The scattered sand gathered into a bottomless sea.
Nine black-armored knights stood at their designated positions, channeling their spirit power into their spears, forming a unique joint skill.
Unlike the pressure of rank, another powerful pressure descended from the heavens, distorting the very air and forcing Tang Sui to the ground.
Mental lock?
Sensing the change in the space above, Tang Sui narrowed her eyes and abandoned the idea of using her third spirit skill.
"Second spirit skill, Kind Face."
The second deep purple spirit ring glowed, instantly restoring her depleted spirit power to its peak.
This time, Tang Sui aligned with the crowd's expectations, streaking like a meteor across the night sky, plummeting straight down from the heavens!
"Cang Yan Evolved Skill—Black Cang."
The black ten-thousand-year spirit ring lit up.
Friction with the violent airflow generated by the demon power barrier sparked, and two dark golden masks, cloaked in black light, spun at high speed, creating a swirling vortex of air that descended from the sky!
A head-on collision?
The five black-armored knights at the front, forming a high wall with their formation, halted their advance. The other four knights leaped, their four pitch-black seventh spirit rings flaring brightly.
"Seventh spirit skill, Martial Soul True Body!"
Four giantized beast martial souls roared to the heavens, unleashing their most powerful attacks, meeting the descent head-on without evasion!
At the instant the swirling vortex was about to collide with the other four vibrant beams of light, black demon power flames flickered in Tang Sui's eyes. Her form vanished into the void, leaving the four with only the amplified fourth spirit skill, its momentum boosted by her descent!
In an instant, the five black-armored knights in formation below felt the ground suddenly soften.
Without any warning, the moment their crisis sense flared, they had already plunged into another pitch-black space belonging to darkness.
"Boom—!"
The explosion from the real world seemed to reach their ears from afar.
Twisted thorns lurked in the shadows all around.
They wriggled in the black mist, extending their tendrils to tightly ensnare the prey that had fallen into the shadow world.
What were those?
—Danger! Terrifying entities that meant death upon contact! Su Dan Novel Network.
The thought, "Absolutely cannot be touched," arose simultaneously in the minds of the five black-armored knights.
The thought came inexplicably, but they, who had always dealt with death, trusted their instincts and unleashed their full might, intending to escape this dangerous black space.
Brilliant spirit skill lights of various colors and martial souls manifested.
Their eyes were fixed only on the white, hole-like source above, their sole desire being to escape.
But they forgot that the Slaughter City was perpetually shrouded in darkness, with no sun or starlight, only the ever-present Blood Moon casting its crimson glow. Such pure white light simply could not exist.
"Buzz buzz—"
The light from their flashing spirit rings failed to illuminate this pitch-black space. The black-armored knights, immersed in their own world, remained oblivious.
A pair of enormous crimson eyes opened in the darkness.
Fair, tender small hands emerged from the darkness, gently pressing against the edge of a mask, firmly placing the mask resembling an ape-beast onto her face.
She gazed languidly at the prey, unaware they had fallen into a spider's web, the corners of her lips curving slightly beneath the mask.
What is the greatest difference between a demon and a spirit beast?
In this world where spirit power reigned supreme and spiritual power was weak, earthly demons could not be seen by humans.
Like an evil spirit toying with children, those without sufficient talent could not see, those without spirit power could not see, and those unwilling to be seen could not see.
And what demons excelled at was illusions, commonly known as—phantasms.
Every demon possessed a unique talent. With sufficient study and power, they could even develop their own "domain," which in this world was also called a realm.
The possibility of obtaining the Slaughter God's Domain lay in traversing the Hell Road, but the rules of the Hell Road seemed to hold no sway over her, so she had to find another path.
Some demons fed on human malice, with fear and blood as their seasonings.
Therefore—
She, too, could feed on their fear and malevolent aura. By capturing a fleeting moment of mental laxity, she could imprint psychological suggestions, manipulate their emotions, and drag them into illusions.
Six of them.
Tang Sui watched the black-armored knights engrossed in the nightmare she had created, gently wiping away the fresh blood flowing from beneath her mask, and exhaling a breath that mixed with the smell of rust.
The most successful illusion in this world was not facing one's deepest shadows, but offering a sliver of hope.
For people often leaped headfirst towards such "exits."
When their minds relaxed, or when their nerves were stretched to a breaking point, they could no longer escape the nightmare she had woven.
...
In the world above the ground, dust storms raged.
The dust stirred up by the ferocious attack had obscured their vision.
The great wolf jaws of the black-armored knight in the wolf-type martial soul true body opened, their sharp roars, carrying strong winds, scattering the gathering dust.
The sand and dust swirling in the air gradually receded.
The ground, dented or cracked by the terrifying attack, was exposed to everyone's sight, but the figures of the five black-armored knights and Tang Sui were nowhere to be found.
Silence fell upon the scene. One by one, they released their spiritual senses, or struck the solid ground with heavy palms, as if determined to find them even if they had to dig three feet deep.
But to their disappointment, the earth was not another space, but solid rock and soil.
"How can this be?"
"Where did they go?"
"No, I can't feel any trace of them!"
The four began to stir restlessly.
In the form of Martial Soul True Body, their spirit power consumption was immense; every second was a price paid.
"Half-domain?"
Not far away, Tang Chen narrowed his eyes, gazing thoughtfully at the spot where the five black-armored knights had vanished, a secret hint of satisfaction rising in his heart.
The little girl's talent was indeed good. It was not a waste of so much demon power; she had already touched the edge of a domain.
—Author's Notes—
The setting for demons was inspired by Natsume's Book of Friends, requiring spiritual power or special abilities to be seen.
In Douluo, this will be set as having extremely strong spiritual power.
Tomorrow we resume two updates! After a few days of rest, I feel much better and my motivation for writing has returned!