Deep inside the mine tunnels, Yan Bai and Yan Hei moved in silence.
"It's good that we found some crimson rubies here—and they're becoming more frequent the deeper we go into the mine," Yan Hei said quietly.
But Yan Bai's tone was low and cautious. "Even so, I'm not sensing any demonic Qi signature. And that's not something we can just overlook. A demonic beast's Qi presence can't be mistaken, especially not when crimson rubies are around as proof of its existence."
He paused, his eyes scanning the dark ahead. "If we're not sensing it… that means either the beast is one that can completely conceal itself and its Qi fluctuations—or worse… it's far away and still powerful enough to influence the Azure Crystals from a distance. That would mean it's at least a Rank Two beast, or higher."
Yan hei's expression darkened. "And you know in our current state, the best we can handle is a high-stage Rank One. Maybe a peak-stage if we had prep time and knew every detail about it. But right now… we don't."
Yan Bai then said, "You're right. I think it's best we retreat—and take as many crimson rubies with us as we can. This mission is far more dangerous than we thought. We can't stay here."
Without another word, the twins moved fast, fingers nicking their skin as drops of blood splashed over the dull crystals. The moment crimson touched the azure, the rubies shimmered to life, shifting hue like awakening embers. In minutes, they had collected over twenty-five rubies, stuffing them into their pouches with hurried breaths and tense hands.
"Let's get out," Yan Hei muttered.
They turned and navigated the narrow, dark tunnels, trying to retrace their steps back toward the upper shafts of the mine—but after a few turns, their instincts screamed.
Footsteps. Fast, deliberate. Getting closer.
The twins halted immediately, dropping low. Their hands hovered near their blades, unsure if they should attack, run, or vanish.
But it was too late.
From the other side of the bend, two figures emerged into the dim torchlight—Xie Lang, fists clenched, his face a mixture of disbelief and growing rage. Beside him was Zeng Shiyang, his eyes narrowing with realization.
"Wait?!" Xie Lang growled, stunned for a heartbeat at the sight of the two.
There was no time for words. The twins didn't hesitate.
"Twin Serpent Art—Third Stage: Venomous Strike!"
Their blades moved like vipers in a synchronized spiral, wind whistling as poison gathered along the steel edges. The venom shimmered faintly with a violet sheen, barely visible—lethal even on a graze.
Xie Lang's body tensed. His fists hardened, skin turning grey and grainy then turned a deep glowing red, heat rolling off them in waves. He struck forward with a brutal sweep, colliding with the twins' blades. Sparks burst from the impact, and a poisonous hiss filled the air.
Yan Hei twisted mid-air, his blade curving upward like a snake's fang, narrowly missing Xie Lang's shoulder. Yan Bai struck low, aiming for the thigh—but Xie Lang spun backward, avoiding it by an inch and countered with a fiery punch that cracked the stone wall behind the twins.
Meanwhile, Zeng Shiyang stepped in. His massive axe tore from his pouch in a flash of silver light, cleaving toward Yan Bai with such force the air split.
Clang!
Yan Bai blocked with both blades, but the sheer force sent him skidding backward, boots grinding against the stone.
Yan Hei shouted, "Bai!"
But Xie Lang was already in front of him, fist raised and glowing like molten iron. He struck—Yan Hei ducked—then retaliated with a sweeping slice that nicked Xie Lang's arm.
The poison hissed on contact. Xie Lang winced but didn't retreat. Instead, he surged forward, ignoring the pain, launching a barrage of punches, each one heavy and burning with rising heat.
Zeng Shiyang took the opportunity to pursue Yan Bai again, his axe flowing like a river despite its weight, smashing downward. Yan Bai evaded with a backflip, landing beside his twin. Their blades briefly locked as they touched wrists.
"Second Coil!" Yan Bai whispered.
Their movements accelerated, footwork becoming unpredictable and wild.
"Don't let them control the flow," Zeng Shiyang grunted, stepping shoulder to shoulder with Xie Lang.
The air in the tunnel was thick with killing intent now, venom and heat mixing, weapons flashing in tight spaces.
And the fight had only just begun.
