That was no ordinary fire.
Crimson, golden-orange, and deep blue—three-colored flames layered over one another, surging into the night sky. The heat wave was so overwhelming it felt as if it would swallow the entire coffee plantation whole.
Though tongues of fire licked the iron cages, the metal did not burn.
The flames precisely avoided the surviving civet cats, lunging only at the approaching NPCs.
At the same time, countless snowy blade silhouettes condensed out of thin air above the sea of fire.
They hovered in midair, dense and closely packed, their sharp edges glinting with a chilling aura.
Each blade was as thin as moonlight, yet as cold as frost and snow.
With their tips pointing downward, their backs reflected the raging fire.
The flames illuminated the sharp edges, which in turn sliced the firelight into countless fragments.
In that moment, the entire world seemed to transform into a literal Mountain of Blades and Sea of Fire.
Below were the roaring flames that burned away all sin.
Above were the cold blades that judged flesh and blood.
The cat-headed and dog-headed monsters halted in their tracks.
They seemed to finally sense the danger. Their animalistic pupils contracted sharply, and threatening growls rumbled from their throats.
But it was already too late.
Cen Yao raised her magic wand and gently pressed it downward.
The sky full of blades came crashing down with a deafening roar.
Whoosh—
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
The sound of slicing air was as dense as a torrential downpour.
The sea of fire surged violently at the exact same moment. Crimson waves of fire rolled forward, carrying the flashes of blades with them. Wherever they passed, the ground was scorched black, and the air hummed sharply as it was sliced apart.
The cat-headed NPC leading the charge had barely raised its stun baton when its arm was sliced clean off by a blade.
Another flash of blade-light followed immediately, pinning its head deep into the fire.
A dog-headed NPC opened its mouth to roar, but before it could even fully bare its fangs, tongues of fire wrapped around its legs. Immediately after, dozens of blades rained down from above, hacking it into pieces.
Some NPCs tried to circle around to launch a sneak attack from the flank.
Cen Yao didn't even turn her head.
The sea of fire automatically parted to form a wall of flames, trapping the ambushers inside.
The blades spun in circles like a meat-grinding storm, instantly shredding them until not even a whole shadow remained.
Screams of agony, animalistic roars, the clatter of stun batons hitting the ground, and the crackle of burning capture nets melded into a chaotic din.
The firelight cast its glow upon Cen Yao's face.
She stood at the edge of the blazing sea, her skirt fluttering in the heat wave. The magic wand in her hand glowed faintly, and her eyes were completely devoid of warmth.
In this moment, she did not look like the Witch who had conjured malatang and a large bed in the tool shed yesterday.
Instead, she resembled a catastrophe descending upon the coffee plantation.
One that had come solely to purge evil.
In just a brief moment, all the cat-headed and dog-headed monsters on the scene collapsed.
The ground was left scorched and blackened.
The flames gradually died down, and the blades dissipated piece by piece into the night wind.
Cen Yao stood where she was, slowly letting out a breath.
In the next second, she waved her sleeve.
An invisible magic power swept across the entire breeding area like a gust of wind, continuing to spread deeper into the coffee plantation.
Click.
Click, click.
One after another, the crisp sounds of locks opening echoed throughout the night.
Across the entire coffee plantation, every single cage door holding the civet cats swung open.
At first, none of the civet cats dared to move.
They had not seen an open door for far too long.
And they had not been allowed to leave for just as long.
It was only when a civet cat, so emaciated it was nothing but skin and bones, tremblingly poked its head out and confirmed no stun baton was coming down, that it took its first cautious step forward.
Then came a second one.
And a third.
More and more civet cats began to step out of their cages.
Some limped, some had half-severed tails, and others still bore unhealed wounds on their bodies.
Yet, they all slowly made their way toward Cen Yao and Zhu Lingxi.
It was as if they knew these two bipedal creatures had saved them.
One civet cat gently rubbed its head against Cen Yao's ankle.
Another drew close to Zhu Lingxi, nudging the hem of her skirt with its head.
Soon, even more civet cats gathered around them.
They affectionately rubbed against the two girls, letting out very soft, gentle purrs from their throats.
Cen Yao looked down at them.
A trace of hesitation flashed through her eyes.
A moment later, that hesitation solidified into resolve.
With these civet cats around, perhaps the success rate would be even higher.
