Under the moonlight, a giant black cross of light suddenly appeared in the deserted mountainous area, tearing through the night sky, and from the ripped fissures, a deluge of blood-like black liquid poured down, covering an area of over ten kilometers.
The dense blood rain, supported by the black cross, was imbued with a sense of solemnity and grandeur.
A blade descending from the sky spun continuously before plunging straight into the ground, and then a graceful figure landed steadily, one foot in front of the other, on the axe handle.
"We're back."
Smelling the moist air and seeing the lush trees around her, Mei Mei knew she had returned to the real world.
Mei Mei dropped from the axe handle to the ground, shook her head, and forcefully wiped away the black rainwater that had splashed on her face, which still showed a hint of lingering shock.
Recalling what had just happened, Mei Mei felt it was incredibly surreal; the power of a Domain, something only mentioned in legends, she had actually experienced it fully.
"Oh, right, where's Kenmyo?"
When Mei Mei opened her eyes, she found herself about 200 meters above the forest.
However, she didn't panic; as a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer, Mei Mei naturally had her skills, and this height was no challenge for her.
So, she decisively brought down her axe as a foothold, using precise footwork to dissipate most of the gravitational potential energy from her fall, and then stood steadily on it.
"Sister Mei, I'm here."
Kenmyo's voice came from above.
Mei Mei saw the giant ice Buddha behind Kenmyo in mid-air slowly dissipate into the atmosphere, gradually becoming ethereal, while he himself, aided by airflow and Cursed Energy, reduced his descent speed and landed steadily on the ground.
Mei Mei immediately ran over.
"Are you alright, Kenmyo?"
Kenmyo shook his head and replied, "I'm fine."
His face was full of exhaustion.
It was his first time opening a Domain, and he had overexerted himself.
Releasing a Domain was more exhausting than he had imagined; the initial Cursed Energy expenditure alone could almost completely drain all of Ryu's Cursed Energy.
A Domain isn't just about constructing a pretty facade. The core is especially important; the Sorcerer uses a "living technique," their ultimate technique, to completely envelop the enemy.
Ryu's awakened Fimbulwinter ability was, at least, a T0 existence among natural systems. The Domain level and the characteristics of the technique were significantly higher than the enemy Cursed Spirit's level, and just upon collision, the victor was already clear. The Cursed Spirit's Domain was corroded and shattered by Ryu's Domain upon contact.
The Domain is indeed powerful.
However, Kenmyo, who forcibly activated the Domain, only felt extremely fatigued, having expended a lot of mental and brain power. Domains are truly not for humans to open; he was just a hair's breadth away from mental exhaustion.
No wonder the Jujutsu Sorcerer throughout history who could use Domains were so few; behind this lay the nightmare of countless prodigies. The Cursed Energy capable of supporting Domain construction was only one aspect; it also required a vast amount of computational and information processing ability.
What limited Kenmyo's use of the Domain was not only his brainpower but also his insufficient development and application of Ryu's technique.
Ryu, having used up all her Cursed Energy due to Kenmyo's Domain activation, was overloaded and temporarily fell into a deep sleep.
Thinking about it, Gojo Satoru was simply a monster. As Gojo Satoru's good friend, Kenmyo knew what his technique was.
"Infinite Power," almost all attacks cannot directly touch him. Driven by infinite power, any attack directed at Gojo Satoru will slow down immensely the closer it gets to him.
The distance between us seems close, yet it's like a galaxy away.
This is also a similar application of a Domain, a setting where "I am invincible within a few miles."
However, Kenmyo learned from Suguru Geto that Gojo Satoru could actually keep it active all day, for several days and nights without rest, truly a monster.
The immense accumulation of Cursed Energy required for several days of continuous Cursed Energy output is a story for another time. The memory occupied by the brain for Jujutsu alone is already terrifying enough.
Kenmyo also experienced it once; it took about 30 seconds from the Domain expansion to its conclusion, but every second, Kenmyo's brain had to endure a massive amount of data and information, and he felt like his brain was going to explode.
Although Gojo Satoru's Domain is at most a 'Castrated version' (castrated version), the mental overload on the brain from information processing is still present.
Will this guy's head really not burn out?
Or has it already burned out?
The thought made Kenmyo's head throb, and he instinctively gasped.
"Praise of Life effect triggered."
"Health recovery, mana recovery in progress, lasting three seconds."
An invisible green light flashed over Kenmyo. He immediately felt his headache lessen significantly, and his depleted mana began to recover.
After consuming several Praise of Life recovery effects, Kenmyo immediately felt much better, and even the overstimulated nerves from overthinking were not as painful.
The fatigue seemed to be eliminated, and Kenmyo's breathing became smooth.
"Praise the affectionate father."
The Praise of Life effect was far more powerful than he had imagined. The passively triggered first skill's life recovery not only replenished his health bar but also compensated for the mental exhaustion caused by forcibly activating the Domain.
Kenmyo had an idea.
If the Praise of Life skill could be strengthened to be constantly active, wouldn't that mean it could allow Kenmyo to use the Domain multiple times a day?
Domains are nuclear weapons, undoubtedly.
In the Jujutsu Sorcerer Association's records of Domains, the only consensus among those brilliant predecessors regarding their experience with Domains was:
"A Sorcerer can only use a Domain once a day."
Domains place a very heavy burden on the human body and require an extremely high amount of Cursed Energy.
Even ancient Jujutsu Sorcerer couldn't sustain a long-term Domain expansion; it was a rule everyone had to tacitly accept, except for a certain entity hailed as the "King of Curses" a thousand years ago.
"How about we go back today? And do the mission tomorrow?"
As a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer, Mei Mei had access to the Jujutsu Sorcerer Association's documents on Domains, so she had some understanding of them.
When she thought of Kenmyo's expression after he had just opened the Domain, she saw how exhausted he was, and so she suggested it.
If she hadn't seen Kenmyo still able to stand, Mei Mei would have wanted to call him an ambulance.
"No need."
Kenmyo shook his head; his mana was almost fully recovered.
As for Ryu, let her sleep; her slumber was due to Kenmyo's reckless driving.
Kenmyo temporarily lost Ryu's large-scale freezing ability, but he had managed fine before he had this idol Cursed Spirit anyway.
Kenmyo had come this far without relying on anyone, entirely on his own.
"I feel fine, Sister Mei, let's continue."
Wouldn't it be better to finish early and go home?
Kenmyo had taken about five days off from school. This meant that the sooner he finished this, the more remaining vacation time would be his.