Somewhere deep within the heart of the quaking forest, the land was being torn apart.
Massive fissures split the earth. Tremors cracked ancient trunks like brittle bones. A golden haze hovered over the battlefield, thick with bloodlust and Qi so dense it made the air ripple.
Lu Heng charged like a monster unbound.
Gone was the disciplined stance of a martial artist. Now he was hunched low, snarling, sometimes galloping on all fours like a predator on the hunt. His body was veined with golden threads of energy, his eyes gleaming with primal fire, and from his lips stretched a cruel, curved smile — the exact grimace depicted in old paintings of the Golden Carnage, the ancient beast his technique mirrored.
Each movement was laced with brutal instinct, his attacks wild yet precise. Trees shattered in his wake. Soil erupted as his claws raked across the battlefield.
Jiang Wuyu stood firm, his massive blade slung across his shoulder, obsidian hair trailing behind him like a flag in the storm. A thin cut dripped crimson across his jaw, but his grip was steady, his golden pupils calm — almost amused.
"You really do have a complete technique you have the second stage of the transformation technique," he muttered, and then he moved.
Their clash was apocalyptic.
Lu Heng lunged with a spiraling claw strike cloaked in bestial Qi, the shape of a lion's open maw manifesting behind him. Jiang Wuyu swept his massive blade in a wide arc, parrying the blow with a thunderous clang that cracked the air itself.
Shockwaves tore through the forest.
Lu Heng struck again, flipping midair, landing low, and pouncing with devastating momentum. Jiang Wuyu met him blow for blow — but with every step back, he left behind a faint, sickly purple mist from his body. The mist slithered through the debris, poisonous Qi designed to invade through breath and wounds.
Lu Heng's Qi pulsed outward violently to keep the mist at bay, but even he began to twitch — the poison was slowing his heart rate, dulling his edges.
Jiang Wuyu noticed.
He pressed forward with an overhead slash, then a rising crescent arc, then a stab straight into the earth—triggering a blast of toxic thorns to erupt around Lu Heng from below, a technique known as Venomroot Spiral. Lu Heng leapt clear just in time, but his shoulder was nicked — and purple veins began spreading from the wound.
Lu Heng's response was fury.
He dropped his stance entirely and roared, Qi erupting in a beastly dome around him. The ground cratered. The air screamed.
Then he launched his Golden Maul Pounce, dashing on all fours with a blurred afterimage, claws cloaked in Qi shaped like a tiger's maw. He struck with raw, destructive force — and Jiang Wuyu met it head-on.
He poured all his Qi into his next technique "rank 2 low tier technique: Poisonous Blooming Fang" —a slash imbued with condensed toxin and brute strength, the blade singing as it split the world before it.
The two collided.
A deafening boom cracked outward. Light and Qi exploded in a column so blinding it turned night into day.
The impact hurled both of them backward, their bodies crashing through trees, boulders, and ravines, flying in opposite directions like stars flung from a shattered sky. When they hit the ground, the entire forest shook — the quake flattening everything in a hundred-meter radius.
One-tenth of the forest was left in ruin.
Crushed trees. Deep trenches. Pools of steaming poison. Scorch marks and broken roots stretching to the horizon. The air sizzled with residual Qi. What was once a lush wilderness had become a graveyard of shattered power.
From the wreckage, Jiang Wuyu pushed himself up, swaying.
He spat out blood, staring across the desolation where Lu Heng lay still, but breathing.
"He's still as sharp and skilled as he was before…" Jiang muttered, panting hard, his body trembling. "More sadistic and barbaric, yes—but more focused too."
He coughed, wiping blood and grime from his face. "I don't think I'll be able to defeat him if I keep trying to conserve Qi… not while I still need to face the demonic beast."
He narrowed his eyes toward the north, where he felt another pressure closing in — steady, authoritative, and terrifying.
"…And if he really did call Lu Zhenhai, then that one won't take long before he arrives either."
He glanced down at the vial inside his spacial ring— a contingency, one last poison he hadn't used yet.
His grip tightened around it.
"Maybe it's time I stop trying to win…"
He stood, bones aching, eyes gleaming with cold intent.
"…and start trying to finish this by other means."