A magical journey of a sharp-tongued woman and a goofy man

Ye Shuli's tiger's mouth was numbed by the phoenix blood, and the seven cinnabar runes emitted a sharp buzzing sound on the surface of the light gate.

Jiang Ye's prosthetic eye popped up five red warning boxes in succession, and the magnetic storm particles at the edge of his tactical cloak were uncontrollably condensing into spheres.

"The residual energy fluctuations of the Xuan Tie chains perfectly match the frequency of that madwoman's moves yesterday." Jiang Ye wiped the bloodstains from his lips, and a string of tiny arcs of electricity appeared as his tactical glove brushed against his chin.

Suddenly, a distorted portal in the distance spewed out purplish-black mist, and the suspended crystals within thirty meters instantly turned grayish-white.

Ye Shuli flicked off the charred cuff and pulled out three Ice Soul Nails from her tactical belt.

The ice crystals that burst when the nail tip touched the mist formed a temporary barrier, giving her two seconds to observe: "The residual energy contains the Soul-Chasing Incense of Xuan Yin Pavilion—someone used our dismantling method to activate the trap in reverse."

Jiang Ye suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her back quickly, the positioning laser emitted by the mechanical eye drawing intersecting red lines in the void.

The spot where they had been standing suddenly split open with a spiderweb-like spatial rift, and twelve black iron chains with barbs burst forth from the air, the faint afterimages of purple cloud tattoos visible at the ends of the chains.

"The defense system of the Void Organization's forbidden area has been tampered with." Ye Shuli slammed the Ice Soul Nail into the ground with her backhand, and the speed at which the cold air spread along the chains was three times slower than expected.

As the third chain brushed past her ear, she suddenly felt Jiang Ye's hand cover the back of her neck—the warmth of his body, imbued with the energy of the black crystal, dispelled the chill of the Soul-Chasing Incense.

Jiang Ye's tactical cloak billowed during the violent movement, revealing a hexagonal prism-shaped energy storage device at his waist.

As the seventh chain grazed his collarbone, it suddenly ripped open the energy storage device's safety latch: "Hold on tight!"

Ye Shuli crashed into his arms 0.3 seconds before the energy explosion.

The opposing energy generated by the black crystal and the ice nail exploded into a spherical shockwave, shattering all the chains within a twenty-meter radius into dust.

In the aftershocks of the explosion, she could clearly hear Jiang Ye's rapid heartbeat and the crisp sound of the metal buckles of his tactical belt colliding with each other.

"To find out the source of the energy anomaly, we must venture into the forbidden void again." Ye Shuli wiped the frost from her eyelashes and noticed that Jiang Ye's mechanical prosthetic eye was flashing at a high frequency—a habitual reaction he made while enduring pain.

Jiang Ye suddenly wrapped his injured hand around her fingers, the nanofibers of his tactical glove slowly repairing the damage: "This time, we need to triple the trigger threshold of the defense system." He ripped open the magnetic storm particle generator at his collar, and the remaining energy formed the prototype of a temporary teleportation array beneath their feet.

When the Void Organization's bronze giant gate appeared in the blue light of the teleportation array, Ye Shuli noticed that the Xuan Bird totem on the door ring was missing two tail feathers.

The blast marks left from the last explosion were covered by some kind of black gelatinous substance, and faint purple cloud-like veins floated beneath the gelatinous layer.

"The test has been upgraded." As the Void Leader's voice seeped through the crack in the door, the twelve bronze lamps simultaneously lit up with eerie green flames.

The figure wearing the black iron mask hovered three inches off the ground, with liquid metal-like substances flowing from the hem of the black robe.

Jiang Ye's mechanical eye automatically activated spectral analysis mode: "The concentration of active particles in the Void Storm Elf exceeds the standard by twenty times." As he spoke, the energy storage device in his tactical cloak issued an overload alarm, but he still used his body to block half of the green light from the bronze lamps shining on Ye Shuli.

The Void Leader's metal mask reflected distorted light spots: "Seventy-two hours, the eye of the storm." The black robe suddenly unfolded into a five-meter diameter circular shield, with a rotating star map projection appearing on its surface. "If you can return with a complete soul, I will tell you the truth about the Xuan Iron Chains."

Ye Shuli pressed down on Jiang Ye's hand, which was about to activate the defense array, and her fingernails drew three silver marks on the control screen on his wristband: "Deal." She flicked out the magnetic storm button hidden in her sleeve. The button exploded with an interfering magnetic field the moment it was attached to the bronze door knocker—this was a hidden stake she had secretly hidden when she left last time.

As the roar of the void storm pierced his eardrums, Jiang Ye had already adjusted the energy ratio of his tactical cloak.

The two landed back to back on a cliff covered with crystal clusters, with turbulent blue-purple energy currents churning in the abyss below.

Three translucent storm sprites emerged from the rock crevices, their wings, which spanned over two meters, covered with serrated light blades.

"There's an energy depression at a 30-degree angle to the northeast." Ye Shuli flung seven Ice Soul Nails into a Big Dipper formation, the bursts of cold air from the nail tips forming a temporary shelter.

She stepped back and stepped into the magnetic storm trap that Jiang Ye had placed beforehand. The reaction force pushed her into the air, just in time to avoid the sweeping attack of the elf's wings.

Jiang Ye's mechanical eye locked onto the core light spot of the Pokémon: "Three-second switch!" He pulled open his tactical belt and popped out the grappling hook. The moment the grappling hook pierced the rock wall, he activated electromagnetic acceleration.

When the storm sprite chased after it, it crashed into the chain of detonators he had set up, and the shockwave from the explosion leveled the nearest crystal cluster by half a meter.

