The head rolling across the ground moved its lips. "It really is a rule-based item..."
Ba's hand blade swept forward with unabated momentum, effortlessly slicing open the chest of the headless body. The dark-gold skin, tough as iron, gave way beneath her palm like tofu.
Golden blood splashed across her pale hand, hissing and popping like cold water dropped into a boiling vat of oil.
Ba clenched her fingers, crushing the heart.
Her other hand formed a blade as well, poised to plunge into the young Day Wanderer's chest so she could tear the body apart with both hands. Suddenly, below the distant steps, a yin corpse stood up, raised a double-barreled shotgun, and pulled the trigger on Ba.
*Bang!*
A blinding muzzle flash erupted. The moment the bullets left the barrel, they struck Ba's chest, blowing open two bloody cavities as raging flames engulfed her.
The kinetic force of the explosion made Ba stagger back several steps.
Taking advantage of the opening, Zhang Yuanqing fled while cradling his head. At a distance, he set his head back onto his neck, steadying it with one hand while using the other to retrieve a syringe and inject a vial of Life Source Fluid into his abdomen.
His cervical vertebrae knit together on their own, and the blood vessels connecting to his heart extended. Granulation tissue sprouted first, rapidly growing and transforming into a fresh, pulsating, tender red heart.
Zhang Yuanqing had known in advance that a calamity of decapitation awaited him. Before opening the bronze coffin, he had used the Tortoise Shell Chart to peer into the crises of the next fifteen minutes, only to discover in shock that his head would be severed four times within that window. For the first three times, he managed to barely scrape by with his life after exerting everything he had, but on the fourth, he was thoroughly killed.
From the deductions of the Tortoise Shell Chart, he had gathered the following pieces of information:
First, the White Emperor Crown was a rule-based item capable of severing the heads of all living creatures within a five-hundred-meter radius. This attack could neither be defended against nor evaded.
Second, the decapitation attack triggered once every three minutes and could only sever one target's head at a time, chosen by the item's owner. The strike carried Fiend Queller, capable of executing the soul.
Third, a Yang God could largely negate damage from Fiend Queller.
Fourth, a Day Wanderer could suppress Ba's skills such as Night Wandering and Spirit Talismans. The only thing she could rely on was her potent regenerative ability and formidable physical body, forcing her to fight in close quarters.
Having figured out his enemy's situation, the plan Zhang Yuanqing devised was simple: a kiting strategy!
By using Star Escape and the Nihility skill to teleport and blink, he could stay out of Ba's melee reach and avoid the White Emperor Crown's decapitations, then finish her off using the Level 9 items and consumables in his arsenal.
Thus, he had stationed Ninth Elder in an ambush far away beforehand. The moment he suffered the unavoidable decapitating strike, she would immediately take control of a yin corpse to open fire, neutralizing Ba's follow-up onslaught.
Watching the flames engulfing Ba gradually snuffed out by dense, viscous yin energy, Zhang Yuanqing deactivated Sunrise and Blazing Sun God of War, summoned the Thunder God Set, and swiftly donned it.
Pieces crackling with brilliant blue electric arcs attached to his chest, arms, head, and feet. Enveloped in lightning that radiated an aura of destruction, he looked like a god of thunder descending upon the mortal world.
The air atop Mount Shu's main peak bristled with violent thunder-attribute spiritual power. Arcs of lightning leaped from the void from time to time, flashing with blinding radiance before vanishing.
Zhang Yuanqing extended his palm toward Ba and directly unleashed Lightning Storm, the skill with the widest area of effect.
*Rumble! Crash!*
Thunderbolts crashed down like a torrential storm. Amid endless branching lightning, pillars of thunder thick as water buckets slammed down, washing Mount Shu in a blinding, incandescent white even in broad daylight.
The entire main peak plunged into a terrifying natural disaster. At this moment, the frenzied thunder-attribute spiritual power was even more domineering than the divine power of the sun, striking Ba without pause and scorching line after line of charred black into her flesh.
Surge after surge of potent yin energy welled up from within Ba's body as she tried to form a protective barrier over her skin, but it was repeatedly incinerated and shattered.
Controlling a new yin corpse, Ninth Elder fled into the distance, not daring to graze the domain of lightning. As she sprinted, she reloaded the shotgun, leveled the twin barrels, and pulled the trigger on Ba.
As long as six shots hit the enemy, the seventh would detonate the fire spirit inside the target's body, causing heavy injury even to a mid-stage Level 9 powerhouse.
And the double-barreled shotgun fired two rounds at once.
In other words, landing three shots meant the fourth would severely wound Ba.
The instant the gun roared, Zhang Yuanqing indeed cast Nihility, erasing the rule of the bullets' trajectory so they struck Ba instantly.
