The sight of the sky filled with crimson arrows instantly turned Xu Jingyao's complexion pale. On each arrow, she sensed the aura of death.
This was something she had never experienced before.
Just as Xu Jingyao instinctively clutched Nangong Qianyu's arm, she suddenly realized that Nangong Qianyu, who had been beside her, had vanished and reappeared in front of Ye Ming.
"No need for you to intervene!"
Nangong Qianyu shot Ye Ming a glance, her pupils betraying a hint of eagerness.
It seemed Miss Qianyu wished to accumulate more practical experience.
"Alright! Don't be too heavy-handed!"
Ye Ming had no objections to this.
The masked man's strength wasn't significant, merely an esper who hadn't even reached the Martial Emperor realm. To Nangong Qianyu, he posed no threat whatsoever.
On the contrary, Nangong Qianyu would have to deliberately restrain her power, lest she accidentally kill the opponent outright.
Nangong Qianyu nodded. By then, the arrows, whistling through the air, were already perilously close to the three of them.
At this moment, Nangong Qianyu's gaze sharpened. She extended her fair, jade-like right hand, and strands of dark energy surged from her palm, engulfing her entire arm in moments and continuously spreading.
Instantly, the right half of Nangong Qianyu's body was covered by this dark energy. Mysterious patterns, imbued with a chilling aura of death, were etched across her snow-white skin.
Even Nangong Qianyu's right eye seemed to flicker with black flames in its pupil, leaping beyond the confines of her eye socket.
In this form, she resembled a goddess of death. As her oppressive aura of dark decay emanated, the entire world slowly began to lose its original colors.
Only black and white were visible.
"Sever!"
Two icy words escaped Nangong Qianyu's lips.
Then, she lightly sliced the space before her with her right hand, and a dark, shadowy rift was suddenly torn open. From within this abyssal rift, a desolate aura capable of withering all things emanated.
The moment this rift appeared, the crimson arrows attacking them were subjected to an irreversible pull, forcibly drawn into the rift and annihilated.
"Wh-what is this...what?"
The masked man, witnessing this scene, froze on the spot. Boundless fear instantly spread within his heart; he felt death beckoning him.
Such power transcended his comprehension.
To think such terrifying energy existed in this world.
However, what awaited him was even more despairing.
"My...my power! No... don't!"
At this moment, the masked man snapped back from his terror. He discovered that the power within his body was gradually draining, flowing out and ultimately towards the dark rift.
And he was utterly incapable of stopping it.
He possessed not even a shred of resistance.
He could only watch as the energy within him was continuously devoured by the pitch-black rift.
"No... Argh!"
He struggled desperately, but it was all in vain against the terrifying devouring force. Gradually, his face began to contort, and the black cloth used to conceal his features was also sucked into the rift.
However, Xu Jingyao was utterly stunned by the spectacle and did not notice the man's face at the crucial moment.
The impact she experienced was no less than that of the man opposite her.
Was this power that defied all understanding something a human could possess?
It was too terrifying.
Her mind had completely shut down, leaving it a blank slate.
In the midst of the scene, Ye Ming was the only one still clear-headed.
"I didn't expect this girl to master the Devouring Space so quickly. What a pleasant surprise!"
Ye Ming smiled with satisfaction.
The Devouring Space!
It was an extremely special type of spatial ability.
In the domain of space, there were very detailed classifications of space itself.
Just like Mirror Space, Time Space, Illusion Space, and so on, there were numerous categories.
And the Devouring Space that Nangong Qianyu had just unleashed was one of them, and furthermore, one of the most terrifying among them.
Because once the Devouring Space was employed, it could not only directly absorb any form of attack from an opponent but also continuously drain the opponent's internal power to be used by the caster.
Until the opponent's energy was completely devoured.
This illustrated the terrifying nature of the Devouring Space.
Of course!
Such a technique was not without its drawbacks.
Firstly, the caster must first learn to control the power of devouring before they could successfully create the Devouring Space. Not only that, but the caster themselves must possess an extremely high tolerance. Otherwise, the absorbed energy could easily cause a backlash to themselves.
The consequences of such a backlash could be dire.
At best, severe injury; at worst, cultivation would be crippled, and it could even endanger their life.
And this! This was the price of controlling it.
Fortunately, Nangong Qianyu could now barely execute it, so there was no immediate danger of backlash.
"If this momentum continues, it won't be long before this girl can probably unleash the Devouring Domain as well."
The thought sent a shiver down Ye Ming's spine.
Even he had lingering fear from the terror of the Devouring Domain.
In the arena, the man fighting Nangong Qianyu had only a meager amount of energy left, not even enough to support his body, and he directly collapsed to his knees.
His face was ashen, his eyes filled with despair.
"Close!"
Nangong Qianyu's indifferent voice sounded again. She brought her jade palms together, and the pitch-black rift began to shrink at a visible rate, eventually forming a black dot before disappearing entirely.
"Phew!"
After retracting the Devouring Space, Nangong Qianyu also let out a silent sigh of relief. Beads of sweat still clung to her forehead.
It seemed that unleashing such a technique was not easy for her.
However, this also allowed her to gain significant proficiency. She believed that using the Devouring Space next time would be much easier.
"Alright! Done!"
Nangong Qianyu snapped her fingers with a smile, happily turned, and walked towards Ye Ming and the other.
Secretly, she gave Ye Ming a proud look.
In response, Ye Ming gave her a thumbs-up.
However, Xu Jingyao was still lost in thought, her mind a buzzing mess, completely unaware that the battle had already concluded.
Nangong Qianyu walked up to her, first shaking her head with a smile, then gently cupping her small face and rubbing it twice, calling out, "Jingyao!"
"Ah!"
Her call startled Xu Jingyao, who was in a daze. Her legs went weak, and if not for Nangong Qianyu catching her, she might have collapsed to the ground.
"Sis... Sister! I... you... this..."
Xu Jingyao looked at Nangong Qianyu, who was close at hand, wanting to speak but utterly at a loss for words.
What she had just witnessed was far beyond what Nangong Qianyu could achieve with just her fists previously.
"Alright! Take a look at that person, do you recognize him?"
Nangong Qianyu, knowing the other was momentarily overwhelmed, shifted the topic and pointed towards the opposite side.
Xu Jingyao instinctively followed Nangong Qianyu's gaze. When the man's face came into view, it was as if a lightning strike had hit her mind. Her eyes widened.
"Uncle... Uncle Jun!"