The temple trembled as cracks spread across the stone floors. The symbol beneath Nie Li shattered with an earth-shaking boom, and for a moment, the oppressive darkness around them faltered.
Nie Li's form flickered violently, his face twisted in fury and disbelief. The dark energy that had been suffocating the temple seemed to writhe like a living thing, recoiling at the loss of its anchor.
"No..." Nie Li hissed, his voice low and guttural. "This isn't possible...!"
Ling Tian's heart pounded in his chest as he rushed forward, his soul force flaring around him. Now's our chance.
Xiao Ning'er darted beside him, spear raised, eyes alight with determination. "We finish this now!"
But Nie Li's form stabilized in the next instant, the shadows around him swirling with malicious intent. His eyes, once filled with betrayal, were now burning with unrelenting rage.
"You think you can defeat me so easily?" Nie Li's voice dropped to a whisper, his power radiating in waves that shook the very air. "I was once a god among beasts. I am above you!"
With a flick of his wrist, the darkness around him surged forward like a tidal wave, sweeping everything in its path. The walls of the temple cracked and groaned as if they were being torn apart by the force of his fury.
Ling Tian barely managed to block the surge of dark energy, the shockwave forcing him back. His chest burned with the intensity of the attack, but he gritted his teeth, refusing to fall.
"We have to hold him off!" Ling Tian shouted, turning to Xiao Ning'er. "I can't stop him alone. We need to combine our powers—now!"
Xiao Ning'er nodded without hesitation, her eyes flashing. She leapt into action, her spear a blur of deadly strikes, cutting through the swirling shadows that came at them.
Ling Tian drew upon every scrap of his knowledge from his previous life, every battle fought, every lesson learned. His soul force surged, pushing back against Nie Li's dark power, trying to create an opening.
Nie Li laughed, his voice filled with madness. "You still don't get it, do you? I chose this. I embraced the power of the Deity Ranked Beasts. And now, you will witness the true extent of that power!"
With a snap of his fingers, the temple shuddered violently, and a massive energy vortex formed above them, dark lightning crackling and twisting.
"No!" Ling Tian shouted, his eyes wide with realization. "This is it... he's trying to collapse the entire temple—to bring down everything!"
Xiao Ning'er's face darkened. "We can't let him do this. We have to stop him now!"
Ling Tian's mind raced, searching for a way to break the hold that Nie Li had on the temple. There had to be something—anything—he could do to stop this madness.
"Xiao Ning'er," Ling Tian called, his voice calm but filled with urgency. "We need to disrupt his connection to the vortex—cut off the source."
Xiao Ning'er's eyes met his, understanding flashing in her gaze. She nodded sharply and sprinted toward the center of the vortex, her spear crackling with energy.
As she moved, Ling Tian pushed all his energy into a single point. His soul force expanded outward, his body glowing with a fierce, brilliant light. He was pushing himself past his limits—but this was the only way.
Nie Li's laughter grew more maniacal. "You think you can stop me? I am unstoppable! No one—NO ONE—can challenge me now!"
But as Nie Li raised his hand to direct another wave of energy at them, Xiao Ning'er's spear struck the center of the vortex with all her might.
The entire temple shook as the light from the spear collided with the vortex, a crackling shockwave reverberating through the walls.
"NOOOOOOO!" Nie Li screamed, his voice full of terror as the vortex spiraled out of control, threatening to consume him.
The moment the light of Xiao Ning'er's spear collided with the vortex, a deafening explosion rocked the temple. The shadows dissolved like mist, the walls of the ancient structure crumbling and collapsing in on themselves.
Ling Tian reached out for Xiao Ning'er, pulling her back as the very ground beneath them shattered, sending debris and dust flying into the air.
For a heartbeat, there was only silence—the air thick with the lingering aftermath of the battle.
And then, in the midst of the ruin, a figure stumbled, falling to his knees.
Nie Li. His mask shattered, his body beaten, and his once-immense power reduced to nothing more than a flicker of its former self.
Ling Tian approached cautiously, his voice cold and heavy. "It's over, Nie Li."
Nie Li's eyes, once full of arrogance and power, were now dull with exhaustion. His voice was weak, barely a whisper. "I... I was so... lost."
Ling Tian stared at the broken figure before him. His emotions were a mix of anger, confusion, and sadness. "You were a hero. But you chose this path. You betrayed everything you once believed in."
Nie Li's head drooped, his breath shallow. "I was wrong. So wrong..."
Xiao Ning'er stepped forward, her eyes softening. "It's too late for regrets now."
The ground beneath them trembled as the temple continued to crumble, but Ling Tian didn't flinch. He had made his decision. This was the end of this twisted chapter.
Nie Li's final words were a rasping breath, "I... should have never... abandoned you, brother..."
With those words, his body crumbled into dust, scattering into the air like ashes on the wind.