At this moment, a shrill scream escaped Gu Qinghuan’s lips.
The next instant, a force of Taiyin, even more violent than before, erupted from her body!
That power was incredibly pure.
Even the golden divine flame restraint set by Jing Linglong trembled violently under the impact of this force.
The moment Lu Ning felt this aura, she snapped awake.
She looked at Gu Qinghuan, whose eyes were blood-red and whose body was surrounded by a visible ice-blue frost, and she was momentary stunned.
‘Things seem to be getting out of control.’
‘This rebellious disciple… she’s going to completely turn dark!’
“Oh?”
A hint of interest appeared in Jing Linglong’s phoenix-like eyes.
She released her hold on Lu Ning and studied Gu Qinghuan with great interest, speaking in a calm tone.
“As far as this Princess knows, there is a forbidden secret method within the Demonic Path that allows one to trade their longevity and soul for a sudden explosion of strength in a short period of time.”
“Looking at your current state, you seem to fit that description perfectly.”
“What? Do you intend to use this suicidal method to fight this Princess to the death?”
Jing Linglong’s voice was light, but the words left Lu Ning dumbfounded.
‘Burning longevity and soul?’
‘This rebellious disciple actually wants to go that far?’
“Qinghuan! Stop it now!”
Lu Ning’s voice was filled with anxiety.
She looked at the Gu Qinghuan who had completely lost her sanity, her heart filled with self-reproach and regret.
“Qinghuan, stop using this secret method immediately! That is an order!”
Upon hearing Lu Ning’s voice, Gu Qinghuan’s blood-red eyes flickered slightly, as if she had regained a sliver of clarity.
“Master, you are not wrong.”
“What is wrong are those bad women who covet you and want to steal you away from my side.”
“Even if I exhaust my very life, I will never allow anyone to bully you.”
Gu Qinghuan paused, and a sickly, paranoid smile appeared on her cold, beautiful face.
“Master, only I am allowed to bully you.”
As soon as she spoke, the aura on her body began to skyrocket!
Her cultivation, which was originally only at the Early Great Ascension stage, was forcibly pushed to the terrifying realm of the Late Great Ascension stage in that single moment!
Seeing Gu Qinghuan’s stubbornness, Lu Ning knew she could no longer hesitate.
She had to stop her!
‘System! Use the Blind Box Experience Card immediately!’
Lu Ning quickly issued the command to her system within her mind.
[Ding! ‘Blind Box Experience Card’ has been used. Randomly drawing cultivation level…]
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for drawing Early Great Ascension cultivation. Duration: three minutes.]
‘Early Great Ascension? It should be enough.’
A vast, boundless power suddenly awakened within Lu Ning’s body!
Although the realm was only the Early Great Ascension stage, the essence of that power was far higher than Lu Ning had anticipated.
Following that, Lu Ning slowly stood up from the jade bed.
Her long black hair fell loosely behind her, but her eyes now seemed to contain terrifying visions of the birth and death of stars, life, and the cycle of all things.
“Domain, expand.”
Hum —
An invisible ripple surged outward.
In an instant, the entire Sovereign Hall was enveloped in a strange light that alternated between black and white.
Lu Ning’s figure appeared before Gu Qinghuan as if she had teleported, silent and ghost-like.
She looked at the blood-red eyes and the tear-stained face of her rebellious disciple, and her heart ached inexplicably.
Then, she reached out and gently flicked the other woman’s forehead.
Dong.
With a crisp sound, a stream of divine essence, alternating between black and white, flowed from her fingertip and was slowly injected into Gu Qinghuan’s body.
That divine essence was extremely gentle, instantly suppressing the violent Taiyin power that had grown wild from burning her life force.
Not only that, the divine essence began to repair her severely damaged soul and meridians in an incredible manner.
After finishing this, the blood-red color in Gu Qinghuan’s eyes gradually faded, returning to their usual clarity.
She stared blankly at Lu Ning.
The madness in her eyes retreated, replaced by an endless sense of grievance.
“Master…”
Gu Qinghuan spoke with difficulty, her voice raspy.
The next moment, her body went limp, and she collapsed forward.
Lu Ning reached out and gently took her into her arms.
She looked at the unconscious disciple in her embrace, her heart filled with complex emotions.
A moment later, she slowly turned around and directed her gaze toward Jing Linglong, who had remained calm throughout the ordeal.
By now, a look of solemnity had appeared on Jing Linglong’s face.
However, that solemnity was quickly replaced by a playful smile.
“An Ning, you really were hiding a trump card.”
Jing Linglong’s voice rang out slowly, breaking the silence.
“Just like when you saved me from that assassin back at the Phoenix Palace.”
“However…”
Jing Linglong paused, a trace of doubt flickering in her golden eyes.
“Early Great Ascension? Your strength this time is much weaker than it was back in the Kingdom of Dahuang.”
Lu Ning was speechless upon hearing those words.
Holding Gu Qinghuan in her arms, she walked slowly to the large jade bed, gently laid her down, and covered her with a blanket.
Only then did she turn back to Jing Linglong, a helpless expression appearing on her face.
“Eldest Princess, what exactly do you want to do?”
“What will it take for you to let me go?”
Lu Ning’s voice was filled with exhaustion.
She truly did not want to continue this entanglement with the Eldest Princess.
The memories of her previous imprisonment were still vivid in her mind.
However, after hearing her words, Jing Linglong slowly shook her head.
“An Ning, you seem to have misunderstood something.”
An “innocent” expression appeared on Jing Linglong’s face.
“In fact, even if you hadn’t made a move just now, this Princess would have saved her.”
“After all, if she dies, who would be left to witness our happiness?”
“It’s a pity she’s unconscious now. She won’t be able to see how you willingly throw yourself into this Princess’s arms.”
Hearing Jing Linglong talking to herself like this, Lu Ning felt her scalp tingle.
She took a deep breath, and a cold light flashed in her eyes, which had regained their icy composure.
“Eldest Princess, you don’t really think you still have a chance of winning under my Heavenly Demon Domain, do you?”
Lu Ning’s words carried an air of composure and dominance.
Within the Heavenly Demon Domain, she was the sole ruler.
Looking at Lu Ning, whose aura was now fully unleashed, Jing Linglong showed no fear.
Instead, an unprecedented battle intent ignited within her.
“We will only know if I have a chance after we fight.”
“An Ning, you don’t truly believe that with your mere Early Great Ascension cultivation and an incomplete domain, you can defeat this Princess, do you?”
“You underestimate me, who has returned from the Phoenix Ancestral Land.”
As her voice fell, an even more terrifying and overbearing golden Phoenix pressure radiated from her body.
Behind Jing Linglong, a massive Ancient Divine Phoenix Avatar, 100 feet tall and burning with golden divine flames, slowly emerged.
The avatar let out a high-pitched phoenix cry toward the sky.
Then, the terrifying divine fire, capable of incinerating all things, instantly enveloped the entire Sovereign Hall.