The Yin Fire Thunder

Han Li’s timing was precise. The moment the azure speck of light flashed into existence, it was instantly enveloped by the purple flames on his fingertip.

But he only felt a softness at his fingertip, and a tremendous force surged out from that tiny azure flame. His five fingers were jarred back violently.

Han Li was alarmed, but he reacted instantly. With a thought, his hand reversed and made a grasping motion in the air, directing the purple flames downward from above.

The radiance flared. The azure flame was trapped within a shroud of purple light.

Han Li’s arm remained utterly still. The purple flames on his five fingers blazed brilliantly. The azure and purple lights interwove and shifted, flickering between brightness and shadow.

This continued for a quarter of an hour. Then Han Li sighed softly. He gave a casual flick, pulling his fingers away. The purple flames on his hand vanished without a trace.

He looked at that tiny azure flame, still sparkling with crystalline luster, and a wry smile appeared on his face.

This strange lamp flame was even more troublesome than he had originally estimated. The Violet Luo Extreme Flame could contend with it, but it seemed that fully refining this flame was beyond its power.

Thinking this over, Han Li considered the situation for a moment, then raised a hand and lightly tapped the flying sword in front of him.

A low, rumbling thunderclap suddenly rang out. A dazzling golden arc of lightning burst forth from the flying sword.

The moment the arc appeared, it instantly exploded, splitting into countless fine, golden threads that converged upon that tiny azure flame in a net.

The result was that with a flash of azure light, those golden threads all vanished into the bean-sized flame like clay idols entering the sea, absorbed completely. Then the radiance swelled, and the azure flame expanded to the size of a chicken egg.

Seeing this, Han Li’s pupils flickered with a sharp blue light. He stared at the azure flame that had absorbed the golden arc, his expression dark and uncertain.

He remained motionless for an unknown period of time. Then he let out a light breath, and the blue light in his eyes faded away. But a hesitant look appeared on his face.

After a moment, he shook his head, his mind made up. He opened his mouth and inhaled toward the flying sword. The purple flame on the sword instantly turned into a strand of purple thread that was sucked into his mouth, not a trace left.

Without the suppression of the Violet Luo Extreme Flame, the azure flame on the sword surged, instantly enveloping the entire flying sword. Han Li let out a muffled groan, his mind connected to the body of the sword. An azure aura flashed across his face, revealing a trace of pain.

However, Han Li immediately ignored the discomfort in his body. His ten fingers rapidly flicked toward the flying sword. With flashes of azure light, more than ten sword Qì shot forth from his hand.

Just like the golden arcs of the Evil-Repelling Divine Lightning, the azure sword Qì, upon contacting the azure lamp flame, were all absorbed into it, dissolving into nothingness.

But Han Li seemed not to notice this at all. He continued to circulate the spiritual power within his body without pause, sending one sword Qì after another to strike the azure flame, like moths flying into a fire.

His magical power was rapidly consumed.

In this manner, the azure flame, having absorbed so many sword Qì, seemed to be nourished by them, growing even more powerful.

Soon, it transformed into a blazing azure fireball, burning fiercely before Han Li’s eyes.

By this time, Han Li had already consumed over a third of his magical power.

But looking at the massive fireball before him, Han Li smiled instead.

He stopped the stream of sword Qì and beckoned toward the flying sword within the fireball.

With a “pfft,” that Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Sword shot up from the azure flame with astonishing ease. After circling once, it flew back into Han Li’s hand.

Han Li looked down. The azure, sparkling flying sword in his hand was crystal clear, and the flame on it was completely gone. A smile appeared on his face.

“So that’s it! Although this flame is incredibly mysterious, it clearly has a limit to how much spiritual power it can devour. It’s absorbed too much Azure Origin Sword Qì, making it manipulable by taking advantage of its own saturation.” Han Li murmured to himself with a smile.

Then he brought his hands together. With a flash of light, the flying sword vanished into his palm.

It was only then that Han Li looked at the azure fireball before him. He lightly tapped it with his finger, sending a strand of his divine sense into it.

The azure fireball trembled and began to spin slowly. The azure light on its surface flickered, brightening and dimming erratically.

Han Li raised an eyebrow and urged it with his spiritual sense.

The azure fireball began to sway violently. After a long moment, it sluggishly flew diagonally for about a zhang, wobbling and twisting along the way.

Seeing this, Han Li stroked his chin, falling deep into thought.

This azure flame was so powerful; it would be a waste not to use it, but just letting it go was not ideal. Though, by having it absorb a large amount of Azure Origin Sword Qì, he could barely manipulate it for now, it was clearly not attuned to his cultivation art. He could not make it obey his will as easily as the Dry Azure Ice Flame or the Violet Luo Extreme Flame. This flame was not something he had personally refined.

Han Li’s brows were tightly knit. He stared at the azure fireball, pondering. Suddenly, he reached out a hand and placed it on his storage pouch.

With a flash of white light, a small section of jade-white rib bone and a small, pale-yellow bottle appeared in his hand.

It was the jade slip recording the Profound Yin Scripture and the magical tool he had previously used to absorb the souls of demon beasts.

He opened the bottle’s lid, and a cloud of black Qi flew out.

Han Li’s five fingers made a grasping motion toward the black Qi in the air. The black Qi immediately solidified at his palm. Then, with a thought, this mass of Yin soul Qi leaped onto the rib bone in his other hand.

Immediately, the rib bone turned from white to black, floated up from his hand, and emitted a faint, sinister black light.

Only then did Han Li immerse his divine sense into it, rapidly scanning the contents of the Profound Yin Scripture, searching for something at lightning speed.

When his divine sense flipped to the words “Yin Fire Thunder,” Han Li’s heart leaped with joy. His pace slowed, and he began to carefully browse through this section of content.