Ye Shuli threw out the Magnetic Storm Button during her third aerial flip.

The button adhered to the base of the elf's wings, disrupting the energy flow.

She took the opportunity to smear phoenix blood on the surface of the Ice Soul Nail, which triggered a double explosion of ice and fire the moment it was driven into the core of the elf.

Light fragments rained down, refracting into rainbow-like spots on Jiang Ye's tactical lenses.

“The energy fluctuations in the southwest are abnormal.” Jiang Ye suddenly pressed the communicator in his left ear. The sensor fibers of his tactical glove were vibrating at a high frequency. “There is an electromagnetic vortex that is not naturally formed.”

Ye Shuli wiped away the crystallized blood bead on her forehead and discovered that the storm sprites, which should have been moving randomly, were approaching in an encircling formation.

She kicked aside the half-melted crystal cluster at her feet, revealing a faintly glowing metal fragment underneath—the remnant of a sealing cap for Xuan Yin Pavilion's specially made gunpowder.

The moment their eyes met, Jiang Ye's prosthetic eye suddenly displayed a purple warning box he had never seen before.

Ye Shuli's Phoenix Blood Sensor vibrated wildly in her sleeve, pointing to a recessed hole below the cliff that was deliberately concealed by crystal clusters.

Ye Shuli crushed the gunpowder residue under the crystal cluster with the tip of her boot, and the phoenix blood condensed into a fine needle at her fingertips.

As the sixth Storm Sprite swooped down, she deliberately exposed an opening on her left side, causing the Ice Spike to seemingly frantically miss by thirty centimeters.

The sudden illumination of the ground with purple cloud patterns confirmed her guess—someone had buried the Xuan Yin Pavilion's Soul-Capturing Array in the Crystal Cluster Forest.

"The seventh crystal pillar in the southeast corner." She typed Morse code on Jiang Ye's tactical glasses while rolling over.

Jiang Ye's hook suddenly changed direction, and the severed crystal pillar revealed the array eye stone that was gleaming with a ghostly light.

The two simultaneously channeled their energy into the blast point, and the rebound energy from the Soul-Seizing Array accurately struck the purple-clad figure spying from a hundred meters away.

The scream of the female cultivator from the Void Organization pierced the storm.

She fell from stealth mode, clutching her burned right arm; the Xuan Yin Pavilion token hanging at her waist was still smoking.

Ye Shuli flicked out a magnetic storm button that stuck to her skirt, and the explosive blast knocked her over into a pile of electrified crystal dust: "Thank you for the gift of the improved array diagram."

Jiang Ye's prosthetic eye suddenly emitted a blinding red light.

Spiderweb-like cracks appeared in the dome above their heads, and twelve mutated storm sprites, accompanied by black lightning, poured down.

Ye Shuli's tactical belt alarm showed that her spiritual energy reserves were down to only 13%. She then thrust the last three Ice Soul Nails into Jiang Ye's energy storage device: "Robbing Peter to pay Paul?"

“The east wall is a load-bearing wall.” Jiang Ye pulled open his tactical cloak to reveal the spare energy box on his back. As the black crystal energy flowed through his wound, it brought up fine beads of blood.

When the third wave of lightning struck his left shoulder, Ye Shuli noticed a layer of frost on the inside of his tactical lens—overload had caused his prosthetic eye to begin to freeze.

Ye Shuli suddenly grabbed Jiang Ye's tactical glove that had been electrocuted.

Phoenix blood circulated along the clasped palms of the two, and ice and fire energies exploded in the meridians, opening up new pathways.

When the seventeenth mutated elf pounced, the ice and fire lotus flowers that exploded around her completely devoured the black lightning.

"Ice Soul as bones, Phoenix Fire as veins..." She leaped into the air, stepping on the collapsing crystals, the energy trails left on her skirt forming an ancient rune array.

Jiang Ye's energy storage device issued an overload alarm, but she still injected the last 30% of the energy into the teleportation array beneath her feet.

When the mutated elves launched their all-out attack, the ice and fire lotus that bloomed from Ye Shuli's fingertips instantly drained the energy turbulence within a radius of 100 meters.

The howling of the void storm abruptly ceased.

Jiang Ye slumped in the pile of crystal powder, fragments of his tactical cloak hanging from the smoking energy storage device: "Should this move be called... Ice and Fire Pineapple Bun?" He slapped his bloodied hand on the collapsed crystal pillar, shaking off shimmering fragments.

When the bronze gate reappeared, the Void Leader's liquid metal black robe rippled with strange patterns.

He waved his hand, shattering the twelve listening talismans that Ye Shuli had secretly placed: "The keyhole needs sharper teeth." These words disappeared into the roar as space distorted, leaving only three claw marks on the black bird totem on the door knocker.

The female cultivator in purple robes crawled out of the pile of crystal powder, the Soul-Capturing Silk wrapped around her hair snapping in a rustling sound.

Her venomous gaze swept over the phoenix blood mark on the back of Ye Shuli's neck, then she suddenly bared her bloodstained teeth at Jiang Ye: "How about you be the bait next time?"

Ye Shuli kicked away the mutated elf remnant that had rolled to her feet, and the surface of the remnant reflected the cracks in Jiang Ye's tactical lenses.

As the teleportation array glowed blue, she suddenly pressed down on Jiang Ye's bleeding collarbone: "It's time to repair the Xuan Bird's tail feathers."

Suddenly, the turbulent energy flow at the bottom of the abyss surged upwards, engulfing the purple-clad female cultivator's unfinished curse.

The Void Leader's bronze lamps went out one by one a hundred meters in the air, and in the last wisp of eerie green flame, a shadow shaped like half a key flickered faintly.