Chapter 0447: Sudden Situation

The refining process was going as smoothly as Li Luo could have hoped for.

It was so easy that he even felt comfortable enough to nod off.

The ward all but ran itself on autopilot. His only job was to use the Acquired Resonance Godly Forging Art to create a puny Acquired Resonance Flame.

The ward would then turn Yu Hongxi and Chi Chan's enormous amounts of power into a special fuel that would boost his Acquired Resonance Flame to the point that it was suitable to refine the ingredients inside the brazier.

The herbs and ores continued to bubble and fuse within.

This was no ordinary fusion. The ward was expertly designed to fuse all the ingredients in the proper steps and amounts, with not a single mistake. Li Luo didn't have to do anything.

This was easier than a walk in the park. This was like riding a carriage through the park.

Seeing how relaxed Li Luo was surprised Yu Hongxi. Her eyes widened as she realized how automated the ward was.

"This ward... is sentient?"

Li Luo had no idea what she was talking about, but Yu Hongxi was a Duke, so she clearly understood the ward's intricacies a little better than he did.

She was highly impressed.

Those two had really never stopped moving forward, even after they had left the rest of the generation behind.

Back when they were at the Xia Kingdom, their talent had eclipsed every other expert in their generation. No one else had dared to claim talent of any sort, not when they grew up in the chilly discouragement of those two's shadows.

Now that they had been gone for many years, the memory of their brilliance had slowly faded away from Yu Hongxi's mind. But this ward had brought it all blazing back—those years of domination by the two.

Yu Hongxi controlled her feelings, focusing on pushing more resonant power into the ward.

Over at the other side of the chamber, Chi Chan was feeling the same.

"Seems like there'll be no problems with refining whatever this is," she thought to herself. She let some of the tension ease from her shoulders.

Although House Luolan had many enemies, none should be able to infiltrate the Astral Sage College's grounds. The only pesky one here was Shen Jinxiao, but he would scarcely barge in to cause trouble.

Thinking thus, she was happy to push more of her resonant power into the ward.

Suddenly, her body lurched. There was a disturbance in the flow of Chi Chan's resonant power.

She seized up.

She fell to the floor, her hand clutching at her veil. Under it, her eyes were filled with horror and pain.

"No! It can't be!" she said hoarsely.

“After so many years, why has it been triggered now?”

Chi Chan screeched in agony.

From beneath her veil, black marks started to surface, becoming a line of small, black fishes. They burrowed into her eye, turning her right eye completely black.

A sinister aura filled the air.

Her left eye was normal, but it was struggling frantically.

Her resonant power was flying out of control, smashing and ricocheting off the space.

"Li-Li Luo, watch out!" she shouted with her last breath.

BOOM!

She completely lost control, her resonant power gushing out of her from unexpected parts of her body in a bizarre variety of strengths. It would blast out of her chest at one moment, then ooze from her back in the next. Her entire body was at its mercy, contorted this way and that like a limp ragdoll in the resonant power's fury.

Li Luo could not deal with the attacks coming his way.

He stood no chance against the wrath of a Duke; he could not even avoid it.

The torrent of resonant power was stopped midair by a wave of red resonant power that shimmered together as a wall of petals. It not only stopped the attack, but absorbed some of the power.

"Mentor Chi Chan?!" Yu Hongxi was on her feet, looking over gravely. She had saved Li Luo.

"President Yu! What's happened to Mentor Chi Chan?" Li Luo gasped.

"She's lost control, it seems."

Yu Hongxi was watching Chi Chan's crazed eyes carefully. "That twitch. That aura. It's the corruption of Others. Has she succumbed before?"

Li Luo looked at his mentor in disbelief.

“Mentor Chi Chan? Corrupted by Others?! What Other could corrupt even a Duke?

“Actually, Mentor Chi Chan always wears a veil. Is she hiding something beneath it?”

BOOM!

While they spoke, Chi Chan moved again. Her jet-black eyes were locked onto Yu Hongxi, slim hands punching out with ferocious power that sharply contrasted against her diminutive frame. A blue tiger leaped forth.

The black stripes on its back pulsed with power that made Li Luo go cold with fear.

Roar!

The tiger snarled as it rent the air with its sharp claws.

Yu Hongxi's fingers moved in a blur as she lifted her chin defiantly. Completing a series of hand motions, she pushed out with her palm.

"Crimson Flower Palm!" Crimson power burst out of her open hand in a circle of petals. The heart of the flower glowed with a dark flame.

Ping!

The tiger leaped into the petals in a clash of fire and water. Vaporization sent boiling steam out in a vicious spray, but the walls of the cultivation chamber absorbed it all.

The tiger retreated, growling and pacing.

Yu Hongxi frowned. Chi Chan was in a strange state, but she was not about to kill a teacher. She could only defend, and also defend Li Luo, the puny Resonant Master caught between two Dukes. He would be wiped out like an ant otherwise.

Besides, their goal today had been to help Li Luo with his refining. If they ended up fighting all their strength away, they would have none left to help Li Luo. Today would be wasted.

Li Luo could not possibly keep the ward running forever. As the core energy within faded, the ward would fade as well. He could not replicate it again.

This was a real dilemma.

Yu Hongxi's mind raced. One more option was Cao Sheng, who was just outside. But the more eyes on the situation, the more muddled the picture.

While she was puzzling this out, Li Luo received some information from the ward itself. Clearly, the fighting had triggered some defenses from the ward.

Li Taixuan and Tan Tailan had truly prepared for every single possible outcome.

Li Luo was moved by his parents' foresight and meticulous crafting. It might have just saved him right now.

"President Yu," Li Luo shouted to her, "transfer your resonant power to me. I'll subdue Mentor Chi Chan!"

Yu Hongxi was taken aback. “This youngster…”

Still, she moved decisively to push more of her power into the ward.

“Alright, kid, let's see what you can do.”