When an Emperor is enraged, a million corpses lie dead and blood flows for a thousand miles!
The overwhelming pressure hit them head-on, forcing the dark figures to retreat. Looking closely, the shadowy figures had lost their former arrogance; they gripped their weapons for dear life, their bodies trembling faintly.
"What?"
"Afraid?"
Yìng Tiānyáo's golden pupils faded, replaced by a dazzling blue-and-white divine light. Her voice was cold and devoid of any emotion, giving her a rather eerie aura.
Unfortunately, the dark figures could not speak in response.
Without wasting any time, Yìng Tiānyáo struck first.
A piercing whistle tore through the air. The Glacial Jade Physique combined perfectly with the Saintly Dragon-Elephant Fist, unleashing a devastating force of a million kilograms in an instant.
BOOM!
Time seemed to freeze. The dark figures had no time to dodge as they burst apart into a shower of flesh and blood, tearing a massive gap straight through the dense, shadowy curtain.
"Roar—!!!"
Realizing they were outmatched, the dark figures in the front line chose to burn their vital essence and unleash secret arts.
The side effects of these secret arts stripped the dark figures of their reason and true nature, turning them into mindless walking corpses.
Yet Yìng Tiānyáo showed no fear, charging straight into the fray.
Blood spattered across the starry void, staining the earth black!
From time to time, the roar of the dark figures and the dull, heavy thuds of blunt impacts echoed across the plain.
...
A long time passed.
Countless dark figures still swarmed the area, their blood-red eyes gleaming with ferocity!
Yet every single body had been horribly deformed—some grew as large as mountains, others morphed into beasts... None of them looked human anymore, yet they still billowed with black miasma.
Yìng Tiānyáo was in a sorry state as well; her Glacial Jade Physique was drenched in blood, and her white armor was battered beyond recognition.
"Damn it! It never ends!"
"No! Brother Wúyī... is still waiting for me!"
"This princess will not fall here..."
"Never! Absolutely never!"
"Glacial Blood Dance!"
She channeled her physique, condensing a miraculous manifestation.
The first manifestation of the Glacial Jade Physique: Glacial Blood Dance!
Through the grueling and protracted slaughter, Yìng Tiānyáo had finally unlocked her own physique's manifestation at this very moment!
Suddenly,
Three thousand strands of white hair fluttered amidst a flurry of frost!
Her delicate hands condensed a chill, staining the boundless heavens with blood!
A wave of divine light illuminated the scene, accompanied by howling winds and dancing snow.
In an instant, countless dark figures caught in the light were frozen solid, before a fierce gale shattered them directly into piles of ice debris that rained down upon the ground.
The pools of blood across the plain that had yet to dry were frozen solid as well.
Looking at Yìng Tiānyáo now, her eyes had turned crimson, and her waterfall of white hair cascaded all the way down to her ankles. She hovered in mid-air, her white hair swaying gently in the wind.
Beneath her jade feet, the mountain-like pile of corpses seemed blanketed in a layer of blue and white, which, mixed with the sparkling ice crystals, looked strangely ethereal beneath the blood-red starry sky.
Viewed from afar, it resembled a bizarre and peerless masterpiece of dark art!
As wave after wave of dark figures fell, the "mounds" of corpses on the ground grew higher and higher, yet their numbers in the sky showed no sign of decreasing.
Taking advantage of a brief lull, Yìng Tiānyáo hurriedly rushed to recover her spiritual energy, but her medicinal pills and talismans were nearly exhausted—she wouldn't be able to hold out much longer.
Just then, more dark figures swarmed in...
Strike after strike, the dark figures closed in. Yìng Tiānyáo was bleeding from head to toe, her delicate frame looking terribly frail amidst the horde of shadows, while the crimson night sky seemed to portend her doom.
"Am I going to end here?"
"Wúyī... brother..."
"Tiānyáo is going to fail..."
"Why must I fail?" Yìng Tiānyáo repeatedly asked herself.
"There is... no reason left..."
"It's fine. Victory and defeat are common occurrences. What does it matter if I lose just once?"
"That's right, I'm still young, and I will have countless chances! I've already done remarkably well..."
