Zhen Ru reappeared in the outside world, her slender frame trembling, clutching her chest as she coughed violently, thin rivulets of crimson blood seeping between the gaps in her fingers.

Fear, for the first time, flashed in her eyes as she stared far off at Shi Yan, who stood motionless as a stone statue. Despite his stillness, she dared not seize the opportunity to strike.

A terrifying aura was slowly brewing around Shi Yan. Every passing second, she could feel him growing stronger!

This disquieted Zhen Ru, leaving her torn between retreat and remaining, lost in indecision.

Her body currently suffered the agony of penetration. Though her divine body wouldn't be utterly destroyed, continuing the battle would only inflict greater wounds upon it. Yet, having exerted herself so much to arrive, admitting such a humiliating defeat was unacceptable. Furthermore, she still harbored a desire to test her strength against Shi Yan once more.

Instinctively, she glanced toward another direction—the battleground of Candice and Mei Ji, shrouded in swirling frost and mist, obscuring the view.

While others could not discern the details within, this was no obstacle for Zhen Ru, who had attained the second heaven of the Domain Ancestor realm. After scrutinizing the scene for a moment, a measure of calm settled in her heart. She observed that, as expected, Candice held the absolute upper hand amidst the swirling frost; Mei Ji was currently fighting by burning her very life force, and it wouldn't be long before she was likely cut down.

Seeing a glimmer of hope solidified her resolve to stay, even if only a little.

At that very instant, Shi Yan suddenly opened his eyes. His irises were profoundly deep and mysterious, like the boundless sea of stars in the cosmos, holding the ultimate secrets of heaven and earth.

"That light..."

Zhen Ru's spirit shuddered. She stared intensely into Shi Yan's eyes, her heart surging as greedy desire swelled uncontrollably!

"Still daring to remain? Truly audacious, hehe."

Shi Yan licked his lips and smiled strangely. The crimson tint was gone from his eyes, his expression cold; it was clear there was no possibility of him having fallen into Qi deviation.

Almost simultaneously, the immense spatial blades that had been drifting through the nothingness of the Phantom race rapidly coalesced, transforming into a single, colossal edge thousands of meters long and a hundred meters wide—a giant sword forged from pure space!

Shi Yan looked up. The spatial sword hung directly above him, slicing the space overhead into two halves!

He extended a hand and pointed at Zhen Ru.

That massive, broad spatial sword swept directly toward her. The terrifying force of space tore the void here into two segments, revealing long, slender fissures within. Countless desolate and chilling auras emanated from the cracks, instilling primal fear in the soul.

"Domain Ancestor. A breakthrough to the second heaven of the Domain Ancestor... he actually did it..."

Zhen Ru sighed bitterly. Seeing the broad spatial sword approach, cleaving space itself, she pondered briefly before making a decisive resolution. Finally, she dissolved into a wisp of light smoke and fled into the distance.

Shi Yan remained rooted to the spot, his face indifferent. "It's not that simple."

The broad spatial sword, with unparalleled sharpness, tore through space relentlessly, tailing Zhen Ru. The very fabric of space cracked along its path. A massive rift, like a chasm in the heavens, extended and moved with the sword, a horrifying sight, as if he had cleaved open another eternal, barren world with a single strike!

He paid no mind to the pursuing spatial sword; it bore a spiritual imprint of his soul and was perfectly capable of killing enemies autonomously.

He narrowed his own eyes, focusing his attention on the blurry, frosty area where Candice and Mei Ji were locked in combat.

"Quickly, save Lord Mei Ji!"

"Lord Mei Ji is failing!"

"Don't just stand there... Shi Yan has awakened!" The clansmen of the Phantom race cried out frantically, urging him to act immediately.

He noticed that, at some point, Vander and his entourage had silently vanished.

He was unaware that after Zhen Ru's chest was pierced and she reformed, Vander had immediately sensed grave danger. Without a moment's hesitation, he had fled with his subordinates.

If Zhen Ru, one of the supreme experts of the Ten Domain Ancestors, could be grievously wounded, how could Vander, who had already experienced Shi Yan's brutality, possibly dare to linger?

"Go! Pursue and kill Vander for me!"

Shi Yan commanded sharply. A streak of starlight flew from the center of his brow, streaking toward the distant horizon.

It was the Collapsing Star River technique!

Having dispatched the spatial broadsword to chase Zhen Ru and using the Collapsing Star River against Vander, only then did Shi Yan, his expression cold, begin walking toward the battle zone of Candice and Mei Ji.

Along his path, every member of the Phantom race willingly gave way, their hearts filled with silent anxiety, hoping he would move swiftly.

