I tried to kill the heroines of destiny, but they ended up chasing after me.

He now faces two choices. The first is to ignore the sword light and quickly move away from the abyss. However, doing so would likely result in him being attacked by the sword light and sustaining injuries. In this seemingly evenly matched battle, getting injured at this moment is not a good thing.

The second option is to confront the sword light head-on, completely block it, and then choose to leave. However, this would inevitably take him some time, and he doesn't think the mysterious man will let go of this opportunity to catch up. So, no matter which option he chooses, the final result seems to be unfavorable to him.

"Hmph! Since that's the case, I'll have a serious fight with you, a junior!" The old man in black seemed to know that he had no chance of escaping, so he decisively abandoned his original idea and was now determined to defeat the mysterious man directly.

In the next instant, black light surged from the old man's body, and demonic energy spread around him in an instant. When he advanced to the Transcendent Realm, the power of heaven and earth that he comprehended was quite special. It was neither the power of nature nor the power of living beings, but the power of the night.

This power was once classified as an illusory power by cultivators, but after careful research, later generations combined it with the power of daylight into a real power, because night and day are real and do not represent darkness and light.

Simply put, darkness and light are the true power of illusion, the power of the ultimate realm, which can truly be transformed into the power of the Dao. Night and day are at best a low-end version of darkness and light, since darkness and light encompass night and day, but night and day cannot encompass darkness and light. This is their biggest difference.

After he unleashed his insights, the already dim place suddenly became even dimmer, and even the mysterious man's sword light could not fully illuminate the area!

In the blink of an eye, in the darkness, a large, black sword, about thirty feet long, rapidly materialized. The moment it appeared, it shot forth like an arrow, directly under the old man's control, towards the approaching white sword light! While this sounds like a long story, the entire sequence of events—from the mysterious man's attack to the old man's counterattack—took only a blink of an eye, as their reactions were incredibly swift, leaving no time for further thought.

Without any suspense, a moment later, the white sword light and the black broadsword collided, as if black and white, as if night and day, as if two completely opposing forces had erupted at this moment, causing an extremely violent storm to suddenly appear.

It quickly swept across the surrounding area, causing a thunderous roar in the central abyss. Space itself shattered continuously, and the bones were instantly reduced to ashes by this storm, scattering in the air and falling to the ground.

If there were cultivators below the Nirvana Realm here, they would probably be torn apart and killed by this storm. Even those at the Transformation Realm would not be able to last long.

This illustrates the intensity of their battle.

As the storm gradually subsided, two figures burst forth from it, one to the left and the other to the right.

On the left is an old man in black. He is extremely pale, and his chest is covered in blood and gore, clearly indicating that he is seriously injured. He is lying on a rock, panting heavily. However, he is not sitting cross-legged to heal his wounds. Instead, he is ignoring his injuries and staring ahead with extreme vigilance.

The one on the right is naturally the mysterious man. He has been completely shattered into pieces in the storm, disappearing without a trace. His body has become even more elusive amidst the shifting between reality and illusion, as if he is about to dissipate. Fortunately, he has no physical body.

The mysterious man was also staring at the old man in black, and he didn't have much time to recuperate either, because neither he nor the old man in black knew when the other would launch the next attack. All they could do was be on guard!

"He actually possesses such power. If this kid truly had a physical body, I certainly wouldn't have suffered such minor injuries. If that physical body could perfectly complement his, I might actually have faced the danger of death. This is truly fortunate!" The old man in black murmured to himself, his eyes flickering slightly.

"Logically speaking, with the power of the Crimson Peak Sword and my understanding of sword intent, I should be able to defeat even a cultivator in the mid-stage of the Transformation Realm. Moreover, this old guy is only a mid-stage Transformation Realm cultivator who has just been promoted and whose realm has not been completely solidified. But..." The mysterious man, who was also thinking to himself, frowned and seemed to have a sense of helplessness.

"But I don't have a physical body, so my power can't be perfectly guided and I can't fully unleash it. Whether it's the Crimson Peak Sword or not, I can only use 60% to 70% of its power. As a result, this battle has become much more difficult. What a hassle!" Thinking of this, the mysterious man's brows furrowed deeper and deeper.

If the mysterious man were truly here, he could contend against a super strong person who was in the late stage of the Transformation Realm or even the Perfect Transformation Realm with just the power of the mid-stage Transformation Realm. His talent and strength are almost unparalleled. The mysterious man's talent for swordsmanship is definitely not bad. However, just as he himself thought, he does not have a real physical body, so he will be limited in all aspects.

