A stream of sparks shoots into the air as Lan Xiaohui draws me from my sheath and slashes into the swell of snowflakes heading in her direction. These snowflakes are so charged with sword qi that they are as though fractals made of swords.

Even plummeting toward the ground, from hundreds of steps into the air, Lan Xiaohui and Wu Yulan have the presence of mind to deal with the immediate problem of their situation: the rampaging sword energy contained within the wind, snow, hail, and atmosphere!

But Lan Xiaohui’s active defense is not enough. Though she manages to deflect some of the snow particles, my vessel simply passes through the force of the wind, able to only redirect it slightly.

Blood bursts into the air as the sword qi, snow, and wind cut into Lan Xiaohui’s body and inflict multiple lacerations on her skin and dress. Shreds of silk fly away from her as she spins in mid-air, blown away by the impact.

Another spray of blood and torn clothes joins the air as Wu Yulan suffers a similar result as Lan Xiaohui, her sword unable to deflect the wind.

“Xuelian!” Wu Yulan shouts, even in this situation thinking of my owner first, before her own safety and health.

“Don’t say anything!” Lan Xiaohui shouts back as her body drifts closer to Wu Yulan and she reaches out with her free hand to grab Wu Yulan’s wrist.

“What are you—“ Before Wu Yulan can finish her question, Lan Xiaohui tugs Wu Yulan’s arm, swinging her body around herself for one full revolution, before letting go and throwing the other girl toward the ground.

Wu Yulan’s body erupts with sparks as her protective sword qi intersects with the sword qi of the environment, soon to be joined with more blood and more strips of silk rent off her body.

Then, the girl disappears into the fog and snowy haze below.

Lan Xiaohui presses her finger into my vessel, and drags it across the black jade fuller, erupting with black and red energy. Soon enough, my entire vessel bursts with Lan Xiaohui’s qi and sword intent and becomes shrouded in sword energy.

Still reeling from the recoil of throwing Wu Yulan to the ground — and potentially safety — Lan Xiaohui turns into the direction of her trajectory and meets the howling wind head-on.

She raises my vessel over her head and gathers her energy. This is the first time that Lan Xiaohui had the opportunity to use [Empty Moon Prana] in a combat scenario — if this could be called combat.

Her gold core pulses with latent energy, but it is unlike before. It is slower than before, yet more powerful. It is steady, like the beating of Lan Xiaohui’s heart which has now calmed down to beat a slow, heavy tempo.

[Empty Moon Prana] is such an art that takes in the qi, similar to how [Emptiness Prana] accomplishes this, and then compresses it down to reduce her aura and magnify her strength. Like a bright, full moon that quickly blackens and becomes invisible; yet, even invisible, it still exerts its force and might.

This particular move that Lan Xiaohui is preparing comes from neither [Heartless Blood Lily] nor [Finality Moon, Liminality Flower]. It is not a technique either. This is a mix of principles and laws contained within [Transient Sword] and [Fractured Sword]. In this qi that my owner has clad me with, I sense the extreme warping of space laws, and though it is crude, it certainly contains a law of space that is of a high order.

Similar to how demonic beasts of the Core Formation realm can forcefully use their energy in a crude manner, so too is Lan Xiaohui forcefully trying to recreate the principles of those two martial arts, however, infinitely weaker than a proper technique.

Lan Xiaohui brings her sword down when she senses the wind — or rather the powerful sword qi — surging in her direction, and the shroud of energy surrounding my vessel cuts through the atmospheric force.

The black energy surrounding my vessel disperses into the air, blown away by a force that is far more powerful than Lan Xiaohui — or I, for that matter — could have predicted. However, the warping of space is just enough to redirect it slightly and cause it to miss Lan Xiaohui’s vitals. This is what my owner has been counting on; even though she cannot directly use the techniques of [Fractured Sword], she can apply the principles of its higher laws to a limited degree. Even if she cannot dodge or stop the wind, she can at least slow it down enough to absorb the impact and survive.

A deep cut appears on Lan Xiaohui’s left shoulder, cleaving even her clavicle in twain. The force of the impact is enough to send Lan Xiaohui flying toward the ground, but not nearly as fast as Wu Yulan descended.

Lan Xiaohui groans, her expression twisting in pain, but her heart remains calm.

“Do not resist the force, you will die,” I tell Lan Xiaohui.

This time, Lan Xiaohui’s heart trembles. She understands the meaning implied in my words, and it is a suggestion far more dangerous and deadly than resisting the wind.

“Yulan… is she alive?” Lan Xiaohui asks.

“Yes,” I tell her.

An updraft sends a cascade of more snow flying into the air, and it swirls in the air above, falling inward on itself, before rushing forward like a curtain of white.

Lan Xiaohui takes a deep breath and closes her eyes.

Her gold core pulses once more; the flow of her qi freezes.

One second passes. Two seconds pass. Then three. Then four.

Lan Xiaohui keeps her eyes closed, but her spiritual senses are hard at work. She is reaching out with her mind and spirit, trying to feel the current of this enormous sword force.

Suddenly, her hands clap together as if catching an invisible blade, and she turns her body, spinning in mid-air. The surge of sword force passes over and through her, inflicting many small cuts, but lesser than before.

As per my advice, rather than resisting the force, she gives in to the current, trying to exhaust its force before it can inflict extreme damage to her body.

For the most part, she succeeds in the most dangerous gamble with her life to date. For the most part. Just as the force is about to pass by her without inflicting too much damage, the wounded shoulder — kept maneuverable through her Qi — fails her, and her grip on the invisible sword force slips.

The moment she loses her grip, even slightly, the snow and sword force digs into the skin of her left arm, cutting through flesh and ligaments, and, even more worryingly, her spiritual veins and meridians.

Lan Xiaohui cries out in pain but still remains present enough to take this opportunity to force her inner energy into motion once again.

She angles her body and uses the remainder of the force against her body to launch off of it like it is a springboard, and with the help of Liminality Steps, to fall toward the ground like a comet.

In the span of only a few seconds, Lan Xiaohui reaches the ground and crashes into it, her protective qi dispersing after absorbing most of the impact.

She tumbles like a broken doll, rolling on the ground with her useless arm flailing in the air. She comes to a stop, staring at the vast white expanse of swirling death above her head.

Wu Yulan rushes to her side from within the fog, eyes wide in alarm.

“Xuelian!” she shouts and picks my owner up by the strips of the ruined dress on her shoulders, and slowly drags her to the side, toward a tree.

“I’m… I’m fine,” Lan Xiaohui grunts, her expression warped in pain. “You have to… run… leave me here… and run…!”

“No!” Wu Yulan shouts. “Don’t speak nonsense! We are leaving together or not at all!”

Wu Yulan looks much better off than Lan Xiaohui. Her dress is ruined and there are some serious cuts on her eyebrow, neck, and arms, but nothing too threatening.

Wu Yulan drags Lan Xiaohui into the embrace of the exposed roots of the large tree and hugs her body as if to shield her from the wind and snow.

However, as the moments drag on and the wind fails to reach them here, and even the snow no longer contains such an unbearable sword force, they relax as they realize that they are, at least for the moment, safe here.

Neither one of them speaks or comments on the situation. They are already well aware of everything they need to know.

This place is death.