— Anna, how unexpected. We meet again.
Irina spoke the words with a faint, amused smile, sitting astride her mighty Moon Leopard.
She looked like a knight from an old legend who had just encountered his lady fair.
Her figure atop the massive beast commanded respect, and her voice sounded confident – perhaps even a little bold.
— Indeed, it is unexpected, Miss Irina. — Qinxuan's voice remained calm, though a hint of unease flickered in her eyes. — Please forgive me, I'm in a hurry. This isn't the right moment for conversation. I will make up for it next time.
She gave Irina a brief nod, tugged on the reins, and guided her horse onward. Qinshe, following behind, also offered Irina a polite glance, but said nothing.
— You and Lady Qinshe are heading to the forest because of the incident, right? — Irina nodded lightly in greeting and rode after them, though she kept some distance.
Qinxuan's and Qinshe's horses were clearly unsettled, casting wary glances at her beast.
The low rumble coming from Razorstripe only heightened their fear.
Not waiting for an answer, Irina continued.
— They say something serious happened there. If you're in such a hurry, I can help. Ostrogray and I can get to the site faster than your horses. But there's one "but": I can only take one passenger. I'm afraid he won't allow more.
Qin Xuan frowned.
Hearing the seriousness of the situation, her anxiety increased.
She exchanged a glance with Qinshe, who gave a subtle nod.
Pulling her reins, Qinxuan stopped her horse and turned toward Irina.
— In that case, I will accept your generous offer.
— Excellent, — Irina smirked, tilting her head slightly. — But keep in mind, the favor isn't free. You'll owe me.
— Chess again? — Qinxuan asked as she dismounted.
The leopard, seeing her approach, lowered himself onto his front legs, allowing her to climb onto his broad back with ease.
— Not necessarily, — Irina replied with a mysterious calm. Her voice softened, and her smile gained a shade of enigma.
— There's something else I'm interested in.
Settling behind Irina, Qinxuan wrapped her arms around the girl's waist, holding on firmly.
Riding a Moon Leopard was nothing like riding a horse – lack of a saddle made balancing far more difficult.
Razorstripe, well-fed and content after devouring two Rainbow Deer, was obedient and even let out a soft rumble, as if welcoming the new rider.
— Fine. I promise. But for now, can we hurry?
— Of course. Hold tight! RAZORSTRIPE! — the red-haired girl shouted at the end of her words.
The leopard lunged forward, and within moments the three of them vanished into the forest.
***
While the girls raced through the woods, someone else had already reached the destination.
Before the newcomer stretched a horrifying rift—nearly a kilometer long and several hundred meters wide.
It was the very rift mentioned in the mysterious message delivered to the lord's manor by an unknown sender.Matthew Evergreen, the City Lord, had arrived personally.
His tense gaze swept across the enormous chasm, but it wasn't just the darkness shrouding its depths that drew his attention.
The air above the rift shimmered with a dense, tangible barrier—its surface emitting a faint black glow.
Gathering his spiritual energy, Matthew formed a spectral hand and thrust it toward the barrier. The dark layer reacted instantly, blocking the strike, yet no other effect followed.
The lord frowned.
Increasing the pressure, he pushed until his strength reached the peak of the Earth Rank, but the barrier didn't even tremble.
— Stubborn thing, — he muttered, drawing the sword from his back.
The blade burst into brilliance, and Heaven-Rank energy crashed down upon the barrier with overwhelming force.
The strike was powerful enough to make the air quiver.
But, to his surprise, the barrier remained unscathed.
No cracks.
No weakening.
Only silent ripples spreading across its surface like circles on water.Matthew waited patiently for the ripples to fade, preparing a second blow.
But just as he raised his sword, the barrier began to dissolve – its dark surface fading into the air and leaving the chasm open to the terrifying depths below.
The lord frowned, unsure whether it had collapsed because of his attack or vanished of its own accord.
Wasting no time, he activated his abilities and dove into the darkness, vanishing into its black abyss.
Soon after, other city powers began to arrive.
The clan patriarchs, though slower than the lord, still moved quickly – but without the same desperate urgency that drove Matthew. Leaving their subordinates to guard the surface and maintain order, they entered the rift one after another.
Qinxuan stared into the darkness as if trying to hear or see something beyond normal perception.
She shook her head uncertainly.
— I… don't know if my friend is down there.
Irina opened her mouth to say something, but suddenly someone screamed.
— There are people!
The girls immediately turned toward the voice.
