Legend of the Embroiderer

Chapter 369 Twin Mirrors

Lingyue's fingertips, gripping the shard, were stained red with blood. Thick drops of blood dripped from between her fingers, spreading dark marks on the purplish-red ground.

The light of the spacetime compass flickered like a candle in the wind, teetering on the brink of collapse amidst the incessant howls of the seven giant wolves, each flash accompanied by a buzzing sound of energy dissipation.

The shadowy figure, Li Zhao, raised his hand and waved it. A dark purple energy chain shot out like a venomous snake and wrapped around her ankle.

The icy touch spread along her blood vessels, instantly numbing her nerves, as if countless tiny ice spikes were wandering through her bone marrow.

"You think the clues Wenli left behind are a form of redemption?"

The shadowy figure crouched down, its face beneath the hood identical to Li Zhao's, yet gleaming with an eerie bluish-gray luster. The curve of its lips revealed a twisted malice. "Those words were nothing more than bait laid by the dark will."

As he spoke, his breath condensed into black mist, outlining a grotesque skull in the air.

The spacetime fragments suspended inside the hall suddenly rotated in reverse, emitting a sharp friction sound.

The projected image, like a distorted mirror, began to warp violently: above a bustling ancient city, black flames cascaded down like a waterfall, burning buildings into smoldering ruins.

In the desolate post-apocalyptic world, a huge crack appeared in the ground, from which countless shadow guards crawled out, their weapons reflecting a cold, icy light.

In a mysterious otherworld, the Dark Heart expands like a black hole, devouring the stars in the sky, and the entire world falls apart amidst wails.

As Lingyue watched these images, a strong sense of nausea surged in her stomach. Blood tears slowly flowed from Wenli's portrait on the stone tablet, and the small words that had been engraved with a warning were rapidly disappearing, replaced by new blood-written words: "When the fragments resonate, a spacetime rift will appear. Truth and destruction are separated by only a thought."

The blood-red words flickered with an eerie red light, as if mocking her struggle.

"No! Impossible!" Lingyue roared and struggled, her energy condensing into a blue light shield around her.

But just as she tried to break free of the chains, the shadowy figure vanished like mist, only to reappear behind her the next second, its icy hand pressing against the back of her neck: "You can't escape."

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the seven giant wolves launched an attack. Their sharp claws tore through the air, accompanied by piercing howls. One of the giant wolves brought its claws down heavily, tearing a deep, bone-revealing wound on Lingyue's shoulder.

Blood splattered on the spacetime compass, and the moment the dark red blood droplets came into contact with the compass's light, the dim light briefly surged.

This unexpected change caused Lingyue's pupils to shrink sharply. Without hesitation, she bit her tongue and spat a mouthful of blood into the air.

Warm blood droplets floated in the light, transforming into tiny runes that resonated with the power of the fragments.

A net of runes enveloped her, and the shadowy figure roared angrily. Its body began to turn transparent, its outline twisting and deforming: "Foolish! You think blood can break the seal?"

But Lingyue's counterattack had already worked; the light from the spacetime compass transformed into a pillar of light that shot straight up to the dome, tearing a rift in the void.

A faint aura emanated from the crack—it was Li Zhao! Although it was mixed with heavy dark power, the faint aura of light within it was like a firefly seen in the abyss, confirming to Lingyue that he had not completely succumbed.

"Li Zhao! I'm here!" Lingyue shouted towards the crack, channeling the last of her power into it.

Suddenly, a giant hand covered in scales emerged from the crack, with evil patterns flowing between the dark purple scales—it was the arm of the man in the black robe!

A giant hand gripped her shoulder, its sharp nails digging into her flesh, the immense force making it almost impossible for her to breathe.

The shadowy figure seized the opportunity to snatch the fragment from her hand, and the seven giant wolves surrounded her, their hot, pungent breath spraying onto her face, their fangs almost crushing her skull.

At the critical moment, a roar came from the crack, the sound wave shaking the entire hall.

A black and white energy wave surged forth, like a torrent that split the heavens and the earth.

Li Zhao's figure burst out from the crack, his black robe fluttering in the energy storm, the gem at the top of his scepter shimmering with unprecedented light, half radiating a holy white light, and the other half surging with a deep black light.

"Let her go!" Li Zhao's voice contained two completely different tones, a bright and clear tone colliding fiercely with a dark and deep tone, as if two souls were shouting in the same body.

He waved his scepter, and a black barrier rose from the ground, blocking the giant wolf's attack. At the same time, he used his other hand to release the power of light, which severed the chains binding Lingyue like a sharp sword.

"You're still resisting?" The shadowy figure sneered as it tossed the fragments into the air. Under the pull of dark power, the seven fragments began to form a complex, evil array.

As the array was completed, a crack appeared in the ground, from which black mist surged forth.

"When the fragments are reassembled by the power of darkness, the entire spacetime will become our domain!"

The moment the array was completed, the hall began to collapse, the suspended fragments of spacetime shattered and turned into black particles that merged into the array, and the entire space resounded with a teeth-grinding, distorting sound.

Li Zhao shielded Ling Yue behind him. On the surface of his body, black and white patterns moved like living things, sometimes as bright as day, sometimes as dark as night.

"Lingyue, leave with the last hope."

His voice was weary yet resolute as he placed a faintly glowing fragment into her hand. It was a shard separated from the Time-Space Compass, its edges still warm from his touch. "This is Wenli's true seal fragment... Only you can..."

Before he could finish speaking, the shadowy figure manipulated the array to launch an attack, and a huge black beam of light descended from the sky, engulfing Li Zhao.

Within the beam of light, Li Zhao's figure overlapped with the outline of the black shadow, and the forces of black and white and darkness collided wildly, bursting forth with dazzling light.

Lingyue looked at the fragment in her hand, on which emerged Wenli's last memory: In ancient times, Wenli and her companions scattered their souls and powers throughout time and space in order to seal the dark will.

Li Zhao is the crucial "container," the only one capable of balancing light and darkness. But the dark will also covets this power, attempting to transform him into a tool of destruction. In the final moments of her memory, Wen Li's eyes are filled with sorrow and expectation: "Ling Yue, you are the key to breaking this deadlock..."

"I won't let you succeed!" Lingyue gripped the fragment tightly, preparing to launch her final counterattack.

The array suddenly burst forth with intense light, and the entire space began to twist into a spiral shape.

A powerful suction force pulled her in, and countless overlapping sounds rang in her ears: Li Zhao's shouts, Wen Li's sighs, and the maniacal laughter of the dark figure.

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself in an unfamiliar space and time—a ruin covered in ice and snow, with a huge black heart projection floating in the sky, each beat shaking down a shower of ice crystals.

In the center of the ruins stood a group of mysterious figures clad in silver armor. On their chests wore badges similar to those of the Seventh Shadow Guard, their eyes coldly fixed on her, their weapons slowly raised…