The Thousand-Handed Asura’s Strike and the Moon-Gazing Pool’s Demise

“Asura’s Second Form: Thousand-Handed Asura!”

The Asura power, boiling within his blood, surged outwards, enveloping the surroundings. A pitch-black domain abruptly expanded, from which countless terrifying and grotesque ghost hands seemed to erupt from the depths of hell, clawing and grasping.

At the center of this burgeoning domain, Bai Que calmly extended a hand. He held Su Han close with his left arm, while his right palm lightly struck outwards.

What appeared to be an unremarkable palm strike now wavered eerily in Chen Yuan’s vision. Confronted by palm prints that seemed to be millions of overlapping, interwoven phantoms, he found himself unable to evade. No, that wasn’t quite right.

At this moment, he was utterly dominated by fear, enveloped by an unseen force that paralyzed his nerves, rendering his body immobile.

Having, after all, stepped into the legendary realm and glimpsed the mysteries of a sliver of law, Chen Yuan’s body instinctively unleashed his Thorn Domain upon sensing the mortal danger.

Unlike ordinary thorns, these were special, crafted from purple crystals. They possessed the hardness of steel yet retained the flexibility of common thorns—a truly astonishing sight.

However, Bai Que clearly held no regard for him. The ethereal, colossal palm print, seemingly composed of a myriad of hands, collided with the thorny vines without the slightest pause, relentlessly advancing towards Chen Yuan.

Xia Xuan, standing nearby, could not resist intervening.

Her left hand transformed into a tiger’s claw, her right into a serpent’s coil, and she launched herself like a humanoid tyrannosaur, unleashing a punch directly at the incoming palm print.

Little did she know, the Thousand-Handed Asura struck Xia Xuan against the wall as effortlessly as a knife slicing through tofu.

With a thunderous boom, dust billowed outwards.

A closer look revealed Xia Xuan’s eyes rolled back, unconscious, barely clinging to life. Had she not possessed a beastkin bloodline, she would likely have been reduced to a bloody pulp.

The palm print, luminous as a bright moon, extinguished the firefly’s glow before steadily advancing towards Chen Yuan. Chen Yuan, however, was already entranced by the illusory, intangible palm, and with a resounding impact, blood spilled from his nose and mouth. Yet, under Bai Que’s precise control, he was spared from outright annihilation.

“Bind them,” Bai Que instructed Su Han.

After binding Chen Yuan and Xia Xuan, Su Han placed them into her spatial ring and inquired, “Why didn’t you kill them?”

To her surprise, Bai Que merely chuckled mischievously. “There’s a reason, of course, for not killing them!” A cunning glint flashed in his eyes.

“You mean… to extort the Adventurers’ Guild?”

Bai Que remained silent. The Asura Domain vanished in an instant, like a great whale drawing in water. Su Han looked closely and noticed an unusual pallor on Bai Que’s face.

“Luo Shang wasn’t wrong after all. Your physical techniques are terrifyingly strong, but they only have the power of a single strike!” Su Han draped Bai Que’s arm over her shoulder, then rubbed her nose as she spoke.

Bai Que, with a hint of petulant pride, rolled his eyes at her and huffed, “And who exactly was it that just saved you?”

“Alright, alright, our little Bai Bai is the most amazing!”

“Tch, what the hell is ‘little Bai Bai’…” Before Bai Que could finish, the stone chamber began to rumble ominously, showing signs of collapse.

“This is bad! The Thousand-Handed Guanyin overseeing this place has shattered. This stone chamber will soon turn to ruins, we need to leave quickly!” Su Han grabbed Bai Que’s hand, intending to rush forward while simultaneously recovering her magic. But there was no path ahead; how could they ‘go’?

Su Han’s gaze swept towards the stone steps they had used to enter, only to find them still sealed. She knocked and tapped, but discovered they were solid.

“Damn it all!” Su Han cursed, yet she was helpless.

The stone chamber was now crumbling, dust filling the air, and chunks of rock detached from the walls, smashing to the ground with resounding thuds. While Su Han and Bai Que were powerful, even they couldn’t withstand being struck without warning.

Moreover, who would willingly be crushed by rocks and buried beneath these ruins? A complete subterranean collapse would create a wasteland where even legendary powerhouses might meet their bitter end. Naturally, those skilled in spatial or temporal arts were exceptions.

