When Lan Suyin and Zhao Yue stepped out of the protective barrier, the five elders outside were completely confused.
They had expected someone powerful, maybe even the leader, but two young women?
The First Elder, still puffed up with his earlier arrogance, started to speak, "Girl, if you want to even be our plaything now, we won't accept you at all. That time is gone..."
Before he could finish his rude sentence, Zhao Yue spat, "Ptui! Who wants to be you old guys' plaything?" She looked disgusted.
Lan Suyin chimed in, sounding almost bored, "Stop, Zhao Yue. They clearly have problems with their brains, or why else would they join those alien idiots in the first place?"
Both young women sighed, as if agreeing on a sad truth.
At this insult, the Fourth Elder, who was already boiling with anger, couldn't wait any longer. He attacked immediately, without giving them another chance to speak.
A massive, glowing palm force, charged with his powerful energy, slapped down towards the two girls. It was an attack meant to crush them instantly.
But just as the giant palm closed in, two small, flat objects flew out from the girls' space rings. These weren't weapons, but simple tokens.
They were the tokens given to them by Yan Wuhe, their new Grand Elder.
These tokens, meant for protection, glowed softly as they met the enormous palm force.
The powerful attack hit the tokens, but something incredible happened, the tokens didn't even move an inch.
The massive palm force, capable of flattening buildings, simply harmlessly disappeared against these small, protective items.
The five elders stared, their eyes wide with disbelief. Their attack, wasted. The girls, completely unharmed.
Lan Suyin and Zhao Yue, seeing the ease with which the tokens deflected the attack, felt a mix of pity and exasperation for these elders.
They thought, if even these simple gifts from their Grand Elder could stop Fusion Realm attacks, imagine the real power they held, the power they were about to use.
With a shared, knowing glance, both girls reached into their pockets at the same time.
They pulled out two different kinds of talismans, ancient slips of paper with mysterious symbols drawn on them.
Lan Suyin held up an 8th-tier talisman called "Illusory Hell." It shimmered with a faint, otherworldly glow.
Zhao Yue held up another 8th-tier talisman, this one called "Hellfire Talisman," radiating intense heat even before it was activated.
They nodded to each other again, a silent signal. Then, they began to pour their spiritual energy into the talisman slips.
The symbols on the talismans blazed to life, glowing brighter and brighter with raw power. The air around them began to crackle.
With practiced movements, they threw the glowing talismans at the stunned elders.
The "Illusory Hell" talisman shot forward from Lan Suyin's hand. As it reached the five elders, it exploded not with fire or force,
but with an invisible wave of energy that washed over them. Suddenly, the world around the elders twisted and warped.
Their vision blurred, and they were no longer standing in the air outside the barrier. Instead, they found themselves plunged into their deepest fears, a terrifying mental prison.
The First Elder screamed, not from physical pain, but from the horror of seeing his worst nightmares come true around him.
He saw himself losing all his power, groveling before his enemies, abandoned by his god.
He thrashed wildly, trying to fight illusions that weren't real in the physical world but were terrifyingly real in his mind.
The Second Elder gasped for air, his mind conjuring up images of all his loved ones being tortured because of his failures.
He clawed at his face, tears streaming as he begged for mercy from his invisible tormentors, his mind trapped in a loop of endless despair.
The Third Elder, already prone to fear, was reduced to a shaking mess.
He saw the Young Master Venus, whom he feared most, standing over him, his face contorted in unimaginable rage, slowly dismantling him, limb by limb, for his incompetence.
He whimpered, curling into a ball in the sky, completely lost to the terrifying visions.
The Fourth Elder, whose dark blade had been so useless against the tokens, was now reliving every single mistake he had ever made, each one magnified into a crushing failure.
He was trapped in a cycle of self-blame and regret, haunted by grotesque versions of his victims, accusing him. He roared in anguish, his eyes wide but seeing nothing real.
And the Fifth Elder, the one who had so confidently led this attack,
found himself surrounded by millions of the very Nether Shadow Rats he had sent to their deaths.
But these rats were monstrous, growing larger and larger, swarming him, biting and tearing at him in an unending horde,
his own creations turning against him in a terrifying, inescapable nightmare.
As the "Illusory Hell" held the elders captive in their mental prisons, the "Hellfire Talisman" from Zhao Yue activated.
It erupted into a torrent of searing, black flames.
This was no ordinary fire; it was spiritual hellfire, meant to consume both body and soul.
The black flames licked greedily at the elders, who were still screaming and struggling within their illusions.
The elders, already suffering unspeakable torment in their minds, now felt their physical bodies being consumed by an agonizing, soul-burning fire.
They couldn't move properly, couldn't cast defensive spells effectively, because their minds were utterly broken by the illusory hell.
Their screams became louder, more desperate, as the hellfire devoured them.
Their powerful Fusion Realm cultivation was useless; they were caught completely off guard, their defenses down, their minds enslaved.
Their bodies began to wither and blacken under the scorching black flames.
The air filled with the stench of burning flesh and spiritual energy. Their life forces, which had seemed so mighty moments before, rapidly dwindled.
Each elder writhed in agony, caught between the tortures of their own minds and the destructive power of the hellfire.
