The river waters surged torrentially.
As the morning glow crested the horizon, it cast a golden mantle over the Crimson Flame Gate Tower. Inside the pavilion, the long-faced man sat in unbroken silence until Murong Yan sauntered up before him. Only then did he murmur,
"Fellow Daoist Murong... do you have any thoughts?"
Murong Yan took a seat with casual ease. His fleshy face showed not the slightest trace of embarrassment; rather, he appeared thoroughly at ease as he replied in a hushed tone,
"He must have made arrangements. With you and me stationed here by the river, he will surely want to teach us a lesson to put us in our place."
He seemed to regard Shilou Yingge as one of his own. Shrouded within their divine ability, he spoke without the slightest reserve, chuckling as he continued,
"Bai Ziyu is a clever man; he knows his fortunes can only depend on Qi Lanyan. As for the Helian uncle and nephew, they simply fear Guanxie. Look at Tuoba Ci—he refuses to take even a single step forward. The people from the Zhao Palace are about to arrive from above. If he doesn't establish his authority now... how will he order anyone around when the time comes?"
Shilou Yingge smiled faintly and asked,
"If that is so... what sort of methods do you reckon he will employ? Hengli and Hengxing... surely they won't show up, will they?"
Murong Yan stroked his beard and laughed.
"How could that be possible!"
Seeing his reaction, Shilou Yingge merely let out a long sigh and remarked,
"True enough. The esteemed lords of your clan truly possess extraordinary methods! With merely a reincarnation sent southward, you settled the entire matter... pulling strings through the True Monarch, leaving the Solar Dao Lineage utterly speechless and mired in their own internal strife."
"My family's handiwork?"
Murong Yan gave a mocking smirk, as if there were a deep and hidden story behind it all. He said,
"In earlier days, not even my clan dared speak of it, terrified of ruining the affair. But now the picture has grown clearer, and what is done cannot be undone, so there is no harm in discussing it with you!
"You call it my family's handiwork, so let me ask you this: through all these years as the sun sank in the west, what has Hengzhu ever actually lost? Back when the Violet Palaces were locked in stalemate, why did a direct descendant of Hengzhu suddenly run off for no reason? Did my clan truly possess such great capability? Do not be swayed by how everyone claims the Murong family's machinations caused discord within the Solar Dao Lineage...
"Who truly wished for discord is anyone's guess!"
At these words, Shilou Yingge's pupils dilated slightly. Clearly recalling something ominous, he found himself momentarily tongue-tied. After hesitating for a long while, he tried to cover his unease:
"Fellow Daoist, surely you go too far. Hengli and Hengxing... they are hardly that sort of men..."
Murong Yan burst into laughter and replied,
"Of course. With Hengzhu's supreme master never showing Himself, this matter could be pinned on anyone."
This bordered on sheer blasphemy, alluding to someone far higher up. Shilou Yingge found it even more impossible to respond, a chill creeping through his heart:
'If so... then either the one in Hengzhu made arrangements even earlier, spotting some trace and realizing that the one in Yuzhen had hopes of achieving the Dao, anticipating the trouble ahead and preparing far in advance...
'Or... as the grand momentum of the realm was about to surge and Hengzhu's sovereign had not manifested for years, someone above did not want Hengzhu Dao entangled too deeply lest unforeseen complications arise, and so engineered this schism on purpose...
'So much so that over all these years, Hengzhu has remained virtually unscathed. Its only true loss was merely a direct scion who had no hope of attaining the Violet Palace anyway. Sacrificing one person to pacify an entire commandery...'
His pupils quivered faintly:
'Hengli probably knew nothing of this... But during that battle beneath Luoxia, Hengxing was willing to come. Had he sensed something? Did he already have his own calculations... secretly playing along, unwilling to be drawn too deep?'
Neither wished to say more on the matter, and they steered the topic back. Murong Yan asked in a low voice,
"Could it be Chi Buzi?"
At the mention of that name, Shilou Yingge fell silent for a moment before answering,
"I have heard of him... the foremost prodigy of Qingchi, now a Great Master. His cultivation speed is terrifyingly swift, and as for the Violet threshold, he crossed it the moment he chose to, seemingly with even greater ease than Wei Xuanyin did back in the day."
