Spreading from his right arm was vital energy, while his left arm flowed with the essence of death—two utterly distinct powers erupted forth from within him.
Facing the heaven-shattering sword light emitted by the Sky-Rending Sword, Shi Yan, now in his Berserk State, seemed to have unleashed every potential within his body.
Between life and death, his features became more [Insert appropriate, powerful adjective here, reflecting extreme change, e.g., chiseled, ethereal, or terrifying]; the frequency of the energy flowing through his left and right arms maintained an astonishing synchronization.
His right arm swelled, doubling its usual size, while his left arm shriveled, shrinking by half even from its berserk state—appearing like mere skin stretched over bone, grim and ghastly.
The lines on his left and right hands suddenly shot out brilliant light, and two vast, surging powers blasted out simultaneously from his palms.
In each palm, seven life seals and seven death seals formed. The life seals and death seals flew out together.
As soon as each life seal and death seal emerged, they instantly merged into one; in just a flash, the seven life seals and seven death seals paired and fused.
The Life-Death Seals were formed.
“Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!”
The seven Life-Death Seals suddenly expanded several times over, resembling seven glowing door panels that violently slammed toward the cleaving Sky-Rending Sword.
A terrifying roar exploded forth. The crimson and ice-blue glow on the Sky-Rending Sword abruptly dimmed as a strange, unfathomable mystic power suddenly surged from within the Life-Death Seals into the sword.
“Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum!”
The Sky-Rending Sword cried out in the void, knocked flying, tumbling endlessly in the sky, its light completely extinguished.
Bei Mingce, who was controlling the sword with his mind, suddenly turned deathly pale, like paper. Blood began to leak from all seven orifices, accompanied by a piercing shriek.
The Sky-Rending Sword resonated with his spirit; Bei Mingce felt the severe damage to the sword as if it were his own injury. Both he and the sword were gravely wounded.
For a Mind-Controlled Swordsman, once the sword body suffers damage, the controller cannot escape a similar fate of severe injury.
“Clang.”
After tumbling for a while, the Sky-Rending Sword landed a hundred meters away, its luster dull, its spirituality entirely gone.
Bei Mingce ceased his screams and tried repeatedly to summon the Sky-Rending Sword with his mind, only to find no response. Bei Mingce’s spirit recoiled in horror, and for the first time, true fear showed on his face.
Having unleashed the Life-Death Seal strike, one-third of the power within Shi Yan’s body had been drained, leaving him quite weak.
However, upon seeing the Spirit-Grade weapon, the Sky-Rending Sword, rendered lusterless by that single blow, he felt a secret satisfaction, and his spirit was momentarily uplifted.
When he noticed Bei Mingce bleeding from all seven orifices, he felt even more delighted.
The two women, Mu Yudie and Di Yalan, stared blankly at Shi Yan, their expressions of shock impossible to conceal. Mu Yudie even gasped, covering her mouth with a small hand to keep from crying out loud.
Shi Yan, who was merely at the Human Rank, had managed, in a direct confrontation, to send flying the Sky-Rending Sword—a Spirit-Grade weapon held by Bei Mingce of the Hundred Calamities Realm—and even strip the sword of its spirituality!
What in the world was happening?
Mu Yudie was horrified, simply unable to believe her own eyes.
Was this truly the youth from the Gloomy Forest?
Mu Yudie suddenly realized she no longer recognized Shi Yan. The powerful Shi Yan before her seemed increasingly unfamiliar, so strange that she no longer knew how to manage her relationship with him.
“Ding Yan!” Di Yalan cried out, “What are you doing?”
Mu Yudie startled, quickly adding, “Ding Yan, don't do anything rash! Bei Mingshang is also here. If you truly harm Young Master Bei Mingce, it will benefit neither you nor the Shi Family!”
Shi Yan’s face was cold, and he remained silent, choosing to ignore the two women.
At this moment, Bei Mingce was once again restrained by the Magnetic Repulsion Field...
He stood still, yet he couldn't detect the field's presence. The unprepared mind was easily trapped by the intentionally laid snare; he naturally could not evade the field’s pull.
This time, Shi Yan had infused the Magnetic Repulsion Field with negative energy!
The field now contained three distinct and strange forces—Yin power, essence energy, and negative energy. These forces mixed together, causing the field's devouring power to more than double!
Within the new Magnetic Repulsion Field, Bei Mingce's expression was utterly wretched, his facial flesh twitching. As the field spun wildly, all the essence energy within him was bound.
Only the Extreme Cold Ice Flame Martial Soul remained unaffected within the Magnetic Repulsion Field, stubbornly surging into his ice armor, staunchly protecting Bei Mingce’s body.
Shi Yan flew swiftly into the field.
With a wave of his left hand, a Death Seal, condensed from negative energy, suddenly blasted out, aimed without hesitation toward Bei Mingce’s head.
“Crack! Crack!”
A crisp cracking sound echoed from Bei Mingce’s skull. The destructive death qi attached to the Death Seal surged into his brain, severing his vitality.
Wisps of thick energy abruptly erupted from within Bei Mingce’s body.
Soon, Bei Mingce was reduced to a dried corpse; all his vital essence was absorbed by Shi Yan.
The field instantly vanished.
“Thud.”
Bei Mingce’s corpse dropped to the ground, his eyes wide open, looking as if he died with deep regret.
—He hadn't even managed to utter a few threatening words.
Upon Bei Mingce’s death, his body shriveled, and the icy-clear protective armor that had been fitted to him now seemed oversized.
Shi Yan took a deep breath, his expression indifferent as he stripped the cool armor from Bei Mingce’s body, unceremoniously stuffing it into his satchel. Then, without a second glance at the stunned Mu Yudie and Di Yalan, he flew off, retrieving the lusterless Sky-Rending Sword as well.
