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

However, at this moment, the black-robed man who was still launching an attack above seemed to sense Gu Qici's change, causing him to be suddenly stunned, and his expression suddenly revealed surprise.

At the same time, with a serious expression, Gu Qici raised the Nine Nether Emperor Halberd the instant the woman in red disappeared and slashed fiercely once again.

This slash, however, was not aimed at the man in black robes, nor at the black sun, but at the previous slash.

As soon as she unleashed her strike, a tiny beam of light shot straight into the sky, then quickly merged with the almost vanished strike, and in that instant, the strike gained a new radiance.

It wasn't black or white, nor was it blue; it was a dark red... a deep, dark red.

Then, the dark red color rapidly concentrated, and in an instant, it transformed into a sphere, a very large dark red sphere, like a moon, full of mystery and strangeness. And just after it fully emerged, the black sun that was rushing towards it slowed down slightly.

If you looked at it at this moment, you would see that in this space, a black sun and a red moon, each with their own unparalleled power, collided together and appeared as if frozen in time in the eyes of the black-robed man and Gu Qici.

But this was still not the end. The moon was not as huge as the black sun, at most only one-fifth the size, and after that attack, it was still in a weak position.

This situation was naturally observed by the man in black robes, which strengthened his resolve, which had initially made him somewhat fearful: "Hmph. Even if I am severely injured, even if I can no longer unleash the full power of the Imperial Demon Jade, even if your power does indeed frighten me, you still... cannot defeat me."

Having pondered this, the black-robed man's eyes flashed. Ignoring his illusory body, which was now at its most ethereal, he resolutely chose to burn his life force once more. This time, he was more decisive. If you looked closely, his left hand and his feet were no longer visible, as if he had truly vanished.

Not only that, but even his chest had darkened. Yet, with the help of this madness, the black sun suddenly intensified its aura, and its crushing power remained.

Similarly, Gu Qici understood that the dark red moon was weakening. Without hesitation, a resolute look flashed across her face. She let out a soft shout, and her power surged forth, quickly merging into the dark moon's color.

As expected, the size of the dark red moon increased several times due to Gu Qici's spiritual power, almost equivalent to one-third of the black sun. When its aura collided with the black sun, it caused most of this space to begin an endless collapse.

Chapter 155 Evacuation

However, Gu Qici's current strength is still not as great as the black-robed man's; she can only barely prevent the black sun from setting too quickly.

But the black sun is still descending at a slow pace.

Despite the black-robed man risking his life, his aura continued to increase at an imperceptible rate.

Even the dark red moon, where it collided with the black sun, had some tiny cracks. Upon closer inspection, it seemed that Gu Qici wouldn't be able to hold out for long if she didn't have other options.

After all, the gap in strength between the man in black and her was not something that could be easily bridged.

However, Gu Qici was not in despair at the moment. Instead, she focused her attention on the Nine Nether Emperor Halberd. In fact, she had always had a strong feeling that there was a power within her Nine Nether Emperor Halberd. With her previous strength, she had no way to control this power, and she couldn't even use it. But now, she felt that she was qualified to do so.

"If you acknowledge me, then I hope you can lend me your power now, so that I have the strength to persevere to the end. I will... complete what they failed to do." Gu Qici murmured softly, her will firm, and in the process, she slowly covered the Nine Nether Emperor Halberd with her cultivation power.

Suddenly, at that very moment, the Nine Nether Emperor Halberd seemed to sense Gu Qici's intentions, and a terrifying power surged towards Gu Qici.

However, before Gu Qici could even feel joy, what happened next shocked her greatly. Just as that power arrived, seven enormous forces surged into Gu Qici's body one after another from the Nine Nether Emperor Halberd.

In fact, all the treasures of the emperors were formed in this way.

Once they reach a certain level, they begin to develop their own thoughts.

They will learn gradually, just like a newborn life.

In the end, they will become beings with will, just like living things.

While fighting alongside their masters, they also grow together with their masters. Therefore, whatever level their masters reach, they themselves will mostly grow to the same level.

