Boom!
Zuo Qia stepped forward.
The invisible gravitational force pressed against every inch of her body.
Her organs groaned beneath the unbearable weight.
Even breathing had become difficult.
Yet—
she did not stop.
Instead—
she accelerated.
Boom!
The earth beneath her shattered.
Her figure shot through the crushing field like a streak of white light.
Her Soul Manifestation answered instantly.
The colossal white sword descended once more.
It ignored distance.
Ignored every obstacle.
Piercing relentlessly toward Lizarius' soul.
At the same moment—
Zuo Qia swung.
Shing!
A brilliant arc of sword light swept across the heavens.
The mountain below split apart.
A canyon stretching thousands of meters appeared instantly.
Everything within its path—
Clouds...
Wind...
Lightning...
Shadow clones...
Was divided cleanly in two.
Boom!
She swung again.
Another arc of sword light crossed the sky.
The atmosphere itself seemed unable to withstand its passage.
The heavens trembled.
The earth quaked.
Entire mountain peaks collapsed beneath the overwhelming sword intent.
Every remaining shadow clone that attempted to approach her exploded into black mist before vanishing.
The storm serpents were severed one after another.
Not even their crimson lightning remained.
Only fragments of dissipating clouds drifted through the ruined sky.
Yet—
the true Lizarius never stopped moving.
Lightning burst beneath his claws.
Shadow Exchange activated again and again.
Every time the Soul Manifestation closed the distance—
another shadow clone appeared.
Another exchange.
Another desperate escape.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The colossal white sword pursued him relentlessly.
The crimson streak continued fleeing.
One hunted.
One escaped.
Neither slowed.
High above—
the heavens continued to fracture beneath their relentless pursuit.
Far below—
the mountains had already become a wasteland.
Deep ravines stretched endlessly across the earth.
Ancient forests had vanished.
Only shattered stone remained.
Zuo Qia's breathing became increasingly unstable.
"Cough—!"
Dark blood sprayed from her lips once again.
The black veins climbed across her neck.
Across her jaw.
Even the fingers gripping her sword had begun to darken.
Still—
she refused to stop.
Her sword rose once more.
Her gaze never left the fleeing white-scaled dragon.
Boom!
Zuo Qia closed the distance.
Every step shattered the sky beneath her feet.
Every swing forced Lizarius farther back.
The Soul Manifestation pursued relentlessly.
Again.
And again.
Shadow Exchange activated.
Boom!
Lizarius switched places with another shadow clone.
The Soul Manifestation instantly altered its course.
It followed.
Without slowing.
Without hesitation.
Crimson lightning erupted around him once more.
Then—
he lunged forward.
Not away—
But directly toward Zuo Qia.
The Soul Manifestation barely grazed his side as he accelerated past it.
His crimson-gold eyes never left her.
*Now.*
Zuo Qia's pupils flashed.
*I've caught you.*
Her Nascent Soul erupted with terrifying brilliance.
The cultivation she had been burning surged to an unprecedented height.
An endless sea of sword intent exploded from her body.
The surrounding heavens screamed beneath its pressure.
Her sword descended.
"...Sword of Emptiness..."
"...Final Slash."
The blade fell.
Lizarius reacted instantly.
Jade scales manifested around his body.
A massive Black Tortoise phantom appeared before him.
Layer upon layer of compressed wind walls condensed into existence.
A towering golden mountain descended from above.
One defensive technique after another erupted into existence.
Boom!!
The jade scales shattered.
Boom!!
The Black Tortoise phantom collapsed.
Boom!!
The wind walls were sliced apart.
Boom!!
The golden mountain split cleanly down the middle.
Every defense endured for only the briefest instant before the white blade carved through it.
Nothing...
Could stop the descending sword.
Then—
It reached Lizarius.
Shrrk!
Blood erupted across the heavens.
The sword carved diagonally through his enormous body.
Pristine white scales burst apart.
Crimson blood scattered like rain across the battlefield.
His flesh split deeply.
Bone became visible beneath the torn scales.
Yet—
he never stopped.