Cen Yao turned her head to look at Zhu Lingxi.
“Lingxi, I want to ask you for a favor.”
Zhu Lingxi fluttered her eyelashes and looked up.
Her face was still somewhat pale, but her expression was incredibly serious.
“Go ahead.”
Cen Yao blinked in surprise.
“You're agreeing just like that?”
She was once again startled by this girl's pure simplicity.
“Aren't you even going to ask what I need help with? What if it's something bad?”
Hearing this, Zhu Lingxi tilted her head in confusion.
She thought about it for a moment, and though her voice was very soft, she didn't hesitate in the slightest.
“You wouldn't.”
“I trust you.”
Cen Yao stared at her blankly.
Once again, she felt that warm, tender sensation in her chest because of Zhu Lingxi.
It was as if something warm and fuzzy had gently rolled through her heart.
Cen Yao suddenly smiled.
Her smile was bright and cheerful, dispersing much of the coldness that had previously lingered in her eyes.
“Thank you, Lingxi.”
Zhu Lingxi also curved her eyes into a gentle smile.
Cen Yao quickly composed herself and said seriously, “I need you to help me gather the souls of all the animals in this dungeon.”
Zhu Lingxi listened quietly.
Cen Yao continued, “Too many animals have died here. The civet cats, and those other cats and dogs from before.”
“Their souls are too fragile, and they are being suppressed by the dungeon's rules. It's very difficult for me to sense all of them right now.”
“But you are different.”
As a successor of Nuo opera, Zhu Lingxi was naturally more sensitive to pain than anyone else.
Especially the kind of pain left behind by being tortured, oppressed, and stripped of freedom.
Cen Yao could sense the resentment, but she couldn't locate all those shattered souls that were on the verge of dispersing in such a short amount of time.
She needed Zhu Lingxi to attract those harmed souls.
Then, she would stabilize them.
Just like what she had done for the Queen.
Zhu Lingxi didn't ask any more questions.
She simply nodded.
“Okay.”
Then, Zhu Lingxi took a few steps forward.
The civet cats stood obediently by Cen Yao's side.
Cen Yao looked down at their scarred, emaciated bodies.
She used healing magic to mend their wounds and summoned some fruits she had marked from the real world so they could rest and recover.
They ate in a frantic rush.
Yet, they didn't dare to make too much noise.
It was as if even eating their fill was a luxury that could be violently interrupted at any moment.
Looking at them, Cen Yao's eyelashes fluttered slightly.
She comforted the civet cats around her one by one before standing up, quietly gazing at Zhu Lingxi's back.
Zhu Lingxi stopped right in the center of the scorched ground that had been burned by Cen Yao's sea of fire.
The night wind blew past, lifting her cascading black hair.
She reached down to her waist and took off the Nuo mask that had been hanging there all along.
She cradled the mask solemnly in her palms.
Zhu Lingxi whispered, “Only when humanity suffers does Nuo arise.”
“Tonight, all spirits suffer; let the God hear.”
With that, she placed the Nuo mask over her face.
In an instant, Cen Yao clearly felt the aura around Zhu Lingxi change.
It wasn't a simple increase in power.
Rather, it was as if the boundaries of her "humanity" were temporarily pushed back, and a certain ancient, solemn, and serene divinity descended upon her through the mask.
Zhu Lingxi struck a dance pose.
No.
At this moment, it was more accurate to say it was the Nuo God.
Through the mask, He cast a glance at Cen Yao.
That gaze was exceptionally calm.
And incredibly gentle.
Then, He began to dance.
The girl in her vintage dress danced in the middle of the scorched earth.
The bright moonlight fell softly upon her, draping her in a silver-white veil.
There was no music.
So, she danced to the accompaniment of the wind.
There was no firelight.
So, she used the moonlight as her lamp.
Her movements were not intense, yet they carried an indescribable, ancient rhythm.
Each step she took felt like treading through the suffering of the mortal world.
Each wave of her sleeve seemed to brush away the dust blinding the eyes of the departed souls.
As she spun, her black hair and hemline unfurled in the moonlight. The patterns on the mask were illuminated by the silver light, revealing a majestic yet mysterious divinity.
In that moment, she was the sole beacon of light in the vast, dark night.
As her mysterious and elegant dance accompanied the moonlight, the clamor in the air seemed to fall completely silent.
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