Bai Yijun’s eyes turned cold, her figure executing a beautiful backflip in mid-air, landing steadily on the ground. She pulled the trigger of her handgun repeatedly, unleashing four or five beams of light that scattered the energy waves shooting from the massive gate.

“Retreat quickly!” Bai Yijun roared.

A thousand zhang away, Ye Chen’s voice echoed: “Understood!”

Bai Yijun nearly flew into a rage, gritting her silver teeth as she rapidly backed away, dodging while simultaneously dealing with the energy waves blasting from the iron gate behind her.

These energy waves seemed sentient, possessing an automated guidance system that locked onto Bai Yijun. No matter how she evaded, they clung to her relentlessly.

Swish!

An energy wave struck Bai Yijun’s shoulder. A faint glow immediately ignited on her, deflecting the beam, utterly annihilating it, leaving her completely unharmed—even the white shirt she wore remained pristine.

Boom!

The colossal black gate began to open slowly, emitting a heavy, grinding sound, like millstones made from millennia-old steles moving an inch at a time, revealing a gap. A low, savage aura, thick with brutality, permeated from behind the dark portal. As the gate fully unfolded, a monstrous beast stepped out slowly. It stood six zhang tall, covered in pitch-black fur, shaped like a lion but possessing a triangular head, fearsome fangs, scarlet eyes, and cloven hooves.

A frenzied, bloodthirsty aura swept the area like a hurricane.

Bai Yijun seemed to sense it, turning her head to look. A subtle change crossed her exquisite features, then she gritted her teeth and accelerated her dash toward Ye Chen.

“Activate!”

A synthesized electronic voice echoed throughout the entire corridor.

Ye Chen, sprinting rapidly in the distance, glanced back. Seeing Bai Yijun closing in to within a hundred zhang behind him, he felt a slight easing in his heart. Just then, a chilling sense of mortal danger enveloped his entire body.

KABOOM!!!

In the corridor piled high with demonic corpses, intense lasers suddenly erupted from the towering metal walls lining both sides, sweeping and bombing wildly. The entire passage was illuminated as if it were high noon, blindingly bright, while terrifying explosions resonated incessantly.

After a long, long time...

The smoke inside the corridor slowly subsided. Amidst the strange silence, two dark figures suddenly darted out, landing far down the stone steps at the corridor’s end.

These two were Ye Chen and Bai Yijun.

At this moment, neither looked well. Ye Chen’s entire set of Saint Flame Armor was dim. A pair of black horns had sprouted from his forehead, making him look like a demon from the abyss, and his skin was riddled with burns in several places.

Bai Yijun was slightly better off; only her hair was somewhat disheveled, making her look rather battered, though she showed no outward signs of having engaged her heightened superhuman mode.

“Damn it!” Ye Chen ground his teeth, retrieved a Soul Crystal, and swallowed it, allowing his injuries to slowly mend. He patted his chest, confirmed that the little white rabbit hadn't been hurt, and finally relaxed. However, he soon realized the small rabbit wasn't just unharmed, but seemed to be... snoring?

Ye Chen stared at its soft, smooth little belly rising and falling with its breathing, leaving him utterly speechless.

Bai Yijun caught a glimpse of the little white rabbit in Ye Chen’s arms. A flicker of surprise crossed her eyes, followed by an impatient glance at Ye Chen, thinking to herself that truly, like master, like pet.

Just then—Roar!

A low growl sounded from the quiet corridor, followed by an overwhelming killing intent that enveloped the pair. A dark shadow emerged from the white mist, brimming with violent energy, its crimson eyes fixed on Ye Chen and Bai Yijun.

Bai Yijun’s expression shifted slightly. She moved laterally, shielding Ye Chen. “You go first! This demon beast is at the Pseudo-God Realm, incredibly powerful. I can’t afford to look after you!”

Ye Chen’s heart leaped. Without another word, he quickly turned and bolted into the distance. In this critical moment, speaking only wasted time.

The demon beast seemed to realize a prey had escaped, and the ferocity in its eyes intensified. It roared and spat out a dense stream of golden divine power, charging toward Bai Yijun. This divine power radiated immense majesty, piercing through all void like a laser, striking heavily toward Bai Yijun’s chest.

“Vanish!” Bai Yijun’s eyes were icy. She flicked a finger; the exquisite handgun she held was gone, replaced by a long white sword. The blade shone like autumn water, emitting a faint white light, as if carved from eternal, millennia-old ice, radiating an aura of deadly chill!

As the white longsword swung forward, cutting across its path, the dense golden pillar of light miraculously split down the middle, severed! Capable of slicing through anything!

Holding the white longsword, Bai Yijun leaped up and brought the blade down towards the beast’s head.

Roar! The beast roared, suddenly rearing up a hoof and bringing it down toward Bai Yijun. The strike was incredibly fast; even though Bai Yijun possessed countless methods of evasion in her mind, it was too late!

The massive beast hoof slammed into her delicate body, sounding like a blow against a heavy wall, sending her flying backward to slam heavily against the wall near the frantically fleeing Ye Chen.

Bang!

That heavy thud struck Ye Chen’s heart like a sledgehammer.

For that instant, time seemed to cease flowing.

