I knew that blocking the kick would mean sacrificing limbs so I opted to hastily retreat, the kick flew by my chest, grazing my clothes. I felt the pressure the qi exuded and knew I was severely outmatched.

I summoned Roshan, my luminescent chakram. It’s deflective power would be of little use if this remained a fight of martial arts but in case this spectral lady had any tricks up her sleeve at least I’d be ready for them.

Unable to contest in a power contest I opted for redirection and counter attack. Each of her strikes sailed neatly past me but I was unable to land a decent counter on account of her speed.

Her inhuman form made me worry that stamina would not be an issue for her and so I had to finish the fight before my body exhausted itself. She finally telegraphed a wild front kick. I weaved to the left of the attack and with some forward momentum, landed a perfect counter on the spectral woman, bashing her straight in the mouth.

I poured all the qi I could into the strike hoping to take her out in one hit. Almost all my base qi was imprinted which allowed for a spectacular punch. I felt her ethereal body was composed of entirely stale qi so I capitalised on the opening the punch had given me to send my own qi directly into her body.

I channeled a celestial technique, one that could revitalise and harness stale qi. Although I had never used it on such a construct as this I was confident it would work. The qi was easily manipulated, just as I was about to cultivate it, it bumped into something. It was unable to leave the spectral body it belonged to.

I retreated, only just dodging the weak punch it had confusedly thrown whilst I was fiddling with its qi. I could only assume there was an array that kept the spectral woman from losing form. I held back a curse, not only had I expended most of my qi but I had revitalised and empowered its qi.

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I reverted back to my defensive tactics, the lack of a consciousness made it impossible to fool with illusion techniques so I was left to rely on my superior martial arts knowledge but far inferior body capabilities.

It was not long before she managed to land a hit as I began to tire. A fist streamed into my stomach that I could not dodge having only just redirected a kick. I felt my insides crumple and heard a bone or two crack. I was sent careering backwards, unable to land on my feet I scraped painfully across the floor on my back.

She caught up with me quickly, I caught her first kick by strengthening my arm with some qi then tried to kick her other leg to bring her to the floor. My shin shattered as I collided with her leg. The difference in quantity was far too oppressive now. I cried out in pain, but remained holding her leg.

She tried to finish me with a fatal punch to the throat when all of a sudden I saw the qi in her incorporeal body run amok. Her punch was thrown off target, With nothing more than a suspicion I channeled the remnants of my qi into her body and tried once again to gain control of it.

The qi was easily manipulated once again and this time, sailed straight through the spectres body and rushed into my own. It could only stand still as I controlled its entire being. I continually absorbed its qi, increasing my own base substantially.

It would take a long while to purify the qi then imprint it with my own cultivation method but the sheer quantity was well worth it. It was also nice to keep my life, not to mention Safi’s.

Eventually I finished absorbing the qi structure in the shape of a woman I could only assume to be based on the dead Matriarch. “Are you alright?” asked Safi with a worried tone.

I had no usable qi left to heal the large gashes across my back, the broken ribs or the shattered shin. It did not take long for the pain to rear its head, consuming my mind. Before I could even answer Safi, I was on the floor, passed out completely.