The owl's voice, as cold as the deepest hell, echoed in the hall, each word carrying a chilling malice: "Hehehe... You really surprised me, Lin Yi. Your growth rate has indeed exceeded my expectations."
His scarlet eyes swept over Lin Yi, Long Wu, and Su Qing, finally lingering on Lin Yi for a moment. A barely perceptible look of surprise flashed across his face, quickly replaced by a deeper cruelty and madness.
"However, that's enough! I'll show you my true power, just how wonderful my meticulously prepared 'Shadow Erosion Project' truly is!"
Before he finished speaking, Night Owl suddenly spread his arms wide. The black cloak behind him moved without wind, instantly transforming into an endless dark sky. Thick, ink-like shadow energy surged out like a tide, instantly enveloping the entire hall!
"【Shadow Erosion Domain - All Things Wither】!"
hiss hiss hiss—
The stone walls, floor, and even the air of the main hall groaned under the corrosive power of this dark energy. The hard, ancient cold stone melted rapidly as if corroded by strong acid, releasing nauseating black smoke.
An aura of utter despair and death spread out, as if it were about to completely devour all life!
"What domineering dark energy!" Long Wu's expression changed, and the dragon scales that had just condensed on his body began to dim slightly.
Su Qing frowned, her body radiating a soft, clear light as she struggled to resist the corrosive force, but she clearly felt immense pressure.
Lin Yi's eyes narrowed. He could clearly sense that this "Shadow Erosion Domain" not only eroded matter, but also distorted space and suppressed all non-dark attribute powers within the domain!
"A mere trick!" Lin Yi sneered, advancing instead of retreating!
With a thought, the chaotic spatial and temporal power surged forth from his body, forming a constantly rotating silver-gray halo around him.
"【Time and Space Guardian - Overture】!"
The halo spread, enveloping Long Wu and Su Qing as well.
The all-pervasive dark energy, upon contact with this halo, was as if it had encountered its nemesis, and was twisted, repelled, and unable to advance an inch!
"That damned power of spacetime again!" A fierce glint flashed in Night Owl's eyes, and he pressed his hands down sharply!
"【Shadow-Binding Spear】!"
In an instant, thick dark energy gathered in his palm, condensing into dozens of extremely sharp, pitch-black spears, each carrying a terrifying power capable of tearing through space, whistling as it shot towards Lin Yi and the other two!
"Well done!" Lin Yi's eyes blazed with fighting spirit. "Long Wu, engage him head-on! Su Qing, disrupt his energy flow! Chu Yao, analyze his energy core and weaknesses with all your might!"
"clear!"
"Alright, boss!" Long Wu roared, and golden dragon energy soared into the sky, "[True Dragon Transformation - Heaven-Shaking Strike]!"
His body swelled up instantly, transforming into a golden dragon several tens of feet long. His roar shook the heavens, and his enormous dragon claws tore through the air as he fiercely met the Shadow Binding Spears head-on!
"Ta-da!"
The clang of metal against metal was deafening as the Shadow-Binding Spear clashed with the dragon's claws, unleashing blinding sparks.
With his powerful physique and the strength of a true dragon, Long Wu managed to smash most of the spears, but a few cunningly bypassed his defenses and shot towards Lin Yi and Su Qing.
"【Moonlight - Dance of the Lost Souls】!" Su Qing shouted softly, her figure becoming elusive, like a fairy under the moon. Several cold moon blades flew from her fingertips, accurately striking the side of the incoming shadow spear, causing it to deviate from its trajectory.
At the same time, an invisible mental fluctuation emanated from her, silently interfering with Night Owl's control over dark energy.
"Hmph, a desperate struggle!" Night Owl's eyes blazed with even more madness upon seeing this.
With a sudden movement, he charged towards the golden dragon that Long Wu had transformed into. Countless shadowy tentacles surged from his back, coiling around Long Wu like venomous snakes.
"Boss, this guy's gone mad!" Long Wu shouted as he fought the shadow tentacles.
Lin Yi's gaze was sharp as lightning, fixed on Night Owl.
He knew that Night Owl's apparent madness was actually a test, a search for an opportunity to strike and kill.
"Chu Yao, what was the result?" Lin Yi asked silently in his heart.
"Master, analysis complete!" Chu Yao's clear voice rang in Lin Yi's mind. "Night Owl's energy core is located three inches to the left of his chest, protected by an extremely condensed 'Shadow Armor.' This armor has extremely high resistance to physical and conventional energy attacks, but it reacts most violently to high-frequency oscillating spacetime forces! His 'Shadow Erosion Project' has a continuous energy supply, but every time the core is severely damaged, it causes a brief stagnation in the project's operation!"
"Now!" Lin Yi's eyes flashed with a sharp light.
