"No matter how you look at it, this is too much, isn't it?"

Huai Shi inhaled sharply.

Even though I had prepared myself, I still can't believe my own eyes.

In the ethereal reflection of the Mirror of Nothingness, Luo Xian's physical shell was already riddled with cracks, like porcelain that had been shattered and then pieced back together. While its pale, crystalline beauty was enviable, it still couldn't seal the Dark Basicity flowing from beneath its surface.

It's just like... a volcano!

Endless darkness surged from within her, phantom smoke rising into the sky, as if tearing open a rift to another world.

Behind the endless darkness, a bloodshot, ruthless eye stared at her silhouette, its gaze scattering the virtues and madness of the Abyss.

If it weren't for the Heavenly Kingdom Genealogy's high adaptability to the Abyss, she probably would have solidified by now, wouldn't she? Is this why the Road to Paradise chose her?

No...

With this terrifying degree of erosion, how is it any different from solidifying and then transforming into an erosive entity?

Her soul seemed as if it had been pieced together from the very beginning—like a fruit cultivated from the soil of the Abyss. Though delicious and charming, it exuded a ferocious, inhuman aura.

Essentially non-human.

Now, she was merely peeling off her human shell bit by bit, returning to the ranks of monsters.

Under the gaze of that eerie eye, she gradually sank deeper into the Abyss.

Just a hairline away.

"How on earth have you managed to hold on until now?"

From the depths of his heart, Huai Shi felt fear and confusion.

How could a life like this, seemingly plagued by Evil Ghosts from birth and doomed to never find release, continue to this day?

"Strange, is it?" Luo Xian answered with a smile. "Of course, it's because of love."

Lies.

Huai Shi remained silent for a long time, unable to stop a sigh from escaping as he slowly shook his head.

"Sister Xian, have you truly ever... felt something called 'love'?"

Luo Xian didn't answer.

Her smile merely grew colder, like that of the wolf in grandma's clothing whose disguise had been exposed, no longer capable of a kind facade.

"Not everyone can be as lucky as you, Huai Shi."

She finally stopped smiling, just silently staring at the young man before her, separated by the red rain that fell from the sky. "For someone like me, even a tortured Hell seems like Heaven."

"Hearing you say that, I'm really happy."

Huai Shi opened his mouth, exhaling a fiery breath that tore through the rain of blood before him. "I feel... completely different now..."

Yes, he was completely different.

Within the eruption of dark green flames, countless capillaries on Huai Shi's face ruptured like a spiderweb. Blood dripping from his body nourished countless flowers and grasses on the shattered asphalt. Amidst the spreading, diluted blood, fungal colonies sprouted.

Amidst the rich scent of blood, numerous invisible viruses spread along with the Nightmare Fog of fear.

Through reckless extraction, Huai Shi became almost completely connected to the network of life within the roots beneath his feet.

The first time he had entered such a profound state was when he broke through from the First Stage and remolded his body. But now, teetering on the edge between human and plant, he didn't know if, after becoming completely lignified, he would ever return to human form.

Perhaps then, not even the Joyful Framework could save me, and I'd be forever imprisoned within the root systems of Xiematai?

It was almost like a gamble.

From the Mirror of Nothingness, he received Power.

Beneath his shattered boots, wooden patterns had begun to appear on Huai Shi's toes and fingertips, and thin vines and leaves sprouted from his long hair.

But when he took a step, his speed instantly surpassed his past limits, almost rivaling Van Essen of old!

"Cheetah Sprint!"

Amidst roars and rumbles, Huai Shi charged forward, lifting the saber and Axe in his hands and striking down, finally forcing Luo Xian back a step.

Even if it was just one step, Huai Shi felt a surge of elation.

"Sickle Sweep!"

The Axe of Anger suddenly extended. As Huai Shi turned, the unseen Axe Blade swept toward Luo Xian's lower body. She blocked it with the Longsword in her hand, sending sparks flying.

"Tornado Wrecking the Parking Lot!"

In an instant, the weapon in Huai Shi's hands continuously shifted—saber, Axe, Sword Blade, Long Spear—and in that hair's breadth of a moment, he whipped up a storm of steel, launching a rolling attack toward Luo Xian.

Then, before her casually wielded long and short swords, each of his strikes was blocked. Luo Xian stepped forward, delivering an elbow strike. Amidst the ensuing roar, a blast of air erupted. Huai Shi was forced back over a dozen steps, but then, like a spring compressed to its limit, he leaped up again.

"—Crow Sits on the Airplane!!!"

CRASH!

The strike, backed by all his strength and a long period of buildup, was effortlessly deflected by Luo Xian. It missed its intended target, instead carving a deep gash into the road.

Huai Shi somersaulted in mid-air, awkwardly blocking Luo Xian's fierce sword attack before landing.

"Is there really a need to disguise them with those random names?" she said with a smirk, stepping forward and pressing him. "If it's just this 'Overload State,' I learned that seven years ago."

"This is called creativity."