In this respect, the Nine Nether Emperor Halberd can actually be regarded as a "cultivator at the Great Emperor Realm".

But in the end, it is still just a weapon.

Just as no matter how strong a person is, they cannot lift themselves up by brute force.

It can never draw out that power on its own, so it needs a master.

And now its owner is Gu Qici. Although at the beginning, it thought that this guy knew nothing and was being fooled, and was even smug about it. It looked down on her.

But after all that had happened, it gradually came to accept her. At least it felt that helping Gu Qici once or twice wasn't a big deal.

However, the Nine Nether Emperor Halberd's will was still a little worried, because it felt that with Gu Qici's current physical functions, she might not be able to withstand its power. Perhaps so, in order to allow Gu Qici to adapt better, it divided its power into seven segments.

At this moment, a pain that was not only devastating to the body slowly surged into Gu Qici's mind as the seven forces were released. Now, her expression was distorted, her mind was churning, and even her soul was in intense pain, as if all the pain in the world had come at her, making her feel the approach of death.

Gu Qici felt as if she had died countless times, and each time, the pain from the depths of her soul would tear her soul apart in a tearing manner, and then quickly merge with it.

But it was in this annihilation that Gu Qici, who was suffering greatly, slowly discovered a pattern that she had never noticed before: the number of times she was torn apart was actually the result of each concentration and integration of those seven forces, and with this integration, her power was undergoing a qualitative change amidst the pain.

"So it seems that..." Gu Qici's face was deathly pale, and she was panting heavily. Despite the countless pains, she still insisted on not letting her consciousness disappear. At this moment, she gritted her teeth and thought to herself, "After seven soul annihilations, will this pain finally end?"

Fortunately, aside from Gu Qici's own strong willpower, the power she had previously absorbed from the woman in red robes had also brought her endurance to a peak.

Unfortunately, the man in black robes did not seem to slow down his attack because of Gu Qici's weakness. On the contrary, in these few minutes, his attack became even stronger, and the black sun was crushing Gu Qici's dark red moon.

Furthermore, because Gu Qici did not have the extra strength to maintain it at the moment, most of the dark red moon shattered, and it seemed as if it was about to fall rapidly onto Gu Qici, causing her to suffer pain and feel a life-or-death crisis.

“This won’t do. The power I’ve applied to the crimson moon can only withstand a dozen or so breaths before it shatters completely. And right now, I’ve only completed five powers. There’s no way I can complete the fusion of the next two powers within a dozen or so breaths. I’ll likely be killed by this black-robed man’s attack before I even succeed.”

"If that's the case, then I have no choice but to do this." As she thought this, a sharp glint suddenly appeared in Gu Qici's eyes, in addition to her forbearance, as if... she had made a crazy decision.

Without further hesitation, in this moment of crisis, he disregarded the pain of annihilating his soul and the gradual descent of the dark red moon above. Suddenly, he chose to concentrate all the power of his body into his own.

In an instant, countless blue rays suddenly erupted from her body, turning her entire being blue. It seemed she intended to use her power to quickly annihilate the remaining two forces.

The result of doing so was that the pain brought to Gu Qici by the blue color permeating her body was doubled. In other words, at this moment, Gu Qici was as if she was experiencing the immense torment of death twice in an instant.

In the blink of an eye, the instant Gu Qici did this, not only her soul, but also her body and mind seemed to shatter, causing a dark red light to rise from Gu Qici's body.

But upon closer inspection, it's clear that this isn't light at all; it's actually a form formed from blood vaporized. This suggests that Gu Qici has already taken a half-step... into the gates of hell.

Now, Gu Qici's expression has not changed at all, only her eyes are blank, as if she is unconscious, or as if the pain she is in now has robbed her of all the right to express her emotions.

"Hmph. Did it backfire on its own power?" This scene naturally caught the eye of the black-robed man, which surprised him and also made him smile: "That makes sense. He's just a Nirvana Realm cultivator. How could he possibly control such powerful energy?"

