Ye Xiu glanced back, his expression immediately grim. Not only was a wave of lightning striking head-on, but the bats now seemed to possess a strange intelligence, rapidly closing in, blending with the lightning to surge toward him.

"Heaven's Will: Thunder Strike," Ye Xiu thought, intending to counter lightning with lightning. The Thunder Strike from the Heaven's Will sword technique was deeply ingrained in his core. But what he never anticipated was that the lightning unleashed by Heaven's Will, as it rapidly cleaved toward Yun Ji, was entirely absorbed by her Myriad Lightning Art.

"Hahaha, let me send you on your way!" Yun Ji revealed a monstrous, gaping maw, wildly brandishing her claws.

Helpless, Ye Xiu had no choice but to sprint toward the impact point of the demon blade. Yet, the moment he turned, a bolt of lightning flashed toward his face. Ye Xiu attempted to use Heaven's Will to slice through it, but the instant he channeled his force, the swarming bats blurred his vision. He could only execute a hasty forward somersault. With a sharp crack, his sleeve was struck by the lightning, instantly turning scorched black.

"Hmph..." Ye Xiu stumbled as he hit the ground, forcing himself onto his side. Before he could catch his breath for a second time, three more bolts of lightning arrived side-by-side. Gritting his teeth, he propped up Heaven's Will, preparing another offensive. Unexpectedly, the bats descended once more. However, Ye Xiu was prepared, using a technique called Chaotic Slash to knock them down. Unbeknownst to him, the bats were charged; as he attacked, Ye Xiu felt a numbing sensation envelop him, locking his limbs. "Damn it!" Ye Xiu cursed, launching Maple Red Autumn Separation in an attempt to pierce the lightning, but at the moment of impact, he was struck on the right foot by another beam closing in from the side. "Hiss..." Ye Xiu felt an intense, sharp pain, and his right foot instantly went numb. Time seemed to slow, yet it was incredibly fast; the surrounding lightning seemed alive, sensing the advantage and pressing in, eager to encircle and kill Ye Xiu within their embrace.

Ye Xiu was scorched, dripping sweat, his mind reeling, unable to find an escape. At this moment, his eyes caught sight of the demon blade lying at his feet. With no time to retrieve it, a sudden inspiration struck. Ye Xiu poured all his energy into a final blow. Heaven's Will was held at his chest, and the Amethyst Smoke Chain seemed to sense its master's peril. Freed from the corruption of the demon blade, the fierce energy of Heaven's Will, mixed with dense purple smoke, enveloped everything around them. Instantly, the air grew sluggish. Ye Xiu, holding the sword with one hand, smoothed its curve while leaning back. Once fully charged, he used his other hand to strike Heaven's Will outward, unleashing his ultimate move, "Heaven's Will: Maple Red Autumn Separation—Finale," directly toward Yun Ji.

Yun Ji had been smugly directing the pursuit of the lightning, completely unprepared for the sheer speed of Ye Xiu's swordsmanship. The purple energy flying straight toward her had already sliced through every lightning strike. Yun Ji's face changed drastically. She waved her hand, summoning countless thunderclaps, attempting to shatter this ultimate killing sword. But neither anyone else, nor Ye Xiu himself, knew that the Maple Red Autumn Separation infused with the fierce energy of Heaven's Will possessed the power to cleave lightning and sever electricity. As the storm of thunder approached Heaven's Will, countless azure lights seemed to be swallowed by the purple mist. This was not thunder controlling Heaven's Will; it was clearly Heaven's Will claiming the thunder.

Clang! A violent sound echoed, startling birds and scattering trees throughout the forest. Yet, what permeated the air was the scent of blood and gore. Where the Heavenly Will passed, only the mangled corpses of blood-sucking bats lay. At the sword's end, countless more bats continuously replenished in front of Yun Ji, intent on draining the killing intent of Heaven's Will.

Ye Xiu clutched his chest, breathing heavily. He had believed this strike would certainly kill Yun Ji, only to be thwarted again by the swarm of bats. He wiped the sweat from his brow, staring wide-eyed at the scene of bats sacrificing themselves for their mistress.

"Aah!" Yun Ji roared in fury, drawing her hands back and retreating her entire body. Before her eyes, the countless purple mists and drops of bat blood had interwoven into a scene of unparalleled, tragic beauty. Today, her beloved bats were being annihilated by a single sword stroke; emotions deeper than simple vengeance filled her mind. This emotion caused her to mutate. At this moment, Yun Ji's eyes were blazing red, her lips stark white. Her hands had completely transformed into bat-like claws. On her back, numerous bats slowly coalesced into a massive wing.

"..." If it were the old Ye Xiu, he might have uttered some playful remark about Batman. But now, all he could do was shake his head and sigh. Without delay, he sidestepped, grabbed the demon blade, adopted a Ghost Step stance, and vanished instantly, charging toward Yun Ji.

Clang! A flash of electricity and steel, a rapid killing strike. Ye Xiu's Quick Draw attack indeed struck Yun Ji, but he rejoiced too soon. Focusing his gaze, he saw the demon blade was firmly embedded in the wing that had just formed on Yun Ji’s back.