"【Time-Space Shift - Rift Point Puncture】!"
His figure suddenly blurred in place, and in the next instant, he appeared like a ghost beside Night Owl!
Night Owl was doing his best to suppress Long Wu and never expected Lin Yi to be so fast!
Lin Yi brought his right index finger together, with a wisp of condensed chaotic spacetime power swirling around the tip. Like the sharpest drill bit, it pointed with unparalleled precision at the energy core location indicated by Chu Yao, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound of space shattering!
"Pfft!"
With a soft sound, the seemingly indestructible "Shadow Armor" was easily pierced like paper in the face of the power of chaotic spacetime!
"Ugh—!" Night Owl let out a shrill scream, the surging dark energy around him suddenly stopped, and the "Shadow Erosion Domain" that enveloped the hall also fluctuated and dimmed for a moment!
He looked down incredulously at his chest, where a tiny hole was constantly emanating pure darkness.
"You...you actually managed to damage my core essence!" Night Owl's voice was filled with shock, anger, and resentment.
"This is just the beginning." Lin Yi's voice was icy, giving the other party no chance to breathe.
However, the heavily wounded Night Owl became even more frenzied: "Since that's the case, let's all perish together! [Shadow Eclipse Burial - Final Ruins]!"
The dark energy in his body was no longer suppressed, but instead flowed back wildly in a self-destructive way, surging towards the wound in his chest!
An aura of destruction, far more terrifying than any previous attack, erupted from his body, causing the entire hall—no, the entire space of the "Forgotten City"—to tremble violently, as if it were about to collapse completely in the next second!
That was a desperate blow that would drag everything into eternal darkness!
Long Wu and Su Qing turned pale. They could sense that they absolutely could not withstand this attack!
At this critical moment, Lin Yi took a deep breath, his eyes blazed with chaotic light, and the power of spacetime around him was raised to an unprecedented extreme!
"I told you, this is the end!"
Lin Yi slowly raised his hands, forming an extremely profound hand seal.
"[Secret Technique: Space-Time Freeze Domain]!"
Buzz—
An invisible wave spread rapidly outwards from Lin Yi as the center!
In that instant, time seemed to be paused!
The surging dark energy solidified, the ferocious expression on Night Owl's face froze, Long Wu's horrified dragon eyes froze, Su Qing's fluttering clothes stopped, and even the dust in the air was suspended motionless in mid-air!
The entire world, except for Lin Yi, fell into absolute stillness!
"Within this realm, I am the sole ruler," Lin Yi murmured, slowly walking towards the night owl frozen in mid-air.
He stretched out his hand, and the destructive power of chaotic spacetime once again gathered at his fingertips. This time, it was no longer a piercing strike, but transformed into a slender blade of light.
Farewell, Night Owl.
The light blade lightly grazed the owl's neck.
In the realm of absolute stillness, there was no splattering blood, no screams or wails.
The instant Lin Yi withdrew the [Time-Space Freeze Domain]—
"puff!"
The owl's head shot into the sky, and its massive body, as if it had lost all support, exploded into pure dark energy. However, this energy did not dissipate but was quickly drawn by an invisible force, eventually condensing into a core crystal that was as black as ink yet emitted a strange luster, which floated in mid-air.
The terrifying pressure brought by "Project Shadow Eclipse" suddenly dissipated, and the darkness in the hall quickly faded, revealing a scene of devastation.
The crisis is temporarily averted!
"Huff...huff..." Long Wu transformed back into human form, plopped down on the ground, and gasped for breath. "Boss...boss, that last move of yours was too insane! It scared the hell out of me!"
Su Qing was still shaken, and her eyes were filled with shock and a hint of complexity as she looked at Lin Yi.
Lin Yi put away the dark core and breathed a slight sigh of relief. The [Time-Space Freeze Domain] move he just used had taken a huge toll on him.
Just then, a voice tinged with praise and amusement suddenly rang out: "Brilliant, truly brilliant. Lin Yi, your growth has once again exceeded my expectations."
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw that Xuan Mingzi had appeared at the other end of the hall at some point. He stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes deep and unfathomable.
“However,” Xuanmingzi changed the subject, “defeating a night owl and averting a harbinger of Ragnarok does not mean the end. On the contrary, it is only the beginning.”
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, and slowly said, "The universe is far beyond your imagination. More powerful enemies, deeper conspiracies, and... more cruel trials await you."
The slight relief that had just risen in Lin Yi and the others' hearts was instantly suppressed by these words.
They understood that what Xuanmingzi said was true.
Before the joy of victory could be fully savored, a new shadow had already quietly descended.
They successfully passed this hurdle; however, the road ahead seemed even longer and more treacherous.
Everyone was still reeling from the thrilling battle and the somber message brought by Xuan Mingzi, however…
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