Huai Shi turned, spitting out a mouthful of blood foam mixed with numerous grass seeds. Beneath his lignifying, shattered skin, the muscles in his arms twitched violently.

His joints grated, emitting thunderous cracks.

It was as if... his entire being was ablaze.

Overload State. It was the first time Huai Shi had heard this name.

This Power originated from the guidance of the Mirror of Nothingness, but fundamentally, it was nothing more than an advanced application of the Drummer and Yu Step. It didn't surprise him that Luo Xian saw through it.

After extracting an amount of blood essence equivalent to several times his own, he saw no possibility of victory in the reflection of the Mirror of Nothingness. Rather, such a possibility had never existed to begin with.

A Third Stage practitioner versus a Second Stage should be a one-sided thrashing. If the past Huai Shi could have bridged this gap with his abilities, foundation, numerous trump cards, and even his own talents, then his own Talent, when faced with one so much grander, would undoubtedly be like displaying his meager skills before a master—utterly pointless.

His opponent was Luo Xian.

His ability to still be actively fighting was entirely due to Luo Xian holding back, coupled with his attempts to stall for time by talking. After all, aside from her horrifying physical fitness and killing techniques, she had yet to truly utilize the abilities granted by her Stigma.

This was an opponent he had absolutely no chance of defeating.

If he still possessed the Terrible Power he wielded as an Authority Angel, he might have stood a considerable chance of winning. But where could he possibly find such a fantastical power-up now?

However, there was still a way to hold his own.

After all, the Drummer and Yu Step are just localized applications of Power. What if I could apply that principle to my entire body? If my whole being entered that explosive state, couldn't I gain Power like I did when I took drugs as a Yin Soul?

The cost would be severe strain and devastation to my body, but with the Mountain Ghost's Talent for incredibly fast recovery, that wasn't a primary concern.

At worst, I'd lose control over the Stigma's encroachment and revert to a Treeman.

At this moment, Huai Shi had completely discarded the option of a safe retreat by 'slitting his own throat' to exit the stage. He didn't want to flee, nor could he. If he retreated here, Luo Xian's erosion would undoubtedly spiral completely out of control.

Then, no method would be able to save her.

I just want to stall for time, preferably until the conflict in the heavens is decided and some major figure from the Dongxia Genealogy can lend me a hand...

"Trying to buy time? I don't mind." Luo Xian saw through his plan, her smile unwavering. "Actually, I'm rather flattered that you're willing to play with me a bit longer."

"A real idol can't say NO to a fan, right? Isn't that what you taught me?"

Through painful convulsions, he forced a hearty laugh, gripped his weapons again, and charged toward the formidable enemy before him.

His feet sank deeply into the shattered road.

It was like struggling through a mire; each step was laborious, as if the very air had turned into a viscous liquid, clinging to his limbs. But when he stomped his foot, a loud sound erupted from the silent earth. Blood sprayed from his arms, evaporating into a scorching red mist in the air.

The Mountain Ghost roared. A dark green light rose from the network of life-force beneath his feet, converging into his body and sustaining this continuous, extravagant expenditure of energy.

His axe and sword fell, blades swinging wide.

The long and short swords in Luo Xian's hands suddenly faltered, losing their previous agility under Huai Shi's ferocious pressure.

—Evenly matched!

"Indeed, Father wasn't wrong." Amidst the violent clash of swords, Luo Xian studied the stern, ferocious face before her and nodded approvingly. "A person like you, while perhaps not gifted in creation, might possess a unique Talent for application..."

CRASH!

Sword Art: Ornament Play transformed again. The melody, rooted in the G string, evolved toward fervor, its majestic essence bursting forth with the heavy knock of Fate.

The Sword of Virtue and the Axe of Anger slashed, their paths crisscrossing.

In this self-consuming inferno, Huai Shi pressed forward, wielding the Power of the Overload State to reach speeds previously unattainable, a blur of steel light.

Countless vines and thorns endlessly sprouted from the cracks in the road beneath their feet, only to wither silently into ash beneath the tread of her Crystal Shoes.

The color of blood from her red attire coated her twin swords, which then burst forth with power sufficient to shatter Huai Shi to dust...

Immune to deadly poisons, fearless before Apocalypse, and possessing explosive power capable of critically injuring Huai Shi in an instant—the Road to Paradise seemed to be a natural counter to him. He could even sense something far more dangerous lurking behind Luo Xian's smile.

As if guided by an unseen hand, Huai Shi stepped back, dodging the Dagger that suddenly slashed at his throat. Seizing this sole opening, he launched a fierce counterattack, pushing Luo Xian back once more. Then, evading another thrust from Luo Xian's blade, he moved as if he had anticipated it all.

In Luo Xian's hands, every hidden Offensive and trick within her feints was completely seen through.

His movements were unnervingly seasoned, so unlike the youth she remembered.

"Is this rapid improvement, or is there another reason?"

"Haha, who knows? Maybe I'm a genius," Huai Shi said shamelessly, studying the dozens of possibilities reflected, interpreted, and predicted within the Mirror of Nothingness.

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