Furthermore, Su Han suspected this might be the bottom of Moon-Gazing Pool. If the pool’s waters flooded this area, or if Motis also fell in, they would truly be doomed. Thus, Su Han was desperately anxious to find a way out.

“Watch out!” Bai Que tackled Su Han aside. It turned out Su Han had been lost in thought, completely oblivious to the massive rock hurtling towards her head. Fortunately, Bai Que had shoved her out of the way.

“Ahhhh!!!!” Just as Bai Que tackled Su Han to the ground, their lips inadvertently met. Bai Que was clearly stunned, frozen in place, while Su Han’s face flushed crimson. In a flurry of embarrassment, she shoved Bai Que away.

As Su Han’s anger flared, the seventeen characters: ‘Sand buries mortal dust, head bowed in the desert of tears; though others call me mad, so be it!’ suddenly began to glow. Then, with a click, the previously solid stone wall automatically opened, revealing a new stone door. A dark, winding passage stretched into an unknown distance.

“Let’s go!” Bai Que nudged Su Han, startling her out of her daze. The two then stepped into the passage.

Su Han’s heart, indeed, was far from calm. Though she had gradually come to terms with being female, her thoughts still lingered on Xinyan. And now, having accidentally touched lips with Bai Que, she actually felt a strange flutter in her chest?

When the two emerged from the tunnel, they found themselves inside a cave not far from the Moon-Gazing Pool. However, the Moon-Gazing Pool was no longer as serene as before.

The lake water bubbled and gurgled, a massive whirlpool had formed, and the pool’s contents were visibly draining away, vanishing as if sinking into the earth.

“Roaaaaar!” A long, continuous roar echoed, deafening and thunderous. It was unmistakably Motis, in a furious rage! And rightly so; with its home instantly gone, who wouldn’t be furious? No one could blame it for being angry!

On the other side, Su Han simply uttered, “Let’s go!”, and then she and Bai Que fled without a trace.

“Despicable humans, what have you done?!” Motis howled, roaring to the heavens, “If you don’t give me an explanation, I will slaughter your cities one day to reclaim justice!”

Su Han and Bai Que, having long since escaped, did not hear this, but Lucybria, being closer to the Moon-Gazing Pool, was thrown into a panic! The general guarding the city reported the incident to the nation.

Upon learning of it, the Empress of Lucybria, though furious, was helpless. After all, there was no trace of who was responsible, and her nation was closest to the Moon-Gazing Pool. It seemed they would have to bear Motis’s wrath.

For a beast like a Kiramei, reason was futile; only force could quell its rage. Empress Lofino, moreover, did not wish to witness Motis’s slaughter of cities. If such news spread, other nations would surely mock her. Therefore, she urgently summoned her nation’s God of War, Osrid, to negotiate. If negotiations failed, then war it would be!

“I, the Empress, cherish peace, yet I never fear war!” Her piercing gaze alone marked her as an extraordinary individual, truly embodying the majesty of an empress!

Su Han and Bai Que, having arrived in Lucybria, remained completely oblivious to these developments. Su Han simply found an inn and settled in, using a single purple crystal coin to secure a small attic suite within.

After seeing Bai Que to his room, Su Han retired to her own. She first checked on Chen Yuan and Xia Xuan, whom she had sealed within her spatial ring, then retrieved the magic crystal cannon to study it meticulously.

“Lord Motis, I truly do not know who could have bypassed your divine senses and silently destroyed your Moon-Gazing Pool. However, I can assure you, it was not done by anyone from my Lucybria Empire!”

“Hmph,” Motis snorted, smoke curling from its nostrils. “I distinctly sensed that familiar battle aura! It was clearly your doing!”

“It seems, Lord, you do not believe my words?”

“Heh, do you truly take me for a fool?” Motis’s five heads shook, swaying.

“If that is the case, then let us fight!” As the God of War for his nation, Osrid was evidently fearless; in fact, he seemed rather excited, craving battle!

“Heh heh, do you truly think I am that foolish?” Motis cackled. “In three days, I will lead my million-strong beast army to besiege your city!”

“Do you honestly think I’m easy to bully? You destroyed my lair and still dare to be so arrogant!”

“Do you think I’m afraid of you? If it’s war you want, then war it shall be! However many beast waves you send, I will cut down every single one!”

“You humans are truly arrogant and ridiculous…”