"You..." The boy’s eyes widened, filled with disbelief, black blood oozing from the corner of his mouth. "Why...?"

"No reason." The girl in the red hood smiled with utter innocence, her crescent-moon eyes looking at him earnestly. "You are useless now. I'll hold onto your Corpse Talisman for you. Even though you were kind to me, what choice do I have when you are no longer useful to me..." Her expression held a hint of melancholy, yet her hand showed no mercy. With a forceful tug, she ripped a bloody, paper-soft talisman seal from the boy's abdomen.

The boy’s body convulsed, and the light in his eyes instantly dimmed. His body fell limply to the earth below.

The girl in the red hood didn't even spare him a glance. Her beaming gaze, tinged with a slight feverish heat, fixed on the bloody, soft-cloth-like Corpse Talisman in her hand. "I wonder what it tastes like. If I devour it, I should then possess the Triple Corpse Seal."

She licked her lips, then opened her mouth, raising the Corpse Talisman to consume it, inch by painstaking inch.

The world suddenly fell into an absolute silence.

All the clamor and the sounds of intense battle receded instantly into the far distance.

A dense golden light, sharp as a needle point, radiated intensely from the girl in the red hood's body. Ripples of liquid light flowed over her skin, as white as jade, surging outward in waves. Above her head, the sky had darkened without anyone noticing. Dark clouds from all directions were drawn toward her like iron filings to a magnet, colliding with one another to produce booming thunder and violet lightning.

Zhuge Fan's pupils contracted slightly. His hand gripping the sword hilt felt as if pierced by needles, raising a fine layer of goosebumps. A strong sense of unease suddenly surged through him, flashing past in an instant. He moved rapidly, appearing before the Empress, keeping the girl in the red hood guarded.

The clothing of the girl in the red hood fluttered as if filled with strong winds, weightless like feathers. She stared at Zhuge Fan, the remaining four guards, and the Empress they protected in the center, letting out a childish giggle. "It seems you are all doomed. My power is not something you can resist. How should I kill you?" She furrowed her beautiful little brows, thinking seriously, as if this were a profound and solemn major issue.

"Damned monster," another black-haired guard beside Zhuge Fan snarled at the girl in the red hood. "To kill her own companion—she's even more detestable than that boy just now!"

"Oh?" The girl in the red hood raised an eyebrow, as the words somehow reached her ears. "Is that so?"

The air rippled with a strange fluctuation, like water disturbed by a stone.

Zhuge Fan had the illusion that something brushed past his skin. Just as he frowned, his pupils abruptly contracted. He watched as the head of the black-haired guard who spoke beside him suddenly vanished from his neck, leaving behind a rhomboid gash from which the head was violently yanked inward and disappeared, seemingly pulled into another dimension.

The headless corpse maintained its standing posture, but thick, hot blood poured like thick syrup from the severed neck.

Then, with a swoosh, the corpse dropped to the earth below.

Seeing this terrifying sight, everyone felt as if a cold hand had stroked the pit of their stomachs, churning with the urge to vomit. Yet, none of them dared to catch the falling body, because everyone felt an invisible steel wire hanging over their own necks, as if a moment's distraction would result in their own heads being severed.

However, Zhuge Fan cried out in grief and anger. With a grab of his hand, the air suddenly became thick like spider silk, snatching the fallen corpse and pulling it back. It landed in Zhuge Fan's hands.

"Luo Sen, Luo Sen—" Zhuge Fan clutched the headless body, hot tears streaming from his eyes, calling out desperately and sorrowfully.

But barely two words left his lips when his neck suddenly went numb. His mouth moved, but he could not utter a sound, and the world before him began to slide away at an angle, inch by inch.

A thin, crimson line appeared on his neck, a diagonal incision from which his head slid away, dropping onto the chest of the corpse he tightly held, then rolling off and falling away. Finally, the entire body lost all tension and dropped straight down.

"Oops..." The girl in the red hood shrugged, looking innocently at the pale Empress and the others. "It wasn't intentional. He showed too many openings, and I couldn't help myself; it was an accident. You won't blame me, will you?"

She blinked her jewel-like, clean, and innocent eyes at the Empress and the rest.

Everyone felt as if they were looking at the most terrifying, most horrifying monster, with an impulse to vomit and flee. The muscles in their faces twitched, but their rich experience told them that turning and running now would only hasten their deaths.

The only recourse was to remain still!

The Empress took a deep breath, watching the girl in the red hood with composure. The slender fingers holding her sword turned white, her nails digging into the flesh of her palm. Among the guards beside her, Zhuge Fan was the closest and the one she valued most!

Rage and murderous intent churned within her heart, but outwardly she remained calm as water, showing no visible reaction. Her gaze was locked on the girl in the red hood. Suddenly, she heard a massive roar from not too far away, and her heart sank. Her eyes flicked sideways rapidly, glancing toward the source of the sound.

