While Ryn and the others were subduing Hiyokumaru, Kiana's group, guided by Fu Hua, finally made their way out of the maze.
Then they discovered they had entered another maze...
Finally, after traversing several mazes, they truly emerged.
Before them now was a golden longsword, suspended in mid-air.
Looking at the familiar patterns and style, Fu Hua told everyone that this was the Xuanyuan Sword.
"Does that mean these mazes were meant to protect this sword?"
Kiana asked curiously, but Fu Hua immediately denied it.
"No, these bagua mazes form something more like a superimposed seal. They are sealing the Xuanyuan Sword."
"Sealing? But isn't the Xuanyuan Sword Ji Lin's personal sword? Why seal the sword here after Ji Lin sealed Chiyou?" Mei was puzzled by Fu Hua's words. What was so special about a sword that it needed to be sealed?
Kiana tried to reach out and touch the Xuanyuan Sword but was blocked by an invisible barrier.
"Looks like this sword still has a mechanism blocking it, not letting us touch it. Never mind, let's go. Since the Xuanyuan Sword is here, Ji Lin probably isn't too far away."
Fu Hua stopped Kiana, who was about to leave, and said to them, "Don't be hasty, Kiana. This Xuanyuan Sword is also a type of Divine Key. We can't just leave it lost here. Let's solve the mechanism and take it with us. We need more Divine Keys to fight the Honkai."
The 10th Divine Key, the Keys of Domination. This was the Divine Key that Fu Hua was responsible for managing. In the past, Fu Hua had hundreds of Keys of Domination in her possession. She bestowed them upon those with the ability to use them and was responsible for retrieving them after the user lost the qualification to wield them.
Although taking the Xuanyuan Sword might be disrespectful to Ji Lin, retrieving the Keys of Domination was Fu Hua's duty. Fu Hua felt that allowing the Xuanyuan Sword to shine once more in the hands of a successor would be the best tribute to Ji Lin.
Unfortunately, Ji Lin seemed very dissatisfied with Fu Hua's response...
After learning that the Xuanyuan Sword was a Divine Key, Kiana and the others also decided to take it with them. Through Bronya's analysis and Kiana's intuition, the group successfully found the key to the mechanism.
Not far from the Xuanyuan Sword stood three large statues of azure empyrea birds. These statues were quite different from the one Lianshan had carved outside; they were likely part of the mechanism left by Danzhu and Cangxuan, who sealed Chiyou.
Guided by Kiana's intuition, the group aimed the eyes of the azure empyrea bird statues at the location of the Xuanyuan Sword. When all three birds were looking at the sword, lasers shot out from their eyes, converging on the sword. Afterward, the invisible barrier gradually dissipated, and the Xuanyuan Sword fell from the air.
As the group was celebrating, an unexpected person appeared next to the Xuanyuan Sword...
Himeko woodenly picked up the Xuanyuan Sword, then reversed her grip and stabbed it straight into herself. The Xuanyuan Sword pierced through Himeko, and gushing blood stained the blade.
"Himeko!" "Teacher Himeko!"
Kiana and Mei watched this scene in disbelief, frantically running towards Himeko to try and save her.
Watching Kiana and the others run towards her, Himeko tilted her head, looked at them out of the corner of her eye, and revealed a chilling smile.
Then she pulled the Xuanyuan Sword out of her chest. As the sword was removed, the wound on Himeko's chest healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Kiana, Mei, Bronya, Fu Hua..."
Himeko called out their names one by one, then swung the sword through the air, sending out waves of sword energy slashing towards them.
"Danger!" Fu Hua immediately tackled Kiana and Mei to the ground, dodging a wave of sword energy. But after one, there were many more...
"Project Bunny!" Bronya stood in front of everyone, summoning Project Bunny 19C to block Himeko's continuous assault. "The Bronya has determined the danger level is extremely high. Entering level one combat readiness."
"It looks like Himeko is being controlled by that sword; otherwise, there's no reason for her to attack us." "Kiana's right. We need to get that sword away from her first so it can't keep influencing Himeko."
Kiana and Mei nodded at each other. They had fought together countless times and could understand each other's battle plan with just a glance.
And then it was over...
Bronya relied on Project Bunny 19C to get in front of Himeko, its massive size restricting Himeko's stance. Fu Hua seized the opportunity to find an opening, struck Himeko's wrist, and knocked the Xuanyuan Sword out of her hand.
As soon as the sword left her hand, Himeko lost consciousness and collapsed. Mei rushed forward to support her, while Kiana kicked the Xuanyuan Sword aside, far away from everyone.
"Uh... okay, looks like Mei and I didn't do much."
"This is not the time to discuss that. The Bronya detects that Himeko's vital signs are very weak. We must leave this place as soon as possible for treatment. Otherwise, with her current life force, she might not last half a day..."
"I'll call Ryn and the others for support right now. Let's get out of here first," Kiana said, quickly trying to contact Ryn, but the signal was cut off. "Damn it, there's no signal here. We need to get Himeko out of here, now."
"Leave? No, no, no, you ants from Schicksal aren't going anywhere. I've already cut off your communications. Don't expect them to come and support you."
At that moment, Sin Mal, who had been secretly following them from nearby, emerged. With Sin Mal's appearance, many Anti-Entropy tactical mechas were quantum-teleported to their location.
Seeing Sin Mal appear out of nowhere, Fu Hua, Mei, and the others immediately assumed a combat stance, while Bronya used Project Bunny 19C to protect herself and Himeko.
Kiana, however, retrieved the Xuanyuan Sword that she had knocked away. At this point, everyone knew that Sin Mal had come for the Xuanyuan Sword.
"Tsk~" Seeing the Xuanyuan Sword in Kiana's hand, Sin Mal clicked her tongue in annoyance, then said to Bronya, "You're surrounded, Bronya! Hand over the Xuanyuan Sword!"
Faced with Sin Mal's threat, Bronya remained silent, calculating the combat disparity between their side and the enemy. But Bronya couldn't gauge Sin Mal's strength, nor did she know how many tactical mechas Sin Mal had brought.
Bronya knew about quantum teleportation technology. She used to frequently lure people in alone, and once they took the bait, she would summon a large number of mechas to surround them. Except for the one time she failed against Kiana and the others, she had almost always achieved a crushing victory.