"What a domineering female cultivator," the Shi Clan Ancestor muttered.
"Domineering? She didn't even kill your descendant, which was already her showing mercy. You didn't help, and instead tried to strike her barrier. Did you really think there wouldn't be consequences?" the Wang Clan Ancestor shot back sarcastically.
Now that the truth was laid bare, the Shi Clan Ancestor had no choice but to grit his teeth and swallow his anger. He had already examined Shi Jie's injury: the wound hadn't healed, and a strange flame lingered around it, searing flesh and fusing bone. When he tried to extract it, the flame dove straight into Shi Jie's meridians, surging all the way to his dantian.
Then it stopped moving, simply nestling there. If the Shi Clan Ancestor dared to inject spiritual power into Shi Jie's meridians, the flame would immediately shrink in response, ready to obliterate the dantian at a moment's notice. Left with no choice, he could only wait until that female cultivator retrieved the flame herself.
The Wang Clan, Xue Clan, and Peng Wang could all see the situation clearly. Shi Jie had provoked first and deserved his punishment. None of them had any intention of intervening.
Inside the spatial barrier, Jian Dan had already compressed the domain to its smallest size, focusing it entirely above the Jia residence. Jia Yu had understood their intent by now. His counterattacks grew fiercer, parrying the twin sword lights while simultaneously striking at the barrier.
He realized that with these two working together, he couldn't guarantee a decisive blow. Breaking the barrier was his only chance. If he succeeded, he could escape—and possibly deal a devastating blow to that female sword cultivator.
Jian Dan remained expressionless, eyes locked on her single goal: capture him. Chaos-infused spiritual energy coursed into the domain. Liu Chuan had taken the form of a willow leaf and merged with the outer membrane, assisting in defense and giving Jian Dan precious breathing room.
"Senior Brother, merge the sword domains!"
With her voice echoing in his mind, Jian Lu's Thunder Sword Domain merged with Jian Dan's Chaos Sword Domain. Their combined strike crashed down, hurling Jia Yu directly into the newly unified sword domain.
Realizing the danger, Jia Yu flung a black jade paperweight from his sleeve, aiming to punch a hole in the merged domain.
Jian Lu's eyes flickered with disdain. Breaking a sword cultivator's domain required either killing its master or destroying the spirit sword. Otherwise, the victim would remain trapped inside.
"Senior Brother, it's our turn now!"
"Good. Let him witness a sword cultivator's true power."
"Autumn Water Slash!"
"Thunderbolt Fury!"
Blue sword qi rose from the ground like a tide, relentlessly slashing at Jia Yu's lower half. Then came violet lightning blades from above, fusing with the water swords to form a more devastating attack. The strikes rained down without pause, each one aimed with ruthless precision.
The unending barrage was getting to him. Jia Yu grew restless, desperate to break free, but Jian Dan and Jian Lu gave him no opening.
As the last wave subsided, Jian Dan didn't let up. She raised her sword again and unleashed a new flurry.
"Golden Severance!"
"Lightning and Thunder!"
This time, her swordsmanship shifted to the metal element. Blades of golden light merged with arcs of thunder, launching a 360-degree onslaught with no blind spots. The metal blades burrowed into the ground, guiding lightning from unexpected angles to slash upward, even tearing through his robe.
Jia Yu faltered. These two were insane. They'd been fighting relentlessly since midnight without pause. How did they still have spiritual power?
Meanwhile, his own reserves were almost depleted. The unrelenting pressure gave him no chance to even take a pill.
"If you let me go, I'll give you the Jia Clan's entire treasury!"
Desperate, Jia Yu offered a bribe, hoping for just a single breath's time—enough to swallow a pill.
"If we kill you, everything you have will be ours anyway."
Jian Dan's cold smile held no trace of mercy. Her strikes quickened. Jian Lu didn't say a word, eyes locked on the enemy, sword flashing ceaselessly.
Seeing they remained unmoved, Jia Yu gritted his teeth. Enduring a lightning strike to the shoulder and a cut to the leg from Mò Xī, he dodged fatal blows and yanked a fist-sized black sphere from his storage bracelet, preparing to break the domain.
Outside, many cultivators tensed. Peng Wang Zhūnzhǔ had already ordered Peng Xilai and Peng Min to fall back and was preparing to intercept. If Jian Lu's domain was shattered, it would be the perfect moment to strike.
Inside the barrier, Jian Lu was on his last legs, pushing forward with sheer willpower, forcing out every last drop of lightning energy.
Jian Dan, aided by the expansion of her meridians and the Primordial Chaos Art, was faring better. Still, she too was draining the last of her strength. The Yin-Yang Taiji disc in her dantian spun wildly, but it could no longer keep up with her output.
She saw Jia Yu clutching the orb, willing to suffer injury to release it. He was about to make his final move.
Jian Dan and Jian Lu moved as one, pouring every ounce of spiritual power into their swords.
"Chaos Heaven and Earth!"
"Thunderbolt Fury!"
Twin swords fell in tandem toward Jia Yu. At the same time, he hurled the black sphere at the domain wall.
"Mò Xī! Cotton Candy!"
At Jian Dan's call, a streak of silver light pierced Jia Yu's dantian from behind, spiraled through his core, and burst out the front. It was Mò Xī Jiàn, hidden until now and waiting for the perfect strike.
The moment it completed its task, Mò Xī Jiàn returned to Jian Dan's hand. Cotton Candy instantly teleported to intercept the black sphere mid-air, wrapped it in its body, and teleported again to Jia Yu's side. Without hesitation, it stuffed the orb into the gaping hole in his dantian, then flashed back to Jian Dan.
Everything happened too fast.
Jia Yu couldn't react. The combined sword strike crashed down just as the black sphere detonated. Light and sound exploded together in a blinding collision.
Seeing the shockwave about to reach the barrier, Jian Dan mustered the last of her strength to expand it outward, shielding the others from the blast.
Outside, no one looked away as the magnolia-shaped domain bloomed with violent energy.
Jian Lu pulled Jian Dan toward the edge of the domain. Neither of them had enough power left to form a protective barrier.
Cotton Candy wrapped itself around them just in time, shielding them from the explosion.
When the dust settled, Jia Yu had crashed to the ground. Half of his body was gone, yet he clung to life. He was forcing pills into his mouth, and the ruined half of his body was slowly regenerating. His aura was also rising once more.
Jian Dan was completely drained. Not a trace of spiritual power remained in her body. Jian Lu was likely in the same state. Even so, he stood firm, sword in hand, prepared to fight again.
Then Jian Dan felt it: a different energy rising from deep within. It was a power she had cultivated inside the Black Mountain Stone of the Violet-Grade Secret Realm, in a land devoid of spirit. Ever since returning to the cultivation world, this energy had lain dormant.
Now, it resurfaced.
She pushed Jian Lu's hand away. "Senior Brother, wait for me."
Then she sent a message to Cotton Candy. "Take me to him. Now."
Jia Yu was already pushing himself up from the ground.
"Yes, Master!"
Cotton Candy enveloped her. In a blink, they appeared at Jia Yu's side.
He hadn't expected her to approach. She was insane to get close now. He would tear her apart.
He began gathering spiritual power, but Jian Dan had already channeled the hidden energy into the Obsidian Bracelet.
The bracelet flared with platinum light, flooding power into her fist.
She swung.
The punch shattered Jia Yu's gathered spiritual shield and slammed into his chest. His body jerked backward, flung through the air.
As he flew, his physical form began to disintegrate, vanishing piece by piece. By the time he hit the ground, nothing remained but a tattered robe.
Silence fell.