When the black death energy entered his body, Aven felt as if his entire being was being ripped apart. The pain was unbearable, as though a swarm of venomous insects was gnawing at him from the inside. It wasn’t just his body that suffered, but his soul was being torn apart as well.
“Curse you! Get out of my body!” he roared in fury as he tried to force the black death energy out of his system.
The death energy seemed to have burrowed deep into his bones. It was invasive and siphoned away his life force with every passing second. Even his internal energy was being drained to feed it. If this continued, he would be completely drained in less than three minutes.
“Won’t leave, huh? Fine. We’ll die together!” Aven’s anger boiled over, and he went all out in his attack.
He raised his hand, and dozens of Divine Talismans shot into the air to form a formation above his head. As it spun, a massive black thundercloud began to take shape. Lightning flashed, and thunder rumbled with terrifying power.
This was a demonic-banishing formation based on Stormcraft. Its power far surpassed that of a simple palm thunderstrike.
“Stormfall!” Aven formed a hand seal with one hand and pointed at himself.
From the roiling storm clouds above, a bolt of purple lightning, as thick as a man’s arm, struck him directly. His clothes disintegrated in an instant, and his skin was charred.
Aven looked drained, as if every last ounce of energy had been sucked from him. He collapsed to his knees, and his body trembled uncontrollably.
The dark energy that had coursed through him was mostly obliterated by the lightning. He hadn’t been bluffing – he had been ready to sacrifice his life to take Marcell down with him.
“Again… Stormfall!” Aven formed another hand seal and pointed at himself.
The storm clouds above rumbled again, and arcs of purple lightning began converging above him.
The sight sent the remnants of the dark energy inside Aven into a panic. They surged out of him in a desperate escape. The energy coalesced outside of him, slowly reshaping itself, and eventually reformed into Marcell’s figure.
But compared to earlier, Marcell now looked utterly battered. His face was deathly pale, his frail body trembling, and blood streamed from his nose and mouth. The severity of his injuries was undeniable.
“You… you’re insane! Are you trying to get yourself killed?” Marcell’s face twisted in terror as he stared at the storm clouds swirling above him.
He never expected Aven to use such a reckless, self-destructive method drawing the purple lightning directly into his own body without regard for his safety.
It was a reckless, self-destructive move that would harm both sides. In a strange turn of events, it had disrupted Marcell’s Soul Abyss Technique.
Marcell couldn’t deny that the last strike had nearly taken his life and weakened him to the point where his cultivation was reset to nothing. If he were struck by the lightning again, he would be finished.
“Abomination! I’ll gladly sacrifice myself to take you down with me.” Aven clenched his teeth and formed another hand seal with his trembling hands.
Marcell’s eyes widened in fear as he saw the purple lightning ready to strike again. With his current state, he knew he couldn’t survive another hit. If the lightning struck, he would be blown to pieces.
“Sir, please spare me! I’ll leave right now. I swear I won’t come back.” Marcell screamed in terror as he begged for mercy. At that instant, he was utterly terrified.
Just as the purple lightning was about to strike, Aven suddenly trembled. He suddenly spat out a mouthful of black blood and collapsed to the ground. He was drenched in sweat, and his breath was weak and shallow.
Above him, the storm clouds rumbled briefly before falling silent.
Marcell froze for a moment before realizing what had happened. From the looks of it, Aven was in much worse shape than he was and couldn’t control the purple lightning anymore.
He suddenly broke into maniacal laughter, and his expression turned arrogant. “Filthy monk, I thought you were tough, but you’re just all talk.
“Weren’t you so cocky before? Didn’t you want to go down together? Come on. Show me another strike of that purple lightning. Let’s see if you still have it in you.”
“You…” Aven struggled to his feet, but he coughed up another mouthful of blood.
Channeling the purple lightning into his own body had been a desperate, self -destructive act. His injuries were too severe now. He could barely stand, let alone form any more formations.
Still, Marcell wasn’t in much better shape. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have begged for mercy just a moment ago.
“You think you’re getting out of this?
My reinforcements will be here soon, and then you’ll meet your end!” Marcell sneered.
He was severely injured and knew better than to rush in. If he made a move too soon, Aven might strike back in desperation. That was a risk he wasn’t willing to take. Now, all he had to do was wait for backup to ensure his victory.
“Are you waiting for me?”
A cold voice rang out from behind them.
Both turned to see a tall figure emerge from the thick fog. The newcomer wore a mask and looked calm and collected, with a gaze that seemed to pierce through everything. It was Dustin.
“Haha… Filthy monk! My reinforcements have arrived. Let’s see how you’re going to escape now.”
When he saw Dustin, Marcell’s face lit up with glee. He had thought Dustin was trapped in the fog, but to his surprise, he had emerged. It was a welcome surprise.
“Brat, we’re on the same side here. You’d better help me take down this filthy monk.” Marcell pointed at Aven with a fierce look. “Once he’s dead, all the treasures in the Forbidden Ground are ours.”
Upon hearing that, Aven’s face paled again. He hadn’t expected Marcell to have reinforcements. This time, he was doomed.
Seeing that Dustin hadn’t moved, Marcell assumed he was hesitating, so he quickly explained, “Brat, don’t worry. He’s already worn out, so he can’t fight back. You can take him out easily.”
“Why would I kill him?” Dustin suddenly asked.
“Huh?” Marcell was taken aback. The question threw him for a loop. He thought, “If he wasn’t going to kill that filthy monk, is he supposed to kill me instead?”
