Chapter 66: The Last Ray of Hope
— "Let's see if this works... No, this has to work!" — she murmured to herself, her voice muffled by the surrounding noise as the light and heat grew ever more intense.
— "You saved me once… I hope you'll save me again!" — she whispered, gripping the hilt tightly as she remembered the moment before teleporting during her battle against the malevolent cultivator.
The Lunar Umbrella trembled in her hand, pulsing in response. The stars and moons on its canopy glowed faintly against the dark aura surrounding her.
Others might have called her idea naive, but she didn't care—as long as it worked. And so, without hesitation, Tang Chun Xi acted.
— "Expand!" — she commanded, and the Lunar Umbrella's canopy unfurled above her head, reaching a span of one and a half meters in an instant.
At the same time, she felt her arms jerk violently from the sudden deceleration, and she gasped— "Ahh…" — as both she and the umbrella wobbled unstably. But before she could spiral out of control, the stars on the Lunar Umbrella flared, stabilizing her descent into a straight line.
Ignoring the numbness in her arms and her white-knuckled grip, she thought:
'It actually worked!' — She was surprised to see the sparse debris around her falling much faster.
'The speed has decreased, but I'm still going to hit the ground hard.' — She knew it wasn't enough, so she activated her last protective measure: 'At this speed and with these talismans, I won't die!' — She pressed the last two Level 2 Iron Armor talismans she had onto her body.
But her optimism was short-lived as her danger sense suddenly flared.
— "You've got to be kidding me…" — she muttered in disbelief, looking up. Entire sections of the tunnel were collapsing on her—tons of debris that had resisted the heat now came crashing down to crush her.
She snapped the Lunar Umbrella shut in a swift motion and dove headfirst, accelerating toward the light below.
'Whatever's containing the dark aura must be beneath this rubble—I need to reach it!' — A few dozen meters from the ground, she realized the light and heat were coming from cracks between flaming wreckage. Likely, part of the debris had collapsed over the source.
'But this place is about to be buried! What if it caves in on me? If that happens, it'll be just like being trapped under the golems on the mountain!' — A suffocating dread tightened her chest at the thought, but she had no choice. She had noticed something about the debris that gave her a spark of hope:
'These ruins seem man-made, especially the ones covering the light! Maybe this whole place is a tomb or something similar. If so, there might be an exit—and it might withstand the collapse.'
'If all else fails… one year in the ring… is my only chance!' — Resolved, she used the falling wreckage to maneuver, pushing herself toward the largest opening she could find before finally leaping inside.
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The moment she fell into the hole, she reopened the Lunar Umbrella. This time, the recoil wasn't as strong, and she plunged into a burning golden sea.
The heat and flame's power were so intense that the dark aura—which had been weakening and lying dormant until now—suddenly reacted.
— "No! Ahhh!" — she screamed, but it was too late. The dark aura twisted violently, contracting back into her body. Tang Chun Xi cried out as she felt every cell being pierced like needles…
— "Boom."
She crashed onto the ground, but the impact barely disturbed the golden sea—only slightly warping the floor. The remaining silver aura around her body seemed to cool the ground, shielding her from the golden flames ahead.
— "Cough…" — Blood spilled from her lips. She didn't know if it was from the impact, which had shattered the talisman's protection, or from the dark aura's frenzied assault.
— "Why are you helping the dark aura?! You're my energy!!" — She swallowed the blood rising in her throat, frustration lacing her voice as she fought through the pain.
Her answer was more pain.
At that moment, she forgot about the collapsing debris, the risk of being buried alive, even the aggressive golden flames separated from her only by a thin layer of lunar energy maintained by the Lunar Umbrella in her hands.
Her body trembled as she focused inward on the battle raging inside her. The moment the dark aura invaded, the five shimmering elemental energies reacted, clashing against it.
The situation inside her body was critical: the dark aura, strengthened by lunar energy, fought against the five elemental forces. Her body was in a strange state—while the battle wreaked havoc, the lunar energy repaired the damage, though it was wild and uncontrolled despite Tang Chun Xi efforts to rein it in.
And then, another problem arose:
— "My energy is draining too fast. I need more!"
Her only option was the Monkey Wine, but before she could decide, the dark aura seized nearly her entire body—except her mind, her heart, and her Dantian, which were protected by the elemental energies now on the verge of collapse.
Her body froze. Then, the worst happened: the dark aura concentrated on attacking her mind, breaking through her defenses like butter.
— "Ahhh!" — Tang Chun Xi felt as if a knife had been driven into her skull, shattering all thought. In a final instinct, she screamed mentally: — "Lunar Umbrella!!!"
The umbrella transformed into a streak of light and shot into her mind, unfurling to reveal a mesmerizing night sky. The dark aura paused for an instant, and with its help, Tang Chun Xi regained control of the lunar energy. Together with the five elemental forces, she suppressed the dark aura, trapping it beneath the Lunar Umbrella.
Finally, she could feel her body again—and noticed the layer of lunar energy shielding her was rapidly dissipating! She immediately channeled the few remaining wisps of lunar energy she could muster, wrapping them around herself.
With the tension gone, the pain returned in full force: every muscle ached, each breath sent sharp agony through her ribs, her bones felt brittle, and her mind throbbed. She swallowed some healing pills and was about to try drawing the flame into her body when a warning from the Lunar Umbrella flashed:
"It won't hold for long!" — That was the message she received, and with it, she knew she needed the source of the flame—not just the burning golden sea around her.
