In the darkness of the secret tunnel, a sliver of light appeared.
It was a faint flame.
This flame had appeared at some point, clinging to the wound in Qin Ye’s palm, slowly "burning"... but due to the effect of the "Xumi," no matter how it burned, the spreading contours of the Blazing Light always fell short of the wound by a hair’s breadth.
Attempting an ambush?
What a pity... the difference in strength was too vast.
Qin Ye’s expressionless gaze turned to the youth clutching the bronze box, and with a light flick of his fingers, he scattered the faint flame.
The bronze box had been opened.
The password was accurate.
At that moment, Gu Shen was holding the box tightly... the bronze box left by Lu Cheng should contain the most complete Lion Awakening technology data.
A deep shout rang out.
A massive spiritual power surged like a tide, turning Gu Shen’s complexion abruptly pale; he felt as if a thousand needles were piercing his mind, which seemed about to explode at any moment.
The bronze box slipped from his grasp.
In an instant, the box transformed into a straight line aiming for Qin Ye’s hand.
As the bronze box slipped from his grasp, a perfectly timed expression of "shock" appeared on Gu Shen’s face. His mind felt as though it had been pricked by a myriad of mithril needles, enduring tremendous pain, yet the sliver of "serenity" deep within remained unlost.
Images from the Jingzhe Breathing Technique surfaced in his mind.
The immense pain was suppressed at that moment.
All his spiritual power focused on the "Chi Huo" that had been easily dispersed earlier.
A gleam flashed in Gu Shen’s eyes, brilliant and shining; he clenched his fist, making a grasping gesture, and for a moment the pitch-black underground secret tunnel seemed to explode with fireworks. The weak flame surprisingly streamed back in a sleek line, hurtling toward the bronze box that had reached in front of Qin Ye.
The nature of Chi Huo was to devour everything!
Even Extraordinary Essence could not avoid it!
The illogical material wrapped around the bronze box was released at the moment of the flame’s impact on the box, joining the beautiful yet mournful fireworks display.
Qin Ye’s pupils suddenly contracted into tiny dots, his pupils reflecting the "slow" splattering of black radiance, the blackness engulfed by the flame, carrying the familiar scent of order collapsing... suddenly blooming before him.
All the data, all the remnants, turned to nothingness at the moment the flame crushed the bronze box—
Destruction occurred in an instant.
The bronze box that had reached his palm was not a trophy.
Rather... it was a true bomb.
"Xumi" had never been exerted with such complete effort before, and in the thousandth of a second Qin Ye realized something was wrong, he tried to shake the bronze box free from his hand and added layers upon layers of domains, to stretch the distance between him and the box.
So close, yet worlds apart.
But it was still too late... In the face of the illogical material, the Extraordinary Power of the "Xumi" was completely ineffective, and the mass symbolizing death and annihilation exploded in front of Qin Ye, the rampaging black light enveloping him like a facehugger, all happening so fiercely and quickly, without screams or cries of pain... and even the explosion of the bronze box made no sound.
All was devoured by the illogical material inside the bronze box.
It was unimaginable how Lu Cheng had incorporated such a substance into the coating of the bronze box... it was a weapon far more terrifying than those made of mithril.
Gu Shen’s reaction was unbelievably fast.
The moment the bronze box exploded, the excruciating pain from the thousands of needles in his mind suddenly vanished... he knew Qin Ye had been affected, but there wasn’t the slightest trace of relief in his heart.
Because Gu Shen knew that no matter how terrifying the illogical materials were, they were essentially "agents of order collapse." As an Angel Envoy who walked the Five Continents in the stead of the Divine Throne, their most primal instinct was to eliminate "black spots."
So far, they had not seen any sign of Qin Ye’s insignia!
Though the assassination attempt was fortunate, alas, the self-destruction of the bronze box was unlikely to kill an Angel Envoy... And the time they had now was the most precious for escaping with their lives.
All of Qin Ye’s spiritual power was concentrated in the struggle against the illogical material, and the restrictions of Xumi had been lifted!
Gu Shen’s words shocked everyone back to reality.
The lady took the lead, with Gu Shen quickly escorting her. They both sped along the iron ladder, escaping upward towards the well opening.
Lu Nanjin brought up the rear; she remained calm, watching Qin Ye who lay motionless on the underground floor, wary of him lashing out at a critical moment.
But the destructive power of that ring of black brilliance was too strong.
Qin Ye’s head seemed to be sucked down and collapsing into the ground.
Could someone with such "injuries" still survive?
With this thought in mind, Lu Nanjin made an additional strike while retreating... She threw the short sword, which was meant for close-quarter kills and final draws, with great force, causing a strong gust of wind in the underground secret tunnel.
Because it was thrown with such velocity.
The sharp short sword streaked in a straight line.
But, regrettably... even though his face was "embraced" by the illogical material from within the bronze box, seemingly leading to Silent Annihilation, Qin Ye had still not lost consciousness. The Extraordinary Power of Xumi clung tightly to his flesh, so the short sword came quickly and was repelled even faster, its handle becoming embedded into the stone wall beside the iron ladder with a "ding" sound.
Seeing this, all three felt their hearts sink.
Gu Shen’s earlier speculation was confirmed... If things went as expected, Qin Ye would recover soon.
They had to seize every second to escape for their lives!
Reaching the ground level.
Gu Shen looked up, an intense expression on his face. Enhanced by the vision of Chi Huo, he could see clearly, the old quarter’s night sky was faintly enveloped with flowing darkness.
Was this the entire range covered by Xumi?
Chu Ling immediately transmitted the latest locations of the two Titled individuals.
"Gu Zhi has entered the domain of Xumi from due south, signal lost,"
"Zhou Jiren is preparing to enter from the southeast, I recommend you retreat in that direction."
After determining the direction,
Gu Shen took a deep breath, "Let’s go!"
Initially, the lady had supported Lu Nanjin, but now that Lu Nanjin had regained consciousness... she carried her sister on her back, dashing in the direction pointed out by Gu Shen. Lan Qie was an ability for forceful attacks, but it wasn’t just for killing people.
The essence of Lan Qie was the control of wind.
Besides "fending off enemies," it had other wonderful uses.
Gu Shen ignited Blazing Light, running swiftly, feeling extremely light on his feet as if a pair of hands were pushing him from behind. Numerous sounds of wind whistling past, converging like spirits in the night air of the old quarter, propelling the two swiftly forward!
At this critical juncture, he could not care for anything else... The Truth Ruler in his sleeve began to consume spiritual power.
Lu Nanjin looked surprised.
She was carrying her sister and running with all her might. Under the boost of Lan Qie, her speed was so fast that afterimages were visible. But suddenly a second force of lightness emerged from behind her as if she had grown wings—
She soared to the roof of an old building.
The two ran swiftly under the large moon, on the roof of the old building, over the crisp sounds of the aged bricks and eaves.
Lu Nanjin turned her head to look at Gu Shen.
The young man’s running speed was so fast that his upper body was nearly parallel to the ground, his cuff fluttering, continually spilling brilliant silver light that interweaved with the winds trailing behind them.