Slowly, the white smoke cleared, revealing the female figure surrounded by a sea of burning hell.
She shuddered. She was unharmed; the barrier had prevented any damage from reaching her. But that mattered little to her now.
Her eyes focused on the ground beneath her feet, observing the destruction and death.
A beast, slightly stronger than the others, barely escaped alive from the outer radius of Qingyi’s attack.
The creature crawled, roaring in pain as its legs were turned to ash. It struggled for a brief moment before collapsing.
"What is that?" she asked, with innocent curiosity. Her hands flowed to her own chest. It was heavy, heavier than usual.
"Death." A clear and cold answer came from behind her, like the growl of a lord of death. "Don’t worry, you’ll be joining it soon.
Before she could react, she was struck again.
The Heaven-Defying Thunder Sword tore through the air with terrifying power, delivering a downward slash against the barrier.
The demonic spawn was thrown towards the ground. The protection covering her body absorbed all the damage, both from the slash and the impact.
Qingyi didn’t even react, just watching the world around him open up under the impact of the demonic spawn’s body.
A cloud of dust and boiling air rose from the ground, everything within a ten-kilometer radius swallowed up by pure destruction.
"But... I don’t want to die..."
Qingyi shuddered when he heard that sweet, symphonic voice, his draconic eyes revealing the demonic spawn still intact among the rubble and dust.
In the blink of an eye, before Qingyi realized it, a blade was at his neck.
He turned his face, covering himself with black scales, but nothing stopped the blow, the steel clanging as his scales shattered.
The defense protected him enough to prevent decapitation, but his throat was slashed, forcing him to spit blood.
"But... I need to die to fulfill the master’s wish... right?" She repeated, placing her hand on her chest again.
It was even heavier. Her eyes trembled, as did her body.
[Don’t let your guard down. She is the result of more than twenty thousand years of absorbing the energy of the Tree of Life. She is learning, and fast.]
Ruxue’s voice echoed in Qingyi’s mind, and he nodded coldly.
It was good that he hadn’t allowed Lingxue to stay by his side; he would have been unable to protect her.
"Ah... I should have come earlier," Qingyi growled, preparing the Heaven-Defying Thunder Sword.
He should have taken Lingxue earlier. He should have advanced to the Astral Body Realm and raised his bloodline and constitution to the maximum level.
Had he forgotten the lesson he learned against Qingxue’s brother in the selection of core disciples of the Burning Dragon Sect?
The only way to safely deal with an enemy was with brutal, superior power.
That demonic seed had grown too strong.
"Ah..." He exhaled, closed his eyes, and advanced.
The demonic spawn raised a hand, strengthening the barrier in front of her, the steel of the Thunder Sword that defies the heavens clanging as it struck her, sending her flying away again.
She gritted her teeth. A single tear appeared in her eyes as she pointed her hands at Qingyi. Dozens of swords appeared and exploded at speed toward the young man.
Qingyi did not stand still and immediately summoned the fourth form of the Storm Monarch Sword Art.
Thousands of thunderous blades surrounded his body, flying against the blood blades as lightning took over the sky.
His domain fell upon the world. Seas of flames and magma dominated everything. Lightning struck the ground chaotically, destroying everything it touched.
Qingyi felt his reserves of Qi and mana being swept from his body at a frightening speed. All his power was focused on a single point: the steel of his sword.
He inhaled, closed his eyes, calmed his mind, and advanced.
The world ahead opened up with the cut of his blade. The primordial laws collapsed, and the very foundation of that place was shaken.
Outside, hundreds of kilometers away, the fleeing fox women felt the Tree of Life tremble, an overwhelming power engulfing its roots and the realm it guarded.
"Die." The young man growled, watching the final expressions on the demonic spawn’s face.
Instinctively, she threw hundreds of blood blades, aiming them all at Qingyi in a last, unconscious attempt to live.
Qingyi felt those blades tear through his flesh. His internal organs collapsed and his body was bathed in blood, but he did not stop.
The sound of breaking glass reached his ears as the barrier finally collapsed, the demonic spawn’s body hit with full force.
"Ugh... damn it!" He vomited blood. A huge sense of relief overwhelmed him as his body lost strength, barely able to stand.
He had truly put everything into that last blow; his Qi and Mana reserves were below 1%.
With a bitter smile, he turned away, ready to call for Lingxue, but stopped when he heard a distant, pained voice.
"I’m cold... so cold..." The demonic spawn whimpered, bringing her hand to her left breast, which had been severed, her body covered in terrible wounds, and her organs scattered on the ground.
"What is this?" She asked, touching her own wounds.
"It’s pain... The same pain you would make those women feel if I let you live," Qingyi replied, still cold.
"But... I don’t like this... I don’t want to hurt..." Tears streamed from her eyes without stopping. Her body trembled as she tried to understand what was happening to her.
"Does it hurt?" She pointed to the wounds covering Qingyi, the Heaven-defying Thunder Blade already under her chest.
"Yes," Qingyi said, but he didn’t push the sword in, a tremor overtaking his eyes.
Why was he hesitating? Why was his heart so heavy?
’End this, damn it!’ He shouted at himself, but he couldn’t.
"I... I’m sorry... I don’t want to hurt..." She grabbed the blade of the sword.
Her face carried emotions that Qingyi couldn’t decipher.
"I don’t want to die... I don’t want to feel this..." Her eyes turned to the blade at her chest. Her small, delicate hands squeezed the sharp steel, and blood spilled out endlessly.
"Can you make it stop?" she asked honestly, begging. "Please..."
Qingyi’s hands finally gave way, and the Thunder Sword fell to the ground. He strengthened his resolve, ignoring Ruxue’s words in his mind.
"Tell me... if you weren’t a thing, if you weren’t a bag of energy for your master... what name would you choose for yourself?"
[NT: Her art will be revealed soon, as I don’t think the time is right yet. I know this Chapter raises many questions, but don’t worry, the reason why she is so different from the other demon seeds will also be explained soon.]