Cen Yao drew very quickly.
But this speed was not a reckless rush.
Some lines had to be completed in a single breath, with her magic flowing down as evenly as a thin thread, unable to be broken or overlapped.
Some nodes required a sudden constriction.
She had to compress her magic into a single point in an extremely short amount of time, then pull it open abruptly to form a branching rune that extended outward.
The thickness, depth, turns, and pauses of each line were all different.
A single mistake would ruin the entire array diagram.
Before long, fine beads of sweat seeped from Cen Yao's forehead.
She could feel the magic within her body draining at a terrifying speed.
Her originally overflowing magic pool felt as though a sluice gate had been opened, pouring outward in an instant.
Ten percent. Twenty percent. Thirty percent.
She still did not stop.
The array diagram was less than a quarter complete.
The wand swept across the ground, and dark red lines spread out in different directions like winding rivers.
The outermost runes locked into one another, while a distorted scale totem gradually emerged in the center.
On one end of the scale was a tiny paw print.
On the other end was a blurry human hand.
Cen Yao's face began to pale.
Pei Tinglan saw that something was wrong.
“Cen Yao.”
Cen Yao ignored him.
She was still drawing.
As the final stroke fell, the first layer of the array lines lit up completely.
But at that exact moment, the magic inside her body suddenly bottomed out.
Cen Yao's breath caught.
Her vision briefly went dark.
The light at the tip of her wand flickered along with it.
Zhu Lingxi's heart tightened, and she immediately took half a step forward.
“Miss Cen!”
Pei Tinglan also spoke at the same time.
“Cen Yao!”
Cen Yao grit her teeth.
She didn't let herself stop.
She reached into the inner pocket of her witch's robe, pulled out a transparent potion, uncorked it, and threw her head back to drink it.
The moment the potion entered her mouth, a cool, almost stinging power surged down her throat and into her body.
Her originally depleted magic pool was suddenly filled to the brim like a torrential downpour.
Her magic instantly surged back.
The sensation of being overly full even made Cen Yao's footsteps feel a bit floaty, as if she were walking on clouds, and a slight numbness spread through her limbs.
But she did not waste half a second.
The moment her magic was restored, Cen Yao gripped her wand once more.
“I'm fine.
Don't come over.”
Zhu Lingxi and Pei Tinglan stopped their movements at the same time.
They could both see that Cen Yao wasn't just forcing herself.
She was currently at the most critical stage of drawing the array; any external force drawing near could disrupt the trajectory of her magic.
Zhu Lingxi pursed her lips and stepped back to her original spot.
She didn't speak, only silently pressing her hand against the Nuo mask at her waist.
The moment something truly went wrong with Cen Yao, she would immediately invoke the god.
Pei Tinglan's expression was also grim.
He didn't make another sound.
He simply positioned his wheelchair in a spot where he wouldn't interfere with Cen Yao but could rush over at a moment's notice.
Cen Yao calmed her mind once more.
She began to sketch the second layer of the array lines.
This time, her speed slowed down noticeably.
Dark magic arrays were different from ordinary magic arrays.
Ordinary arrays mostly emphasized magic circulation and elemental resonance; though their lines were complex, they had a relatively fixed logic.
Dark magic arrays, however, were more like a precise net.
Every single rune had to correspond to an emotion, a cause and effect, and a price.
It allowed the caster absolutely no room for luck.
This was especially true for the Karmic Retribution Array.
It required Cen Yao to draw every single array line with absolute stability.
Her magic could not fluctuate.
The lines could not vary in thickness.
Furthermore, the connections between nodes had to proceed in a specific order.
Some parts had to be fast, fast as a guillotine claiming a life.
Other parts had to be slow, slow enough for the magic to seep into the ground bit by bit, like seeds buried in the soil.
This was Cen Yao's first time drawing this array.
Even with her exceptionally high talent, drawing it was incredibly taxing.
The orb watched from the System Space, its heart in its throat.
The corners of its mouth twitched repeatedly.
The Karmic Retribution Array!
This was an advanced array within elementary dark magic!
Let alone an Elementary Witch, even many Intermediate Witches wouldn't necessarily dare to touch it.