This time, however, the shots missed, streaking past the threshold to detonate in a massive explosion inside the main hall. Raging flames erupted, setting the building ablaze.
Ba—charred all over, her animal-skin skirt burned away—appeared over ten meters away.
She had anticipated the trajectory beforehand, dashing sideways over ten meters the moment before Ninth Elder pulled the trigger.
Zhang Yuanqing could erase the trajectory, but he could not alter the bullets' target. After all, the weapon was not a rule-based item endowed with the rule of guaranteed hits.
Ba's figure vanished again. Flashing near Ninth Elder with extreme speed, she braved the falling lightning as the dark energy in her eye sockets surged.
At that moment, Ninth Elder was clutching the shotgun, preparing to head toward the hiding place of another yin corpse.
A profound terror suddenly welled up within her heart, as though she were being suppressed by a natural predator, and her soul drifted uncontrollably toward Ba.
"Master, save me!"
Ninth Elder hugged the double-barreled shotgun tightly.
She harbored her own little calculation: her master might not care about her life or death, but he would certainly care about this peerlessly offensive item.
Countless arcs of electricity surged forth like rushing water, extending beside Ba and coalescing into Zhang Yuanqing's form. His right hand manifested a Thunder Spear, thrusting it straight toward Ba's heart.
Ba suddenly twisted her slender waist and whipped around with a punch.
*Puff!*
*Bang!*
The Thunder Spear pierced Ba's heart, its domineering thunder-attribute spiritual power rapidly annihilating her internal organs and extinguishing the lunar energy within her.
Meanwhile, Ba's fist shattered his electromagnetic barrier and blew apart half of Zhang Yuanqing's head.
Ba's body went stiff from electrical paralysis, helplessly watching her chance to deliver the finishing blow slip away.
Zhang Yuanqing's mangled body did not fall. He retrieved the Purple-Gold Shield, holding the shield in his left hand and the spear in his right as he engaged Ba in close combat.
Three minutes had not yet elapsed. With the Thunder God Set active, he possessed the status of a Level 9 powerhouse. Even though he was only at the early stage, the thunder attribute countered yin energy, enabling him to trade blows with Ba in head-on melee for a brief window.
Ba did not stubbornly pursue Ninth Elder; forcing the young Day Wanderer into close combat was one of her objectives as well.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
Heavy punches hammered into Zhang Yuanqing again and again, smashing through the Purple-Gold Shield, the Golden Dragon Shield, and the electromagnetic barrier, battering his physical body into a mangled mess.
His Thunder Spear also impaled Ba time after time, pouring in immense thunder-attribute spiritual power to grind down her origin.
At that moment, Ninth Elder found an intact yin corpse, possessed it, raised the gun barrels, and aimed at Ba.
Zhang Yuanqing stepped forward, allowing Ba's fist to punch through his chest as he clamped down on her arm, locking her in place.
The darkness in Ba's eye sockets trembled slightly. Without hesitation, she raised her left hand, formed it into a blade, and sheared off her own right arm.
Severing her limb to survive!
Having tasted the power of that bizarre weapon, she refused to suffer a second volley.
Yet an incongruous voice rang out amid the interwoven thunder: "Please turn, treasure!"
On the second tier of the plaza, Zhang Yuanqing's avatar finished the sacrificial dance and bowed deeply to the yellow gourd before him.
Instantly, a surge of white light billowed from the gourd's mouth, swooped gracefully in midair, and shot straight toward the center of Ba's brow.
The white light possessed eyes and brows, glowing with divine luster. With a sharp *thud*, it pinned itself to Ba's glabella and spun like a top.
Although the Immortal-Slaying Flying Dagger could not kill a Level 9 powerhouse, it could stun them for a fleeting moment—something Zhang Yuanqing had already tested on the High Priest of the God of Light.
A flash of fire lit the air as the gun roared.
Two bloody craters blew open in the one-armed Ba's chest. Raging flames blazed fiercely, working in tandem with the thunder-attribute spiritual power to make her yin energy sizzle and hiss while her flesh carbonized.
*Two volleys landed!* The corners of Zhang Yuanqing's mouth curled upward. Seizing his Thunder Spear, he hurled it with all his might.
The Thunder Spear struck Ba's forehead. It failed to trigger the penetration effect, leaving only a patch of carbonized, charred black on her brow.
Zhang Yuanqing did not dare press the attack. He swallowed Ninth Elder, recalled the double-barreled shotgun, and used Star Escape to put distance between them.
The cooldown for the White Emperor Crown's decapitation skill was up.
Bathed in flames, the frozen Ba suddenly raised her left hand and snatched at the white light on her brow. The white light dispersed, transforming into particles of brilliance that flew back into the yellow gourd.
Its charges exhausted, the yellow gourd vanished.
