The Flame Wars

As soon as the green lamp left the woman’s jade hand, it released a blinding azure radiance.

It spun once above her head, and then a startling scene unfolded. The azure-white flames that had been roaring outside the white lotus instantly transformed into countless threads of fire, converging into the lamp like a river returning to the sea.

In the blink of an eye, the Jade Yang True Fire on the Purple Cheng Net was absorbed completely. The lamp floated there calmly, its azure light even more dazzling than before.

The green-clothed woman unhurriedly pointed at the lamp. It rippled briefly, then drifted lightly toward Silvermoon.

Silvermoon’s expression shifted dramatically. Without a second thought, she pointed at the Purple Cheng Net. The entire purple net blazed with light, its dense threads forming a wall in front of her. At the same time, a blue ancient treasure appeared in her hand.

By now, the azure giant sword had arrived above the woman with a thunderous roar. Under the urging of the spell incantation, it fell from the sky without hesitation.

Silvermoon coordinated perfectly. She had just transformed the blue treasure into a clump of white mist to protect herself when she formed a hand seal with both hands. The purple light enveloping the white lotus suddenly opened a wide gap above it.

The giant sword, wrapped in golden arcs and blue flames, struck downward at the white lotus with savage force.

Seeing the sword’s terrifying momentum, the green-clothed woman’s expression flickered. A look of solemnity appeared on her face for the first time.

She hesitated for a moment, then abandoned her attack on Silvermoon. Spiritual power surged through her entire body, flowing through her feet and into the white lotus. The lotus petals instantly swelled several times their original size, layer upon layer of lotus shadows reaching upward and forming a dense, thick curtain of light.

Then she quickly pointed at the drifting lamp flame. It flashed and flew back to hover above her head. Lifting the bronze lamp, she waved it slightly.

After a flash of azure shadows, two more lamp flames of equal size materialized beside the first, floating side by side above her. The three instantly merged into one, forming a head-sized ball of azure flame.

At that moment, the giant sword finally struck the curtain of light formed by the lotus petals.

A thunderous boom erupted.

Roaring thunder and cracking explosions rang out simultaneously. White light, golden arcs, blue flames, and other dazzling colors intertwined.

The white lotus’s dozen-odd petals were certainly miraculous, but the Evil-Repelling Divine Lightning and the Dry Azure Ice Flame were no less formidable.

Alone, neither could likely overcome the petals. But together—attached to the giant sword’s surface, further empowered by the great sword technique of the Seventy-Two Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords—the result was decisive. After struggling for a brief moment, the lotus shadows collapsed and scattered into a sea of starlight.

The giant sword pressed down without resistance. But the azure fireball rose slowly to meet it.

A cold light flickered in Han Li’s eyes.

Though he feared the strange alien flame, he also wanted to test its power against the Dry Azure Ice Flame.

Without further hesitation, the giant sword descended.

This collision was utterly silent. The pale golden arcs and the extreme-cold Dry Azure Ice Flame were instantly devoured by the azure lamp flame. Then the entire giant sword was swallowed.

The Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords were Han Li’s Intrinsic Magical Treasure, and his connection to them was exquisitely sensitive. The moment the azure lamp flame enveloped the sword completely, his heart jolted. An unbearable, searing heat surged from deep within his chest. His body temperature skyrocketed, and even his blood felt like it was boiling.

Han Li was horrified. Without a second thought, he made a hand seal and pointed at the giant sword.

The sword emitted a resonant hum, then flashed with azure light and split into dozens of smaller azure swords, shooting in every direction.

He had assumed this would shake off the bizarre lamp flame. But when he looked again, his face changed drastically.

Each escaping sword was also dotted with azure flame, and in the next instant, every single blade was once again enveloped.

Han Li’s expression darkened. The discomfort in his body grew worse; cold sweat began to break out across his skin. Clenching his teeth, he worked his ten fingers like wheels, forming seals at lightning speed. His divine sense split into dozens of threads, each manipulating one of the scattered flying swords. They soared upward, spiraled wildly, and performed every maneuver he could conceive to shed the clinging flame.

He had personally witnessed the silver bell ancient treasure being melted into a pool of silver. There was no way he would let his own Intrinsic Magical Treasure be destroyed.

If that happened, his vital energy and divine sense would both suffer catastrophic damage.

Meanwhile, the destroyed white lotus petals had regrown from the lotus seat beneath the green-clothed woman’s feet, once again shielding her.

She had been watching coldly as Han Li’s flying swords were trapped by the lamp flame, observing his frantic, clumsy efforts to shake them off. A faint, mocking smile curled at the corner of her lips.

Now she was in no hurry to act. She would simply wait for his Intrinsic Magical Treasure to be destroyed, for his cultivation to suffer a crippling blow.

But moments later, the mockery on her face froze. Her eyes instead filled with stunned surprise.

The bronze lamp in her hand was no ordinary ancient treasure. Strictly speaking, it did not even belong to her. It was one of the two great inherited treasures of the entire Moulan tribe.

The woman surnamed Le was entrusted with this treasure not only because of her profound cultivation as the Moulan’s foremost female Dharma Warrior, but also because of another exalted status—one nearly equivalent to the Tu-Wu people’s “Tianlan Saintess.” She commanded deep respect from other high-level Dharma Warriors.

Even the three Great Divine Masters of the Moulan tribe treated her with courtesy and never dared to show the slightest negligence.

