The entire cave was silent. The air was dry and humid, as there wasn't any opening to the outside. In a corner of the cave, wrapped in some chains, was a round ball it was the cocoon that housed Long Xiaoqi and it glowed with a gentle light inside, releasing little hums from time to time.
Lei Xinyi paid attention to it, trying to spot any error, but nothing bad had happened so far.
"Senior... c-can y-you l-let us go? We promise to not say a-anything to anyone," a voice sounded in the quiet cave. The voice was weak and seemed like it had taken a great effort to speak.
Lei Xinyi turned in the direction of the voice, smirking, her ugly and weary teeth in full view. "You're a funny one."
The owner of the voice, Wei Zhang, paled further when he saw her eerie grin. His hair was in disarray. "I b-beg you... p-please... let me g-go, please," he muttered, tears in his eyes.
Lei Xinyi ignored his sobs and focused on the other boy in the room. "You've been feigning composure since the beginning. I hope you know you're going to die today."
Xiang Yi smiled, his face holding an intrinsic quality rarely seen at the moment. "I know. I'm just waiting for her to finish."
Lei Xinyi's eyes narrowed. He was waiting for Long Xiaoqi? Why? I'll kill him now to prevent any accidents, she thought. She raised her hands, and mist started to form around her fingers. She flicked them, and they turned into daggers, which she sent hurling at Xiang Yi.
The daggers tore through him without any resistance, and he collapsed on the ground, dead. Blood began to gather under him as his body turned black and began to dissipate into tiny motes of dark light.
Lei Xinyi's eyes widened. She turned the mist daggers back into mist and flicked her fingers. The mist turned into fire, and the fire let out a roar as it flashed towards the dark motes, trying to devour them.
However, the fire couldn't devour the motes and became corrupted instead.
"Come back!"Lei Xinyi screamed, but the fire didn't respond. Instead, its color changed into a dark brown. The flames then settled in the air.
"Naive fool," a voice boomed from it.
Wei Zhang blinked continually in disbelief, his body becoming still as he peed his pants.
"Who are you?" Lei Xinyi asked, her voice wary and cautious.
"You're not qualified to know," the flames replied.
"Hmmm, I'll capture you and study you later," Lei Xinyi's eyes flashed with greed. This must be a special treasure or soul.
"Hahahah!" the flames laughed and contorted. It expanded and shapeshifted into a giant cat covered in flames. "I'll enjoy devouring your soul!"
Lei Xinyi didn't reply. Instead, she waved her hands and muttered, "Mist Transformation." Her body dispersed into thousands of water droplets, and she flashed towards the flame cat.
The flame cat's body pulsed with heat, and the brown flames danced across its body. It lunged at her with its claws fully extended, slashing at the water droplets and trying to burn them with its flames. The water turned into mist and formed a giant human hand, slapping the cat.
Boooooosh! The cat was flung into the walls of the cave. "You bitch!" it said.
Lei Xinyi appeared in front of the cat and sent a condensed spear of frozen mist toward its ribs. "Take this, stupid feline!"
The cat twisted, dodging the attack by merely a centimeter, but it howled as the spear had grazed its shoulder. It retreated, taking a deep breath while looking at Lei Xinyi with hatred, then exhaled a coil of hot brown flames at her.
Lei Xinyi barely managed to turn into mist again, but the heat from the flames was excruciating. She flashed to the top of the shrine and rematerialized her face was flushed but before she could even take a breath, the cat lunged at her again.
Lei Xinyi summoned more mist and pressurized it to form a giant block of ice to stop the flame cat. The flame cat slammed into the giant ice with its flames, creating a shockwave that spread through the cave. Shards of the broken ice scattered in different directions.
One pierced through Wei Zhang, who was watching the fight with hopeless eyes. He collapsed as his body started convulsing until he went still, a pool of blood forming underneath him.
Lei Xinyi glanced at the cocoon, and her eyes steeled. She gathered all her Qi into a single strike. "Nether Wave, Misty Spirit, descend now!" She tapped her forehead and summoned her foundational spirit. The spirit covered Lei Xinyi, and she turned into a mist shaped like a giant fish.
The flame cat flashed at her, its claws glinting in the light, while the fish opened its mouth, revealing several rows of razor-sharp teeth. They lunged at each other.
Both of them collided in a catastrophic explosion of flames, steam, and force. The altar exploded as chunks of giant stone flew in every direction, striking the bodies of the deceased people, leaving a messy and bloodied scene. The Heart of Malignance fell, but Lei Xinyi flashed and caught it, while the flame cat flashed toward the cocoon, destroying the rocks coming at it.
Lei Xinyi gathered the steam and condensed it into a point. She formed a frozen droplet of steam no larger than a pea and sent it through the skull of the cat with great speed. The flame cat's eyes dulled, and it fell down, its flames sputtering out.
She sighed and approached it, summoning a ball of Qi and sending it into the heart of the beast. The Qi wrapped around a flame in the beast's heart, and she stored it in Xiang Ning's storage ring, which she had claimed. She glanced around the cave, sighing at its horrible state and the dead people, but in the corner, the cocoon was still pulsing, now with an even greater light.
She floated to the top of the cocoon and placed the Heart of Malignance on it along with some of her blood. The cocoon absorbed the heart and the blood, shedding its former threads as a new, green shell began to form around it.
Lei Xinyi nodded. She tapped her head, releasing her foundational spirit back into her body. She spat out some blood, and a glint flashed through her eyes. She sat on her throne and meditated quietly, absorbing some of the occasional Qi that the cocoon released.
After a while, she brought out the flame she had captured from the heart of the weird feline and started studying it. She sent a wave of Qi to it.
"Ooww, stop that!" a voice came from the flame.
Her brows wrinkled. "You're still alive?? Stupid feline."
"I'm not a feline. I just chose that shape to fight with since I thought it'd look cool."
Lei Xinyi's eyes rolled. What was this stupid thing??
"Since you've defeated me, I'll tell you my true nature."
Lei Xinyi nodded. "Continue. I'm listening."
"I'm a soul shard of an ancient emperor, sent to the future to help Long Xiaoqi obtain blessed opportunities so that she can attain the greatest height in cultivation ever."
SILENCE.
"Ahahahha, you're joking??" Lei Xinyi laughed, but slowly, her expression turned serious.
WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!!!!!