Upon discovering the energy seeping from the wound of the Balance Ring, Elina's eyes lit up as she swiftly appeared beside the injury. Raising her hand, she gathered all the energy spilling from the Balance Ring into her palm. Gazing at the pure white energy now concentrated in her hand, a sinister grin spread across Elina's face, revealing an indescribable joy. Witnessing this, Dao Lao immediately had a foreboding feeling and swiftly swung his Demon-Slaying Staff, now transformed into a golden whip, leaping towards Elina. "Elina! Release that energy!" he shouted.
"Hehehe, you want me to release this energy? Alright then, catch!" Elina coldly glanced at Dao Lao, indifferent as she responded. With a flick of her hand, she hurled the gathered energy towards him.
"Dao Lao, watch out!" Hao Yun exclaimed, alarmed.
Dao Lao, speeding towards Elina, seemed unprepared for her seemingly casual attack. Unable to alter his flight path in time, he could only retract his whip-like Demon-Slaying Staff in front of him and hastily form a spiraling shield to block Elina's assault. Accompanied by a dazzling light and a deafening crash akin to two solid metals colliding violently, Dao Lao was flung through the starry sky like a lead ball, trailing sparks and lightning, before crashing heavily onto the transparent ground laid along the axis of the Balance Realm.
"Dao Lao! Are you alright?!" Hao Yun hurriedly flew to Dao Lao's side to check on him.
Struggling to rise, Dao Lao grimaced in pain, "Huff, huff, I'm... I'm fine! Damn it! How can Elina be so powerful?! Hao Yun, Dream Jia, be careful!"
Despite enduring torment in the Dark Energy Storm, Dao Lao's strength had unexpectedly surged, yet still insufficient to withstand Elina's attack. Though his shield helped deflect Elina's blow, the impact that seeped through left him shaken. Dao Lao realized that if not for the protective shield generated by his Nether Spirit Realm Battle Armor, he might have been fatally struck by Elina's attack.
Dao Lao had reason to believe that if Elina continued to launch such attacks, even with the enhanced protection of his armor, he could only withstand a few more rounds before being completely overwhelmed.
Meanwhile, after seeing Dao Lao thrown back, Dream Jia looked at Elina with disbelief and concern, "How... how is this possible? Elina, how can she control the energy of the Balance Ring?!"
"Hehehe, have you forgotten, three sirs? I am a peerless genius with the ability to cultivate both divine and demonic powers! Especially after receiving assistance from a benefactor, my dual-cultivation ability has further awakened, allowing me to glimpse the power belonging to the Balance Ring. Otherwise, how could I awaken the power to suppress the venerable elder of the Balance Ring?" Elina stood aloof amidst the star clusters of the Balance Realm, proud as she replied.
Hao Yun and the others couldn't help but sneer inwardly, "Hmph! Isn't that power mainly coming from Guardian Uryll and the Mother of Moulds? Without their covert assistance, how could Elina possibly possess the unilateral power to suppress the Balance Ring? Hmph! What a hypocrite she is, daring to utter such words!"
Unaware that Hao Yun and the others were keenly aware of the true source of her current power, Elina interpreted their scorn and disdain as mere envy and frustration at being unable to match her. Dismissing them contemptuously, Elina withdrew her gaze and absorbed another strand of energy oozing from the Balance Ring's wound into her hand. After a brief inspection of the positive energy, Elina absorbed it all into her body.
"Ah—! So comfortable! Is this... the power of the Balance Ring?" Elina couldn't help but exclaim in awe after consuming the positive energy.
Then, satisfied, Elina glanced at her powerful right hand and suddenly flicked her hand again, sending a thunderous claw tearing through space towards Hao Yun and the others. Unlike her previous Thunderclaw, this attack not only contained potent negative energy but also bore a layer of equally powerful positive energy on its surface, enhancing its destructive force.
"Watch out!" Dao Lao's pupils contracted as he immediately warned Hao Yun and Dream Jia to dodge Elina's attack. However, due to still recovering from Elina's previous blow, Dao Lao had lost his ability to evade the attack. Similarly, Dream Jia, weakened from using Huntress Bullets consecutively and unable to dodge in time, could only prepare to withstand Elina's assault with her Battle Armor's shield.
As the only one in decent condition among them, Hao Yun couldn't bear to see Dao Lao and Dream Jia passively endure Elina's attack. Stepping forward, he shielded them behind himself, concentrating all his mental energy to confront the thunderous claw with his Phantom Blade's Vanishing Stab. Hao Yun's strategy was simple; he aimed to clash head-on with Elina's thunderous claw, neutralizing part of its attack power. Then, relying on the shields of all three, they would withstand the remaining force of Elina's clearly more powerful attack, ensuring Dao Lao and Dream Jia wouldn't suffer severe injuries under Elina's assault.
When the Thunderous Claw clashed head-on with Hao Yun's attack, it immediately exploded in a deafening roar. Hao Yun and his companions were thrown backwards by the tremendous energy released from the claw's explosion. After tumbling through who knows how many rotations, they finally crashed heavily at the far end of the transparent ground, where energy cells flowed in a honeycomb pattern.
Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
"Hehehe, I didn't expect Master Hao to have some skills. However, you're delusional if you think you can contend with me with just that little power!" Despite Elina expressing admiration for Hao Yun enduring her enhanced attack, her disdainful tone made it clear she didn't believe Hao Yun could continue to oppose her after blocking that strike.
