Cha Ming felt himself weakening. Every slash of Zhou Li's sword chipped away at his abundant vitality while leaving an ominous black mark on his body. Each one slowed his movements and ate away at his qi. He had long since banished his combat formations, keeping only a healing formation to sustain him as he looked for an opportunity.

Huxian wasn't faring any better. The many-tailed fox's black-and-white fur was covered in slick blood from heaven knew how many wounds. They knew that if the fox died, Cha Ming would as well. By then, the battle would be sealed. To make matters worse, both Silverwing and Lei Jiang had been hit by weaker curses as well. Their previously dominating performance was being repelled by the devilish generals and their minions. Without Huxian's support, the Alabaster Group's forces had also fallen into a disadvantaged position.

"You might as well just give up," Zhou Li said as he took another vicious hack at him. "How many breaths do you have left in you? Is it worth it to go through all that pain and suffering, only to die in the end?"

As Zhou Li spoke, Cha Ming had his sights set elsewhere; he was focused on the black threads that bound him and Huxian to Zhou Li.

Those string are immune to whatever I've thrown at them, Cha Ming thought. Even Lei Jiang's lightning and Huxian's purification are ineffective. It's like they operate on an entirely different plane of existence. The five elements and wind, lightning, light, and shadow couldn't damage them in the slightest.

Cha Ming knew that nothing in the universe was without weakness. In fact, he had already determined a likely weakness of fate qi, but using it would likely put him out of commission for the remainder of the battle, and he wasn't keen on reliving the unpleasant experience.

It's now or never, Cha Ming thought. He quickly withdrew a hard talisman, which he slapped on his chest while simultaneously directing his qi into sixty sigils. A blade hacked into his shoulder as he formed a fire formation and into his thigh when he formed a gold formation. The pace of Zhou Li's attacks had increased since he'd begun laying out the formations. He also noticed another peculiarity—Zhou Li wasn't talking.

Cha Ming blocked with his body as Zhou Li tried to interrupt the next combat formation as it was being formed. After the wood formation came the earth formation.

Zhou Li sent out sword strikes and flaming black dragons of qi but to no avail. "Stop him!" he yelled anxiously. Protector Song, who had been fighting against Huxian, rapidly darted toward Cha Ming.

"Too late," Cha Ming whispered. As the water formation formed, he channeled the destruction qi through his qi pathways. They burned as black qi poured into a black star, which shielded him from Protector Song's attack.

He increased the flow, forming a thin blade of destruction qi that struck out toward the black threads in the air. They disintegrated as the blade passed through them, instantly relieving their hold on Cha Ming and Huxian. Seeing that it was effective, Cha Ming rushed out and severed more black threads that led to Silverwing and Lei Jiang.

Having been freed from the curse, Huxian instantly grew to 160 feet in length and released his five auras simultaneously. Cha Ming's Devil-Sealing Intent suffused the battlefield and killed one devil after another. With every devil that fell, the suppression against them grew. This granted respite to Luo Xuehua and the Alabaster Group, who continued their struggle against the mass of lesser devils.

Cha Ming's formation, although effective against the fate qi, shattered under Protector Song and Zhou Li's combined attacks. He was thrown back as the five formations exploded. As he picked himself up, he realized that the debilitating pain that usually followed the use of destruction qi wasn't as bad as usual. In fact, the damage to his meridians was very light. His body had become strong enough to bear it, and entering the marrow-refining realm had increased his regenerative capabilities enough to keep up with the destruction qi's light damage to his body.

"Yes!" Cha Ming yelled. The Clear Sky Pillar shrank down into its staff form. Then Cha Ming poured his remaining destruction qi into the Clear Sky Staff, which glowed with a frightening black color. Meanwhile, Zhou Li had just finished casting a second curse on Huxian. Cha Ming summoned his Stormwalker Formation and destroyed the black threads before they had a chance to affect the three-tailed fox. Zhou Li paled as the curse was destroyed.

Cha Ming took advantage of his momentum and smashed into Protector Song, whose shield of qi disintegrated under the assault of his heavy destruction-laced staff. It tore through the man's armored body. Protector Song burst into flames as his life left him.

Following the death of Protector Song, the tides of battle shifted. Huxian's aura grew more and more powerful as he swallowed and burned lesser devil souls one after another. Silverwing flicked around the room and lopped off one head after another—his victims were unable to resist his attacks because they were restrained by Huxian's five auras.

Meanwhile, Lei Jiang bounced from target to target as a ball of iridescent lightning. They couldn't keep up with his swift movements and couldn't target his tiny body.

"Look, we can talk," Zhou Li said.

Cha Ming ignored him as he had all battle. Cha Ming rushed at Zhou Li with all the speed he could muster and struck him with the Clear Sky Staff. It sheared through Zhou Li's qi shield and amputated the pale man's right arm.

"Save me!" Zhou Li shrieked.

Cha Ming's eyes narrowed as an ominous chill ran through his spine. He struck out at the defenseless Zhou Li, but his staff struck an invisible wall. A man in a dark cloak suddenly appeared among them. Lightning crackled in the skies as the plane fought to supress him.

The man was a transcendent.

The battlefield fell silent, as everyone couldn't help but tremble under his imposing presence.

"Kill him!" Zhou Li yelled. "It's worth it!"

