"Eh..."

The rapid events unfolding before her left Luo Xianxiu stunned, unable to process the situation as droplets of her senior sister's blood splattered onto her from her fallen body.

Frozen in shock, she failed to notice Liang San, who seized the opportunity to swing his sword once more, aiming for her head. Fortunately, Long Linglu, who was behind her, reacted swiftly and saved her by delivering a powerful kick to Liang San, interrupting his attack.

Ignoring Liang San, who was sent flying by her strike, Long Linglu, more concerned about her friend's fate, hurried to Ruan Xiaoyue, who lay on the ground, to check on her condition.

However, when she saw her close friend lying motionless, her neck gushing blood and her severed head not far from her body, Long Linglu froze in disbelief. Staring at her friend's lifeless form, she lost all sense of reason. Overwhelmed by rage, she transformed into a divine dragon, destroying the village gates and its buildings in her fury. The sheer force of her transformation sent shockwaves through the area, hurling the bodies of Ruan Xiaoyue, Luo Xianxiu—still struggling to comprehend what had happened—and all the nearby villagers.

GRAHHH!

In her divine dragon form, Long Linglu, consumed by wrath, began furiously gathering concentrated light energy from her qi in her mouth. Without hesitation, she unleashed the concentrated light, now a powerful laser beam, toward Liang San, who had been sent flying earlier by her kick and crashed into a tree in the Death Forest.

Liang San, the target of Long Linglu's concentrated light energy attack, refused to remain idle. Despite the intense pain from his broken left arm, caused by Long Linglu's earlier kick, he retrieved a monster core from the depths of the Death Pit stored in his spatial ring. Channeling the incredibly rich qi from the monster core into the sword in his right hand, which emanated a mysterious aura, he prepared his counterattack.

Confident that the qi from the monster core had sufficiently charged his sword, and with Long Linglu's concentrated light energy rapidly approaching, Liang San swung his blade with precision.

The swing unleashed a massive, chaotic dark slash imbued with mysterious qi, nullifying Long Linglu's light energy upon contact. Stunned by the sheer power of the slash and blinded by her rage over Ruan Xiaoyue's death, Long Linglu failed to evade entirely. The devastating strike cleaved through her enormous dragon form, splitting half of her body in two.

GROAHHH!

Unable to control her body due to the immense pain coursing through her, Long Linglu plummeted to the ground, crushing the remaining structures in the stone village that had not yet been destroyed.

"Xianxiu! Help me! Give me the divine fruit—I’m gravely wounded!" Long Linglu cried out in desperation, her divine dragon form reduced to a pitiful state. With the lower half of her body severed, her intestines spilled out onto the ruined village beneath her. Thankfully, no villagers were crushed under her massive form, as they had been flung far away during her earlier transformation.

"I won’t let you recover by eating the divine fruit. I know exactly what it can do."

With those words, Liang San, who had learned the divine fruit's effects from the fruit he had stolen from Miss Immortal during her previous visit, sprang into action. He once again channeled qi from the monster core into his sword, activating one of the blade’s abilities. A massive, chaotic dark sword formed above him, its menacing energy radiating through the battlefield.

As soon as the colossal dark sword fully materialized, Liang San commanded it to fly directly toward the helpless Long Linglu, intending to pierce through her and end her life.

Luo Xianxiu, who finally grasped the dire nature of the situation after being thrown aside by Long Linglu’s divine dragon transformation, quickly unleashed the full power of her telekinesis technique to halt the massive dark sword hurtling toward Long Linglu.

"It’s useless! My sword’s ability nullifies any qi it touches. Your dragon friend will die here—what!"

Ignoring Liang San’s initial dismissive tone, which quickly turned into shock as she managed to stop the enormous dark sword created by his blade’s power, Luo Xianxiu focused entirely on her task. Controlling the chaotic qi sword with her telekinesis, she reversed its direction, sending it back toward Liang San. To ensure he couldn’t evade the redirected attack, Luo Xianxiu clenched her fist in a crushing motion, locking his entire body in place.

