Selene stepped forward toward the artifact and placed her hands on it.
Fizz!
The artifact reacted to her touch, but Selene noticed something that shouldn't have been possible for an object from the mortal plane—it was responding to her immortal qi. She tried to remove it, but it remained stuck to her hands. Not even with her strength, capable of toppling mountains, could she move it an inch.
Adam heard the artifact activate and rushed toward Selene, grabbing her hand at the last moment.
And then… they disappeared.
The citizens in the plaza were stunned. Why had they vanished the moment the artifact activated?
Everyone turned to William, seeking an explanation, but without a word, he climbed back into his carriage and left with a solemn expression. His job here was done.
What he didn't know was that this would have consequences in the future.
Somewhere unknown…
Fizz!
A blue flash illuminated the desolate place, and two figures appeared—Selene and Adam.
Adam felt the strange sensation of being teleported.
"M-Master, this is…"
"A trap," Selene finished, her expression grim.
As if waiting for their arrival, a voice rang out.
"Well, well, who do we have here?" a mocking voice said.
Selene turned toward the sound and saw a group of ten hooded figures. She didn't recognize them, but only one group of people could have set such an elaborate trap.
"Did Darian send you?" she asked directly.
"As sharp as the rumors say," one of the figures confirmed.
Suddenly, the artifact in Selene's hands stopped working.
The group was surprised. That artifact had been given by none other than Darian himself—it should have been enough to restrain Princess Selene's qi.
"Do you really think you can stop me with your pathetic cultivation levels? I'll show you what an Immortal Emperor is capable of," Selene said coldly. She had been forced to use one of her life-saving treasures to break free from the artifact. If she didn't finish this quickly, more would come to aid them.
The group sent by Darian consisted of ten cultivators at the Sage stage, while Selene was at the Monarch stage. Furthermore, as an Immortal Emperor, she could fight beyond her cultivation level. Without restrictions, this would be a massacre.
Selene pulled back her hood, revealing her dazzling beauty. She was going all out.
"No wonder Darian is obsessed with you… You're not one of the Three Immortal Fairies for nothing," one of them said, impressed.
Selene frowned. They were too calm.
The group started laughing at her reaction.
"Did you really think Darian would entrust the task of capturing you to mere nobodies? You underestimate his obsession. He has been searching for you relentlessly for eleven years, scouring every corner of both planes… He even lowered himself to speak with mere mortal cultivators."
As if waiting for this moment, all ten cultivators activated their qi at once, triggering a hidden formation that enclosed Adam and Selene at its center.
Before Selene could react, she felt her connection to qi vanish. Now, she was no different from a mortal.
"An Immortal Sealing Formation…" Selene whispered, recognizing the trap.
"We're not leaving anything to chance. Darian is on his way here as we speak."
For the first time in a long while, Selene felt despair. In a normal situation, she would have detonated her cultivation and ended her life immediately, but Adam's presence stopped her. She didn't want to kill him.
Adam also realized they were in serious trouble. Selene had told him many times how powerful Darian was—they stood no chance.
The formation prevented the use of any treasures inside its range unless they surpassed its level. But that was impossible; this was a Level 5 Immortal Formation, the highest level found in the immortal plane. Selene had no treasure that could counter it.
'So this is my fate after all.' she thought. Ever since she awakened her physique, her destiny had always appeared as a pitch-black cloud—darker than obsidian—a sign of a fate worse than death.
Selene explained the situation to Adam, and without hesitation, he responded:
"I will die with you if I must, Master," Adam said with conviction. What was the point of living if Selene was doomed to a fate worse than death?
Despite his words, deep inside, he still clung to hope.
'There has to be a way… We can't die here.'
Suddenly, an idea struck him. Could he absorb the formation's qi?
With that thought, he took a step forward and approached the barrier's edge.
Selene's eyes lit up. Why hadn't she thought of that? If they were fast enough, they could escape before Darian arrived.
Adam placed both hands on the barrier and began absorbing the qi sustaining it.
The cultivators couldn't believe their eyes. A mere mortal was absorbing immortal qi without dying instantly. Was this some kind of joke? And they couldn't stop him—the barrier was equally resistant on both sides, and they had already exhausted all their qi reserves.
Minutes passed, and Adam realized he wasn't fast enough, so he pressed his body against the barrier to increase the contact surface.
An unbearable pain coursed through his entire being. He was absorbing qi far beyond his limits. Though what lay within him seemed endless, his absorption speed was too slow. Desperate, he forced himself to the limit. The remnants of immortal qi wreaked havoc on his body, causing both internal and external injuries.
Selene saw the state Adam was in and rushed to stop him.
"Stop! Adam, don't do this!" Selene pleaded. If he continued, he would die in the worst possible way. She couldn't access her spatial ring, so she had no way of helping him with healing pills.
Adam ignored her. This was their only chance to escape.
His body convulsed in pain, but he didn't scream. His mind was solely focused on absorbing qi as fast as possible.
"Just a little more…"
But defying fate was never easy.
Crash!
Something shattered above them.
"He's here," one of the cultivators murmured.
A spatial rift opened in the sky, and from it emerged a figure. He appeared to be in his twenties, with short red hair and a muscular build. His tall frame—over seven and a half feet—combined with the deep scar over one of his eyes made h
im an intimidating sight.
"Darian…" Selene muttered with deep hatred.