Gasp—!
Fresh blood, mixed with fragments of shattered internal organs, gushed from the witch's mouth, painting a gruesome crimson flower on the ground before her.
On her chest, a charred sword slash that nearly pierced through her body oozed thick, dark purple blood. Each heartbeat sent waves of excruciating pain that tore at her insides.
There was no fear in her eyes – only piercing cold, confusion, and unimaginable fury.
Her body tumbled uncontrollably downward from the tremendous impact, the fierce wind tearing at her already tattered blood-red robes until they hung in shreds.
Just before she crashed into the jagged rocks below, she forced back the surging blood and overwhelming pain, quickly forming hand seals that opened like water lily petals before snapping shut!
The space around her twisted violently, like a lake's surface struck by a massive stone.
In the next instant, her form blurred, followed by a faint pop sound, leaving only a trace of blood scent and ripples in the air.
A hundred meters away, atop a relatively flat rocky outcrop near a cliff fissure, the witch stumbled out, dropping to one knee and barely managing to stay upright.
Suddenly she looked up, her gaze sharp as she fixed on the proud figure standing in the air. Her teeth were clenched tight, blood trickling from the corners of her lips, adding to her terrifying and tragic appearance.
Each word seemed to grind through her teeth, filled with deep hatred and incomprehensible shock: "Spirit… Spirit Emperor!!"
The searing pain in her chest left her voice hoarse and ragged. "How is this possible? I investigated beforehand – you were all supposed to be trapped in the chaos of the Outer Demon Sea! Why are you here?!"
In the air, the elegant and beautiful Lingdi held her sword with an expressionless face that masked her stunning features.
Her black hair drifted slightly in the strong wind, making her look even colder and more imposing – only the killing intent in her eyes betrayed her emotions.
At the witch's question, the corner of her lip twitched slightly, forming a faint smile of indifference, as if looking down on an ant.
Hehe.
Her cold voice cut through the biting wind like cracking ice: "Why should those who draw breath cling to meaningless answers? Whether you know or not changes nothing for you."
Before she finished speaking, the light-forged longsword in her hand trembled slightly.
In an instant, the blade hummed loudly, and the surrounding light was suddenly drawn in and expelled with force!
Thousands of solid, blinding sword beams materialized out of nowhere, each radiating destructive sharpness. Like a sudden shower of golden meteors, they precisely targeted every inch of space where the witch stood!
The overwhelming pressure from the swords made the rocks beneath her groan under the weight, fine cracks spreading across their surface.
Faced with this seemingly inescapable situation, the witch's panic stopped cold.
The intense pain made the muscles in her face twitch, but a sinister smile bloomed on her blood-stained lips like a poppy flower.
Her laughter started low before rising to a maniacal crescendo.
"Hahaha… cough, cough…"
She spat out more mouthfuls of blood, yet her eyes glowed with an eerie light as she stared sharply at the powerful, dignified Lingdi.
"Heh – even if you kill me, you won't save that Emperor-tier talent brat!"
"Do you think I'm the only one here hunting them?"
"Oh?"
The powerful and majestic Empress Lingdi paused her sword attack, and thousands of sword beams hovered in the air. Their golden glow illuminated every trace of madness on the witch's face.
A meaningful, almost cruel smile appeared on the stunning woman's face, her voice dripping with mockery:
"How do you know I'm the only Spirit Emperor who came here to purge your filth?"
The witch's maniacal smile froze instantly, replaced by extreme shock and fear!
Her golden heterochromatic eyes narrowed to needle points, and a terrifying suspicion pierced her mind like an ice pick.
"Could it be… that all of this… all this waiting and planning… was actually a trap set by you lowly humans to lure us into a snare?!"
"Now that I know, I'm not foolish enough to die in ignorance. At least I'll meet my end knowing the truth."
A clear, loud female voice – tinged with disgust – suddenly cut through the space between the witch and the mature Spirit Emperor.
Then, a figure walked out directly from the entrance of the Weeping Sky Gorge Secret Realm.
In her hand, she held a terrifying monster that resembled a praying mantis.
"You Demon Spirits, who always consider yourselves superior beings, actually collude with wild beasts from the Demon Race. You truly sink lower with each passing year."
The newly arrived woman had a beautiful face but a lean, muscular body like a bodybuilder's.
The praying mantis monster stood nine feet tall, its carapace gleaming with a dense metallic sheen. Even in death, it exuded an overwhelming, menacing aura.
The muscular woman casually tossed the massive demon corpse onto the rocky ground beside her.
Thud!
A muffled crash echoed out, and the ground trembled slightly.
She clapped her hands as if discarding a bag of trash, fixing her gaze on the witch's desperate, contorted face with undisguised contempt in her eyes:
"You aliens have certainly gone to great lengths – sending two high-ranking Holy Spirit Realm powers to disgrace my Xia Kingdom. It's a pity that Emperor-tier Spirit Envoys only appear once every few years. How could we let you run rampant?"
"Heh – crafty humans. Too bad for you, no matter how well you plan, you still made a mistake."
The witch suddenly laughed, her voice slightly unhinged.
"This is just a delaying tactic. Kill her."
The muscular woman yawned, looking somewhat bored.
They had expected the aliens to send a Spirit Emperor-level being to eliminate the Emperor-tier prodigy, but instead, they'd only sent two high-ranking Holy Spirit Realm warriors to their deaths. Their plan to capture the infiltrator had been wasted amid their packed schedules.
