The person was chanting a curse, but their hands were wielding the black magic.

The shadow tide blends seamlessly with the entire underground structure, seemingly without end.

The surging shadows spread along the corridor, climbed the walls, seeped into every crack, and filled every corner.

This artificial darkness is woven together with the darkness of magic, becoming indistinguishable from one another.

In a secluded village far from the reach of Lu Suo, a small figure sneaked out and pulled off the oxygen tank covering his face.

After confirming that she hadn't been discovered, Lu Ziyun quickened her pace and began to plunge deeper into the darkness.

In such a fierce battlefield, Lu Ziyun's decision to escape was certainly not a rash or impulsive one.

With her small, shuffling feet, Lu Ziyun's figure lingered in the narrow passage.

"Damn you, Mustard Seed! Give me back my body!"

Lu Ziyun muttered a curse under her breath.

Although he has accepted the fact that he has become smaller, it doesn't mean he likes the feeling.

He took over Fukuro's original plan.

Now, it's up to him to find the sorcerer who manipulates time.

"electricity!"

As for why Lu Ziyun was chosen, it's because the lightning attribute is more suitable for exploring the situation in this underground space.

The electric light, like a candle, illuminated the dim underground space.

Lu Ziyun held her staff horizontally in front of her, probing whether Lu Suo had planted any spies in this pure black space.

Carefully capturing every subtle sound: the dripping of water, the sound of the wind, the muffled thud of colliding territories in the distance, and... a kind of breathing that doesn't belong to humans.

With a sweep of the stun gun, a grotesque creature instantly emerged.

The thing swooped down from the shadows of the ceiling, its compound eyes reflecting an eerie light in the flash of electricity.

It hissed and lunged at Lu Ziyun with bared teeth and claws.

"As expected, they used spirit manipulation techniques to place guards!"

The movement—a sidestep, a sliding step, and a flick of the stick tip—is executed in one fluid motion.

The tip of the stick, however, avoided the cursed spirit's vital points and instead pierced its torso.

They spared no effort in releasing a massive amount of electrical charge that consumed even more of their magical power, just to electrocute the spirit until it fell into a coma.

"Otherwise, it'll reveal our location!"

Lu Ziyun gritted her teeth, feeling the curse power rapidly being consumed within her body.

"Let's try to deal with it by stunning them with electricity."

The sorcerer continued his journey methodically, stepping carefully in pre-scouted locations to avoid triggering any potential traps.

But what he didn't know was that the electric light that illuminated him was now becoming an exposure point aimed at him from the shadows!

"Ice Freezing Spell!"

A cold, sharp voice shattered the unchanging silence on the ground.

A massive ice spike shot out from the shadows with a sharp whistling sound, heading straight for the source of the lightning.

The attack that emerged from the shadows gave Lu Ziyun little time to react. She managed to twist her body at the last second, but was still slashed by the cold cone.

"We cannot allow you vile beings to interrupt Lord Sukuna's resurrection!"

"That was aimed at the head, he should be dead now."

Rimei emerged coldly from the shadows, surveying the space that had returned to silence.

As soon as Lu Ziyun fell, the lightning in her hand naturally dissipated, and Li Mei could only grope her way forward in the dark, trying to confirm the aura of the newcomer.

However, even faster than Rimei's approach was Lu Ziyun's lightning fist!

"How come you're not dead!"

In a moment of haste, Rime raised his arm to block, and his hand bones creaked as they made contact with Lei Quan's fist, a piercing pain spreading up his arm.

"I never thought that turning into a child would bring such good fortune."

Lu Ziyun's voice carried a sense of relief at surviving a disaster. She shook her head, and the loose strands of hair fluttered in the electric light.

With a burst of electric light, Rimei finally saw Lu Ziyun's appearance clearly.

A few ice crystals remained among the loosened, scallion-green hair.

It seems that they misjudged Lu Ziyun's actual height, and instead of aiming for the head to pierce, they accidentally hit her hair.

It only reduced the fawn to a disheveled state, without causing any real damage.

"Ha, aren't you ashamed to live with that kind of face?"

Li Mei spoke sarcastically, his gaze sweeping over Lu Ziyun's shrunken body, a mocking smile curving his lips.

"You effeminate man, how dare you talk about me like that?"

Lu Ziyun rejected the rebuttal without hesitation, his small face filled with disdain.

"I still have a chance to change back, but you don't."

Lu Ziyun paused, her gaze becoming serious.

"Although I really want to fight Sukuna again, ... for the sake of my brother, I must stop your plan."

Xiaolu forcefully suppressed her battle-crazed personality, determined to prioritize ensuring the mission's success in preparing for this battle against Shimotome.

He couldn't be held up here; the Mirror was just ahead, and he had to find the time-manipulating sorcerer as soon as possible.

"Come!"

Lu Ziyun took a step forward and leaped out, her body like an arrow released from a bow, heading straight for Li Mei, trying to force Li Mei into close combat.

He knew he wouldn't have the upper hand in a long-range firefight.

However, the thrusting figure almost pierced the straight, upright icicle.

Like sharp teeth growing from the ground, they appeared silently in the deer's path, their sharp tips gleaming coldly in the flash of electricity.

"electricity!"

Lu Ziyun forcibly applied an electric charge to her feet, and a piercing friction sound erupted between the soles of her shoes and the ground.

It left two smoky, charred marks on the ground before finally coming to a stop in front of the icicle.

He looked up and around, and that's when he realized...

The entire dark underground space had long been transformed by the frost wind into a trap filled with spikes.

The walls were covered with a thick layer of ice, the ground was covered with sharp icicles, and icicles hung upside down from the ceiling.

Like a giant maw woven from frost, waiting for its prey to enter on its own.

In the darkness, the fawn had no chance of winning.

"Increase the battery power!"

Lu Ziyun gritted her teeth, and even more lightning erupted from her body.

They tried to illuminate the entire space with a stronger light, dispel the ice spikes hidden in the darkness, and find a safe passage for themselves.

As the light spread, he saw a completely different figure hidden deep within the structure, in the gaps between the ice cones.

Is there a second person?

The fawn was both surprised and delighted.

Although it's more exciting to fight two at once.

But if he can't win, he won't be able to complete the task that Fukuro gave him.

A flash of lightning illuminated the figure, allowing Lu Ziyun to clearly see it.

It was a shriveled body, with skin clinging to the bones, like a mummy that had been dried for many years.

Those empty eyes, devoid of pupils, were staring straight ahead.

It was probably just a corpse that appeared by chance.

But the strange features once again drew the fawn's attention, making it risk being ambushed and observe again.

The traces of four eyes and the outlines of four arms are still clearly discernible even in their shriveled state.

All of this reveals who its original owner was.

[The Buddha in This Lifetime]

"It's not just the prison gates that are narrow."

"And Sukuna... is this your purpose?"

Lu Ziyun suddenly realized.

His gaze lingered on the mummified corpse for a few seconds, his mind racing, connecting all the clues together.

Why did Lu Suo want to seize the prison gate, Jiang Li? Why did he set up such a tight defense here? Why did he have Li Mei personally guard this place?

Rime's face instantly darkened when his secret was unexpectedly discovered. He didn't answer, but responded with his actions.

More frost surged from his palm, forming a thick ice wall that sealed off the space between Lu Ziyun and the Buddha in his physical body.

Is the Battle of the Continent about to usher in a second season?