Beyond the colossal gate lay a vast chamber, and at its center, a towering figure awaited. It was Long Qing, clad in dark robes, his face obscured by shadows. The chamber was bathed in a surreal, bluish glow, emanating from the massive crystalline structure that loomed behind Long Qing. This structure appeared to be the source of the sinister energy that had corrupted the Azure Palace.

"Long Dong."

Long Qing's voice echoed through the chamber, a sinister edge to his tone.

"I must admit, I didn't expect you to make it this far. But your journey ends here."

Zhang Dong's eyes narrowed as he assessed the situation. He had expected a confrontation with his brother, but he couldn't help but feel a sense of unease in the air. The crystalline structure behind Long Qing pulsed with malevolent energy, and it was evident that this place held dark secrets.

“You are not actually Long Qing, are you?”

“Oh? I am not?”

“No, it’s too soon for the main boss to appear… and it’s obvious that you are just a crude imitation.”

As Zhang Dong questioned the figure before him, it chuckled ominously. Shadows danced around its form, and its voice took on a distorted, eerie quality.

"You are perceptive, Long Dong. I am indeed a mere projection of your brother, created by the malevolent energy that now permeates this palace. You could say I am an embodiment of his darkest desires and intentions."

“Darkest desires? I haven’t known him for a long time, but I don’t think his desire would result in such a drastic change?”

Zhang Dong replied cautiously as he attempted to discern the mysterious azure crystal hidden behind the shadowy replication of the Azure Emperor. It emitted an eerie energy akin to that of the demonic cultivation energies. Bob was quickly trying to analyze the spirit energy pattern while he continued to ask questions and prolong the conversation. There was no way of knowing what he had walked on into so taking everything with caution was best.

‘Warning, detecting unknown corrupted energies, trying to analyze pattern… energy identified to be not of this world’s origin…’

Just like he had predicted, there was more to this place that met the eye. The presence of these crystals, clearly foreign to the world's natural structure, indicated they had been imported from elsewhere. Only one person came to his mind that could produce such a result, the overseer that he was wary of. While she was not here, the phantom he was interacting with could be of her making.

‘I can’t call her out directly, she will know that I’ve figured out the truth of this world…’

His deepest desire was to engage in a peaceful dialogue. He remained uncertain about the nature of these overseers and whether they were open to negotiation. However, considering that they didn’t see anyone in this world as anyone important, there was a problem. If he failed to thwart the ambitions of the Long Clan and their Emperor, a looming darkness threatened to envelop everything he held dear. His entire sect faced annihilation, and his offspring would be relentlessly pursued, a fate he could not permit to come to pass.

‘Warning, prolonged exposure to the unknown energy could affect the user’s mind, activating defensive protocols to keep the mind from being affected.’

‘I see, so this is probably what made them do this…’

It appeared that the enigmatic dark azure crystals were at the root of this intricate situation. Their capacity to influence people's minds likely played a pivotal role in Long Qing's transformation. Whether his brother had intentionally triggered them or if the overseer had intervened remained uncertain. Nevertheless, a potential solution existed that didn't involve violence. If these crystals were indeed responsible for affecting the Azure Emperor, there might be a chance to resolve the matter peacefully. By either destroying or neutralizing their influence on others, he could potentially address the issue without resorting to combat.

‘Bob can you figure out a way of cleansing those crystals?’

‘Affirmative… Calculating…’

‘I guess I’ll have to keep this guy busy for now…’

While he was having the conversation with his AI partner, the shadowy Azure Emperor started changing. His body started floating upwards and his face was contorting. His skin grew pallid and translucent, veins visible beneath the surface like faint webs. His facial features elongated and contorted into grotesque tentacle-like appendages, protruding from where his nose and mouth once were. His eyes clouded over, losing all color and vitality.

In place of Long Qing, he encountered something that bore a striking resemblance to a familiar adversary from his previous encounters. Yet, this entity appeared notably leaner and more compact compared to the Cthulhu-like monstrosities he had confronted before. When he attempted to analyze it using his system, all he received was a cryptic designation that could only be translated as 'Psychic Abomination.'

“You shall not leave this place alive!”

“Sure I will!”

The creature's voice resounded within his mind, its lack of a conventional mouth or lips making communication an eerie experience. It appeared to wield psionic abilities, reminiscent of telekinesis, and had every intention of employing them against him, evident in its attempt to hurl the dark azure crystals in his direction. The colossal crystal lurking behind the creature ruptured into countless shards, and was propelled toward him by its peculiar telekinetic powers.

