“Don’t hide! Aren’t you formidable? Confront me head-on!”
Wielding Pangsang, Bai Zhiqiu used her blood-red wings to swiftly ascend into the sky. She then plummeted downwards, harnessing the momentum of her dive to accelerate her strike.
Given Pangsang’s Wujian characteristic, An dared not unleash her full power, even when forced into passive defense. She feared Bai Zhiqiu might strike her, severing her in two.
“With such a powerful weapon, who would dare face you head-on!”
Once again, An parried Bai Zhiqiu’s scythe blade with her staff. Instead of continuing the close-quarters skirmish, she decisively widened the distance between them.
She began attacking Bai Zhiqiu from afar, utilizing her magic.
Thus, a chase unfolded in the sky. Yet, every time Bai Zhiqiu neared An, the latter would skillfully slip away.
“Since you won’t come to me, I’ll have to come for you! Gate of Realms!”
As she spoke, an ancient gate materialized behind Bai Zhiqiu, ascending into the air. It released dark crimson mist that enveloped the entire area, trapping both of them within.
“Clang!”
The sound of metal clashing echoed within the mist, followed by a second clang, then a third.
As her staff steadily shortened, An continued to dodge. However, within the Gate of Realms, who could possibly outpace Higanbana?
“This is the final strike! An, what kind of god are you?!”
As Bai Zhiqiu locked onto An’s position, the crimson mist from all directions converged, forming a hollow sphere that encased An.
“Nowhere left to hide! I shall bury your soul on the Far Shore, to become yet another nourishment for the flowers! Higanbana – Annihilation!”
At Bai Zhiqiu’s command, the crimson mist surged, relentlessly compressing around An.
With every inch the mist tightened, the pressure within escalated exponentially, threatening to crush An into a pool of blood.
“Quite a powerful attack, wouldn’t you say?”
By the time the sphere had collapsed to the size of a single person, the immense pressure had already shattered the surrounding space, leaving only unstable spatial rifts.
“Though your attack is formidable, I still have my methods! Transference!”
A sly curve played on An’s lips as she softly uttered the word.
The next instant, the entire sphere imploded, crushing whatever was inside into a burst of blood.
“Zhiqiu! Be careful!”
Qian Moyu’s warning rang out once more. Out of the corner of her eye, Bai Zhiqiu caught sight of An’s maddened appearance; her once pure black eyes were now blood-red, brimming with frenzy and bloodlust.
‘What should I do? There’s no time to dodge this.’
“Idiot Bai Zhiqiu!”
On the altar below, Yin’s heart leaped into her throat. Yan Qingzhu, meanwhile, had already ignited a flame of life, ensuring that even if Bai Zhiqiu was struck by this lethal move, her soul wouldn’t instantly scatter.
“Be careful, Zhiqiu! Remember to watch your back from now on!”
Qian Moyu materialized behind Bai Zhiqiu, her rapier clashing fiercely with An’s staff. The released energy sent Bai Zhiqiu flying backwards.
In mid-air, Bai Zhiqiu saw a golden radiance surging towards her…
Ultimately, the clash ended in Qian Moyu’s defeat. Though An didn’t directly stab her, the immense force sent Qian Moyu hurtling rapidly away.
Just as An prepared to deliver another blow, a blue teleportation array appeared behind Qian Moyu, whisking her back to the altar below.
Meanwhile, Jasmine arrived just in time, catching Bai Zhiqiu.
“Chief Jasmine! Why are you here?”
Bai Zhiqiu was utterly surprised to see Jasmine arrive. Shouldn’t she still be at Xuan Guan, directing the battle?
“But Xuan Guan…”
“Don’t worry, little witch! Xuan Guan has been clear for a while now. The remaining demonic beasts have mostly been annihilated by us!”
“After all, with the Cloud Whale absent, those beasts were easily turned to ash against two Sunwheel-tier adults!”
Jasmine chuckled, reaching out to straighten Bai Zhiqiu’s collar.
“Even though your true form is currently a boy, this body is a girl’s, you know! You must pay attention to your image! As a proper lady, you should always maintain your elegance!”
Hearing Jasmine’s words, Bai Zhiqiu immediately felt a flush of embarrassment, her face turning crimson.
‘What does she mean, “currently a boy”? I’ve always been a tough guy, and I always will be! Even if my body undergoes some changes, it won’t change my tough-guy image!’
Despite these thoughts, Bai Zhiqiu was acutely aware that once her transformation ended, she would likely remain a girl forever.
For a moment, she had no idea how to explain it to her parents. She couldn’t possibly tell them that their child had been born a son, only to face the same fate as the world’s richest person, could she?
“What are you thinking about?”
Jasmine asked with a smile, playfully poking Bai Zhiqiu’s waist.
Bai Zhiqiu flinched, then stammered in a hurry, “N-nothing… I was just… just thinking about some things! Let’s not talk about that now; we should head down. Everyone looks impatient!”
As she spoke, Bai Zhiqiu pointed below, easily spotting a certain little vampire and the big pervert not far from her.
As she set Bai Zhiqiu back on the altar, Jasmine keenly sensed a malevolent gaze. Following her intuition, she located the source of the stare.
It was a little vampire!
Smiling, Jasmine waved at the little vampire, only for Yin to pointedly turn her head away.
Knowing that Yin still held a grudge from past events, Jasmine didn’t press further, instead standing quietly to the side.
“Two Sunwheel-tier, one who briefly entered with special means, and three Brightmoon-tier! Such power, all gathered just to deal with me—what an honor!”
“Don’t you call yourself a god? Well, today I’ll show you if humans… and little vampires can defeat a god!”
After hearing Yin let out two soft hums, Bai Zhiqiu decided to include her, reasoning that vampires weren’t exactly human.
“Very well! Let me witness it then! Everyone’s here now, so I won’t have to deal with you one by one. The time is just right!”
“What do you mean?”
“What do I mean? What did you think I was doing, wasting so much time playing cat and mouse with you? Of course, it was to eliminate all of you at once, clearing the obstacles for my true advent!”
“Now, this is my stage!”
Before anyone could react, the center of the altar where Cloud Whale stood suddenly collapsed. Cloud Whale, along with its tentacles, plummeted into the bottomless void below.
Subsequently, the red moon sank into the abyss, and An vanished from her spot.
A dizzying blur swept before Bai Zhiqiu’s eyes. When she opened them again, she found the scene before her utterly transformed.
She was in an extremely dim environment, though the space itself was quite open. A winding path stretched beneath her feet, leading straight ahead into the gloom.
“This… where is this…?”