Suddenly, I snapped awake. The moment I opened my eyes, I saw Rufina Howard, her face streaked with tears. She was holding me, crying out in sorrow, while the clashing sounds of weapons rang clearly in my ears.
Slowly, my blurry vision began to clear. It was Yuna Ji, still locked in fierce combat with Tan Tian. She was covered in wounds, yet continued to defend against invisible attacks, just a few meters away from me.
Luna Quay remained calm and collected, sitting a little ahead in the courtyard with his eyes closed. At that moment, I saw him open his eyes and look in my direction.
"Little sister, don't cry. Take a good look around you."
My body was still extremely weak, without even the strength to speak. Inside, I felt completely empty. Recalling everything that had just happened, I was still shaken—the moment of death had been utterly terrifying. I hadn't reacted at all, nor seen clearly how Tan Tian's attack had struck.
Yuna Ji was still desperately holding on.
"Ethan, Ethan..." Rufina Howard noticed I had woken up and leaned closer, still crying softly, her sobs barely audible.
I parted my lips slightly and managed to call out softly.
"Girl, don't cry. Find a way to escape."
The difference in strength was overwhelming. I understood completely now—none of us were a match for Tan Tian, not even Yuna Ji. She looked close to her limit, new wounds constantly appearing on her body with no sign of recovery.
Yuna Ji's defeat was only a matter of time. I had sensed it earlier—Tan Tian had completely merged with the Nether Syndicate. Every blade of grass, every tree, even the air and the earth, was him. Anything visible could become his weapon, and his attacks were invisible, likely striking from the very air itself.
With a loud crash, I saw Yuna Ji fall from the sky, landing hard on the ground. Two fresh wounds appeared on her body. As soon as she hit the ground, it turned to sludge beneath her feet, something grabbing and pulling her down. Instantly, she gripped her spear, slashed twice through the mire, and soared back into the air.
Rufina Howard panicked, glancing around wildly. Then, suddenly, she let go and rushed toward Luantian Xuekui, who was watching nearby.
"Sister, can you help us? Help us get out of here."
Seeing Rufina Howard's humble demeanor, Luantian Xuekui only stared at her in confusion.
"There's no way out. Only if Tan Tian stops will you be able to leave."
I looked down at my body, feeling it slowly recover. Except for my feet and left hand, which were still numb, the rest of me had already regained sensation.
Yuna Ji fell from the sky again, this time tumbling toward me. Her gaze was resolute as she scanned the surroundings, still searching for something.
Just as I was about to speak, Yuna Ji raised her spear and thrust it at an empty spot in the air. Then, her entire body turned into a streak of green light, darting off into the distance, still fighting fiercely in midair.
I began to extend my Specter Web into the ground, sensing everything within the Nether Syndicate. I had vaguely noticed earlier that, although Tan Tian had merged with the realm, it was only partial. There were still many places where the flow of energy remained calm and normal, seemingly beyond Tan Tian's control.
Rufina Howard walked toward Luna Quay. At that moment, I felt that only Luna Quay could help us—maybe he had a way.
"Big brother, can you help Yuna Ji? Don’t you love her deeply? Please, help her, can you?"
"Little sister, words are useless now. Those two will not stop—only one will fall."
Luna Quay said only this, then closed his eyes.
At that moment, my mind was consumed by thoughts of the Five Elements. I slowly closed my eyes, spreading a vast network of Specter Web through the ground, probing the flow of power within the Nether Syndicate.
These powers must follow some kind of flow—there must be places Tan Tian cannot reach. What I needed to do was find those places, trace the source of the power, and move toward it.
Just then, I sensed a familiar force—Earth Power. I immediately released more Specter Web, searching for its source. As soon as I touched the Earth Power, I absorbed a little, and in an instant, my broken body began to heal.
Strength surged through me, and I became fully alert. The Earth Power was flowing in from outside—I could clearly sense its source. My Specter Web gradually approached it; it felt like a cross-section, with the Earth Power pouring out from there.