“Yin Fire Thunder.” The name sounded ordinary, with nothing particularly remarkable about it. But in truth, this technique was a power in the Profound Yin Scripture no less significant than the Heavenly Corpse Fire.

However, it was not a demonic secret art. It was a secret method for refining a type of thunder pearl. It was a treasure of the same category as the “Heavenly Thunder Seeds” he had obtained earlier.

Of course, according to the Profound Yin Scripture, once this Yin Fire Thunder was successfully refined, its power was astonishing. In terms of pure destructive force, it was said to surpass even the Heavenly Corpse Fire.

Its principle was to compress a large amount of pure Yin Fire from the Profound Yin Great Art into a single mass, then mix in some lightning power, add other materials, and use special methods to solidify and stabilize it.

When used in battle, it could unleash the Yin Fire and lightning within it simultaneously, causing an explosion to injure the enemy.

Unfortunately, the thunder pearl was a one-time consumable item. Not only were there many limitations, but the refining process was also troublesome and extremely difficult to succeed. Only cultivators who could manipulate lightning-attributed spiritual power could attempt to refine it.

Because of this, not even the Extreme Yin Patriarch, nor even the Profound Bone Saint himself, had ever refined this item.

When Han Li first saw the refining method for Yin Fire Thunder, he had paid it little attention. Although he could manipulate the Evil-Repelling Divine Lightning, he certainly did not practice any Profound Yin Great Art, so he had simply glossed over it. He had only learned a few easy secret arts from the Profound Yin Scripture, such as the Yin Demon Decapitation.

Now, confronted with the troublesome azure lamp flame before him, he suddenly recalled this secret method for refining the Yin Fire Thunder.

Normally, refining a Yin Fire Thunder required a massive expenditure of spiritual power, and the success rate was low. Furthermore, cultivators capable of wielding lightning were rare. Hence, very few in the cultivation world ever refined this item. Even if someone occasionally made a few, being consumables, they were quickly used up and vanished.

Han Li still did not practice the Profound Yin Great Art. However, with his current knowledge and cultivation, he no longer needed to copy everything from the Profound Yin Scripture. He only needed to slightly modify the thunder pearl refining method, using the readily available azure flame to forge a different kind of thunder pearl. This would not be a waste.

After all, the power of the azure flame was not inferior to his Violet Luo Extreme Flame. The power of a thunder pearl forged from it would certainly be no less than the original Yin Fire Thunder’s.

He had previously entertained the idea of forging thunder pearls from the Dry Azure Ice Flame and even the Violet Luo Extreme Flame. But because he had refined too little of these two spiritual flames, he did not even have enough to spare for battle, let alone waste them on such an endeavor. That thought had been fleeting, quickly dismissed from his mind.

Now, faced with this azure flame that he could neither collect nor discard, turning it into a thunder pearl was a brilliant idea.

In the upcoming great battle, this item would become a sharp weapon for him to use against his enemies.

His mind made up, Han Li immediately began searching his storage pouch for other materials.

As for the materials needed to refine a thunder pearl, he actually had a complete set on him. These items were not rare treasures; they were all common materials used in both alchemy and artifact refining. Han Li had stored some.

With everything prepared, he took out the items and placed them before him. Then, facing the flickering fireball, his expression solidified, and he raised both hands.

With a rumbling boom, two golden arcs of lightning simultaneously shot out from his palms, striking the azure fireball.

…

Inside the main hall of the Falling Cloud Sect’s encampment, Lü Luo sat motionless on a chair in the hall, his face utterly expressionless.

Before him stood several Core Formation cultivators of the Falling Cloud Sect, including the old man in a red shirt and the woman surnamed Song. Their expressions were tinged with a hint of anxiety.

“Disciple Duan, how many days has your Senior Martial Uncle Han been in seclusion?” Lü Luo suddenly asked, his tone flat.

“Reporting to Senior Martial Uncle. Senior Martial Uncle Han has been in the meditation chamber for over two months. Junior Martial Sister Song and I have been guarding the chamber’s entrance, and he has never come out.”

“Mm. Your Senior Martial Uncle Han informed me before he went into seclusion. He said he needed to make some preparations for the upcoming war and asked us not to disturb him lightly. But now, the Moulan seem to have all their personnel assembled and are beginning to stir. Our high-level forces have held several meetings. Those cultivators all insisted on having your Senior Martial Uncle Han attend. I have been making excuses to turn them down. But now, the Three Great Cultivators have gathered at Skyfirst City and have sent a letter asking your Senior Martial Uncle Han to join them tomorrow. This is a meeting that only cultivators in the mid-Nascent Soul stage and above are allowed to attend. It shows just how highly they value your Senior Martial Uncle Han. It would be difficult to refuse again. Furthermore, I estimate that this meeting will be the final decision on our battle strategy. If our Falling Cloud Sect has someone to attend this meeting, we will reap no small benefits.” Lü Luo sighed, then murmured.

Hearing their Senior Martial Uncle Lü’s words, the others in the hall wore bitter smiles as well.

“But Senior Martial Uncle Han is certainly at a critical point in his seclusion. If we disturb him easily, could it cause all his efforts to fail?” The woman surnamed Song hesitated for a moment, a look of concern flashing across her beautiful face.

“It’s precisely because of this concern that I, Lü, have been dragging things out. But if Senior Martial Uncle Han does not reappear at tomorrow’s meeting, I’m afraid the others…” A middle-aged cultivator with two small mustaches spoke, his tone somewhat hesitant.

“The others?” Han Li’s voice suddenly drifted in from outside the hall. It was not loud, but it reached everyone’s ears with perfect clarity.

Hearing this, Lü Luo’s face was instantly filled with joy.