The elegant and dignified woman nodded softly. "Hmm." Then countless golden rays converged like a galaxy, completely enveloping the space around the witch.
The endless sword beams hovered above the witch's head like a golden ocean, then suddenly erupted!
This was no longer a focused series of attacks – it was like an overflowing divine power, a massive golden torrent carrying pure destructive force. It blanketed the area where the witch stood without discrimination!
The light vanished in an instant, leaving only a dazzling and terrifying golden shimmer in the world!
All that remained was a low, mournful whimper from the space brutally torn apart and annihilated by the extreme power.
As the tangible golden current slowly receded, only a bottomless chasm was left behind – its walls as smooth as glass and radiating scorching heat.
The original rocks, vegetation, and even the witch's aura and traces of existence had all vanished completely in that total destruction, leaving only wisps of smoke and an eerie "silence."
"Done?"
The muscular woman crossed her arms over her chest, raising an eyebrow as if she already knew the answer.
"NO."
The mature, capable Empress Ling spoke bluntly, offering no excuses or justifications.
Because the Weeping Sky Gorge Secret Realm's entrance was within the battle's range, she had deliberately reduced her attack's power and scope to avoid destroying the realm directly. This had given the witch a chance to escape into the secret realm.
The enemy's abilities allowed them to flee even in a near-death state, performing short-distance jumps like a wounded creature – something she hadn't anticipated.
"Then what now?"
"I'll handle the aftermath."
After the powerful and dignified Spirit Emperor finished speaking, she sliced through the ethereal chains binding Li Wenxuan with one sword stroke, revealing the spiritual contract on his wrist.
The contract glowed brightly, immediately absorbing the severely wounded Li Wenxuan.
This was one of the proper ways for a Spirit Master to utilize a Spirit Envoy: absorbing them into the Spirit Contract and merging with them, thus inheriting all their abilities and techniques.
When not merged, a Spirit Master could only access at most two or three tenths of a Spirit Envoy's power, unable to unleash their full capabilities.
Had she not possessed Spirit Emperor-level cultivation, she wouldn't have been able to unleash such terrifying sword light.
Clearly, this proactive integration was a sign of how seriously they took the situation.
The golden flash vanished instantly, streaking into the Weeping Sky Gorge Secret Realm.
Inside the Weeping Sky Gorge Secret Realm, through repeated use of his abilities, Bai Hao had grown increasingly proficient with chaos power – to the point where he could wield it almost at will.
The mountain apes he'd slain had become the catalyst for his power's growth.
He'd even discovered a new use for his projection ability: creating fake images of target objects.
By simply scanning an object's form with his projection ability, he could perfectly replicate its appearance.
Unfortunately, such replications only mimicked the look, not the true essence. Perhaps as his power increased, he'd be able to project objects identical to the original in every way.
There was still much room for improvement in developing his projection ability, but Bai Hao wasn't in a rush. He was using the mountain apes in this ordinary secret realm to train his awareness and combat skills.
Once he could kill ten mountain apes one-on-one without taking any damage, Bai Hao began changing his approach – shifting from relying on daylight techniques to using physical movement skills in battle.
The mountain apes were extremely agile, and even with his preparations, he felt slightly nervous at first.
Thankfully, he seemed to have considerable combat talent. After a brief period of panic, he gained the upper hand in one-on-one fights.
"Hhh… my body is still too weak. Even against the exotic beasts in this ordinary secret realm, I have to rely on evasion to fight. I can't face them head-on at all."
Bai Hao sighed helplessly, remembering the man who could transform his arm into a dragon claw.
That man's Spirit Envoy seemed to have extraordinary body-enhancing abilities, allowing him to easily possess physical attributes strong enough to crush mountain apes.
Yet after killing hundreds of mountain apes, Bai Hao's own physical abilities had noticeably improved – his strength alone had increased by at least ten kilograms.
While this might seem small, for an ordinary person it would take months or even half a year to achieve such growth.
But he'd spent less than half a day in the secret realm.
Bai Hao had just finished killing a group of mountain apes, converting them into wisps of faint but steady pure energy that he absorbed into his body.
Just as he was about to leave, ripples suddenly appeared in the void before him. The air less than three steps away swirled violently without warning, and then a dark, shimmering portal opened up.
A tall woman in a split blood-red robe tumbled out and crashed hard into him.
Seeing someone about to charge into his arms, Bai Hao immediately frowned and dodged aside.
He wasn't some lecherous madman – why would he embrace every woman he saw?
Who knew what dangers or troubles she might bring, appearing so suddenly and mysteriously right in front of him?
The witch's once beautiful and alluring blood-red robes had been shredded by sword light, leaving her nearly naked.
Now they were nothing more than countless tattered cloth scraps, barely covering her plump, snow-white skin – only a few key areas remained hidden.
Yet more terrifying were her wounds: terrifying sword slashes and charred burns exposed to the cold air, dark purple blood seeping through the rags and staining the ground beneath her.
"Damned humans! How dare they reduce me to such a pathetic state!"
If she hadn't used her arcane abilities to escape into the secret realm at the critical moment, she would have been torn to pieces by the endless sword beams.
Even so, she'd suffered severe injuries.
While void power was formidable, it wasn't invincible – she still couldn't stand against a Spirit Emperor-level human.
The witch lay on the ground, gasping heavily. Each breath worsened her wounds and sent waves of searing pain through her body.
Suddenly she sensed someone standing beside her. She whipped around, her golden eyes gleaming with menacing light as if she wanted to devour whoever it was.