Several frogs darted their tongues out, whisking Wei Yang and her two severed lower legs away from Chao Yan. The Seven-Colored Deer at her side emitted a warm halo, reattaching her legs and providing constant healing. Soon, the sensation of pain had nearly vanished.
Wei Yang did not allow the deer to fully heal the injuries to her eyes. Once her sight was restored, her sorcery would once again become unusable, and it was currently her only trump card.
Her sorcery was called Medium, a technique passed down through generations of the Divine Lady’s lineage. Its effects were quite bizarre. Under the precondition of being unable to see, she could communicate with four types of spirit creatures: the Rain Frog, the Seven-Colored Deer, the Leaping Rabbit, and the Brilliant Phoenix.
Among them, the Seven-Colored Deer could fully heal any non-fatal injury sustained within the last three minutes. The Brilliant Phoenix could release high-temperature attacks reaching nearly 100 degrees Celsius. The Rain Frog and the Leaping Rabbit could even appear in groups.
This sorcery was nothing short of miraculous.
Wei Yang quickly formulated a battle plan. Although she was blind, she could share the vision of her spirit creatures, so navigating was not an issue. The tricky part was that Chao Yan’s sorcery could adapt to all things in nature. This meant Wei Yang had only one chance. She had to defeat her in a single blow; otherwise, once Chao Yan adapted to the spirits, Wei Yang would be helpless.
In that case, she had to hit her head-on with a maximum-output blast from the Brilliant Phoenix.
Under the Seven-Colored Deer’s continuous healing, her legs had returned to normal, leaving only scars that looked like suture lines. Wei Yang wiped the wet blood from her face and stood up, looking toward Chao Yan with a solemn expression.
The other woman seemed to have descended further into her fallen state. Sparks flickered at the ends of her long, cherry-pink hair, and her face was twisted with loathing.
“Why won’t you just fall into depravity with me?”
“Who wants to fall? Depravity is my lifelong enemy. Oh, and you, you blonde — you’re also my lifelong enemy.”
” … As I thought. You’re only perfect when you can’t speak or move.”
Wei Yang threw up her hands. She truly was incompatible with this woman.
“You’re being too selfish. I belong to everyone, you know. I’m not just yours.”
Chao Yan didn’t waste any more words. She flicked the blood from the Snow Blade onto the ground and aimed it at Wei Yang again. A Twenty-One-Fold Opera Screen appeared between the two of them, and she stepped into it once more. But this time, Wei Yang would not sit and wait for death.
“Leaping Rabbit!”
Hundreds, even thousands, of rabbits manifested and piled up around her, burying Wei Yang deep within the mass. Chao Yan emerged before the final fold of the screen. Cutting lines appeared on the body of every rabbit. As the Snow Blade slashed down, all the rabbits dissipated into mana particles.
“Tsk. Wei Yang, you really are naughty.”
Chao Yan turned around irritably. Her blade had failed to lock onto Wei Yang, allowing her to escape yet again.
Wei Yang was currently hiding in the shadow of a halved ancient tree trunk. Immediately after summoning the Leaping Rabbits, she had summoned a Rain Frog in the distance to pull her away with its tongue. It was a good thing she had, or she would have been sliced in half along with those rabbits.
Atop the tree canopy, a Rain Frog served as Wei Yang’s eyes, observing Chao Yan’s movements. Unfortunately, the opponent noticed it.
“Found you.”
Another Twenty-One-Fold Opera Screen appeared. With a single strike, Chao Yan sliced through the Rain Frog along with the tree canopy beneath it.
“Now it’s quiet. Are you going to keep hiding?”
Chao Yan looked around but still could not find Wei Yang. She guessed that the girl had likely been carried elsewhere by a Rain Frog again.
“Then there’s no choice. I’ll just destroy the entire Starry Palace.”
Chao Yan gripped the hilt of the Snow Blade with both hands, preparing to coat it in mana. Just then, she keenly sensed mana that did not belong to her being gathered to the south-southwest.
Chao Yan turned her head. Beneath the shadow of the broken ancient tree, a faint golden light shimmered.
Wei Yang threw the remaining fragments of her dagger with all her might. Chao Yan tilted her head indifferently to dodge the shards and arrived in front of Wei Yang in the blink of an eye.
“Huh?”
Wei Yang felt the world spin. She had been grabbed by the ankle and hung upside down. Chao Yan let out a helpless sigh.
“Using a trick like throwing things… Are you a child? I’m starting to feel bad for you.”
“Uh, look behind you! Sneak attack!”
“Do you really think a trick like that would work on — “
Before Chao Yan could finish, she actually felt a threat from behind. While mobilizing her mana to form a defense, she glanced back. It was the dagger fragments Wei Yang had just thrown; they were flying back like a boomerang.
Wei Yang flashed a triumphant smile. She had infused the fragments with mana, allowing her to control their direction of attack. While Chao Yan was distracted by the sneak attack, golden mana surged in Wei Yang’s hands —
*Boom!!*
A massive hole appeared in the thick trunk of the ancient tree, and dust filled the air. When the dust settled, Wei Yang lay in the crater, being healed by the Seven-Colored Deer. She didn’t want to move at all.
‘She could react even without looking at me? This blonde is a total freak.’
Chao Yan also seemed slightly speechless.
“Your thoughts are far too easy to guess. But I don’t blame you. After all, I’m the one who knows you best.”
She raised her hand and snapped her fingers. Mana tentacles began to generate incessantly behind her. Wei Yang scrambled to her feet, gathering mana to form two piercing blades in her hands.
Chao Yan tilted her head, looking puzzled.
‘Why is she refusing to use the Brilliant Phoenix? To use simple mana constructs … she’s underestimating me too much.’
After slicing through more than ten lunging tentacles, Wei Yang took advantage of a lull in the offensive. She used the Rain Frog’s tongue to pull herself closer and closer to Chao Yan.
“Delivering yourself to my door? I already told you it’s useless.”
“Sometimes, even if you know that, there are things you just have to do.”
“Idiot.”
Chao Yan raised her blade, but just as she took a step forward to swing, her foot landed on something —
Startled, she looked down and saw a Leaping Rabbit manifesting right under her foot. It caused her to lose her balance, her body tilting to the side. Her attack went wide, missing the approaching Wei Yang.
As Chao Yan turned her blade to follow up with another strike, Wei Yang suddenly lunged forward and hugged her tightly. Clinging to her like a sloth on a tree, Wei Yang left Chao Yan frozen in place.
‘Why would Wei Yang hug me of her own accord? And in such an intimate posture?’
Before she could think further, Wei Yang released the arms wrapped around her. Using her legs instead, she clamped tightly onto Chao Yan’s waist to secure herself, then leaned her upper body back —
Wei Yang was seeking a certain victory in a single strike, so she had to get close to Chao Yan.
She had refrained from using her spirit creatures to attack earlier to prevent Chao Yan from adapting to them. At the same time, it made her let down her guard against this specific move.
“Sleep for a while, you pest.”
Before Chao Yan’s wide-eyed gaze, Wei Yang pressed her palms together and aimed them directly at the space between Chao Yan’s eyebrows.
Zero-Range Brilliant Phoenix.
Golden phoenix flames condensed into a single point and blasted outward!