Yet the Host was actually relying on three recovery potions to forcefully attempt to sketch it completely in a C-rank dungeon!
Even more terrifying was that she could actually stabilize the array runes while enduring such a massive consumption of magic.
The array diagram showed no signs of collapsing up to now.
The orb hugged its round body tightly.
It could only say that as expected of a universe-class Talent.
Terrifying indeed.
It didn't even dare to imagine.
Once the Host became an Advanced Witch and could truly control those higher-tier dark magics, what kind of terrifying existence would she be?
In the outside world, Cen Yao naturally had no idea what kind of exaggerated praise the orb was showering her with.
She only knew that she was so tired right now.
Too tired.
Her head felt like it was being pricked with needles.
Her legs were also starting to go weak.
Her mental strength had been stretched at high intensity for so long that even her vision was starting to blur.
By the time the second layer of the array was completed, the magic in her body was drained dry once again.
Cen Yao didn't even have time to catch her breath before she drank the second advanced recovery potion.
Her magic was restored once more.
She continued to draw.
Time passed bit by bit.
The night grew deeper and deeper.
The heavy scent of blood and burning that had lingered in the coffee plantation gradually faded, and a wind blew from the depths of the forest, carrying the cool chill of dew.
In the center of the array, under the soothing of the Soul-Condensing Array, the light of those souls was much more stable than before.
They floated quietly, not leaving, as if they were waiting.
And as if they were watching Cen Yao.
Zhu Lingxi kept watch by her side the entire time.
Occasionally, she would look up at the position of the moon, then look down at Cen Yao.
Cen Yao's face was already incredibly pale, and her lips had lost all color, yet the hand gripping her wand remained perfectly steady.
Pei Tinglan didn't crack a single joke.
His fingertips rested on the armrest of his wheelchair, his knuckles turning white from his grip.
He hated watching others force themselves.
And he hated this feeling of knowing he couldn't help and could only stand by and watch even more.
But he also knew that since Cen Yao had decided to do this, she wouldn't give up just because of a few words of advice from him.
This person seemed easygoing.
But in truth, she was incredibly stubborn.
Finally, after drinking the third recovery potion, Cen Yao sketched out the final layer of the array lines.
This was already the third hour.
She could barely remember how many times her magic had been completely drained, only to be forcefully filled back up by the potions.
Time and time again.
Depletion.
Restoration.
Depletion again.
Restoration again.
The massive wash of magic made her body feel as though it were being repeatedly torn apart and sewn back together, and her mind was stretched to its absolute limit.
The final array line was only a tiny bit away from completion.
Yet Cen Yao felt as though her hand no longer belonged to her.
The wand felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.
Every inch she moved forward felt as though she were dragging the entire coffee plantation along with her.
“Miss Cen.”
Zhu Lingxi couldn't help but speak.
Her voice was very soft.
“How about... taking a break first?”
Cen Yao did not look back.
She stared at the final rune before her, the sweat on her forehead sliding down her cheek and dripping onto the charred ground.
“I can't stop.”
Once the Karmic Retribution Array began, it had to be completed in one go.
Stopping midway would mean all her previous magic would go to waste.
More importantly, the array had already locked onto the karma accumulated in this coffee plantation over many years.
If she stopped now, the backlash would fall upon her first.
She didn't have enough shock points to buy a fourth potion.
She had already spent three million.
She absolutely could not lose out.
Cen Yao grit her teeth, almost squeezing the words out of her throat.
“Almost done.”
The tip of the wand lit up once more.
The final wisp of dark red magic descended.
Buzz—
The entire array suddenly vibrated.
Starting from the outermost runes, a dark red light flowed rapidly along the array lines, converging toward the center layer by layer.
The scale totem on the ground lit up completely.
The paw print on the left glowed with a faint white light.
The human hand on the right was wrapped in a blackness so dense it couldn't be dissolved.
The air suddenly grew cold.
The array was complete!
And at the exact moment the array was completed, the very last bit of magic in Cen Yao's body was thoroughly drained.
Her vision went black.
The wand in her hand slipped from her fingers.
She could no longer support herself and fell straight forward.
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