Since this ancient treasure had come into her hands, due to special circumstances and the lamp’s own usage restrictions, she had wielded it only rarely. She would not deploy it lightly.

Once the number of permitted uses was exceeded, the treasure had to be immediately retrieved and handed over to the next qualified owner.

This alone showed how highly the Moulan valued this treasure.

But the lamp’s most important function was not for dueling or combat. It served another, far more crucial purpose for all of the Moulan people.

Of course, using it in battle was universally effective. Every master who had held this treasure in past generations had used it to kill powerful enemies and refine countless other treasures into nothing.

Whether ancient treasures or magical tools—once enveloped by the lamp’s azure flame, none could resist being destroyed.

Wood-type treasures were especially vulnerable, reduced to nothing in the blink of an eye.

And yet, Han Li’s clearly wood-type, set-based flying swords had been wrapped in the lamp flame for this long without showing the slightest sign of turning to ash.

How could the woman not be stunned?

In that split second of shock, a patch of purple clouds materialized above her head without any warning.

Surnamed Le was startled. She looked up to see that Silvermoon had seized the opportunity to reactivate the Purple Cheng Net’s restrictions, sealing the opening she had opened earlier.

Then Silvermoon twisted her slender waist. Her crimson lips parted, and a puff of pink, fragrant mist sprayed from her mouth, instantly drowning the white lotus.

The green-clothed woman snorted coldly. She glanced at the bronze lamp in her hand, hesitated for a moment, then decided not to use it again.

Instead, she raised her other hand, and a pale-yellow jade pendant materialized in her palm.

She was about to activate the pendant and teach Silvermoon a lesson when the pink mist suddenly churned violently. A wave of strange fragrance erupted, and countless figures of handsome men and beautiful women emerged—embracing, kissing, performing lewd acts that made the woman’s face flush.

For a moment she was stunned, then her cheeks burned red.

“Witch! You seek death!” The woman’s face turned livid. The jade pendant in her hand flashed, and a yellow haze swept out, shredding the pink mist into nothing.

But the spot where Silvermoon had stood was empty.

Surnamed Le sneered. She was about to use her divine sense to track the girl down when a thought struck her. Her expression changed, and she quickly looked toward Han Li.

That brief distraction from Silvermoon had been enough. Han Li had already re-condensed the flying swords into the giant sword, drawn it back before him, and was staring at her without blinking.

Seeing that the flying swords still had not been refined, the woman felt a jolt of alarm. But she certainly would not wait any longer.

She raised the bronze lamp, ready to waste even the next use of the lamp to directly refine Han Li as well—when Han Li suddenly pressed his hands together before his chest.

One palm was covered in a layer of white, freezing light. The other had blue flames flickering across its surface. Then he opened his mouth and breathed a ball of azure qi, enveloping both hands.

With a pfft sound, an egg-sized clump of purple flame appeared between his palms. Then he pointed a finger at it.

The purple flame burst open with a soft crack, transforming into a lifelike purple flame bird. It spread its wings and shot toward the azure-flame-wrapped giant sword hovering in midair.

A soft bang sounded.

An astonishing scene unfolded.

Purple and azure flames simultaneously burned over the giant sword’s surface. The two types of light wavered, tangled with each other, and began devouring one another furiously.

For a moment, it was impossible to tell which flame had the upper hand.

Han Li’s brows were tightly knit, his expression shifting between unease and calculation. The woman surnamed Le could only stare, utterly dumbfounded.

What origin did this purple flame have, that it could withstand her ancient lamp’s treasured flame? Had she not seen it with her own eyes, she would never have believed it.

But she recovered quickly.

Her desire to kill Han Li intensified threefold.

This man was only at early Nascent Soul, yet he possessed so many heaven-defying divine abilities. If he were to advance to mid-stage or even late-stage, who in the entire Moulan grasslands could stand against him?

With that thought, her jade countenance darkened. She tossed the bronze lamp upward. It steadied itself a full zhang above her head. Then, with a solemn expression, she sat down cross-legged, formed a hand seal, closed her eyes, and began to chant softly.

The white lotus beneath her immediately blazed with dazzling light. The bronze lamp above her head flashed with azure radiance. The two resonated with each other, calling and responding.

This time, the woman was determined. She would burn every single remaining use of the bronze lamp, if necessary, to erase Han Li from the ranks of the Heavenly South cultivators.

Han Li also noticed the woman’s actions. His heart sank. He silently cursed his luck. The thought of retreat surged within him.

He still had his Violet Luo Extreme Flame, the Blood Demon Sword, and other trump cards, but he had no intention of fighting this woman to the death here.

Surnamed Le was no ordinary mid-Nascent Soul cultivator. He was not willing to perish together with her.

Just as this thought surfaced, a figure suddenly flashed out from the sea of mist on one side, charging straight in.

Both Han Li and the woman were taken aback at the sight.

In that instant of mutual distraction, the purple cloud formed by the Purple Cheng Net above the woman’s head suddenly parted left and right. A streak of white light shot out like lightning, straight for the bronze lamp. A flash of white haze—and in the blink of an eye, the lamp was rolled up inside the light.

After a single loop, the white light whistled sharply as it shot back into the purple cloud.

(We had guests at home last night, so I typed later than usual. But I’m going to push through without sleep and get another chapter out. Don’t worry!)