Those red light threads densely filling the space were only Ninth-Rank, not the Eleventh-Rank force they had once been completely unable to resist. A hastily released attack would naturally still be torn apart. However, if the Element were compressed as much as possible, if elemental power were condensed to an extreme degree before striking, then perhaps it could contend with them.
Reality proved his judgment correct.
An attack condensed to a single point was able to deflect the crimson longblade, and a Wind Blade compressed until it possessed substance could slice through the light threads. That realization overturned Fa Hua and Lan Ge’s thinking completely.
At the very least, the Ruby Queen was no longer so impossibly overwhelming.
The change filled both of them with sudden elation. Lan Ge was already in his Wind Elemental Body state, and once the attempt succeeded, he immediately took action. Eight identical Wind Blades slashed outward, fiercely severing the key nodes of the surrounding red light threads.
But at that very moment, the Ruby Queen vanished without warning.
Light flashed. One of Lan Ge’s Wind Blades—midway through cutting a light thread—was instantly annihilated. The Ruby Queen emerged directly from within the crimson threads themselves, a blade striking at point-blank range.
That slash carried overwhelming momentum.
Fa Hua was the first to bear it—and had nowhere to evade.
Light flashed again.
Fa Hua disappeared. When he reappeared, he was already beside Lan Ge, who had retreated three steps.
Mutual Teleport!
At the same instant, the Divine Codex in Fa Hua’s hands flipped open to the Third Page. The Wisdom Sword slashed forth, its sacred aura surging outward and causing the surrounding space to ripple and distort. The Ruby Queen’s spirit was clearly affected.
Lan Ge stepped forward in a single stride, leapt into the air, and drove a punch toward the Ruby Queen.
She lifted her longblade to cut down his fist, but a water dragon suddenly burst from the ground, coiling around the blade and slowing it. The Ruby Queen snorted coldly and struck with her left palm, colliding head-on with Lan Ge’s punch.
Boom!
Lan Ge was blasted backward, only to be hauled back by Fa Hua. The Ruby Queen’s body also shuddered slightly. Her crimson longblade swept out, cleaving the water dragon apart, and a dense layer of blade radiance—like fireworks blooming in midair—spread outward, slashing toward them.
Fa Hua drew a deep breath.
Gripping the Wisdom Sword with both hands, he struck.
Behind that single slash, six streaks of light and shadow followed in rapid succession. Each one caught up to the last in an instant, merging together upon the blade.
Ding!
The crisp chime rang out as Fa Hua’s body recoiled as if struck by lightning. The Ruby Queen’s blade radiance surged forward like molten mercury.
The Wisdom Sword shattered inch by inch.
Yet Fa Hua’s gaze remained unwavering.
The Wisdom Shield rose before him as the full power of his Holy Spirit Body erupted. Bathed in sacred aura, the shield flared with brilliant gold. Step by step, Fa Hua retreated, metallic clashes ringing incessantly across its surface.
Cracks spread rapidly. It was on the verge of collapse.
But at that moment, Lan Ge had already caught his breath.
His right fist slammed into the ground in front of Fa Hua. A pillar of fire shot diagonally forward, crashing into the blade formation. Though it was quickly shredded by the blade light, it bought just enough time.
As the Wisdom Shield shattered, Fa Hua retreated, widening the distance between them.
**
Five Minutes Later
Inside the Peerless Pearl’s Cultivation Space, Fa Hua and Lan Ge were gasping for breath, drenched in sweat. They couldn’t even speak.
Yet both felt an overwhelming sense of exhilaration.
Since developing true coordination and beginning to fight together through the Peerless Pearl, Fa Hua had never experienced a battle fought to such an extreme. Under the immense pressure imposed by the Ruby Queen, they had pushed themselves beyond their limits, unleashing every ounce of strength they possessed—until the very last trace of energy was exhausted and they were forced to teleport back.
They exchanged a glance, faint smiles appearing on their faces.
It truly hadn’t been easy.
The Ruby Queen no longer seemed invincible. At least in her Ninth-Rank state, she could no longer kill them instantly. They had actually endured seven or eight minutes against her—something that would have been utterly unimaginable before.
It took a full ten minutes before their breathing finally steadied.
Lan Ge’s eyes burned with excitement. Without hesitation, he sat down cross-legged and extended his hands forward.
Fa Hua, though more composed, did not hesitate either. He immediately entered cultivation.
Reflecting on the changes from the previous battle, restoring their energy, and cultivating at the same time—there could be no better opportunity than this.