Murong Yan's expression darkened slightly. "It is not impossible. Though Chi Buzi is known for looking out for himself, if there is genuine profit to be had, he might not refrain from meddling... But just how much capability does he possess?"
A smile touched the Yan imperial scion's face as he continued,
"You, me, Xin Du—that makes three of us right here. And nearby along the shore is Daixi. Three Sattva Thrones, one Lotus Throne. Even if Mount Dayuan Guangyin refuses to dispatch anyone and Tuoba Ci stays put, how many people would it take to overcome us?"
Shilou Yingge, however, frowned. His eyes slowly turned toward the south as he replied,
"They are already here."
Murong Yan likewise raised his head and looked out. Across the morning riverbank, white snow fluttered down, no longer halting at the water's edge as it had in days past, but driving gusts of chilling wind across the river's expanse.
Holding her spiritual sword in her arms, Ning Wan stood expressionless amidst the biting cold wind. Behind her, a figure emerged, accompanied by billowing white waters—it was the sword cultivator Master Yushui, Chen Yin.
Yet Murong Yan's gaze swept quickly past the two of them, coming to rest upon the golden-eyed man beside them:
'Li Zhouwei...'
Crash!
The True Fire overhead swiftly drew back. The arched bridge and the armored warriors of True Fire all dissolved into flames, sinking into Shilou Yingge's palm before vanishing like phantoms.
His golden robe fluttering, the man stood suspended in midair alongside Murong Yan, his tone placid:
"Fellow Daoist Ning... what is the meaning of this?"
Without waiting for another word, Ning Wan unleashed twenty-eight white banners that soared into the air, hanging high in the sky. Swirling white lights poured down like a deluge of miniature swords falling from the heavens, blanketing everything below.
In an instant, war cries shook the sky as cultivators, monks, and demonic cultivators from both sides engaged in bloody battle. Murong Yan merely let out a dark chuckle, a thick murderous intent surging in his eyes:
"Splendid!"
At once, the colors of heaven and earth drained away. Various murky hues surged forth, turning the pure, radiant falling snow dull and pale.
Ningwuchen!
The divine ability rolled forward like surging waves. Chen Yin's figure was nowhere to be seen as his own divine ability drifted out to clash water against water. Yet his white Fushui divine ability could only encompass his own person, standing steadfast like a reef amid the tumultuous waves.
Li Zhouwei watched in calm stillness with his golden eyes. Between his brows, radiance had long gathered into a shimmering, brilliant hue. Having long known the effects of Murong Yan's Ningwuchen, he had prepared in advance. Standing quietly behind Chen Yin's Fushui divine ability, he effortlessly stabilized his own!
Boom!
The Female Water divine ability spread outward with astonishing speed, tinting the sky as though it had been drenched in ink. Several circulating divine abilities stalled at once, yet a single speck of blazing brilliance burst free from the dark clouds.
Shilou Yingge's golden robe billowed, his eyes turned completely into a bright crimson red. Centered around him, the clouds across the sky retreated rapidly, giving way to a blazing, boundless sea of fire.
"The Gao clan's True Fire art!"
The moment the two struck, the entire sky was cleft neatly into two distinct halves: below lay pitch-black gloom, while above raged roaring True Fire. All the falling snow vaporized into nothingness in an instant, leaving only the twenty-eight white array banners struggling to preserve themselves within the flames.
Clang!
At this critical juncture, a white jade spiritual sword emerged from the Great Void. Cold as autumn water and swift as a thunderclap, it pointed straight at Shilou Yingge!
'Zhu Sheng...'
This Yuzhen swordsman from the Southern Border had always been a close friend of Qingchi. It was Li Zhouwei's first time laying eyes on him, and a stir went through his heart as he recalled the bitter expression Ning Wan had worn:
'He actually agreed to step in! Could it be... he doesn't know Sui Guan is behind this?!'
Without letting his focus waver, the thought merely flashed across Li Zhouwei's mind before the brilliance between his brows erupted with a thunderous roar. Yet it did not shoot toward Murong Yan; rather, it struck the empty space before Chen Yin.
Boom!
