Chapter 245: The Second Heaven
"Three... two... one..." Li Yao’s voice echoed from somewhere within the lightning barrier, but the three Soul Formation experts couldn’t pinpoint her location. Their eyes darted frantically in every direction, trying to track her movement as she teleported around them at impossible speeds.
"Guess who I’ll attack first!" her playful voice called out, followed by that unsettling giggle that seemed to come from everywhere at once.
The three men spun in circles, their divine senses overwhelmed by the crackling energy surrounding them. They could barely make out brief flashes of her form before she vanished again, leaving only the sound of her laughter.
"You didn’t answer," Li Yao’s voice suddenly turned cold. "You fail."
Before any of them could react, she materialized directly in front of the first man, her small hand reaching out to gently grasp his wrist.
Then, with a sweet smile, she disappeared.
"AHHHHHHH!" The man’s agonized scream pierced the air as he collapsed to his knees, clutching his severed arm with his remaining hand. Where Li Yao had touched him, his entire arm was simply gone, leaving behind cauterized flesh crackling with residual lightning energy. The electricity continued to surge through his meridians, disrupting his qi circulation and sending waves of paralyzing pain throughout his body.
"That was a warning shot," Li Yao’s voice echoed around them, her tone suddenly serious and commanding. "In the second heaven, you do as the Thunder God says."
The playful giggling resumed almost immediately, flipping between emotions instantaneously.
From her position on the ground, Li Mei stared in horror at her cousin’s behavior. This sadistic creature couldn’t possibly be the same Li Yao she had grown up with. What had happened to her gentle cousin? When had she become this terrifying entity that played with her enemies like a cat toying with mice?
"New game!" Li Yao announced cheerfully. "It’s called ’Red Light, Green Light.’ When I say green light, you can move. When I say red light, you freeze. Anyone who moves during red light gets... punished."
The two remaining men looked at each other with horrified expressions, their companion still writhing in agony beside them.
"Green light!"
The men immediately scattered, trying to put distance between themselves and each other. But the barrier kept them trapped within the confined space.
"Red light!"
One of the men, panicked and unable to stop his momentum, took an extra step.
"Ooh, someone’s not following the rules," Li Yao tsked disapprovingly.
She appeared behind the rule-breaker, her hand gently pressing against his back. "Bad players need to be taught lessons."
Lightning erupted from her palm, not enough to kill, but enough to send him convulsing to the ground as electricity coursed through his nervous system. His muscles spasmed uncontrollably as he foamed at the mouth.
"Let’s try a different game," she said, clapping her hands together with delight. "How about ’Simon Says’? Simon says... kneel."
The last uninjured man, terrified beyond reason, immediately dropped to his knees.
"Good! Simon says... beg for your life."
"Please," he stammered, "we were just following orders. We didn’t know—"
"Simon didn’t say you could speak," Li Yao interrupted, her voice taking on that dangerous edge again.
She appeared in front of him, her small hand cupping his chin gently. "Penalty time."
Lightning flowed from her fingers directly into his brain. His eyes rolled back as his consciousness flickered, caught between life and death, aware but unable to control his body.
The first man, still clutching his severed arm, tried to crawl toward the barrier’s edge. "Please," he gasped, "we’ll leave. We won’t bother you again."
Li Yao tilted her head, watching his pathetic attempt at escape with the curiosity of a child observing an injured insect.
"But we haven’t finished playing yet," she pouted. "And I’m having so much fun!"
She vanished and reappeared directly above him, her foot pressing down on his back to stop his crawling.
"Final game," she announced with cheerfulness. "It’s called ’Lights Out.’"
The man looked up at her with terror-filled eyes as she raised her hand, lightning crackling between her fingers.
"Sweet dreams," she whispered.
The lightning struck all three men simultaneously, their bodies convulsing once before falling completely still. The smell of burnt flesh filled the air as smoke rose from their remains.
Li Yao stood among the corpses, her mischievous expression fading as she surveyed her handiwork. "Game over," she said softly, the lightning barrier around them finally beginning to dissipate.
...
"That was so much fun!" Li Yao spoke, skipping around the scorched battlefield like a carefree child. Her feet barely touched the ground as she twirled between the smoking corpses, humming a cheerful tune.
She suddenly stopped mid-skip, placing her hand thoughtfully on her chin. "If only senior brother was around to play with me," she mused aloud, "Should I go find him?"
Just as she was lost in thought, she sensed movement from behind. Li Yao tilted her head curiously to look at the charred corpses, her eyes sparkling with renewed interest.
"Hmm, that’s weird. I could’ve sworn that I killed them," she spoke, teleporting instantly to appear next to the bodies. She picked up a stick from the ground and began poking the nearest corpse with curiosity.
"Hey, do that again," she commanded, prodding it more insistently. When the man didn’t respond, her face fell into an exaggerated pout. "That’s no fun! Don’t you want to play with me anymore? Come on, I have so many more games to show you!"
Her expression brightened as she began counting on her fingers with childlike enthusiasm. "Let’s see... there’s ’Pin the Tail on the Cultivator,’ ’Musical Meridians,’ ’Hide and Don’t Seek,’ ’Torture Tag,’ ’Lightning Limbo,’ and oh! ’Guess Which Bone I’ll Break Next!’" Each game name rolled off her tongue with innocent delight, as if she were listing innocent playground activities.
As she continued her counting, the Empress’s voice suddenly cut through her thoughts in alarm. [Watch out!]
The moment those words echoed in her mind, the three corpses seemed to burst open. Something dark and viscous flew out of their bodies, rushing toward the sky at insane speeds.
Li Yao was knocked backward by the unexpected explosion, landing on her bottom with a small "oof!" She blinked in surprise, more curious than alarmed by this turn of events.
"What’s this? Is this a new game?" she wondered aloud, her eyes tracking the fleeing objects. Without hesitation, she teleported, appearing high above and managing to catch one of the flying objects in her hands. When she looked around, the others had already disappeared into the distance, moving too fast for even her senses to follow.
She didn’t seem particularly bothered by missing the others, turning her full attention to the prize she had managed to capture. "Let’s see, did I win something?" she spoke with a bright, expectant smile, examining her catch like a child unwrapping a present.
But when she looked closely at what she had caught, her expression shifted to confusion. It was some sort of dark blood wrapped in a thin, membrane-like layer.
"Hmm, this isn’t a reward," she spoke, disappointment clear in her voice. She shook the strange bag experimentally, watching the liquid slosh around inside. "What’s this trash? Can I get a refund? I’d like to speak to a manager..."
As she continued shaking it with increasing vigor, the fragile membrane suddenly burst under the pressure. When the blood landed on the rocky ground below, it immediately began burning through the stone like powerful acid, creating a smoking crater that hissed and bubbled ominously.
Li Yao’s nose twitched as the acrid smell reached her senses. Her playful expression gradually faded, replaced by something far more serious.
"Hmm, I’ve smelled this before," she murmured, her childish demeanor completely vanishing as recognition dawned in her eyes. Her expression then twisted.
"Demon God?"