Her smile was still as bright as when they first met.
She was a cunning little rabbit, wanting to be liked, so she pretended to be obedient and deceived everyone.
But even these little schemes were inherently cute.
Even at this moment, it was still so.
She just smiled, as if saying 'I'm fine,' but that forced strength and exhaustion, that almost sickly gaze... how could she be fine?
She moved her hand away, obediently silent, even her breathing seemed to stop, like a dead thing.
Yun Ming leaned in, pressing the girl's small hand to his face; he couldn't bear to watch any longer—
"Don't be afraid, Nicole. Do whatever you want to do."
"How about I take you to kill through the entire Void, then we go back so I can bathe you and dress you up beautifully?"
"The Dean told me you love to primp and preen the most~"
As he spoke, the girl bit her lip and choked up again, her smile collapsing... tears streamed down like a flood.
"When the time comes, you'll have many Senior Sisters and Senior Brothers. They are cultivators as powerful as I am, and then you won't have to be afraid anymore..."
"Yun Kui Mountain also has many powerful arcane arts."
"Even if they're not used for fighting, they can be used for divination and healing, and the little trinkets made can also be sold for money; it's a lot of fun..."
Yun Ming rambled on, the secondary Void that others feared posed no threat to him, but how to face the girl?
It made him feel a bit lost.
Every word he spoke made Nicole cry louder.
It seemed he truly had no talent for coaxing children... He simply stopped talking, took a deep breath, and his source energy radiated outwards, his entire aura becoming sharp.
Damn it!
I'm not done with this damned Void... He couldn't act out a tragic scene at all; he was a wooden block, a Fool (idiot) who couldn't speak, he only knew how to wield his sword.
Then he would do it his way.
"You want revenge, right?"
The young man's eyes were like rainbows, filled with killing intent.
But this killing intent not only didn't scare Nicole, it actually invigorated her heart, which had been overly sad!
"Yes!"
"Good, then I'll take you to kill!!!"
The Qing Ming Sword immediately exuded a towering aura.
The young man stepped into the air, gradually looking down upon everything in the Void. The innate phenomenon of Yin and Yang co-arising faintly appeared.
The Heaven and Earth Millstone seemed to possess the power of rules, making the originally chaotic Void space gradually become orderly. All living beings within a ten-mile radius felt it.
That aura also intimidated the weaker Aetheric Undead, making them dare not approach, scattering and fleeing, but not a single one of them could escape.
Within the Two Poles, the demonic blade was filled with a chilling murderous aura.
Slices of blade light, like flying feathers, split the monsters in two, instantly turning them into colorful bubbles.
The Qing Ming Sword, like a feather robe, spread its light outwards, strips of azure light extending, instantly killing anything they touched. The Aetheric Undead transformed into aether, returning to the Heaven and Earth Millstone.
There was only one way to suppress the Void—
Kill!
Kill all the Aetheric Undead inside.
The Void's activity would decrease as the Aetheric Undead diminished. If its connection with the Mother Void weakened and its activity was too low, it would naturally recede.
Yun Ming, at this moment, disregarded his consumption and fully unleashed the power of the Condensed Form Realm. Within the Void, there was an inexhaustible supply of aether.
As long as his source energy protected his body and his spirit wasn't exhausted,
he alone could suppress this small Void, which was only a few tens of miles in radius. He had promised to kill.
Naturally, he had to let the little girl watch this Void be annihilated, to tell her that the so-called Void was nothing more than this.
Even though Yun Ming was also entering the Void for the first time.
On the surface, amidst the ruins and roads blocked with cars, several teams were systematically carrying out rescue work.
They were wearing anti-aether erosion suits and carrying precise instruments when a voice suddenly spoke.
"Detecting abnormal aether activity ahead, Captain!"
"Shut up, I can see it without you telling me. Look up at the sky..."
The Public Security Bureau rescue team was still organizing its operations. When the detector discovered this aura, everyone's hearts tightened.
They had just encountered a special, high-risk Aetheric Undead.
They had requested support from HAND (Special Operations Department for Voids), but support took time.
So only the captain and Senior Qingyi could stall for time. If they encountered an even stronger Aetheric Undead now,
then forget about rescue, it would be hard to say if they could even retreat alive today. But the figure in the sky was undoubtedly human.
Had HAND's support arrived?
But it was an unfamiliar young man. In their impression, there was no such person among HAND's executives.
A team member aimed equipment at the figure, the lens constantly zooming in, and facial recognition quickly brought up identity information.
[Yun Ming, Special Investigator, Level 3 Authority.]
[Affiliation: Yun Kui Mountain.]
[Remaining information is unauthorized for viewing.]
[Alert: Sky Eye system detected current environment, please maintain stable equipment, record entire battle.]
The captain swallowed. Level 3 authority meant that no one could command him except the mayor; in principle, he was not subject to Defense Force conscription.
Although the Hollow Investigation Association and the Defense Force belonged to two different systems, the investigator's authority was the lowest.
Generally, an investigator of the same rank meeting a public security officer, HAND executive, or Defense Force officer would be subject to their command.
But a Special Investigator was different.
Level 3 authority meant that across all systems, he was equivalent to a Defense Force Major General, or a section chief under the Anti-Void Department.
"Captain, should we go help?"
The captain's face twitched, and he punched his subordinate on the head, pointing at the figure in the sky.
"Do you think we're needed?"
Floating in mid-air, this time they had truly encountered a legendary big shot. Everyone would probably have to sign a non-disclosure agreement this time.
"Captain, he's flying towards Senior Qingyi and them. Should I, I, I, should I follow with the equipment and film?"
"Film, film my ass."
"But the instrument says to film..."
"Is your life more important, or is this damn video more important? You should save two more people in that time. You listen up, kid... This kind of filming involves big shots, don't get involved!"
...The rescue continued.
But that wasn't Yun Ming's concern. For him, killing all the Aetheric Undead was the best protection for the survivors.
Night fell, but it didn't affect the young man's actions. The Aetheric Undead that Nomi had become glowed with immense light.
With a hint of struggling consciousness, and that wisp of his spiritual energy... for him, the location was clear enough.
"We're going to see Nomi."
"..."
He left enough time for the girl to prepare, but the girl seemed no longer afraid, grasping Yun Ming's sword-wielding hand.
She was very firm.
"Yes, please, Big Brother, release Sister Nomi..."
With that, the two fell into silence again.
Yun Ming gently rubbed Nicole's head. The girl's eyes were much clearer now, and she didn't seem sad.
Or perhaps she had buried her sadness.
He wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing, but just as the girl said, the most important thing now—
was to give Nomi release.
And on the ground, the Aetheric Undead with long, disheveled hair was four or five meters tall, holding a sword that bore some resemblance to Yun Ming's.
But the sword was connected to her body, densely covered with strange patterns, and yellowish-green glowing liquid flowed through it.
Like blood.
Was this her last obsession? Form is born from the heart; this was not just a saying but truly applied to Aetheric Undead transformed from humans.
She roared to the sky, momentarily abandoning the public security officers in front of her who were almost unable to resist.
Their eyes met.
Kill—