Chapter 210: The Ritual’s End

The Ritual’s End

Justin’s sword flashed with purple lightning.

The demonic beast raised its claws, releasing a wave of Demonic Qi. Justin stepped in and swept his blade upward.

[Heavenly Thunder Sword Art—First Form: Purple Thunderfall!]

Lightning crashed down. The beast’s defensive Qi shuddered under the strike.

Justin followed without pause, turning his sword as purple lightning gathered along its edge.

[Heavenly Thunder Sword Art—Second Form: Thunder Prison!]

Lightning pillars rose around the beast. It tried to break through, but Justin thrust his sword forward. A bolt shot between the pillars and struck its chest.

The creature convulsed and fell.

Justin withdrew his sword. Another roar drew his attention. A second beast was already charging.

Across the clearing, Adrain’s weapons filled the air. His Hundred Armaments Manifestation kept a demonic beast on the defensive, but its tough hide resisted his attacks.

Adrain’s fingers moved.

[Armament Master Art—Second Form: Ten Thousand Weapon Bastion!]

The weapons formed a rotating wall around the beast. It slammed its claws against the formation.

Adrain left a narrow opening.

The beast lunged for it.

His eyes flashed. The gap closed.

Weapons struck from every direction. Spears pinned the creature’s limbs while blades cut across its exposed neck. Adrain tightened his fingers, and one final sword descended.

The beast collapsed.

Adrain exhaled, then turned toward the next threat.

The Argon sisters fought close together.

Ambiel’s whip snapped around a demonic beast’s forelimb.

[Wind Binding Whip Art—First Form: Serpent’s Wind Lash!]

Wind Qi tightened around the creature, holding it in place. It pulled against the binding, trying to break free.

Anelle sent a concentrated gust into its side. The beast lost its balance and turned, exposing its flank.

Arvessa stepped in. Crimson flames and Wind Qi gathered around her sword.

[Crimson Gale Sword Art!]

Her blade swept across the creature’s exposed side. Ambiel yanked her whip, dragging it toward the ground, while Anelle’s next gust drove it down.

Arvessa struck again.

The beast fell.

The sisters immediately turned toward the remaining enemies.

Zhao Meiyun fought with measured movements, his pale-white Qi flowing along his sword. He didn’t rely on brute force or large displays. He redirected attacks, found openings, and struck where his opponents were vulnerable.

A demonic beast swung at him.

Zhao Meiyun turned his wrist, guiding the claws past him. His sword slid along the creature’s forelimb and cut into its shoulder.

The beast stumbled. He stepped around its next attack and thrust into its exposed neck.

Pale Qi flashed.

The creature collapsed.

Zhao Meiyun looked toward the ritual platforms. The light beneath them had changed. His expression tightened.

Something was happening.

——————————

Lothe’s spear collided with Seth’s.

The impact forced both men back several steps.

Death Qi spread across the ground, and distorted wraiths rose around them.

Seth lifted his black spear.

[Death Spear Art—Second Form: Wraith King’s Pursuit!]

Several wraiths rushed toward Lothe while Seth advanced behind them.

Lothe shifted his grip.

Spatial blades appeared around him and shot forward, cutting through the approaching spirits. But Seth was already close. His spear thrust toward Lothe’s chest.

Lothe turned aside. The weapon passed his shoulder, and he stepped inside Seth’s reach, driving his spear toward Seth’s abdomen.

Seth twisted away. The spearhead grazed his side.

A spatial blade followed, cutting through his robe and entering the wound. Spatial energy burrowed into the flesh, disrupting the flow of Seth’s Death Qi.

Seth retreated, circulating his Qi to contain the foreign energy.

Lothe didn’t give him time to recover.

He vanished.

A ripple appeared beside Seth, and Lothe emerged with his spear already in motion.

Seth raised his weapon.

CLANG!

The collision shook the graveyard illusion. Both men were forced apart.

