Chapter 49: The Elemental Spirit’s Immunity

“Oh, my ancestor, you’ve finally arrived! We can barely hold it back much longer. Hurry and lend a hand, think of something! And where did you take the people, my ancestor? Why are you alone?” The Golden-haired Youth Xuan’s voice, tinged with anger and helplessness, rang out, questioning Night Xuehui, who, despite Minmin having said she would bring others, now stood entirely alone.

“I was abandoned. That fellow stood me up. Hmph, no matter. It’s not the first or second time, I’ve grown accustomed to it,” Night Xuehui stated, her expression utterly devoid of emotion, her tone cold.

Just moments before, Golden-haired Youth Xuan had seemed somewhat indignant, but now, his expression suddenly shifted, becoming peculiar.

“Oh my, oh my, tsk tsk tsk, this is truly incredible! Someone on this continent actually dared to disrespect Young Master Night! That’s no small feat. Let me guess, that fellow must be a girl, right? If it were a man who stood you up, I reckon you’d have torn them to shreds by now. Of course, a woman’s fate might not be much different from a man’s, but judging by this incident, that girl must be extraordinary. Is her status so noble that it made Young Master Night hesitate, or has my Young Master Night finally fallen in love?” Golden-haired Youth Xuan spoke, even as Minmin’s brows were already aflame with urgency, yet he himself now grew surprisingly calm, a mischievous grin spreading across his face as he teased Night Xuehui, who still looked rather vexed about being stood up.

Night Xuehui merely fixed Golden-haired Youth Xuan with a chilling glare, a silent warning that promised dismemberment should he dare to utter another word, ensuring he would experience the sensation of being torn to pieces.

Golden-haired Youth Xuan immediately fell silent. He had only been joking, after all, and certainly didn’t wish to truly incur the wrath of this ‘ancestor’ of his, knowing well the dire consequences. He recalled their first encounter, a ‘fight to get acquainted’ that had nearly crippled him, leaving him with a lingering sense of dread. They had been at the same academy then, and he had publicly challenged her, questioning her strength and doubting her abilities, only to be thoroughly beaten. Reflecting on that past experience, a shiver ran down his spine. Had he not been so resilient, and had she not held back, he might very well have perished. This person was like a monster. Yet, he had recently heard that someone had competed against her and actually won? Tsk tsk tsk, truly remarkable. And the one who dared to stand her up, judging by Young Master Night’s demeanor, it wasn’t the first or second time. Quite impressive indeed.

“Young Master Night, I’ll stop joking now. We’re in a truly dire situation. Honestly, we can barely suppress that creature anymore. We’ve held it for almost another week. The several layers of high-tier ice-elemental shields and other defenses we set up for it have all been breached. Right now, we’ve encircled it using a Six-Pointed Star Array that burns life force, but as you know, such magic quickly depletes a person. Several of our brothers… have already been sent to the hospital… I’m feeling quite exhausted myself…” Golden-haired Youth Xuan confessed, clenching his fists tightly, his mood visibly somber.

“My brothers have worked hard. Remember to arrange visits for the injured, and don’t forget to give them some provisions. Very well, allow me to deal with it,” Night Xuehui replied, her expression still cool and impassive.

“Tsk tsk tsk, alright, alright. Though I am quite worried. After all, elemental spirits like this cannot be measured by human advancement levels; they operate on a completely different principle. Young Master Night, please be careful. If you can’t hold on, just come out. We brothers will hold the line, and we’ll figure out another way,” the Golden-haired Youth said, nodding to Night Xuehui.

“Brothers, Young Master Night has arrived! You can rest for a while. I’ll activate our final trump card, the energy shield. The rest is up to Young Master Night. Please, Young Master Night, go ahead. Remember what I said: if you can’t hold on, don’t force it. You know the password to deactivate the energy shield; just open a gap and throw it inside. Be careful,” Golden-haired Youth Xuan urged, reaching out to grasp Night Xuehui’s shoulder, his voice heavy with concern.

“Alright, there’s no reasoning with you. It’s not like we’re parting ways forever. Go on, activate the shield; our brothers can finally rest,” Night Xuehui responded, giving Golden-haired Youth Xuan a reassuring glance before turning and departing.

“Quick, Little Zhang, prepare to activate the energy shield! Brothers, when I count to three, two, one, release immediately! Young Master Night, watch for the opportune moment; the instant our brothers let go, you must enter without delay. We will follow your lead and activate the energy shield,” Golden-haired Youth Xuan instructed, his voice charged with both magic, excitement, and tension.

“Three! Two! One! Release! Young Master Night, it’s up to you now! Little Zhang! Activate the energy shield!”

With an exceptionally familiar and synchronized effort, the group flawlessly completed this somewhat exhilarating task. Those who had been maintaining the Six-Pointed Star Array collapsed onto the ground, utterly weakened, the moment they released their hold. The Golden-haired Youth, too, slumped to the ground, utterly exhausted. They were all drenched in sweat, profoundly frail, having continuously expended their life force to channel magic. Alas, they had truly risked their very lives.

