"Mmm!"
The moment Tang Sui died, Hai Wang Douluo outside let out a muffled groan, a trickle of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.
Large beads of sweat rolled from his forehead onto his eyelashes, causing a sharp sting as Hai Wang Douluo opened his eyes.
Sacred and gentle Sea God's light enveloped Hai Wang Douluo, who was now covered in sweat, dispelling some of the chill clinging to him.
"What's wrong?" Bo Saixi asked with concern.
Hai Wang Douluo gasped for air, his trembling pupils still showing lingering fear. "Her, her illusion... it's very wrong!"
This was the first time Bo Saixi had seen Hai Wang Douluo, a master of spiritual control, lose his composure. Her gaze sharpened as she looked at Tang Sui, standing on the hexagonal platform, like a lifeless sculpture in the wind, shrouded in blue mist with her eyes closed.
"What did you see?" Bo Saixi asked, unable to discern anything from a distance.
Hai Wang Douluo's lips quivered, his voice hoarse. "Darkness..."
"What?" Bo Saixi thought she had misheard.
"I don't know how to describe the existence I saw," Hai Wang Douluo struggled to move his stiff brain, searching for the right words.
"It was as if I was standing at the edge of an abyss, gazing down. The terror of being swallowed by the profound darkness the next second... it was a shudder that felt like my very soul was being devoured!"
Hai Wang Douluo took a deep breath and said, "In the hundreds of years I've been a Holy Pillar Guardian, I've seen the darkness in countless soul masters' hearts and the tragic memories they least want to recall. But none of them were like hers... like this..."
He could barely find a suitable adjective to describe the amplified darkness of Tang Sui.
Hearing this, Bo Saixi fell silent for a moment, then raised her hand, injecting both vast soul power and spiritual power into Hai Wang Douluo's body.
"Continue," she said. "Don't try to pry into her illusion specifically. Just amplify the domain effect and maintain it."
Hai Wang Douluo softly replied, "Yes." The thought of not having to see that terrifying darkness again brought him a sense of relief.
...
As countless waves of darkness assaulted her, Tang Sui opened her eyes in the dark room, propping herself up with her hands on the icy ground. She sat up and looked around with a hint of confusion.
Three plain wooden walls blocked other paths. Only the front was wide open, revealing a strange yet eerily familiar long, dark corridor that led into an area where the darkness was so dense, one could see nothing.
A draft, originating from somewhere unknown, hit a half-open sliding door to her front right, emitting a chilling and indistinct sound.
"What... just happened..."
Tang Sui stood up unsteadily, her senses on high alert as she looked around confusedly.
Then, in the next second, a bone-chilling sensation of being intensely watched by some terrifying entity made her pupils contract. She sharply raised her head and stared at the source of her unease.
"Hee hee hee—"
Countless masks, seemingly welded to the doorframes or the ceiling, peered down at her with smiles. Their eyes, curved into lines, overflowed with complex emotions.
"Let's play hide-and-seek!"
They giggled, their voices overlapping and rising and falling. "Remember, you can only leave if you're the last one alive."
Their voices sent a sharp pain through Tang Sui's head. The memory of being killed by an unknown entity in the previous scene flashed vividly in her mind like a painted scroll.
After a brief moment of analysis, Tang Sui lowered her hand from her forehead. In her deep blue eyes, a sharp killing intent flickered. For some reason, though they were all masks, these masks of varying shapes and styles no longer felt familiar. Instead, she felt a profound disgust, a desire to shatter them all.
This impulse, coming out of nowhere, made Tang Sui heighten her vigilance once more. She hadn't clearly seen what had killed her. But fortunately, she had come back to life. This time, she would not repeat her mistakes.
With this thought, Tang Sui let out a soft sigh, twisted her wrists, and looked into the pitch-black darkness ahead. Following the same route, Tang Sui no longer touched the sliding doors on either side. She listened intently to the changes in the wind, felt for any breaths other than her own, and slowly advanced into the depths of the dark corridor.
As she walked past the third sliding door, a whistling sound suddenly came from behind her. This time, hearing it clearly, Tang Sui quickly dodged to the side. She listened to the change in the wind, her eyes sharpening, and as she turned, she delivered a clean spinning kick, sending the tall figure hurtling backward.
The assailant's reaction was equally swift. The moment Tang Sui kicked, they raised their arms, crossing them in front to block, retreating only a small half-step before quickly switching from defense to offense, launching an attack at Tang Sui.
"Bang bang bang!"
Fist met flesh in close combat. The two of them began to fight in the dark corridor. Due to the lack of light, Tang Sui, unable to clearly see the attacker's face, could only judge from their movements that it was a tall, strong man. He seemed to wear some glittering silver ornaments, and a touch of gold.
Trying to create some distance, Tang Sui was caught by a sweeping leg attack. Tang Sui instinctively sidestepped, blocking with her right arm while her left hand clenched into a fist. Estimating the opponent's face position from their lower leg, she punched upwards.
As if expecting it, the opponent leaned back to dodge and, after stabilizing himself, continued to throw punches. As Tang Sui retreated, she unconsciously backed towards a sliding door that had lit up.
The orange-yellow light finally illuminated the face of the person she was fighting. It was a man with medium-length black hair and a handsome appearance. He wore a red soul master's robe, adorned with golden armor. The overly familiar six-winged feather emblem was engraved on the most prominent part of the golden armor, making it impossible for Tang Sui not to notice.
The instant she saw the iconic symbol, a fierce glint appeared in Tang Sui's eyes.
"Spirit Hall?!"
Hearing Tang Sui's indignant cry, the black-haired man, who had maintained a constant smile, chuckled. As if performing magic, a spear suddenly appeared in his empty hand and thrust towards Tang Sui's vital heart.
Tang Sui's pupils contracted. Dodging was too late. Gritting her teeth, she lowered her body, allowing the spear, already stained with blood, to pierce her left shoulder blade, just above her heart. The real pain of flesh tearing stimulated her brain. Tang Sui gritted her teeth, stubbornly raising her aching left arm to tightly grip the thin blade of the spear, which was trying to penetrate further. More blood and pain dripped from her fingertips.
Seizing the moment the spear was restrained, Tang Sui firmly grasped the shaft of the spear, excluding the blade, with her right hand. Using the spear as a fulcrum, she raised her right leg high and swiftly kicked towards the opponent's dan tian.
As if it were an instinct etched into his soul, the man instinctively released the spear he was holding, slid back to dodge Tang Sui's kick, and preserved his masculine pride.