Sizzle—
"Truly, the further they live, the more they regress."
With a chilling friction sound, Su Min rapidly retreated. Three claw marks now marred her colossal avatar. To think these half-immortals fought in such a primitive manner—no flashy techniques, just pure, brutal physical combat.
This simplicity ironically gave Su Min a headache. Against intricate abilities, her versatile skills could counter. But raw, unadorned brawling? Only force could meet force.
Her Five Elements Holy Body's resistances were useless here. Though integrated into her being, they offered no advantage.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Below, a frenzied battle raged. Through Su Min's perspective, Tian Hao led a group in relentless assault against the remaining half-immortal.
The clash was even more intense than her own struggle.
"It seems I must employ some tricks."
Exhaling deeply, Su Min focused on the illusory tiger and crane before her.
Then—light erupted around her as an ancient bell materialized above her head.
"THE WORLD—ZA WARUDO!!!"
Instantly, time within a radius of hundreds of thousands of kilometers warped. Every being felt their movements slow, their consciousness untouched but bodies trapped in molasses.
"Time Law?!"
The two half-immortals paled. Though the Burial Mire was steeped in turbid energy, its fundamental laws mirrored other universes. Yet time manipulation was unheard of. Divine Transformation cultivators lived only 3,000 years—insufficient to grasp time, which demanded millennia of study.
But as Mahayana experts (and half-immortals), they resisted complete immobilization. Still, their speed dropped drastically. Su Min smirked. The meme reference aside, this wide-area time dilation ensured neither foe could flee. The cost? Immense energy expenditure.
"Now, prepare to die."
With a sharp inhale, Su Min lunged. In a blink, she appeared before the crane cultivator, her blade—imbued with Chaos—descending without flourish.
Crack!
A crisp shatter echoed as the slowed half-immortal watched helplessly. The strike cleaved his chest, Chaos energy seeping in.
The effects were evident—just observe the weakening elder on the other front.
Splat!
Blood sprayed mid-air, frozen in time as the crane cultivator hurtled backward.
"One down."
No time to pause. Su Min flashed before the tiger cultivator, her blade already arcing down.
"Time resumes!"
With Su Min's declaration, temporal stasis ended. Both half-immortals crashed earthward, vomiting blood before staggering aloft—faces etched with horror.
"Who... are you?"
Su Min rolled her eyes. "Just a passing Kamen Rider. Now face judgment."
If they insisted on dramatic questioning, she'd indulge their theatrics. Not out of arrogance—but because the Chaos Azure Lotus had already bloomed behind her.
The duo blanched. That aura promised absolute death—a causal inevitability. Among Su Min's myriad laws, causality demanded the least cost for guaranteed strikes.
"Heavenly Tiger Sundering Strike!"
"Nine Skies Crane Dance!"
As half-immortals, their combat instincts were impeccable. Instantly, they unleashed their ultimate techniques toward the lotus.
"Retreat!!!"
Tian Hao didn't hesitate. Slapping the injured elder away, he fled without a backward glance.
Others followed. They'd witnessed this in the fortress. Now, with Su Min at Mahayana middle stage? The blast radius would vaporize them.
Even the elder, belatedly sensing the apocalyptic energy, turned to flee—but too late.
"Where to, old man?"
Su Min's whisper ghosted behind him. She'd abandoned the lotus—its targets were already doomed.
Thunk!
Another strike sent the wounded half-immortal spiraling into the converging energies. No scream—just instant annihilation.
Then—
BOOM
A soundless explosion birthed a lotus spanning tens of thousands of kilometers, capable of shattering planets. Deep within the Nether Prison's core, the warden's eyes snapped open.
"What energy is this?! Not immortal-tier, yet... threatening?!"
Worse—the final altar had shattered. With all four supports gone, the entire dimension began collapsing.
"Done already? You leveled the fortress too?"
Tian Hao, dodging shockwaves, gaped at the destabilized region. Three half-immortal auras—gone. Su Min had soloed them.
"Fall back! Their plan failed. This world's collapsing—only the central pillar remains. We must leave."
Su Min dared not linger. As the dimension shrank, they'd be trapped facing the true immortal—a fight she wasn't ready for. Collecting the fractured souls, she bolted toward the exit.
"Everyone follow! The dimensional collapse weakens the exit restrictions—you can escape too!"
Tian Hao's group surged after her.
Outside—Dark Universe Core
"The Nether Prison's collapsing?! Did those idiots revolt and destroy the altars?!"
The true immortal panicked. With no communication, he assumed infighting among the half-immortals—possible, given inter-clan rivalries.
"Useless fools! But this might help..."
Channeling full power, the black sun above flared before extinguishing—its energy forcibly opening a tiny channel. A message shot through:
[Chaos Body spotted. Prophesied one emerged. Prepare Zhexian Curse.]
The warden's face drained of color.
"A Chaos Body?! Impossible! Our ancestors ensured their extinction!"
Now he understood that anomalous attack. Normally, clear and turbid energies couldn't coexist—they drove beings mad or turned them into puppets.
Yet that strike harmonized both perfectly. Only one explanation existed: the Chaos Body had returned.
"If I'd known, I'd have intervened personally!"
But it was too late. The attacker had escaped.
"Cease reinforcements. I must warn the clans immediately."
The Zhexian Curse—their only recourse. Past tragedies and future omens demanded the Chaos Body's eradication, whatever the cost.