But to everyone's surprise, just as the two were reaching a stalemate, the old man in black suddenly brightened up, as if he had thought of something crucial. He smiled slightly at the mysterious man and said softly, "Hey! How about we make a deal?"

"Hmm? A deal!" The mysterious man was slightly surprised upon hearing this.

“That’s right, it’s a transaction!” the old man in black nodded.

The mysterious man thought for a moment, but still asked, "What kind of deal?"

"It's very simple. A powerful and independent avatar like you probably doesn't have your own physical body yet, right? So... I'm willing to use a top-tier physical body in exchange for you giving up. What do you say?" the black-clad elder tempted.

"A top-tier physique?" the mysterious man muttered to himself in surprise. In fact, he had already guessed that the other party would see through his identity. After all, while it was not common for beings to transform into this type of life form, it was not too rare either. However, he did not expect the other party to make this request.

Perhaps sensing the mysterious man's hesitation, the old man in black's eyes flickered, and he quickly added, "Of course! If you're still worried, I'm willing to swear a solemn oath according to the rules that I will never break my promise. And as long as you agree, I will try my best to fulfill all your requests, except for your physical body!"

High above in the mountains, Gu Qici and the woman in white.

After the two arrived, they did not immediately start fighting. The woman in white simply observed Gu Qici carefully, and Gu Qici, to be on the safe side, did not take the initiative to attack.

In addition, due to the previous battle with the bald general, Gu Qici still had some minor injuries, so he wanted to take this opportunity to recover as much as possible. He also knew that the other party knew his thoughts, but with the strength of this woman in white, she would not care about Gu Qici's little trick.

Just as a master of martial arts wouldn't care if a child picked up a kitchen knife, this type of master has absolute confidence in their abilities.

"With such limited strength, you were able to defeat fourteen elites of our Demon Extermination Sect, including an elder at the early stage of the Transformation Realm. It seems your true strength far exceeds the realm of common sense!" At this moment, after observing Gu Qici, the woman in white suddenly said these words to him.

"Hmm?" Upon hearing this, Gu Qici's eyes flickered, a hint of doubt flashing across them, but she didn't think for long before continuing, "You flatter me. I was just lucky."

"Good luck? Your luck is truly extraordinary, but..." The woman in white paused deliberately, lowered her voice, and continued, "Can your luck continue like this?"

"Will things stay good forever?" Gu Qici frowned.

The woman in white stated directly, "I advanced to the Transformation Realm by comprehending the power of nothingness within the power of emptiness. My current realm is the mid-stage of the Transformation Realm, and I've even reached the peak of the mid-stage. Even a typical late-stage Transformation Realm expert wouldn't be a match for me. While your strength may rival that of a Transformation Realm expert, it's far from enough to defeat me..."

"Not to mention you're injured, and your strength has been reduced to a certain extent. So if you really want to fight me, the probability of you being killed by me in the end is over 90%. The remaining one percent is what you call a miracle..."

"But miracles aren't something you can just have whenever you want, so I want to ask you, do you really want to fight me?" As she finished speaking, the woman in white suddenly became more serious, which gave Gu Qici a deep sense of unease.

She didn't understand why the woman in white was telling him all this, or why she was asking this question. Did the woman in white intend to persuade the enemy to surrender before they even engaged in battle?

Gu Qici was right. The next moment, the woman in white continued very seriously, "Actually, I don't want to hurt you, nor do I want to engage in this pointless battle with you. So if you're willing, you can choose to surrender immediately. And as long as you surrender, I will ensure the safety of you and your friends. How about it?"

"Huh?" Gu Qici was stunned for a moment upon hearing this. After all, this was the first time he had ever seen someone surrender before the battle had even begun, so he was genuinely a little taken aback.

"Think it over carefully! Even if you don't care about yourself, you should at least care about your friends!" The woman in white said gently, her beautiful eyes slightly moving, as if she were coaxing Gu Qici.

To her disappointment, Gu Qici had no intention of retreating from the moment he arrived. So at this moment, he just chuckled, shook his head, and replied, "Forget it, I really can't bring myself to surrender. Besides, the war hasn't even started yet. Who knows what the final outcome will be?"

Hearing this, and seeing Gu Qici's resolute expression, the woman in white sighed, seemingly helpless, and muttered to herself, "Another person who doesn't cherish life! Another... fool!"

As she finished speaking, a chill suddenly appeared on the white-clad woman's beautiful face. At that very moment, before Gu Qici could even react, a terrifying force that shook the very air suddenly erupted behind her.

