25: Space Rift

The night in the oasis did not bring the anticipated tranquility.

The campfire had long since died out, leaving only a few dark red embers flickering in the rising night wind. The surface of Crescent Moon Spring was no longer smooth as a mirror, but was stirred by chaotic energy ripples from an unknown source, creating fine, rapid waves.

Li Ao sat cross-legged under a tree, seemingly in meditation, but his right index finger, resting on his knee, unconsciously tapped lightly on the scabbard. An indescribable tremor and unease, as if originating from the depths of his soul, surged beneath his heart like an underwater current. This was not a premonition of known danger, but a more ethereal, grander… feeling of being spied upon? No, it was more like the entire space was undergoing some kind of shift he couldn't comprehend.

Across from him, Medusa was also not completely in a meditative state. Her multicolored eyes narrowed slightly, feeling the subtle yet continuous distortion of the space around her. The azure flame lotus mark on her forehead faintly heated up, and the partially integrated abnormal flame energy within her body also seemed to be drawn by some invisible force, becoming somewhat restless and uneasy.

“Something’s wrong,” she suddenly said, her voice carrying a hint of tension in the quiet night.

Almost at the same moment her words fell—

“Buzz!!!”

A deep, grand hum, not from hearing, but directly affecting the soul, swept across the entire oasis without warning!

The sand underfoot undulated and flowed violently like a living thing! The surrounding palm trees twisted and deformed wildly as if kneaded by an invisible giant hand! The water in Crescent Moon Spring shot into the sky, but did not fall, instead solidifying and shattering in mid-air, turning into countless sparkling crystals!

The sky was no longer deep ink blue, but became a bizarre, constantly tearing and reforming colorful vortex! Stars were stretched into strange light bands, and moonlight shattered into pieces of cold silver foil!

Space was collapsing! Rules were in disarray!

“Spatial Storm?!” Medusa exclaimed in shock, a look of horror appearing in her multicolored eyes for the first time! Faced with such power of heaven and earth, even a Dou Zong was as insignificant as an ant!

Li Ao suddenly stood up, his eyes sharp as knives, instantly raising his state to its peak! The power of Black Iron Hegemon Body surged within him, and an dark iron-colored glow emanated from his body, forcibly suppressing the spatial chaos within a meter radius around him slightly!

He grabbed Medusa’s wrist, feeling coldness and a slight tremor. “Go!”

There was no time to ponder the source of this spatial storm; the only way to survive was to leave this disintegrating area!

As the two moved, the space where sand dunes had been shattered like glass, revealing a deep, dark void behind it that seemed capable of devouring everything! A terrifying suction force came from within, frantically drawing in surrounding sand, stones, and fragments of twisted trees!

The path of retreat was cut off!

To the left and right, space was collapsing at an alarming rate! Only the center of the oasis, where Crescent Moon Spring had originally been, now strangely formed a relatively stable energy vortex emitting a soft white light!

No choice!

“Get in!” Li Ao roared, wrapping his arm around Medusa’s waist, pushing his speed to the extreme. Under the activation of Thunder Sound Steps, his figure turned into a blurred streak of light, rushing desperately towards the white vortex!

Behind them, the entire oasis, along with the sand sea, was being rapidly erased by an invisible force like a wiped-away painting, returning to chaotic nothingness!

“Boom—!”

The moment their figures disappeared into the white vortex, the place where they had originally stood was completely swallowed by darkness.

An intense sensation of weightlessness and spatial tearing instantly struck! It felt as if countless invisible hands wanted to tear them to pieces!

Medusa grunted, her multicolored energy instinctively erupting to form a protective shield, but it fluctuated violently and was on the verge of collapse under that terrifying spatial force!

Li Ao held her tightly in his arms, the power of Black Iron Hegemon Body pouring out without reservation. The dark iron-colored glow was like a tangible armor, resisting the omnipresent tearing! He felt his bones groaning, and his newly healed wounds burst open again, blood instantly soaking his clothes!

They rolled and fell in the darkness for an unknown duration, feeling like only an instant, yet also like an eternity.

“Bang!”

A dull thud.

All the tearing forces suddenly vanished.

Li Ao, holding Medusa, fell heavily onto a hard, cold surface. The immense impact made his throat sweet, and another mouthful of blood surged up, but he forcibly swallowed it down.

He immediately looked down at Medusa in his arms.

She was also looking up at him, her multicolored eyes still filled with lingering fear, her beautiful face pale, her purple brocade robe slightly disheveled, and the hair on her forehead clinging to her cheeks with sweat, making her appear somewhat fragile. Their bodies were pressed tightly together, clearly feeling each other’s rapid heartbeats.

“Are you alright?” Li Ao’s voice was hoarse from his injuries and exhaustion.

Medusa shook her head slightly, her gaze shifting from his face to her surroundings, her multicolored eyes once again filled with shock.

This… was no longer the Tagor Desert.

They seemed to be inside an immense hall, entirely constructed from some unknown pale giant stones. The hall was eerily vast, with no visible ceiling or boundaries. Dozens of giant pillars, each requiring scores of people to encircle, supported the dome. The pillar bodies were carved with countless intricate and ancient patterns and runes that belonged neither to the Snake-People Clan nor to any civilization known to humans.

The air was filled with an ancient, desolate, and deathly silent aura. There was no wind, no sound, and even the sense of time passing became blurred. Light came from an unknown source, falling evenly and indifferently, illuminating everything like a faded ancient painting.

Most bizarrely, they couldn’t feel the slightest trace of heaven and earth energy! This place felt like a desolate land, abandoned and drained of all vitality!

“What is this place?” Medusa’s voice carried a hint of reliance she herself hadn’t noticed as she looked at Li Ao.

Li Ao slowly released his arm from her, enduring the agonizing pain as if his body was falling apart, and struggled to stand up. His sharp gaze swept across this strange space, his brows tightly furrowed.

“System, scan the current environment,” he communicated mentally.

“Ding! Scanning… Warning! Unknown high-dimensional space fragment detected, incomplete rules, inert energy, powerful spatial barrier exists. Unable to connect to main world coordinates. No matching information in database.”

Even the system couldn’t identify it?

Li Ao’s heart sank. This meant they might be trapped in an unknown alternate dimension, isolated from the Fighting Qi Continent.

“A… troublesome place,” he said in a deep voice, not concealing the truth.

Medusa also stood up, feeling her Dou Zong power seemingly frozen and difficult to mobilize, and the sluggish sensation from the abnormal flame on her forehead, as if trapped in a swamp. Her face became even uglier. Here, her strength was suppressed to an extremely dangerous level.

The two exchanged glances, both seeing solemnity in the other’s eyes.

Unknown environment, suppressed power, severed return path.

A desperate situation.

Li Ao took a deep breath, suppressing his internal injuries and surging qi and blood, his eyes becoming calm and resolute once more. He walked to the nearest giant pillar and reached out to touch the cold, pale giant stone carved with unknown runes.

The touch was dead silent, without any energy feedback.

“Let’s first figure out the situation here,” he turned to Medusa, “Stay close to me.”

Medusa looked at his back, steady as a mountain even in despair, attempting to control the situation. Her heart, which had been cold for hundreds of years, strangely found some peace at this moment.

She softly “hmm’d” and swayed her snake tail, following him.

In this silent, unknown, and dangerous alternate dimension, the complex and unclear relationship between the two seemed to be drawn closer again by this sudden desperate situation.

They were no longer rivals contending for the abnormal flame, but… each other’s sole reliance.

The pale and immense hall, like a silent behemoth, swallowed the two tiny figures. The path ahead was unknown, and dangers lurked everywhere.