Storms Stir Beyond the Seas; Bane Lightning and Asura Flames

“Tighten!”

Han Li formed a hand seal without hesitation, instantly urging the ancient treasure forward.

The five copper rings immediately contracted, biting deep into the old fiend’s neck, wrists, and ankles, locking him in place.

“Heh! The Five Elements Rings. This treasure is famous enough among its kind, but it’s useless against cultivators with mutated spiritual roots, those whose cultivation far exceeds the user’s, or those of us on the heterodox path,” Xuan Gu said, a mocking smile on his face despite being bound by the five rings.

Even so, he raised a hand without hindrance and slapped the light sphere floating before his chest.

The sphere’s surface flickered unsteadily. With a tearing sound, a large crack split open along its center.

Blue light swirled within the rift, and a long, slender tongue of blue flame shot forth.

The flame was eerily intelligent. It brushed once across Xuan Gu’s neck and limbs, and in an instant, a thick layer of frost formed over the constricting copper rings.

Then, with an almost impossible twisting motion of his body, Xuan Gu shook himself free. With a series of crisp clangs, the now-brittle rings fell to the stone platform like lifeless trinkets.

Han Li’s heart sank.

Without a second thought, he opened his mouth. Nine small azure swords shot out in a chain, merging high in the air into a single giant sword. Without hesitation, it came crashing down toward Xuan Gu.

A hint of seriousness finally crossed Xuan Gu’s face.

He clutched the light sphere with both hands and raised it high overhead.

The rift widened further, and a torrent of blue icy flame gushed out.

The flame instantly coalesced into a five-clawed ice dragon—translucent, radiating blue cold light. It caught the giant azure sword with its foreclaws and, without ceremony, breathed out a stream of blue vapor that struck the sword’s body with brutal force.

After only a few hits, the giant sword’s luster dimmed noticeably. A faint layer of crystalline frost appeared on its surface, and its movements became sluggish and heavy.

A thunderclap rang out.

Several bolts of pale gold lightning arced across the giant sword’s surface, striking the ice dragon with force. The sword broke free, driving the ice dragon back over ten feet.

“Still trying to run? I’ve already claimed this golden lightning-bamboo flying sword set for myself. You can’t have much Bane Lightning left, can you? Just how many more times do you think you can unleash it?” Xuan Gu sneered, his lips twisting.

He pointed at the ice dragon, sending it lunging once more at the azure giant sword.

Han Li’s mind stirred at those words.

Though the old fiend spoke with casual dismissiveness, Han Li sensed a faint trace of wariness beneath the bravado—something about the Bane Lightning seemed to trouble him.

But Han Li had no time to dwell on it. He sent an azure spell seal flying toward the giant sword.

With a single pointed command, the giant sword blurred into violent motion. In a flash, it split into two identical giant swords—the Split-Image Sword Art of the Azure Origin Sword Art.

Both swords crackled with thick arcs of pale gold lightning. One rushed to meet the blue ice dragon head-on, while the other flickered and vanished, reappearing in a diagonal slash aimed directly at the old fiend.

“Oh?” Xuan Gu let out a surprised grunt.

Whether he was startled that Han Li still had the strength to unleash such powerful Bane Lightning, or impressed that the Split-Image Sword Art could manifest two fully solid flying swords at once, was unclear.

But the surprise faded quickly from his face. Without panic, he patted the light sphere again, sending another torrent of Azure Frost Flame gushing forth.

This time, the flame flickered in front of him and formed a triangular ice shield, blocking the incoming sword with precision.

Pale gold lightning and blue cold light clashed and intertwined. Neither side gave ground. A stalemate.

Han Li’s heart lifted slightly at this.

It meant that while the Bane Lightning could not overcome the Azure Frost Flame’s chill, the extreme cold of the flame could not overpower the Bane Lightning either. In the end, it would come down to raw power—whoever had more would win.

With that thought, Han Li slapped his storage pouch. A blood-red cape materialized over his shoulders.

He was not yet at his limit, but it was wise to prepare a few contingency measures.

Without wasting a moment, Han Li pressed his palms together and slowly, solemnly pulled them apart.

A crackling thunderclap rang out. Between his hands, a pale gold lightning sphere formed, tiny arcs jumping and flickering across its surface.

The sphere was only a few inches across at first, but as Han Li channeled the remaining Bane Lightning stored within his Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords, the sphere began to swell rapidly in a low hum, growing to about a foot in diameter.

Xuan Gu, who had been focusing on overwhelming the two giant azure swords with his Azure Frost Flame, caught sight of this. His face first paled, then his eyes filled with disbelief.

He could not believe what he was seeing. Han Li still had enough power left to form a lightning sphere of this size? Just how many golden lightning-bamboo flying swords did this man have?

