The dry fingers slid through the weapons, selecting a large saber, then shook it forcefully, and swung it to produce a heavy sound cutting through the air.

The quality seems fine, it will do.

The old man nodded, lifted his head, and looked toward the night sky filled with dense clouds. His shriveled chest puffed up as he took a deep breath and exhaled with a sound:

"Ha—"

Silently, the saber in his hand vanished into thin air.

It was as if the sound had been killed, for no thunderous crash could be heard.

In the dark sky, a crooked bolt of lightning shot up from the mountain top, instantly tracing a straight path as it pierced the clouds and created a bizarre large hole before quickly disappearing behind the cloud layer.

Speeding, speeding, speeding—

That streak of glowing light silently broke free from the bondage of gravity, soaring freely until it entered the eternal darkness and vacuum beyond the earth.

It entered the synchronous orbit of the present like a satellite.

Swiftly, a speck of light silently merged into the expanse of shimmering glow, filling a recently vacated spot.

The stars returned to the sea of stars.

And thus, with countless other items such as knives, guns, swords, halberds, tables, chairs, stools, pots, bowls, pans, refrigerators, and washing machines on the orbit, they silently moved, rotated, and surrounded the present world.

Like a thread of the Milky Way, dreamlike and surreal.

Under the gradually closing clouds, the busy old man had already turned away, hands behind his back.

He returned to the table and picked up the soup bowl.

Sipped a mouthful.

Frowned.

Still too hot...

.

.

"The rain is getting heavier, isn't it?"

Lv Yingyue sighed lightly as the rising warmth from the cup blurred the wrinkles on her face.

From the burning flames, strands of white hair seemed to shimmer a fiery red, making her look slightly younger.

In the heavy rain and roaring thunder above the sky, next to the hill lay the wreckage of a flying airship engulfed in flames and billowing smoke.

The crumbling earth and sky, thunderous flames, and dense smoke seemed like an illusion at this moment.

They surrounded her centrally, yet passed by her without rain touching her.

In the wreckage of the flying airship, the reception room remained brightly lit and intact. But aside from her, no one else could be seen.

Yet, inexplicably, a shattering sound arose from her fingertips, spreading upward.

"...So it was poison, wasn't it?"

Lv Yingyue lowered her gaze, staring at her gradually cracking and disappearing right hand, sighing lightly: "Didn't expect to be hit back in Central City... Thank you all for waiting here for me so long.

Now that victory is at hand, why are you unwilling to show yourselves?"

In the dead silence, the rain thundered.

No one responded.

Yet Lv Yingyue's gaze pierced through the rain, falling upon the surroundings, upon those figures concealed within the void: "Shang Jiu, Gao Qing, Li Yucheng, Lv Zong — you four are at least the representative faces of each house, the pillars of the Federation, two Heavenly People, two Matrix Holy Relics, three Heavenly Artisans, traveling a thousand miles to deal with an old woman like me. It's truly flattering."

As she spoke, a flash of lightning suddenly tore through the darkness, revealing a few figures who appeared out of nowhere amidst the shadows.

They surrounded the burning flying airship, sealing the area in a tight net.

"Heh, after hiding in the Security Bureau for so many years, the fox is still pretending,"

Shang Jiu said expressionlessly: "Guardian Lv, at this point, there's no need to hide anymore. As a Heavenly Person of both Tian Yuan and Mirror types, how could mere Scattered Soul Poison weaken you so much? Why act so hypocritically?

What are you trying to cover up at this point?"

"...Oh, I thought I was quite hidden,"

Lv Yingyue chuckled indifferently, grinning as the cracking sound intensified.

Her face, shrouded in black and gray, revealed fissures: "Mr. Shang has a point. At this stage, pretending is meaningless, and we should be candid."

She paused, sighing regrettably: "It's just that sometimes, the truth isn't as pretty as you'd expect."

In that instant, the rain fell silent.

Just like taking off a mask of pretension, Lv Yingyue raised her hand, pressing it onto her face, removing the layer of disguise seemingly instinctively.

Revealing her true countenance.

No longer radiant, the twisted, shattered appearance emerged from the illusion.

On that scar-covered face, gone was the past tenderness, as if it had suffered burns and acid corrosion, flesh withered and proliferated, entangled around the exposed cheekbones, forming an ugly, menacing visage.

Not only the face, but the neck and exposed hands, all had flesh wrapped in coils, twisted into bizarre shapes under the malicious curse.

Now under the firelight, she looked more terrifying than a ghost, chilling to the bone.

It's hard to imagine that the old fox, who used to maneuver gracefully and elegantly among various factions, always alerting countless people to danger, could look so ugly.

Briefly, even many attackers froze in place, momentarily losing focus.

Yet oddly enough, Lv Yingyue didn't seize this precious moment to counterattack, instead glancing at their expressions, her grim face showing an unaccustomed smile.

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