The arrival of the apocalypse changed the stakes. The colossal, serpentine head of the Bakunawa surveyed the chaos in the ruined hall below, its gaze devoid of malice or intelligence. It was a creature of pure, cosmic instinct, and it was drawn to the two most potent sources of energy in the room: the celestial, divine light radiating from Lan Yue, and the chaotic, demonic Void energy pouring from the transformed Elder Feng.
Feng, in his madness, saw not an enemy, but an ally. "Yes!" he cackled, his arms thrown wide in welcome. "Come, great devourer! You have been summoned to cleanse this world of its weakness! Together, we will unmake it all!"
The Bakunawa responded to his dark energy by opening its maw and unleashing a torrent of pure, silent Void breath. Feng, realizing his mistake too late, barely managed to throw up a shield as the blast tore through the side of the hall, turning stone and cultivators alike into fine, grey dust.
They were caught in a three way war, and they were all going to die.
Unless Lan Yue acted. In that moment of absolute chaos, her mind was a sea of perfect, cold clarity. She turned to her former master, Jian an, and the other surviving, terrified sect leaders.
"This is no longer your fight," she commanded, her voice an unbreakable vow. "Get your people out of this city. Evacuate everyone you can. Hold the perimeter and pray. I will deal with these two."
The sect leaders, humbled and broken, saw not the traitor they had condemned, but the celestial prodigy who was now their only hope. They nodded and began a desperate, scrambling retreat.
Wei Chen, however, did not move. He stood at her side, his sword raised, his face a mask of grim atonement. "I will not abandon you again, Yue," he said, his voice steady for the first time in days. "My life is already forfeit for my foolishness. Let me use it to buy you time."
Lan Yue looked at him, at the last remnants of the honorable boy she had once known, and gave a single, sharp nod.
Her plan was insane. She couldn't fight both a demonic master and a cosmic horror at once. But she didn't have to. She just had to turn them against each other. The Bakunawa was a predator, and Feng was a massive, unstable, and utterly delicious meal of concentrated power.
"Wei Chen," she commanded, "keep the serpent's attention for as long as you can!"
She did not wait for his reply. She shot forward, her target not the giant beast, but the demonic Feng. Their blades clashed, celestial light against Void laced darkness. While they fought, she subtly, expertly, began to maneuver him across the ruined hall, pushing him, step by step, closer to the real threat.
Wei Chen, understanding her intent, fought his own desperate battle, launching brilliant, flashy sword techniques at the Bakunawa's colossal head. They were like bee stings to a mountain, but they were annoying enough to keep the beast's primary attention focused on him.
"Now!" Lan Yue screamed.
Wei Chen unleashed his most powerful attack, a brilliant, blazing phoenix of pure golden energy, directly at the Bakunawa's eye. The beast roared in annoyance, momentarily blinded, and in that single, vital second of distraction, Lan Yue acted.
She did not strike Feng. She poured all of her energy into a single, massive wave of pure, kinetic force. The blast of celestial power caught the demonic elder like a child's toy and sent him hurtling through the air, directly into the path of the recovering, enraged Bakunawa.
Feng screamed in terror and betrayal as he flew towards the cosmic horror he had helped unleash. The Bakunawa, its fated celestial prey momentarily forgotten, was now presented with a concentrated, unstable, and irresistible source of chaotic power.
It did what it was born to do.
It opened its mouth, a vortex of pure, silent nothingness, and with a single, soundless gulp, it consumed the screaming, demonic Elder Feng whole.
The effect was immediate. The Bakunawa, having devoured a meal of immense power, let out a low, rumbling groan of satisfaction. The violent, chaotic energy around it subsided. Its assault on the city paused. It was not defeated, but for now, it was sated.
Lan Yue and Wei Chen stood in the ruins, panting, watching the now temporarily placid beast. The immediate crisis was over.
Wei Chen fell to his knees, his sword clattering on the broken stones, the strength finally leaving him. "Yue," he choked out, tears of shame and grief streaming down his face. "I… I am so sorry."
Lan Yue looked down at him, her heart filled not with hatred, but with a profound, weary sadness. She then looked up at the colossal, silent serpent that was now her sole responsibility.
She raised the Whispering Stone, her hand trembling slightly from exertion, and sent a single, grim thought across the realms.
*The traitor is dead. The city is in ruins. The Bakunawa is here. The real war… is about to begin.*