Ye Xian knew he could not give the Witch Spawn even a breath of time. As soon as the monster spoke, both versions of him moved. The illusion charged from the front with glowing fists, while the real Ye Xian circled behind. Their attack was meant to split his focus and create a chance to strike.
The Witch Spawn didn't move. His blackish eyes watched both figures with a calm and hungry look. A crooked smile pulled at his lips like he was watching children play. The illusion struck first. Its fist hit his chest and vanished like mist. At the same time, the real Ye Xian's fist hit his stomach. A shockwave of ki spread through the chamber.
The punch should have knocked back any Sentinel Realm fighter. But the Witch Spawn didn't even flinch. His blue skin soaked up the hit like a mountain brushing off wind. The small scratch started healing right away, his body mending itself back together.
"Interesting," the Witch Spawn said, looking down at Ye Xian's fist still resting on his stomach. "You caught me off guard. For a second."
Ye Xian's eyes widened. The monster had taken the hit on purpose. Just to test his strength. Before he could pull back, the Witch Spawn's voice turned cold. "My turn."
The monster's fist shot forward. Ye Xian raised his arms fast, pouring all his ki into defense.
Boom!
The punch hit with a deafening boom. It felt like a meteor slamming into him. Pain shot through Ye Xian's arms as bones cracked. His body flew backward at an angle, smashing through the chamber wall and blasting up through the hole in the ceiling.
The world spun as stone, sky, and moonlight blurred together while Ye Xian was sent flying into the night. One moment the Witch Spawn stood in the chamber. The next, he appeared above him with the moon behind his back, looming like a demon from a nightmare.
"Where do you think you're going?" the Witch Spawn said, his voice slicing clean through the rushing wind.
His fist came down again. Wind ki burst around it like a violent storm. Ye Xian twisted in midair and barely got his arms up to block.
The punch slammed into his torso with crushing force and sent him falling straight down toward the ground.
Boom!
He crashed into the ground with a thunderous explosion. A crater opened behind him as stone and dirt burst outward. The shockwave shattered nearby windows and sent tremors through the ground for dozens of meters.
Dust swirled in the moonlight. Ye Xian lay at the bottom of the crater, blood leaking from his wounds. His arms throbbed. His ribs burned. Every breath scraped like fire. The Witch Spawn landed at the edge, his tall frame casting a long shadow. He looked down with black eyes full of cruel delight.
"Bold," the Witch Spawn sneered. "But pointless. Did you really think your little tricks could harm me?"
In the underground chamber, Sheng Qianying's heart raced as Ye Xian's ki transmission echoed in her mind, his voice steady and commanding: Trust me. I have a plan.
She flinched at the sudden intrusion but steeled herself, her trust in him unwavering.
Because she had already witnessed the impossible. He had leapt two entire realms before her eyes and consumed hundreds of thousands of ki stones.
Without hesitation, she turned toward the rubble where Ahmose Tiaa had fallen, debris scattered like the aftermath of a storm.
Sheng Qianying began pulling aside stones, her hands swift but careful. As she heaved a large slab, it suddenly burst upward with a jolt of force.
Ahmose Tiaa staggered to her feet, battered but conscious, her black flames flickering weakly around her like dying embers. Blood stained her torn Moonlight Sect robes, and her bronze skin glistened with sweat.
Sheng Qianying blinked, startled by her recovery. "Are you alright?"
Ahmose doubled over, coughing violently. A stream of blood sprayed from her mouth, narrowly missing Sheng's shoulder as she dodged. Wiping her lips, Ahmose rasped.
"I'm... much better now."
"We need to get out of here," Sheng Qianying urged, glancing at the crumbling ceiling.
Ahmose Tiaa hazel eyes flicked upward, her expression grim.
"That monster... he's still alive."
Sheng Qianying nodded, her voice calm but firm. "Ye Xian is handling it."
Ahmose Tiaa eyes narrowed, doubt flickering across her face.
"What? I'm in the Sentinel Realm, and I couldn't even touch that thing. What can he possibly do?"
