Ayame continued to improve rapidly throughout her entire stay in the pond, even managing to achieve another breakthrough twice when using refinement techniques from the Asura Warpath Sutra for three hours.

She was now in the Terminal Stage of the Spirit Desolation Realm.

However, she soon found herself reaching the limit of what she could handle.

Ayame’s body tensed as she felt her limits starting to approach.

Her breath grew ragged, and sweat dripped from her forehead.

Her movements became slower and more labored, her concentration waning and her energy reaching a critical point.

She was pushing herself to the brink, close to the edge of what she was able to do.

‘Shit. I think I’m gonna pass out any second now.’ She thought.

Ayame’s body becomes limp as her eyelids close, and she slowly starts to sink underwater.

Her breathing is shallow, and her arms hang loosely at her sides.

The three members of Zero Squad remain still, oblivious to what is happening in the pond, as they focus on their cultivation.

As Ayame’s body slowly submerged in the water, a mysterious force seemed to take control of her limbs and cause them to move in an unnatural way.

Her limbs twitched and quivered as if they were possessed by a power not of this realm.

Her eyes rolled back, and her movements resembled a puppet controlled by an unseen force.

The three members of Zero Squad all turned their heads quickly at the sound of the splash.

They gasped in surprise as they saw Ayame rising from the depths of the pond, her body limp and her movements jerky.

Her eyes were glassy and unresponsive, and she seemed to be moving by force beyond her control.

Her arms hung loosely at her sides as she slowly rose from the depths, an eerie and mysterious force taking hold of her limbs.

“What is going on here?” asked one of them cautiously while shifting his eyes at Ayame, who seemed completely unaware of her surroundings now.

“I am not sure,” replied another member before turning towards the area where Ayame had been cultivating earlier, “but I think something happened while she was meditating.”

Ayame’s face is expressionless for a moment before suddenly contorting into an arrogant smirk.

Her eyes seem to smolder with disdain, almost as if she were looking down on the three members of Zero Squad with contempt.

Her lips curl up at the edges in a sneer, and her chin is tilted up in superiority.

「Aviation ˣ Surface Tension Amplification ˣ Water Repulsion」

Ayame’s voice resonated through the air with a hint of smugness. Her words have a harsh edge to them as if they are meant to belittle and mock those around her.

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She snapped her fingers, and she was launched off the pond and into the sky.

The three members of Zero Squad all had their eyes wide in disbelief, their mouths agape.

They were all standing still, looking at each other in confusion and uncertainty as they tried to comprehend what had just happened.

The three members of Zero Squad all shared a look of confusion and uncertainty as they tried to understand what was going on with Ayame.

Her sudden change of behavior and attitude left them perplexed, not to mention the mysterious ability she had just used.

Before the group could recover from their confusion, Ayame suddenly began falling to the ground at terminal velocity.

They quickly swam away from Ayame’s location with a sense of urgency, their arms and legs thrashing through the water as they tried to get away from the falling woman.

「Weight Reduction ˣ Mid-Air Agility ˣ Gravity Reduction」

Ayame gracefully floated in mid-air, her body suspended weightless as she maneuvered herself around.

Her feet lightly touched the surface of the pond.

When her feet connected with the water, it created small ripples which spread out from the point of contact before fading away.

She then stood up straight, her arms crossed and a satisfied smirk on her face.

She began to walk on the water’s surface, her head held high as she marched towards the massive tree in the distance.

The three members of Zero Squad were speechless as they stared at Ayame in awe.

Ayame smirked arrogantly before continuing to walk toward the Heavenly Essence Tree without saying a word.

As she walked closer to the giant tree, its size and grandeur gradually filled her view.

The three watched with wide eyes and mouths agape as they noticed Ayame striding forwards without any difficulty as if she was immune to the tree’s spiritual power, which usually would have repelled even the high-ranked cultivators.

The closer a cultivator is to the tree, the more the force of repulsion powerful becomes.

They tried it before, and they were blown off when they tried to fly into it.

When they tried to swim towards it, they were pushed away by the force, albeit less violently.

She seemed to be unaffected by this power as if it wasn’t even present.

The three members of Zero Squad looked at each other in confusion and fear, not knowing what to do next as they watched Ayame slowly approach the tree.

Suddenly, Ayame stopped right before the tree and raised her arm, ready to throw her hand forward.

Ayame rolled her eyes, her lips curling in a sneer as she muttered to herself, “Can’t believe you’re settling for these measly scraps when you could have the entire tree’s vitality — what a fool you are, Ayame.” She spoke to herself in a condescending tone.

“I must say, this tree is a bit of a disappointment,” Ayame spoke with a sly smile. “It’s nowhere near as impressive as Kaere’s Living Plant Artifact, Yggdrasil.” She chuckled softly.

“Too bad it doesn’t have a consciousness,” she continued with an air of superiority. “I, for one, would love to see its expression when its vitality is stripped away second by second.” She laughed sinisterly.

Ayame thrusts her hand into the tree’s trunk with a fierce speed, sinking deep into the wood with a sharp thud.

The tree seemed to tremble at her touch, its branches swaying in an eerie manner as if whispering in fear.

Ayame’s hand disappeared deep into the trunk, becoming almost a part of the tree.

As she absorbs its vitality, the tree begins to wither and die; its leaves drooping, its branches cracking and curling inwards.

With each second, the tree’s life force drains away until there is nothing but a brittle, lifeless husk in its place.

“Ah, what a shame. It’s nearly out of vitality.” She said as she noticed the tree was slowly losing its life force. Its leaves half began to fall, and its branches started to wither.

Ayame’s eyes glinted with malicious triumph as she chuckled sinisterly, watching with satisfaction as the tree’s life force was drained away.

Her lips curled up in a cruel smirk as the tree’s vitality dwindled until only 5% remained.