Fingers sheathed in steel clamped around her neck, cutting off the Incense Slave's breath. As the female cultivator suffocated, the atmosphere of the entire world seemed to freeze.
Yu Ci suddenly felt an icy chill on his forehead.
The Incense Slave struggled. In terms of power, there was no absolute disparity between them, but with the Heavy Weapon Sect Leader behind her, gripping her nape and locking a crucial meridian point, his exquisite technique was like an invisible iron cage, binding her limbs. No matter how she flailed, her strength dwindled ever more.
Gradually, her breath, strength, and divine power ceased to be!
"She's sealed off the divine power boost!"
The speaker's tone had shifted, shocked by the Heavy Weapon Sect Leader's inconceivable methods and the unimaginable alliance.
Yu Ci stared blankly for a long moment, then, suppressing his voice, he said gravely, "How could she be in league with the Master of the Sunken Sword Cave?"
He enunciated each word, for if he did not, he would surely be unable to contain the emotions surging within him.
He remembered clearly that just before entering the source of the Boundary River, the Master of the Sunken Sword Cave and the Heavy Weapon Sect Leader had been at loggerheads, with the former's Bloodthirsty Sword Qi even claiming the lives of three cultivators from the Heavy Weapon Sect. How could there be anything but blood feud between them?
He received no answer, but he hadn't expected one. Hand still pressed to his forehead, Yu Ci looked beyond the shadow of his wrist at the unfolding scene.
"Hahaha... Exhilarating!"
The Master of the Sunken Sword Cave laughed heartily, his voice echoing through the mountains: "Let you control the situation, while I open this passage to the Blood Purgatory Ghost Mansion!"
The Heavy Weapon Sect Leader remained silent, his grip on the Incense Slave's neck unrelenting.
"Blood Purgatory Ghost Mansion!" Yu Ci abruptly removed his hand from his face, "That guy also wants to open the passage to the Blood Purgatory Ghost Mansion... If their goals are the same, why would they clash?"
Was the trap he and the other had designed just a joke?
A violent shake emanated from a corner of the outer void, stirring up a more intense void turbulence and even disrupting the array order of the void. There lay the passage to the Blood Purgatory Ghost Mansion, traced to its origin and locked by the Master of the Sunken Sword Cave.
Qu Thunderbolt-Free's swordsmanship shattered three thousand worlds with consummate control, all Void Rifts were unidirectional, inward-looping structures. That is to say, one could travel from the Sword Immortal's Secret domain to the outside world, but those from the outside could not enter through the Void Rifts.
What the Master of the Sunken Sword Cave was doing now was breaking this one-way structure to truly forge a passage to the Blood Purgatory Ghost Mansion, just like the one that had caused the great upheaval in Sky Rift Valley!
Bloodthirst surged through heaven and earth, shaking the peaks and causing them to tremble. Amidst such a formidable presence, the irritation of Yu Ci and the others went entirely unnoticed. The Master of the Sunken Sword Cave exerted his full strength to alter the structure of the passageway, while the Heavy Weapon Sect Leader, gripping the delicate neck of the Incense Slave, manipulated her as one might turn a piece of exquisite porcelain, forcing the female cultivator to confront her face to face.
The struggle of the Incense Slave grew weaker; her meridian point was controlled, her Energy Meridians locked, effectively rendering her internal breathing useless. The suffocating sensation that throttled her throat grew increasingly intense. Unable to breathe, she instinctively stretched her neck backward, tilting her head, causing the hood that had concealed her face to slip away, revealing a countenance that was merely considered delicate. Her face, however, was already tinged with a shade of blue-purple. She reached out feebly, barely grazing the helmet and faceplate of the Heavy Weapon Sect Leader, to no avail.
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Yu Ci watched intently, not blinking an eye. Although he couldn't hear the sounds from that direction, he had a feeling that the Heavy Weapon Sect Leader was saying something, doing something.
"What does the Rakshasa intend to do?"
The Heavy Weapon Sect Leader's metal-clad fingers slightly closed in, and the slender neck of the Incense Slave emitted a low creak, as if on the verge of collapse. Though he posed a question, the Sect Leader had no intention of allowing a response, for what followed was a spiritual tempest that swept through the entire Brain Palace.
"Ah!"
Even as her throat was tightly constricted, the Incense Slave still let out a hoarse scream, her body shaking violently, convulsing as one could only imagine the terrifying impact she was enduring.