A flicker of unease crept into Xuan Gu’s mind.

The reason he had suddenly turned hostile, confident that killing Han Li would take no effort, was his newly acquired power over the Azure Frost Flame.

Though he had only just obtained it and had not yet refined or merged it into the legendary Asura Sacred Flame, he could still barely control it by suppressing it with his Profound Soul Yin Fire and Bane Lightning.

He had known, of course, that Han Li possessed golden lightning-bamboo flying swords capable of releasing Bane Lightning. That was precisely why he had to kill Han Li now—before the man could recover.

In Xuan Gu’s estimation, Han Li’s Bane Lightning reserves should have been nearly spent by now. Even if he had some left, it could not be much. With that, Han Li would never withstand the Azure Frost Flame’s assault.

And golden lightning bamboo—no one could have too many treasures made from such a rare material. The number of golden lightning-bamboo flying swords Han Li possessed was already astonishing.

But Bane Lightning was a finite resource. Each discharge depleted its reserves. A golden lightning-bamboo treasure needed a period of rest to regenerate its lightning. Xuan Gu was determined not to give Han Li that chance.

As for Extreme Yin, his rebellious disciple—he hated him even more. But now that he had the Azure Frost Flame and had confirmed that it could be forged into the Asura Sacred Flame, Xuan Gu’s ambition had swelled uncontrollably. If he could master the Asura Sacred Flame, dominating the entire Chaotic Star Sea was not out of reach.

Compared to that ambition, Han Li and his golden lightning-bamboo treasure naturally became the first target. Bane Lightning, after all, had always been the greatest nemesis of ghost-path cultivators.

And now that he had re-established contact with Man Brutal Beard, killing Extreme Yin would be far easier even without Han Li’s help.

That Han Li could simultaneously trigger powerful arcs on both his giant swords had already surprised Xuan Gu.

But now, seeing a lightning sphere of this magnitude in Han Li’s hands—Xuan Gu was genuinely stunned.

This was completely beyond his calculations.

How could a mere Core Formation early-stage cultivator possess so many golden lightning-bamboo treasures? Regret mixed with shock and disbelief weighed like a mountain on the old fiend’s heart.

Just how many golden lightning-bamboo treasures did Han Li have? This unanswerable question pressed heavily on him.

In that fleeting moment of hesitation, the lightning sphere in Han Li’s hands had swelled to several feet across, floating a few feet above his head. Its hum was deafening.

When Xuan Gu came to his senses, his face was pale.

Compared to this lightning sphere, all previous displays of Bane Lightning paled in comparison.

“Fine. Very well. I don’t know how you came by so many golden lightning-bamboo treasures, but from the day you acquired them, you were destined to be the mortal enemy of our ghost path. Today, I will let you witness the might of the legendary Asura Flame—the sacred fire of the ghostly path,” Xuan Gu said through gritted teeth.

He was already in too deep to retreat. Bracing himself, he resolved to forcibly merge the three energies into the legendary Asura Sacred Flame.

With this flame, he would shatter Han Li’s Bane Lightning once and for all, eliminating this thorn in his side.

Of course, forcibly fusing the sacred flame in such a short time was a dangerous secret art, with a high risk of backlash.

But Xuan Gu had no other choice.

Perhaps he had other methods to slowly drain Han Li’s lightning, or he could use a secret technique or treasure to temporarily escape the barrier. But he was running out of time. He either had to let Han Li go, or eliminate him before anyone else returned.

With a grinding of teeth, he hurled the light sphere before him and began spinning his hands like wheels. Multicolored spell seals poured into the sphere.

In an instant, the sphere came alive. The blue flame at its core began to spin at high speed, while the outer layer of Profound Soul Yin Fire and black lightning arcs rotated in the opposite direction.

Before long, the entire sphere erupted in a blinding, dazzling radiance.

A muffled boom followed. Countless gray-white flames, cold and chilling, burst forth from the sphere like a flood, surging toward Han Li in an overwhelming wave.

For a brief moment, Han Li’s expression flickered with surprise. Then a cold resolve settled over his face.

He had never heard of the Asura Sacred Flame, but he knew it had to be far more terrible than the Azure Frost Flame.

His expression solemn, Han Li spread his hands and stopped channeling more lightning into the great sphere above him. Instead, his fingers began to move through a rapid series of seals, and a low, steady chant emerged from his lips.

The pale gold lightning sphere began to deform and stretch. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a golden net of lightning, a crackling array of electric light that wrapped around him from head to toe.

The gray-white flames slammed into the golden net without ceremony.

Gold and white clashed in a storm of light. Thunder rumbled and flames shrieked, both forces locked in deadly contention.

(Happy New Year to all readers!)

(End of Chapter.)