This caused Gu Qici's expression to change drastically. Without hesitation, he turned his head and looked sharply behind him. But what was even more strange was that he couldn't see anything at all. The power he had just felt had also disappeared without a trace, causing a faint sense of eeriness to permeate his heart.

"What?" The thought flashed through Gu Qici's mind. She frowned and turned back to look ahead, but to her surprise, the woman in white was nowhere to be seen, as if she had never appeared at all.

At this moment, Gu Qici's eyes narrowed sharply as she suddenly remembered what the woman in white had told her earlier, and she immediately became alert.

"The power of emptiness, the power of nothingness?" Gu Qici murmured to herself as she cautiously observed her surroundings. "Nothingness means there is nothing at all, so is she using the power of nothingness? But how can one use the power of nothingness?"

Gu Qici didn't have a deep understanding of the Transformation Realm, because it wasn't as straightforward as other realms. It was multifaceted, peculiar, and powerful. Every cultivator who could advance to the Transformation Realm was basically an outstanding individual in the cultivation world, and each person's personal insights were usually not shared with outsiders.

She has experienced this state of mind, and her insights are only relevant to herself.

So the woman in white wasn't wrong. Even if Gu Qici used all her trump cards, she might not be able to defeat her, who was at the mid-stage of the Transformation Realm. But "might not" is just "might not," it doesn't mean "certain." That's why, deep down, there was still a sliver of a possibility in Gu Qici's heart.

A moment later, the increasingly indifferent voice of the woman in white suddenly rang out again from somewhere in the sky: "I'll give you one last chance. Either surrender now, or die by my hand. Your choice..."

However, before she could finish speaking, Gu Qici decisively replied, "No need for nonsense."

After speaking, Gu Qici's expression became much more resolute. Hearing Gu Qici's words, the woman in white was slightly moved. After a moment of silence, she finally made a decision and sighed, "Alright! May you rest in peace!"

But as soon as these words were spoken, a strong sense of crisis immediately arose in Gu Qici's heart, causing her eyes to narrow and her body to instinctively move a little to the left.

Fortunately, this position saved her from certain death, because the woman in white had launched a deadly attack the instant she finished speaking. It was an invisible attack, without any fluctuations or manifestations, which would take a life as soon as it appeared.

Gu Qici relied on her intuition and instinct to save her own life, but she only saved her own life; the white-clad woman's attack was not ineffective.

In the blink of an eye, Gu Qici's left arm flew into the sky as if it had been sliced ​​open with a knife, dripping with blood.

"Wh...what?" Gu Qici was clearly shocked. Only then did the pain engulf her body, causing her to break out in a cold sweat. Her eyes darted around as she immediately covered her wound with her right hand.

But the battle was not over.

"No killing..." The white-clad woman's murmur spread through the air like a gentle breeze, but this voice directly stirred a deep sense of life-or-death crisis in Gu Qici's heart once again.

"Cold weather!" Gu Qici was sweating profusely, gritting his teeth, and shouted loudly in desperation.

As she spoke, countless small ice fragments immediately appeared, combining to form a huge sphere that surrounded Gu Qici, protecting her from injury while generating a powerful suction force, seemingly to counter the white-clad woman's attack of nothingness.

What no one expected was that the skill that had always been invincible in Gu Qici's hands had lost its power this time.

Just as the attack from nothingness was about to reach Gu Qici, a shocking scene unfolded.

At that moment, all the small ice fragments began to vibrate, and then, with this vibration, they slowly began to disappear, as if they were going from existence to illusion, from being to nothingness, gradually losing their power and everything they should have.

"Nothingness is nothingness, it is...zero! It is nothingness itself, so it does not exist." A soft murmur echoed in the sky, and when the sound ended, the ice fragments completely disappeared without a trace.

Chapter 142 I Had No Choice

This caused Gu Qici's eyes to widen in disbelief; her strongest defensive technique was completely ineffective.

This was something she had never imagined, yet it had actually happened right before her eyes.

However, there was no time for her to think too much. After the ice fragments dissipated, the white-clad woman's attack suddenly approached Gu Qici. It was unknown where it came from, how it happened, or what she should know. Therefore, Gu Qici had no way to dodge and could only rely on her intuition to act.

Overwhelmed by a strong sense of crisis, she took another step back, her figure subconsciously shifting slightly to the left. However, just like with her left hand, she still couldn't completely dodge the attack, which still made contact with her right leg.

Her aura began to weaken rapidly, and even with her self-healing abilities, she couldn't fully recover in a short time; this was a serious injury.