"Guh! Damn it! I can’t move! Activate the sword’s ability—Chaotic Drain Armor!"

Leaving Liang San to fend for himself, seemingly activating a technique to counter her retaliation, Luo Xianxiu didn’t wait to see if he survived. She sprinted urgently toward Long Linglu’s dragon form, which appeared increasingly weakened from her grievous injuries.

"Miss Linglu, open your mouth! I’m going to give you the fruit," Luo Xianxiu said anxiously, pulling out the divine fruit from her storage ring and placing it into Long Linglu’s open maw.

"Thank you, Luo Xianxiu, my friend!"

"It’s nothing," Luo Xianxiu replied softly, her voice filled with relief.

As Luo Xianxiu anxiously waited for Long Linglu's lower body to regenerate, a sudden voice broke the tense silence. Liang San, having somehow survived her counterattack, spoke to them with a chilling determination. He raised his sword with his right hand, while his left hand clutched the monster core he had been using to charge it with qi. The sword, now pitch-black, exuded an uncontrollable and increasingly powerful mysterious aura, causing both Luo Xianxiu and Long Linglu to remain on high alert.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

"All of Miss Immortal's disciples truly are remarkable. In the future, you’ll undoubtedly become influential and powerful figures in this world. But since you are my enemies, it’s only right that I eliminate this threat early. So, die!"

With a vertical swing of his blade, Liang San unleashed a colossal dark slash aimed directly at the two of them. Luo Xianxiu, realizing they couldn’t possibly evade the attack—especially with Long Linglu still unable to move as her regeneration was incomplete—forced herself to exceed her limits. Pouring every ounce of her strength into her telekinesis, she attempted to block the incoming devastating strike.

"UGH! M-Miss Linglu, help me block this slash!" Luo Xianxiu cried out, blood streaming from her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth due to the strain of pushing herself beyond her limits.

"Of course!" Long Linglu replied firmly. Without hesitation, she gathered a concentrated light energy in her maw and fired it toward the massive dark slash, combining her efforts with Luo Xianxiu’s to stop the overwhelming attack.

“Guh! It’s useless! That damned human brat wasn’t lying! All of my qi attacks disappear the moment they touch that dark slash! Damn it!”

Unable to assist further, Long Linglu’s efforts were rendered ineffective, leaving Luo Xianxiu on her own. Already at her limit, despair began to consume her. She knew there was no way she could block the massive dark slash alone, but she still pushed herself to hold it back, even as her strength began to collapse.

Ultimately, her qi ran out completely, leaving her unable to maintain her defense. The unstoppable dark slash surged forward, cutting through everything in its path as it rushed toward the two of them.

Resigned to their fate, they closed their eyes, silently praying that the slash would kill them instantly to spare them the excruciating pain. But as they waited for the end, confusion set in—they felt nothing. The dark slash never came.

Their confusion grew as they heard the panicked voice of Liang San, prompting them to open their eyes and see what had happened. The sight before them left them overwhelmed with emotion—relief, joy, and gratitude flooding their hearts.

“You—why are you still alive?! How could you block my dark slash without your qi vanishing?! What is that purple qi surrounding you?!” Liang San shouted in disbelief, his voice trembling as he stared at Ruan Xiaoyue.

Ruan Xiaoyue, who had seemingly died before, now stood alive and well. Not only that, she had stepped forward to shield her junior sister and her friend, her hands and entire body enveloped in a radiant purple qi.

“S-senior sister! Y-you’re alive? How—”

“Ruan Xiaoyue! I knew you’d come back! Thank goodness—”

Ignoring the questions thrown her way, Ruan Xiaoyue—completely unscathed after blocking the dark slash with her bare hands—chose instead to survey the area.

Her gaze fell upon her junior sister, Luo Xianxiu, whose face was pale and pitiful, with blood streaming from her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. She then saw the remains of her friend Long Linglu’s severed lower body near the Death Forest, along with the scattered, injured villagers of the stone village, all suffering from wounds caused by events she couldn’t yet comprehend. The sight ignited a deep fury within her.

