The barren black earth, its cracked fissures exuding the stench of sulfur and decay.
The dark red sky hung low, like the coagulated plasma dome of a dying creature.
There was no wind, only a viscous, soul-drowning silence that flowed slowly.
Chu You stood on a relatively flat patch of scorched earth, slashing her blade to fend off the ceaselessly attacking abyssal creatures, looking increasingly battered.
She could clearly feel her body being continuously eroded by the pervasive abyssal aura from all directions; the subconscious urge to completely give up resistance and merge into it became increasingly hard to ignore.
Before and behind her, within a hundred meters, lay piles of twisted remains slowly dissolving into black mud, returning to the earth.
These were the marks of various creatures captured and corrupted by the abyss—bone beasts, melting corpses, shadow grudges…
They had surged like a tide, with silent howls and pure malice, trying to devour, tear apart, and assimilate Chu You.
And now, this relentless surge that had lasted for who knows how long finally subsided.
It wasn’t that the abyss had exhausted its power, but that its manipulator had changed strategy.
Chu You panted slightly.
Her coldly beautiful face was stained with a few spots of oily black mud, accentuating a fragile pallor.
Her combat suit was torn in many places, revealing dark red wounds that were slow to heal from the abyssal aura burns.
The most severe was a wound on her left shoulder, with flesh turned out and edges showing an unhealthy gray.
Wisps of black qi were trying to burrow into her body along the wound, but she was barely holding them back with her own clear energy.
They annihilated each other, causing continuous, piercing pain.
Her consumption was immense.
Not just in stamina and energy, but also on the mental and willpower level.
Resisting the abyss’s assimilation and erosion was far more difficult than resisting physical attacks.
It was a grinding on the essence of existence, as if countless cold files were slowly scraping away her individuality, memories, and emotions that made Chu You herself, trying to reduce her to the most basic, purest abyssal nourishment.
Every swing of the blade to kill an abyssal creature, every mobilization of power to purify the filth invading her body, felt like burning her own unique qualities as fuel.
Sweat, mixed with blood, dripped along her well-defined jawline onto the scorched black earth, hissing softly before evaporating.
“Such astonishing resilience, Miss Chu You.”
A sweet voice broke the silence.
Ayane Hanyu still stood at her original position, her gorgeous cherry blossom-patterned kimono immaculate.
Her smile was as bright as blooming poppies, completely out of place with the hellish surroundings, making her seem even more eerie.
She clapped lightly, took a step forward in her wooden clogs, and a fleeting dark red spark bloomed underfoot.
“To have lasted so long under the bone-eroding tide of my Abyssal Corridor, and even gradually figured out these children’s attack patterns, starting to eliminate them efficiently…”
Ayane Hanyu tilted her head, the deep dark vortex in her eyes slowly rotating with pure appreciation and greed.
“The luster of your soul is even more brilliant than I imagined, even more… unique.”
“I’m looking forward even more to what kind of energy you can burst out with~.”
Chu You did not respond, only tightened her grip on the short blade in her hand.
A clear light flowed along the blade, reflecting her cold and determined eyes.
She knew that the real danger was only beginning.
The hunter’s game… was over.
“But then,” Ayane Hanyu’s smile receded a little, adding a trace of predator-like focus and cruelty.
“A gem also needs polishing, and the best way to polish is… to take the knife to it yourself.”
The moment the words fell, Ayane Hanyu moved.
Without any earth-shattering fanfare, her figure merely blurred slightly, and the next moment, she appeared less than three feet away from Chu You, as if by teleportation!
The wide kimono sleeves moved without wind, and a pale, slender hand with bright red nail polish gently struck toward Chu You’s temple, as tenderly as a lover.
The movement was graceful, without any hint of hostility.
But in that instant, every hair on Chu You’s body stood on end!
That wasn’t a physical palm strike—it was a condensation of pure abyssal erosion force!
Before the palm even arrived, the icy deathly stillness that could freeze thought and rot the soul had already enveloped Chu You’s head!
The short blade’s clear light flared, and in the nick of time she slashed horizontally—not at the hand, but at the most concentrated core trajectory of that invisible erosion force!
The blade light and the invisible erosion force collided.
There was no sound, but a visible ripple of mixed clear light and twisted black ripples spread outward!
Chu You gave a muffled grunt.
She felt a bone-chillingly cold, mountain-heavy will slam into her spiritual world along the blade.
Her vision went black, and she involuntarily staggered back three steps, each step leaving a deep footprint on the scorched earth.
A trace of blood spilled from the corner of her mouth.
As for Ayane Hanyu, she merely retracted her hand gracefully, as if she had just brushed away a speck of dust.
Her smile grew wider, and darkness surged in her eyes.
“Quick reaction, but unfortunately… the power level is far too different.”
She moved again.
This time, it was no longer a single palm strike.
Her figure flickered in and out around Chu You, like a butterfly among flowers or a death-dealing wraith.
