Bursting out of the ground, a large, unique beast flew into the sky, its emergence as sudden as a comet streaking across the night. The creature, a majestic and terrifying sight, unfurled two sets of semi-translucent wings, a mesmerizing mixture of purple and blue with specks that lit up like stars in the cosmos.
Its sleek, smooth, black, scaly body gleamed under the sunlight, contrasting sharply with the icy landscape below.
With four powerful legs and two black horns adorning its dragon-like head, the beast exuded an air of ancient power. A sharp ridge ran along its back, nestled between its wings, adding to its formidable appearance. Its long, smooth tail, ending in a bludgeon, whipped through the air, leaving a trail of disturbed air currents in its wake.
The dragon-like butterfly let out a haunting screech. Its cry was both a lament and a declaration of rage, reverberating through the valley and causing the Sect Masters to halt once more, their faces turning towards the source of the commotion with expressions of disbelief and fear.
"By the heavens... What is that thing?" Master Lei muttered, his earlier amusement replaced by suspicion and anxiety. The other Sect Masters shared similar sentiments. The aura of a Mid-Stage Rank 10 beast of unknown origin was a bit overwhelming, even for them.
While the other Sect Masters scrambled to prepare themselves, Master Shen Xian left the valley directly. 'I'll let the others deal with that.' He wanted no part in a fight to the death with an enraged beast of that strength.
However, what none could see was that the butterfly-like creature wasn't in peak condition. Its wings had several holes in them, there were some deformities on its body, and purplish-green blood leaked out of its orifices.
The point-blank dual explosions from its brethren had not only disrupted its evolution but also caused it to take a considerable amount of damage.
Flapping its wings, it let out another screech as its horns twitched, locating several foreign presences in its territory.
The blizzard around the valley intensified. Shards of ice swirled around in a cyclone, closing in on the Sect Masters.
"Hmph!" Master Lei grunted, electrifying the shards to ash. "You think a little ice can hurt me?!"
He raised his hand, a large lightning spear appearing in it. Stomping on the ground, he launched it.
The Dragon Butterfly didn't even spare him a glance. A sphere of ice manifested around it, blocking it as lightning ricocheted across the valley. Suddenly, the clouds overhead darkened, and hundreds, if not thousands, of bolts of lightning fell upon the beast.
Yet, this was its home, its environment. A whole continental-wide blizzard was available for it to use!
Ice coalesced outside the barrier like an array of mirrors. With another flap of its wings, beams shot out of the star-like specks, colliding with the lightning and shooting off in random directions.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Countless explosions covered the valley, forcing everyone and everything to scatter.
Master Lei's expression turned grim. As lightning kept pouring down on the beast, an electrified sword and shield appeared in his hands.
A beam shot toward him. He deflected it, sending it back toward the beast. This happened dozens of times, but neither side made any advancements.
Suddenly, the area around the butterfly darkened, almost like it was transferred into the void.
"Oh? Master Zhuo is finally appearing?" Master Lei smirked and readied himself. He saw a shadow leap into the darkness and disappear. Followed by a crack and a loud, painful screech.
BOOOM!
A figure then came crashing down out of the ice barrier, smashing into the ground. Even from a distance, it was merely a shadow, but Master Lei grinned. "Oi! Zhuo! You joining the fun?"
Afterwards, they fell silent as Mira focused on recovering. Although the battle above was intensifying, she paid no heed to it, chugging blood and draining Spirit Stones at a rapid rate.
About 15 minutes later, Mira finally felt strong enough to move and had enough Qi to work with.
"I'm starting," Mira announced.
"About time."
"..." Suddenly, Mira felt much less motivated to assist her.
Still, a deal was a deal, so she sighed and gathered her strength.
She channeled her Destruction Qi, intertwining it with her Absolute Ice Dao to meticulously carve a pathway through the collapsed cavern. Her movements were precise, ensuring not to cause further collapses that could endanger them further.
Amidst the sounds of shifting ice and stone, a faint, rhythmic pulsing could be heard within her tails–Mira was using her Wind Qi in conjunction with her Creation ability to maintain Hana's vital functions. That was all she could do for the girl at the moment.
Time seemed to stand still in the dark, oppressive environment as Mira tirelessly worked to forge a path to safety. After some time, she eventually reached a bloodied and battered Yanira, who was still wearing her armor and holding onto her sword.
"Cough..." Blood leaked out of Yanira's mouth. "Took you long enough."
Mira grunted in annoyance and dug the woman out of the rocks. She used this time to examine Yanira's condition and found that she wasn't any better off than her. Many broken bones, countless injuries, and overdrawn Qi. However, somehow, her artifacts remained in near-perfect condition.
She noted that down and wrapped Yanira up in her Black Tail. From there, she began digging.
Yet, it wasn't even a few minutes later when Yanira opened her mouth again. "Th-This doesn't look like the way up."
"Up?" Mira snickered. "Why would we go there?"
"???" Yanira was confused.
"The boss has left its lair. I wonder what sort of bed of treasures it was laying on after all these years?"
"...!" Yanira's eyes widened. "Shit! You're right! Hahaha! I didn't even think of that!"
"Now, onward, my mule! There's no time to waste! Hahaha!"
Mira's frown deepened, but she blocked that woman's voice out of her mind and continued digging.
Eventually, they reached the lair of the butterfly-like beast. To their surprise, the lair was mostly intact, save for a large, gaping hole that had opened up in the aftermath of the explosion.
From this chasm, an overwhelming surge of Qi erupted, bathing the trio in a torrent of energy so potent that it catalyzed all the insights the two had gathered up until this point.
Mira felt a rush of power coursing through her meridians, core, and soul as she instinctively stepped into the 3rd Stage of the Soul Transformation Realm. Her injuries began to mend at an astonishing pace, her Qi replenishing to its peak and her body rejuvenating within moments.
'What... What the hell just happened?!' She wondered, yet now wasn't the time to try and understand why and how she broke through.
Yanira, too, experienced a breakthrough, her cultivation soaring from the 2nd to the 3rd Stage of the Divine Sea Realm. The boundary that had eluded her for so long was shattered, propelling her into new heights of power. Her body was also healing itself at an astonishing rate, though much slower than Mira's.
Standing at the edge of the hole, Mira and Yanira exchanged a look. Their previous conflicts and grievances seemed insignificant compared to the opportunity that lay before them. With a nod of agreement, they leaped into the abyss.