# 500
**Chapter 500: Nightmare Space**
Bang—!!
A mass of frost-covered vines burst from the ground, shooting skyward like a snow-white serpent of ice. Its maw gaped wide, exhaling rolling waves of cold.
On the serpent’s back, An Qingyu carried the black coffin, eyes locked on the Third Seat, gray light flickering in his pupils.
The Third Seat snorted coldly and pointed at the vine-serpent from afar.
Several savage bolts of lightning merged into a blinding sword of light, piercing the air and stabbing straight into the serpent’s mouth. Crackling arcs raced across the vines, splitting the creature in half.
An Qingyu’s expression didn’t change. He spoke calmly to the collapsing ice-vine beneath him:
“Every Forbidden Ruin he’s recorded has to be cast through that ink-black shell. Shatter it, and [Nine Yin] will collapse completely.”
“Heh, got it.”
A voice answered from the disintegrating serpent.
Whoosh—!!
A figure in jade-green armor, nine forbidden artifacts orbiting his body, burst from the wreckage. A tattered gray cloak flashed, and Baili Pangpang shot forward like a shadow, straight for the Third Seat’s face.
He snatched a ram’s horn from among the artifacts and tapped the Third Seat’s shoulder with it.
Zodiac Twelve, [Aries].
A white light blossomed at the horn’s tip, ignoring armor and landing squarely on the Third Seat’s shoulder. Blood spattered across the air!
The Third Seat grunted in pain; beneath the ink shell his face twisted. Before he could react, a deep-blue figure rocketed from a crater below.
Jialan gripped [Celestial Gate], arrowing upward. The spear-tip flashed, and a blazing golden pillar of light erupted again!
Zzzt—!
At the last instant the Third Seat burst into lightning, vanishing.
When he reappeared, shock filled his eyes as he stared at Jialan.
She’s still alive?
That blow had cost him a huge chunk of mental power. Any other “Klein” would be half-dead…
Yet she looks untouched?!
“Darkness Erosion.”
In the night, Lin Qiye reached out and closed his fist. Stones and rebar stained by darkness rose from the ground, converging into three cones that hovered before him.
A pale-gold glow ignited on the cones.
[Mortal Divine Realm].
Raising the long sword [Prayer Abyss] in his right hand, he tapped each cone, imbuing them with “miracle” properties. Terrifying kinetic energy erupted; the cones tore through space, shrieking in sonic booms!
The Third Seat flashed into lightning again, easily dodging their paths.
But by chance two cones collided mid-air. Shrapnel exploded outward like buckshot, slamming into the Third Seat with monstrous force, denting the ink shell a dozen times.
The woman’s phantom on his body flickered; the surrounding lightning dimmed.
The Third Seat’s face was thunderous.
Just as An Qingyu said—his recorded Forbidden Ruins need the ink shell as a medium. Too much damage and [Nine Yin] will break…
Damn it!
At full strength, three black blossoms would’ve wiped these pests out!
Shen Qingzhu watched the Third Seat’s sorry state, a smile tugging at his lips.
Just then a black ring mixed among flying stones shot straight toward him.
He caught it reflexively.
[Soul-Severing Blade]?
He glanced at the corner: a figure in a Zhu Bajie mask, back turned, secretly flashing a “V” behind him.
Making sure neither Third nor Ninth Seat noticed, Shen Qingzhu slipped the ring back onto his middle finger, put on a tormented expression, and charged the Ninth Seat while muttering nonsense.
Jiang Er’s possession of the Ninth Seat had reached its limit. Freed, the Ninth Seat now attacked the floating Jiang Er—but could never touch the intangible girl. Frowning, he switched targets and went after An Qingyu with the black coffin.
Boom—!!
The air before him compressed and detonated, forcing him to stop.
He turned to see Shen Qingzhu, eyes bloodshot, sprinting like a madman. His face darkened.
“You’re mind-controlled too…”
After a moment’s hesitation he abandoned An Qingyu and moved to “save” Shen Qingzhu.
For possession, many cures exist: kill the caster, or shock the victim awake. Chasing the highly-mobile Lin Qiye was hard; waking Shen Qingzhu himself was easier.
Best method: reboot—i.e., knock him out.
Ninth Seat stepped on spiraling air, mental power surging. He clenched his fists, veins bulging, and stared into Shen Qingzhu’s red eyes.
Shen Qingzhu’s mouth twitched.
He snapped twice; two high-pressure air walls rose between them, but the Ninth Seat’s fists smashed through!
Unlike the Twelfth Seat, the Ninth Seat outclassed Shen Qingzhu by an entire realm. Once serious, the Ninth Seat was unstoppable—and Shen Qingzhu refused to use lethal moves.
Seeing Shen Qingzhu in danger, Cao Yuan sprinted over—only for a bizarre, dazzling light to bloom around the two combatants!
Shen Qingzhu’s vision spun; when the world steadied, everything was silent.
The Ninth Seat’s fist filled his sight—
Bang—!!
Shen Qingzhu was sent flying.
The punch was pulled—meant to break the mind-control, not bones.
The Ninth Seat looked around. The underground space now held only the two of them…
The masked group and the Third Seat had vanished.
“This is… a nightmare space?”
Realization lit his eyes. He spun toward the altar atop which sat a blood-soaked man in a tattered tailcoat, face deathly pale.
“Lord Yiyu!”