Yu Ci interlaced his fingers, using small movements to alleviate the pressure in his heart. Observing the Incense Slave's struggle, reminiscent of a fleeting return of light before death, he made a judgment: "It's the Ten Orientation Hell Ghost Shaking Technique!"
As he spoke, he felt a chilling sensation between his teeth.
Soon, the struggle and trembling of the Incense Slave ceased, her head drooped limply, giving the appearance of a broken neck. In contrast, behind a layer of faceplate, the Heavy Weapon Sect Leader's murmurs rolled like distant thunder across the sky, resounding in her ears and heart:
"Will even the most defiant become dogs?"
These eight simple words served as a prelude, her already fragmented thoughts flowing uncontrollably, unmasked, laid bare before the eyes of the Heavy Weapon Sect Leader as if stripped of all clothing.
The Incense Slave was dreaming, her consciousness blurred as if time had reversed, taking her back to the moments before she had stepped out of the void's chaotic currents, before the empowerment of divine strength.
In that moment, she wanted to kill!
In her field of vision were two figures: the young Taoist who had entangled with her time and again, within arm's reach, and an old enemy, separated by several layers of chaos, forever wearing a detestable smile. Perhaps she had lacked the strength then, but once divine power was bestowed upon her, slaying these two would be as effortless as slaughtering chickens and dogs.
However, she could not!
The God Lord would not allow her to expend the precious divine power in meaningless directions, let alone defy His will and slay the one who had been designed to serve as her whetstone. What the God Lord wanted to see was the tangled complexity of the human heart, like a play from which to derive pleasure, and she was just a character already set in place, burdened with a name and temperament not her own—or perhaps merely a backdrop to set the scene!
Such was the life she was bound to lead under the protection of the Rakshasa Divine Lord, a price she was destined to pay.
"Do you want to live this life?" a voice echoed in the depths of her heart.
"Me?"
She hesitated, but at this moment, her true feelings were laid bare, the unease that had just begun to surface was swept away by a torrent of rampaging emotions: "Of course... not!"
I am fed up! I want to return to the past, to the days when life and death were at my whim, when I was unrestrained and carefree; to the days of ease and composure; even to the times of hardship and relentless pursuit!
I want... freedom!
In an instant, something within the female cultivator seemed to shatter with a "bang," an irresistible shock spreading throughout her body, finally erupting like an angry dragon's roar within the Brain Palace.
The Heavy Weapon Sect Leader released her grip, and the female cultivator collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
No longer concerned with the female cultivator on the ground, the Heavy Weapon Sect Leader stood with her hands behind her back, observing the progress of her temporary allies. In the chaotic void, a blood-red circle had been clearly carved out, with a continuous flow of Bloodthirsty Qi seeping into it, altering its structure and resonating with a powerful entity deep within the Blood Purgatory Ghost Mansion.
It wouldn't be long now.
The Heavy Weapon Sect Leader had her own judgment; she soared into the air, heading towards the snowy peak. At this time, the Master of the Sunken Sword Cave was fully focused on breaking through the passageway, and despite his formidable abilities, he was momentarily immobilized. She had to stay close to protect the law, ensuring no one would disturb him.
If that youngster hidden in the chaotic void did something foolish again, she would show no mercy!
Yu Ci suddenly felt a chill, as if cold water had been poured over him, and warnings rang in his ears: "He has seen you!"
I know!
Yu Ci's body involuntarily tensed, as if gathering strength or unable to withstand the external pressure. To be honest, the collaboration between the Master of the Sunken Sword Cave and the Heavy Weapon Sect Leader possessed the power to obliterate any foolish fantasies. He and his companion had set up many schemes, but almost all of them were based on the assumption of the two's conflict, which now had lost its meaning.
I should... Wow!
The universal swords sang, instantly clearing the chaotic void, leaping ten miles in a single bound, aiming straight for the immobile Master of the Sunken Sword Cave. The Heavy Weapon Sect Leader, unperturbed, flew up to intercept, her grasp of the trajectory extremely precise. In an instant, Sword Energy burst forth, and the figures of the two combatants rose and fell in alternation, leaving the snow peaks they passed riddled with holes in the blink of an eye.
Meanwhile, Yu Ci finally saw the identity of the newcomer, leaping up, his eyes widening to their limits.