Die, Replay, Repeat

WHOOSH!

Gongben Teng'er zipped into view, moving so fast it was like he had teleported. In an instant, he stood smack in Fang Xiu's path, lightning-quick and stone-cold.

His back stayed casually against the alley wall, one hand lifting his sword. The blade stretched across the narrow passage, blocking it off completely.

He turned his head just slightly, casting Fang Xiu a look that could kill—or maybe just mock. A sly smirk tugged at his lips.

"Sorry, road's close—"

"Wife?" Fang Xiu muttered.

BUZZ!

The air rippled like a disturbed pond as an icy wave of energy radiated out. 

Bathed in the cold moonlight, a pale woman emerged. She was so chillingly beautiful, it felt almost unnatural.

Gongben Teng'er's brow furrowed, but only for a second. His confidence didn't waver. As a fourth-tier psychic, he thought himself leagues ahead of a specter summoned by a third-tier.

To him, psychic abilities without real power were like cheap magic tricks: flashy but useless.

That smug thought didn't stop "wife" from gliding closer, her bare feet silent as she hovered like a wraith.

"Tsk, tsk. Interrupting me before I'm done. Classic Huaxia manners," Gongben Teng'er muttered, shaking his head in mock disappointment.

With a sharp flick of his thumb, his sword shot free from its sheath. The blade gleamed, singing a deadly metallic hum as it tasted the moonlight.

Dropping into a fighting stance, he moved fluidly, all precision and control.

As soon as "wife" came within striking distance, he didn't hesitate.

SLASH!

The blade sliced cleanly through her ghostly form, splitting her in two like butter.

Straightening his posture, Gongben Teng'er didn't even spare "wife" a second glance. He slid the sword back into its sheath, reached into his pocket, and smoothly pulled out a cigarette. A single motion lit it, and he took a drag like a guy who thought he owned the world.

But then—

SPLURT!

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"Wife" raised a hand. A sudden, invisible force cut through the air like a knife, grazing Gongben Teng'er's neck.

A thin red line appeared on his throat, and then blood sprayed out in a dramatic arc.

The cigarette tumbled from his lips, hitting the ground with an anticlimactic fizz.

His eyes widened, the disbelief practically radiating off him. "Wh-what the hell?! How...?" His voice was raspy, trembling as he clutched at his bleeding neck.

"Domain Activated: Binding Demon Shrine!" a commanding voice shattered the tension. It unleashed a wave of immense power that rolled through the alley like a storm.

The world shifted. Shadows stretched and twisted as the outline of an ancient shrine emerged from nowhere, its ominous presence hanging heavy in the air.

From the shrine's ethereal glow, a figure appeared, wrapped head to toe in bandages. The creature's energy was as unnerving as it was otherworldly, a chilling reminder of something ancient and malevolent.

With a flick of its arm, the bandaged creature sent a strip of cloth flying toward Gongben's neck.

The bandage coiled tightly around the wound, almost like it was alive. Despite Gongben's earlier gasp for air faltering, the binding seemed to force his body into working order again. He staggered back, wide-eyed, sucking in the air like a drowning man.

His gaze snapped to "wife." She was still standing there, calm and unnervingly pale.

"Impressive," a melodic voice chimed, its owner stepping forward with deliberate grace. It was a woman, dressed in flowing robes, her laughter as light as wind chimes. "Even as a third-tier, you managed to nick a fourth-tier psychic. Color me impressed."

She tilted her head with a smirk. "But you won't get that lucky again. Come on out, Tengu, Wine Guard!"

As her words rang out, the shrine's glow darkened, and two figures stepped from its shadowy depths.

The first was a man with black, feathery wings stretching from his back. His face was hidden by a dog mask, his sharp blade glinting ominously in his hand.

The second was a demon-like creature with a grotesque, green face, jagged fangs, and a bloated body. He lugged around an oversized gourd like it was a weapon.

"Man, that was way too close," Gongben Teng'er muttered, his voice shaky but laced with humor. He rubbed the back of his head, trying to play it cool.

But the air around him shifted, his tone hardening as his grip on his sword tightened.

"Guess playtime's over," he said, his voice cutting through the tension like a blade. "Domain Activated: Shadow Abyss Court!"

BOOM!

A violent surge of energy exploded around Gongben Teng'er, whipping his clothes into a frenzy. 

The energy flooded the alley, suffocating and oppressive.

The air turned red, drenched in the metallic stench of blood. It was so thick that one could almost choke on it.

