Yuanji's arm arced instinctively, the glaive slicing through the air. Sparks didn't fly. No impact rang out. Nothing but the hiss of wind and the ghost of movement.
His breath hitched. It's not here… not physically.
He blinked, confusion flickering across his bloodied face. The mist had vanished, yet the enemy remained unseen.
Every fiber of his being screamed, urging him to strike, to react—but each swing met only emptiness. The courtyard lay in ruin around him. Shards of stone, splintered ice, scorched earth—all inert. The lizard, the storm, the invisible strike—gone, or hiding.
Eyes narrowed, he slowed, feeling the weight of blood and exhaustion in his limbs. Each heartbeat pulsed like a drum in his skull, echoing an unshakable certainty: it's not visible. Not corporeal. Yet it's here.
Yuanji pressed a hand to the haft of the glaive, closing his eyes for a fraction of a second. He allowed his divine sense to pour outward, probing not just space, but sensation, pressure, resonance—anything that could betray an unseen presence.
A subtle shift. A tug in the currents around him. Nothing solid. But… something had just passed his right flank. He pivoted, glaive sweeping—again slicing only through air.
A sharp exhale escaped him. Patience… precision. No blind strikes. Not until I can feel it, not until I know it.
The blood on his hands and face stung in the cold wind, but he remained grounded. One thought anchored him above the fear: I will find you before you find me.
He lowered the glaive slightly, coiling his Qi into subtle, almost invisible threads across the courtyard, each poised like a spiderweb, ready to hum at the slightest touch. The weapon was an extension of his will, slicing through the air now.
A sudden, harsh cough ripped from his chest. Warm blood sprayed across his hands, dripping onto the cracked stone. His body shuddered violently as the venom in his veins surged, racing through his Qi like wildfire. He gritted his teeth, forcing himself upright, but his limbs trembled, uncooperative under the toxin's influence.
The surge of Qi flared outward, threading through the ruined courtyard like living silver—but the poison reacted instantly. Pain lanced through Yuanji's chest and limbs, fiery and corrosive, burning along his meridians.
He staggered, coughing violently. Dark, acrid blood spat from his lips, streaking down his chin and staining his bloodied hands. His body trembled, each breath a sharp rasp of agony.
If he kept this up, he realized, he wouldn't last another heartbeat—not from the lizard, but from himself. His body couldn't sustain this reckless release of Qi while the poison gnawed at him from within.
If I push like this… it only spreads faster.
The thought struck him with icy clarity. Every attempt to force his Qi now risked accelerating the venom, turning his own power against him. Continuing blindly—trying to overpower the invisible foe—would kill him long before the beast had to act.
Gritting his teeth, he willed his mind to stay sharp. I can't… I can't let my guard down. Not even for a second. I have to purge this poison…
His fingers twitched at his side. The small pouch hanging from his belt—a simple leather satchel, worn and battered—flicked open, its contents shifting with a faint metallic clink. Inside rested remedies, antidotes, and finely honed concoctions, each a lifeline for moments like this.
Yuanji crouched slightly, planting his feet firmly against the broken stone beneath him. His free hand hovered over the pouch, shaking slightly as he prepared to draw what he needed. The glaive remained ready, spinning in micro-arcs of divine sense, slicing through empty air—but poised to respond the instant the unseen predator struck.
I can die, he thought, but I cannot allow the threat to strike me while I purge this poison. I must survive, even if it kills me slowly.
A fine sheen of sweat and blood coated his brow. Every fiber of his being screamed in pain, yet his resolve burned hotter. Carefully, he withdrew a small vial alongside talismans from the pouch, their contents glowing faintly in the dim light of the shattered courtyard.
Suddenly, the world went cold. His protective Qi shattered.
A wave of frozen terror slashed through him, forcing his body to stiffen as though the cold itself had anchored his bones. His eyes snapped to the side, seeking the source—but before he could react, his head jerked violently, the movement tearing through his limbs. He could no longer maintain his stance.
The glaive clattered to the stone as he collapsed, body trembling uncontrollably. Pain shot through every nerve. He hit the ground, staring through blurred, reddening eyes. Blood ran down his lips, dripping into the rubble beneath him, yet he could feel the predator before he could see it: the weight of intent, the inevitability of death pressing down.
A deep, crushing sound echoed across the courtyard. Yuanji's gaze darkened, his vision clouded as his Qi faltered. And then, slowly—agonizingly—the lizard's form coalesced above him. Its small frame materialized, scales gleaming in the dim, scarred light.
Golden eyes locked onto him, unblinking. Its jaws snapped shut.
Pain exploded in his head as the creature's teeth clamped down. Yuanji's body convulsed, trembling violently against the unyielding force. Muscles strained, Qi spasmed, but it was futile. His breath rattled, blood pooling beneath him, his lifeforce ebbing with every heartbeat.
The lizard held, unmoving, savoring the inevitability. When it finally pulled its head back, a jagged piece of flesh clung to its maw, crimson against white scales. Its golden eyes bored into the fallen cultivator, unyielding, unfeeling, triumphant.
Yuanji's body went limp, the tremors fading. His chest no longer rose. His gaze, once sharp and burning with defiance, now lay dim, empty, the crimson in his eyes slowly fading into nothing.
The lizard lowered its head again, the sound of its jaws closing echoing like a death knell. It tore free another fragment of flesh, holding it in its maw, golden eyes gleaming in the ruined courtyard as if to mark the battlefield as its own.
The silence that followed was absolute. The ruin, the blood, the shattered ice—all stood witness. But Yuanji was gone.