The Time Eater's skeletal fingers flexed, and the very air around them thickened with temporal energy. The trees withered and regrew in rapid cycles, the ground beneath their feet aging centuries in seconds.
Zhou Xuan and his disciples stumbled back, their faces ashen. Even after a century of survival, facing this monster still terrified them to the core.
Yun Lintian, however, remained unmoved. He studied the Time Eater with detached interest.
"You've lived here for millennia," Yun Lintian observed. "Yet you still haven't found a way out."
The Time Eater's jaw creaked in what might have been a smile. "Why leave when this place provides endless... sustenance?" He gestured to the emaciated figures surrounding him—clearly former cultivators he'd corrupted.
Mei Ling gagged. "You... you turned them into your puppets!"
"They're happier this way," the Time Eater crooned. "No more fear. No more pain. Just... eternal service."
Yue Zhihe drew her sword, her stance firm despite the overwhelming pressure.
The Time Eater ignored her, his focus entirely on Yun Lintian. "You're different. Strong. Join me, and together we could rule these ruins."
Then Yun Lintian laughed.
It wasn't a mocking laugh or an angry one—just genuine amusement, as if he'd heard the most ridiculous joke.
The Time Eater stiffened. "You dare—"
Yun Lintian's laughter cut off abruptly. His eyes turned icy.
"Rule this trash heap? You really have gone mad."
He raised a single finger.
The Time Eater barely had time to scream before—
A pillar of golden light erupted from the sky, vaporizing the Time Eater and his minions instantly. The shockwave flattened the surrounding trees, leaving only a smoldering crater where the ancient monster had stood.
Zhou Xuan, Mei Ling, and Bai Xue stared at the scene, their minds blank with shock.
Qingqing clapped her hands. "Wow! Big Brother Yun is amazing!"
Linlin nodded sagely. "That skeleton guy talked too much."
Yun Lintian's eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at the empty crater where the Time Eater had stood moments before. The golden light of his attack still crackled in the air, but the skeletal figure was nowhere to be seen.
"No. He has escaped… Interesting." he said.
"He escaped?" Zhou Xuan gasped, his voice trembling. "But how? That attack should have—"
"He used the temporal energy of this place," Yun Lintian said calmly. "He merged with the distortions, slipping away before my strike landed."
Mei Ling and Bai Xue exchanged horrified glances. If even Yun Lintian's power couldn't instantly kill the Time Eater, how terrifying was that monster truly?
Yue Zhihe tightened her grip on her sword. "Senior Yun, if he can escape like that, does that mean he can come back at any time?"
Yun Lintian didn't answer immediately. Instead, he extended his divine sense, probing the surrounding space. The temporal distortions here were unlike anything he had encountered before—layers upon layers of fractured time, shifting unpredictably.
"He won't dare show himself again so soon," Yun Lintian finally said. "But he's watching."
A chill ran down Zhou Xuan's spine.
Linlin flicked her tail impatiently. "Big Brother Yun, let's just go! That skeleton guy is annoying!"
Qingqing nodded vigorously. "Yeah! He's stinky too!"
Yun Lintian glanced at Zhou Xuan. "Lead the way to the nearest safe zone."
Zhou Xuan swallowed hard and nodded. "R-Right! This way!"
With Zhou Xuan guiding them, the group moved deeper into the forest…
The tranquil surface of Mirror Lake shimmered under the eerie twilight of the ruins, reflecting not the sky above, but fragmented scenes of the past and future. The air here was thick with temporal energy, distorting the very fabric of reality.
Two figures stood at the lakeshore, their auras clashing violently—Xiong Yu and Nie Tong. Behind them, their disciples, Xiong Ba and Ling Xuan, glared at each other with undisguised hatred.
"Nie Tong," Xiong Yu sneered, his massive axe resting on his shoulder. "You humiliated my nephew in front of the entire Celestial City. Did you think I'd let that slide?"
Nie Tong's expression remained cold. "Your nephew is a dishonorable cur who deceived my disciple into a death match. If anything, I was too lenient."
Xiong Ba's face twisted with fury. "You old hag! I'll kill Ling Xuan myself today!"
Ling Xuan gripped her sword tightly, her knuckles white. "You couldn't kill me even when I was weakened. What makes you think today will be different?"
Xiong Yu chuckled darkly. "Enough talk. Nie Tong, let's settle this here."
Without another word, he swung his axe—a single, devastating motion that split the air itself.
Nie Tong's sleeves fluttered as she raised a hand, summoning a barrier of frost that intercepted the strike.
The impact sent shockwaves rippling across the lake's surface, distorting the reflections into chaotic swirls.
"Hmph." Nie Tong flicked her wrist, and a barrage of ice spears materialized, shooting toward Xiong Yu.
The Blood Axe Sect elder roared, his axe cleaving through the projectiles with brute force. "Is that all you've got?"
Nie Tong didn't respond. Instead, she weaved a series of hand seals, and the temperature around them plummeted. The lake's surface began to freeze, and jagged ice formations erupted from the ground, aiming to impale Xiong Yu.
Meanwhile, Xiong Ba lunged at Ling Xuan with a savage grin. "Yesterday, you got lucky. Today, I'll make sure you die screaming!"
Ling Xuan sidestepped his first strike, her sword flashing like silver lightning as she countered. The two clashed in a flurry of steel, sparks flying with each collision.
"You talk too much," Ling Xuan hissed, her blade grazing Xiong Ba's arm.
He snarled and retaliated with a brutal kick, sending her skidding back. "You're nothing without your master's protection!"
Just as Xiong Ba raised his axe for a killing blow—
A figure shot forward like a bolt of lightning, intercepting Xiong Ba's strike with a resounding clang.
Long Chen stood between them, his sword locked against Xiong Ba's axe, his eyes burning with fury.
"You!" Xiong Ba's face contorted in rage.
Long Chen's grip tightened. "I will kill you today, Xiong Ba!"
A soft sigh echoed from nearby.
"Sigh… My disciple is good at everything… except he's too deeply in love with a woman."
A beautiful woman in flowing silver robes stepped forward, her presence serene yet commanding. Her long hair cascaded like a waterfall, and her eyes held the depth of the night sky.
Xiong Yu's expression darkened as he recognized her. "Qian Jinglei."
The Misty Sword Sovereign.
Qian Jinglei smiled faintly. "Xiong Yu, it's been a while."
Xiong Yu's grip on his axe tightened. "Do you really want to interfere in this?"