Inside the prison cell, the air froze solid.
Blade stared at Jingliu, the corner of his mouth lifting into a mocking smile. "One more time? Hah. How many times have you tried already, Jingliu?"
Jingliu did not answer. She merely raised a hand, and a sword of ice instantly formed in her grasp.
"This time is different," she said flatly.
Blade's gaze settled on her, and his dark red eyes narrowed slightly.
Of course he had noticed.
Something was very wrong with Jingliu's condition today.
Whenever she hunted him in the past, her sword had always been sharp and merciless, yet there had always been a barely restrained madness beneath it.
That was the influence of mara.
But now, her eyes were frighteningly clear.
"You…" Blade's voice faltered for a moment. "What happened to your mara?"
Jingliu still did not answer, but the sword in her hand had already answered for her.
Blade was silent for a while, then suddenly laughed. "Good. Then come."
Before the words had fully fallen, his figure exploded forward.
Even without a weapon in hand, his attack remained terrifyingly fierce. His bandage-wrapped hand shot out, reaching straight for Jingliu's throat.
It was the instinct born from countless battles between life and death.
But Jingliu did not move at all.
She only stood there, quietly watching him close in.
Then, just as his strike was about to touch her, she shifted to the side and drew her blade.
The sword-light flowed like silk.
Blade's attack was effortlessly neutralized. His body twisted in midair, and when he landed, he had already been forced back into the corner.
He lowered his head and looked at his chest.
A slash ran from his shoulder all the way down to his waist, deep enough to expose bone.
Yet no blood flowed.
The wound began closing at a speed visible to the naked eye, and within moments it had healed completely.
"It's useless." Blade lifted his head, his dark red eyes holding a dead, still calm. "You can't kill me, Jingliu. You know that."
Jingliu ignored him and simply raised her sword again.
This time, her sword intent changed.
If the strike just now had only been a test, then this one was a true killing blow.
The sword-light poured down like moonlight, carrying biting cold as it pierced straight toward Blade's brow.
And yet Blade did not dodge.
Not until the tip of the sword stopped an inch from his forehead.
Then Blade froze.
He had thought that Jingliu was about to kill him once again, but she had stopped at the last moment.
Blade raised his eyes and met Jingliu's scarlet gaze.
There was no madness in those eyes now. Only an emotion he could not quite name.
"Jingliu…?"
Jingliu said nothing, but Blade had already understood.
"You… are you trying to let me rest?"
Frowning, Blade looked at the ice sword poised at his brow.
That sword was far too familiar to him.
Over the past eight hundred years, it had pierced him countless times and cut off his head countless times.
But every single time, he had come back.
Every single time, he had continued to struggle in that endless torment.
Blade suddenly said, "That white-haired one… she helped you, didn't she?"
"She can… let me die too?"
At that, Cecilia was genuinely shocked.
Jingliu had not explained anything to Blade, and yet he had somehow figured it all out on his own.
Had the two of them really reached that level of tacit understanding?
If that was not cheating, what was?
Before Cecilia could say anything, Jing Yuan had already stepped forward.
"…We meet again, Yingxing."
Then, without waiting for Blade's reaction, he turned to Cecilia once more.
"Miss Cecilia, this is the old friend I spoke of."
"As you can see, the Abundance blessing in his body has reached a level that is almost impossible to remove. For eight hundred years, he has died countless times and revived countless times."
Cecilia studied Blade thoughtfully.
She could feel that the Abundance aura inside him was indeed extremely dense.
But removing it would not actually be difficult.
Hm… though if the Stellaron Hunters lost a member here, would that affect the future?
Cecilia fell into thought.
To say it would have no effect at all was basically impossible. The Stellaron Hunters still had quite a lot of roles to play later on, and Blade in particular had that cursed entanglement with Dan Heng.
Then again, if she had to say how important his role really was…
Well, truthfully, Cecilia could not recall him having any particularly irreplaceable purpose.
But to maintain her image, she still said aloud, "Let me make this clear first. I do not kill lightly. I will only remove the Abundance blessing from his body. Whether he lives or dies after that… will depend on the rest of you."
Hearing this, Jing Yuan stepped forward, his expression solemn. "Miss Cecilia."
"If you can truly do that, then regardless of the outcome, Jing Yuan will be deeply grateful."
Well, since he had already put it that way, she might as well give it a try.
Cecilia walked up to Blade and carefully examined the legendary "undying body."
At close range, that Abundance aura became even clearer.
It truly was the power of an Emanator.
That Emanator of Abundance who had once nearly overturned the Luofu—even a single piece of her flesh had been enough to grant an ordinary man life force bordering on immortality.
But compared to Cecilia, it still fell far short.
She raised a hand and lightly touched a fingertip to Blade's brow.
Blade's body instantly tensed. Instinctively, he tried to dodge, but the force spreading from his forehead locked him in place, leaving him unable to move.
And at that same moment—
A terrifying pressure rapidly enveloped the entire Shackling Prison.
Even two supreme experts like Jingliu and Jing Yuan changed expression beneath that pressure, and the way they looked at Cecilia grew even more solemn.
Everyone present—including Jing Yuan, an Emanator of the Hunt—assumed this was merely Cecilia's skill activation, or the prelude to her technique.
But Cecilia alone knew the truth.
A vast will had cast its gaze upon the Luofu.
Uh… was Yaoshi here?
That was right. For some reason, the Aeon of Abundance had descended.
It seemed They had come to visit Their child.
Only, this Aeon's arrival was not grand in the slightest. They had deliberately concealed Their presence so thoroughly that, across the entire galaxy, Cecilia alone could sense it.
My child, it has been a long time.
Yaoshi's voice sounded in Cecilia's ears.
Cecilia was rather surprised. She had not expected that merely doing a bit of work would draw Yaoshi here to join the fun.
Then again, that made sense. This body had, after all, been personally blessed by Yaoshi as one of Their "children." An occasional glance from Them was only natural.
Since They were here, though, then wasn't this perfect?
She might as well get a little help while she was at it.
So Cecilia responded inwardly.
"Could You do me a favor?"
Yaoshi's answer came immediately.
Of course, My beloved child.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter116)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter144)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 118
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 111
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 80
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 112
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 80
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 74
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 48
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 50
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 47
Uma Musume: From Beginner 42
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