Lianhua looked at the unconscious lizard.
Then at the fox.
"Good," she said softly.
A faint smile touched her lips—cool, almost pleased.
"It saves me the trouble."
Golden Core qi surged around her body. The pressure thickened, turning the air viscous and heavy, as though the heavens themselves had grown dense.
"Now I can end you both at once."
Her fingers formed a seal.
Spiritual light gathered above her palm. Layers of compressed energy folded inward upon themselves, spiraling tighter and tighter, building toward a single catastrophic release.
The fox watched quietly.
"Sorry," it said.
"But we won't be staying for you to finish that."
The talisman before it began to rise.
"If we remain any longer… things might become dangerous."
Its eyes held no mockery now.
Only calculation.
"Life-risking."
The talisman slowly turned.
Lianhua's eyes narrowed at once.
She recognized it immediately.
The same talisman the fox had purchased at the auction.
A spatial transit talisman.
Her thoughts sharpened.
It's preparing to leap through space.
She could not allow that.
Without hesitation, she lunged forward. Golden Core power detonated beneath her feet as she crossed the distance in a flash, the ground shattering in her wake.
The fox's gaze met hers steadily.
"Fellow Daoist," it called evenly,
"Our encounter has cost me more losses than any other in my entire life."
The talisman ignited.
Spatial lines unfolded across its surface like cracks of light spreading across glass.
"I hope our paths never cross again."
Space began to warp violently around both the fox and the lizard. The air twisted, bending inward, reality folding upon itself in unstable spirals.
"And to ensure that…"
A faint, resolute smile returned to the fox's lips.
"I won't be leaving any traces behind."
Lianhua closed the final distance.
Her technique descended.
At that exact moment—
The talisman detonated.
A violent spatial explosion erupted outward, shredding the surrounding air into fragments of distorted light.
Brilliance swallowed everything.
The fox and the lizard vanished.
At the same instant—
Her attack struck.
Boom.
The collision tore through the land once more, rending earth and sky alike. Shockwaves split the ground into jagged chasms as the heavens trembled under the clash of Golden Core power and collapsing space.
When the light finally faded—
There was nothing.
No fox.
No lizard.
No lingering aura she could lock onto.
Only chaotic, shredded space slowly knitting itself back together in thin, invisible seams.
Lianhua hovered in the air, her sleeves fluttering in the dying winds.
Her eyes were cold.
And for the first time since the battle had begun—
There was nothing left within her sight.
---
The shattered land gradually stilled.
Fragments of broken rock settled. The last tremors faded into silence.
Space mended itself in delicate, imperceptible lines.
Lianhua remained suspended in the sky, unmoving.
Her gaze swept across the empty horizon.
Nothing.
No aura.
No fluctuation.
No trace.
Her fingers curled slowly at her side.
"They're too dangerous."
Her voice was low now. No longer calm. No longer indifferent.
"To cross paths with one…"
A faint tremor rippled outward as Golden Core pressure leaked unconsciously from her body, causing the air to quiver.
"And allow it to escape from my grasp."
Her jaw tightened.
"It stood before me."
"It calculated against me."
"It walked away."
Her eyes darkened further.
"I cannot allow that."
The memory replayed within her mind—the illusions layered upon illusions, the careful deception, the destruction of the tracking talismans, the spatial jump prepared beneath her very perception.
She had been maneuvered.
Not defeated.
But maneuvered.
And that alone was intolerable.
"They grow too quickly."
"They think too far ahead."
"If given time…"
Her gaze sharpened toward the distant point where space had torn open.
"They will become a threat no one can suppress."
The wind lifted her sleeves gently, but the coldness around her only deepened.
"I will find them."
There was no hesitation in her voice.
"No matter where they hide."
Her aura slowly settled inward once more, restrained and controlled—but the killing intent remained, coiled and unwavering.
"They will not be allowed to live any longer."
Silence reclaimed the ruined battlefield.
But this time, it carried a killing intent that would not fade.
---
Space twisted violently—
Then snapped back into place.
The fox and the lizard crashed onto solid ground.
The fox staggered the moment its paws touched earth. Its legs buckled, and it coughed violently.
Blood splattered across the dirt.
Its vision swam. Its limbs trembled uncontrollably before it forced itself upright through sheer will.
"Where…"
It swallowed, throat thick with blood.
"Where are we?"
The surroundings were unfamiliar—sparse trees scattered across uneven terrain, jagged rocks rising from dry soil. No immediate aura signatures stirred the air.
It exhaled shakily.
"It doesn't matter."
"As long as we're far from her."
It pressed a paw against its chest.
It felt as though its organs were being crushed together, twisted by invisible hands.
The aftershock of that final collision had followed them through the spatial rupture. Even with the talisman's protection, the backlash had not been insignificant.
"If I had taken one more attack like that…"
It let out a weak, humorless huff.
"I might not have survived."
The fox glanced down at the charred remnants of talisman paper still clinging to its fur.
"Good thing I bought that special talisman at the auction."
Despite the blood staining the corner of its mouth, its lips curved faintly.
"So it was meant for this moment."
For a brief second, it closed its eyes.
"To survive a Golden Core cultivator who truly intended to kill me…"
A quiet breath slipped from between its teeth.
"It seems Heaven was on my side."
Its gaze shifted to the unconscious lizard, still enclosed within the protective barrier.
Before activating the talisman, it had acted decisively.
The blood-tracking seals—
It had destroyed two of them.
Cleanly.
Completely.
It had made certain of it.
"It worked."
Its voice was softer now, drained but steady.
"I eliminated the tracking talismans before jumping."
It lifted its gaze toward the sky.
"I just hope that was all she prepared."
A brief pause.
"Because if she has more…"
Its tail twitched faintly against the dirt.
"Things will become troublesome."
It had left no blood behind.
No aura imprint.
No stable spatial residue that could be reconstructed.
"I didn't leave her anything she could use to create another."
Its breathing gradually steadied as the chaos within its body slowly calmed.
"So I hope…"
A faint, weary smile appeared.
"She doesn't have any more prepared."
The fox carefully lowered itself to the ground beside the lizard.
Alive.
Barely.
But alive.
And for now—
That was enough.