Chapter 7
The air in the forest shifted.
Nyxen felt it first—an oppressive heaviness pressing against his lungs, forcing his demonic qi to churn restlessly. The towering blades around them vibrated with a low hum, each steel trunk resonating as if answering an unspoken call.
Liuying's hand instantly went to her sword. Her gaze sharpened, pupils narrowing like a predator who had caught scent of something ancient.
"Stay alert," she whispered.
The ground trembled.
A sound rose from the depths of the forest—not a roar, not a howl, but the screech of steel grinding against steel. Every tree of blade sang in unison, their harmonics fusing into one overwhelming note that shook bone and marrow alike.
Nyxen staggered, crimson eyes widening. "What in hells…"
Then it came.
From between the steel trunks, the monster emerged.
A beast of pure sword intent, its body formed from countless broken blades fused together. Its torso rippled with jagged steel plates, its limbs like enormous swords hammered into grotesque shapes. Its eyes burned with cold silver fire, and each breath spilled cutting winds that shredded the very ground.
The Sword Beast.
Even Liuying's composure faltered for a moment. "…So the legends were true."
Nyxen smirked despite the blood still staining his lips. "Good. I was starting to get bored."
The beast struck first.
Its claw, a massive curved blade, scythed downward with force enough to split mountains. Liuying darted forward, her sword flashing, parrying with impossible precision. Sparks burst like fireworks, steel against steel, intent against intent.
"Move!" she shouted.
Nyxen leapt aside, black qi trailing like smoke. The impact cratered the clearing, shattering several blade-trees. Shards of steel flew in every direction, slicing the air with razor edges.
The beast roared, and the entire forest roared back.
Nyxen countered.
His demonic qi surged, tendrils whipping outward, seizing shattered blades and hurling them like spears at the monster. Each impact rang like a gong, but the beast barely staggered. Its body wasn't flesh—it was the Dao itself given form.
Still, Nyxen grinned. "Not bad. Let's see if you can bleed."
Liuying's voice cut sharply. "It has no blood. No weakness. The only way to kill it is to surpass its intent."
Nyxen laughed, crimson eyes burning. "Then watch me surpass."
The battle turned into chaos.
Liuying danced around the beast, her movements precise, every strike carving away fragments of its form. But each piece she cut off dissolved into sword qi and reformed elsewhere.
Nyxen fought differently. Where she was elegance, he was brutality. His strikes tore through the air with corrupted intent, black and crimson arcs rending even the beast's unnatural body. His laughter echoed with each clash, bloodlust fueling his every step.
The beast howled, striking with both claws, its body splitting into three mirrored forms that attacked simultaneously.
"Careful!" Liuying warned.
Nyxen didn't dodge. He welcomed it.
The claws cut into him, tearing flesh and spraying crimson. But his grin only widened as his qi erupted, wrapping the beast's limb in devouring corruption. The steel began to corrode, black lines spreading like rot.
"You're mine now."
For a moment, it seemed Nyxen would overpower it. His qi gnawed at the beast, feeding on its intent. But then, with a shudder, the silver fire in its eyes blazed brighter.
The rot stopped.
Then reversed.
Nyxen's eyes widened as his qi was repelled, shredded, consumed in turn by the purity of the beast's intent. He staggered back, coughing blood.
Liuying leapt between them, her sword slashing in a flurry of radiant arcs, buying time.
"Fool!" she shouted, her hair wild in the storm of qi. "You can't devour it—you'll only destroy yourself!"
Nyxen wiped the blood from his lips, smirking even through the pain. "Then maybe that's what it takes."
They fought together now.
Liuying's sword carved space, her strikes opening windows of opportunity. Nyxen's corruption filled them, striking in moments where her purity alone could not hold. Two paths utterly opposed—yet in this battlefield, forced to weave into a single rhythm.
Their combined assault finally staggered the beast. Cracks spiderwebbed across its chest, light spilling from within.
"It's weakening!" Liuying cried.
But the beast's roar split the heavens, a last desperate surge. The entire forest shook as every blade-tree ripped free from the ground, levitating into the air, their edges all turning toward the two intruders.
Nyxen's breath caught. "…Oh, that's new."
Thousands of blades rained down.
They had no choice but to answer with everything.
Liuying closed her eyes, centering herself. Her aura expanded, sword intent blooming in a vast lotus of silver light. Her blade mov