Without uttering a single word, Ruan Xiaoyue disappeared as though teleporting, vanishing from the spot where she had deflected the dark slash. In an instant, she reappeared directly in front of Liang San, who had already instinctively activated the "Chaotic Drain Armor" ability upon sensing danger when Ruan Xiaoyue vanished.

In truth, Ruan Xiaoyue had used a high-speed movement technique taught by her master, making her approach seem like teleportation. Wasting no time, she threw a devastating punch enveloped in purple qi straight at Liang San.

BAM!!

Feeling perplexed that her punch hadn’t killed Liang San outright but merely sent him flying far into the distance, Ruan Xiaoyue, dissatisfied, once again used her footwork technique to pursue him. Reaching his position in moments, she delivered a powerful kick to his back, sending him hurtling back toward the spot where she had first struck him.

Despite the brutality of her attacks, Liang San still clung to life, merely coughing up blood as he was battered around. Growing increasingly frustrated, Ruan Xiaoyue escalated her assault, relentlessly chasing him back and forth, alternating between punches and kicks in an effort to end his life.

Yet, no matter how many times she struck him, Liang San survived, albeit severely injured. Feeling her efforts were wasted, Ruan Xiaoyue devised a new plan. She delivered an upward punch with immense force, launching Liang San high into the sky. Her fist, now enveloped in qi forming rippling rings around her hand, sent him soaring even higher with each strike.

Shuu… FuuBOOOOMMM!!

Watching Liang San’s figure grow smaller and smaller as he ascended, almost disappearing from view, Ruan Xiaoyue quickly concentrated qi into her feet. She enveloped her legs with the same rippling qi, creating a powerful force. Then, with a leap so powerful that it shattered the ground beneath her, she propelled herself upward with impossible speed, chasing after the airborne Liang San.

As she closed the distance to Liang San, Ruan Xiaoyue once again channeled qi into her feet, propelling herself higher than her opponent. Once she surpassed his altitude, she enveloped her feet in a newly improvised technique. This technique, born from her sharpened focus, allowed her to step on the air itself, granting her unparalleled agility mid-air. Using this newfound ability, she repositioned herself above Liang San, aligning herself for an attack.

Ruan Xiaoyue gathered qi in her feet again, propelling herself downward at an incredible speed. As she approached Liang San, she unleashed a devastating punch, similar to her previous strikes but with refined precision and immense power. Her fist, rippling with qi, slammed into Liang San’s abdomen, sending him hurtling toward the ground. The impact created a colossal crater over ten times the size of a lake.

Descending gracefully, Ruan Xiaoyue landed near the massive crater, her feet creating a smaller depression upon touching the ground. Without delay, she sprinted toward the center of the crater to inspect Liang San’s condition.

Reaching the spot where Liang San lay, Ruan Xiaoyue found him in a pitiable state. His limbs were grotesquely twisted, his body contorted unnaturally, and it seemed every bone in his body had been shattered.

Approaching to deliver the final blow, she noticed Liang San muttering something under his breath. Curiosity overtook her as she paused to listen. His faint words reached her ears: “I don’t want to die.”

However, Ruan Xiaoyue, now in the Mahayana cultivation stage and radiating mysterious purple qi, underestimated Liang San’s resolve. As she stood over him, Liang San weakly raised his sword toward the sky, seemingly in a futile last act of defiance.

Believing his gesture to be a desperate, meaningless attempt at retaliation, Ruan Xiaoyue remained unmoved. What she didn’t realize was that Liang San was activating his sword’s ultimate technique. The blade began to resonate, unleashing a terrifying force that darkened the heavens above.

From the blackened sky, an uncountable number of massive dark swords began to descend, aiming to annihilate everything below.

As her heightened intuition warned her of impending danger, Ruan Xiaoyue’s eyes darted to the horizon. She immediately spotted the darkened sky and the countless colossal swords plummeting toward the earth. Panic surged through her as she recognized the area under attack—the very place where her junior sister and best friend were waiting for her.

Without hesitation, she abandoned Liang San, sprinting desperately toward her allies in a race against time to save them from the descending onslaught of dark swords.