Shaking, she forced herself to stand, exhaustion and pain searing through her bones and muscles. Ignoring the agony, she moved as fast as she could, knowing time was running out—whether from the dark aura or the collapsing debris, she wasn't sure.
'I can't see anything but gold. I'll have to trust my senses and pray there are no hidden dangers. And why does this feel so familiar…?' — Her thoughts raced as she pressed forward.
Every step sent waves of pain screaming through her, but she didn't hesitate. At times, her senses screamed of danger from below, forcing her to detour around entire areas, slowing her down. With each passing moment, her anxiety grew—if the dark aura broke free again, she would die. Or worse.
But after a few meters, she threw herself to the ground as danger loomed from above.
'What was that? A rock? No… It sounded like something viscous.'
The sound of something falling alerted her. She struggled to her feet and, sensing no immediate threat, pressed on.
'Is the fire melting the debris?'
If so, she'd soon be submerged in lava or molten metal. She had no time to waste. She tried to quicken her pace, ignoring the sharp pain worsening with every movement. And the further she went, the stronger the sense of familiarity grew.
'This flame is aggressive and powerful… Why does it remind me of Lin Xu?'
As she advanced, dodging falling wreckage, her mind worked frantically to distract itself from the mounting pain. A suspicion began to take root, along with guilt over nearly destroying the Western Mist Clover.
'I hope he's alright… That he can hold on until I get out of here. I'll help him however I can!'
She refused to believe she had failed to save the first person she'd ever tried to help—especially after that illusion.
Her thoughts were cut short as the fire abruptly receded. Before she could react, she found herself in a vast crimson space, with bubbling pools of molten substance. From above, flaming liquid poured through gaps in the wreckage.
Without hesitation, she slapped three Body Reinforcement talismans onto herself and ran, ignoring the pain screaming through her. Then she noticed a tremor in the Lunar Umbrella—and cracks beginning to form.
The dark aura would break free soon! And she didn't know which was worse—its escape or the damage to the Lunar Umbrella…
As she sprinted toward the shrinking light near an intact "adorned" wall, a fragmented message from the umbrella reached her:
"Absorb the Sun's fire… Do not touch… Once consumed… pure."
She barely had time to process it when suddenly, she saw:
— "That figure… That appearance… That familiar presence… Lin Xu?! Is that you?" — she exclaimed, stunned, recognizing the person the flames were retreating toward.
— "Fellow Peng…" — Lin Xu murmured, lying naked on the ground, disoriented. His aura was unstable, his vitality fading.
His voice snapped her out of her daze. It was hard to tell if her shock came from Lin Xu's transformed appearance—now unmasked, with a pale, youthful face, dark-gold hair, and a toned body almost fully exposed. A scene that would have been obscene if not for the life-or-death situation they were in.
— "Wake up! We need to get out of here—ugh!" — She rushed toward him, but the moment she touched him, a surge of golden energy—no, golden flame—invaded her body. The lunar energy inside her stirred, nearly slipping from her control. The golden flame raced up her arm, bringing a purifying lightness so intoxicating she began absorbing it unconsciously.
— "Did you come to finish the job yourself, taking this form? Why? Was condemning me to this fate not enough?!" — Lin Xu snarled through clenched teeth, gripping her wrist.
Tang Chun Xi heart clenched. He thought she was here to kill him.
— "I didn't mean to... it was an accident!" — she protested. When her eyes met his now sky-blue ones—though clouded, she saw deep melancholy in them, and something else that seemed to pierce her heart to its core.
'This feeling…' — Tang Chun Xi knew this feeling all too well. It was the sensation of being alone, abandoned, yet clinging to tenacity, refusing to give up… all hidden beneath that melancholic gaze.
At that moment, the darkness inside her roared violently, fracturing part of the Lunar Umbrella's cracks and invading her mind.
— "No... not now!"
A shadowy voice emerged from within her:
— "He's irrelevant... don't waste your energy... He'll die anyway... Absorb the flame, and you'll survive…"
Tang Chun Xi clenched her eyes shut, fighting the voice.
— "No!! And he's not irrelevant! He won't die here! And I won't be consumed by you!!" — Her voice echoed through the chamber, silencing the dark whisper. She had made her choice.
With that, she lifted Lin Xu into her arms and staggered toward the adorned wall ahead—which, upon closer inspection, turned out to be part of a corridor, likely part of some ancient structure, perhaps a tomb, as she had suspected earlier…
She activated her protective formation disc, which began glowing, erecting a barrier at the corridor's entrance. Then, with Lin Xu on her back, she ran into the dark passageway, his gaze the only sign of awareness.
After a while, the pain in her body reached its limit—the Body Reinforcement talismans were taking their toll.
— "I... can't... stop now…"
Her mind wavered, and Tang Chun Xi collapsed beside Lin Xu, using her last strength to pull him close.
The Lunar Umbrella trembled again, and a deeper crack formed—then, the darkness finally broke free. And with it, she slumped over Lin Xu's body.
— "Trust me..." — she whispered with conviction, sending lunar energy into his body, unsure if he heard her.
Before the darkness consumed her completely, she felt a torrent of golden flame surge from Lin Xu into her body—overwhelming and hot.
Tang Chun Xi consciousness faded as the golden flames engulfed her.
Tang Chun Xi did not know the impact this decision would have on her life and that of Lin Xu.