The dagger of solidified energy was inches from Li Yu’s neck.

  Signe’s grip was iron-tight and her body heat was like an inferno. The Charm Demon was shrieking in silent triumph. It was already tasting the sweet taste of a shattered soul.

  Li Yu didn't panic as he had already thought of a plan. He didn't try to struggle against Signe’s physical strength. He reached out with his own hands, grabbing Signe by the waist.

  ‘Let’s go for a trip,’ Li Yu thought. The world didn't blur; it broke.

  The lavish office, the roaring fireplace and the smell of jasmine all vanished in a heartbeat. They were instantly plunged into a realm of swirling chaos. It was none other than the 2nd layer of the Void.

  Li Yu was already free and stood in the center of the storm. He was calm and untouched. His understanding of the Void had deepened significantly since his desperate escape from the hand. He wove a sphere of stability around himself and the two women, a bubble of calm in the hurricane.

  The Charm Demon froze in confusion. She looked around and her black eyes widening in genuine horror.

  She knew what this was but had never been here before. She understood the space between worlds. But to be dragged physically into the Deep Void? By a human?

  "You..." The Charm Demon gasped. "You are insane!"

  She tried to let go of Signe. She tried to flee back to the material world.

  "Stay," Li Yu growled.

  He tightened his grip on Signe and effectively pinned the Charm Demon in place. The Grand Marshall was unconscious now as the Charm Demon didn’t need to control her for anything.

  "You think this scares me?" The Charm Demon hissed, her fear turning into cornered aggression. "This creates pressure on you too, human! I am a creature of spirit! I can outlast you here!"

  She shrieked and unleashed her true power. It wasn't a physical attack. It was a Soul Spike.

  She gathered all her cultivation, which Li Yu realized with a start was actually at the Divine Transformation level. She condensed it into a needle of pure mental destruction.

  “DIE!”

  The spike slammed into Li Yu’s forehead.

  It passed through his skull and through his normal mental defenses. It drove straight into his Ocean of Qi. But in Li Yu’s Ocean of Qi... A finger flicked it away. It didn’t even make a sound.

  The Fisherman Soul didn't even turn to face the attack. The Divine Transformation-level soul spike shattered like glass hitting a mountain.

  "My turn," Li Yu said coldly. .

  He channeled the intent of his martial spirit. Soul Art: Leviathan’s Strike.

  Behind Li Yu a phantom manifested just briefly. It was his Koi Soul. It sent a strike towards the demon.

  "NO!" she screamed.

  The pressure hit her. It wasn't just heavy; it was absolute. It felt like the weight of a world. The authority of a ruler of the deep. It slammed into the Charm Demon and crushed her spiritual form.

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  CRACK.

  A sound like breaking porcelain echoed in the void.

  The Charm Demon wailed in agony. Her flawless skin developed spiderweb fractures. Her soul, which she had prided as invincible within the same realm, was nearly shattered in a single blow.

  She hung there now. She was limp and her black eyes leaking spiritual blood. Li Yu looked at her with cold indifference.

  "You still think you have the advantage?" Li Yu asked.

  He flicked a finger. The protective shield that he had around them in this void disappeared for just her.

  WHOOSH.

  The chaotic void energy of the Second Layer rushed in. It was space grinding against itself. It tore at her spiritual and physical form. Ripping away layers of her essence like sandpaper on skin. He had felt that kind of pain before in the 3rd layer so he knew how much agony it was.

  "ARGHHHHH!" the Charm Demon screamed. "STOP! STOP IT! IT’S TOO MUCH!"

  Li Yu watched her suffer for a moment while his expression was unreadable. Then, he raised his shield again and cut off the torment.

  She slumped on the ground and was shivering uncontrollably. The arrogance was gone. The hunger was gone. All that was left was terror.

  Li Yu raised his right hand. The Star Crusher staff appeared in his grip. The staff hummed with power and was eager to break things. He raised it high and was going to aim for the Charm Demon’s head.

  "Wait!" The Charm Demon screamed as she was throwing her hands up. "Wait! I submit!"

  Li Yu didn't stop. The staff began to descend.

  "If I die, she dies!" the Charm Demon shrieked. She pointed a trembling finger at Signe. "My soul is controlling hers! You kill me, the backlash shreds her mind! She will be a vegetable! You will lose her forever!"

  The staff stopped an inch from her forehead. The wind pressure from the swing blew the Charm Demon’s hair back.

  Li Yu looked at her with cold eyes. "I don't believe you."

  "It's true!" she sobbed while cowering. "We are linked! I needed a host to enact plans in this realm! But since she became my host, I have control over her soul now. If you kill me, she dies as well! Please! I... I don't want to die!"

  Li Yu held the staff steady. "I'll find a way to extract you. I don’t believe my soul arts can’t counter yours. After I crush your skull I’ll get to work."

  "You can't!" She pleaded. She saw the lack of hesitation in his eyes. This human was a monster. He didn't care about the hostage at all. From going through some of her memories, this Signe was a top leader.

  ‘She should be respected and cared for. Who was this damn boy that didn’t seem to care at all?’ She thought.

  She switched tactics instantly though. She lowered her hands and was trying to look pathetic and alluring at the same time.

  "Master..." She whimpered. Her voice shifted to a soft submissive voice. "Please. Look at me. I am Vespera. I am a queen where I come from. I can serve you."

  She ran her hands down her own body, emphasizing her perfect form.

  "I can give you anything," Vespera whispered. "Power. Pleasure. Knowledge. I can be everything you want me to be. I can fulfill desires you didn't even know you had. Look at me... am I not beautiful?"

  Li Yu looked at her.

  He looked at her face, the desperate black eyes and the trembling lip.

  "You look like a parasite," Li Yu said flatly. "Not interested."

  Vespera flinched as if he had slapped her. The words might have caused more damage to her mind than his earlier soul attack. Disgust flashed across her face. Genuine, insulted disgust.

  "You... you eunuch!" She spat. "I am the most desirable being in three realms! How can you be unmoved?!"

  "I have high standards," Li Yu shrugged. He adjusted his grip on the staff. "Any last words? Make them good."

  Vespera looked at the staff. She looked at the swirling void. She realized he was going to do it. He really was going to kill a Divine Transformation demon and a Grand Marshall just to be done with it.

  "The Guards!" Vespera shouted. "It's not just me! Her personal guard is infected!"

  Li Yu paused at the sudden news. "Explain."

  "Signe’s personal guard!" Vespera gasped and began talking fast. "The forty elite warriors! They are all women! They are all possessed by my sisters! If you kill me, the link snaps and they will go into a frenzy! They will slaughter everyone in the fortress before they burn out! Not just them. Not under my control but other demons have infected other parts of this army as well."