"The Abyssal Black Miasma has already bound itself deeply to them. Gentle methods are completely useless; we can only forcibly strip it away!" Zhongli said in a deep voice.
The Geo element rapidly condensed around his body, and the runes in his palm flashed with a light that suppressed everything.
Venti nodded, his eyes turning back to their original bright green, filled with resolve: "I'll hold back Beisht, you deal with Osial!"
Before his words even fell, the two had already teleported out simultaneously.
Zhongli's figure instantly appeared in front of Osial. The Geo element in his palm solidified like steel, carrying the power to suppress heaven and earth, as he struck the Abyssal Black Miasma on Osial's body with all his might.
Venti transformed into a wind shadow, circling behind Beisht. His palm also condensed power, striking the densest part of the black miasma on Beisht's body with all his might.
"Boom!"
The golden divine power and the Abyssal Black Miasma collided violently. Sonic booms exploded across the sea's surface, kicking up waves dozens of feet high.
The stripped-away Abyssal Black Miasma rapidly condensed in the air, actually forming phantoms of Osial and Beisht. They let out shrill, miserable roars as they counterattacked the Dual Gods frantically.
Under the shroud of black miasma, Osial and Beisht's original appearances gradually revealed themselves.
However, their eyes remained cloudy, clearly showing they had not yet completely broken free of the control and were still fighting their final struggle against the Abyss.
"No! You can't do this!"
Xiao Qin could no longer sit still. The Abyssal Black Miasma around her body surged, almost swallowing her whole, her pitch-black eyes filled with frenzied rage.
"Do you want to strip my family away from me again? Do you want me to go back to being all alone? I won't accept it!" She raised her hand and waved it. Countless black silver threads shot out from the black miasma, entangling Zhongli and Venti, trying to stop them from stripping away the Abyssal Black Miasma. "They are my parents, they can only be with me!"
The moment she made her move, a piercingly cold wind suddenly struck from the side, carrying pure power.
Alarm bells rang in Xiao Qin's heart. Just as she was about to turn to defend, a figure shimmering with golden light approached silently like a ghost.
It was Yunqin!
Her gaze was resolute. Her right leg glowed with a heavy golden light, carrying an unquestionable power, as she kicked Xiao Qin's cheek with all her might!
"Slap!"
A crisp, loud sound echoed across the battlefield. Xiao Qin was sent flying by this sudden roundhouse kick, crashing heavily onto the sea's surface and kicking up a large splash of black water.
Black mist leaked from the corner of her mouth, and the black miasma around her body became chaotic, clearly showing she had suffered a significant injury.
"You are not me, and you can never replace me." Yunqin landed steadily on the spot, the Little UFO beneath her feet rotating slightly.
Xiao Qin struggled to rise from the sea's surface, black water dripping from her torn skirt and spreading into ink-colored ripples across the water.
The Abyssal Black Miasma around her body churned wildly with extreme rage, wrapping around her limbs like a living creature and even condensing behind her into a pair of giant bat wings spanning nearly ten meters!
The wing membranes were covered in black and purple Abyssal patterns, and each flap brought a suffocating chill, as if even the surrounding air were being frozen.
She raised her hand to wipe the black mist from the corner of her mouth, her pitch-black eyes staring fixedly at Yunqin, her pupils churning with resentment and fury: "You will pay a price more painful than death for this arrogance!"
Before her words even fell, Xiao Qin's wings flapped violently, and her figure shot down like an arrow from a bow, the black airflow she kicked up carving a deep groove across the sea's surface.
Her right hand quickly condensed a Hydro Element whip, its body wrapped in thick Abyssal Black Miasma, making a "crack" sound as it swung through the air, striking straight at Yunqin's face like a viper flicking its tongue.
This whip carried both the flexibility of the Hydro Element and the corrosion of the dark energy; if one were struck by it, even their bones would likely be melted.
Yunqin's gaze suddenly sharpened, and the Little UFO beneath her feet instantly erupted with a blinding golden light, her speed abruptly increasing as she narrowly dodged the whip attack by leaning to the side.
The black tip of the whip brushed past her hair, tearing a faint rift in the air behind her.
Before Xiao Qin could retract her attack, Yunqin condensed a short staff in her right hand. The staff glowed with a heavy golden light as she swung it backhand toward Xiao Qin's waist, as swift as a meteor chasing the moon.
If this strike landed squarely, it would be enough to shatter Xiao Qin's ribs.
But Xiao Qin was already prepared. Her left hand instantly summoned a Geo Elemental Shield. With a crisp "clang," the short staff slammed into the shield, sending rock shards flying everywhere.
A cold sneer curled her lips. The Hydro whip wrapped around the edge of the Little UFO, its dark energy spreading like poisonous vines, attempting to devour Yunqin's Geo Elemental Power.
"You think you can defeat me with this?" Her wings flapped violently, launching a rain of countless black feather blades. Each blade contained poison capable of corroding divine attire. "These techniques are ones you can never learn! Because you simply do not understand what true power is!"
Yunqin's heart tightened, but she showed no panic.
She hurled the Geo Elemental short staff into the air and quickly formed hand seals. The golden light around her body erupted, nearly illuminating the entire sea surface.
Countless thick rock pillars rose from the sea, stabbing toward Xiao Qin like sharp swords. They blocked the rain of feather blades and formed a surrounding formation, trapping Xiao Qin in their center.
Using the rock pillars for support, Yunqin leaped to the highest point. The Vision at her waist glowed brilliantly as golden Geo energy rapidly condensed in her palm, finally forming a ten-foot-long Geo spear.
The spear's tip gleamed with a golden light capable of piercing the darkness. Ancient runes were carved into the spear's shaft, each one pulsing faintly as if containing the thousand-year-old will of Liyue's protection.
"I don't need to learn your techniques," Yunqin's voice rang out, firm and clear, piercing through the roar of the battlefield. "Because I understand better than you where power should be used!"
With that, Yunqin leaped into the air. The Geo spear, carrying the momentum to suppress heaven and earth, struck down toward Xiao Qin like a meteor.
Xiao Qin's pupils shrank as a powerful sense of crisis surged in her heart. She hastily condensed a Dual-Elemental Shield.
The outer layer was the hardness of the Geo element, while the inner layer was the flexibility of the Hydro element, attempting to block the strike head-on.
Bang!
The moment the Geo spear collided with the shield, golden light and dark energy erupted violently. The resulting sonic boom sent waves tens of feet high crashing across the sea.
Rock shards and black water splashed everywhere. Even Zhongli and Venti, who were purifying the dark energy in the distance, couldn't help but glance over, their eyes filled with astonishment.
Xiao Qin was forced back repeatedly by the impact. Her arms trembled under the pressure, her bones groaning with a "creak," and black mist once again seeped from the corner of her mouth.
"Impossible... You just woke up, how can you have such immense power?"
She suddenly exerted her strength, shattering the Dual-Elemental Shield into countless fragments. The shards, infused with dark energy and the Hydro Element, shot toward Yunqin like boomerangs, her eyes filled with maddened defiance.
"I don't believe it! I've absorbed your power, your memories. I am the strongest!"
"You're nothing but a fool brainwashed by Liyue!"