The Mirror Space’s Descent

“The spatial rules here… they’re so chaotic.”

As she gazed at the space ahead, shattered like glass, Ziyao clutched her staff, a hint of retreat rising within her. Indeed, she had ultimately followed Youlan into the Mirror Space.

A single sentence from Youlan had moved her.

“Before I die, I will not let you suffer any harm.”

However, the moment she stepped into this fractured space, regret washed over her. An acrid, putrid stench hung heavy in the air. Thick, murky black fog obscured her vision, and she suspected anyone else would have gone mad upon entering this realm.

The staff in her hand emitted a faint blue glow. Beneath its radiance, the black fog surrounding Ziyao was unable to encroach upon her.

Youlan, however, remained utterly unconcerned. The dark aura emanating from her body even began to corrode the surrounding black fog.

“It seems those fellows are close to succeeding. But with so little energy, whatever crosses over will likely be a low-level demon beast, not even a true Demon God.” Carrying her spear, Youlan walked ahead, clearing a path for Ziyao.

“Then do we stand a chance?”

Ziyao dreaded the black-haired woman giving an impossibly low number. Fortunately, Youlan offered a probability that put her at ease:

“If it’s a demon beast, it won’t last a single exchange against the two of us. If a Demon God tries to forcibly descend, as long as you’re by my side, I have absolute confidence in sending it back to where it came from.”

The girl, spear in hand, radiated unwavering confidence. Even with her divine essence shattered, her countless years of combat experience and magical reserves were far from mere decorations.

A twisted monster suddenly materialized before the two girls. It possessed six legs and three heads; clearly, it was an enemy.

“Have demon beasts already begun to spawn?” Youlan frowned, estimating they should have traveled further before encountering such low-level creatures. They needed to quicken their pace. “Ziyao, we must hurry.”

With a casual flick, she hurled her spear, shattering the monster. Black energy coalesced in Youlan’s hand, and a new spear appeared. For her, spears were simply consumables.

“Understood.”

The two girls accelerated. The black vortex in the sky was spinning faster and faster, and dull, thunderous roars echoed from above. Soon, the invaders from the Abyss would arrive.

Their best course of action was to reach the vortex and destroy it before the demon beasts descended—the most straightforward solution. However, at their current speed, they might not make it in time.

The space within this Mirror Space was extremely chaotic. With every step, the two girls had to recalculate their path to the vortex, a process that consumed a vast amount of time.

As for the monsters spawned by the black fog, they posed no real threat. Both girls were peerless powerhouses in their era; these low-level creatures didn’t even require them to expend magic.

Upon obtaining the staff named Breath of the Abyssal Flow, Ziyao’s previous magical power issues were instantly resolved. She could now even contend with the Empress for several exchanges. This was primarily due to the substantial magic stored within the staff, which acted as a one-time use reserve. However, once they were safe, Ziyao could recharge it, essentially making it an external magic storage device.

Several Flowing Phantoms shaped like water wolves tore apart all approaching monsters. At this point, these shapeshifters appeared more monstrous than the actual creatures.

“This way. Two more leaps should bring us to the edge of the vortex.”

The two girls’ figures vanished abruptly. Seconds later, they reappeared on a new platform.

Dark purple lightning flashed within the vortex above; the demon beasts from the Abyss were about to descend. Yet, the two girls had already reached the vortex’s edge.

“Perish!”

Hurling a dozen black spears, Youlan conjured a rudimentary magic array. Instantly, the rapidly spinning vortex seemed to be forcibly restrained by a colossal hand. Thunderous roars shattered the fragile surrounding space, sending fragments scattering in every direction.

This Mirror Space would not hold for much longer.

“Ziyao, first use your Elemental Domain to enhance your magical control,” Youlan instructed, struggling to control the black vortex as she turned to Ziyao.

Elemental Domain was a mandatory spell for high-tier mages. Its effect was simple: to create a domain containing only one element. For Ziyao, her Elemental Domain contained only water elements; a Fire Mage’s domain would only have fire elements. This granted high-tier mages a tremendous advantage when battling lower-tier mages of different attributes, as their opponents couldn’t even cast spells. If two mages simultaneously used Elemental Domains of different attributes, the outcome depended on who was more powerful, with the stronger individual able to expand their domain further.

“Elemental Domain.”

With a gentle wave of her staff above her head, a colossal blue domain materialized within this rapidly crumbling space. A vast amount of water elemental magic began to converge, making Ziyao the undisputed monarch of this place.

“Excellent.”

Throwing a few more spears, Youlan completely solidified the black magic array. She had no intention of directly destroying the vortex. Too much energy was concentrated within it; a hasty destruction would only trigger an explosion powerful enough to utterly tear this space apart. If this space were to be shattered, the ordinary people in the Imperial Capital would be unable to withstand such a level of energy impact.

Therefore, her current task was to set up the formation, waiting for the opponents to lose their patience and open a rift to the real world. This would deplete the energy within the vortex. And the entity that descended would face the merciless assault of two fully prepared deities.

This was Youlan’s plan, the best solution she could devise.

Of course, if the creatures on the other side were cowards and dared not forcibly open the rift, that would be even better. The vortex’s energy would dissipate over time. After a short wait, once the energy within the vortex dropped to a certain level, Youlan would unhesitatingly destroy it directly.

This waiting period would be brief; the Mirror Space would definitely endure until then. Now, the choice lay with the Abyss.

Come, let’s see if, after all these years, you still possess the courage to challenge a God.

Crack—

The space around the vortex began to collapse, vast amounts of energy vanishing into thin air, and a profound rift appeared at the center of the vortex.

The Demon Gods of the Abyss had made their choice.

Come, let’s see if you possess the power to repel us!

We are the Demon Gods of the Abyss; we are the enemies of order! We have failed, but we will never disappear!

Haughty God, since you have issued a challenge, the Abyss will not retreat.

Let’s see who will emerge victorious!

A massive arm extended from within the rift. Its mere appearance caused the surrounding space to completely disintegrate.

A Demon God of the Abyss had descended into the world.