Chapter 854: Yu Jiang (I)

Li Qinghong leveled her silver spear at her opponent with one hand, while the other hand formed two fingers pointing diagonally at the ground. Bright lightning gathered at her fingertips. As raging gray fire shot toward her, she brought her slender hand to her lips, exhaled a breath of lightning, and intoned, “When the sun reaches its height, it births six thunders!”

A thunderous boom rang out as six dazzlingly bright silver-white rays of light emerged before her. Six slender, elegant command tokens flickered simultaneously, and their runes lit up one by one.

Boom!

The six ancient command tokens aligned their bases, forming a six-sided silver-white array in the air. Explosive silver-white lightning leaped out and soared into the sky. It met the gray fire and instantly blasted it into ash, filling the sky with silver-white fragments.

Not only was this silver lightning incredibly powerful, it also followed the mana connection of the gray fire back to the red robed man’s palms. It flickered on and off, sending a numbness through both his hands.

“This!”

The red robed man’s expression changed dramatically. He hurriedly shook off the spell art in his hands, dropping a clump of gray fire that gleamed with silver light as it shuddered and contracted in the air.

Boom!

The gray fire, no longer under his control, hit the ground like thunder and exploded, sending gray dust flying everywhere. It fell like rain. He stared at the six dharma artifacts as if he’d seen a ghost.

Although Crimson Reef Island’s east and west sides were at odds and Guo Hongjian had suffered because of it, the Merging Fire Command Token he held had been granted by the island itself and was considered excellent among Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators. But now when his opponent produced six command tokens of similar, if not higher, quality, Guo Hongjian was at a loss for words.

“Ah?”

Then he looked at her fine dharma artifact spear and the mysterious greenish-white feathered robe she wore, each piece no worse than his own, and felt shock and confusion rise within him,

Am I the Purple Mansion Realm descendant, or is she? How could a single family have so many high-quality treasures?! What is this?!

He was frozen in shock, but Li Qinghong didn’t wait for him. Using the Sixfold Profound Thunder Punishment Tokens in real combat for the first time had yielded surprisingly satisfying results. She deftly formed a hand seal with her slender fingers.

The six command tokens suddenly leaped up. One started to crackle with lightning and rose to float upside down over another below, while the other four positioned themselves at the east, west, south, and north.

She parted her vermilion lips and said coldly, “Rabbit enters Dragon Palace, bestow the Profound Punishment.”

Guo Hongjian only heard the thunder roar. He clasped his hands together and slapped them down on his command token. A pillar of gray Merging Fire shot skyward, enveloping him. He heard the clouds herald thunder as the roiling Merging Fire wrapped around him.

Boom!

A silver-white lightning bolt descended from the sky, and the Merging Fire surrounding him exploded. A silver-white glow ate its way through the gray flames, making them sizzle and hiss.

Fortunately, the lightning only flickered for a moment before vanishing. Guo Hongjian’s face turned pale, then regained some color. He dispersed the flames, his hands slightly numb, and flung out a sleeve of black smoke, secretly relieved,

Thank goodness we’re not in the Eastern Sea!

Unfortunately, we’re not in the Eastern Sea...

Li Qinghong felt a tinge of regret. She drew back her dharma seal, and the silver command tokens gathered together to form a six-sided silver formation.

It’s a pity I’m not skilled in spell arts... I can only partially activate these Sixfold Profound Thunder Punishment Tokens. They cannot be fully utilized...

These two invocations were not her own invention but were inscribed within the Sixfold Profound Thunder Punishment Tokens when she had refined them. There were six in total, each very powerful, but controlling them was extremely cumbersome. Li Qinghong hadn’t had the artifact for long and had barely deciphered two of the spells. She sighed inwardly,

The first spell is still decent... but the last one falls far short of what the description says... Maybe it’s because of the changes in the heavens, and the thunder no longer exists. If this were the Eastern Sea during the Falling Water Rising Storm, this strike could at least injure him.

A thought flickered in her mind. She flipped her hand over, and all six thunder tokens leaped apart and floated at her side. Her feathered robe glowed greenish-white, and her spear pierced through the thunder shadow in an instant.

Her spear danced, spreading a field of purple sparrow shadows in the air. But Guo Hongjian was a direct descendant of Crimson Reef Island and had managed to regain his footing during the exchange. His command token flew up, capturing two points of gray light.

He formed a seal and shouted, “Go!”

The two gray lights shot toward Li Qinghong at lightning speed. Gray fire erupted around her and dove into her mana. She used her mana to disperse them, swung her spear across, and slashed at his chest, only to see a black round shield materialize in front of him. The two collided, and purple lightning exploded.

The black shield fell away, smoking, and Guo Hongjian seized the chance to pull back. Li Qinghong’s spear never paused, but as she thrust to pursue him, the gray fire on her body burned ever fiercer. It clashed with the lightning and gave off thick black smoke, forcing her to retreat a step.

Merging Fire shortens lifespan and damages life force. It transforms into artifacts to dispel evil, and like a malignant tumor, it burns stronger with every moment it’s allowed to burn...

Now that the Li Family’s legacy had grown more complete, she could now recognize many famous Dao lineages. Li Qinghong instantly recalled the nature of Merging Fire and dared not allow the flames to burn unchecked. She stopped immediately.

Sure enough, the gray fire clung to her mana, rapidly burning through her mana. Merging Fire could also damage her Dharma robe, yet withdrawing her mana would damage her Cyan Sparrow Plume.

She had no choice but to press her two fingers together and activate her Immortal Foundation. The purple lightning on her body grew denser until it gradually suppressed the Merging Fire. Guo Hongjian hailed from Crimson Reef Island, so he had used this move successfully many times. Knowing her reaction, how could he give up?

He thrust his palm forward to restrain her and shouted, “Fire, come!”

Two streams of gray fire spewed from between his lips and poured into his palm. They were then guided by his Merging Fire command token, transforming into two talisman seals that shot toward her face.

Li Qinghong sidestepped and raised her spear, summoning lightning. But the spear shadow seemed a bit too thin amid the raging Merging Fire. It only split the Merging Fire into two sections, but the flames still clung to her. She let out a muffled groan, and her eyes suddenly glowed with purple light,

Purple Talisman Origin Light Secret Technique!

She spat out a point of white light from between her apricot lips. It expanded rapidly in the air, not to block the Merging Fire before her but to softly and elegantly bypass it and shoot toward Guo Hongjian.

“Hm?”

Boom!

A waterfall of purple lightning expanded, flowing like clouds and rain in the air. The spell art in Guo Hongjian’s hands was instantly shattered by the lightning, and the intense purple lightning struck toward him. His face turned pale, and he hurriedly pulled out a talisman.