Corrupt Creations

That blue form that had emerged from inside the lake, belonged to none other than Darya, the water elemental spirit that protected the Glazed Lake. She was assuming the form of a mermaid and her water elemental affinity was so strong, that she was even able to purify the lake waters, releasing it from the Illusive Ethereal Goddess influences.

Right after she appeared, Darya used her water elemental powers to forcefully drag the Palace Masters back to the internal spatial area. The battle that was going to happen, wouldn't be something that Profound Mana Realm cultivators could support or participate.

However, when the time to forcefully move Lan Xue back to the sect arrived, Darya felt her powers failing her.

The Illusive Ethereal Goddess was able to use her influences over Lan Xue's bloodline, to deny Darya's powers from working on her. Actually, Lan Xue was still being restrained, with her energy veins blocked. She was the only one that kept being suppressed, even though Darya had used her special powers to release everyone from that suppression.

Darya frowned, but before she could do anything, the Illusive Ethereal Goddess moved her hand and Lan Xue's body got thoroughly restrained in a case made of an ethereal purple smoke.

That case suddenly shrunk, coiling around her body and forming tethers that didn't let her move. After that, Lan Xue's body flew very quickly towards where the Sanctuary Master was and he understood what the Illusive Ethereal Goddess was requiring of him.

Even though his body was wounded, as a Mana Sovereign entity, he was easily able to stand up and stay ready for anything. Lan Xue's body stopped by the shore and he was already ready to secure it.

When the Lake Mother saw what was happening to her granddaughter, she quickly used her powers to stop Darya's abilities from working on her and madly dashed towards the Sanctuary Master.

As a Mana Sovereign entity, she was the only one that was able to cancel Darya's influences on herself and go to the battle once again. All the other Palace Masters were safely transported inside the sect, getting unable to come out once again.

Right after doing that, Darya used her supreme influence over the formation, to thoroughly seal it. Unless it was destroyed now, no one from her own sect could leave or enter for a while. As for the enemies, their path would be blocked as well.

The Illusive Ethereal Goddess ignored the Lake Mother and focused on what Darya was trying to do with the formation. She infused her powers inside the ancient orb hovering over her head and just like what she did with Lan Xue, she sent the orb flying down, making it swiftly penetrate the water surface and disappear inside the lake.

No one was able to feel where that orb was or what it was capable of doing. It simply vanished after it hit the lake waters.

While Darya and the Illusive Ethereal Goddess kept analyzing each other, the Lake Mother rushed towards her granddaughter, focusing her mind on finding a way to release her from those strange tethers.

But as she was getting closer, the figure of her archenemy suddenly appeared before her field of vision.

The Sanctuary Master was given a job by his supreme goddess and no matter what, he couldn't fail her. His injuries were a bit worse than the Lake Mother's injuries, but the light passing inside his eyes were even fiercer than before. He wasn't going to let the Lake Mother release Lan Xue, even if he had to sacrifice an arm or a leg for it.

The Sanctuary Master released his powerful aura, in an attempt to at least slow his enemy down, but it didn't make the Lake Mother stop her advances. What happened, was that their energy clashed and some of the nearby elders were sent flying very far away.

From just that clash between their energies, the disciples and elders understood that it wasn't their time to go on the stage. A battle between Mana Sovereign Realm cultivators was merciless and they would be ripped into pieces if they were to get caught on it.

While the Lake Mother was rushing towards the shore, the water elemental energy present on the lake started to give her some assistance, generating a water tunnel that increased her mobility and offensive capabilities.

The Sanctuary Master swiftly took some actions as well. A dense purple energy circle around his body, ready to help him on defending against the water attacks that were already coming towards him.

Bang!

Both powers met each other, and a powerful shockwave swept everything away. Purple and blue fought for supremacy, but they were simultaneously erasing each other as the battle happened.

The Lake Mother's real objective, was not to kill the Sanctuary Master, but to release her granddaughter. So hidden underneath her water elemental energy, she was casting another ability.

"Glazed Whirlpool!"

Suddenly, she screamed those two words and at the same time, a huge chunk of her Mana pool was sucked into her next ability.

The whole ground near the shore turned into a transparent and clear whirlpool, that just like a clear surface made of glass, reflected the image of anything it sucked down.

The Sanctuary Master felt those waters retraining him, pulling him downwards and tried to leave from inside that dangerous area. However, he realized that the power affecting him was on another league and if he didn't start using some of his trump cards, he would actually lose. So, his only option was to fight seriously.

At that moment, the sky above him suddenly turned purple.

"Illusive Image!"

Swoosh!

Right above the area where the Glazed Whirlpool was affecting, a purple image of that same skill started to form. A purple whirlpool was suddenly brought into existence and in a mere instant, it started to rotate in the reverse direction its counterpart was rotating.

Like and illusive magic was happening, both abilities started to cancel each other. The powers behind them were nullifying the other and being erased.