Chapter 1859: Yuan Ping, Down

Shang Xia hadn’t felt such oppressive might for such a long time.

With Qin Ming targeting him directly, Shang Xia once again experienced that suffocating sensation of being suppressed in every aspect, where every move was dictated and restricted by his opponent.

Facing Qin Ming, Shang Xia unleashed every technique at his disposal. Within his protective domain, he invoked his martial intents from every stage of cultivation. From his Chaos Essence Lightning Palm to the Six Harmony Supporting the Heavens, he deployed them too to fend off Qin Ming’s relentless offensive, which constantly threatened to breach his defenses.

While the techniques he had created in earlier realms grew stronger with his cultivation, they were still constrained by their inherent level and the conceptual framework in which they were born. Lower rank techniques, even in the hands of high-level cultivators, remained limited in the extent of their effectiveness.

That was why high-level experts rarely used lower ranked techniques. Especially in a battle with those of similar cultivation realms.

The sole exception was martial intents...

Martial intents scaled with cultivation, growing stronger alongside their user. Regardless of external limitations, they could always be unleashed with terrifying might within the user’s domain.

Because of that, even though Shang Xia was at a disadvantage, as long as his domain held firm, Qin Ming wouldn’t be able to overpower him.

But it didn’t take long for Shang Xia to notice something odd. While Qin Ming maintained heavy pressure on him, he made no real effort to truly defeat him or take his life.

Instead, it seemed that Qin Ming’s efforts were focused more on sealing off Shang Xia’s movement, subtly herding him toward a particular direction.

Very soon, Shang Xia realized it wasn’t just him and Yuan Ping. Zhuo Gudao, currently under siege by Sage Jin, was also being driven in the same direction, deeper into the heart of the Nebula Forbidden Region.

As the three were gradually forced into retreat, the shattered remnants of the Essence Wilderness World around them grew sparser. At last, Shang Xia lost his patience and growled, "How much longer do you intend to wait?!"

Ever since Sage Jin’s betrayal, Yuan Ping had appeared dazed. Her initial reckless charge had resulted in a serious injury from Qin Ming.

If not for the fact that Qin Ming needed all three of them alive for his own plans, and Shang Xia’s timely assistance, her wounds would have been far worse.

But even so, as Qin Ming pursued both Shang Xia and Yuan Ping, it was Shang Xia who bore the brunt of the attack, shouldering nearly 70 to 80 percent of it. Yuan Ping, in contrast, remained listless, reacting only when Shang Xia intervened on her behalf.

After several rounds, the pressure on Shang Xia grew immense. His retreat into the Nebula Forbidden Region deepened, and Yuan Ping's support diminished to almost nothing. Unable to endure it further, Shang Xia finally shouted at her in anger.

But instead of a response, he was met with a series of unnerving, hysterical giggles.

Even while fending off Qin Ming, Shang Xia couldn’t help but glance back instinctively.

"He wants me to die here!" Yuan Ping’s voice drifted to his ears from behind, quiet and ghostly.

With a sweep of his Seven Star Mace, Shang Xia unleashed Falling Dipper and seemed to summon seven suns that came crashing down one after another.

Even with his superior cultivation and support from his Heavenly Field, Qin Ming was forced to avoid the brunt of the technique.

"Then you mustn’t die here!" Shang Xia shouted as he seized a brief respite.

"Too late," Yuan Ping murmured. "It was too late from the very beginning. From the moment I advanced to the Martial Emptiness Realm, I had already become someone else’s pawn. The Essence Hong Heavenly Field became someone else’s spoils of war. This cultivation of mine... It was always a prize others sought to claim."

Her whispering grew more disjointed, and Shang Xia’s heart clenched as he sensed the instability rising in her dantian. It was a telltale sign of someone on the verge of losing control. Her inner qi started spiraling into chaos, poised to descend into madness.

Why, he wondered, would a Sage whose martial will should have been resolute and unshakable, be so easily pushed to the edge?

There was no time to think. He tried to speak, to reach her through his sense of reasoning and to pull her back from the brink of death, but the increasing instability in her dantian told him there was no stopping her.

Then, all at once, her voice regained clarity. She growled in a cold voice, "Since you wish to escape, I’ll give you that chance. Just... If you survive, do what you can for the Essence Hong Heavenly Field in the days to come."

Before Shang Xia could respond, Yuan Ping charged forward, charging at Qin Ming just as she had once done against Sage Jin.

He was stunned. He had no idea what had just changed in her. Was this insanity, or some final resolve...

He couldn’t tell.

But he did understand one thing. It might be his only chance, however slim, to break free.

The next instant, Yuan Ping’s domain was torn apart and Qin Ming prepared to crush her beneath his palm.

Unfortunately for him, she detonated her dantian the same second. Her aura surged into the mid-level Martial Emptiness Realm the next second.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" A furious roar came, not from Qin Ming, but from Sage Jin, who had just driven Zhuo Gudao to the brink of defeat.

"Hehe... Isn’t this what you wanted?" Yuan Ping cackled madly. "Didn’t you always scheme to replace me? Don’t you want the Essence Hong World? Here, let me fulfill your wish!"

Like a burning comet, she hurled herself at Qin Ming.

"Qin Ming, please don’t!" Sage Jin screamed, abandoning Zhuo Gudao and rushing to intervene.

However, Qin Ming acted as if he hadn't heard a thing. Holding nothing back, he unleashed his full might at the peak of the fifth star. Fueled by the assistance of his Heavenly Field, he poured everything into his next strike.

Yuan Ping’s self-destructive charge, while desperate and powerful, still fell short of severely injuring Qin Ming.

At the height of her brilliance, her body was pierced through in mid air. Everything collapsed instantly, and the brilliant light around her dissipated. What remained was the echo of Sage Jin’s enraged cry reverberating across the Nebula Forbidden Region.