“Yu Jiang.”
Li Qinghong had seen him just moments earlier. He was the cultivator from the South Sea she had encountered while fighting Guo Hongjian. His aura gave away nothing of his depth, carrying an enigmatic, unfathomable air.
He merely hovered before her, taking in her resplendent figure draped in purple lightning with an expression of natural admiration. He seemed to be waiting for something, making no move to attack.
Knowing he was formidable, Li Qinghong kept a firm grip on her spear and did not strike first. After two breaths of silence, she saw a plume of cyan-black light soar into the sky from Chenshui Mausoleum to the north, expanding rapidly until it dyed half the heavens in a dark, greenish-black hue.
*Rumble!*
A thunderous roar echoed across the land as if something immense had crashed down amid the distant mountains. The earth shuddered and the mountains shook to a deafening din as a hazy aura of purple-black qi surged toward the firmament.
The demonic smoke rolling in from the north faltered all at once, writhing in confusion. Some wisps turned back north, others halted to clash against one another, while a few continued south, descending into utter disarray.
She cast an anxious glance toward the disturbance. The young man before her, seemingly having waited for this very descent all along, finally spoke:
“Fellow Daoist Li, Daning Palace has fallen back to earth. Chenshui Mausoleum is now strewn with ancient ruins, and the demonic cultivators will surely flock there to scavenge. Their offensive will ease for the moment.
“I sought out this exact opening to come here. I ask that you enlighten me in battle.”
His voice was clear and melodious, echoing softly through the air. Li Qinghong was taken aback by his words. Knitting her elegant brows, she murmured, “Greetings, Fellow Daoist. Yet in the midst of this great catastrophe between North and South, it hardly seems the time for a duel. Please wait until this trial has passed. If we both keep our lives, it will not be too late for you to seek me out.”
Yu Jiang studied her closely and replied, “I bear some grievances against Qingchi. To see you holding back the demonic cultivators does not sit well with me.”
Li Qinghong narrowed her eyes slightly. His explanation sounded contradictory, yet a sudden realization struck her:
*Of course… if the demonic cultivators’ southward push is the will of several Violet Palace masters, then by single-handedly relieving the pressure on the defensive line, as time drags on, I might offend those masters…*
She let out a soft breath. She now suspected the man before her had been sent by some Violet Palace master to tie her down. Feeling relieved that he had not arrived a moment sooner, she drew her spear, purple lightning rippling across the blade, and said softly, “Li Qinghong of Qingdu.”
“Yu Jiang of the South Sea.”
The young man gave a slight nod. In that very instant, thunder detonated in his ears. Li Qinghong vanished from where she stood, closing in at blistering speed atop a flash of violet lightning. In one hand, six silver Xuan Punishment Tokens swirled, flaring with brilliant silver-white thunderlight.
“When yang reaches its peak, it breathes forth, giving birth to six thunders!”
*Rumble!*
Before her spear could even strike, a streak of silver-white thunder had already torn through the void. Yu Jiang cast a glance at the six Xuan Punishment Tokens. Forming an incantation seal with his hands, a glittering golden light emerged from his palms.
He chanted softly, “Thunder strikes into the Dui realm, mooring amid the sea of clouds.”
In the blink of an eye, a vast ocean manifested in midair, from which a glimmering golden spark ascended. When the silver-white thunder crashed into it, it was as if it plunged into a bottomless vortex, swallowed up entirely.
The ocean swirled, condensing back into a tiny golden talisman that drifted down into Yu Jiang’s grasp. Just like that, Li Qinghong’s Xuan Thunder was neutralized.
Knowing he was an extraordinary opponent, Li Qinghong showed no surprise. Her spear, Duruo, thrust forward trailing a blur of violet afterimages. Surprisingly, Yu Jiang raised his hand and struck out with an open palm toward the spearhead.
“Hm?”