After speaking, a faint murderous glint flashed in the black-robed man's eyes. At that moment, if one were to examine the black-robed man's entire body, it would be astonishing to find that he was reduced to a head, with the rest of his body completely gone. Moreover, even this head was faintly dissipating, indicating that he was not in a good state.

But at this moment, his power had surpassed his peak, causing the black sun to unleash an incomprehensible force the instant it gained the upper hand. Suddenly, the black sun expanded again, and under its fierce attack, it directly crushed half of the dark red moon.

The dark red moon had clearly shrunk from a full moon to a half-moon, and was even breaking apart. At this moment, its descent became even faster, as if there was no other force left to sustain it. In the blink of an eye, it was only a hundred meters away from where Gu Qici was.

The aura of the black sun seemed to have turned into a storm, transforming into sharp blades that immediately blew towards Gu Qici's body, causing her to suffer injuries of varying degrees, large and small. Blood flowed freely, soaking Gu Qici's clothes.

Judging from this, Gu Qici would be completely suppressed by the black sun in just a few breaths. However, at this moment, Gu Qici's eyes were still empty, as if everything happening around her had nothing to do with her. She was completely immersed in her own world and could not extricate herself.

But at this crucial moment, just when the man in black thought he could defeat Gu Qici, an unexpected change still occurred.

Just as the black sun was about to approach Gu Qici, it suddenly stopped moving, neither charging forward nor retreating. The next moment, it began to wither slowly, like a flower fading, its black color gradually peeling away, losing its luster.

"What?" The man in black robes was suddenly surprised, but after the surprise, he understood. It was not because of Gu Qici, nor because of the black sun, but because his own power had weakened rapidly in that instant.

He looked at his body, at his limbs, and was shocked to find that his entire body was no longer transparent; instead, he felt a sense of fullness. This meant that once his body recovered, he would no longer be able to control the black sun in front of him, and the black sun would disappear completely.

"How could this be? How could this happen? It was so close! If I had just a few more breaths, I could have killed this guy. Why? Why did this happen?" The man in black robes was extremely unwilling, but there was nothing he could do, because after such a long battle, his limit had finally been reached.

If he persists, he'll probably be the one who dies; he has no choice but to give up.

But Gu Qici wasn't having an easy time either. She was currently on the border between death and life, like a living dead person. Although she had consciousness, she was useless. So in this respect, they were about the same.

The black-robed man quickly recovered, and the black sun completely dissipated, revealing a black jade pendant. This was presumably the secret treasure of the Imperial Demon Domain, the treasure he had stolen from the Demon Extermination Sect—the Imperial Demon Mystic Jade.

The man in black robes was panting heavily, staring intently at the Imperial Demon Jade. He knew that if the masked woman hadn't suddenly appeared, expending far too much of his power and causing him serious injuries, he would never have been able to fight Gu Qici to this extent, nor would he have experienced the unexpected power shortage while controlling the Imperial Demon Jade.

But the deed is done, and there's no point in thinking about it anymore. The only thing he can do now is to put away the Imperial Demon Jade, return to the Demon Extermination Sect, and focus on recovering from his injuries.

So in the next instant, he endured the pain in his body, gritted his teeth, and moved quickly, arriving directly in front of the Imperial Demon Jade. He then stretched out his left hand, preparing to take it back, but to his utter surprise, just as his hand was about to touch the Imperial Demon Jade, a figure beat him to it and snatched the Imperial Demon Jade away right before his eyes.

"Huh?" The man in black robes was startled again. He looked around but saw nothing.

The man, carrying the Imperial Demon Jade, returned to Gu Qici's side. He then carried Gu Qici on his back and transformed into a golden streak of light, quickly disappearing from the spot.

The man in black robes wanted to give chase, but his serious injuries prevented him from doing so. He could only watch helplessly as the middle-aged man left, and in his frustration, he could only look up at the sky and howl.

But at this moment, with Gu Qici's departure and the black-robed man's serious injury, this battle, which was enough to be recorded in the history of the Imperial Demon Domain, finally came to an end. However, the topic about it later became the talk of the town for everyone on Imperial Demon Island.

