Repelled

 Go! Follow the stone path forward!”

Dustin’s voice was low but firm.

He knew they couldn’t keep defending forever.
With a sudden motion, he dispersed the Tai Chi shield and leapt forward instead of retreating, his figure turning into a streak of azure light—
charging straight into the rain of energy beams!

Clang—!

At last, his sword was drawn, its cry sharp and clear like a dragon’s roar.

With a flick of his wrist, his blade flashed like a waterfall,
spreading before him into a dense curtain of azure sword light.

Ding ding—Boom!

The beams clashed violently with the sword curtain,
sending out deafening crashes and blinding flashes.

Most of the beams were blocked and shredded apart,
but a few pierced through, striking the lake behind Dustin and exploding into towering waves of blood-red water—
even shattering part of the jade path beneath their feet!

A’Long and the others watched in horror but dared not hesitate.
Protecting Margaret, Qingzhu, and Old Zhang, they dashed desperately forward along the trembling stone walkway.

---

“Trying to run? Did you get my permission?”

Bai Chan’s cold snort echoed through the mist.

In the blink of an eye, his figure vanished—
then reappeared ahead of them, blocking their path.

With two fingers pressed together like a blade,
he slashed forward, unleashing a razor-sharp beam of white light filled with the power to cut through anything—
aimed directly at A’Long!

The strike was as fast as lightning.
A’Long had no time to react.

At that very instant—
a flash of azure sword energy appeared before him as if teleporting,
precisely deflecting the incoming white light from the side!

Boom!

The light blade was forced aside,
grazing past A’Long’s body and slicing the lake behind him open into a massive trench dozens of meters long!

Dustin appeared beside A’Long, sword in hand, facing Bai Chan.
His breath was slightly uneven—he had taken several of those earlier blasts head-on to save them.

“Your opponent is me.”

Dustin’s gaze locked onto Bai Chan, his tone calm but resolute, allowing no argument.

“Fine! I’ll kill you first—then those other insects can wait!”

Bai Chan’s killing intent surged.
He brought his hands together,
his white light intertwining violently with blood-red veins of energy,
compressing into an overwhelming aura of destruction.

“Wave of Annihilation!”

He thrust both palms forward, releasing a half-white, half-red sphere of condensed energy—
a ball of destructive force that fell like a meteor,
crushing everything in its path as it streaked toward Dustin!

Even light was devoured in its wake,
and the very air screamed under the unbearable pressure.

This was his full power, amplified by the Dragon Blood Rebirth Pill and infused with dragon miasma—
a single blow strong enough to obliterate a mountain.

---

Facing that apocalyptic attack, Dustin’s expression hardened.

He didn’t dare hold anything back.
The Xuanqing True Qi in his body surged faster than ever before, flooding into his sword.

The blade hummed with a low vibration,
its azure light flaring to its peak—
and at its tip, a tiny point of utter darkness began to form,
as if it could swallow all light and existence.

Slowly, Dustin raised his sword.
The motion seemed calm, yet it stirred the flow of heaven and earth itself.

That speck of darkness expanded,
forming a deep, slowly rotating miniature black hole at his sword’s tip.

“Xuanqing Return to the Void!”

With a low shout, Dustin thrust his sword straight forward,
meeting the descending red-and-white sphere head-on.

There was no thunderous explosion—
no blinding light.

When the tip of his sword touched the sphere,
time itself seemed to freeze for an instant.

Then, an invisible, suffocating force of devouring burst forth from the black hole.

The destructive energy within the Wave of Annihilation began to collapse—
its violent power torn apart and drawn into the black hole,
which consumed it completely.

In mere moments, the glowing sphere began to shrink rapidly,
its light dimming into nothingness.

---

Bai Chan’s triumphant grin froze—
replaced by utter shock and disbelief.

“No! Impossible! What kind of power is this?! It can devour the Dragon Miasma itself?!”

He poured more energy into the attack,
but it was useless—like tossing stones into the sea.
The annihilation sphere was completely swallowed in the span of just a few breaths.

What remained was only that dark, rotating black hole,
emitting a chilling aura that made the soul tremble.

Dustin’s face had turned pale.
The “Return to the Void” had consumed almost all of his strength,
but his grip on the sword remained steady.

The black hole on his blade’s tip now pointed directly at Bai Chan—
as if ready to consume him next.

---

Bai Chan’s pupils contracted.
Facing that abyssal power that embodied the end of all things,
his arrogance finally collapsed beneath pure terror.

He realized that even with the Dragon Blood Rebirth Pill,
even with all his newfound might,
this man before him—
this calm, white-clad swordsman—
still held a power beyond his comprehension.

“You… what are you?!”

His voice cracked, trembling without him realizing it.

Dustin didn’t answer.
He simply lifted his sword slightly.

Bai Chan’s face twisted in panic.
Abandoning pride and mission alike, he turned into a streak of white light and fled toward the outer edge of Yaochi,
his furious voice echoing behind him:

“Dustin! You just wait! This Penglai Island will be your grave!”

---

The enemy was gone, the crisis momentarily over.

Dustin slowly lowered his sword.
The black hole at its tip dissipated into the air.

He breathed steadily, calming his turbulent qi and blood.
Though he had once again defeated Bai Chan,
the battle had been far from easy—
especially the final “Return to the Void,” which had nearly drained all his energy.

Margaret and the others finally snapped out of their shock and rushed toward him.

“Dustin, are you alright?”
Margaret asked with deep concern, her eyes filled with worry and gratitude.

“I’m fine.”
Dustin shook his head lightly.

He looked toward the direction where Bai Chan had fled,
then down at the blood-red lake that still churned beneath their feet,
and the endless path ahead.

Bai Chan had retreated—
but the danger was far from over.

The next enemy to appear…
might be even stronger. - Marinien