His massive body continued charging straight toward her.
Zuo Qia looked directly into those crimson-gold eyes.
Then—
a smile slowly appeared upon her bloodstained face.
*Got you.*
Her burning cultivation trembled violently.
Every remaining strand of spiritual energy converged toward her Golden Core.
She no longer cared about survival.
No longer cared about the poison.
No longer cared about the price.
*Then...*
*Let's die together.*
Her Golden Core began expanding.
Violent spiritual power rapidly became unstable.
The surrounding space distorted beneath the immense accumulation of energy.
A self-detonation.
A final exchange of lives.
Yet—
Nothing happened.
Her smile froze.
"...What...?"
She couldn't control it.
The spiritual energy she had gathered...
Refused to obey.
It was as though countless invisible shackles had wrapped themselves around her cultivation.
The burning power surged violently—
Only to collapse back into place.
Her pupils contracted.
*I can't... detonate it...?*
Confusion flashed through her mind.
Only for an instant.
Because—
Lizarius was already before her.
His massive jaws opened.
Within them—
countless rows of bloodstained fangs reflected the white radiance of her sword.
There was no hesitation.
No pause.
His jaws snapped shut.
Shrrrk!!
A crimson arc flashed across the battlefield.
Time itself seemed to stop.
For the briefest instant—
nothing moved.
Then—
blood blossomed across the heavens.
From her head—
to the center of her abdomen—
Zuo Qia disappeared.
The upper half of her body had already vanished inside Lizarius' enormous jaws.
Crunch.
Bone.
Armor.
Flesh.
Everything was crushed together beneath rows of bloodstained fangs.
Dark blood flowed from the corners of his mouth.
The enormous white-scaled dragon remained motionless.
His crimson-gold eyes quietly watched the lower half of her body hanging in the empty sky.
Then—
his gaze shifted.
A streak of pure white light shot out from the shattered remains.
Small.
Brilliant.
Moving with astonishing speed.
Zuo Qia's Nascent Soul.
No larger than a child's palm.
Its tiny figure still gripped a miniature white sword as it fled toward the distant horizon.
Within its eyes—
there was no hesitation.
*I have to escape...*
*As long as my Nascent Soul survives...*
*I can still rebuild...*
The tiny figure accelerated even faster.
At that moment—
Lizarius' eyes narrowed.
His pupils locked onto the fleeing Nascent Soul.
*...Still alive.*
Without the slightest hesitation—
his soul erupted.
No longer the broad Mental Shock he had employed before.
Instead—
his consciousness compressed into a single invisible spike.
A pure projection of soul force.
It crossed the heavens in an instant.
Boom!
The invisible strike slammed directly into the fleeing Nascent Soul.
Zuo Qia's tiny figure trembled violently.
Her vision blurred.
The miniature sword in her hand nearly slipped free.
Yet—
she did not shatter.
Only a faint crack spread across the spiritual barrier protecting her soul.
She gritted her teeth.
"...What... persistence..."
Blood trickled from the corner of her tiny lips.
"...Even now..."
"...You still refuse to let me go..."
She steadied herself.
The Nascent Soul immediately resumed its escape.
Straight toward the earth below.
Whoosh!
The tiny white figure plunged into the mountain.
Stone offered no resistance.
It vanished beneath the earth in an instant.
Silence returned.
High above—
Lizarius hovered beneath the dark storm clouds.
His crimson-gold eyes remained fixed upon the place where she had disappeared.
Even through countless layers of rock...
He could still perceive her.
Her weakened soul.
Her rapidly fading aura.
Her desperate escape.
He knew exactly where she was.
Yet—
he did not move.
His massive body remained suspended beneath the storm.
Blood continued dripping from the deep sword wound carved across his chest.
Dragon Blood Fury had already begun to subside.
The crimson lightning surrounding him gradually weakened.
His breathing became noticeably heavier.
For several long moments—
he simply watched.
Then—
his gaze slowly withdrew.
He turned away from the mountain below.
The battlefield fell silent.
Only distant thunder echoed across the ruined landscape.