Ye Chen turned his head to look.

Sliding down the wall, Bai Yijun looked pale, a trickle of blood at the corner of her mouth. Her dark eyes, glinting with icy light, stared fixedly at the demon beast as she slowly rose from the ground.

A gale rose, and the demon beast charged.

Roar! A gaping maw lunged toward Bai Yijun’s face, carrying a crushing typhoon that whipped her long, dark hair, making it flutter and sway in the wind.

Violent Pseudo-God power enveloped both Bai Yijun and Ye Chen. A dazzling golden beam condensed in the beast’s mouth and shot toward the fleeing Ye Chen.

At this moment, Ye Chen had activated his Lightning Superman Mode, yet against the formidable attack of this Pseudo-God Realm beast, his speed still lagged slightly.

The brilliant golden light, roaring like thunder, struck toward Ye Chen, rapidly expanding in his pupils. In that instant, all sound vanished.

In front of that dazzling golden light, a heartbreakingly beautiful white figure, fluttering like a butterfly, suddenly darted out from the side, blocking the light with an unwavering charge.

In the gale, she turned her head. A hint of sorrow graced her pale cheek, and she shouted: “Go quickly!”

Wind blew across his face.

That exquisite face shouted at him.

Is a person’s blood cold or boiling?

In that split second, he seemed to forget how to think. Suddenly, he extended his palm, his black hair flying wildly against the wind, roaring as he charged forward with a fury he had never known.

The dazzling golden light grew even more blinding.

Slowly, it engulfed Bai Yijun entirely...

“No!!!” A heart-rending shriek echoed throughout the entire corridor, and indeed, through the ancient city ruins!

At this moment, Ye Chen felt a sensation as if he were being ripped apart. A sense of despair, long absent, enveloped his heart. Was this like the figure of White Dragon laughing maniacally as he rushed forward in Atlantis? Or the desperate resistance of the crowd when monsters assaulted the City of Light?

Just then, the dazzling golden light suddenly erupted. A beam of white light rose from within, intensely brilliant, tearing apart and destroying the golden light with overwhelming force.

Within that white light, a figure slowly stood up, her expression chillingly cold, like a noble queen. She raised a hand, pointed, and said coldly: “Die!”

On her fair wrist was a bracelet holding a small white pearl. As the word left her lips, the pearl instantly disintegrated, transforming into a rich white light that condensed into a slender, translucent white finger, which tapped toward the demon beast.

Thump!

The finger moved with the speed of light, touching the beast’s forehead. Immense power unleashed, directly driving the beast’s skull inward.

“Aaaauuugh!” The beast cried out in agony, its body thrown backward, tumbling several times before slowly stopping. In the center of its forehead, it was visibly concave, with a fissure appearing between its two eyes.

A sharp cold light flashed in Bai Yijun’s eyes. Wielding the white longsword, she rushed forward. Mid-air, her body suddenly flickered, and three identical figures split from her body, as if using a clone technique. However, these three figures were all solid, created by her innate secret art, though they carried no weapons.

Ye Chen blinked and saw several Bai Yijuns surrounding the heavily injured beast. The sword-wielding Bai Yijun thrust her blade forward. The attack was incredibly fast, a hundred times faster than her usual speed. With Ye Chen’s eyesight, he only caught a glimpse of a white streak flashing by, immediately followed by seeing the white longsword plunge deep into the demon beast’s skull.

Piercing through! All the way to the hilt!

The beast howled wretchedly. The dim light in its eyes suddenly flared with a fierce malice, and it swung its hoof horizontally at Bai Yijun.

Bai Yijun had anticipated this. She swiftly retreated, evading the blow.

However, in the very moment of evasion, the beast’s hoof suddenly split open, and a sharp claw extended from within, tearing toward Bai Yijun’s left waist, swatting her away.

Ye Chen gasped in alarm. Seeing Bai Yijun slam against a wall, he rushed over. She looked pale, cold sweat beading on her forehead. On her left waist, her snow-white shirt was stained crimson with blood, like a vibrant, grotesque flower. With Ye Chen’s eyesight, he immediately realized the shirt must be a treasure; otherwise, normal clothing would have been shredded by the gale as she moved.

“Are you alright?” Ye Chen quickly asked.

Bai Yijun opened one eye, glanced at him, and her expression seemed to relax slightly. Gritting her teeth, she managed, “F-fine…” As she spoke, she braced her hands on the ground, attempting to stand up.

Ye Chen hastily added, “That demon beast is already dead.”

Bai Yijun looked up and saw that after delivering that claw strike, the beast had collapsed and died, never moving again. Seeing this, a weight lifted from her heart, but suddenly her mind spun violently, her vision darkened, and she collapsed.

After an unknown amount of time, Bai Yijun felt a sharp pain in her head and slowly opened her eyes. The surroundings were a blurry mess. She bit down, trying to sit up, only to find her entire body weak and limp.

Bai Yijun gave up struggling and lay back down. She suddenly noticed that her body felt ice-cold, and a light, cool breeze brushed over her skin, giving her the distinct sensation of being unclothed.

She strained her neck to look sideways and saw her clothes—the white shirt and trousers—neatly folded beside her. Seeing this, her vision went black, and she nearly passed out.

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