"You should have noticed by now that I deliberately let your intuition sense these two attacks, so that you would understand the difference between you and me. I don't want to kill anyone, and I don't want to see anyone die in front of me, do you understand? So please give up! If this continues, you really will die here."

The woman in white spoke again in a gentle voice, as if offering advice.

Gu Qici could tell that the white-clad woman's words contained no ulterior motives; after all, with her strength, she really didn't need to resort to any tricks.

Even if it means death, even if it means her soul is scattered, there is no reason to back down. This is her path, a path of no return. She can only walk it, walk it desperately, walk it regardless of everything.

"Thank you... It's just a pity I had no choice..."

In an instant, a gray light burst forth from her body, sweeping fiercely in all directions, turning the sky, the clouds, the mountains, and everything visible into an icy blue. In the distance, there seemed to be a falcon and several magpies. The falcon was hunting the magpies, and just as it was about to succeed, the gray light swept over, and both the falcon and the magpies turned into statues.

This is the power of the Yin energy, this is her backup plan. She originally wanted to hold back a little longer, but now she had no choice but to use it, because the woman in white was just too strong, so strong that she felt that no matter what supernatural powers or secret techniques she used, they would be useless.

Therefore, in this situation, the only hope that can be placed on is the Yin energy that she has been struggling to suppress.

Otherwise, as the woman in white said, they would surely die here, and that is not the outcome they wanted.

At the same time, when the woman in white saw this deep blue color, she immediately let out a soft sound of doubt. She had never seen such power before, and she had not seen that Gu Qici possessed this power before, so this made her a little stunned. But she was a powerful expert in the middle stage of the Transformation Realm!

Needless to say, her reaction speed was superb; she regained her senses in the blink of an eye.

"Its power is strong, but it's still a little lacking compared to my power of nothingness..." the woman in white thought to herself. Then she casually launched another attack of nothingness. But this time, she didn't let Gu Qici's intuition sense it because she didn't want to say anything more. Not wanting to kill doesn't mean she can't kill. She had already given Gu Qici enough chances.

Formless, colorless, and imperceptible, there seems to be only one way to defend against this attack: to discover the Dao power hidden within it, since it is not generated naturally but is unleashed by a cultivator at the Transcendent Realm.

Therefore, there must be a corresponding power fluctuation, but this fluctuation is very light and subtle, almost as if it does not exist. In order to feel this power fluctuation, one must be stronger than the woman in white, or at least at the same level, otherwise it will all be in vain.

Gu Qici could not possibly be stronger than the woman in white; her insights and experiences were ultimately just that—insights and experiences.

The two are vastly different in both realm and power; their levels are simply unequal. Therefore, it is impossible for Gu Qici to defeat the woman in white.

However, there is a twist here: this "impossible" only applies to the "present," because Gu Qici cultivates the power system of the "present," and the woman also cultivates the power system of the "present." If a power that does not belong to the "present" were to appear, perhaps this situation could be changed.

The chill generated by the power of Taiyin is a power that does not belong to the 'present'. According to the course of history, she should only be able to comprehend it after the Emperor's Path is opened.

This is the only change that Gu Qici can cause here.

Just then, as the attack was about to make contact with Gu Qici, Gu Qici's eyes suddenly flickered. Using the surrounding cold air to surge, she seemed to finally sense the attack. Because the cold air was not erased by the white-clad woman's power of nothingness like the previous ice fragments, something unexpected happened in that instant.

In an instant, Gu Qici's eyes flickered, a resolute look flashed across them, she gripped the halberd in her right hand, and without hesitation, she covered the halberd with cold air, and suddenly threw the weapon to her left!

"What?!" The white-clad woman watching Gu Qici's actions suddenly exclaimed in surprise. If she could see Gu Qici's beautiful face now, she would definitely be extremely surprised, because she knew very well that the direction Gu Qici was counterattacking was the same direction she was using the attack of nothingness, because this direction was also where she was hiding in the space.

In an instant, the halberd roared through the air, shattering the void and causing the sky to rumble. However, before it had traveled halfway, it seemed to have hit something and exploded, causing the aftershocks to rise up and turn into a hurricane that swept in all directions.

The mountains below trembled and were instantly flattened. The sky above was also constantly exploding with a rumble, until it turned into fragments that fell to the ground like spatial rain. It was clear that the clash of power between the two had reached the level of influencing the rules of the world.

Perhaps because the aftershock was too strong, the white-clad woman who had vanished into nothingness had no choice but to reappear from the void and activate her Dao power to defend herself. However, even with her defense, she could not remain completely unharmed. A trace of blood gradually seeped from the corner of her mouth, presumably from the aftershock that she had suffered some injury.