On Bei Mingce’s body, these two items were the most formidable, and they left the deepest impression on Shi Yan.
Both the Sky-Rending Sword and the ice-clear armor were extraordinarily rare treasures. Even if Shi Yan couldn't use them himself, he certainly wouldn't let those two women profit from them.
“Ding Yan, you’re mad! You must be insane!” Mu Yudie stared at him in despair, murmuring, “Bei Mingce is Bei Mingshang’s direct subordinate. If you kill Bei Mingce, Bei Mingshang will not only target you but also annihilate your entire Shi Family! Ding Yan, you’ve made a grave mistake—you are digging your own grave!”
“Bitch!” Shi Yan turned his head, casting a cold glance at her, his voice harsh. “Keep nagging, and I’ll kill you next!”
“You—what did you say?” Mu Yudie looked at him in disbelief, pointing a finger at Shi Yan and shrieking, “Ding Yan! I saved your life! Is this how you treat me?”
Shi Yan looked impatient, his gaze utterly cold, and he moved swiftly to Mu Yudie’s side.
“Slap!”
Shi Yan struck Mu Yudie across the face, sending her stumbling back several steps, leaving five bright red finger marks across her cheek.
“Bitch, listen to me. I owe you nothing! If you keep chattering in my ear, I will silence you forever!” Shi Yan stared coldly at the somewhat frantic Mu Yudie, brimming with killing intent. “You know who I am. I never hold back when killing, and that includes women!”
“Ding Yan!” Di Yalan cried out, “How could you hit Xiaodie?”
“You shut up too!”
Shi Yan sneered, gazing at her with cold detachment. “Since we parted ways at Stone Forest, we have had nothing to do with each other. You have no right to dictate to me. Don't assume that just because I was with you, we share some kind of bond. You know exactly what you got from me. I owe you nothing!”
Di Yalan’s delicate body trembled. Looking at the cold, ruthless Shi Yan, she felt as if she were trapped in an ice cave, her body and soul turning frigid.
Di Yalan tightly clenched her teeth, fighting back tears, yet crystalline drops still welled up at the corners of her eyes. Her heart felt as if it were being twisted by a sharp knife, agonizingly painful.
It was only at this moment that Di Yalan realized how deeply she cared for this man. Seeing the cold indifference on his face, she finally grasped the magnitude of what she had missed in her life.
“Ding Yan, you will regret this! You absolutely will regret this!” Mu Yudie clutched her face and shrieked hysterically, “You will regret this! You and the Shi Family will both be destroyed by Bei Mingshang!”
“Slap!”
Shi Yan, who was about to leave, turned back and slapped Mu Yudie across the face again, his expression sinister and scornful. “Bitch, do you really think that by defecting to the Bei Ming Family, Bei Mingshang will avenge you? What a joke! Bei Mingshang is a ruthless schemer; would he dare to start an endless feud with the Dark Nether simply over one woman? Do you know why the Dark Nether people appeared here? Do you know what fate awaits you once you leave this place?”
Mu Yudie’s beautiful face turned ashen, despair filling her eyes, and she fell silent.
She had guessed this possibility long ago but refused to admit it. Now that Shi Yan had cruelly laid it out, Mu Yudie could no longer ignore the suspicion in her heart. She felt utterly cold, realizing all her efforts had been a mirage, entirely illusory.
“From this day forward, you two have nothing more to do with me,” Shi Yan delivered one last ruthless glance at the two women, turned, and walked toward the deep pit. His back to them, he coldly stated, “Do not interfere with me, or Bei Mingce’s fate will be yours.”
With that, Shi Yan slowly descended toward the deep pit.
Di Yalan’s face was streaked with tears, her limbs ice-cold, as if the life force inside her had been drained. Her heart felt violently torn apart, an unbearable agony.
Mu Yudie’s face bore the bright red imprint of the slap, her expression one of utter hopelessness, her vitality seemingly severed. She stared blankly at the sky, unsure of where to go or what path lay ahead.
“Xiaodie, we… we were truly wrong,” Di Yalan choked out, covering her face and weeping softly.
“Waaah!”
Mu Yudie could no longer hold back and finally buried her face, weeping heartbrokenly, as if trying to cry out every sorrow within her heart.
Shi Yan stood at the edge of the deep pit, his face impassive, as if he hadn't heard the women's cries at all, only frowning as he looked ahead.
“Tu-tu-tu-tu-tu!”
The Yin Orbs within the three acupoints—Shenque, Tianque, and Yindu—in his chest pulsed more joyfully. Upon reaching this place, the Yin Orbs had become extremely active.
Looking at the shimmering, multi-colored crystal block suspended within the deep pit, Shi Yan realized this must be the object that had summoned the Yin Orbs. The mystic energy emanating from the crystal resonated faintly with the Yin Orbs, suggesting a mysterious connection between the two.
However, standing outside the pit, Shi Yan didn't know how to proceed or how to retrieve the crystal block.
After a moment of contemplation, Shi Yan tried to activate the Yin Vortex, condensing Yin Qi in his palm.
The Yin Qi slowly gathered, gradually flowing out from Shi Yan’s palm, transforming into a shadowy, dark-light hand that reached out toward the crystal block.
From the six Yin Orbs, wisps of strange Yin power were released, appearing like invisible threads that seemed to infuse the center of the crystal block.
The dark-light hand slowly pressed downward, moving toward the barrier of light suspended above the crystal block.
“Bo!”
The barrier of light suddenly split open with a fissure. The barrier that had been steadfastly resisting Bei Mingce’s Extreme Cold Ice Flame actually seemed to yield, opening the gate for the dark-light hand conjured by Shi Yan.
The crystal block suddenly shone brilliantly, slowly floating toward the dark-light hand...
PS: Calling for Monthly Votes V