The black-robed man glanced at Cha Ming, his eyes boring into his very soul. "Soul-bound treasure?" the man whispered. "You're right. It is worth it." The man raised his hand slightly, and the void began to shatter around Cha Ming. One lightning bolt after another struck the robed man while Cha Ming felt one piercing pain after another. Countless shards of shattered space sliced through his muscles and bones alike.

"That's enough!" a voice said from up above.

A figure in white robes and jade wings flew down from the skies. It was none other than Lu Tianhao. The space around Cha Ming stopped shattering and returned to its normal state. Meanwhile, lightning crackled in the skies as the heavens roared in anger. Bolt after bolt of lightning struck down on the two men, who didn't dare resist.

"I can't kill him," the black-robed man said. "The plane would destroy us both, and I'm still needed for the final plan."

Zhou Li shook his head in disappointment. "I suppose it doesn't matter. His cultivation path has been crippled. He'll be no threat to the upper realms, which have promised us a great reward for this good deed."

The black-robed man nodded. Then a gray fluctuation enveloped them. Before Cha Ming knew it, Zhou Li and the black-robed man had disappeared.

The battle with the remaining devils was finished without any suspense.

***

The golden barrier surrounding Gong Lan and the jade seal dimmed as one of the monks' energy ran out and his life left him. This was the second one in a single incense time. With his demise, the corruption rate of the seal increased. It wouldn't be long before it overtook the seal completely.

"To set up such an elaborate trap to lure in a plane guardian," Lu Tianhao muttered as he inspected the formation. He moved his hands along the pagoda's barrier as he sought for a way to supplement it.

"Can I do anything to help?" Luo Xuehua asked.

"Not yet," Lu Tianhao muttered. "I can't do anything directly, but I may be able to set the stage for you all to contribute. If only we had a Buddhist monk. That way we could delay the corruption for a little while longer. The one in there won't last more than ten breaths." Then he looked at Huxian. "Little pup, come over here and help me out."

Huxian leaped over obediently. Demon beasts respected power, and that man was someone who could tear him apart with a mere thought.

Lu Tianhao worked feverishly as he laid down hundreds of formation flags. As soon as the last flag dropped into place, the formation thrummed to life and yet another bolt of lightning struck down on him.

"The punishment of the plane is difficult to resist," he explained. "It despises the actions of transcendents and attacks our very souls. I can only do so much to help you." He swished his sleeve, sweeping Huxian onto the formation he'd just installed. The demonic-light qi within Huxian began to circulate automatically, and the formation converted it into a purer golden light that resembled the light inside the dome. To Cha Ming's surprise, the energy Huxian supplemented was more effective than the three monks combined.

"That's the first step," Lu Tianhao said. "I now need all who are willing to enter the pagoda. I'll use my limited knowledge to allocate corruption equal to your capacity so that you might support her. I'll warn you, however, that you will all die if she fails."

Those from the Alabaster Group immediately stepped up to the barrier.

"How confident are you in this method?" Cha Ming asked.

"Without you?" Lu Tianhao asked. "Five percent. With you and your soul-bound treasure, as much as fifty percent."

"It's very important that she succeeds," a small voice piped up.

To Cha Ming's surprise, it was the small seed that always danced around Gong Lan.

"I can consume this avatar's life force to increase your chances to sixty percent."

"How generous of you, Lord World Tree," Lu Tianhao said subserviently.

"Huxian," Cha Ming said. "I want to try." He had to ask—it wasn't only his life.

"Let's save Sister Gong Lan," Huxian yipped.

Cha Ming, Lei Jiang, and Silverwing all walked up to the barrier. Then Lu Tianhao tore a hole in the golden shell surrounding the seal. The four individuals sat cross-legged while the beasts lay down.

"Sit down and relax," Lu Tianhao said. "Close your eyes. In a moment, you'll sink into a dream. You'll experience many people's lives—both their joys and sorrows. Attachment to the world is what creates an evil spirit. Only by experiencing it and remembering your own lives in the current moment can you unfetter it."

After this brief instruction, Lu Tianhao waved his sleeve. Six thin lines of crimson corruption left the seal and entered the four cultivators and two demon beasts. A seventh, thicker line of karma attached itself to Lu Tianhao, who was immediately assaulted by multiple strokes of lightning.

Finally, a thick line of karma left the seal and attached itself to Cha Ming. He screamed in pain as he was suddenly thrust into a dying man's worst memories.

***

I am Gong Lan, and I am unfettered, she thought as she ran through the woods. Her limbs moved without her permission as she relived a painful memory. She scampered down a ravine to escape a fierce spirit beast. It had been sent by the man she trusted most.

Whether I live or die, I'll live on as a ghost and haunt him, she vowed as the spirit beast pounced on her and devoured her flesh.

I am Gong Lan, and I am unfettered, she repeated to herself.

"This is the happiest moment of my life," said the woman whose body she'd inhabited this time, tears in her eyes. She held her newborn baby in her arms and swore, "I might be dying soon, but I swear to keep you safe for the rest of your life."

I am Gong Lan, and I am unfettered, she repeated. This time, she relived an oath of vengeance. It was memories like these that she understood the most as she stepped closer and closer to her greatest enemy in this endeavor—her previous self.