enveloped him. A sweet, soft voice cut through the quiet.
"Little brother, you've been very naughty. How could you wander into your sister's home uninvited?"
Opening his eyes, Xiao Chen was met with the sight of a woman whose smile was as radiant as a blossoming flower. His face instantly drained of all color. Despite her seemingly kind demeanor, he could still feel the unmistakable killing intent radiating from her—a cold, raw malice that sent chills down his spine.
From the side, Chu Kuang's eyes flickered with an unreadable light, quickly shifting to a grim expression. With a wave of his hand, several streams of demonic energy shot toward Xiao Chen's facial orifices like venomous snakes. "Disrespecting the master is a crime punishable by death!" he barked.
Xiao Chen's expression darkened. He instinctively tried to retreat, only to find his body completely immobilized, suppressed by an overwhelming force. Terror filled his eyes.
The mysterious woman frowned slightly and waved her hand with a casual motion. Instantly, the streams of demonic energy dissipated into nothingness. Her lips parted, her tone indifferent. "He won't die just yet. That would be far too merciful."
"Forgive my overreach, master," Chu Kuang said, bowing deeply. His face showed fear, but a fleeting glint in his eyes betrayed his thoughts.
The woman gestured for him to step aside, then made a series of complex hand seals. A black sigil, faintly glowing with an eerie light, appeared in the air.
"Bind!" she uttered softly. The sigil shot into Xiao Chen's forehead and vanished.
"Whatever strange trick let you escape my earlier restrictions won't save you now," she said with a cold smirk. The confidence in her tone was unmistakable. The binding technique she used was among the top-tier sealing arts of the upper realms. Even in her weakened state, it was more than sufficient to subdue a mere Qi Refining novice like Xiao Chen.
Xiao Chen felt his entire body tighten. His spiritual energy was locked within his dantian, completely unresponsive, while his divine sense was sealed entirely. Realizing his plight, his face turned ashen.
The woman ignored him, letting him collapse to the side as her gaze returned to the glowing screen in front of her.
It was only then that Xiao Chen noticed the screen depicted the chaotic battle outside. Though the scene was silent, the three combatants' destructive spiritual energy and earth-shattering techniques left him in awe. Watching their clash, Xiao Chen couldn't help but marvel at the sheer power of Golden Core cultivators. If this was their strength, then Nascent Soul cultivators truly could move mountains and overturn seas.
For a moment, Xiao Chen forgot his peril, wholly engrossed in the unfolding battle.
"Demon slave," the woman's voice broke the silence, her eyes gleaming coldly. "Those two are nearing their end. The moment they perish, activate the formation. I will use their blood and spiritual energy to shatter this seal and escape."
"Yes, master!" Chu Kuang's eyes burned with fervor as he stepped forward, standing reverently before her.
"You damned beast! Even in death, we'll drag you down with us!"
The pudgy Daoist and the elderly woman, their faces twisted with rage, screamed defiantly. Both were ruthless and scheming by nature. Now that all hope of survival was gone, they had gone completely mad.
"Explode!"
Exchanging a final glance, they activated a secret technique. Their bodies grotesquely expanded, and an overwhelming wave of violent spiritual pressure swept outward.
Boom! Boom!
Their self-detonation sent shockwaves through the battlefield. The Spirit Corpse Sovereign roared in irritation as thick corpse energy surged around it, forming a massive sphere about thirty feet wide.
However, the combined force of two Golden Core cultivators self-detonating—especially after burning their divine senses and shattered cores—was devastating. The corpse energy bubble lasted only moments before disintegrating like a fragile soap bubble.
Roar!
The impact sent the Spirit Corpse Sovereign howling in agony. Deep cracks appeared across its body, and putrid green blood sprayed out in torrents. Its aura weakened sharply, falling by several levels.
Back inside the mysterious chamber, the glowing screen flickered violently, the scene blurring under the strain of the catastrophic explosions. The residual power radiating from the battlefield was so overwhelming that even Xiao Chen, observing from a safe distance, turned pale.
"Activate the formation!" The mysterious woman's expression hardened, and her hands moved in a blur as she cast spell after spell.
Chu Kuang stepped forward, demonic energy surging from his body. The energy, guided by the woman's spells, coalesced into ancient, cryptic black runes that hovered in the air. Each rune, about the size of a child's fist, emanated an archaic, oppressive aura.
Xiao Chen's eyes widened as he stared at the runes. They bore a striking resemblance to ancient tadpole script he had once encountered.
"Go!"
At the woman's command, the runes vanished in a flash.
Buzz!
An eerie hum resonated through the chamber as the sealing ground erupted with dark light. The light converged rapidly at the center, forming an intricate, grand formation. Black runes densely covered the floor, radiating an ancient, enigmatic energy.
The spilled blood and spiritual energy from the pudgy Daoist and the elderly woman were drawn to the formation like iron to a magnet, rapidly infusing it. The moment their essence merged with the formation, it grew even brighter, exuding a suffocating, majestic pressure.
Roar! Roar! Roar!
The Spirit Corpse Sovereign howled incessantly, pacing nervously at the edge of the formation. Though ferocious, it seemed unwilling to step into the ominous array, visibly apprehensive.
"The Heavenly Demonic Annihilation Array is complete! The seal that has bound me for countless eons will now be utterly destroyed!" The mysterious woman rose gracefully from the blood-veined jade plate. Her flowing black hair danced in an invisible wind, her gown rippling as if alive. She exuded an aura of unparalleled dominance, her cold visage akin to a vengeful deity.
"I will return!" she declared, raising a hand skyward as her unyielding will surged outward.
The formation flared, a faint green barrier appearing at its center. On the barrier, ancient, deep-green runes flickered like living entities. A vast, oppressive energy gathered, as if poised to unleash devastation.
"Ha! A mere residual sealing array, reduced to a tenth of its original power, dares to obstruct me? Destroy it!"
The woman's voice was calm, yet her presence commanded the heavens and earth to tremble.
Summoning her ancestral lineage, she chanted, "O ancestors of the primordial age, grant me the strength to claim your scattered power. Ancestral Summon!"
The formation erupted in demonic flames, and a towering figure with horns and a domineering gaze emerged. It looked down upon the world, exuding an aura of utter disdain.
Roar!
Though silent, its roar resonated with unyielding defiance and rage, shaking the heavens and earth.
Within the green barrier, another figure formed—a tall, ethereal being with cosmic light swirling in its eyes, as if it embodied the endless cycles of time. The two entities locked eyes and clashed instantly, their confrontation carrying the weight of ancient enmity.
"Even a shadow of the past dares challenge me? Be obliterated!" The woman's eyes gleamed coldly. With a wave of her hand, Chu Kuang's demonic energy surged again, forming new runes that infused the demon's form, making it more solid and fearsome.
The clash raged on, the air thick with tension and residual power. Just as the demonic figure seemed to gain the upper hand, Chu Kuang's aura shifted subtly. His eyes flashed with an eerie green light as he muttered something inaudible.
A moment later, the demon faltered. Its form grew faint, green energy coursing across its body, until it dissipated into nothingness.
"What?!" The woman's face twisted in shock and fury as her formation dimmed and faltered.
Chu Kuang turned, blood dripping from his mouth, his expression gleeful as he lunged toward the seal. His body merged into it, vanishing entirely.
"Traitor!" The woman screamed, spitting blood as her pale face darkened. Staring at the flickering screen, her icy gaze locked onto Chu Kuang standing beside the Spirit Corpse Sovereign.
"Demonkin…"