Chun Xi's surprise at the Lunar Umbrella's revelation was genuine, but the urgency of the situation quickly brought her back to reality: — 'You said 'force the teleportation to the city'? Does that mean you can control the destination of the teleportation?!'
As she spoke, she was already moving, while the light from the spiritual lamp and the Lunar Umbrella illuminated the dark tunnel, approaching Lin Xu, who remained unconscious a few steps away.
— 'The word is 'attempt'. I can induce a specific destination in space, similar to how the [Star Detection] works! But how close we get to the destination... depends on luck!'
— 'Even so, the ability gains a new layer of utility... And I feel relieved with you here! At least we won't be trapped.' — As she finished the sentence, she reached Lin Xu's side: — 'What do we do with him? Can you teleport both of us?'
— 'Perhaps... but I can't guarantee it will be safe. Trying to move him in this state might harm him.' — he concluded, the uncertainty clear in his voice.
Tang Chun Xi pondered. Leaving him behind was out of the question.
With a swift motion, she set down the spiritual lamp she was carrying and activated a 2nd-level protection formation disk from her ring, placing it on the ground beside him: — 'Let's look for an exit first. If it's safe, I'll take him with me!'
She began to walk carefully toward the only obvious exit: the imposing door at the end of the corridor: — 'Again, the luxury of this construction is on another level.' — she commented, observing the cracked walls and floor: — 'What a shame. To be next to the Scale-Sandstone, the material of these walls shouldn't be inferior...'
Finally, she reached the door.
She took a deep breath, prepared for the worst, and pushed it. The door gave way with surprising ease. The moment it opened, revealing a soft light, the Umbrella broke the silence:
— 'They are night pearls... so large!' — His voice relieved some of the tension she felt.
Still cautious, she peered through the doorway: — 'I expected a coffin... but this is better... I think!' — she commented, relieved to see a practically empty round room, with only a stone table in the center.
— 'Master, there's something on the table! And... I feel something strange in this room... An illusion, perhaps!'
Tang Chun Xi didn't sense any real danger, but she felt a conflict between caution and the growing anxiety. She hesitated, but in the end, she gave in to anxiety, trying to be as cautious as possible. And with hesitant, yet firm steps, she entered!
It was at that moment that the incident happened. The door behind her closed with a dull thud!
Before she could react, a light leaped from the table, transforming into a golden beam that crossed the room in an instant and struck her forehead. The object that contained the light shattered upon impact.
— 'MASTER!' — shouted the Umbrella, and without hesitation, it transformed into a ray of light, plunging into her mind.
Tang Chun Xi's body froze, appearing to become an immobile statue under the pale light of the night pearls.
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Inside her consciousness, chaos reigned: — 'What was that?!' — she asked in a panic, trying to find the intruder.
— 'I don't know, Master! I didn't sense any danger, I couldn't react in time!'
Before anxiety could consume her, the Harmonic Matrix of Chaos, the jade book in the depths of her being, reacted. It glowed intensely, and like a hungry mouth, it devoured the golden light.
— BOOM!
Chun Xi's consciousness was sucked into a void of darkness. The Umbrella's voice sounded distant: — 'Master, can you hear me...' — before being cut off. The black veil tore, and she found herself floating high in the sky, surrounded by a sea of furiously churning clouds.
A symphony of destruction echoed in the distance, obscured by the immensity of the surrounding clouds. But amidst the turmoil, glimpses were vaguely visible...
The clash of river-sized blades, the burst of thunder that split the firmament, the sound of space itself tearing. An immense heat seemed to consume the world and her mind; her soul also seemed about to be consumed.
— 'Where am I?! Lunar Umbrella?!' — Her voice was swallowed by the chaos and the heat. Her mind worked frantically, reaching the only conclusion that chilled her spine but gave her momentary relief: 'An illusion... a memory...'
'Can't I have some peace?!' — she thought as she tried to mobilize her power, call her natal treasure... but nothing... If not for the connection she still felt...
Before she could act effectively, she began to plummet from the sea of clouds at high speed. The sounds of battle became deafening. Below her, a monumental reddish-orange light was consuming the clouds, and she was heading straight for it!!
Tang Chun Xi froze as she saw the source of the light, and the closer she got, the greater the heat and burning sensation she felt!! In moments, the only thing in her sight was the orange light that resembled an ocean of fire.
An oppressive feeling completely overwhelmed her being: 'I'm going to be incinerated!! This spiritual pressure and this heat... it's real!' — it felt like she would be evaporated directly before even reaching the orange immensity.
