At the edge of the city, in a desolate wasteland—
Lu Jun listened to Bi Jiang's arrogant words, his face expressionless. Fine words meant nothing; true skill was proven only by one's hands.
Buzz, buzz, buzz! Without uttering a single word, he struck first. His pupils glimmered with a black-red brilliance, as terrifying Cursed energy surged. The skies above this region darkened, the gates of the underworld pried open, and a chilling gale roared.
Countless black-red spider threads fell from the heavens, weaving into layer upon layer until the entire world seemed bound by curses, rushing in from all directions to entrap Bi Jiang.
At the same time, a sinister screeching echoed—swarms of Blood Abyss Evil Spiders, each the size of an adult human, crawled down along those endless threads. Even a single one of these spiders rivaled a Servant-level creature!
In an instant, Lu Jun had cast Evil Spider Trap, Level 4, and under the empowerment of the near-Heaven-Seed level curse material Blood Abyss, its power bore the illusion of an underworld descending upon the earth.
Though Lu Jun had invested little effort into his Curse Element since the Ancient Capital, it had been subtly nurtured by the White Tiger Pendant and the Ancient King's Armor Robe, quietly advancing by leaps and bounds.
Moreover, during his Dream Return to the Incan era, he had briefly liberated the overflowing power of the Underworld Throne, pushing his Curses to the verge of Level Three High-Tier.
It was highly likely this would be the first of his magic systems to break into High-Tier Level 3 before the World College Tournament—making him the rightful first place in cultivation among them all.
Chi-chi-chi!
Bi Jiang was startled by the sheer might of this spell. He hastily attempted to evade, his shadow darting like a bat through the gaps in the web. Yet within only a few breaths, the space around him was sealed shut, leaving no room to hide.
"Dominion of the Night: Dark Mire!"
Seeing there was nowhere left to run, Bi Jiang suddenly stood firm, his expression solemn. His black robe flared wide, as suffocating shadow mist burst out, making the barren ground beneath seem to melt into shadowy sludge.
A vast black swamp spread outward, covering hundreds of meters, permeated with suffocating darkness. Countless shadowy arms extended upward, ripping apart the endless black-red spider threads.
Bi Jiang's body melted into black sludge, merging into the vast swamp beneath him. The countless Blood Abyss Evil Spiders chasing after him fell into the mire one by one, only to vanish soundlessly into nothingness.
Lu Jun instantly recognized this spell. It was Shadow Element, High-Tier Level 2—a Domain. Such a Domain wasn't something ordinary magic could contend with, and within it, all Shadow spells gained amplification.
At this moment, Bi Jiang seized home-field advantage, his confidence swelling. His ethereal voice echoed from every direction:
"Young man, tell me—where did your Space Element come from?"
"To think you possess not only three elements but a fourth as well. Reveal the secret, and I may yet spare your life."
From the tone, Bi Jiang seemed to wander about him from every direction, but his true position was elusive.
Lu Jun only sneered. This was a typical trick of his opponent—using language and environment to apply pressure, to obscure his true talents.
But stripped bare, his so-called "chaos" was nothing more than the combination of Shadow + Chaos Elements, reversing up and down, right and wrong. Once seen through, it was hardly impressive. That was why Chaos was regarded as mere "parlor tricks."
Bi Jiang, seeing Lu Jun unmoved, wasn't surprised. His words carried a second intent—to draw Lu Jun's attention away.
"I've been dragging him along long enough… Nightshade's Dark Infection should be nearly complete. Time to end this."
His eyes glowed with sinister light as he silently activated another Shadow spell.
Buzz, buzz, buzz!
Suddenly, behind Lu Jun, his shadow writhed, drinking in vast quantities of dark energy. It swelled taller and taller—soon over twenty meters high—taking a humanoid shape, pitch-black, with two grotesque giant axes clutched in its claws.
It was a Shadow Ghoul Vassal, looming like a small mountain. With a cold, sinister laugh, it rested one massive axe against its host's delicate neck.
And yet—Lu Jun seemed unaware. The scene was truly nightmarish.
Jie-jie-jie!
As the Ghoul Vassal laughed soundlessly, Bi Jiang's hidden grin declared victory already won.
But in that very instant, a pale, translucent hand reached out from the void, seizing the Ghoul's axe-wielding arm.
