Under the night sky, Iona’s body twisted unnaturally, moving like a marionette on strings.

Her originally crimson eyes gradually turned pitch black, and her once dazzling golden hair darkened, becoming deep and jet-black.

Just as Sylutia thought the other girl had completely lost consciousness, turning into some kind of monster, another invisible rhythmic pulse occurred.

Then Iona’s rigid body gradually softened, and she knelt on the ground. After that, a sound of sobbing rose in the forest. When she looked up again, dark tear tracks slowly flowed from beneath her eyes.

Black-purple patterns spread across her body, devouring the original Blazing Sun within her bit by bit. Even the Bloodline Aspect in her blood was being eroded and distorted.

A strange sensation. Iona’s consciousness became clear again.

She felt as if her body had been completely replaced. The accumulated fatigue, soreness, and exhaustion from before had all vanished. At that moment, she noticed the shadow on the ground.

It was her shadow under the moonlight. Though it was merely a shadow, it gave her a strangely familiar feeling, along with a sense of weariness and injury.

Her body became light as if weightless. She gripped the sword in her hand again, leaping up effortlessly. In almost the blink of an eye, she landed behind Sylutia.

She had actually become this strong. A surge of joy washed away her doubts. She immediately thought of tonight’s target, her gaze focusing on the lantern at Sylutia’s waist.

She didn’t know what changes had occurred to her body after the Black Sun Eclipse ritual. But if she wanted to resolve the side effects, she had to go to the Hidden Grove. There were legacies from many schools there, and she could easily access all kinds of knowledge. Only by going there could she continue walking the path of a Transcendent.

Her past path of ‘Blazing Sun’ was severed. From now on, she could only walk the path of ‘Nightmare’.

On the other side, when Sylutia realized Iona had passed by her side, a chill ran down her back.

So fast. This speed had surpassed the limits of a normal person. Or rather, with Iona’s current abilities, it should have been impossible to achieve such speed. This was probably approaching the power of ‘Second Tier·Nightmare’.

There was no time to ponder what changes had occurred to Iona. Another exchange began.

Iona wielded her sword with one hand. Though the sword arcs no longer possessed the former blazing intensity and ferocity, they were now incredibly light and swift, far exceeding her previous speed.

Under such bizarre and extraordinarily light and fast swordplay, the defenses Sylutia had constructed were no longer perfect. Instead, the strange, swift blade easily found gaps and flaws, penetrating her blocks and parries.

During several exchanges, a few slender cuts were left on Sylutia’s body, drawing spots of blood. Though not deep, the pain they transmitted made her frown.

Black hair fluttered. Iona, originally with short hair, now had hair growing wildly. Her entire demeanor was slowly changing.

Her eyes became slightly narrower, sharper. Her voice also gained a colder edge.

“Tia, I’ve won,” her voice was icy.

She turned back again, invisible ripples spreading from the sword in her hand, carrying with them black threads. The trees cut by it began to deform, emitting a sinister, eerie feeling.

This situation made Sylutia involuntarily recall the monsters of the Shadow World.

With such a ritual, after undergoing transformation, she probably couldn’t be considered a pure human anymore.

The two paused their fight. Iona stood under the cold moonlight, slowly turning around.

At this moment, Iona’s eyes were completely pitch black, with somewhat turbid tear tracks flowing from the corners. Not only that, but her body was also covered in strange black-red blood vessels.

Although the [Black Sun Eclipse] ritual could transform [Blazing Sun] into [Nightmare], this transformation, from the very beginning, wasn’t for the better. It was meant to destroy the [Blazing Sun] Corona Dragon of that time.

Therefore, even after transforming into [Nightmare], Iona’s body was full of distorted traces. That [Nightmare] Aspect was also filled with strangeness and instability, vastly different from an [Aspect] truly obtained through self-cultivation and training.

In Sylutia’s view, Iona’s Fate Plate had been contaminated. The originally golden [Maiden Awaiting Dawn] had now turned into a purple-black entangled mirror frame. Inside stood a blurred humanoid figure. Instead, outside the frame, vivid fragments of a human figure lay shattered.

This bizarre scene sent a chill through Sylutia’s heart, giving her a very bad premonition.

Sure enough, Iona’s fingers on the opposite side began to deform, like black tentacles tinged with purple, wrapping around the long sword in her hand as she charged forward again.

The originally golden blade turned pitch black. The slash struck the jade-green sword, with some of the [Distortion] Aspect soaking in and impacting, seemingly trying to infect Sylutia as well.

Regarding this, Sylutia became vigilant, quickly retreating, but the other party still pursued relentlessly.

“Clang—”

Sylutia swung her sword with full force again, clashing with the black sword in Iona’s hand and knocking the long sword flying.

After losing her reason, Iona’s swordsmanship plummeted. Right now, it was probably only some crude instinct.

Taking advantage of the opening when Iona lost her weapon and retreated, Sylutia decided to temporarily avoid the strangely changed Iona and return to the foot of the mountain first.

But the Iona opposite her now didn’t even want the lantern anymore, continuing to chase after her.

She doesn’t even want the Blood Aberration Flower in the lantern anymore. It seems Iona has completely lost control, Sylutia thought.

Indeed, anything involving the Distortion Aspect is never good. Otherwise, why did those upper races build the celestial gardens? It was to stay away from the Twilight Sea polluted by the ‘Distortion’ Aspect.

There was no other way. Sylutia could only fight while retreating. But after Iona’s transformation, despite lacking technique, her speed was much faster than before.

Along the way, Sylutia gained many more sword wounds on her body.

She couldn’t keep running. She had to confront Iona head-on. Sylutia decided to stop in a clearing.

Surrounded by twisted, withered trees, the two began their final contest and battle in this clearing.

Both now had long black hair. In the turning, flipping fight, sword edges crossed, black hair strands flew, metal shattered, bringing forth scattered, broken sparks.

Continuously adjusting her Breathing Technique, accelerating circulation, bursting with strength, enhancing speed, Sylutia felt she had never experienced so clearly how the flow of blood could bring such distinct changes to the body.

And at this moment, the moonlight fell upon her, also bringing ripples.

As if suddenly enlightened—just as the Dew Prayer Method used the power of the Blazing Sun to transform into Verdant Nectar, could she also use the power of moonlight to transform into Bloodline?

As this thought arose, the details from the legacy book 『Meleranke Praying in the Lake』, which she had directly read in the Shadow World and hadn’t fully understood before, now became clear one by one.

So that’s how it was. Sylutia swung her sword again, pushing Iona a short distance away. Then her figure leaped up, darting into the treetops, soaring into the air.

At this moment, the moonlight from the entire clearing bathed down. An invisible white halo manifested on her body.

[Breathing Technique Lv.4] (Bloodline) → [Lunar Radiance Breathing Technique Lv.3] (Luminous Moon)

[Lunar Radiance Breathing Technique Lv.3] (Luminous Moon): A new ability formed from the fusion of ‘Moon Dew Method’ and ‘Breathing Technique’. It can use moonlight to recover stamina, greatly enhancing the endurance of the Breathing Technique and reducing side effects like hidden injuries from the Breathing Technique.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep