The negotiations with the Liyue adepti went very smoothly. Coppelia and Columbina obtained a Stone Lance containing the divine power of Rex Lapis, as well as a jade divine sword named "Primordial Jade Cutter," to deal with the crisis in Chenyu Vale.
The two dared not delay for a moment and immediately headed north along the Bishui River at full speed. However, the scene before them was starkly different from when they had left.
The originally clear and azure river had become unbearably turbid, carrying massive amounts of mud and sand. The river's width had swelled significantly, and countless broken, withered branches, as well as uprooted trees bearing fresh soil, floated on the rushing currents. It was a scene of devastation.
"The flood... has already erupted," Coppelia said, her voice low.
Columbina pressed her lips tight, saying not a word, but simply urged her power once more, pushing their flight speed to the limit.
They flew over the area that was once green tea fields. Now, a large number of terraced fields were completely submerged under the yellow-brown floodwaters; only the tips of a few tea trees could be vaguely seen struggling in the water.
Many houses near the water's edge had collapsed, with broken wooden beams and rubble bobbing in the waves. On the surrounding higher slopes, clusters of shaken figures gathered, resembling colonies of ants surviving after a rainstorm.
Columbina's perception quickly swept over those helpless crowds. Her flight speed slowed involuntarily for a split second, and her breathing became rapid.
"The Archon is the source of the disaster. The urgent priority is to deal with her!" Coppelia's voice pulled her back to reality.
Columbina immediately composed herself, nodded forcefully, and pulled Coppelia along as she accelerated abruptly, crossing over Mount Linghao.
Soon, the terrifying breach, which looked like a hole torn in the sky itself, came into view. A massive curtain of water poured down from the collapsed mountain saddle, the roar deafening.
"Fly higher!" Coppelia shouted loudly.
The divine artifact given to them by Rex Lapis required sufficient altitude to unleash its full power.
Hearing this, Columbina immediately ascended with all her might. Their altitude quickly surpassed the highest peak of Mount Linghao, and they continued to rise!
The fierce wind whistled in their ears, and the earth beneath them became minuscule. This involuntarily reminded her of the heart-palpitating encounter when she had previously tried to fly to the edge of the sky, causing a faint dread in the depths of her heart. She dared not fly too high now, but at this moment, she could not care about such things.
"That's enough!" Coppelia judged.
Columbina immediately stabilized her figure. Coppelia gripped the Stone Lance tightly in her right hand.
The Stone Lance was composed entirely of pure Geo energy, shimmering with an orange-yellow light, with golden runes flowing across its surface like swimming dragons.
Coppelia aimed at the massive waterfall formed by the flood discharging below and violently hurled the Stone Lance down!
The Stone Lance, originally only two meters long, grew in the wind the instant it left her palm! By the time the tip touched the water's surface, its length exceeded a hundred meters!
BOOM—!!!
Carrying the momentum of ten thousand jun, the Stone Lance pierced into the core of the flood! Half of the spear shaft instantly drove deep into the earth, triggering a violent tremor!
It nailed itself precisely at the location of the original saddle of Mount Mingyuan, splitting the complete water curtain waterfall in two!
This was only the beginning.
As the Stone Lance entered the ground, countless thick Geo element roots immediately sprouted from the bottom of the shaft, digging deep into the surrounding mountain rock layers to firmly anchor itself. Simultaneously, the upper part of the shaft exposed above the water began to shrink rapidly and shorten, the majestic Geo energy contained within flowing downward like liquid gold.
In the blink of an eye, huge stone ridges spread and interwove within the water, forming an incredibly thick giant net. The eyes of the net closed rapidly, transforming into an indestructible whole, while the shaft that had originally protruded above the water completely merged into it.
Finally, all the Geo energy completed its flow and shaping. A neat, straight, towering rock wall, emitting a heavy golden glow, stood erect at the breach, turning into an impregnable giant dam that blocked the furious currents from the high seas of Fontaine upstream once more!
The momentum of the raging flood decreased abruptly. The top of the dam was exceptionally flat; the water flowed over it, forming a wide and smooth waterfall. Aside from the water body remaining turbid, the world-destroying, violent aura from before had vanished without a trace.
In the air, Coppelia sighed softly, "The weight of stone is reassuring..."
The Archon, who was still frantically "scooping water," had noticed the moment the Stone Lance was thrown down. She shrank her gem longsword back to regular size, attempting to rush forward and shatter it.
However, the process of the Stone Lance transforming into a dam was as fast as a spark of lightning—completed in an instant!
ROAR—!!!
Her charged strike hit nothing but air. The maddened Archon let out a roar of fury. She condensed terrifying divine power and swung her longsword, slashing a blade of light obliquely toward the newborn rock dam!
However, her attack failed to even touch the dam's body—
Two figures plummeted rapidly, intercepting the path of the light blade! It was Coppelia and Columbina, following close behind!
Coppelia intended to take this attack head-on. Columbina instinctively felt worry, but her anxiety vanished in the next second.
CLANG—!!!
A dull but incredibly solid sound exploded! The Archon's divine power light blade, capable of splitting mountains and cracking rocks, slammed squarely into the cylindrical shield that had suddenly appeared around the two!
The shield appeared translucent orange-yellow, with golden light circulating on its surface. Countless complex runes flickered, and layers of shifting rock plates outlined several arcs on its surface, steadily dispersing and nullifying all impact force.