Ba's severed arm regenerated in an instant. Expressionless, she looked at Zhang Yuanqing five hundred meters away and surged forward, crossing three hundred meters in a flash to drag him into the White Emperor Crown's domain.
Zhang Yuanqing, on guard well in advance, cast Star Escape to evade, reappearing to the southwest. At the same time, he leveled the shotgun, aimed at Ba, and pulled the trigger.
*Bang!*
The shots missed.
Ba dodged the shotgun pellets stripped of their trajectory and materialized right in front of Zhang Yuanqing.
Zhang Yuanqing's figure dissolved like a soap bubble, reappearing five hundred meters to Ba's left. He reloaded and pulled the trigger.
The two chased each other across the main peak, their silhouettes flashing and vanishing. Every blink and disappearance was accompanied by gunfire, neither able to get the upper hand over the other.
After roughly a minute, Zhang Yuanqing suddenly realized something was wrong. He immediately produced the Tortoise Shell Chart and activated its deduction function.
Scenes of the future instantly flashed in his mind. Once again, he saw his own death.
Despite doing everything he could to stay clear of the White Emperor Crown, he still died.
Through the feedback of the future, Zhang Yuanqing realized what was amiss—Ba was stalling for time!
As a high-status yin creature, she possessed terrifying self-healing power. Whether shocked by thunder-attribute spiritual power or incinerated by fire-attribute spiritual power, she could fully regenerate.
His consumables and ammunition, on the other hand, dwindled with every use.
Once his gear was exhausted, death would be inevitable.
*I can't just blindly evade the White Emperor Crown. But if I don't evade it, I'll still die...* Flashing in and out of sight, Zhang Yuanqing thought rapidly, revising his battle plan.
Within two or three seconds, he came up with a new plan. Opening his inventory, he tossed the Bow of the God of Love to his avatar.
The avatar had been ignored by Ba from the very beginning; her decapitation strike was being held back to deter the true body and stall for time.
Zhang Yuanqing halted, opening his arms as if to embrace something, or perhaps offering his neck to the slaughter.
The avatar drew the bowstring and fired an Arrow of Desire at the original body.
The small golden arrow pierced Zhang Yuanqing's chest without leaving a wound.
*Puff!*
Zhang Yuanqing's head rolled to the ground.
The small golden arrow curved in midair, shooting toward Ba, who had made no move to dodge, intent on pressing her advantage and cutting him down root and stem.
The instant the small arrow pierced Ba's chest, she abruptly froze, staring blankly at the decapitated young Day Wanderer.
The heart in her chest would never beat again, yet at this moment, she felt a long-lost "heartbeat." She had long forgotten how to love, yet an unfamiliar tenderness welled up inside her.
This was her lover. This was her sweetheart.
Zhang Yuanqing's headless body suddenly raised the double-barreled shotgun and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
*Bang!*
The pellets blew holes into Ba's shoulder and lower abdomen.
Ba instantly broke free from the tender reverie. Given her status, the Bow of the Little God of Love could not affect her for long, and under attack from her sweetheart, she snapped to her senses immediately.
What kind of sweetheart was this? He was a scumbag!
Zhang Yuanqing threw the double-barreled shotgun along with two rounds of ammunition, then whipped a golden arrow from his inventory, lunging at Ba. Erasing the distance, he drove the arrowhead into her riddled body.
Ba froze instantly, throwing her head back as golden flames erupted from her eye sockets, nostrils, mouth, and ears.
Starlight rose where the shotgun landed. Teleporting in via Star Escape, the avatar caught the gun and cartridges, loaded them swiftly, and leveled the barrels without hesitation to pull the trigger.
*Bang!*
The seventh and eighth shots struck Ba, detonating the residual fire-attribute spiritual power within her body.
A roaring inferno consumed her, reducing her internal organs to ash in an instant.
Even her soul wailed shrilly as it was scorched by the blaze.
Trembling, Ba lowered her head. The fire burned from the inside out, melting away flesh and blood, laying bare glimpses of her bones.
Oblivious to the agony, she gazed down at the head on the ground. "Will my death... bring about the outcome you desire...?"
Tears streamed down the face of the severed head. "Yes..."
An Illusionist could suppress his emotions and manipulate his own heart, love included.
It was not that he did not love Ba, but between the dungeon and love, he chose the former.
Step one to clearing the dungeon: first, slay the one in your heart!
Ba gave him one last look before reducing to a glowing red skeleton amidst the roaring inferno and golden flames.
[Ding! Congratulations on completing the solo Spirit Realm quest—Mount Shu, ID: 21, Difficulty: S. Calculating rewards...]
[Reward calculation complete. Acquired item/equipment: White Emperor Crown.]
[Reward: 12% EXP.]
[Calculation complete! Exiting the Spirit Realm in 60 seconds.]
Chapter 967