Chapter 339 - 338: An excellent team

"Yuan, she is pulling the domain back!"

Lin Yuan nodded.

"I can see that. She intends to abandon the outer network and concentrate the spatial authority around herself, making it harder for me to exploit the central connections."

He glanced toward Bai Qingyue.

"Release the outer bindings, but keep the seals closest to her. We do not need to restrain the entire network anymore."

Bai Qingyue immediately understood his intention.

She withdrew part of her Qi, allowing several blue seals to dissolve. The pressure that had been building across the outer region suddenly eased, and Sha Luo’s spatial network began collapsing inward without encountering the resistance it had previously faced. However, Bai Qingyue retained the bindings closest to the central intersections, forcing those particular connections to remain stable even as the rest of the domain contracted.

Sha Luo’s eyes widened.

She had expected Bai Qingyue to struggle to maintain the entire domain, and she had prepared to exploit the moment when her Qi became exhausted. Instead, Bai Qingyue had deliberately released the outer bindings, redirecting her remaining energy toward the connections that mattered most to Lin Yuan’s strategy.

The change was subtle, but it disrupted Sha Luo’s timing.

The central network continued to contract, yet the fixed connections could not follow the new arrangement. A violent strain spread through the silver rings, and the surrounding spatial relationships began to pull against one another, creating a brief instability at the very point where Sha Luo had concentrated her authority.

Lin Yuan’s eyes flashed.

"Now!"

He stepped forward.

Golden-purple thunder descended from the sky, converging upon his right palm, while silver-blue rain gathered around his left hand. The principles of Three Rebirths connected the two forces, creating a circulation that followed the unstable relationships within Sha Luo’s domain.

Rather than attacking the silver rings directly, Lin Yuan directed the strike toward the point where the fixed connections resisted the collapsing network.

His palm descended.

The impact produced a sound like a thousand thunderclaps.

Golden-purple lightning spread across the central intersections, while silver-blue rain penetrated the gaps between the conflicting spatial relationships. The force did not destroy the ancient laws beneath the domain, but it disrupted the arrangement Sha Luo had imposed upon them, causing the silver rings to shudder violently.

For a moment, the entire domain froze.

Then the central connections broke apart.

The silver rings cracked, and the vast network of spatial lines collapsed into a storm of shimmering fragments.

The surrounding mountains returned to their proper positions, the distorted distance between Lin Yuan and Sha Luo stabilized, and the oppressive pressure that had filled the battlefield began to recede. The Sacred Grounds trembled beneath the release of accumulated spatial energy, but the ancient foundation remained intact.

Bai Qingyue withdrew her remaining seals.

Her crystalline domain faded, and the intense Heaven and Earth luck that surrounded her began to settle. She remained standing gracefully, the sheer silk of her pale blue gown unharmed. Although her Qi had been heavily taxed by the struggle, her aura remained stable, and she immediately turned her attention toward Lin Yuan to ensure that he had not suffered any serious injuries.

Lin Yuan stood several dozen feet away from Sha Luo.

His robes fluttered in the residual wind, and the golden-purple light in his eyes gradually dimmed. He had not escaped the battle without spending a considerable amount of energy, but his Dao Fruit had gained another valuable insight into the relationship between spatial laws and the structure of an ancient Dongtian.

Sha Luo remained suspended above the broken ground.

For several breaths, she said nothing.

The silver rings that had surrounded her wrists were gone, and the spatial network she had spent countless years refining had been dismantled. Her enormous scorpion form gradually returned to a more compact human state as the dark armor began to recede.

Her expression was no longer completely calm, because she had finally encountered an opponent who could identify the principles underlying her techniques and exploit them before she could adapt.

She looked toward Bai Qingyue.

Then she turned her crimson eyes toward Lin Yuan.

"So this is the strength of your Dao Companion," Sha Luo said quietly. "I had assumed that she would serve primarily as a support for your cultivation, but I was mistaken. Her ability to stabilize the connections within my domain was far more troublesome than I anticipated, and without her interference, you would have needed considerably more time to understand the structure of my technique."

Bai Qingyue’s crystalline blue aura shimmered behind her.

"You should be grateful that I only restrained your connections. If I had wanted to destroy them outright, I would have made a greater effort to do so."

Sha Luo’s expression darkened.

Lin Yuan, however, could not help smiling slightly. Even after facing a terrifying scorpion demon and participating in a battle that could determine their survival, Bai Qingyue had retained her confidence and composure. She did not regard herself as an accessory to her husband’s strength, nor did she believe that her role was limited to standing behind him and offering encouragement.

She was his Dao Companion.

Their paths were connected, but neither of them needed to disappear into the other’s shadow.

Lin Yuan approached her and placed a hand against her waist. "You did well. Your decision to bind the central connections instead of attacking the entire network gave me exactly the opportunity I needed."

Bai Qingyue turned her blue eyes toward him.

"And you did well by noticing that I could not hold the entire network indefinitely. If I had continued reinforcing every seal, Sha Luo would eventually have exhausted my Qi through the pressure of her domain. Releasing the outer bindings forced her to change her approach, and that was enough to disrupt the timing of her technique."

Lin Yuan nodded.

"That is precisely why fighting together is different from simply combining our attacks. You understood the limitations of your technique and adjusted your strategy before the situation became dangerous. I was able to focus on the underlying structure because you handled the immediate pressure, and your decision to preserve the central bindings gave me a stable point from which to act."

Bai Qingyue’s expression softened slightly.

"Then I suppose we make a good team."

"An excellent team," Lin Yuan corrected.