A tall, graceful white-robed female specter emerged, her amber eyes glowing brilliantly as she locked her gaze upon the Commander-level Ghoul.
Chi-chi-chi!
Her Medusa's Eyes ignited, releasing a flood of gray-white radiance across the Ghoul's form. Terrifying petrification surged outward, freezing the Ghoul inch by inch into stone.
At last, Lu Jun's lips curled into a smile. He knew the abilities of the Dark Infection—Nightshade all too well.
First, the Dark Infection itself. It parasitically infests a target without their awareness, serving as both a tracking and positioning method—almost impossible to detect or dispel. Mo Fan had relied on it until the very peak of the Super Tier.
Second, once the infection reaches a certain degree, it can be detonated, manifesting as a shadow ghost to strike a fatal blow—very similar to Lu Jun's own Blood Abyss Curse Seal, where accumulated marks burst forth in destruction.
But against him—such tricks were far from absolute.
With his Psychic Element's Sincerity and the Ancient King's Armor Robe, Lu Jun could faintly sense to what extent Dark matter had infected him. If he was willing to pay a price, he could even forcibly purge it—for instance, by lightly releasing the Imaginative Power contained within the Ancient King's Armor Robe.
The truth was, he had deliberately allowed Nightshade to take hold. He wanted to gather the Nightshade substance, hand it over to Old Feng for refinement, and then gift it to Tang Yue and Ding Yumian—
Both of whom possessed the Shadow Element.
As for Mo Fan, when the time came, he could simply mention it to him—sell it for money and be done with it. After all, Mo Fan had also spent several billion enhancing it in the first place.
And there was no need to worry about quantity. In essence, Nightshade was a type of summonable entity, capable of reproducing by consuming souls.
Inside the Dominion of the Night, Bi Jiang stared in shock at this scene, unease gnawing at him. One of his greatest methods, Nightshade, had been rendered useless. All he had left was the strange and elusive power of Chaos Shadow, and he wasn't sure if it was enough to handle Lu Jun.
"Hehehe, so you can block the Ghoul Vassal… but you still can't stop me."
Bi Jiang quickly calmed himself, decisively unleashing his innate talent. His figure blurred and shifted unpredictably. In the blink of an eye, he appeared on Lu Jun's left, a black blade slashing outward.
Yet just as the strike neared Lu Jun's body from the left, it twisted—and stabbed from the right instead.
Puchi!
Lu Jun was completely unharmed. Around him, Water Barrier flowed in protection, the Black Serpent Armor clung to his body, and his Blood Fiend Aspect overlapped in layer after layer of defenses.
His tall frame stood atop the dark mire like an immovable mountain, exuding the majesty of antiquity. He even sneered:
"Flashy nonsense."
Bi Jiang, seeing this, was enraged with humiliation—yet in the very next breath, his fury gave way to panic.
Lu Jun's dual eyes lit—one with dark-silver brilliance, the other with a deep azure glow. His body slowly rose into the air, overlooking the swamp of shadows, his presence as solemn as a deity's. His voice resounded, low and commanding:
"Dispel the darkness—Realm of Light!"
Rumble!!
His words carried the weight of heavenly law, and the cosmos itself obeyed. Azure starlight surged in torrents, the sigil of the Li Flower shimmered, and a strange energy writhed as if magic itself were being overturned.
In that instant, Lu Jun's entire being became translucent, ascending into pure radiance. A flood of boundless light pierced the heavens, ripping apart all shadow. Darkness collapsed entirely as dazzling white brilliance engulfed the land, transforming everything into a world of pure light.
Every ray of light shone with absolute intensity. Every inch was immaculate.
"AAAHHHHHH!!"
Bi Jiang screamed in agony. His lone silhouette, a blot of shadow within the sea of white, appeared hideously out of place.
But Lu Jun wasn't finished. He called upon his long-prepared Time-Space Element, which at last bore fruit after patient cultivation.
He intoned solemnly:
"All distortion returns to eternal tranquility!"
Buzz! A dark-silver radiance swept outward from his body, rippling in countless concentric waves that blanketed the entire city.
The faintly twisted gray light that had lingered within the pure white world was smoothed out by those silver ripples. Its wrinkles vanished; it became flawless, serene, and whole—seemingly frozen within eternal space-time itself.
This was the exclusive Domain of the Space Element, named Chronos, and it marked Lu Jun's fifth High-level Domain.
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