[Xuan’s POV]

"Seriously..." Xuan facepalmed. "If you could beat his ass that easily, why didn’t you just say so?"

Yuelan pouted. "I did, though, didn’t I? I told you I could beat any Spirit Lord in a one versus one. It’s your own fault for not listening."

He flicked her forehead and lifted her up, placing her on the ground.

His domain was still up, so with a mere thought, he retracted the Qi back into his Dantian, turning the domain off and revealing the same old mountainous area with destroyed structures.

"Say, what is your domain, anyway?" Yuelan asked. "Is it just gravity manipulation?"

"For now, yeah," Xuan replied. "I haven’t tested it much. I’ve only used it on two people until now."

"Hmm... Well, if it works through Void Qi, then you might be able to use Time and Death in your domain too? Well, I have a little surprise for you later that might help you a little..."

Xuan thanked her inwardly and turned toward the Spirit Grandmasters, particularly toward Huizhen.

"Hey," Xuan called out. "You look like shit. Take the Spirit Grandmasters and get out of here. Yuelan’s companions will heal you up."

Huizhen shook his head with a pained look. "If I step foot off this mountain, the blood parasite will kill me."

Xuan turned to Yuelan. "You mentioned you had a couple dozen skills, right? Are there any that could extract a blood parasite from the Dantian?"

Yuelan fell into thought for a moment, scrolling through her skills. After a few seconds, she raised a single finger.

"I have one skill. It completely purifies the Dantian and cures every type of poison, illness, and I guess it should also kill the parasite."

"That sounds a little too good to be true," Xuan said with a sigh. "So what’s the catch?"

Yuelan nodded. "The catch is... In exchange for a full purification, your cultivation will be reduced a full realm."

Silence ensued as the air grew heavier. Cultivation realm to a cultivator was sacred; losing it was almost the same as being crippled. The only difference here was that he wouldn’t lose his cultivation permanently, and he could go back up to Spirit Grandmaster after enough time passed.

But even then, Huizhen seemed hesitant.

"You told me you used to be a genius. Don’t you think now that you have a chance to be free, your talent could soar?" Xuan stepped closer. "Besides, I owe you. You gave me that book, and you also distracted Lin Fei. For that alone, I’m willing to sponsor you until you reach your previous cultivation level. So what do you say?"

"Sponsor me...?" Huizhen mumbled.

"I’m an alchemist now, kind of. I could make Qi gathering pills for you, or maybe even something better if you give me a recipe. I’d say think about it, but we don’t have much time," Xuan said, turning to the fight in the sky that seemed to be growing even more fierce.

Getting the hint, Huizhen’s expression darkened. However, after thinking about it for a few moments, he nodded at Yuelan.

"Alright, I agree. So when can we—UGH!"

He suddenly curled up into a ball, twitching in pain. As for Yuelan, she stared at him with a satisfied look before turning to Xuan.

"What? He told me he was ready, so I just activated the skill."

Xuan raised a brow. "Don’t you have to, like... be in contact with him or something?"

"Nah. If you’re higher than a Spirit Warrior, you don’t need direct contact for stuff like this," Yuelan explained. "Some people either still do it because it helps them focus, or they do it because they want to touch that person."

"..."

Hanbi... Seriously? Xuan sighed inwardly and turned back to the fight in the sky.

Unlike Lin Fei, those two were at full power. He really doubted that he could beat them without Yuelan’s help. Even then...

"You know, I’ve never been one known for being honorable," Yuelan suddenly said, a grin appearing on her face. "Remember that fusion skill we did? I say we use it now."

"You want to kill those guys while they’re still fighting?" Xuan asked skeptically.

Yuelan puffed out her chest. "What? Do you want to wait until they finish fighting, so only then could we kill them? Look, they’re lined up and exhausted. Just imagine we’re playing bowling or something."

Even though she didn’t sound that convincing, Xuan agreed right away. After all, he wanted to get off this mountain already.

Therefore, while Huizhen convulsed on the ground, Xuan and Yuelan lined up in fashion. She drew her sword, and he covered his fist in Void Qi, ready to attack.

