Elena Rainveil was blasted back nearly a thousand meters before she managed to steady herself. Her face was so pale it was almost frightening, yet the crimson at her lips stood out starkly. Her chest heaved uncontrollably, and several wounds—so deep they exposed bone—throbbed with searing pain that made her grit her teeth.
Quickly pulling a pill from her storage ring, Elena swallowed it, then focused her mind and once again drew on the borrowed Stellar Power. This battle was a showdown—either she would live or die. There was no room for holding back, not even a shred.
Just then, a figure flashed before Elena. "Elena, you’re hurt badly this time. Don’t worry—with me here, I won’t let them lay a finger on you!" the newcomer declared.
"Blue-Shade, you damn pig—I thought you weren’t going to show up! I’m not afraid of most of them, but Poison Maiden Tia Thorn is another story. She’s carrying Peerless Doom Poison, so you’d better be careful too!" Elena gritted out, fighting through the pain.
"Don’t worry. If that bitch dares use poison today, she’s not leaving alive. Does she really think Rainbow Court is defenseless?" Blue-Shade God-Venerable shot back.
"Blue-Shade, this has nothing to do with you. I advise you not to meddle in these muddy waters, or Skysoar Sect won’t be so polite." the Skysoar Sect Master warned coldly.
"Why waste words with him? Elena’s already wounded—once we finish her off, what’s Blue-Shade to us? You two need to cooperate with me. I’ll poison Elena at the right moment." Tia Thorn transmitted secretly to the Skysoar Sect Master and Drifting Cloud Guild Pavilion Master.
Both men nodded in grim agreement, and in a flash, the battle resumed—Skysoar Sect Master facing Blue-Shade God-Venerable, Drifting Cloud Guild Pavilion Master attacking Elena again, while Tia Thorn seized the chance to unleash Peerless Doom Poison.
This time, Elena was utterly resolved. She pushed her Stellar Power borrowing to the absolute limit—everything would be decided by this one strike. This was the secret martial art she’d honed for years, never revealed to outsiders, but now, at this life-or-death moment, she had no choice but to unleash it.
Its name—Illusory Heaven Art! A technique merging palm and sword-qi, its might was overwhelming. Elena was confident this blow could finish her opponent.
As the Drifting Cloud Guild Pavilion Master lunged at her, Elena’s lips curled into a strange, chilling smile—one that sent shivers down the spine. But her opponent wasn’t one to be underestimated. Knowing he was outmatched in Stellar Power, he held nothing back, unleashing his most powerful hidden technique.
Instantly, the sky over Rainbow City erupted with a storm of palm-shadows interwoven with devastating sword-qi. If not for Rainbow Court’s guardian grand-array, the estate would have been reduced to rubble, just like the city below. Even so, the impact was immense.
The Pavilion Master’s sword-qi was even more domineering than before, radiating a soul-shaking pressure that made weaker onlookers feel utterly powerless. Of course, only those beneath his level felt it. In a flash, the two ultimate attacks collided.
Tia Thorn hovered in mid-air, hunting for the perfect opportunity to poison Elena. Peerless Doom Poison was terrifying, but it had a critical weakness: it could only truly take effect through open wounds, or if poured directly into someone’s mouth. Against the uninjured, it was almost useless.
But the latter scenario was basically impossible—who would waste such a rare poison by trying to force-feed it to someone? If you’ve already subdued your enemy enough to do that, why bother with poison at all?
Boom! Boom! Boom!
With each deafening explosion overhead, the ruins of Rainbow City split open—massive fissures hundreds of meters deep tore through the ground. The soil of the God Realm was nothing like that of the Immortal or Lower Realms; if Elena and Pavilion Master fought like this anywhere else, the entire Immortal Realm would have been reduced to dust.
But to crack the earth so deeply was almost unheard of. Aside from that one ancient War of the Gods, nothing like this had happened in millions of years.
In this exchange, Elena was the clear victor. The Pavilion Master was blasted away, and this time, he didn’t get up for a long while. He wasn’t dead, but his injuries were so gruesome it made onlookers flinch.
Half the muscles on his body had vanished, many of his organs were ruptured, and even the God Infant in his dantian was exposed. Drenched in blood, he was a walking corpse—his face twisted into a mask of agony, every muscle contorted into a grotesque snarl.
Now, he had no strength left to fight. Elena’s strike was beyond anything he’d imagined—such a powerful martial art, yet completely unknown. He was certain it could rank among the top five in the God Realm, and yet it had remained hidden all this time.
Elena, too, was wounded again—though not as horribly as the Pavilion Master. Several fresh gashes marred her body, and after being blasted back hundreds of meters, she finally steadied herself.
Throughout the fight, she’d kept her guard up against Poison Maiden Tia Thorn’s sneak attacks. But it seemed the Iron Lady hadn’t found a chance—unbeknownst to Elena, Tia had already poisoned her.
Tia had calculated everything perfectly. She knew Elena would be knocked back by the Pavilion Master’s strike, so just as their attacks were about to collide, she darted several hundred meters behind Elena, whipped out a black porcelain bottle, and scattered powder into the air.
The powder vanished instantly, but Tia knew Peerless Doom Poison now hung invisibly in the sky. As soon as Elena was sent flying, she’d pass right through it—the dust would seep into her wounds, and then there’d be no saving her.
After releasing the poison, Tia retreated at lightning speed—so stealthy that no one noticed a thing. That’s why Elena never realized she’d already been hit by Peerless Doom Poison.
Elena’s trajectory matched perfectly with where Tia had released the poison. It was invisible and odorless, but the moment it entered Elena’s body, the reaction was immediate: black, foul-smelling smoke billowed from her wounds, the stench as sickening as rotting flesh.
Elena instantly knew she’d been poisoned—and not just with any venom, but Peerless Doom Poison. She never imagined she’d be hit without even noticing. Without an antidote, despair crashed down on her heart.
A flood of memories surged through her mind. Bitterness welled up—she’d finally reunited with the man she’d yearned for, only for it all to be ruined by this venomous woman. She burned with hatred for Tia Thorn, desperate to cut her down, but now she was powerless.
She could feel her strength draining away, her wounds rotting faster and faster, and her Divine Power was utterly useless. All of it—every bit of suffering—was because of that woman.
At last, she dropped from the sky, landing hard on the ruined ground. Pale as death, she stared at Tia Thorn nearby, wanting to speak but unable. For the first time, Elena truly understood just how terrifying Peerless Doom Poison was.