"Agh!" Ye Xiu refused to yield, increasing his force, attempting to break through Yun Ji's defense. Meanwhile, the impact force of Heaven's Will continued to slaughter the already exhausted swarm of bats.

Azure light, blood-red light, and purple light—these three formed a vibrant scene within the deep forest. But in an instant, all that brilliance was terminated by a sky filled with lightning.

"Waa... Ahh!" Blood laced the foam in Yun Ji's throat. The moment she struggled to spread her wings, she flung both Heaven's Will and Ye Xiu flying backward. She lowered her hands and head, letting those wings carry her up into the sky, which was now crackling with lightning. At that moment, time seemed to stop; everything else, save for her, appeared unsightly.

"What is this... What is she? Is she the Helmsman of Darkness?" At this point, the minor lackeys who had been engaged in the Killing/Slaying Tribulation in the forest were drawn out by the killing aura. They gazed up at the sky in astonishment; some were trembling so hard their legs gave out.

Ye Xiu was bounced away by Yun Ji's wings, tumbling several times in the air before barely managing to arrest his momentum on a tree branch by using the edge of the demon blade. He looked up, a sense of impending death washing over him. Looking toward the sea of lightning above, Yun Ji still hung her head motionlessly, but the lightning around her was slowly congregating, beginning to fiercely strike down and ignite the entire forest.

"Ah..." Suddenly, a lackey failed to dodge in time and was struck by the first bolt that hit the ground. His scream hadn't even finished before his entire body disintegrated into black dust.

Ye Xiu swallowed hard. He didn't know where Heaven's Will had gone, but the demon blade in his hand was now pulsing with a bright white light, stirring up the essence of a final, ultimate killing move from the Ghost Hidden lineage in his mind.

"Let this entire outer island collapse for me," Yun Ji finally raised her head. The red glow in her eyes seemed capable of rivaling the sun's brilliance, and deep fangs now protruded from her lips. Her body twitched spasmodically, and those wings danced wildly. She released her hands and roared in agony, "Blood Sacrifice: Flash Strike, Heavenly Retribution!"

Rumble... The world was instantly filled with the feeling of divine judgment approaching destruction. This outer island seemed unable to withstand the rolling thunder and lightning, beginning to tremble. "Ahahaha, wahahaha." Yun Ji laughed maniacally, looking down on the heavens. She flapped her two massive wings, unleashing the countless lightning strikes that now hammered down.

Ye Xiu drove the demon blade into the earth, struggling to keep from being knocked over. At this moment, the continent beneath him could no longer endure the lightning's impact, and deep fissures began to appear. He looked around; rolling rocks from the nearby cliff face were already tumbling down, and the surging tide seemed to have gained the blessing of timing, terrain, and opportunity, furiously attempting to swallow the island.

"Demon Blade: Ten Thousand Forms." Ye Xiu gripped the blade with both hands, once again transforming the memories gleaned from the demon blade into a technique at this critical juncture. The illusionary technique once used by the Ghost Hidden master proved to have such astonishing capabilities. In the air, among the soaring tree trunks, the scattered rocks, beneath the cracks, and atop the crests of the waves, Ye Xiu’s form was everywhere, and every manifestation held the demon blade tightly in hand.

"Yaaah!" Ye Xiu roared, and the myriad copies of himself surged forward. Some cleaved straight down at the lightning, some swung their blades in sweeping arcs, some leaped to dodge, and some rushed headlong into the electricity. In an instant, the sky flashed with innumerable streaks of blade light. The sky trembled, the earth split, and every violent impact was accompanied by the smell of blood. Each manifestation of Ye Xiu was intertwined with his own blood and pain, while Yun Ji's lightning cared nothing for subtlety, bent on destruction. The two tangled in the sky, trading blow after blow, until, as the entire outer island ruptured with a crash, Ye Xiu unleashed his final technique: "Demon Blade: Quick Draw—Thousand Man Slash."

This was no ordinary strike; this version of the Thousand Man Slash displayed by the Ghost Hidden master was entirely different. In the blinding light of the electricity and steel, Ye Xiu's other forms achieved an ineffable speed amidst the blood and electrical strikes. Just as the Quick Draw technique neared Yun Ji's throat, all the flying demon blades unexpectedly fused into one under the pull of the current. He roared wildly, and a horizontal streak of white light tore across the horizon.

Crack... All life on the outer island had long since been ignited and incinerated by the electrical fire. The ground, now split into several unstable pieces, sank sequentially into the South Sea.

"Did you think that would be enough to defeat me?" Yun Ji's wings still fluttered slowly. Her chest was deeply pierced by the demon blade. At this moment, she had regained her previous beautiful appearance, now tinged with a tearful tenderness.

Ye Xiu gripped the demon blade, his other hand gently resting on Yun Ji's back. Suspended together amidst the earth-shattering strike, they formed a solitary, poignant scene.

Yun Ji coughed up a thread of blood, reaching out to stroke Ye Xiu's face with a faint smile. "Perhaps this could wound me so badly... If only you could..." Before Yun Ji finished speaking, she suddenly opened her mouth, revealing sharp fangs, lunging toward Ye Xiu's neck.