The burly man and the handsome youth were colliding with each other. They seemed evenly matched, with neither gaining the upper hand, though the burly man appeared more resilient, his attacks fierce as a wolf or tiger, pressing forward relentlessly and recklessly. The handsome man, however, moved like an ethereal phantom, dodging left and right, never engaging directly.

"What are you looking at?" A playful voice suddenly pulled her back to reality. Before she could regain her senses, she felt a sharp jolt, intense pain erupted in her left arm, and then she felt a chilling sensation beneath her shoulder. Looking down, bright red blood, thick as slurry, erupted outward, drenching her arm in the exquisite long robe. The arm was severed and fell downward in the contrary wind.

The Empress’s face turned pale. Looking up, she saw the girl in the red hood still smiling playfully at her, her innocent eyes filled with feigned concern. "Does it hurt?"

Enduring the pain, the Empress let out a cold snort, circulating the energy within her body to spur her vitality. The veins and capillaries on the flesh of her severed left arm twisted rapidly like countless steel wires, intertwining and generating new flesh. In the blink of an eye, a new arm grew, pale and delicate, smooth as fine mutton-fat jade—though it lacked a sleeve.

The girl in the red hood pouted. "It actually grows back? That's not fun at all. I don't want to play anymore. Hmph!" She huffed in genuine annoyance, yet her appearance was indescribably cute. However, the Empress and the three guards beside her instantly had their expressions darken, gripping their weapons tighter.

Whoosh!

Like light, a flash.

The girl in the red hood instantly appeared before the Empress’s three guards, suspended before their chests. Her soft cheek held a cold sheen. She thrust her arm forward abruptly, piercing through the chest of the guard closest to her, who was too stunned to react.

The other two guards and the Empress quickly snapped back to attention. Instantly, three divine swords whistled down, cleaving toward the girl in the red hood. Each sword carried the full power of its wielder, fierce and weighty in momentum. They actually struck the girl in the red hood.

The three of them had no time to show joy before their expressions twisted in shock. The spot where the girl in the red hood was struck dispersed like smoke.

"Li—" The Empress suddenly cried out, but stopped mid-word.

Behind one of the guards, the girl in the red hood instantly materialized. Her small, jade-like hand acted as the sharpest weapon, piercing straight through the guard's back, snapping his spine. Then her body flashed again. Before the afterimage at the original spot had vanished, she appeared above the head of another guard. Her bare little foot stomped down, crushing the guard’s hard skull, splattering blood that spattered onto her red hood.

In the blink of an eye, she had killed the three powerful guards.

The Empress was too stunned to speak, staring blankly as the girl in the red hood flicked her hand and her little foot. The thick blood on them was shaken off easily; her skin was as smooth as if carved from exquisite fine porcelain.

"So weak," the girl in the red hood pouted, then looked up at the Empress with pure, expectant eyes. "What will you do now? It seems they can no longer protect you."

The Empress's sword-wielding hand trembled. Suddenly, she swung her sword and charged toward the girl in the red hood. A streak of violet light shot out from the blade. With one step, the void beneath her feet rippled like water, spreading through the air. The surrounding world abruptly turned pitch black, enveloping the girl in the red hood and herself.

"Darkness, Ultimate Kill!"

The Empress gritted her teeth, forming an incantation with her fingers. The divine sword in her hand vanished, transforming into countless silver sword lights that swept toward the girl in the red hood, forming a curtain of silver radiance that relentlessly attacked her.

The girl in the red hood did not panic nor resist; she simply smiled at the Empress. All the silver sword lights shattered when they reached three feet before her, repelled by an invisible wall.

The Empress's face was pale, the immense humiliation burning like a hot knife slicing through her heart. She bit her lower lip tightly, staring at the girl in the red hood. Suddenly, she closed her eyes, brought her hand to her mouth, and bit open her thumb. She quickly smeared the fresh blood onto her forehead, then violently opened her eyes, shooting out a sharp, cold gleam, and roared, "Rock of Light Shatter!"

A world-shaking roar erupted in the dark world, as if charging from a distant direction. The sound wave gradually intensified until it became deafening. A beam of extreme golden light shot out, so fast it defied description, striking the center of the girl in the red hood’s forehead in an instant.

But then, it stopped.

The golden light trembled like an arrow, unable to advance another inch. On the girl in the red hood’s forehead, there seemed to be a transparent barrier, resisting this fierce attack.

The girl in the red hood also seemed slightly startled, her tightened pupils relaxing slightly, followed by a gentle smile. "Good, very good."

She flicked her finger.

A massive wave of gale-force wind swept up around them.

Bang—

The dark world shattered violently, and the sky outside was revealed once more.

"Die," the girl in the red hood’s cold voice sounded like the final judgment. Her finger aimed at the Empress, and the air at her fingertip distorted, sending out waves of terrifying energy fluctuations. After a moment of brewing, all the warped space suddenly contracted and solidified, forming a small, translucent sword.

Whoosh!

It shot out fiercely!

At almost the same moment, with a sudden bang, the body of the girl in the red hood was violently struck by a dark shadow, causing her finger's aim to deviate.