I opened my eyes, half-crouched on the ground, feeling the flow of Earth Power and the Specter Web gathering around me. I decided to move over and see for myself.
I extended the Specter Web from underground, preparing to use it to move myself across the ground.
The moment I turned into black mist, something struck me out of it with a bang, and I crashed to the ground. Glancing around, I sensed a violent force beneath the earth—it was Tan Tian, trying to block my escape. In that instant, I realized: this was the way out.
It seemed I had found the exit. Just then, Yuna Ji plummeted toward me. I reached out and caught her, but the impact was like stopping a falling shell—an enormous pit opened in the ground, and I landed in it, my hands numb from the force.
"I've found the way out. The three of us need to get there—there must be a way to escape."
"Move aside."
Yuna Ji said this and shoved me away. With a clang, she drove her spear into the ground, gasping for breath as she scanned her surroundings.
I noticed something off in Yuna Ji's eyes—a look that said she was ready to fight to the bitter end, with no thought of escape or retreat.
"Why, Yuna Ji, we..."
"Enough, Qingyuan. Now that my instinct has returned, I will follow it and face that old monster in a fight to the death—no matter the outcome."
Yuna Ji spoke in a low voice, then shouted, lifting her spear. This time, I saw it clearly—nine ghostly green streams of energy swirling chaotically around her.
"Yuna Ji, hmph, that's enough. I've already found your spirit's location—it's time to end this."
Tan Tian’s thunderous voice echoed, and the entire Nether Syndicate began to rumble. The sky around us darkened, a black-red dusk that seemed to foretell something ominous.
The moon above our heads vanished. As the rumbling grew louder, everything on the ground seemed to be drawn upward by an immense force, and I too began to rise into the air.
Luantian Xuekui grabbed Rufina Howard with one hand. Luna Quay still sat motionless on the ground. I fought to control my body, unfurled a pair of pitch-black wings, and beat them fiercely.
Everything around us was eerily abnormal.
Yuna Ji floated in midair, nine green streams of energy whirling chaotically around her.
A massive hole appeared in the sky, and the black-red clouds began to slowly recede to the edges.
I saw something in the sudden tear in the sky. The black-red clouds became restless, swirling in thick masses, curling toward the edge of the hole.
The rumbling grew louder. In the distance, black trees were ripped from the ground one by one, ascending toward the sky.
A vast, overwhelming power seeped down from the sky.
"Let’s end this in one blow, Yuna Ji. Since hope has become deep despair, you will join it—become despair itself."
Tan Tian’s voice sounded almost mournful, as if he once held great hope for something, only to have it crushed by sudden calamity.
Yuna Ji stared quietly at the gaping hole in the sky, raising her spear.
"Yes, hope and despair can change places in an instant."
I clenched my fists, anxiety twisting inside me. What should I do? I looked at Yuna Ji’s profile—she seemed to have accepted everything, as if she knew she would die.
I checked my own condition. I was in terrible shape—how could such weak power stand against the immense force in the sky?
But suddenly, I roared, tearing the sleeves from my arms, then beat my wings furiously and landed on the ground.
To fight such power, I needed power of my own. I had just died once, but now there was no time for hesitation. I raised my hands slightly, and beneath me appeared a pool of black miasma—countless Specter Web strands weaving together, stretching into the earth.
I had to gain strength. The Nether Syndicate held immense power—if I could absorb it and unleash it, we might stand a chance.
"You’d better not do that, Ethan Zhang. Are you trying to die? Didn’t you just come back from the dead?"
Luantian Xuekui spoke from the side. I looked at her and replied, word by word.
"I’m not trying to die. I just want to do everything I can to help my friends."
As I spoke, I forced my heart to calm, then shouted, beginning to absorb the power of the Nether Syndicate. In an instant, my body began to glow with strange, multicolored light.