A cold, mocking laugh echoed through the Great Bronze Sarcophagus.
The voice came out of nowhere, carrying a chilling, almost lifeless aura.
The darkness in the corner suddenly began to move.
It was as if the entire corner's darkness was shifting. Wherever the darkness passed—places previously lit by the Devour-Spirit Grubs—everything fell back into pitch black.
Whatever was inside seemed capable of swallowing all light.
Lily Zhao watched the darkness quietly.
She stood with her hands behind her back, unmoving, not even sparing a glance at Grandmaster Phoenix Bai, who was still rapidly gathering her spell at the peak of the Life-and-Death Sorcerer Tier.
All her attention was focused on the darkness.
"Let's see how much power a broken soul like you really has!"
"I refuse to believe it. After all my painstaking research and years of cultivation, finally reaching the peak of the Life-and-Death Sorcerer Tier, I can't destroy a mere remnant soul like you!"
Phoenix Bai's face twisted with madness, her voice tinged with countless shades of insanity.
Beside her, spell techniques were taking shape, waves of aura condensing.
Phoenix Bai's entire expression was twisted and terrifying.
The aura surrounding her grew stronger and stronger.
Her face kept shifting as spells flickered around her.
Just as Phoenix Bai leapt into the air, her aura reaching the peak of the Life-and-Death Sorcerer Tier, preparing to unleash her spell for a fatal blow against Lily Zhao—
That thick, frozen darkness appeared behind her at that very moment.
A hand reached out from the darkness.
It was a hand, pale and almost deathly white.
The hand pierced straight through Phoenix Bai's entire body.
A single, simple strike.
Just a moment ago, Phoenix Bai was at her most excited, at the height of her spellcasting. The next second, her eyes widened, filled with defeat, and she dropped lifelessly from midair to the ground.
Her body sprawled on the floor, trembling all over, her eyes still full of shock and confusion she couldn't hide.
Even at the moment of death, Phoenix Bai had no idea how she died.
She died with her eyes wide open, unable to rest in peace.
"You've stayed silent here for decades, never showing yourself. No wonder she never sensed a thing."
Lily Zhao looked toward the pitch-black darkness.
After swiftly finishing off Phoenix Bai, the hand withdrew back into the darkness.
The darkness stopped a short distance in front of Lily Zhao.
Within that deep, invisible darkness, no one spoke, and not a trace of terrifying power or aura leaked out.
A hush fell over the scene.
If Phoenix Bai weren't still lying there, completely lifeless, everything that just happened would feel like a dream.
"Both you and I are about to be buried under this Heavenly Tribulation. At this point, you still won't show yourself?"
"When Evan 'Nine Mysteries' Lin stood before me earlier, what did you feel?"
Lily Zhao spoke softly.
At that moment, overhead in the Great Bronze Sarcophagus, the rumbling grew even louder.
The Heavenly Tribulation pressed closer and closer, the air currents growing chaotic.
Lily Zhao's voice echoed inside the Great Bronze Sarcophagus, but in that thick darkness—aside from the initial cold laugh and the hand that reached out—there was no sign of a response.
The darkness stood before Lily Zhao.
Light and darkness, side by side.
The presence in the darkness faced off against Lily Zhao, separated only by that pitch black shadow.
"So, are you going to make a move, keep running, or come back to the world for round two?"
Seeing that the darkness stayed silent, Lily Zhao kept talking. Then she stepped forward, closing the gap a little between herself and the shadow.
She moved forward, but the darkness didn't react at all—as if nothing was really there.
One step, two steps, three steps.
Lily Zhao walked forward, slow and steady.
She could feel the pressure in the air mounting. With the Heavenly Tribulation hanging overhead, she honestly couldn't even be bothered to run anymore.
Naturally, she didn't have the mood to resist either.
Every bit of her attention was locked onto the darkness in front of her. Staring at it, her eyes flashed with complicated, heavy, and wary emotions, one after another.
Just as she reached the darkness, about to stretch out her hand and touch the shadow—
Boom!
A thunderous crash shook the entire Great Bronze Sarcophagus.
The sound was icy cold, carrying an overwhelming sense of authority.
The oppressive pressure in that moment was magnified without end.
Above the Great Bronze Sarcophagus, at the very top of the sky, purple thunderclouds boiled and gathered, finally condensing into bolts of lightning that just kept getting bigger.
Those bolts of lightning twisted and rolled through the black clouds like snakes, each one radiating a heart-stopping aura.
Lightning and thunder crashed around the sarcophagus.
Inside the sarcophagus.
That darkness, which had stayed perfectly still all this time, finally began to move.
The darkness retreated, swiftly leaving Lily Zhao's side and darting off toward the back.
"Now you want to leave? Too late."
Lily Zhao watched the darkness, her voice calm and almost friendly, like she was chatting with an old acquaintance—not angry or upset at all.
But the darkness didn't bother to respond.
When the darkness finally shrank back into the corner—
Lily Zhao closed her eyes, ready to face the Heavenly Tribulation and vanish into dust.
But she never expected what happened next.
Suddenly, the air around her heated up for no reason.
A scorching wave came in from outside the Great Bronze Sarcophagus.
The sudden spike in temperature made Lily Zhao pause for a second.
She turned her head toward the sarcophagus door, and saw flames roaring just outside, burning bright.
"Someone else showed up?"
Lily Zhao was honestly a little surprised.
She'd just burned through a ton of spiritual qi to send Evan Lin and the others away, fully intending to disappear alongside that darkness under the Heavenly Tribulation.
As for Phoenix Bai, her fate was already sealed.
With the Heavenly Tribulation about to hit, all of Coldspire Peak—and even the area around the Great Bronze Sarcophagus—was a total pressure zone.
Ordinary people couldn't even get close, let alone show up here. Even if someone managed to approach, they'd be crushed flat by the tribulation's pressure. Who would dare to come now?
Lily Zhao frowned, waiting a bit.
"It's been over a thousand years. This Heavenly Tribulation's been hunting me for more than a millennium, gathering spiritual qi and building up steam. But seriously, isn't this wait a little too long?"
All she could hear was the thunder getting even louder.
This time, it wasn't just thunder—it sounded like something was getting smashed apart again and again.
Lily Zhao didn't even have time to think it through.
Suddenly, the whole Great Bronze Sarcophagus shook violently.
The rumbling only got louder.
Lily Zhao felt more and more uneasy.
She glanced toward the corner, but couldn't tell where that darkness had gone.
But now, Lily Zhao didn't have time to worry about it.
She moved forward, heading straight for the sarcophagus door.
Even before she got close to the main door, Lily Zhao could already feel the heat from the flames getting stronger and stronger.