The facts proved it clearly. Against a Ninth-Rank Ruby Queen, opponents who possessed Mutual Teleportation truly left her with no effective solution.
They would cultivate inside the Peerless Pearl for twelve hours, then go out to fight her. If they failed, they would immediately teleport back and cultivate again.
They had brought enough rations and water for long-term survival. Perhaps the only real issue was… excretion.
When Lan Ge was the first to be unable to hold it and tried inside the Peerless Pearl’s space, he was shocked to discover that the waste vanished without a trace. For a moment, he even wondered whether it had been teleported to the Ruby Queen’s side—but nothing ever appeared in her space either.
Days passed.
The time Fa Hua and Lan Ge could hold out against the Ruby Queen grew longer and longer. Through this relentless trial, they continued to grow.
Eventually, they even lost track of time itself, keeping only a rough count based on how many times they had teleported out.
Whenever they appeared before her, the Ruby Queen attacked without a word. Whenever they teleported back into the Peerless Pearl’s Cultivation Space, she would remain where she was and cultivate.
It became a cycle.
Yet Fa Hua and Lan Ge both felt that the Ruby Queen was changing in subtle ways. It wasn’t that her power was growing stronger—rather, it was a feeling. The coldness around her seemed to be fading, replaced by a faint sense of familiarity.
Aside from the strange light and shadow they had seen on the first day, nothing similar ever appeared again. They couldn’t discern any change in her cultivation.
What they could feel was their own strength rising rapidly—especially their practical combat experience.
The immense pressure the Ruby Queen imposed forced them to grow continuously. Her attacks grew sharper, her methods more varied. At times, they even felt as if they were facing a different Ruby Queen altogether.
Light flashed.
Fa Hua and Lan Ge appeared before her once again.
By their reckoning, nearly a year had passed since they arrived here—though most of that time had been spent inside the Peerless Pearl, corresponding to roughly four or five months in the outside world.
Today, however, the Ruby Queen seemed different.
She sat cross-legged, not rising to attack immediately.
This caught both of them off guard.
What’s going on? Lan Ge asked mentally. Why does the beauty seem off today? I’ve got a bad feeling.
I don’t know, Fa Hua replied. Let’s wait and see.
Throughout these days of battle, they had also searched for a way out, but this space seemed completely independent. Aside from the Peerless Pearl’s teleportation ability—and lacking mastery of spatial elements themselves—they had never found an exit.
At that moment, the Ruby Queen slowly opened her eyes and looked at them with a calm, level gaze.
“Your Majesty, you’re making us a little uncomfortable today,” Lan Ge said aloud, one hand resting on Fa Hua’s shoulder.
The Ruby Queen replied evenly, “That’s normal. Because today is your last chance. I have already discerned your space. Today, you have no retreat. Defeat me—or die.”
As she spoke, she suddenly spread her arms. A hazy crimson halo bloomed instantly around her.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
A deep, powerful heartbeat echoed through the space.
At the same time, Fa Hua and Lan Ge felt their own hearts begin to beat strangely—matching the exact rhythm of the Ruby Queen’s heartbeat.
Horrified, they immediately tried to teleport back into the Peerless Pearl’s space.
The next instant, it felt as though ice water had been poured over them. Their bodies turned cold.
They couldn’t sense it.
They couldn’t sense the Peerless Pearl’s space at all.
The special frequency carried by that heartbeat had severed their perception—or more precisely, their connection to the Peerless Pearl itself.
“It took me a long time to find this specific spatial fluctuation frequency,” the Ruby Queen said calmly. “You did well. But what must end, will end.”
She spread her hands. In each palm, a crimson longblade formed—no longer just one as before.
An immense, invisible pressure radiated from her, filling the entire space with suffocating oppression.
Shock and panic flared briefly in Fa Hua and Lan Ge’s hearts—then vanished.
Since obtaining the Peerless Pearl, they had faced powerful enemies again and again. Every opponent had been stronger than them. The strongest of all was undoubtedly the Ruby Queen before them now.
Desperation was nothing new.
But this time, it was more absolute than ever.
They both understood how slim their chances of survival were.
Did they have any other choice?
No.
Only by defeating the Ruby Queen could they claim even a sliver of hope.
A battle with no retreat.
Then we’ll fight her to the death, Lan Ge said coldly in his heart.
Mm. Water-snake waist, don’t hold us back, Fa Hua replied lightly.