Seth breathed heavily. Though his cultivation was higher, every exchange carried the risk of letting the spatial energy spread through his body.

Lothe was not trying to overpower him. He was watching for openings—every shift in Seth’s balance, every moment he spent suppressing the spatial Qi.

Seth tightened his grip. Death Qi gathered along his spear, and the wraiths behind him grew more solid.

Lothe narrowed his eyes. He couldn’t let the fight drag on.

Void Qi concentrated around his spearhead. The space ahead of him began to distort.

Seth’s expression changed. He recognized the danger and tried to retreat.

Lothe thrust.

[Void Spear Art—Third Form: Spatial Collapse!]

Space compressed around Seth. The ground cracked beneath his feet as the surrounding force pulled inward.

Seth’s Death Qi barrier buckled. He tried to escape, but the distortion had already caught him.

Lothe advanced, his spear aimed at Seth’s chest.

Seth’s eyes widened.

A hand seized his shoulder and yanked him out of the collapsing space.

At the same moment, a massive palm, covered in dense Corpse Qi, struck toward Lothe.

Leon had arrived.

BOOOOOOM!

The blow shattered Lothe’s spatial defense and sent him flying. He struck the ground, rolled across the broken stone, then caught himself with one hand and pushed upright.

Blood ran from his mouth. His spear remained in his grip, but his arm trembled.

Leon stood where Seth had been. He glanced at his disciple, who clutched his side, then turned toward Lothe.

His expression was cold.

A brilliant pulse of blue light erupted from the ritual platforms.

The clearing shook.

The inscriptions beneath the children lit up, their lines joining into a single pattern.

Zhao Meiyun looked toward the platforms. "The ritual!"

The Yangbane Locusts detached from the children one by one. Their swollen bodies glowed with stolen Yang energy as they scattered across the platforms.

The blue light intensified.

Then the array released one final pulse.

The ritual was complete.

Gong Sihe smiled faintly.

They had achieved what they had started.

Leon’s gaze swept across the battlefield—and stopped. The wolf-masked zombie lay motionless, its Corpse Qi fading.

The plain-masked guard had fallen as well.

"Elite One..." Leon murmured.

His eyes shifted to the second body.

"Elite Two."

Both of his strongest guards were dead.

Even Seth stared in disbelief. Each had been powerful enough to fight Core Formation cultivators.

Yet one had fallen to Asher, and the other to Seana.

Corpse Qi surged around Leon, cracking the ground beneath him.

His gaze moved from Asher to Seana, then settled on Lothe.

For a moment, it seemed he would attack. Then Gong Sihe turned toward a newly opened portal.

"We have what we came for. We should leave."

Leon’s jaw tightened. He clearly wanted to stay, but the ritual was complete, and the battle had already cost him two elite guards.

He grabbed Seth by the shoulder and pulled him toward the portal.

Seth looked back. His gaze briefly met Lothe’s.

They had nearly killed each other. Yet Seth still remembered that Lothe and Seana had once saved his life.

Then he looked away.

Leon dragged him through the portal. Gong Sihe followed.

Before leaving, the Zombie Lord turned back.

"I’ll make all of you pay for this!"

His voice echoed through the clearing.

Then the portal closed.

A sudden convulsion shook the nearest child.

Seana turned sharply.

The children’s bodies began to jerk against the platforms. Some trembled violently; others twisted as if in pain.

"The children!" Seana rushed to the nearest platform.

Zhao Meiyun hurried to another. "Careful! Don’t move them yet."

Seana knelt beside the boy. Her [Blood Sense] activated, and she carefully assessed his pulse and the flow of blood beneath his skin.

Her expression darkened.

Zhao examined another child, pale Qi gathering around his fingertips. His brows drew together.

"This is bad."

Seana looked up. "Worse."

Zhao went silent. His attention remained on the child’s unsteady breathing.

The ritual was over.

But the children were still in danger.

Seana turned back to the boy beneath her hands.

"We have to save them."?