Subterranean Cavern — Earth Vein Node
Old Shi's forehead bulged with veins, sweat dripping onto the damp rock beneath his boots. His trembling hands hovered over the roiling flow of spiritual energy, as though suppressing a primordial beast on the verge of breaking free. The deep toll of the bronze bell grew frantic, no longer a guide but a desperate roar of resistance.
"Hold it steady, you two! Keep that gate shut—don't lose focus!" his voice thundered through the cavern, drowning out the roar of the spirit current. "Those bastards up there cranked the pump to full! This old man's floodgate is about to blow!"
Liu Siyu and I clenched our teeth, forcing ourselves to obey. The jade pixiu pendants at our chests and wrists burned red-hot, searing our skin. We poured our mental strength into maintaining the fragile "valve" structure amid the raging current. The white pixiu's cool aura tried to calm the surging energy, while the yellow one flared like a furnace, restraining the torrent by sheer will.
I could feel it clearly—a massive suction from above, centered around the Oriental Pearl Tower—draining the city's leyline energy at a terrifying rate. What we were doing was like digging a diversion canal beside a collapsing dam, fully aware we could be swallowed at any moment.
"Old Shi! The pressure in the tower's reaching critical—they need more time!" I shouted through the encrypted comm, my voice hoarse from strain.
"I know that, damn it!" Old Shi bellowed back. "Mo Heng! Give me the truth—can those brats up there hold the line or not?! I'm about to get washed away down here!"
Oriental Pearl Tower — Containment Layer
The battle had reached its breaking point.
Su Rui's twin staves spun arcs of blue lightning, locking horns with the fanged canine shikigami. Each blow from her rune-etched weapons burst in a flash of light, forcing the creature to howl in pain—but the hovering black crystal above the altar pulsed again, instantly knitting its wounds.
"Lin Xuan! Now!" Su Rui yelled, parrying another lunge.
Lin Xuan slipped past a spray of venom from a centipede shikigami, purple talismans between his fingers. "By Heaven's decree—threefold thunder, break the curse! Chi!"
The talismans became bolts of violet lightning, striking the altar in a triangular formation—
But a bronze mirror carved with eight serpent heads flared to life, a dark violet barrier shimmering into existence. The lightning cracked across it, shaking the air, but failed to pierce through.
"Damn—auto-defense," Lin Xuan hissed.
The shadow shikigami lunged again, slipping past Er-Ge and Qin Xiao's crossfire, aiming straight for Su Rui and Lin Xuan—or worse, to tunnel downward and disrupt Old Shi's node control.
"Not a chance!" Er-Ge dove forward, sliding under its claws and firing. The custom rounds tore through its body with minimal effect—but it was enough to drag the monster's focus away.
Qin Xiao dashed along the perimeter, slapping silver devices—each no larger than a matchbox—onto the walls and floor. "EMP ready! Three, two, one—fire!"
A deep hum reverberated through the chamber.
Invisible waves exploded outward—every shikigami flickered, their outlines distorting; even the hovering crystal hesitated mid-spin, the altar's barrier pulsing erratically.
"Now!" Su Rui roared.
Her twin staves merged, forming a single spear of blinding blue energy that pierced the canine shikigami's core. With a shriek, the beast twisted violently before disintegrating into black mist.
At the same instant, Lin Xuan bit his thumb, sketching a blood rune on his palm. "By blood I call—Thunder God, strike!"
Crack!
The violet barrier shattered under his strike! The backlash hurled Lin Xuan several paces backward, blood trickling from his lips—but the altar now lay bare before them.
"Destroy it!" Qin Xiao shouted.
Su Rui and Lin Xuan lunged forward—one toward the ancient scroll, the other toward the serpent-etched mirror.
Just as they reached—
The hovering black crystal abruptly reversed its spin, emitting a wave of freezing malice.
The lights died. The only glow came from the altar's relics and the purple crystal veins lining the walls.
Then—
A voice, vast and frigid, echoed directly into their minds:
"Insects... how dare you defile my rite!"
Abe no Seimei's spiritual projection had descended.
An immense pressure crashed down, suffocating. Su Rui and Lin Xuan froze mid-motion, trapped as if in mud. Er-Ge and Qin Xiao struggled just to breathe.
Far away in the command center, Daoist Master Zhang coughed blood, his golden talismans shattering before him. "He's... forced his projection through... be careful..."
Subterranean Cavern
The leyline roared one last time before exploding upward like a geyser.
"Pff!" Old Shi spat blood, staggering. Liu Siyu and I reeled, skulls pounding like drums, our pixiu pendants blazing to near rupture. The "valve" we maintained shuddered on the brink of collapse.
"Old Shi!"
"Hold... it... kids..." He grit his teeth, bloodshot eyes bulging as he forced his palms down. The bronze bell wailed in agony. "Just... one... more... push..."
Containment Layer
Abe no Seimei's psychic might loomed over them like a glacier, crushing everything.
Lin Xuan straightened despite the pressure, robes whipping in a wind of pure will. "Seimei! You defy the heavens themselves—you'll face divine retribution!"
"Heaven?" The voice sneered. "After tonight, I am heaven."
The psychic surge rose to a tidal wave—
And then—
"Now, Old Shi! Open the gate!" Mo Heng's voice sliced through every channel like a blade.
Down in the cavern, Old Shi, Liu Siyu, and I moved as one. We let go of control—no more resistance, only release.
"Let—it—flow!" Old Shi roared.
BOOM!
The leyline exploded, a torrent of energy bursting through the diversion channels we had carved. Even as a mere fraction of the main flow, its unleashed power was cataclysmic.
Across Shanghai, the leyline network quaked.
Containment Layer
The black crystal convulsed, a hairline crack forming on its surface. The energy stream faltered—then went wild.
Abe no Seimei's projection faltered, his roar echoing in fury and disbelief. The spiritual suppression shattered like glass.
"Now!" Su Rui and Lin Xuan seized the opening.
Lin Xuan spat more blood, igniting it on his palm. "With light—cleanse the wicked! Burn!"
Su Rui's staff became a roaring blue spear, aimed straight at the eight-serpent mirror.
The altar's defenses, starved of power, collapsed instantly.
The scroll ignited, disintegrating into ash.
The bronze mirror cracked, serpent engravings fading into nothing.
The black crystal shrieked, fractures spiderwebbing across its surface before it froze midair—then shattered.
"Nooo—!" Abe no Seimei's voice reverberated one last time, raging and unwilling, before fading into the void.
The core of the Douzhuan Xingyi Reversal Array was destroyed.
For three fleeting minutes, there was silence.
The containment layer lay in ruins, air thick with drifting sparks and the scent of ozone. The four of them collapsed where they stood, gasping, soaked in sweat—but alive.
Far below, the leyline calmed, its fury ebbing to a steady pulse. Old Shi slumped against the cave wall, blood at the corner of his lips, grinning weakly. Liu Siyu and I exchanged exhausted smiles.
Round one was ours.
But everyone knew—Abe no Seimei would not yield.
The real battle was only beginning.
Beneath Mount Fuji, the serpent still stirs.
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