In the distance, on one of the sloping walls of the rift, silhouettes appeared in the faint light.
They were climbing upward, clutching desperately at the rocks.
The first man to reach the surface – covered in blood and dirt – muttered hoarsely, barely conscious.
— The Imperials… They attacked us!
More survivors crawled out behind him.
Their faces were twisted with terror, their bodies marked with wounds. Some were crying about a dragon, others carried the dead in silence.
Some looked unharmed but shaken, others staggered like ghosts.
It was a sight that chilled the soul.
Qinxuan's expression tightened, her voice tense.
— Imperials? A dragon?
Meanwhile, members of the Wang, Xue, and Du clans recognized their people among the survivors and hurried to pull them aside, trying to learn what had happened.
— A dragon attacked, — Wang Lei croaked, pale and injured. — There's a lake down there… it was sleeping in it. Our fall awakened it.
The words sent a wave of shock even through the strongest cultivators.
Fear, thick as fog, settled over everyone gathered at the rift. The darkness below seemed alive – like it held some ancient malice.
The Lin clan members huddled together off to the side, desperately searching the emerging survivors for their own.
But with every new face that appeared, their hope faded.
One of them cried out:
— Where are ours? Did you see them? Are they alive?
The answers were equally hopeless.
— We don't know. We didn't see them.
With every reply, despair grew heavier around the Lin clan.
Qin Xuan was no better off.
Her frantic eyes searched the crowd – yet Delia was nowhere.
Panic twisted in her chest.
She was just about to rush into the rift herself when she finally noticed a familiar figure.
— Delia! — she whispered, her voice cracking.
What she saw drained the color from her face. Delia lay limp in the arms of a young woman from the Du clan—Du Fei.
Most of Delia's right arm was missing, and black, root-like veins crawled up her neck, threatening to consume her face.
Each pulsing strand screamed poison or curse.
Qinxuan dashed toward Delia and Du Fei, surrounded by members of the Du clan.
Her eyes shook with panic – so much so she didn't even notice Irina stumbling nearby.
Irina's face had gone pale as snow.
She swayed, almost collapsing, her hands trembling violently as her lips whispered.
— How… how is this possible…?
Only when the Du clan blocked Qin Xuan's path did Irina regain some composure.
Her voice sliced through the tension like a blade.—
Get out of the way. Now. You have one of ours.
The Du clan members exchanged glances. They couldn't ignore the terrifying aura of the Moon Leopard standing beside Irina, nor her sheer determination.
They stepped aside, allowing her to approach Du Fei.
The Du girl looked at Qinxuan, clearly realizing something.
— Are you Anna?
— Yes, — Qin Xuan answered shortly, kneeling beside Delia.
Her gaze scanned her friend's body – what she saw made her heart clench like a vise. Using her Spiritual Perception, she felt a faint spark of life… but her own hands began to shake, and her complexion paled.
Poison.
A monstrously powerful poison.
Qinxuan had no idea what kind it was, nor how to treat it.
She sensed Sharissa's presence inside Delia's body, struggling to hold back the spread of the toxin, buying mere minutes of time.
Then Irina's broken whisper cut through the air.
— This… this is Heavenly Retribution Poison. Anyone below the Heavenly Rank… is doomed. No exceptions.
Irina collapsed to her knees, clutching her head.
Her eyes filled with pure terror, a single question screaming inside her.
"Why? WHY? WHY?!"
She was living through her nightmare again.
Qinshe finally approached, watching silently.
Something about Irina's behavior clearly unsettled her, but now wasn't the moment for questions.
— She's still alive. I will save her, — Qin Xuan said firmly, lifting Delia into her arms. — There is no poison that cannot be cured.
She turned to Irina, who was still sitting dazed on the ground.
Her voice turned icy–cold enough to freeze bone.
— I need you to take us back to the city.
Irina didn't respond–her eyes empty.
Qinxuan raised her voice.
— Irina, do you hear me?!
The shout pierced the fog of shock. Realizing there was still hope, Irina jolted to her feet.
Irina clenched her fists, forcing herself to focus.
They climbed onto the Moon Leopard together.
Qinxuan held Delia tightly against her, trying to preserve what warmth her friend still had.
Irina stared forward and commanded her beast in a low, hard voice.
— Run. With everything you have.
Razorstripe felt her urgency.
Muscles tensed, claws dug into the earth
And in the next heartbeat, he launched forward with such force that the ground cracked beneath him.
The world blurred into streaks of trees and shadow.