Among these people, they all mentioned one person: a woman in red, a young man who single-handedly fought against the entire Demon Extermination Sect. Her name was Gu Qici.

Unfortunately, Gu Qici's battle did not end the war between the Demon Emperor Sect and the Demon Extermination Sect. The two sides remained deadlocked because the man in black robes concealed the fact that the Imperial Demon Jade had been stolen and rebuilt his sect in the shortest possible time. This made the Demon Emperor Sect somewhat wary, and they only probed in the central abyss without launching a real attack.

It has to be said that the Demon Emperor Sect is indeed very rigid. Shen Lian is like that, and so are the people he leads. In the past few decades, they have launched attacks very few times. Most of the time, they have been on the defensive. Even when the opponent's strength has weakened, they still think about this and that, and hesitate back and forth. Perhaps that is why this battle has dragged on for so long.

Ten days later, in the Imperial Demon Palace, Shen Lian and Shen Xuan.

"What? It's gone?" Shen Lian sat on the throne, looking at Shen Xuan, and asked in confusion.

“Yes, they disappeared from Huangmo Island after that battle. I estimate they should have left,” Shen Xuan nodded and replied.

"Whether they've left or not, you must find them. Expand the search area, even the surrounding islands, search them carefully. You must find them," Shen Lian said earnestly.

"Okay," Shen Xuan replied.

Since the end of that battle, Gu Qici and Huang Quan disappeared on Huangmo Island. No matter how hard they searched, they could not find them and their fate was unknown. But just five days ago, someone said that they had seen them in a simple inn in Huangmo Holy City. So, in order to find out the whereabouts of his daughter directly from Gu Qici, Shen Lian sent people to search for them without hesitation.

Unfortunately, the Demon Emperor Sect did not find them in the end. They only confirmed through some clues that Gu Qici might still be alive, which led to the scene of Shen Lian and Shen Xuan talking just now.

But Shen Lian didn't know that, besides him, the people of the Demon Extermination Sect were also searching for Gu Qici.

……

In a dark secret chamber of the Demon Extermination Sect, the man in black robes and the old man in black from before were having a quiet conversation. However, the man in black robes was sitting cross-legged, while the old man in black was kneeling on one knee, his eyes seemingly filled with respect.

"How is it?" the black-robed man asked, his voice slightly hoarse.

"Reporting to the sect leader, there is no news yet, but I heard that they appeared in the Imperial Demon Holy City not long ago, and they must have left Imperial Demon Island by now," the old man in black replied.

"You left Huangmo Island?" the man in black robes asked in surprise.

"Yes, because the Demon Emperor Sect is also looking for them, so if they are still on the Demon Emperor Island, their whereabouts should not be hidden." The old man in black said seriously.

"Does Shen Lian know about the Imperial Demon Jade?" the black-robed man asked suspiciously.

“That shouldn’t be possible…” the old man in black murmured. “If he knew, he would have already attacked us.”

"Hmph. Even if my cowardly brother knew about this, he wouldn't attack us so quickly. He's not that decisive," the man in black robes sneered.

"So what should we do now?" the old man in black asked.

"First, send a group of people to secretly keep an eye on the Demon Emperor Sect. Then, send some people to search carefully the islands surrounding Emperor Demon Island. That guy has fought so many times and suffered a backlash from his own secret technique. His body is probably already broken. If he doesn't get treatment soon, he definitely won't last more than a few days..."

"So the person who helped him has to leave Huangmo Island on one hand, and treat that guy on the other. Judging from the journey, they certainly won't go too far," the man in black robes said.

"Understood," the old man in black replied, and then, at the command of the man in black robes, slowly left the secret room.

But as soon as he left, the man in black robes coughed up a mouthful of bright red blood, and his face turned much paler, showing that he was also in great pain.

"That guy... I'm going to kill him." The black-robed man, having caught his breath, said through gritted teeth, his eyes blazing with rage.

Chapter 156 Dream?