Indeed, the reality was as such. Although Hao Yun had managed to neutralize most of the Thunderous Claw's power, the remaining force still left him and his companions in a sorry state, preventing them from getting up and continuing the fight. Seeing this, Elina ignored Hao Yun and his group, ascending once again into the sky towards the wound on the Balance Ring to continue absorbing the overflowing positive energy.
Elina joyfully absorbed the crystal-clear positive energy, comparing, "Hehehe! Who would've thought that the Hunt Bullet is the key to breaking through all your defenses! How does it feel? To be killed slowly by the weapon you created yourself, it must be unbearable, right?! Hehehe! When you've searched everywhere and found nothing, everything comes effortlessly! I didn't expect these three useless ones not only failed to help you but ended up aiding me! Hahaha! It seems fate favors me more than you!"
Upon hearing Elina's words, Hao Yun and his companions roughly understood the current situation. Elina's purpose in coming here was to seize the positive energy of the Balance Ring. Once Elina achieved this goal, the power of the Balance Ring would inevitably be weakened. This was how Guardian Uryll and the Mother of Mold Spirits disciplined the Balance Ring. Now it was clear that Guardian Uryll and the Mother of Mold Spirits only provided Elina with means to suppress the Balance Ring to a certain extent in secret, but did not inform her how to dismantle the defenses of the Balance Ring. Perhaps they did this to avoid accidents that could lead to the actual destruction of the Balance Ring, and the ensuing loss of control as Elina replaced it.
Unexpectedly, Dream Jia's Hunt Bullet, blocked by Elina, accidentally pierced through the defenses of the Balance Ring, injuring it and providing Elina with the opportunity to seize the positive energy within the Balance Ring. At this moment, Hao Yun and his companions were both anxious and helpless. They knew that after seeing Elina, they would inevitably have to stop her from harming the Balance Ring. Little did they expect that their actions would inadvertently fulfill Elina's scheme.
Watching Elina hover in the air, continuously absorbing the positive energy of the Balance Ring and beginning to use her talents in dual cultivation to enter a cultivation mode, merging the positive energy she obtained with her own negative energy to continuously enhance her strength, Hao Yun and his companions appeared extremely anxious. Because even without the warning from the Mold Spirit Energy Pursuit System, they could feel from Elina's emanating powerful aura that her strength was rapidly increasing. If Elina were allowed to continue developing like this, it was estimated that in no time, she would officially ascend from the quasi-subversive level of combat power to become a terrifying existence with subversive-level combat power!
As for how powerful Mold Spirit Energy had to be to reach subversive-level combat power? According to hints from the Mother of Mold Spirits, once the combat power of a Mold Spirit Energy reached this level, it would become an existence infinitely close to a deity. Even if Mold Spirit Energy with subversive-level combat power couldn't contend with Elina, it would at least have the capital to directly challenge a deity at her level!
With Elina's strength continuously increasing, Hao Yun and his companions were at a loss for what to do next. Because, even in their most recent encounter, the unexpectedly enhanced trio couldn't gain any advantage against Elina. So, once Elina's strength officially ascended to subversive-level, how would they take down this terrifying existence?
"Damn it! I shouldn't have been so impulsive just now!" Dream Jia, kneeling on the ground, reproached herself.
Unexpectedly, Elina, whose hearing had become unusually sensitive, caught Dream Jia's quiet self-reproach. So, Elina used a provocative tone, pretending to comfort Dream Jia, "Oh! Dream Jia, please don't blame yourself so much! Maybe this is the true purpose of your coming here. This is the right choice you should have made! Hehehe."
Elina then forcefully absorbed a large gulp of positive energy overflowing from the wound of the Balance Ring. However, she said in a seemingly sincere tone, "Although the three of you came here to deal with me, it was precisely because of your arrival that I was able to break through the defenses of the Balance Ring. Hehehe. How about this! If the three of you decide to give up now, I will let you go. After I finish cleaning up the Balance Ring, I will naturally send you away from the Spirit Realm."
"Now that the three of you already know the dark side of the Balance Ring and the Spirit Realm, and have therefore given up faith in the Spirit Realm, naturally you also want to see these hypocrites punished for their actions, right? Hehehe. Furthermore, if the three of you don't mind, you can completely join my team. I promise, I will definitely consider the opinions of the three of you as much as possible and try to reshape the Spirit Realm into the form that you three hope for. What do the three of you think?"
"Hmph! I must say, the second option you've proposed is quite enticing. However, it's a pity that regardless of the direction the Spirit Realm takes in the future, you won't have the option to control it! Thinking of replacing the Balance Ring? Hmph! I advise you to give up that idea!" Hao Yun scorned.
Compared to Dream Jia and Dao Lao, Hao Yun was still in relatively good shape. Thus, after firmly rejecting Elina's persuasion, he struggled to stand up immediately, preparing once again to engage Elina in battle. Ever since Hao Yun and his companions entered the Balance Realm, their potential for growth had been reactivated under the baptism of the Dark Energy Storm. Therefore, Hao Yun decided to first confront Elina with his own abilities, hoping to hinder her from continuing to absorb positive energy from the Balance Ring. This would buy time for Dream Jia and Dao Lao to recover with the help of their continuously increasing strength, enabling them to return to combat readiness as soon as possible.