Just as the Six-Pointed Star Array deactivated, the elemental spirit attempted to seize the fleeting opportunity to break free, but Night Xuehui swiftly ensnared it with a binding chain. This was the same restraint that had previously controlled Ouyang Xiyue, capable of rapidly absorbing magic. However…

Night Xuehui soon realized that while its movement was indeed restricted, the chain’s magic-draining effect had not activated. Only then did she understand that magic absorption had no impact whatsoever on the elemental spirit.

Seeing the energy shield now fully in place, Night Xuehui finally breathed a sigh of relief. After all, her initial intention wasn’t to absorb the elemental spirit’s magic, but simply to restrict its movements.

Night Xuehui gazed at the elemental spirit, now thoroughly bound by the restraining chains, and intended to approach it directly for an immediate capture. Yet, as expected, it was all within her calculations.

To her astonishment, the elemental spirit actually melted the binding chains! ‘Good heavens, it can do that?’ Night Xuehui thought, slightly taken aback, as she swiftly widened the distance between herself and the creature.

“Blazing Sun Incineration!” Night Xuehui bellowed, and instantly, a multitude of fire elements converged around her with astonishing speed.

Then, a colossal fireball materialized from Night Xuehui’s hand, growing larger and larger until it resembled a miniature sun.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Night Xuehui hurled the wide-ranging fire-elemental magic towards the elemental spirit before her, then swiftly summoned earth-elemental magic.

“Earth’s Confinement, Ultimate Awakening!” The ground around them suddenly quaked, and then, without warning, towering walls erupted from the earth. These walls seamlessly attached themselves to the blue energy shield, while others simultaneously rose on all sides of Night Xuehui, completely encircling her at the center. Then, from the steel-like mud, sand suddenly appeared.

The sand, seemingly from thin air, coalesced into two massive hands that immediately gripped the elemental spirit.

Night Xuehui’s strategy was to finish the battle swiftly. Even if it meant severely wounding the elemental spirit, she needed to subdue it temporarily before devising further plans.

The blue protective shield was completely obscured by Night Xuehui’s earth-elemental magic, rendering the interior invisible to anyone outside.

A dozen or so people huddled together, gazing at the opaque energy shield. Beads of sweat, thick and numerous, trickled down their faces, evident of their intense exertion.

“Hey, Young Master Xuan, do you think Young Master Night… she won’t be in trouble, will she?”

“Yeah, yeah, this elemental spirit is far too powerful… So many of our brothers have fallen… a whole bunch are in the hospital. To put it bluntly, for Young Master Night to face it alone now…”

“Ah, yes, Young Master Xuan. While we all know that Young Master Night’s strength is demonic-level, I’m just afraid of her facing the elemental spirit head-on, all by herself…”

The men watched the energy shield, sealed by earth-elemental magic, from which occasional booming sounds and intensely powerful magical fluctuations emanated, all of them filled with profound worry.

“Alright, everyone, quiet down. All we can do now is trust Young Master Night. I believe with her strength, she should be able to hold on for a long time, but it’s not a guarantee. Brothers, prepare yourselves, and quickly recover your magic while you can,” Golden-haired Youth Xuan stated, his voice lacking conviction, for the elemental spirit was indeed too formidable.

At this very moment, inside the energy shield… volatile fire elements mingled with faint earth elements and even subtler lightning elements.

Night Xuehui had truly never imagined it. Despite unleashing such a powerful magical attack just moments ago, she was stunned to find that this creature possessed absolute immunity to fire-elemental magic.

“Tsk, as expected of a fire-elemental spirit. Truly a darling of the gods, I suppose. Tsk, I was careless,” Night Xuehui muttered, catching her breath.

The air was now saturated with fire elements, significantly diminishing the presence of other elements and severely weakening the power of other elemental magic. Night Xuehui, a hint of helplessness on her face, furrowed her brow, realizing she could only stall for time.

As the energy shield created an enclosed space, elements were already scarce. However, because the elemental spirit was fire-aligned, the fire-elemental presence was exceedingly dense. While fire magic was her specialty, she found herself helpless in the face of absolute immunity.

Suddenly, the elemental spirit grew agitated, letting out a ‘meow,’ a cat-like cry that still contained an intensely rich fire element. Seeing the elemental spirit seemingly enter a frenzied state, Night Xuehui realized that things were taking a turn for the worse.

Although fire magic was her primary study, and she could immunize herself against most fire-elemental spells, the elemental spirit’s fire magic was incredibly domineering. She wasn’t sure how much she could withstand, so it seemed her only option was to defend and endure.

The elemental spirit gathered powerful fire elements to unleash its magic, while Night Xuehui, on the other hand, combined extremely faint earth elements with the overwhelmingly potent fire elements to construct defensive measures.

****

The perspective shifted…

“Night Jia, how are things? Are we almost there?” Ouyang Xiyue asked, a hint of anxiety in his voice, having traveled for several hours already.

“We’re here, we’re here, we’re here! That small red door up ahead leads to a secret underground passage. I’ll take you, Sister Xiyue,” Night Jia exclaimed excitedly upon spotting the entrance.

“Alright, hold on tight.”… For some unknown reason, a strange sense of unease welled up within Ouyang Xiyue. He had detected an extremely dense concentration of fire elements emanating from the underground world beyond the door. What exactly was happening?