Sheng Qianying met her gaze, unflinching. "He has a plan. Trust him."
Something in Sheng Qianying tone absolute confidence in Ye Xian silenced Ahmose Tiaa protests.
She knew she was in no condition to fight; her body was barely holding together. If she tried to help, she'd only be a liability.
Could it be that Ye Xian's master has arrived? With a curt nod, she let Sheng Qianying support her, and together they navigated a narrow tunnel leading away from the collapsing chamber.
"Please return safe, Ye Xian..." Sheng Qianying whispered.
Above, in the shattered crater under the moonlight, Ye Xian lay battered, pain searing through every fiber of his being. His arms throbbed, his ribs screamed with each breath, and blood dripped from his lips.
Several ribs were cracked, and his chest felt like it was caving in with every heartbeat.
The Witch Spawn's last blow had been devastating, a clear display of his monstrous strength.
But Ye Xian refused to stay down.
He activated the Life Restoration Scripture Technique, a miraculous method passed to him by the Reverse Taiji's treasure spirit, Aureliana.
Warm white light spread through his body. Light ki flowed like a gentle river into his muscles, bones, and tendons.The pain eased. His breathing steadied.
Ye Ye Xian felt his strength returning as the Life Restoration Scripture began to work. The light element he had gained from dual cultivation with Sheng Qianying flowed through his meridians like healing water. This light element was the key. The technique only worked through the light element, and without it, the restoration would not be possible.
What kept him alive now was not just the technique. It was the light element he had received from her. That energy moved gently through him, mending bones, easing pain, and stitching his body back together from within.
Standing up slowly, he locked eyes with the Witch Spawn who watched from the crater's edge with growing interest.
"Still alive?" the monster asked, tilting his head. "Impressive regeneration for someone so weak."
Ye Xian didn't respond. Instead, he picked up a large stone from the rubble and hurled it with all his might. The rock shot through the air like a cannonball, but the Witch Spawn simply swatted it aside with his hand, shattering it into dust.
"Is that all?" the creature sneered.
But Ye Xian was already moving. His figure blurred and split into two identical forms, each running in opposite directions around the crater's rim. The moonlight cast their shadows dancing across the broken ground.
The Witch Spawn's spiritual perception flared outward like an invisible net, trying to distinguish between the two figures. His blackish eyes narrowed in frustration as he detected identical auras from both forms.
"Impossible," he muttered, his eye twitching with annoyance.
Unable to tell which was real, he chose one at random and sprinted forward. His massive frame covered the distance in mere heartbeats, appearing beside one of the Ye Xians with a cruel smile.
"Caught you," he growled, his claws extending as he tore into Ye Xian's figure, ripping him apart like paper.
But instead of blood and flesh, his claws passed through empty air. The Ye Xian he had struck dissolved into particles of light that scattered like fireflies in the wind.
"Another fake," he snarled, spinning around to look in the opposite direction.
There, running toward the distant treeline, was the other Ye Xian. The Witch Spawn's teeth ground together as rage built in his chest.
He launched himself forward, his powerful legs propelling him across the ground like a blue streak.
But just as he closed the distance, the fleeing figure split again. Two Ye Xians veered off in different directions, forcing the monster to choose once more.
"ENOUGH!" the Witch Spawn roared, his voice echoing across the night sky.
The game of cat and mouse was wearing on his patience. Every time he thought he had cornered his prey, another illusion would dissolve into nothing.
His spiritual perception, usually so reliable, was completely useless against this technique.
"You think you can run forever?" he shouted into the darkness.
"I'll tear this entire city apart until I find you!"
But even as he spoke, his mind was analyzing the situation. The boy's technique was beyond anything he had encountered. Whatever method Ye Xian was using, it was something extraordinary.
The Witch Spawn's eyes gleamed with dark hunger. If he could capture the boy alive and extract his secrets, those techniques could prove invaluable. But first, he needed to end this irritating chase.
"Let's see how long you can keep this up," he whispered, his smile returning as a new plan formed in his mind.