The sword's body was etched with patterns of Xuanwu turtle scales, and its hilt was a deep blue. As it streaked across the sky, it left behind a long trail of frost, like ice crystals formed on a snowy field.
"Gan Jiang Sword?" Hui Bai Tong murmured. He recognized the sword as Yan Yu's personal weapon, which had traveled from the Blue Star.
But if it was Yan Yu's sword, why was it moving so fast? And why was it aimed at him?
Hui Bai Tong couldn't comprehend it. He raised his left hand, as if to pull the sword from his chest. However, halfway through, a web-like frost began to spread from the sword's body onto him.
*Crack, crack, crackle...*
His body became a frozen sculpture, everything except his head.
Hui Bai Tong frowned. He couldn't exert force, nor could he use his abilities. He was frozen from the inside out. Helplessly, like a kite with a broken string, he fell towards the Black Water River.
In the bottomless Black Water River, there was a crocodile demon.
It watched the falling figure, its cavernous maw opening as it leaped from the water, its rows of sharp teeth seemingly capable of tearing anything apart.
"No!" the Wine Immortal Taoist roared in grief, his eyes reddened, as if unable to believe what he was witnessing.
"Excellent! Let's all attack together!" Huo Yao exclaimed, his eyes burning with fire. The others then unleashed their abilities, intending to completely obliterate the falling figure.
Charles floated out, his silver-white data streams flickering and calculating. In the end, he could only sigh with resignation.
"It seems there's nothing we can do."
"This body has already been restored once due to a soul switch. Unless it's restored again, or you break through to the fifth realm, neither of which is possible now."
"I wonder where I'll go after you die," Charles couldn't help but lament. He hadn't expected the night's battle to be so full of twists and turns, shifting back and forth multiple times in such a short period. Even Hui Bai Tong, who had emerged from seclusion, was on the brink of death. He couldn't imagine who else could save them.
"Where do I go after death?" Hui Bai Tong murmured in confusion, as if he had never considered the question.
He had just emerged from the palace after achieving enlightenment, possessing peak condition and strength. Learning from his previous mistakes, he hadn't been arrogant, maintaining constant vigilance, yet he was still pierced through the chest by a sword.
Perhaps, this simply meant his strength was insufficient.
"I had originally wanted to stay out for a few more days," Hui Bai Tong said to Charles as he fell, "Now it seems I'll have to go back to the Heavenly Palace to sleep."
"Sleep?!" Charles's voice was bitter. "Xu Mu lost, and now you've lost. We have no options left, only death. Where else is there to sleep!"
"Death? No, it won't happen," Hui Bai Tong calmly shook his head. "I believe I won't die."
"This has nothing to do with strength or luck. I simply believe I can survive. In these six and one-third seconds of falling, a turning point will surely appear."
Hearing the certainty in his tone, Charles forced himself to perk up and scan their surroundings. All he saw was the crocodile demon, tens of meters long, the wild onslaught of abilities, and Changsun Wuji lurking nearby, eager to strike. These were all forces aiming to kill him. Where was the turning point?
"Yan Yu is struggling to protect himself, the Wine Immortal is gravely injured, and in another 2.71 seconds, you'll be dead. So where is the turning point?" Charles asked with despair.
"There," he turned, looking in one direction.
"There?" Charles turned his head. His electronic eyes pierced through the chaotic abilities and saw the anxious and disheveled figure of the Wine Immortal Taoist.
"What can he possibly..." Charles began, but before he could finish, a familiar figure suddenly appeared beside the Wine Immortal Taoist.
It resembled a white tiger, with flames of deep purple flowing over its body. It had wings and after a brief pause beside the Wine Immortal Taoist, it suddenly appeared beneath Xu Mu's body.
"Qiong Qi!" Charles exclaimed in surprise.
"Brother, I've arrived!" Qiong Qi, carrying Xu Mu, said in a solemn yet weak voice. The Samadhi True Fire easily melted away the flames.
"Mm," Hui Bai Tong responded. Though he couldn't move, he could still sense spatial fluctuations, which was how he knew Qiong Qi had arrived.
*Boom!*
The surging abilities in space were drawing closer, their pressure terrifying. The Gan Jiang Sword, unable to withstand the scorching heat of the Samadhi True Fire any longer, let out a sharp cry and swiftly fled.
"There's no other way, we have to take a gamble!" Qiong Qi roared in desperation. He immediately enveloped himself and Xu Mu with the Samadhi True Fire, then unhesitatingly tore through space, plunging into the abyssal darkness and disappearing like a stone cast into the sea.
*Crash!*
The instant they vanished, the various abilities in space arrived. They collided, and the boundless sea of fire clashed with mountain-like fists, exploding with immense force. However, they were then cut to pieces by an unseen ability, causing the space to tremble.
*Rumble, rumble, rumble!*
The myriad abilities erupted, failing to kill Xu Mu but succeeding in destroying the fifth-realm crocodile great demon.
*Hum...*
After an unknown period, the violent winds and waves gradually subsided.
Huo Yao, controlling his Dharma form, approached the center of the explosion, his eyes piercing, trying to locate their whereabouts, but it was clearly in vain.
"They escaped," Huo Yao said, his expression grim.
"They escaped, but they're probably dead," Annie said, a hint of regret in her expression.
"Friend, on what basis do you say that!" Old Ancestor Wang's face lit up. As if grasping a lifeline, he quickly asked.
At his question, everyone present, including the Wine Immortal Taoist and all the ability users, turned their gaze to Annie.
"Don't you know, even if you comprehend the Great Dao of Space, you can't just teleport arbitrarily," Annie said, sounding somewhat timid, hiding in the fur of the fire giant bear.
"Please elaborate," Huo Yao said earnestly.
"Alright, actually, spatial teleportation is very dangerous. Without a specific coordinate, it's easy to get lost. And once you're lost, you'll encounter spatial turbulence. Even an Emperor Realm expert can only resist that for a moment. Qiong Qi didn't have coordinates, so they'll die!" Annie explained.
Hearing her explanation, the Wine Immortal Taoist couldn't help but ask:
"Then how do you know Qiong Qi didn't have positioning coordinates? Perhaps they've already returned to Xishan!"
"Senior, my abilities told me so!" Annie said, grabbing a few strands of the fire giant bear's fur and climbing to the top.
"I'm not a Beast Master, but a Summoner. Tibbers is a creature I summoned from another dimension, so even though I haven't comprehended the Great Dao of Space, I'm very sensitive to spatial fluctuations. Teleportation with fixed coordinates is different from random travel. I can distinguish them clearly!"
Annie blinked her bright eyes and continued with a smile:
"And Senior, didn't you hear?"
"After Qiong Qi and Xu Mu entered space, they seemed to have encountered something terrifying and let out screams!"