132: Su Lin in white

Luo Ximei stood rooted to the spot, her chest heaving violently; the anticipated thrill of victory had not arrived, instead, her chest felt even more constricted.

"It's over," she murmured to herself, more a forced belief than a declaration.

Su Lin stood a few steps behind her, his brows tightly furrowed.

He did not relax his guard; instead, he pushed his Divine Sense to its limit. "No, not yet."

No sooner had he spoken than, in the blank area ahead, scoured by Devilish Qi, a gray mist began toroll back and converge in an eerie manner.

The scattered, fragmented light and shadow pieces did not dissipate into the world; instead, they seemed to be drawn by some invisible force, gathering from all directions.

"Breaking through illusions with power, the more solid the delusion..."

Su Lin softly recited the words from the stone tablet, a deeply ominous premonition rising in his heart.

Luo Ximei also sensed the anomaly; she abruptly looked up, staring intently at the reforming mist.

Fragments of light and shadow spun madly and condensed at the center of the mist. A blurry human silhouette rapidly became clear.

That familiar white robe, that tall figure... When the face, identical to Su Lin's, fully formed, Luo Ximei's breathing hitched for a moment.

The illusion had reappeared.

But this time, it was no longer the memory that had filled her with shame and fury.

There was no cave, no other Cultivators, and no humble maiden. In this entire world, only that one "Su Lin" in white remained.

He floated silently in mid-air, his robes fluttering, his aura ethereal.

Yet, on his face, was the same distant and disgusted expression she had just seen in the illusion.

His gaze upon her held no warmth whatsoever, only the indifference and scrutiny one would give an object.

A power even purer than Luo Ximei's own, yet bearing a completely opposite aura, emanated from that illusory body.

Its oppressive might subtly reached the peak of the Body Integration Late Stage.

"You see, you've fed it," Su Lin's voice was heavy.

Luo Ximei ignored him; she simply stared at the White-robed Su Lin, enunciating each word: "What exactly are you?"

The White-robed Su Lin finally moved.

He slowly descended from mid-air, his feet stepping upon the Void Realm, walking towards the two of them step by step.

"I am your truest fear."

The White-robed Su Lin spoke, his voice clear and identical to the real Su Lin's, but the words he uttered carried a sense of lofty judgment.

"I am the inferiority you can never escape, the pathetic worm still wallowing in the mud, hidden beneath your Demon Venerable mask."

With each step he took, the Body Integration Late Stage pressure around him solidified further. Gray mist gathered at his feet, paving a path to despair with his every stride.

"Shut up!"

Luo Ximei shrieked, cutting him off. Dark red Devilish Qi surged around her, corroding the ground with sizzling sounds.

Her eyes had completely turned blood-red, urging her to tear apart this impostor who dared to desecrate her Revered Master's image.

"Ximei! Don't attack again!"

Su Lin's voice rang out behind her, with an unprecedented seriousness,

"Haven't you noticed? Its power comes entirely from your previous attack.

The harder you hit it, the stronger it becomes!"

Luo Ximei had, of course, noticed.

But what did it matter?

Reason existed in her heart for only a brief moment before being completely ignited by the illusion's subsequent words.

"Look, what is the real him beside you saying?"

A mocking expression appeared on the White-robed Su Lin's face, "He's telling you to stop, he's afraid.

He's afraid of your filthy Devilish Qi, afraid of your uncontrollable rage.

In his eyes, what's the difference between you and the you in my eyes?"

"Both are just... troublesome monsters."

"I'll kill you!"

These words completely detonated all of Luo Ximei's reason.

She could no longer hear any of Su Lin's dissuasions from behind her.

Devilish Qi shot skyward, coalescing behind her into a hundred-zhang-tall black banner.

The myriad soul banner!

As the banner unfurled, countless twisted, suffering faces struggled within it. Silent malevolence and wails transformed into tangible gray-black mist, spreading wildly in all directions.

The temperature of the entire space plummeted, and even the light was swallowed by the great banner, plunging into gloom.

"You're right," Luo Ximei's voice became sharp, carrying a pathological excitement,

"I am a monster! So now, taste the power of a monster!"

She pointed forward with one hand, and the myriad soul banner flapped fiercely.

On the banner, a massive, most malevolent ghost face suddenly opened its mouth, and a pitch-black beam of light, composed of pure resentment and Devilish Qi, shot directly towards the White-robed Su Lin.

For this strike, she used seventy percent of her power.

She wanted to see not the illusion shattered, but it, along with this space, utterly annihilated.

Facing this world-destroying strike, the White-robed Su Lin's face still held that indifferent expression.

He did not dodge, nor did he even assume any defensive stance.

He merely slowly raised his right hand.

Just a moment before the pitch-black light beam was about to touch him, a tiny, constantly inward-spinning white speck of light appeared in his palm without any warning.

The pitch-black light beam collided with that speck of light, but no earth-shattering explosion occurred.

The terrifying energy, enough to make even a Body Integration Late Stage Cultivator change color, was devoured and consumed by the speck the instant it made contact, completely absorbed into it.

In the blink of an eye, that attack, which had pierced through heaven and earth, vanished without a trace.

The speck of light in the White-robed Su Lin's palm, after absorbing all the energy, rapidly expanded, its color changing from pure white to deep pitch-black, with countless vengeful souls faintly howling within it.

"Is this your power? Resentment full of Impurities, and disorganized rage."

He critiqued, like a strict Revered Master scolding an unpromising Disciple.

"Mixed, chaotic, andVulnerable."

"Now, I return it to you."

He flicked his finger, and the energy sphere, now pitch-black, rebounded towards Luo Ximei with greater speed and more solid might than it had arrived!

Luo Ximei's expression changed drastically.

She could feel that the power contained within the energy sphere not only included seventy percent of her own Devilish Qi but had also been strengthened and purified by a Law she could not comprehend.

Its destructive power had far exceeded the scope of her previous attack.

She dared not delay, hastily activating the myriad soul banner to guard herself. The thick banner surface transformed into the strongest shield, blocking the energy sphere.

Boom!

This time, it was a solid collision.

The immense impact force sent Luo Ximei's body sliding dozens of feet backward, her feet plowing two deep furrows in the ground.

The myriad soul banner's surface vibrated violently, letting out a mournful wail, and the images of the vengeful souls on the banner became somewhat ethereal.

She had blocked it.

But before she could catch her breath, the White-robed Su Lin's figure on the opposite side had already vanished from his original spot.

An extreme sense of danger came from above her head.

Luo Ximei suddenly looked up, only to see that the White-robed Su Lin had appeared above her at some unknown point and stomped down.

This stomp was unremarkable, without any spiritual Qi fluctuations, yet it carried a Dao of suppressing heaven and earth.

Luo Ximei only felt that the surrounding space was locked by an invisible force, and her body's movements became incredibly sluggish.

She watched helplessly as the white boot continuously enlarged in her pupils.

Bang!

A muffled thud, identical to the one in the illusion.

This kick landed squarely on her chest.