Columbina saw that under such a terrifying attack, the seemingly thin shield remained—
Safe and sound!
The corners of Coppelia's mouth hooked up in a confident arc as she declared loudly, "Solid as stone!"
She held her right hand level, gripping the Primordial Jade Cutter tight. The sword's body presented a deep, profound emerald green, as if carved from a single block of supreme jade. Golden rune lines were faintly visible inside, and rock stratum textures could be seen on the translucent blade.
The indestructible shield around their bodies was formed precisely by borrowing the power within this sword.
"No need to dodge now," Coppelia's fighting spirit soared, pointing the sword at the Archon. "Charge straight in!"
Columbina understood immediately. Without any hesitation, she carried Coppelia and charged frontally, straight toward the Archon who had fallen into madness!
Three figures clashed fiercely in the mist-filled air, sword lights flickering and elements rushing.
Although the maddened Archon's mind was chaotic, she had not forgotten the sword instincts honed over countless years. The gem longsword in her hand still traced lethal trajectories, carrying the might to tear through space as it continuously slashed at Coppelia.
However, no matter how tricky or vicious her attacks were, they only stirred up ripples of golden light and flickering runes upon landing on the shield around Coppelia, never able to shake it in the slightest.
In contrast, Coppelia had not practiced any swordsmanship. She relied entirely on dazzling moves from games or anime in her memory, swinging the divine sword with wide, sweeping motions. Sometimes a heavy cleave, sometimes a rapid thrust—though lacking method, she relied on absolute defense to make her offensive wildly ferocious.
Columbina cruised on the flank of the battle. With a light beckon of her slender hand, several massive water orbs rose from the turbid river water below, hurling toward the Archon's face to constantly interfere with her vision and movements.
At the same time, her ethereal singing voice rose again. Pure moonlight power rippled out with the sound waves, continuously purifying the ominous black mist around the Archon.
The Archon was already heavily injured. Unable to break the opponent's defense after a long battle, and conversely suffering several deep wounds under Coppelia's unmethodical but exceptionally sharp onslaught, her movements became increasingly sluggish.
CLANG—!
An exceptionally crisp tremor rang out! Coppelia seized a flaw, cleverly parrying the Archon's gem longsword aside with the Primordial Jade Cutter, leaving the center wide open!
An opportunity!
Coppelia's eyes grew sharp. Sword light flashed like electricity as she followed through with a diagonal slash!
Squelch!
The Archon's right hand, holding the sword, was severed cleanly at the wrist! It tumbled down toward the rolling floodwaters below, along with that gem longsword.
Losing her weapon, the Archon let out a shriek mixed with pain and fury, her power waning further.
How could Coppelia and Columbina let such a golden opportunity slip by? They immediately pressed the attack, sword light and moonlight weaving into a net, constantly whittling away the Archon's remaining strength.
Seeing the Archon's aura wither, no longer able to organize an effective counterattack, Coppelia knew the time had come.
She quickly took out three talismans drawn with cinnabar patterns from the lining of her bodice, a cluster of flames springing from her fingertips to ignite them. Then, holding the talismans, she swiftly wiped them along the blade of the Primordial Jade Cutter!
Hum—!
The emerald sword body trembled violently. The golden patterns within suddenly lit up, emitting an unprecedented majestic aura and heavy divine might!
Coppelia locked her gaze onto the Archon and rushed forward, the divine sword in her hand accurately piercing into the Archon's torso, though intentionally avoiding the vital point of the heart!
With a clear shout from her, the Primordial Jade Cutter piercing the Archon's body suddenly erupted with blinding golden light!
Vast Geo energy poured out from the sword, instantly transforming into an indestructible stone prison that firmly imprisoned the Archon's twisting, struggling body within!
Once formed, the stone prison dragged the Archon, who was constantly battering the inner walls, heavily downward. With a loud boom, it submerged into the turbid water of unknown depth, leaving only a huge vortex that soon slowly smoothed out, leaving no trace.
Coppelia and Columbina hovered in mid-air, watching the water surface that had swallowed the Archon as the ripples faded. This brief battle was finally over.
Coppelia let out a long sigh of relief.
"It feels pretty good to be a stat monster, even if all the stats are borrowed..." Coppelia felt a wave of unprecedented excitement and satisfaction.
However, Columbina beside her showed no joy. She gently tugged at Coppelia's sleeve.
Coppelia turned around, only to see the young girl's face lowered behind her blindfold. Coppelia immediately understood her thoughts.
The excitement in her heart cooled instantly, replaced by the same worry and urgency.
Coppelia held Columbina's hand.
"Let's go. We're going to find Fujin and Changsheng!"
...
In the deep, dark underwater, within the cavity formed by the stone prison, the Primordial Jade Cutter piercing the Archon's body lit up with golden light once more.
Bit by bit, power flowed into the Archon's body. Before long, a voice sounded softly in the void:
"Rex Lapis?"
____
New Story: Starting from Their Seventeen Years Old
🔥We're handing out that '30% bonus' that makes your wallet smile. 😄
✅ Get immediate access to 40 early chapters for all stories.
✅ Enjoy exclusive material and special announcements!
Help us unlock these community rewards:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone
🚀 140 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters across ALL STORIES!
👻 P - Walnutchan