The wide kimono sleeves fluttered, and each swing sent out a cascade of brilliant, tangible cherry blossom petals.
But these petals were no longer mere sharp blades—each one contained pure abyssal power, carrying both physical cutting and mental erosion effects, attacking from all directions like a storm!
At the same time, her pale hands either struck, pointed, or grabbed.
The techniques looked as elegant as a dance, but were actually vicious and insidious, targeting the nodes of Chu You’s energy flow, her existing injuries, and the weak points in her mental defenses.
Chu You spun her short blade into an impenetrable defense, the cold blade light forming a rotating orb that tightly protected her.
The crisp clanging rang out incessantly—the sound of the blade shattering cherry blossom energy blades.
The hissing corrosion sound set teeth on edge—the sound of clear light and abyssal force annihilating each other.
Her footwork was pushed to the limit, dodging and weaving in the small space, barely avoiding Ayane Hanyu’s seemingly gentle but actually lethal close-range attacks.
Her combat skills were impeccable—calm judgment and precise timing allowed her to find a sliver of life in desperate situations time and again.
But the gap was objectively there.
Ayane Hanyu was faster, on a higher power level, and her control over abyssal force was supernatural.
More terrifyingly, Ayane Hanyu’s fighting style carried a cat-and-mouse playfulness and composure.
She seemed in no hurry to kill Chu You immediately; instead, she was enjoying the polishing process, savoring the pleasure of watching Chu You struggle in desperation, inch by inch driven into the abyss.
“Left side.”
Ayane Hanyu smiled sweetly in warning.
She struck out with her palm, clearly aiming at Chu You’s right shoulder, but the moment Chu You blocked, the palm force split into two.
A second, yin-soft force bypassed the blade light and lightly stamped onto Chu You’s left ribs.
“Ugh!”
Chu You felt as if struck by a heavy blow.
Her ribs groaned under the strain.
She spat out a mouthful of blood, and her body staggered to the left.
“Behind you~” Ayane Hanyu’s voice came like a ghost from behind.
Chu You endured the intense pain and slashed backward with her blade, but cut only air.
At the same time, a sharp stabbing pain came from her back.
Several needle-like cherry blossom petals pierced through the hastily condensed protective clear light and embedded deep into her flesh.
The icy erosion force spread instantly!
“Ah!” Chu You stumbled forward a few steps and used her blade to support herself on the ground, barely avoiding a fall.
From the wound on her back came not just excruciating pain, but also a terrifying numbness and a sense of detachment, as if that part of her flesh and soul was being forcibly gouged away.
This was only the beginning.
The battle that followed became one-sided suppression and abuse.
Ayane Hanyu’s attacks were like a relentless bone-eating worm, never-ending, always finding the weakest moment in Chu You’s defense.
Chu You resisted, dodged, and counterattacked with all her might, but it was like being trapped in a net woven of cherry blossoms and abyss, tightening with every move.
New wounds kept appearing on her body.
Her right calf was grazed by a shadow tentacle that shot out abruptly from the ground, stripping away a piece of flesh and leaving a charred burn mark.
When blocking with her left arm, it was touched by Ayane Hanyu’s fingertip, and the entire arm became ice-cold and numb, almost losing sensation.
Her cheek was cut by a drifting cherry blossom, leaving a thin trail of blood.
As blood dripped, it actually carried a faint gray tint…
The heaviest blow came when Ayane Hanyu seemed to tire of this petty torture.
Her figure suddenly solidified directly in front of Chu You.
She slightly curled the fingers of her right hand, palm up, and made a lifting motion.
In an instant, the entire scorched earth beneath Chu You’s feet abruptly came to life!
Countless viscous, seemingly living dark sludge gushed out like a fountain, immediately entangling her feet and legs, and spreading to her upper body!
The sludge contained terrifying suction and corrosive power, not only firmly restraining her movements but also madly devouring her energy and vitality!
Chu You let out a clear cry, and her short blade erupted with unprecedented blazing clear light, stabbing downward fiercely!
The clear light and dark sludge clashed violently, producing a terrifying sizzling sound, temporarily halting the sludge’s spread.
But most of her strength was spent on countering the bondage at her feet.
In that moment of stalemate—Ayane Hanyu’s figure closed in like a phantom.
Her left hand formed a sword-like finger, carrying a condensed black sharpness, and struck like lightning toward Chu You’s chest!
This strike was no longer a tease; it carried clear killing intent and a sense of finality!
There was no way to dodge!
A fierce glint flashed in Chu You’s eyes.
Instead of dodging, she let the black finger blade stab toward her heart.
At the same time, her right hand, gripping the knife, twisted at an impossible angle, turning the short blade into a mournful arc aimed back at Ayane Hanyu’s neck! A life-for-life trade!
Ayane Hanyu seemed not to have expected Chu You to be so determined.
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