"Crack, crack, crack!"

The surrounding space thrummed with strange vibrations, as if invisible walls were pushing toward the area where Candice and Mei Ji fought, attempting to lock that region down.

Amidst the chaos of thick frost and wind, Candice, who held the comprehensive advantage, was desperately held back by the fearless Mei Ji. Mei Ji had become a magnificent ice sculpture, translucent and brilliant, radiating an incomparably cold, stunning aura that shamed all men.

She had expended her life energy to ignite her potential, unleashing countless ice shards, arrows, and peaks upon Candice within that domain.

Candice would have preferred to disengage, but she was pinned down by Mei Ji's frenzy, leaving her unable to divide her focus. Moreover, she was unwilling to pay the price of severely damaging her divine body to escape via a secret evasive technique, thus being delayed until now.

However, upon hearing the abnormal sounds emanating from space, Candice's expression finally shifted.

While others might hesitate, uncertain about the meaning of the spatial distortions while Shi Yan moved slowly, she understood perfectly!

The reason Shi Yan wasn't rushing in immediately, but instead strolling deliberately, wasn't a lack of urgency, but rather that he was using his spatial power to first seal the area! He was trapping her like a turtle in a jar!

Candice panicked; true terror seized her! Zhen Ru's retreat and Vander's escape confirmed for her that some earth-shattering change must have occurred within Shi Yan! She knew the current Shi Yan had to be terrifying, otherwise, why would Zhen Ru, with the might of the Ten Domain Ancestors, leave so abruptly?

Hearing the sound of space locking down, Candice gritted her teeth fiercely. Ignoring an incoming massive ice peak, she met it head-on with her divine body. As blood spurted from her mouth and blood beads emerged on her snow-white skin, her face paled. The blood beads instantly exploded, forming a vortex of scarlet.

The vortex enveloped her, spinning wildly. The countless fierce gales and bursting hurricanes within the frost-covered land rushed inward, forming thick layers of frosty barriers around her.

By the time Shi Yan walked closer, the blurred area of frost suddenly sharpened into clarity.

Mei Ji’s divine body swayed precariously; her ice-sculpted form seemed ready to crack. She cried out, "Candice is trying to flee!"

As soon as her words fell, the giant hurricane began to spin furiously toward the void of the sky.

Shi Yan let out a cold hum, brought his hands together, and instantly, a massive handprint condensing the malevolent forces of death, despair, destruction, and corrosion materialized above the hurricane. The handprint slammed down into the whirling vortex, following its rotation deep into its core.

Suddenly, intense explosions echoed from within the hurricane, sending waves of world-shattering energy rippling outward, chilling every heart.

Candice's piercing shriek also came from inside the vortex: "Shi Yan! I swear eternal enmity with you!"

"Bang!"

The hurricane detonated, rapidly dissipating. Candice was nowhere to be seen within; her destination remained unknown.

However, specks of blood splattered out from the exploding vortex. On the ice and snow-covered ground nearby, several stunningly beautiful spots of crimson appeared.

Clearly, Candice's escape had not evaded Shi Yan’s heavy blow; those scattered traces of blood implied her injuries were likely severe.

"Hmph! If Mei Ji didn't require life replenishment, I would hunt you to the ends of the universe to slay you!" Shi Yan responded chillingly. He appeared abruptly beside Mei Ji. At that moment, the ice sculpture around her began to melt. As the tension in her spirit eased, she could no longer sustain the backlash. She withered rapidly, like an ancient tree decaying—a clear sign of excessive life energy depletion.

"Lord Mei Ji!"

"She must not be lost!"

Many clansmen of the Phantom race rushed forward. An aged matriarch among them frantically produced numerous fragrant pills, preparing to rush forward and feed them to Mei Ji.

"All of you, move aside!" Shi Yan commanded with a cold expression.

An invisible force surged from him, causing every surrounding Phantom clansman to be violently yanked back by the nape of their necks, instantly hurled away.

"What are you doing! I am trying to save Mei Ji, why are you stopping me!" the old woman raged, rolling up her sleeves, poised to fight him to the death.

"You cannot help her," Shi Yan frowned.

"You think you can? I am the chief custodian of medicines for the Phantom race, and the clan's most precious spiritual elixirs are in my hands. If I cannot save her, who here can?" the matriarch exclaimed in exasperation.

"Auntie Fang, don't be angry. Let... let him come," Mei Ji said, her frozen shell melting away. A pale complexion emerged, and she softly persuaded the matriarch.

"This..." The old woman hesitated.

At that moment, Shi Yan pressed his left hand against his chest, and a torrent of life energy, like milky-

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