"Who can guarantee they will never lose?"
"But... the immortal ancestors in the river of history..."
"That is their Dao! This is different! I should walk my own path; I don't have to be like them..."
"My Dao... But didn't I make up my mind long ago?!"
"I have a reason I can never afford to lose!"
"He is still waiting for me! Therefore, I must... catch up to my brother!"
Yìng Tiānyáo's momentum surged once more, though her consciousness was already fading. Driven purely by instinctive stubbornness, she continued to throw punches.
...
I do not know how much time had passed when Yìng Tiānyáo finally regained consciousness.
She found herself no longer on the plain; the sky had transformed into a sea of stars, with a few ancient planets slowly revolving in the distance.
Her clothes were clean and completely intact, though her white hair and crimson eyes remained, lending her an ethereal, lively beauty.
The rapid transition of her surroundings left Yìng Tiānyáo slightly disoriented.
Still caught in the mindset of slaughter, her heart pounded frantically, while her body was drenched in the cold sweat of a narrow escape, soaking through her hair.
She let out a long breath and circulated her spiritual energy, washing away all her fatigue and stains.
After resting for a moment, she looked at the array before her and stepped toward the third level.
With a single step, emerging once more from a wave of dizziness, Yìng Tiānyáo felt as though she had plunged into boundless darkness.
Looking ahead, about a thousand meters away, stood an extremely eye-catching throne.
The throne had a simple structure; though made of pearlescent white stone, it radiated a magnificent nine-colored light, as if it were supreme.
At that moment, her mind grew serene, and even the entire space felt much purer.
Stretching from beneath the throne all the way to a spot right behind Yìng Tiānyáo was a path as white and pure as jade.
A hundred feet wide, sacred and translucent, unstained by a single speck of dust, it drifted into this endless darkness.
Gathering her composure, Yìng Tiānyáo took her first step forward.
The combat boot of her Snow-Tiger White Armor Dress struck the ground, creating a crisp sound in the silence that reverberated straight into Yìng Tiānyáo's soul.
She took another step.
Instantly, the darkness seemed to writhe sluggishly.
CLACK!
A skeletal hand suddenly clawed upward from the darkness, grabbing the edge of the white jade path. The bony fingers scraped against the surface, leaving several twisted bloody streaks behind.
"Roar—!!!"
Then, a white skeleton dragged itself up violently. Its frame was completely crystalline and translucent, looking identical to the white jade road itself.
The skeleton emitted a low roar, the empty sockets of its eyes glowing red as it lunged straight at Yìng Tiānyáo.
Instinctively, Yìng Tiānyáo tried to channel her sacred physique, only to find that all her spiritual power was gone, and even her Snow-Tiger White Armor Dress had lost its effect.
Left with no choice, she hurried forward and kicked the skeleton back into the darkness with a few swift strikes.
Immediately after,
More skeletons crawled up along the white jade path until they were everywhere!
Those jade-like bones stepped onto the identical ground, yet they left behind bloody footprints, forming a canvas of red and white amidst the darkness!
All the skeletons lunged at Yìng Tiānyáo, as if trying to drag her down into the darkness with them!
To turn her into one of their own!
To make her stay here forever!
To stay right beneath this throne!
Yìng Tiānyáo was covered in blood, but she paid it no mind, turning a blind eye to her injuries.
She simply closed her eyes, guarded her mind, and walked forward.
Walking ever onward.
Yìng Tiānyáo had no idea how long she had walked when she suddenly opened her eyes, and the throne filled her vision.
She glanced back over her shoulder.
Aside from the throne, the white jade path was gone, and so were the white skeletons.
There was nothing left in the darkness except a sea of blood!
"...This throne is huge!"
Looking at the throne before her, Yìng Tiānyáo muttered softly with a self-deprecating smile.
She slowly seated herself upon the throne—her pristine white hair, crimson pupils, and this throne and space matched one another with absolute perfection!
When Yìng Tiānyáo woke up once again, the scene before her was precisely what Yìng Wúyī had seen earlier.
"Brother Wúyī!"
Catching sight of her brother, Yìng Tiānyáo dashed forward and threw herself into Yìng Wúyī's arms.