The energy coiled around him, morphing into blood-red armor that encased his entire body. The transformation left him looking less like a man and more like a creature forged in carnage.

Fang Xiu's voice cut through the heavy tension like a razor. "Why waste time talking?" he muttered, his tone cold and detached. 

His empty eyes rested on his opponents, both of whom were, in his mind, already corpses. 

"Wife" moved, her ghostly figure gliding toward Gongben Teng'er with a grace so unnatural.

Gongben's knuckles whitened around his sword hilt, his focus sharpened to a deadly point. He growled through clenched teeth, "Take this!"

This time, he wasn't playing around. The last misstep had been due to underestimating "wife," assuming her to be a simple Specter. Now, with his domain activated and his blade infused with concentrated energy, he was sure—this slash could cut through anything, tangible or not.

SLASH!

A blazing arc of crimson energy cleaved the air, aimed to kill.

It didn't, however, even leave a mark.

The strike passed through "wife" as though she were a mirage.

"What?!" Gongben's eyes widened in shock. Panic gripped him as he leaped backward, retreating with every ounce of speed he could muster.

Too slow.

"Wife" raised her delicate, spectral hand. With a lazy swipe, an invisible force slashed through the air. 

A deep gash appeared on Gongben's arm, blood spraying in a vivid red arc.

He staggered, clutching the wound, his sword trembling in his grasp. "She can't be touched... but she can touch me? What kind of nightmare ability is this?"

This wasn't just humiliating—it was unfathomable. He, a fourth-tier psychic, was being dismantled by a third-tier.

Meanwhile, the woman in the flowing robe watched the chaos with narrowed eyes. A flicker of malice crossed her face.

Without a word, she issued a silent command. Tengu and the Wine Guard, surged into action, moving with calculated precision to flank Fang Xiu.

Her power as a summoner lay in her mastery of spirit familiars—creatures of immense power. But she also understood the inherent weakness of summoners. If the summoner fell, so did their summons.

Her plan was simple: kill Fang Xiu.

Tengu dove in from the left, his blade glinting with murderous intent. Simultaneously, the Wine Guard lunged from the right, his oversized gourd swinging with enough force to crush bones.

Fang Xiu stood motionless between them, as if frozen in time. Then, a smirk crept onto his lips—a wicked, chilling smile.

"How hideous."

Without moving his body, Fang Xiu raised a single hand and dragged his fingers down his face. Black flames erupted from his form, twisting and writhing like living creatures.

BOOM!

The flames surged, forming a massive, demonic energy around him. 

Long, silver hair cascaded down his back, and his right eye ignited with a searing crimson glow.

In an instant, Fang Xiu transformed. He was no longer human.

He looked like a Specter God.

The woman's confidence wavered, her sneer faltering as fear seeped into her voice. "This... this power... It's bordering on the fourth tier!"

Still, she forced herself to scoff. "But don't think you've won. Tengu and Wine Guard aren't ordinary familiars—they're divine beings!"

Fang Xiu didn't even flinch. Black flames exploded from his back, forming wings of pure destruction. With a single beat, he lifted into the air, effortlessly dodging both the Tengu's blade and the Wine Guard's crushing strike.

Hovering above them, he looked down at the robed woman like a god surveying an insect.

"Divine beings?" His voice was calm, but dripping with disdain. "Let me show you what real divinity looks like."

The black flames around Fang Xiu roared to life, spiraling into a towering inferno. The energy in the air became suffocating, a tidal wave of power that seemed to crush reality itself.

A haunting chant began to echo from nowhere—maddening whispers that wormed into the minds of everyone present. The words were incomprehensible but filled with a primal, cosmic terror.

And then, it appeared.

From the void emerged an unspeakable monstrosity.

Taotie's projection showed up.

BOOM!

A grotesque mountain of pulsating, rotting flesh materialized, rising high into the heavens. Its endless, coiling form was a writhing mass of corrupted meat and malformed limbs, each piece moving as if alive.

The air turned cold. The world itself seemed to hold its breath.

The woman's bravado evaporated. Her face drained of color as her legs gave out beneath her. She collapsed to the ground, trembling uncontrollably, her eyes locked onto the horror above.

Her voice was barely a whisper. "This... this can't be real..."

But it was.

Taotie loomed, a manifestation of hunger, chaos, and destruction.

At that moment, the woman understood.

Her so-called "divine beings" weren't gods—they were nothing more than toys in the face of this monstrosity.