The black seawater struck the reefs repeatedly, kicking up bursts of salty, foul mist.
Jiang Li carried the unconscious Cang Yaochen through the jagged rocks, with A-Mu following behind holding a broken longblade. A-Mu's mechanical arm sparked with tiny bursts of electricity due to the previous tremors, making a piercing, creaking sound.
"The pursuers are closing in," A-Mu whispered.
Jiang Li glanced back. Dozens of golden sword-lights were piercing through the black mist on the distant sea. They were the enforcement teams from the Central Province Holy Lands, their sacred auras exceptionally eye-catching in the darkness.
Jiang Li stopped and set Cang Yaochen down, propping him against a massive black reef.
Cang Yaochen had not yet woken. Although his left wrist had been roughly bandaged, purple blood still seeped through the cloth. Due to the pain-sharing bond, Jiang Li could clearly sense his current state. His sea of consciousness was a mess, with the originally peaceful True Buddha persona locked in a struggle against the obsessive Love God persona.
Most importantly, the peach blossom illusion restrictions Cang Yaochen had cast before losing consciousness had not fully vanished. Ghostly images of peach blossoms occasionally flickered in the surroundings, indicating his soul was still trapped within that false dream.
"A-Mu, guard the cave entrance," Jiang Li commanded.
A-Mu glanced at the unconscious Cang Yaochen, then gripped his blade and walked toward the entrance of the rock formation.
Jiang Li looked down at her palm. Resting there was the first fragment of the Chaos Jade, which she had seized when the illusion fractured. The fragment was pitch-black, radiating a chilling aura.
She stared at Cang Yaochen, her mind flooded with images from her returning memories. She remembered him by the Spirit Spring, and she remembered his intimidation in the temple when they first met.
"Cang Yaochen, since you love playing with pain-sharing, let's play for higher stakes."
Jiang Li's right hand gripped the sharp fragment of the Seeking Mystery Mirror. Her left hand abruptly tore open the collar of her red wedding dress, revealing the position of her heart.
She did not hesitate.
Exerting force with her right hand, Jiang Li drove the pitch-black fragment deep into her own chest.
The sound of the blade piercing flesh rang out in the silent reef cave. Intense agony surged through her entire body.
"Ugh!"
Across from her, Cang Yaochen's eyes snapped open.
His body convulsed violently as he jerked up from the reef before slamming back down. His hands clawed desperately at the soil beneath him, his fingernails cracking. Because of the pain-sharing bond, the sensation of being torn apart from the inside made him let out a beast-like howl.
"Li... 'er..."
Cang Yaochen's pupils began to contract rapidly. The purple light in his left eye and the clarity in his right eye flickered frantically.
Enduring the agonizing pain, Jiang Li pushed the fragment an inch deeper. Blood flowed through her fingers, staining the red silk over her chest.
"Wake up!" Jiang Li screamed at him.
With that cry, the Turbid Qi of the Evil God within Jiang Li erupted completely. The black aura followed the invisible chain of fate, crashing into Cang Yaochen's sea of consciousness.
Under this extreme stimulation of pain, the final trace of the illusion restrictions Cang Yaochen had constructed collapsed.
Cang Yaochen threw his head back and cried out as the Buddha mark on his brow shattered completely, revealing a blood-colored trace. His heavy pupils regained their calm in an instant; the obsessive Love God persona was finally suppressed, and the True Buddha persona reawakened.
He gasped for air, trembling as he looked up to see Jiang Li before him. Her face was deathly pale, the black jade fragment embedded in her chest as blood pooled on the ground.
"You..." Cang Yaochen's voice was hoarse.
He wanted to reach out to help her, but as soon as he moved, the piercing pain made him nearly lose consciousness again. Whatever weight of injury Jiang Li suffered, he had to endure the same measure of suffering.
"Are you awake now?" Jiang Li pulled the fragment out and threw it to the ground. She pressed her hand over the wound; due to her Evil God physique, the bleeding was slowly coming to a halt.
Cang Yaochen watched her, his gaze filled with horror and heartache.
"Monk Cang," Jiang Li stared into his eyes. "I'll leave the outside to you."
Cang Yaochen lowered his head, gritting his teeth hard.
Just then, A-Mu's voice came from outside: "Master, Miss Jiang, they've broken in!"
Golden sword-light already illuminated the cave entrance. The commander of the Holy Land enforcement team was leading a dozen men through the rocks.
"Evil God remnant, prepare to die!"
A massive sword-glint split the obstructing reefs, heading straight for Jiang Li. Currently in a weakened state, Jiang Li watched the sword-glint approach without moving.
Cang Yaochen stepped in front of Jiang Li. This time, he did not use Buddhist arts, but directly channeled the suppressed, bloodthirsty aura of the Mara within him.
He swung his sleeve violently. A burst of violet-black light shattered the sword-glint, and the shockwave sent the foremost Holy Land enforcers flying.
Cang Yaochen stood tall. Though his hands were still shaking, his overwhelming presence had returned.
"Begone."
He spoke only a single word. The Holy Land commander halted his steps, feeling a sudden surge of fear as he looked into Cang Yaochen's blood-tinted pupils. This was entirely different from the compassionate True Buddha described in their intelligence.
"Cang Yaochen, you dare slaughter your Holy Land comrades for an Evil God?" the commander shouted sternly.
Cang Yaochen said nothing; he took a step back, shielding Jiang Li. He glanced back at the wound on Jiang Li's chest, then looked at his own blood-stained hands.
"A-Mu, take her and go."
Cang Yaochen gave the order in a low voice. He knew that this strike to Jiang Li's heart had completely severed all his paths of retreat.
Jiang Li looked at his back. She could feel that in that moment, the aura within him felt familiar to her.
"I'm not leaving." Jiang Li stood up and walked to Cang Yaochen's side, standing shoulder to shoulder with him.
"You have to repay me; this debt has not yet been settled."
Jiang Li gripped the fragment as the Turbid Qi in her body began to surge through her meridians. Cang Yaochen was taken aback for a moment, then gave a bitter smile: "Fine. We'll settle it slowly."
Inside the black reef cave, the aura of the Evil God intertwined with the demonized Buddhist Qi.