Watching Zander give up his life for a momentary increase in power, Elder Sandra had the urge to step in and stop the fight. Mira had basically won at this point. Zander was going to die after this battle; that was a fact.
However, she immediately decided against doing anything. Just like she said before the battle started, she wasn't going to intervene even if Mira was going to die.
It's not like Mira's death was guaranteed, either. All Mira has to do is survive, and Zander will eventually die. Still, Elder Sandra felt that it was a pity that Mira would most likely die here today.
'If things look terrible and she's really about to die, I'll step in. I can't just let such a talented disciple perish because some idiot decided to kill himself for power.' Elder Sandra said inwardly, preparing to intervene at a moment's notice.
On the other hand, Mira couldn't help but release a wry smile.
'It seems I underestimated this bastard's resolve to kill me. Or maybe this is my punishment for not killing him when he first attacked me? I guess it doesn't really matter. One of us has to die here today, and it sure as hell isn't going to be me.' Mira shrugged.
'But do you really think I'll just sit idly by, watching you power up?'
Now that Zander was using his lifespan to increase his strength rapidly, Mira couldn't just sit and do nothing.
To be honest, even Mira was uncertain if she could kill him without using her black tail, which is something she'd like to avoid. Losing another 10% of her lifespan didn't sound all that appealing. She was also unsure if she'd ever regain her lost lifespan.
In fact, she wasn't entirely sure that this lifespan would return even if she broke through to the Nascent Soul Realm!
If it were a permanent loss of lifespan, even across cultivation realms, then she'd be better off going about life as if she only had eight tails!
'Fortunately, I'm not completely helpless in this situation. You're even kind enough to give me time to prepare.' Mira thought with an excited smile.
"Elder Sandra, I'm about to do something rather… dangerous. If you're not careful, even you might be in danger." Mira said with sincerity.
"Hmph! Brat, do you seriously think you can injure me with your measly power? But… if you really are capable of such a feat, I'll give you something nice." Elder Sandra snorted but was excited nonetheless.
Mira was much stronger than she had originally thought and proved herself as an incredible talent! Thus, when Mira said she was going to do something that might injure her, she couldn't help but become exhilarated.
However, Mira was seriously underestimating the power of someone in the Mortal Shedding Realm. Not only that, but she was someone who could fight beings at a higher stage! If a Core Formation Realm kid could injure her, she wouldn't be worthy of being an Elder of the Battle Maiden Sect!
'Show me what you got, kid!'
Mira's closed her eyes, reaching to the deepest parts of herself until she touched upon her Absolute Ice Dao. While enigmatic and ethereal, one's Dao is a fundamental part of one's existence. Touching upon this mysterious power is the same as touching the core of your being.
Thus, when Mira connected with her Absolute Ice Dao, her atmosphere and aura instantly changed!
The once partially seductive, indifferent, and murderous Mira was gone and replaced by a cold, condescending, emotionless aura.
An ice crown with six different colored gems manifested above Mira's head, and as soon as she was crowned, an icy aura filled the entire room!
*Swoosh!*
The surrounding walls, floor, and ceiling started to ice over, but that wasn't all. The surrounding air and Qi were beginning to crystallize into ice as well! All of which fell under Mira's rule!
Mira could hardly believe the amount of power that was currently at her fingertips! The last time she used this ability was back in the Secret Realm to capture an Ice Elemental Essence, and she didn't feel nearly as powerful back then as she does now.
With a wave of her hand, a throne of ice appeared behind her.
Sitting on the throne, Mira clenched her hand, and all of Zander's threads, which were covered in ice, exploded!
She turned her attention back to Zander, who had also finished powering up, and said, "Let's finish this, shall we?"
Zander didn't seem to hear Mira's words as he shook off the ice growing on him and launched toward Mira.
If any other person at the Core Formation Realm were in Mira's position, Zander's movements would've been so fast that he would have disappeared in their eyes, but Mira was different. Her perception was enhanced, and she had nearly the entire room under her control.
Mira waved her hand, and numerous ice hooks tied to chains came flying out of walls, penetrating Zander's body!
"RRROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAARRRR!" He roared like a wild beast, trying to destroy the hooks, which took a few hits even with his power. However, every time he destroyed one, another would take its place, causing his charge to come to a halt.
Meanwhile, Mira formed a massive ice spear above her head to take down Zander once and for all. Once she almost completed the ice spear, Mira activated her icy-blue tail, increasing her affinity by 400% for the next 5 seconds.
Finally, Mira unleashed all her killing intent to fulfill her promise to Elder Sandra!
*OOOOHHHMMM*
A bloody aura thick enough to touch filled the entire room and even threatened to spill out of Elder Sandra's house and onto the rest of the mountain!
The aura then transformed into what looked like a battlefield, but this was no ordinary battlefield. Even the most horrific wars in this Mortal World's history could hardly compare to the scene in front of them.
Rivers of blood, mountains of mangled corpses, even the earth had turned red due to all the blood! No, if one were to look closely, the ground wasn't made of dirt and stone but more bodies, which had been ground down into a powder by the blood and bodies above them.
Atop the tallest corpse mountain sat a beautiful fox woman with crimson eyes on an ice throne, who looked down, indifferent to all the bloodshed.
Zander, witnessing this scene, felt a primal fear build up deep within his heart. Back then, when Mira had pressured him with the brunt of her killing intent, he had already partially lost his mind due to fear, causing a heart demon to appear.
However, this time it was much worse! It was like the weight of Mira's sins were placed onto his body and soul, completely shattering his will to live. Even the heart demon controlling him had difficulty fighting off the fear he felt within his soul.
Elder Sandra stood by the side, frozen at what appeared before her. Part of her was frightened, but she's someone who has lived for many millennia and has gone through all sorts of hardships. Something of this level wasn't enough to shake her mind or spirit.
Rather than being frightened by Mira's killing intent, she was more afraid of her as a person.
'Did I just accidently allow a bloodthirsty demon to enter our Sect? Someone capable of killing this many people and living life like usual is definitely insane and inhumane! There's got to be billions of bodies here, and even then, I feel like that's an understatement!' Such thoughts crossed Elder Sandra's mind as she couldn't comprehend how someone could even kill that many beings!
If someone were slaughtering billions of beings on the Western Continent, that person would be hunted down and killed by every major and minor power on the continent! So, then, how could someone as weak and young as Mira kill so many people without anyone noticing? Elder Sandra didn't understand.
Suddenly, she heard Mira's slightly hoarse yet demonically charming voice from atop the corpse mountain. She looked up and saw her lazily pointing at Zander.
"Die knowing you are just another number, another body, added to the mountain of corpses beneath my feet. Your life was insignificant, and your death even more so. However, you can take solace in the fact that at least your death will be a stepping stone for my growth." Mira waved her hand, launching the ice spear.
"Now, begone."
Mira's voice fell as the ice spear penetrated Zander's body, destroying everything from the chest down.
Mira calmly watched as the man tried screaming out in pain and rage but couldn't because he had lost 90% of his body.
Mira waited until the life in his eyes eventually disappeared, then canceled and retracted all her abilities, returning the room to normal.
Mira turned her attention to Elder Sandra as a heavy silence formed between the two, but Mira just lightly smiled, sending a shiver down the elder's spine.
"It seems I wasn't able to injure you, huh? What a shame."
