As my soul began to detach, I gradually felt the pain and fear dissipate, replaced by an indescribable sense of ethereal emptiness surrounding my body.
At that moment, I saw Yao Long lying on the ground, realizing I was in danger. In a panic, he reached out to grab Azure Spirit, but it was too far away for him to reach. Moreover, there was no time left to draw his bow and shoot.
In his frantic state, he seemed to find something on his person and suddenly hurled it toward me.
The object Yao Long threw moved swiftly, arriving before me just in time to block the sharp, slender nails of the woman approaching me.
As it landed in front of me, I could see clearly now; it was the box left for Yao Long by the Old Woman who had rescued us in the village.
With a sharp "crack," the box was pierced directly by the woman's hand, splattering a foul-smelling yellow liquid all over me, some even hitting my mouth.
At that moment, I felt my Heart pounding violently. The speed of its beating far exceeded that of an ordinary person; I feared it might stop at any moment due to its intensity.
As my heartbeat quickened, I sensed a surge of power rising from within me. This force was not like the "Hatred" that instilled fear; instead, it was an incredibly warm energy, as if it were purifying my very soul. At that instant, I realized the sensation of my spirit detaching from my body had vanished, and my consciousness returned fully to my physical form.
All of this transpired in an instant. Feeling the resurgence of strength, I quickly raised Jiang Ling, gathering all my might as I swung it toward the woman's outstretched nails, aiming to sever her entire arm.
With a whoosh, Jiang Ling flashed before my eyes. However, I did not strike my target; instead, darkness enveloped me entirely. The woman and Yao Long had vanished from sight.
"Where am I?!" I exclaimed in confusion as I looked at my hands, unable to believe what had just happened. "Not only are you curious; I want to know where this place is too..." Suddenly, a familiar yet slightly strange male voice echoed beside me.
"Who? Who's there?!" I cried out in terror as I gazed into the endless darkness around me but found nothing visible.
Then the voice spoke again: "It's me! You just awakened me; have you forgotten?"
"Void Spirit? How did you end up here?!" I questioned in astonishment, sensing that Void Spirit's voice did not come from within me.
"You ask me, I ask who? What I can feel now, what I can see now should be the same as you—only endless darkness."
After hearing this, I cautiously moved toward the direction of the voice, but each step I took felt utterly unreal, as if I were walking in space. The surrounding darkness provided no reference points, making it impossible for me to determine whether I was moving. It felt as though I was trapped in an ethereal environment.
Moreover, the longer I stayed in this space, the weaker my concept of it became. Initially, I subconsciously believed this was a vast, boundless area. But now, I felt it was quite confined, as if I had been sealed inside an incredibly dark box, creating an overwhelming sense of oppression.
"Could it be because of that thing earlier? But what exactly was that? I don't think that old woman would want to harm us; after all, she's already dead..." I muttered to myself.
Beside me, the Void Spirit was equally perplexed. Due to the loss of spatial awareness, he had begun to grow agitated, continuously emitting sounds of attack.
"Don't waste your energy; this place is like a boundless void or a space that absorbs everything. Here, it seems our attacks have no effect," I said.
But the Void Spirit calmly replied, "No, I think you misunderstand me. I'm not attacking out of anxiety or restlessness; rather, there is something hidden in the darkness around us..." His voice gradually grew deeper, and the sounds of his attacks became more frequent.
Upon hearing this, my heart tightened as I anxiously scanned my surroundings. However, with my eyes alone, I couldn't perceive whatever lurked in the darkness. At times, it felt as if those things were right beside me; at other times, they seemed far away.
Compared to those direct fears, these unknown terrors were even more chilling. "What on earth are those things?! Can you feel them?!" I urgently asked the Void Spirit.
But at that moment, all I could hear were the sounds of his attacks; there was no response from him as if he couldn't sense my presence.
Now even more panicked, I asked frantically, "Void Spirit, you..." Mid-sentence, I froze when I realized I could no longer make a sound—as if my vocal cords had been stolen away.
"Void Spirit! Void Spirit! Void Spirit..." I strained to scream, but I could never hear my own voice.
"Unable to see or communicate—what kind of hellish place is this? What's next?! Hearing?!" As these thoughts raced through my mind, I began to feel my hearing gradually fading. Slowly but surely, even the sounds of the Void Spirit's attacks became inaudible to me.
Suddenly, the surroundings fell into a dead silence. At that moment, I knew there might be dangers lurking around me, but my senses were stripped away one by one. Even though I tried hard to remain calm, an overwhelming sense of fear surged within me, giving rise to a restless agitation.
"Ah! What the hell is this place! Why am I here!" I silently screamed, raising my Jiang Ling and waving it frantically in the darkness, hoping to strike something.
But it was futile; no matter how vigorously I swung my Jiang Ling, the darkness remained impenetrable. At the same time, a wave of helplessness washed over me, and the things I feared most began to manifest in my mind...
In just a moment, my mental state was on the brink of collapse. If I were to face any sudden shock at that moment, I might very well lose my sanity...
I don't know how long it had been; there was still no change around me, and I had completely lost track of the Void Spirit's position. My body was exhausted from constantly swinging the Jiang Ling.
Then, I plopped down onto the ground. Below me was still an intangible space, yet it felt as if gravity was pulling me downwards. "Where... where am I..." I despaired, but no sound escaped my lips.
Next, I leaned back and helplessly fell down, intending to wait for death in this void. But just as I was falling, I noticed a gigantic Monster Face looming above me. It bared its teeth and stared down at me with blood-red eyes, silently watching from above...
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