Mo Shiyun looked down at Gabriel with deep, smug satisfaction. Behind her mask carved from pale bone, her dark eyes curved into a thin, mocking crescent. She carried herself with the untouchable arrogance of an old predator that had watched its prey walk straight into a perfect, centuries old cage.

To her, the "White Phantom" was nothing more than a useful tool, a strong, clueless fool who had blindly cleared the last thing in her way. The mini giant guardian, which had kept her sect locked away from the core of the spike for generations, was now nothing but a fading pile of silver dust around Gabriel’s boots. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"You really did quite a wonderful job, White Phantom," Mo Shiyun said, her rough, leaf scraping voice dripping with polite amusement as the seven black iron nails floated lazily behind her back. "We didn’t even have to lift a finger."

She raised her hand slightly, her black sleeves rustling in the stale draft. "Now, step aside. The spike is ours, and your purpose is done."

Gabriel stood perfectly still in the center of the ruined chamber. His hand rested loosely on the handle of his sheathed Dragon Fang dual blades, his wet coat fluttering softly in the heavy, buzzing wind.

For a long, tense second, he did not speak, nor did he move to draw his weapons.

But then, the first wave of shock that had briefly cracked his cold exterior vanished. It didn’t fade slowly; it was snuffed out right away, replaced by his usual cold blooded calm.

Gabriel slowly tilted his masked head, and a low, flat chuckle slipped from his lips, a sound completely empty of fear, carrying an icy, mocking tone that cut through the heavy silence of the room.

Mo Shiyun’s hand paused in midair. Her dark eyes narrowed slightly behind her bone mask, her smug amusement flickering for a split second.

Gabriel’s chuckle died down, and his calm, flat voice rang out clearly:

"You speak with a lot of pride for someone who died hundreds of years ago..."

He paused, his blue eyes flashing with a cold, sharp light behind his visor.

"...isn’t that right, Mo Shiyun?"

The words fell like a physical weight slamming into the room.

In an instant, the polite, smug calm around the ancient leader completely broke.

Mo Shiyun froze. Her posture stiffened, her spine going rigid as her breathing stopped entirely behind her pale bone mask. The seven black iron nails floating behind her back suddenly stopped their lazy, circular motion, shaking slightly in the air before dropping several inches as her focus slipped.

How?

The silent, screaming question practically poured from her body. Her eyes went wide, her pupils shrinking into pinpricks as she stared at the masked man in front of her.

No one in this modern age should know her name. Her life, her history, and her very identity had been carefully wiped out by the high ranking elders of the Martial Palace and the Emperor of Tianlan after the ancient wars. To the world, she was a nameless ghost, a long forgotten legend of a dark age.

Yet this otherworlder had just spoken her true, forbidden name as if it were common knowledge.

Behind Gabriel, the reaction was no less shattering.

Liang, whose face was still pressed against the blood covered stone floor, let out a choked, rattling gasp. His eyes bulged, his jaw dropping in pure, raw terror as his broken body shivered.

"Mo... Mo Shiyun...?" Liang stammered, his voice cracking hard, sounding like a dying man trying to scream. "The... the ancient leader of the forbidden Demonic Sect? The one who nearly turned the entire Northern Continent into a blood altar."

Beside him, Evelyn’s face went completely white, her hands shaking so hard she could barely hold on to Liang’s shoulders.

"She’s... she’s still alive...?" Evelyn whispered, her voice filled with dread. "That’s impossible... she was said to have been killed... how can she be here?!"

The weight of Mo Shiyun’s name instantly raised the stakes of the chamber to a legendary, terrifying level. The surviving disciples of the Martial Palace began to shake, the understanding that they were standing in front of an ancient, godlike monster of slaughter crushing whatever tiny shred of hope they had left.

Some of them unconsciously tried to crawl backward despite their injuries. Others lowered their heads, afraid that even meeting her gaze might draw the attention of the ancient monster.

Mo Shiyun slowly lowered her raised hand, her rough voice turning very thin, cold, and dripping with venom.

"Who are you?" she whispered, the dark purple Demonic Qi around her body starting to spark and ripple wildly, cracking the stone beneath her leather boots. "How do you know that name?"

"I know many things," Gabriel replied, his tone perfectly flat and unbothered, completely unshaken by her rising pressure. "I know how your sect tried to twist the spike with the blood of the Vermilion Sprout centuries ago. I know how the spike’s Purge setting turned your power to ash. And I know you are nothing but a leftover ghost clinging to a broken body."

Mo Shiyun’s eyes burned with a murderous, purple light. The secret she had kept hidden for hundreds of years, the details of her failed break in and her physical state, had just been casually laid out in the open by a masked stranger.

"It seems you know too much," Mo Shiyun hissed, her bones cracking as she breathed out. "Disciples, kill the survivors. Capture the Phantom alive. I will peel the skin off his face and eat his memories piece by piece until I find out who sent him."

Gabriel simply stared at her. Then, to everyone’s confusion, he slowly raised a hand and pointed toward the massive doors ahead that led to the final chambers where the spike was.

"You should be more worried about what’s waking up inside that thing."

...

Thanks to all those who support God Tier Extraction Talent with their valuable Golden Tickets and Power Stones, even though my update rate is extremely unsteady. You guys are amazing. I really appreciate it! The next Chapter will be out soon! Stay tuned.