"Now then- let's finish our battle, shall we?"
Mingzhi turned to look at the Heavenly Ghost Crow.
He instantly turned tail and began to flee without saying anything, causing countless people to be shocked. It seemed like he knew the Heaven's Warriors would come, so he dared to face the forces of the Divine Emperor of Death, but since they left, he decisively left.
Mingzhi smirked and raised her hand, pointing, "Stella, capture him. I won't leave that shit alive after he didn't want to apologize to Yilla thrice."
*Fhi!~*
Abruptly, the sound of an arrow whistling towards the distance could be heard as Realm Master Yughen unleashed the Crescent Ghostbow.
The darkness arrow made a beautiful arc eight hundred thousand kilometers away and pierced through the Heavenly Ghost Crow's left white wing, causing him to drop altitude.
Then descended an image of a purple tree above the Heavenly Ghost Crow, its roots spreading and burrowing into the layers of space.
Venerable Knight Lussandra hadn't left much distance. When she sensed this terrifying power, she shuddered ever so lightly.
'Another existence at the layer limit... the Void Dust Empress...'
Even if her understanding of Space Laws was higher, she didn't think she could compete with a Void Dust Tree that had eaten a Gilded Realm Ascendant Pill that was said to have been rewarded to the inheritors of the Candidacy.
She was aware that it granted a higher prowess.
At least in the lower layer, she knew she couldn't compete. After all, the Void Dust Tree was known to make mini-realms. The control it had over creating and stabilizing space was incredible, leaving them unable to make a tear unless their own energy was high enough and in this layer, energy was the problem. Overusage would only result in her getting kicked out of the fabric of the realms.
Realm Master Yughen unleashed a few more arrows with the Crescent Ghostbow in succession, the arrows flowing across the skies silently and knocking down those feys who had the blood of the Heavenly Ghost Crows. He couldn't kill them quickly since they were also powerful, but he was certainly capable of defeating them.
"Ghostly Crow Clan~"
Mingzhi stepped forward, "Obediently keep your heads down for the time being, and no one has to get hurt. After this exchange, we'll see to it that you're all relocated to your preference. We don't need the realm but only the realm core. If you listen to us-"
"Truesoul Sacrifice: Curse of Heaven!"
Abruptly, a terrifying screech echoed in the distance, but Mingzhi and the others couldn't hear it because it was so far away.
However, Mingzhi's heart sank.
She could feel something weird clawing at her soul.
It was as though an invisible force brushed against her existence, seeking her soul signature amidst the chaotic air currents. Her devouring energy instantly roared into action, exuding a suction force that corroded and swallowed the creeping wisp of death. However, even as it weakened the foreign curse, some of it slipped past her defenses and latched onto her core, sinking deep into her truesoul.
"...Tch!"
Mingzhi's expression flickered as she took a step back.
She immediately cycled her energy to refine and dissolve the curse, but she realized something chilling- the curse was not just damaging or corrupting her. It was doing something else, and she didn't know what it was!
"Careful! Rumors say that kind of curse provokes the heavens, causing you to face a heavenly tribulation that would be extremely powerful!"
Mingzhi turned to look at the Ghostly Crow Realm Master, who looked as though he was going to die, his expression pale.
However, upon learning the nature of the curse, Mingzhi calmed.
"Just an increase in the tribulation's might…?"
Her lips curled in disdain.
Far away, the King-Tier Heavenly Ghost Crow, blood dripping from his beak and chest, gave her a deranged grin even as his wings drooped and he plummeted toward death.
"Even if I die... You... will be cursed...!"
His life force collapsed entirely as the final residue of his Truesoul Sacrifice consumed him.
The feys watching in horror gasped. Truesoul Sacrifice was one of the ultimate suicide arts a person could make, a soul offered entirely to fuel a cursed miracle, leaving no chance of reincarnation. The curse would sabotage the soul of the victim in the reincarnation cycle in return.
It was not something even specific to the Heavenly Ghost Crow.
However, the Heavenly Ghost Crow even made a better version of it with their unique darkness energy, allowing them to bring down heaven's might with it. This ability was merely a rumor, so no one thought it was true until the Heavenly Ghost Crow used it.
Perhaps it was something that only a King-Tier Heavenly Ghost Crow was capable of mastering.
"It… it's a three-level increase! It's not something to-"
"Still weak." Mingzhi cut Realm Master Yughen off.
Still, she sat down in mid-air, focusing on the curse.
It was ephemeral. It was obscure. It bypassed her physical might and even her devouring prowess to a small extent.
Her senses remained heightened, and her mind raced.
'This kind of attack... curses, karmic binds, entanglements... they're not my forte...'
She finally understood a vital flaw in her otherwise overwhelming power. Devouring Laws and Twilight Laws granted her near invincibility in direct combat, but against elusive and intangible arts like karmic laws, soul curses, or bindings- she had little true resistance unless she finished it in a single overwhelming strike.
Even as she suppressed the curse, it stubbornly clung to her truesoul like a brand marking her destiny.
If not for her devouring energy blunting most of it, she might have already been cursed fully.
"Elder sister~"
Yilla and the others appeared by her side, looking worried. Stella also appeared, looking angered while she had the corpse of the Heavenly Ghost Crow by her side. He was dead, but she was too late in suppressing him.
He decisively used a sacrificial technique- not to harm her but to harm Mingzhi.
"Mingzhi…"
Yotan appeared by her side, "Try using Twilight Laws. The juxtaposition of light and darkness either enhances illusions or weakens it. It should be the same for curses of this nature."
"…!"
Mingzhi listened to Yotan and instantly had an idea.
Her soul essence, filled with twilight energy, burst out. However, it wasn't aggressive or defensive. Instead, it made her soul sea become filled with the light of dawn and dusk. The truesoul curse that attached to her soul and didn't seem like it would ever leave suddenly appeared as though it had lost its grasp, abruptly seeping out of her.
"Wha-"
The others were shocked as they saw a black-white rune floating before her.
"Evil fiends, die!"
The ghostly, rabid voice of that Heavenly Ghost Crow resounded from that accursed rune. It shot towards Sophie, but she instantly dodged it. The accursed rune made a turn and rushed towards Stella, who also dodged it. Lady Fillia, Realm Master Yughen and the others all dodged one after the other.
It was dissipating fast, so they knew it was about to be done.
However, it suddenly made a sharp turn and shot towards-
"Yilla!" Mingzhi screamed out as she reached out her hand. Devouring energy surged out, trying to pull the accursed rune into it. However, it was unknown if she could make it.
Yilla held her breath, trying to dodge, but it was too fast for her!
The accursed rune abruptly shot toward her soul and smashed into the forehead.
Yilla froze. However, her wide eyes were focused on the white-robed person before her.
It was none other than Yotan, whose hair swayed violently. It didn't take much for Yilla to realize that she had gotten hit in her stead.
*Pui!~*
Yotan spat out a mouthful of blood, her eyes losing focus. Clearly, the curse wasn't just about provoking the heavens. It also packed a powerful blow, one that didn't cause harm to Mingzhi but was still enough to harm her.
She hadn't reached the layer limit, after all.
Yilla also realized that if it had hit her, she would've been dead.