Yilu stared blankly at the figure in the bloodstains, feeling a subtle strangeness.
She had never seen this person before, yet there was an indescribable familiarity in her heart, a sense of déjà vu.
“Who are you?” Yilu asked toward the bloodstain.
To an outsider, her behavior seemed strange, leaving them unable to understand what was happening.
The figure in the bloodstain kept a smile, looking back at Yilu as if appraising her.
“I’m not in a rush to give you a lengthy explanation, provided you think that person is fine.”
Those words awoke Yilu. She looked up and saw the massive lightning being continuously absorbed by Nie Qi.
The legendary Thunder Fairy, even as a projection manifesting here, already appeared faintly fatigued. Below it, Lyr showed an even more strained expression, on the verge of collapsing at any moment.
“I don’t care who you are. Tell me what to do!” Yilu asked urgently, as if grasping at a lifesaving straw.
Her earlier concern for this person vanished in an instant.
“Aren’t you worried about becoming the very thing you fear?”
“If you have a way, don’t waste my time. If you don’t, I’ll do it myself.”
Yilu forced herself up, but the pain from her pierced palm made her stumble. The pain from there made her wish she could just cut off the entire arm; maybe that would feel better.
Achieving her goal by any means necessary had always been her creed, regardless of the cost. As for worrying about becoming what she feared, she had no mind for that now.
“Since that’s the case, go pick up that thing,” the figure continued to remind her.
“Thing? What thing?” Yilu looked up.
Before she could take a good look, her gaze was drawn as if by magnetism, landing on a key lying on the ground not far away. That was the key Lyr always kept on him. When his clothes were torn by the thorns earlier, the key had fallen out as well.
“Yes, that one.”
The figure seemed to share Yilu’s vision, able to clearly see what she saw. Without any further thought, Yilu took unsteady steps forward and picked up the key.
“What next? Tell me quickly!” Yilu turned and shouted, wanting to convey her urgency.
The next second, that voice continued to ring in her mind.
“You’ll know.”
The inexplicable words left Yilu bewildered, adding to her irritation. She hated when people didn’t speak clearly, as if deliberately mocking her, especially in such an urgent situation.
Just as she was about to respond angrily to that voice, a strange movement came from her bloodstained palm. The key in her hand was visibly absorbing her blood. With a strange sound, the ancient patterns on the key crumbled one by one, revealing the key’s true form beneath the debris. It was inscribed with runes, emitting a faint glow.
Elsewhere, at the depths of the library Lulong had mentioned, behind the sealed stone door, strands of black aura emanated and turned into arrows hurtling straight toward Yilu’s direction.
“This thing was originally meant to protect you. Revealing its true form like this doesn’t seem bad either.”
As the voice fell, the black arrows followed closely. Some headed toward the projection and Nie Qi, while others landed beside Yilu.
“That’s the direction of that place.”
All the onlookers noticed this commotion, seeing with their own eyes that the magic power was coming out of the ruins. For a moment, they grew restless. Indeed, that place could only be opened by that witch’s bloodline, confirming Yilu’s identity.
Before they could investigate, Lulong immediately stopped them. “You can’t go there now.”
“Why? That place might be open now.”
They didn’t want to help Lyr and Yilu, but rather to see if that place had been opened.
“Look behind her.”
Puzzled, Lulong’s expression suddenly turned solemn. Following his gaze, everyone widened their eyes and stared in shock.
Behind Yilu, the black aura condensed into a semi-entity figure. Noticing their stares, it turned its head to look back. Though it was merely a figure condensed from power, from a distance it increased the pressure on these veterans who had experienced many great events.
After gazing at them for a while, the figure raised its hand, placed its index finger to its lips, making a shushing gesture. This was a signal for them not to act rashly, and more than that, a warning.
The black arrows directly struck Nie Qi’s entire magic array.
“Huh?”
Sensing the other power, Nie Qi instinctively tried to absorb it as she had before. But before she could act, she immediately sensed something wrong. That was a power belonging to the same witch lineage as hers, yet purer, far exceeding her own.
The arrows pierced through. The entire magic array was shattered like a target, breaking apart in the night sky. Even the Thunder Fairy’s power was forced back. Lyr and Nie Qi both retreated.
But compared to Nie Qi, Lyr was utterly exhausted. His eyelids trembled involuntarily, and he could collapse at any moment.
“This aura is off,” Nie Qi muttered. “It’s even more terrifying than the old hag.”
Even when the previous Devouring Witch gave her power, she hadn’t felt this terrified. Turning to look, she too saw the figure standing behind Yilu.
“That’s impossible.”
She sensed that this was the Nightmare Witch’s true body. But this Nightmare Witch recorded in history had existed for even longer than the old hag, a truly legendary figure. How could she still appear now? And this power was even stronger than what she had heard of.
Yilu also noticed the movement behind her. Just as she was about to turn and see what was happening, the figure leaned in.
“Don’t mind me. Do what you want to do.”
The figure pressed tightly against Yilu’s back, and one hand slid along her arm to grasp her palm. Yilu instinctively wanted to frown, but the pain that hadn’t stopped since earlier suddenly vanished. The thorn that had pierced her palm dissipated, and even the wound on her hand healed.
Through the other’s hand condensed from pitch-black power, Yilu could faintly see a mark beginning to appear on her own hand.
“Now you don’t need to fear anything. The power you seek will all manifest here.”
Hearing this, Yilu did not turn around, but out of the corner of her eye, she still looked at the cheek of the figure leaning against her shoulder. For some reason, she seemed to understand her very well. Though it was her first time meeting her, she clearly knew what she wanted.
Saying she didn’t care who the other was would be a lie, but Yilu had a vague guess.