The tiny, dark red flower enveloped Bai Zhiqiu’s arrow. Then, it vanished into the Cloud Whale’s forehead.
At that moment, Bai Zhiqiu felt her connection to Bucui was severed. No matter how desperately she called, it simply failed to appear.
Now, it was Bai Zhiqiu’s turn to be utterly stunned. She stared at the Cloud Whale in horror, utterly bewildered. She had truly not expected the Cloud Whale to possess such a hidden ace, capable of blocking even her most fatal strike.
In truth, the Cloud Whale herself was utterly bewildered by the unfolding scene. She had no idea what had just transpired.
She understood Bai Zhiqiu’s reasons for wanting her dead. However, she couldn’t fathom why that flower had chosen to save her. Despite everything! Despite everything, they were identical in soul!
The Cloud Whale had no time for further contemplation. Instantly, the words of a certain individual surfaced in her mind.
‘So, that’s how it is…’
“It’s blocked! Then another arrow!” Bai Zhiqiu declared, drawing her bow and nocking an arrow once more. Her other clones swiftly followed suit. Without Bucui serving as a proper conduit, the power of these five arrows was, regrettably, somewhat diminished.
This, in turn, granted the Cloud Whale sufficient space and time to deftly evade the incoming assault.
“Zhiqiu! Beware the Spirit Controller!”
Just as Bai Zhiqiu prepared to continue her relentless pursuit of the Cloud Whale, Qian Moyu’s urgent cry suddenly pierced through the air.
Hearing her master’s call, Bai Zhiqiu frantically sought out An.
At the far end of the Xuan Guan, An’s skeletal form, which had long been pulverized to dust by the earlier bombardment, began to re-coalesce. Under the eerie glow of the crimson moon, it swiftly reformed into a complete physical body.
“Though I can only wield a tenth of my true power, it shall suffice!” An muttered softly. He then placed a pendant onto an altar situated at the very end of the Xuan Guan.
The altar and the crimson moon seemed intrinsically linked. Innumerable tentacles, resembling chains, erupted from beneath the altar, lashing out violently towards the open sky.
Upon seeing these grotesque tentacles, Bai Zhiqiu transformed Pangsang into the form of a gleaming scythe, poised to sever them.
Unexpectedly, these tentacles did not choose to attack Bai Zhiqiu. Instead, they lunged directly towards the Cloud Whale.
The tentacles proved remarkably agile. Even when the Cloud Whale unleashed her lightning and fierce winds, only a few were briefly repelled before many more swiftly assailed her.
Ultimately, the tentacles enveloped the Cloud Whale. The damp, slick appendages were on the verge of dragging her towards the altar, leaving behind constricting marks and trails of viscous fluid on her body.
‘What in the world is going on…’
Although Bai Zhiqiu couldn’t comprehend why the tentacles had suddenly attacked the Cloud Whale, she could tell from their color that they were utterly unlike any she had encountered before.
In that moment, reason dictated that assisting the Cloud Whale would prove highly advantageous.
No time for further thought! Bai Zhiqiu yearned to soar forward and sever those menacing tentacles!
In the distance, Qian Moyu, though still comforting Motong, kept her eyes keenly fixed on the unfolding situation across the entire battlefield.
The moment she caught sight of the emerging tentacles, Qian Moyu’s gaze instantly sharpened, turning piercingly cold.
Tentacles, she knew, came in two types. One kind was like her kin, Zhizhi—gelatinous, endearing, and playful.
The other type, however, was like the ones before her: thick, barbaric, and utterly merciless in their actions. They were notorious for committing numerous repulsive deeds, even going so far as to ‘train’ their captives into mere lumps of flesh, existing solely to pursue pleasure.
Such evil tentacles simply had to be annihilated!
What even Bai Zhiqiu could discern, Qian Moyu naturally perceived with even greater clarity.
Without hesitation, Qian Moyu nocked an arrow and drew her bow. An arrow, carried by the wind, pierced through one of the tentacles with lethal precision.
“Master said! All evil tentacles must be utterly annihilated!”
Pangsang, imbued with Higanbana’s power, effortlessly severed a tentacle. The severed limb dropped to the ground, writhing twice before slowly losing all semblance of life.
With the combined efforts of master and disciple, the number of tentacles steadily diminished. Finally, the Cloud Whale was able to slowly fly away from the altar, propelled by her own power.
Witnessing Bai Zhiqiu’s aid in severing the tentacles, the Cloud Whale let out an elated cry of joy.
Just as Bai Zhiqiu was about to sever the very last tentacle, an unforeseen incident transpired.
An’s staff struck Bai Zhiqiu’s scythe blade. Even with Wujian’s inherent property, which decreed that anything touched by the blade would be obliterated, An had found a loophole.
He struck the flat side of Bai Zhiqiu’s scythe, forcing the blade’s trajectory to sharply deviate.
The tentacle, by the narrowest of margins, evaded the strike.
An then waved his staff once more, summoning dozens of new tentacles. These swiftly seized the Cloud Whale, dragging her back onto the altar.
Instantly, the Cloud Whale let out a piteous wail directed at Bai Zhiqiu, her eyes brimming with a desperate longing for hope.
“Tsk! You are so incredibly annoying! Can’t you just settle down for a moment?”
An stood not far away, his black robe long since shredded by the impact, revealing his face.
After observing him for a mere two seconds, Bai Zhiqiu arrived at a crucial conclusion.
‘He’s not as handsome as me! And certainly not as handsome as those web novel readers!’
“My apologies if I’ve caused you displeasure! But whether you’re displeased or not is hardly my concern!” An addressed Bai Zhiqiu with honorifics, yet his words were utterly provoking, practically begging for a beating.
“Tsk! Your dad’s unhappy! So you die!”
With that declaration, Bai Zhiqiu immediately dove down, launching into a furious flurry of hacks and slashes against An.
An could only defend himself, constantly dodging across the altar. Whenever Bai Zhiqiu attempted to rescue the Cloud Whale, he would invariably leap out to obstruct her. Yet, the moment she tried to strike him, An would abruptly dart aside, his primary tactic being nothing short of utterly infuriating!
“Can’t you just face me head-on, you coward!”
Once again, Bai Zhiqiu’s scythe sliced through empty air.
“Thanks for the compliment!” An retorted. “If I wasn’t a coward, wouldn’t I have been chopped to death by you already?” As he spoke, An once again deftly interrupted Bai Zhiqiu’s attempt to rescue the Cloud Whale.
The tentacles shamelessly siphoned the Cloud Whale’s magic power, causing her to emit infant-like cries of anguish upon the altar. The sound sent a wrenching pain through Bai Zhiqiu’s heart.
The wails of life, born from pure agony, were always heartbreaking to witness, especially for her, who still commanded a fragment of the authority over life itself.
After once again evading Bai Zhiqiu’s attack, An ceased his entanglement with her. Instead, he deftly shifted his position, moving to the very center of the altar.
“As you wish,” An declared. “I shall now formally engage you in combat! Before that, however, as a sign of respect, I shall project a fraction of my true power!”
Having uttered his words, An immediately removed the pendant from his neck. Enveloped in a surge of magic power, the pendant swiftly transformed into an ornate key.
Inscribed on the key’s tail was the character ‘柒’.
“By the power of creation, shatter the shackles between two realms! Manifest a mere corner of divine might!”
The moment his words fell, the key soared high into the sky. Immediately thereafter, a colossal door materialized, opening from within the very fabric of the void.
“Witness my true power!”
With that pronouncement, the temporary body An had been using instantly collapsed to the ground, utterly inert.
A jade-like foot emerged from behind the opened door…