However, unlike the first time they used the Fusion attack, this time it seemed slightly different. It felt like he was much closer to Yuelan, so much so that he could feel the flow of her Qi, and from her slightly surprised expression, she could feel his as well.

And so, instead of following the flow of the Moonpiercer: Void Slash skill, they did something different.

Xuan sent a full-powered punch at Chen Shun and Chen Zemin, and Yuelan followed up with a sword thrust containing every single bit of Void Qi she had. She used multiple skills that would increase the attack power and Qi density in that thrust, and she also unintentionally enhanced every single one of his Qi types.

So, as Yuelan’s fierce thrust met his Void Qi-infused punch, the attack vanished, not leaving behind even a single ripple in space.

For a moment, both of them thought they had canceled each other out, but what happened next made both of their eyes widen in surprise.

Right as Chen Shun and Chen Zemin were about to clash, they halted, as if sensing something was wrong. They backed off from each other and shot Xuan and Yuelan a glare.

Ah? They know it’s us? Xuan mused, yet when he narrowed his eyes at them, he realized just what was happening.

At first, nothing seemed off, except for the fact that they couldn’t circulate their Qi.

But then, both of their arms started turning black, then their legs. It was necrosis. Less than a moment later, their faces appeared as though they had grown centuries older, and their eyes turned bloodshot.

Not for long, however, as the two soon began bleeding from the eyes. They tried again and again to circulate their Qi, but after failing countless times, they began hurtling from the sky, their expressions ones of panic.

The more they tried to control their Qi, the worse their injuries got, until eventually, both of them stopped breathing and fiercely collided with the ground, their bodies unprotected by Qi.

"X-Xuan!" Chen Shun exclaimed with the last of his breath, his voice weak. "You will regret this!"

The rays of light from before their duel started reappeared above the two Spirit Lords, but their shade was far darker. Xuan didn’t know if he imagined it, but he was sure that instead of the two Spirit Lords, the light had its sights set on him.

But before he could wonder what those lights were about, they vanished just as quickly as they appeared. And what followed was a total bloodbath.

—POP

—POP

The two Spirit Lords exploded, raining down blood and guts. Their Qi, which had been suppressed, suddenly expanded, casting two dark clouds over the Grand Jade Temple. Black rain began to fall, and when it landed on his skin, Xuan felt like tiny needles were pricking his skin.

More so, the raindrops were literal Demonic Qi.

Nonetheless, Xuan and Yuelan exchanged a quick glance and Void Stepped toward where the two cultivators’ blood landed.

When they arrived, they were met with two boiling pools of blood. The stench hit them first, forcing both to step back.

Xuan scratched the back of his head in genuine surprise. The skill was way too powerful, and while he felt slight recoil, he knew he and Yuelan could cast it at least two more times.

Still, as he looked around for something valuable, he spotted two pop-ups in the corner of his vision, confirming the kills.

<Third Level Spirit Lord - Human slain>

<+300,000,000 Void Qi | 6,422,955,110 / 10,000,000,000>

<Fourth Level Spirit Lord - Human slain>

<+400,000,000 Void Qi | 6,822,955,110 / 10,000,000,000>

<You have unlocked: Eclipse Break: Lunar Void Collapse>

—

<Eclipse Break: Lunar Void Collapse>

<Rank: Saint (Fusion)>

<Mastery Level: 1>

<Description: A multi-Qi Type fusion technique combining Space, Time, Death, Demonic, and Poison Qi. The attack instantly locks onto the target and strikes through spatial distortion, bypassing distance. Upon contact, it disrupts Qi flow, accelerates time within the body, and causes rapid decay of flesh and soul. Consumes 1,000,000,000 Void Qi x2>

—

"Fucking hell..." Xuan muttered in amazement, and then turned to Yuelan, who was trembling in excitement.

The two of them had literally just one-shotted two Spirit Lords. He still couldn’t wrap his head around it.

Even so, her excitement didn’t remain bubbling for long, as despite everything that happened, as well as the blood that streamed down her nose from the attack, she was still as lively as ever.

"Striiiiiiike!"