The battlefield was chaos. Jianyu and the Verdant Dawn Sect disciples barely had enough time to fend of the ashen robed cultivators and snatch a few spirit plants before they were surrounded.

  Jianyu’s blade carved through the air, a gleaming arc of steel clashing against a blood hued chain. Sparks burst in the night as the attack forced him backward, his feet grinding against the fractured earth. His disciples fought beside him, their faces taut with determination, but the ashen robed cultivators pressed forward with relentless, unnatural grace.

  These were no ordinary opponents. Their movements were fluid, eerily precise, as if guided by something beyond mere skill. The air around them was thick with the scent of copper, and the moment their Qi flared, the blood mist that swirled around them deepened, growing more saturated with every wound they inflicted.

  Jianyu had fought many battles before, but this was different. This was suffocating.

  Lin Yue, ever composed even in battle, sidestepped an attack, her twin daggers gleaming in the dim light. "Something is wrong with them," she called out, her voice calm but urgent. "They are not just absorbing Qi. They are stealing our vitality!"

  As if to answer her, one of the Blood Refining Sect disciples lunged at Luo Chen, his arms twisting in unnatural ways. The robes around his forearm burned away to reveal skin marred with pulsating crimson lines. With a flick of his wrist, a spear of coagulated blood shot forth, moving too fast to react.

  The weapon pierced Luo Chen’s chest clean through.

  For a breath, he remained standing, his lips parting in silent shock. Then, the blood within him surged outward, pulled by an unseen force. His body withered instantly, skin clinging to bone as if decades of life had been drained in seconds. What remained collapsed to the ground, nothing more than a husk.

  A crimson vapor rose from his corpse, twisting and curling before it was absorbed by the hooded cultivator who had struck him down. His Qi flared, growing stronger.

  Yin Rufeng recoiled. "What kind of demonic technique…"

  Lin Yue did not waste time speaking. With a flick of her wrist, she hurled one of her daggers at the enemy, aiming directly for his throat. It struck true, the blade biting into flesh, but rather than blood spilling, the wound writhed and then sealed itself shut as if it had never been.

  The ashen robed cultivator tilted his head, voice muffled beneath his hood. "Your struggle is admirable, but futile."

  Lin Yue’s grip tightened on her remaining weapon.

  Jianyu’s mind raced. Every strike they landed, every wound they inflicted, was rendered meaningless. The moment their attacks connected, the enemy would siphon the blood from their surroundings to heal. If they did not end this quickly, the battle would stretch beyond their endurance.

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  Lin Yue moved first. Her body flickered, vanishing into a blur of speed as she weaved between her enemies, her daggers flashing. A second later, she was upon the robed woman leading the Blood Refining Sect disciples.

  A sharp laugh met her assault.

  "Too slow."

  The moment Lin Yue’s blade aimed for the woman’s heart, a red mist coiled from the ground, latching onto Lin Yue’s arms like grasping hands. She tried to wrench herself free, but the mist thickened, becoming solid tendrils of blood that wrapped around her limbs, pulling her toward her foe.

  The woman’s voice was laced with amusement. "Your Qi is strong. Let us see how sweet it tastes."

  Lin Yue’s eyes widened as she felt her meridians constrict, something foreign invading her veins, leeching her strength. She bit her tongue hard enough to draw blood, forcing her Qi to flare, but it was too late.

  The blood mist surged inward.

  She screamed.

  The sound of bones breaking filled the night as her body spasmed violently. The red tendrils constricted tighter, lifting her from the ground. Her skin paled, the very life being torn from her in agonizing increments. Jianyu moved to intervene, his sword blazing with Qi, but the ashen robed cultivator he was entangled with thrust out a palm, releasing a crimson shockwave that sent him skidding backward.

  Lin Yue’s body jerked as more of her blood was pulled away, drawn into the swirling mist that fed the woman holding her captive. Her scream cut off, her head tilting forward slightly as her strength bled from her.

  Then, with a sickening snap, her body collapsed into nothing but a mass of crimson droplets that dissolved into the mist.

  The woman inhaled softly, as if tasting the lingering essence in the air. "Exquisite."

  Yin Rufeng let out a choked sound, his blade trembling in his grasp. Jianyu, blood pounding in his ears, gritted his teeth so hard his jaw ached. He had seen death before. He had seen comrades fall in battle. But never like this. Never reduced to something so inhuman.

  He exhaled sharply. No. He would not let another die here.

  Yin Rufeng, still frozen in horror, barely noticed when Jianyu grabbed him by the collar and forced him back. "Control yourself or you will die next."

  The battlefield trembled beneath their feet. At first, it was a faint shudder, but then the ground cracked open in jagged, violent ruptures. Jianyu’s breath stilled. Something was happening.

  The sky flickered at the edges, colours twisting unnaturally. The Qi in the air became wild, unstable. The once pristine formations that had held the realm together for centuries were unravelling all at once.

  Jianyu did not hesitate. He grabbed Yin Rufeng and turned. The ashen robbed cultivators hesitated, sensing the shift in the air. Even they seemed uncertain now, their own bodies flickering with erratic Qi surges.

  A swirling gateway had suddenly appeared at the far end of the battlefield, its surface rippling as if barely holding together.

  Jianyu’s mind raced. They had no choice.

  "Run!"

  They broke into a desperate sprint, their bodies aching, their Qi nearly spent. The realm shuddered violently, as if it were taking its final breath before collapse. Just as Jianyu and Yin Rufeng reached the portal’s threshold, he cast one last glance back.

  The masked woman stood amidst the bloodstained ground, watching them leave. Behind her, the air rippled, the very walls of the realm bending.

  Her lips curled into a knowing smile.

  Jianyu’s fists clenched. This was not over.

  With a final step, he plunged into the portal, the world swallowing him whole.