“Before absolute speed at close range, everything about you is laughable!”
Qian Moyu pulled her rapier from the Man in Black’s chest. Blood immediately gushed from the wound like a fountain.
Seeing the Man in Black fall, Qian Moyu contentedly pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the blood from her sword.
Yet, she swiftly realized something was amiss.
The man wasn’t dead!
A sudden realization sent Qian Moyu scrambling to deliver another strike. However, the Red Moon instantly locked onto her, causing the rapier in her hand to become unresponsive. Proceeding further would be perilous!
Qian Moyu decisively chose to retreat. Before departing, she conjured her bow and arrows once more, launching a Wind Arrow toward the Man in Black.
The Man in Black’s arm twisted at an impossible angle, catching the arrow.
****
Even as the Man in Black’s heart was pierced by Qian Moyu, Bai Zhiqiu had sensed something was wrong.
In that moment, she had felt the very authority over life and death in the heavens and earth fall under her control. Yet, a split second later, the sensation vanished.
In its place, a frantic tugging sensation emerged.
Someone was wrestling with her for the authority of death, and this individual’s power was not only equal to hers but even showed faint signs of surpassing it.
“Be careful!”
The instant Bai Zhiqiu perceived the anomaly, she immediately moved towards it. As she closed in on her target, she swung Peng Shang, striking out at him.
Confronted by Peng Shang’s assault, the Man in Black immediately shifted to defense. A peculiar staff suddenly materialized in his hand, its tip adorned with a human skull.
Pitch-black demonic energy erupted from the skull’s eyes, enveloping him before colliding with Peng Shang.
The Indestructible attribute instantly cleaved the barrier of demonic energy in two. Nevertheless, the barrier had still managed to impede Bai Zhiqiu’s attack to some extent.
Seizing this brief opening, the Man in Black teleported into the distance, evading the strike.
“You’re far more troublesome than I imagined, aren’t you? If I’m not mistaken, you’re the ‘An’ that fellow spoke of!”
Bai Zhiqiu recalled Peng Shang, then floated back into the air, her gaze fixed on the Man in Black hovering not far away.
“Evidently!” a voice, distinct from his previous one, emanated from the Man in Black.
Beneath the crimson moon, a red aura enveloped the Man in Black’s entire body.
“Whether you’re ‘An’ or ‘Ming’, if you dare show your face here today, I’ll cut you down without hesitation!”
As she finished speaking, the Gates of Higanbana materialized behind Bai Zhiqiu, and she subsequently merged into the ethereal portal.
“The Gates of Higanbana, huh… intriguing!” Watching Bai Zhiqiu’s movements, a twisted smile spread across the Man in Black’s withered flesh.
“Higanbana—Ten Directions Ambush!”
Numerous spectral figures of Bai Zhiqiu surrounded the Man in Black, then swung their scythes, slashing towards him.
“A pity! I’m far more familiar with this technique than you are!”
“Red Moon—Death’s Radiance!”
At An’s command, the Red Moon unleashed dozens of crimson rays, locking onto all of Bai Zhiqiu’s clones.
In that instant, Bai Zhiqiu felt utterly exposed, as if she had been seen through completely.
An then turned his head, black flames igniting in his eyes, and gazed directly at Bai Zhiqiu’s true body.
This was not good!
In that very moment, Bai Zhiqiu clearly perceived that she had been found!
In a panic, Bai Zhiqiu swapped positions with one of her clones, evading An’s gaze.
As long as a clone persisted, Bai Zhiqiu could instantly switch places with it. Even if her true body were shattered, she could revive unharmed as long as a single clone remained. Moreover, her attacks would suffer no reduction in power.
In other words, for every clone she possessed, she could inflict that many times more damage. As long as her clones were not utterly destroyed, she would remain completely unscathed.
This was quite a formidable, almost unfair, ability!
Yet, An seemed to comprehend all of this perfectly. Even as the Red Moon locked onto her clones…
An chose not to defend, having just witnessed Peng Shang’s defense-ignoring properties. Instead, he concentrated his power, instantly shattering one of Bai Zhiqiu’s clones, then used the Red Moon’s gravitational pull to rocket into the sky.
“Stop! You’re not allowed to leave!”
The Bai Zhiqiuses flapped their wings, chasing An. Scythes and staff clashed in the air, creating a symphony of metallic rings, while the sonic booms from their flight were deafening.
“You don’t have many clones left!”
After shattering another of Bai Zhiqiu’s clones with his staff, An floated in the air, observing the mere five Bai Zhiqiuses that remained.
“Your injuries are just as severe, and I still have plenty of tricks up my sleeve!”
Indeed, the Man in Black’s body was covered in wounds both large and small. One of his arms had been severed by Bai Zhiqiu, and a section of his calf was also missing. Floating there, he cut a rather comical figure.
Although Bai Zhiqiu spoke with such bravado, over half an hour had already passed since their battle began. According to what Gu Nian had told her, she would soon exit her ‘ferryman’ state.
At that point, she would merely be Brightmoon-tier, and facing An, who possessed Sunwheel-tier power, she would have no chance of victory.
She had to finish this quickly!
“If this body were truly mine, then you might actually be close to winning! But this body isn’t mine.”
As he spoke, An instinctively reached to scratch his head, only to remember that one of his arms had been severed. His shoulder swiveled uselessly for half a turn, and an awkward smile crossed his face.
“What’s all this ‘yours’ and ‘mine’ nonsense? Enough chatter! Just wait patiently for me to come and kill you!”
“Higanbana Petals Scatter—Return to Heaven!”
As Bai Zhiqiu’s words faded, Peng Shang transformed, shifting into a longbow aimed directly at An.
“When the Yellow Springs flow back to Higanbana, when life returns to its end! I come with death, bringing the wrath of life! Behold, this strike shall—pierce the firmament!!!”
Bai Zhiqiu’s black longsword transformed into an arrow, nocked onto the bowstring, ready to deliver death to her enemy.
A dark crimson rainbow shot forth from Bai Zhiqiu, akin to a laser. It carved a multi-meter wide scar through the air, scorching and distorting even space itself.
The strike instantly engulfed An’s body, then continued its trajectory into the distance, locking directly onto the Cloud Whale hiding nearby!
Sensing the terrifying power of this attack, the Cloud Whale let out a mournful wail, desperately trying to evade the incoming assault.
Despite the Cloud Whale’s gargantuan size, enough to obscure the sky, it proved remarkably nimble in its evasion.
But how could Bai Zhiqiu’s most potent killing move be so easily evaded?
After circling the Cloud Whale several times in the air, the arrow ultimately caught up to it.
Knowing it couldn’t escape, the Cloud Whale braced itself, constructing its defenses.
Yet, this meager defense was as flimsy as paper against the absolute power of the attack.
Infused with dual authorities, the arrow now possessed both the ‘Indestructible’ and ‘Unbreakable’ qualities!
Unstoppable!
Indestructible!
Like a conceptual weapon, the only way to block it was to withstand the impact with one’s physical body and somehow avoid being utterly annihilated.
As the arrow was about to pierce her brow, a small, delicate flower suddenly drifted out from between her eyebrows, halting the attack…