Zhang Dong's reflexes kicked into high gear as the crystalline shards shot toward him. He leaped to the side, narrowly avoiding the deadly projectiles. With each shard that struck the chamber's walls, a surge of malevolent energy rippled through the room, intensifying the ominous aura.

Bob's warning echoed in his mind, urging caution. He knew he had to act quickly to cleanse the corrupted crystals and put an end to the entity's influence on Long Qing and the Azure Palace. But facing this Psychic Abomination was no small task, and he couldn't underestimate its powers.

The creature displayed an uncanny ability to teleport at will, effortlessly anticipating his every move. Given its evident mental powers, it seemed plausible that it could delve into his thoughts. To win this fight he couldn’t let himself think and instead, he would need to react before the monster read through his actions. Acting on a martial artist's instinct seemed like the way for it and luckily, he was one.

Zhang Dong focused on his martial arts training, relying on muscle memory and instinct to guide his movements. The Psychic Abomination continued to manipulate the shards of the corrupted crystal, sending them hurtling towards him with incredible force. Each dodged attack was followed by another, as the creature's relentless assault tested Zhang Dong's agility and stamina.

Despite channeling a substantial amount of spiritual energy, a vexing issue emerged. The corrupted crystals scattered throughout the vicinity exhibited an unsettling ability to siphon away a significant portion of his spiritual energy. Even his most potent palm strikes and long-range finger attacks fizzled out before reaching the elusive monster, which persisted in its teleportation. It became evident that he couldn't hope to overpower this creature through sheer spiritual energy alone, not as long as those malevolent crystal shards swirled about, sapping his strength.

As the Psychic Abomination continued to harass him with telekinetically propelled crystal shards, Zhang Dong began to observe the patterns of its attacks. He noticed that the creature had a slight delay in its teleportation after each attack, as if it needed a moment to recharge its psychic abilities. This observation gave him an idea.

Timing his movements precisely, Zhang Dong waited for the creature to unleash another barrage of crystal shards which he quickly evaded as many times before. After a quick counter-attack, the monster quickly teleported away. However, the previous palm strike was just a faint, it contained a marginal amount of spiritual energy. His intent was to go for the area where the Abomination repositioned itself.

Seizing the opportunity, Zhang Dong leaped forward, his movements fluid and precise. Just as the monstrosity materialized from a swirling cloud of smoke, he wielded his sword with precision, thrusting it straight through the creature's head. He left nothing to chance, recognizing the creature's brain as the wellspring of its psionic abilities. In the wake of this decisive strike, the monster disintegrated into an unusual sludge-like substance.

"It reeks!"

Zhang Dong exclaimed, leaping back in abhorrence, his spiritual energy forming a protective shield. This barrier offered some resistance against the corrosive nature of the monster's bile, though it was not impervious to its malevolent touch. It attempted to go through his radiant shielding and forced him to push it away instead.

As Zhang Dong stood there, defending against the remnants of the Psychic Abomination, he realized that the chamber around him was beginning to tremble. The crystalline structure behind him, which had been the source of the malevolent energy, started to fracture and crack. A bluish light erupted from within, and it became apparent that the dark aura that had tainted the Azure Palace was dissipating.

Then from the collapsed azure crystal, a tiny wisp of blue light appeared. Zhang Dong didn’t need Bob to identify this occurrence as he could feel that it was a fragment of someone’s soul, Long Qing’s to be precise. After wiggling with his finger the fragment floated towards him and it unraveled the mystery of this place.

“Hm… Do I have to collect these fragments to get through this place?”

For a moment he contemplated if he should just absorb this fragment to add to his own power. If it was part of the soul that belonged to the Azure Emperor, then it could act as a powerful elixir or even be made into a soul-nourishing pill that would enhance his cultivation base.

Zhang Dong carefully considered his options. The fragment of Long Qing's soul held immense power, but he couldn't ignore the ethical implications of absorbing it. He had come here with the intention of helping his brother, not further harming him. Besides, the corrupted crystals were the true source of the problem, and he needed to find a way to cleanse them.

He used his spiritual energy to carefully encapsulate the wisp of blue light, creating a protective barrier around it. With the fragment securely contained, he turned his attention to the shattered crystalline structure.

"Bob, let's try to cleanse these corrupted crystals. We need to undo the damage that has been done to the Azure Palace and find more of these fragments. Find me where other corrupted crystals like this are.”

With Bob as his guide, Zhang Dong embarked on a new mission within the labyrinthine depths of the Azure Palace. His goal was to find more shards and bring them all together before confronting what was left of his brother…