The battle has reached a fever pitch.

The combined pressure from the two peak ninth-realm cultivators was simply too overwhelming. Even Yin Ming, who was inside the barrier, felt a sense of oppression and suffocation, let alone Long Cheng, who was already curled up in a ball beside him.

A chilling feeling suddenly filled the air, and then Yin Ming saw everything in the arena begin to slow down eerily.

It's like watching TV on slow speed; everything or everyone in the scene slows down.

Liu Ying's attack movements also began to stiffen. She looked at her palm with a solemn expression. The skill she had just formed disappeared from her palm because the flow of true energy in her body was sluggish.

She suddenly curled her lips into a smile, her face showing no sign of panic. "Constantly compressing her divine sense to form an absolute domain around herself... Interesting."

Lingyao did not respond. His figure disappeared from the spot and suddenly appeared in front of Liuying.

Seeing that Liu Ying couldn't even raise her hand to defend herself, Yin Ming shouted anxiously, "A Yao, no!"

No matter what, Liu Ying had helped Yin Ming, and he couldn't just stand by and watch her die in front of him.

Since Liu Ying had insisted on dueling with Ling Yao out of defiance, Yin Ming thought it would be good to let her try.

Now that the outcome is decided, she should know when to back down and won't make things difficult for Lingyao again.

Hearing Yin Ming's voice, Long Cheng, who was standing nearby, peeked out from under the body and couldn't help but exclaim, "Mother!"

Lingyao paused in his actions, glanced in the direction of Yin Ming, then looked back at Liu Ying in front of him. "Considering you helped Yin Ming, I can spare your life."

Yin Ming breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this; thankfully, Ling Yao was still willing to listen to his advice.

Lingyao abruptly changed the subject, her tone turning grim, "But you have repeatedly interfered and prevented me from being with Yin Ming, and you must pay the price for that!"

After speaking, Lingyao raised his hand and covered the location of Liuying's dantian. His smile was arrogant and disdainful, as if he were the posture of a victor.

Upon seeing this, Yin Ming felt as if his heart had been gripped tightly, and he was so nervous that he dared not breathe. Long Cheng also watched the scene before him with a look of apprehension.

As time ticked by, Lingyao's expression grew increasingly uncertain and doubtful.

"Surprised? I don't have a dantian." Liu Ying also raised a mocking smile at this moment.

Her figure gradually blurred until it disappeared. Yin Ming was subconsciously searching for her figure when he suddenly felt the barrier surrounding him shatter, and then a huge force suddenly blasted him away.

Long Cheng, who was beside him, was also thrown backwards, landing several dozen meters away from their original position, just outside the garden area.

A green barrier instantly enveloped the entire garden, and the firefly's figure finally appeared at the top of the barrier.

She quickly formed hand seals, continuously channeling green spiritual energy into the barrier.

As the spiritual energy above the barrier grew increasingly dense, the ground of the arena continued to sink. Ling Yao, who was in the middle of it, changed his expression and quickly cast a spell to resist the energy that was trying to push him into the depths of the earth.

"You cannot stop me. I am the mountain spirit of the Forbidden Forest. I am the mountain, and the mountain is me. No matter how powerful you are, you are but a mayfly in the vastness of the world. How can you possibly contend with me? Prepare to bear the wrath of nature!"

The firefly's deep, androgynous voice, amplified by its surroundings, came from all directions, eerily both indistinct and clear.

Yin Ming suddenly sat up from the ground. "What the hell? Does that mean the Firefly is the embodiment of the Forbidden Forest?! But the original story never mentioned any mountain spirits in the Forbidden Forest!"

Yin Ming stroked his chin, pondering deeply, recalling that there was never a single word or phrase related to fireflies in the original work...

Could it be that she is not some old monster living in seclusion in the deep forest, but a new character born from the butterfly effect caused when the original author transmigrated into the body of the First Emperor?

Yin Ming nodded to himself, thinking that this might explain why she wasn't in the original story.

No wonder Firefly can live so long. As long as the Forbidden Forest exists, she will exist as long as heaven and earth. That's amazing.

etc……

Yin Ming suddenly realized a possibility: could it be that the original author had her kill Ling Yao because...

Having pieced together some key information, Yin Ming immediately mustered his strength and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Senior Liu Ying, stop! I know why Zu Long made you an enemy of Ling Yao!"

"The First Dragon?"

Lingyao, whose body was swaying under the weight of the green barrier, frowned, while Long Cheng, standing beside him, blinked his big eyes in confusion.

Liu Ying turned her head to look at Yin Ming with a hesitant expression, but her hands did not stop moving, clearly doubting the truthfulness of Yin Ming's words.

After all, Lingyao was at a disadvantage, and it was hard to say that he wasn't worried that Lingyao would be killed by her, which was why he spoke up to interfere.

"Don't worry, I won't take his life. I will suppress him here. As long as he can never appear in the world again, I think I will have fulfilled the last wish of the First Emperor."

Lingyao coldly curled his lips upon hearing this and sneered:

"Ha, how arrogant. You clearly can't do anything to me, which is why you've drawn on the spiritual energy of the Forbidden Forest to suppress me. But how long can you maintain this?"

"Once the energy is exhausted, the Forbidden Forest will be lifeless, and you will perish as well. At that time, how will you stop me!"

The truth she had wanted to conceal was revealed in a single sentence, and Liu Ying calmly continued to channel spiritual energy into the barrier.

"The ancient spiritual veins of the Forbidden Forest can suppress you for a thousand years. During this time, I will always find a way. At the very least, before I perish, I will send you to hell first."

Yin Ming raised an eyebrow in surprise. So, when Liu Ying said she wouldn't lose, it meant she would use herself as a shackle to imprison Ling Yao after being defeated? That's too crazy.

As the fireflies began to close up, the green barrier immediately transformed into a cocoon of light, completely enveloping Lingyao. Yin Ming hurriedly raised his hand in a gesture of oath.

"I swear I really didn't lie to you! Senior Liuying, you already have an absolute advantage. Even if I wanted to stall for time, I have no power to change this. I really have something to say. Could you give me a little time to listen to some things about the Ancestral Dragon that I just remembered?"

In the original story, after Lingyao unifies the gods and demons, he will merge the two continents back together. The Forbidden Forest, located in the center of the god-demon continent, will be leveled, and Lingyao's Lingyun Temple will be built on the ruins.

In other words, this move will completely eradicate the Lost Sea and the Forbidden Forest.

Yin Ming had thought of this plot before, but he didn't think it was that important—it was just filling in a sea and removing a mountain.

Before the operation, all the creatures living there would be driven away, so it was really not a big deal.

But now that I think about it carefully, that's probably really the reason—

If the character "Wang Du Hai" is the author himself, and the character "Ji Zhi Lin" is someone he cares about, then he might really choose to sacrifice Ling Yao to protect Liu Ying.

After all, Lingyao was just a character he created. Even if he had developed feelings for him during the creation process, Lingyao was ultimately just a fictional character.

How could a two-dimensional character who had never interacted with him compare to a living, breathing person standing right in front of him?

Perhaps the original author had some other feelings for fireflies.