It was a truly horrific death. They died not just physically, but spiritually, their souls tormented even before their last breath.
From within the mountain settlement, the people watched.
They couldn't see the illusions, but they saw the elders screaming, thrashing, and then being consumed by the dark, spiritual flames.
A roar of cheers erupted from the crowd.
"Go Lan Suyin! Go Zhao Yue!" they shouted. "Victory! Victory!"
Everyone cheered, their voices echoing through the valley. It was a complete and absolute victory, delivered with terrifying efficiency.
Lan Suyin and Zhao Yue stood calmly outside the barrier,
their faces showing no emotion, watching as the last of the black flames consumed the screaming elders,
leaving nothing but ashes and a lingering, acrid smell in the air. The threat was gone.
Lan Suyin and Zhao Yue, with calm but triumphant smiles, walked back into the mountain settlement.
As they passed through the invisible entrance of the barrier, a wave of profound happiness spread through everyone gathered there.
It wasn't just the relief that the battle was truly over, but also a deep sense of peace and security they hadn't felt in a long time.
Their presence was like a warm blanket wrapping around the weary hearts of the survivors.
The boys and girls, who had been celebrating earlier, now cheered even louder. They swarmed around Lan Suyin and Zhao Yue, their eyes shining with admiration.
Some clapped them on the back, others offered them refreshing drinks, and a few even tried to lift them onto their shoulders in celebration.
Mu Chen, his double head-bumps forgotten, gave them both a proud and approving nod, a silent acknowledgment of their strength and quick work.
Xiao Yun, still a bit tired but beaming, gave them a thumbs-up.
The cultivators from the five regions, who had been skeptical or worried earlier, now looked at the two young women with newfound respect and gratitude.
The fear that had lingered in their hearts for so long, the fear of the human betrayers and their powerful allies, seemed to melt away.
They understood, truly understood, that with these powerful protectors, they had a real chance to rebuild and thrive.
The air in the settlement was light, filled with chatter, laughter, and the shared joy of a hard-won victory.
Food was passed around again, the dancing became more energetic,
and even the elders found themselves smiling and exchanging hopeful glances.
It was a moment of pure, unadulterated triumph and camaraderie, a happy ending to a dangerous chapter.
Meanwhile, far away in a secret, dark cave, Young Master Venus was deep in meditation.
He was surrounded by a strange, shimmering nether formation, gifted to him by the extraterrestrial races, which pulsed with dark energy.
His body glowed faintly as he pushed himself towards the peak of the Mahayana realm, utterly focused on his cultivation. His face was serene, lost in the pursuit of greater power.
Suddenly, without any warning, a strange disturbance rippled through the cave.
From a small, ornate pouch at his waist, five delicate soul tokens, intricately carved and usually glowing with a faint light, began to tremble violently.
These were special tokens, each one linked to the life force of one of his five most trusted Fusion Realm elders from the Shadow God Clan.
They were meant to be unbreakable, a symbol of his control and their loyalty.
"Boom!"
The first token exploded with a sharp, deafening sound, shattering into a million shimmering fragments.
Before Young Master Venus could even react, the second token, then the third, fourth, and fifth, all erupted one after another in quick succession.
Each explosion sent a powerful shockwave of spiritual feedback through him.
The sheer force of these spiritual impacts was devastating. Young Master Venus gasped, his eyes flying open, wide with shock and agony. A violent tremor ran through his entire body.
He immediately doubled over, clenching his stomach as a gush of dark blood spurted from his mouth, staining the cave floor.
His cultivation, which had been steadily advancing, suddenly stagnated, like a river hitting a dam.
The path to the higher realm he was so close to reaching was now blocked, his progress brutally halted.
His once serene face twisted into a mask of pure, uncontrolled rage. His body shook not from pain, but from an overwhelming fury.
He had never experienced such a setback, such an insult. He slammed his fist onto the ground, cracking the hard stone.
"Who dares?!" he roared, his voice echoing through the cave, thick with venom.
"Who could possibly have done this?! My five Fusion Realm elders, gone? How? Just who did they offend? Who possessed the power to kill five of my most powerful experts from the Shadow God Clan?!"
His mind raced, unable to comprehend the scale of the loss.
These were not just any followers; these were his loyal enforcers, his direct subordinates, crucial to his plans.
Their sudden, complete annihilation was an affront to his power and a massive blow to his forces.
He clawed at the air, his eyes blazing with murderous intent, swearing vengeance on the unknown perpetrators who had dared to cross him.
Outside the Secret Realm, the scene was much calmer, but still filled with tension for some.
Yan Wuhe and Shen Huai were seated comfortably, still engaged in their endless game of chess, munching on snacks as if nothing extraordinary was happening.
Around them, the elders from the other five regions remained, their faces etched with worry. They paced nervously,
frequently glancing at the shimmering entrance of the Secret Realm, waiting for any sign or news about their disciples' fates.
Each passing moment felt like an eternity as they hoped for good news, but feared the worst.
Nearby, Nexus and Commander Vulcan stood, their expressions grim, their attention fixed on the chess board that Huai and Wuhe were using.