Earth's Greatest Magus

Chapter 3076: Warrior Nun

A Supreme’s ability was profound enough to bend the laws of nature beyond ordinary comprehension. The thought that Ilyndra’s domain granted her the ability to see anything beneath the sun forced Emery to remain underground. He couldn’t risk facing her again, not until he’d recovered.

Even three thousand miles felt too close for comfort. It was safer to remain still than to move and risk drawing her attention again. So Emery stayed buried beneath the sand, completely unmoving, while Soltz continued onward alone using his own concealment technique beneath the desert.

Following Soltz would only expose Emery’s presence. He had no technique capable of matching Soltz’s ability to conceal himself beneath the sand, so the safest choice was to let the old Grand Magus travel ahead on his own. Once Soltz reached their destination, Emery could use his Waypoint to catch up.

To buy himself even more time, Emery sent out another wave of Khaos Shadow Clones, scattering them across distant stretches of desert. Each clone moved in a different direction, deliberately leaving behind false traces and forcing the infected Supreme to divide her attention.

Once he was certain she was far enough away, Emery began consuming the high-grade recovery pills he had prepared.

The battle had drained a significant portion of his spiritual and cosmic reserves, but that wasn’t the only problem. His body was still suffering from the backlash of creating the Undying True Clone. Only six months had passed since then, and Emery had already expected a full recovery to take at least another half a year. The prolonged battle against a Supreme had only made the lingering damage more apparent.

Warm medicinal energy spread through his body as the pills dissolved, slowly replenishing his depleted reserves and easing some of the strain on his damaged foundations.

Emery took a deep breath.

This mission had already proven to be every bit as dangerous as he had expected.

And he couldn’t help but wonder how many infected Supremes were wandering across Tartarus.

The thought made his expression turn serious.

He needed to be much more careful from here on.

Emery then turned inward, entering his own domain to finish what he’d started.

The captured infected woman remained inside his domain, still completely sedated.

Keeping a peak Two-Cosmos cultivator contained within his domain was no easy task. Even unconscious, her powerful body and lingering spiritual energy placed a constant strain on the surrounding space. If she woke up, the force of her cultivation alone could cause serious damage from within.

For that reason, Emery kept her consciousness firmly suppressed. It was safer for him, and more importantly, he couldn’t risk awakening whatever remained of the parasite inside her and accidentally alerting it to his location.

But dealing with her soul was far more difficult.

Her mental defenses had already reached the peak of the Sixth Pagoda. Emery had only managed to subdue her earlier because he had overwhelmed her through direct combat and forced her into submission. That was enough to restrain her body, but it didn’t mean he could easily break through her spiritual defenses.

Entering her soul and searching through what remained of her memories would be an entirely different battle.

Emery used Soul Walk to step directly into her sea of consciousness.

The moment he entered, the corrupted atmosphere pressed against him.

As expected, the woman’s inner world had been thoroughly tainted. What should have been a holy sanctum—the most sacred space of her soul—had instead become a twisted ruin. Dark purplish roots crawled across cracked golden statues, wrapping around their bodies like parasitic vines. The once-pristine pillars and walls were covered in layers of something that looked disturbingly like living flesh, slowly pulsing as though the entire structure were still breathing.

Emery moved deeper into the corrupted sanctum.

He didn’t get far before the defenses reacted.

Dozens of spectral warrior nuns emerged from the darkness, their forms glowing faintly as they raised their weapons and charged without hesitation. They had no expressions and showed no fear, attacking purely on instinct to protect the deeper chambers of their master’s consciousness.

The battle dragged on for quite some time.

Emery cut through one after another, each shattered construct dissolving into spiritual fragments before another took its place. The deeper he went, the stronger the defenses became, forcing him to spend considerable effort clearing a path.

Eventually, he reached the center of the woman’s sea of consciousness.

What he found there was barely recognizable as human.

The woman sat motionless in the center of the corrupted sanctum, still maintaining a lotus position, but her entire body had been swallowed by thick, purplish flesh. Tendrils covered her limbs and torso, merging with her body until it was impossible to tell where the parasite ended and her physical form began.

As Emery approached, the mass suddenly split open.

Dozens of blood-red eyes emerged from within the corrupted flesh, all turning toward him at exactly the same moment.

Then the mental assault struck.

A terrifying wave of spiritual power crashed toward Emery, carrying enough force to shake his entire consciousness.

His Seventh Pagoda ignited immediately.

Rainbow light erupted from the ancient structure, absorbing the brunt of the attack. Yet even the Seventh Pagoda began to tremble under the overwhelming pressure.

This was the power of the corruption. It amplified the mental assault, while the blood-red eyes seemed to gaze directly into the depths of Emery’s mind. Piercing, shrieking screams echoed through his consciousness, each one twisting his thoughts and shaking his soul.

Cracks of spiritual energy spread across the pagoda’s surface as the assault continued, threatening to break through.

Emery couldn’t afford to let it collapse.

Before the pagoda gave out, he summoned a projection of Excalibur, perfectly matching the true blade in both strength and intent.

His hand tightened around the spectral weapon.

Then he swung.

A golden slash tore through the corrupted flesh in a single devastating arc.

Emery continued slashing, his Excalibur projection cutting and piercing through the mass chunk by chunk. Each strike found another blood-red eye, slicing through it and destroying it completely.

Chunks of purplish flesh were sent flying before crumbling into spiritual dust, gradually revealing what had been hidden beneath the corruption.

The woman’s soul sat quietly at the center.

And for the first time, Emery could finally see what remained of her.

Beneath the corrupted flesh sat the woman’s soul.

Emery carefully reached toward it, using his spiritual energy to pry. Her soul was already on the verge of collapse, its form flickering weakly as cracks spread across it.

By the time she finally managed to open her eyes, her soul had already begun to disintegrate.

It was clear she had been infected for far too long. Whatever remained of her original self had been slowly consumed over the years, leaving nothing that Emery could truly save. There was no longer any path back from the brink.

Yet when her eyes finally focused on Emery, there was no hatred or fear in them.

Only relief.

A faint, exhausted smile appeared on her face.

She whispered, her voice barely more than a breath. "Thank you for releasing me from this nightmare."

The moment the words left her lips, her soul began to crumble.

Fine cracks spread across her body before her entire form broke apart, scattering into countless fragments of pale spiritual light. Within an instant, even those fragments faded, leaving behind nothing but drifting spiritual ash.