Li Qinghong’s spear felt as though it had struck soft cotton. The shaft bent slightly, grazing past him as an explosion of violet thunder erupted, only to be scattered with a simple wave of the black-robed youth’s sleeve.
*Clang!*
Li Qinghong withdrew her spear and spun around, first raising the six silver Xuan Punishment Tokens before her to ward off any counterattack. Taking a quick look, she found the tip of Duruo had been warped slightly out of alignment, wriggling back into place like a living creature.
*This is a shamanic talisman art…*
She now had a better measure of her adversary’s abilities. Yu Jiang’s expression remained tranquil, yet the hand gripping the golden talisman trembled faintly, dispersing a stray fleck of silver thunder. Clearly, parrying her blow had not been quite as effortless as he made it appear.
As Li Qinghong pulled back her spear, Yu Jiang flicked his sleeve, sending several specks of black light into the air. Mid-flight, they transformed into luminous talismans that circled once quietly around him before sinking entirely into his pupils.
His pupils dilated abruptly as he stared straight at her. A roaring detonation echoed through Li Qinghong’s mind; all she saw was pitch-black darkness, accompanied by the steady dripping of blood, blinding her to her surroundings.
*What a formidable spell!*
Even as darkness shrouded Li Qinghong’s vision, Yu Jiang seized the opening to weave another seal. His gaze locked onto Duruo, and he thought to himself, *That spear is no ordinary weapon. Perhaps because of its Xuan Thunder nature, it inherently counters shapeshifting and wicked arts—to think it began correcting itself immediately after taking a palm strike from me…*
With one hand tucked beneath his elbow, he extended two fingers forward toward Duruo and raised his chin slightly, commanding, “Primal shamanic transmutation: let the implement become demonic!”
Meanwhile, before Li Qinghong’s vision fully dimmed, a surge of clear light burst from her Qihai aperture, sweeping away the shamanic illusions cluttering her mind. Coming back to her senses, she was about to summon her thunder when she felt a clammy, slithering texture in her palm.
Duruo had transformed into a white serpent covered in fine scales! It gaped its mouth in bewilderment, struggling to break free from her grasp. Li Qinghong gripped it tightly, knowing she had fallen into the rhythm of her opponent’s spells.
“Edict!”
Without hesitation, she spat forth a mote of Xuan Thunder. A bead of light shot from between her lips, causing Yu Jiang’s brows to twitch. He barely managed to step half a pace back before a torrent of violet thunder erupted in the sky, crashing down with a deafening blast. Forced to abort his spell, he moved to defend himself.
Li Qinghong instantly seized the opportunity. A torrential surge of lightning poured into the spear, purging every trace of the shamanic talisman art. In an instant, Duruo reverted to its true form, gleaming silver as it vanished into the cascading cataract of thunder.
Striding through the deluge of lightning was agonizingly difficult for Yu Jiang, yet he still managed to raise his hands. Talismans lit up in his palms as he struck at the spear with both hands, attempting to deflect its trajectory.
Li Qinghong was no longer merely probing him. Her eyes shone a brilliant violet-white, and terrifying arcs of electricity crackled across her entire body. In a flash, her lightning tore his spells to shreds as her spear drove straight toward his face.
“Good!”
Forced to avoid the brunt of her strike, Yu Jiang twisted his robes. His garments were instantly ripped to shreds by the lightning, and his form reappeared several feet away as he coughed up a breath of violet electricity.
Both of them halted at the same time and turned toward the north.
Billowing demonic smoke roared across the sky, bearing several gorgeously robed demonic cultivators of towering, majestic auras standing atop the clouds, advancing inexorably from the horizon.
*Clang…*
Yet neither of them was looking at the approaching demonic smoke. Their eyes were fixed on the northern sky far beyond, where a speck of golden light was hurtling through the void. A domineering, razor-sharp astral qi surged forth in magnificent waves, tearing through the demonic smoke without the slightest hesitation as it drew rapidly near.
Chapter 605