Fear, primitive and absolute, took hold of her. Before anything bad could happen, a pair of wings emerged from her back and covered her!
The wings were of a hypnotic silver-blue hue and were extremely realistic! They seemed to emit a silvery, icy aura that repelled the heat!
The sphere of fire passed by her, and the wings she hadn't noticed retracted, but the terror in her heart was genuine. If that were real, she would be dust before she could even think to react.
— BOOM!
The sounds dominated her, and the complete vision left her breathless. Her eyes seemed to sting as if they would be consumed with a glance, and from the depths of her heart, a feeling of admiration and reverence arose.
A colossal bird, whose feathers were made of pure condensed flame that shone in the tones of the five elements, danced in the skies. And with every beat of its wings, it released miniature suns that incinerated entire armies! A single name echoed in her mind, a legend from her previous world: Phoenix!
It fought alone against legions of demonic beings with twisted horns and bat wings.
She was pulled away, the speed increasing. She left the Phoenix behind and witnessed a serpentine being, covered in golden scales and with deer horns, tearing through the earth and the heavens. A Dragon!
It moved with the grace of a calligrapher and the fury of a storm, its bursts of power annihilating everything in its path.
Again, she moved, entering an area where space fragmented like glass. There, a being of incomprehensible proportions, a mix of fish and bird larger than continents, distorted reality with its mere presence. The Kun Peng.
She passed by gods of war, stone titans, elementals, plant-like beings, each with power capable of shaking worlds. And then, she saw her destination: a solitary mountain at the center of all the war. In seconds, she was at the top.
There, a middle-aged man with a goatee watched the war with a look of extreme fatigue and sorrow. — "This battle has lasted too long... And some have fallen, but..." — he sighed. His hands moved in complex seals, faster and faster, until they stopped abruptly: — "If they want to kill us... to end all of us, they are still far from it!"
— 'Now, it's time to end this era!' — With a sweep of his sleeve, the universe trembled. In front of him, a cosmic chessboard glowed. From his forehead, a familiar light emerged, making Chun Xi's soul tremble! It was the Harmonic Matrix of Chaos!
The book plunged into the chessboard, covering it with multicolored symbols that felt slightly familiar to her... Just one glance and her mind felt like it would be consumed! Sensing the danger, she looked away from the man.
The man raised his voice, and his proclamation seemed to echo through the very universe: — "Arise and awaken, World Inverted Matrix of Cause and Effect! Bring an end to the chaos and establish true order!!!"
In the distance, pillars of light surged in the locations where each being of incalculable power fought.
The pillars of light rose to the heavens, and fragmented, exploding in a pure wave... perhaps of absolute power... Perhaps something beyond mere power. She didn't know what it was, but she felt, once again, a slight familiarity...
Chun Xi, deeply shocked, saw the map on the board being swallowed, the entire universe reduced to a flat figure that was... consumed... hit... impacted.
Whatever it was awakened something... Tang Chun Xi felt insignificant, just as she did in her previous universe. Witnessing the inevitable, with no escape!
As she fought the sinister emotion rising in her mind, feeling the connection of the Lunar Umbrella and thinking: 'It's an illusion!!...' — so as not to lose control. That's when something happened. The power that seemed like it would consume everything had a reaction!
A terrifying silence covered all sounds! The firmament split, not in two, but into countless fragments. A primordial will, furious at being challenged, descended upon the mountain.
Tang Chun Xi felt an endless pressure wanting to destroy her will — 'I... have... already... been... through... worse' — her mind, her soul trembled. She couldn't see, but from her figure emerged the light of the five elements and a silvery one, holding her figure together and resisting such power!
The target was neither the ongoing formation nor the chessboard, but even so, the chessboard resisted for only a few seconds and collapsed, revealing the jade book that was the true target!
The book cracked and simply disappeared in a multicolored explosion that obscured everything!
The vision dissolved. The golden light in her soul had devoured, had merged with the Array.
— 'Master, are you okay?! Eh~... I felt an enormous power trying to destroy you!! Ahhhh~' — as soon as she emerged from the illusion, her mind was struck by the tearful concern of the Lunar Umbrella. Before she could recover to speak, he continued:
— 'I truly felt like I was going to lose you... Ahhhhh!!~' — Despite not yet being recovered, she wrapped her mind around him, transmitting comfort, but the little guy clung to her more and wouldn't stop acting as if he was crying.
She could feel his desperation and fear that went beyond just being a part of each other. And so she allowed herself to sit on the floor, comforting him in silence, just transmitting their emotions to each other.