The valley floor was rapidly becoming a kill zone.

Sun Yi’s scan confirmed a surge in hostile density. The new wave of Yin Souls was grotesque—twisted amalgamations of beast and human forms, their eyes burning with red, bloodthirsty light. Some of these elite units emitted energy signatures rivaling a Foundation Establishment Great Perfection cultivator.

“Threat level critical,” Sun Yi announced, his voice tight. “The spawn rate is too high. We need to extract immediately!”

Elder Jin Jue, currently engaging the Red-Eyed Ghost Sparrows, had also noticed the deteriorating situation. His expression was grim. His mana reserves were depleting faster than he could regenerate them.

“Agreed. Initiating aerial extraction!”

Jin Jue’s True Qi surged, wrapping around Sun Yi as he prepared to launch them skyward.

But before they could lift off, the sky above them vanished.

A massive, roiling darkness blotted out the dim light. Sun Yi’s Divine Sense screamed a warning. That wasn’t a cloud. It was a solid wall of Yin Souls, thousands of them, descending like a living ceiling.

Among the swarm, Sun Yi detected the terrifying signatures of Golden Core level entities.

“Airspace is compromised!” Sun Yi shouted. “Adjust vector! Breach the perimeter to the east—mob density is lowest there!”

Jin Jue didn’t hesitate. He trusted Sun Yi’s tactical analysis implicitly. He grabbed Sun Yi and accelerated toward the designated weak point.

The Yin Souls roared, surging forward to intercept.

“Out of my way!”

Jin Jue bellowed, his flying sword transforming into a dazzling golden comet. It tore through the front line, vaporizing dozens of ghosts in a single strike.

They punched through the gap, but the enemy was relentless. Wave after wave of Yin Souls threw themselves at the duo, ignoring their own destruction in a frenzy to consume the living.

“Sect Leader, maintain distance!” Jin Jue warned, his sword dancing in a blur of golden light. “These things have a Life Drain passive. If they grapple you, they’ll suck your vital essence dry. You’ll be a husk in seconds.”

“Understood,” Sun Yi replied, his Dragon Roar Sword flashing out to intercept stragglers. While he couldn’t match Jin Jue’s DPS, his automated defense algorithms kept the weaker mobs off their flanks, reducing the pressure on the Elder.

For two grueling hours, they fought a running battle through the nightmare landscape. Finally, they broke through the encirclement.

However, the dark cloud of pursuers was still dangerously close. Jin Jue dared not take to the sky, forcing them to remain grounded.

Suddenly, they burst through a dense layer of black fog, and the scenery shifted violently.

“This is…” Sun Yi stared in shock.

They had entered a massive, cavernous space roughly the size of a football stadium. Dominating the center was a colossal, rotating funnel—a gravity well of spiritual energy.

Sun Yi looked up. The funnel extended endlessly upward, connecting to the vortex they had seen from the sky.

“We’ve reached the bottom of the central singularity,” Sun Yi realized.

“I never expected the topography to be this complex,” Jin Jue marveled. “Look at the vortex stream.”

Sun Yi focused. Inside the swirling energy, countless Yin Souls were trapped, screaming silently as they were dragged downward. The sheer torque of the vortex was ripping them apart, processing them into raw spiritual particles.

“Warning! Hostiles closing in!” Sun Yi snapped.

The swarm they had outrun had caught up. And this time, they were led by three Golden Core Yin Souls.

Jin Jue’s face paled. After hours of combat, his battery was below 30%. Facing three bosses in his current state was a guaranteed wipe.

“We push forward!” Sun Yi ordered. “Head for the base of the vortex!”

It was a gamble, but they had no other options.

Jin Jue grabbed Sun Yi and accelerated, flying low over the ground toward the funnel.

They were less than three kilometers from the target when physics suddenly broke.

Buzz!

A mysterious, oppressive field slammed into Sun Yi. Instantly, his True Qi solidified, freezing in his meridians. It was a total system lockout. Simultaneously, gravity seemed to increase fifty-fold, slamming down on his shoulders like a mountain.

“What—?!”

Jin Jue cried out in shock. His flight spell failed instantly as his internal energy was sealed.

BOOM! BOOM!

Like two stones dropped from a cliff, they smashed into the hard stone floor.

The impact created two large craters, sending spiderweb cracks racing across the ground.

Pfft!

Elder Jin Jue lay in his crater, coughing up a mouthful of blood. Without his protective Qi, the impact had inflicted severe internal damage.

Sun Yi groaned, dragging himself up. Thanks to his upgraded hardware—his tempered physique—he had tanked the fall without injury. However, the crushing gravity made every movement a struggle.

“Elder Jin Jue, status report!” Sun Yi called out, rushing to help the old man.

Jin Jue swallowed a Vitality Pill, his face grave as he looked around.

“We’re in trouble, Sect Leader. This is a Spirit Banishing Ground.”

“Define,” Sun Yi demanded.

“It’s a dead zone,” Jin Jue explained, wiping blood from his lip. “A region where the laws of nature completely forbid the flow of Spiritual Qi. Cultivation is useless here. We are reduced to mere mortals, forced to rely solely on physical strength.”

Sun Yi scanned the environment. Indeed, the ambient mana level was zero. His internal energy was offline.

“A total anti-magic field,” Sun Yi muttered, a strange light entering his eyes. “Fascinating.”