The multicolored light of Mingyang surged upward, carving out a luminous sanctuary within this world enveloped by Ningwuchen. Where Shangyao Subduing Light landed, a man dressed in white and cloaked in a grey cape slowly materialized, looking somewhat chagrined.
It was none other than the demonic cultivator Xin Du!
He had intended to catch the pair off guard, only to be seen through without realizing it. As the dazzling Shangyao Subduing Light crashed down, he was caught unprepared instead, forced to gather his robe and deploy his divine ability to fend off the illumination.
Yet Shangyao Subduing Light flashed with incredible speed, vanishing almost as quickly as it struck. It forced a cough from Xin Du, and Chen Yin lunged forward to press him. Meanwhile, Li Zhouwei's figure soared into the air. With an effortless stretch of his long arms, his halberd swept across in a streak of flowing light, its crossbar shimmering within the radiance as it slammed heavily against an incoming dark silhouette, bursting into a shower of sparks.
The clash of divine abilities momentarily hung in the sky. Overextended across too broad an area, Ningwuchen was finally broken by the combined divine abilities of several Violet Palaces, revealing the distant morning glow once more. The golden sunrise shone brightly against the halberd, which parried a spiritual weapon—half-staff, half-mace—emerging from demonic smoke.
Specks of light within the halberd gleamed like the rising sun as its Embracing Radiance marvel activated. A fist-sized streak of trailing white light leaped out from it, spiraling around the halberd's shaft.
Li Zhouwei's eyes reflected once more in Murong Yan's pupils. Gripping his weapon, the Li clan prodigy finally showed a trace of a smile:
"Fellow Daoist Murong... today we may engage in a proper fight!"
Seeing Li Zhouwei intercept him, the murderous intent in Murong Yan's eyes gradually faded. Shifting his gaze from Chen Yin, a keen excitement took its place, and he laughed:
"Good!"
The moment the word fell, Murong Yan's figure vanished from where he stood. In his place appeared a man-sized, dazzlingly bright circular halo bordered by sixteen scales.
Meanwhile, his actual body shifted ten paces to the side out of thin air. Pressing two fingers together before him, he unleashed two beams of golden light that interlaced into a circular ring of spell-radiance. From the glowing halo, an identical ring of radiance whistled forth at once, both shooting toward Li Zhouwei to bind him.
Li Zhouwei raised his halberd, twisting his arm as he leaped. Yet he reversed his grip on Dasheng, setting the long shaft flush against his arm and resting it behind his back. Without haste, he freed a hand to unfasten the golden battleaxe hanging at his waist.
'The Huayang Royal Battleaxe!'
Having kept a watchful eye on him all along, Murong Yan felt a flash of complicated emotions—wariness mingled with exasperation—and momentarily lost his focus:
'The Huayang Royal Battleaxe of Li Shu and his son Li Guangpei... Renowned for its crushing heaviness, what does he plan to do by drawing it now?!'
Yet Li Zhouwei merely turned his palm upward. The battleaxe, an emblem of noble stature and authority, floated gently above his palm. Inch by inch, gentle radiance radiated from the axe, illuminating the surroundings.
Radiance!
Pale white light shone outward, instantly draping over the entire battlefield. Whether it was Zhu Sheng and Chen Yin wielding their swords in battle or Ning Wan maneuvering her array to assist with drifting snow, all felt the pale white glow bathe them, forming a protective mantle that repelled the encroaching True Fire and Female Water.
In his past encounters, Li Zhouwei had fought alone and saw no urgency to deploy this art. But now, in a battle between numerous Violet Palaces, he brought it forth early to support his allies.
Whoosh...
Yet in that mere fraction of a breath, the two spell-rings—cloaked in pale blue light with golden loops inside—had already locked onto him. Unhurried, Li Zhouwei parted his lips.
Chhh...
Surging purple fire erupted from between his teeth, sweeping across. Possessing extraordinary might, this burst of purple flame barreled forward, instantly blasting the two spell-rings aside.
It was none other than the Flame Spitting capability of the Huayang Royal Battleaxe!
In that single instant, Guangming Tiantao surged around Li Zhouwei's person. The Solar Yingli Technique blazed brightly, climbing up his arm. With an upward flick of his halberd, he cast the two spells behind him and charged straight toward Murong Yan!
He had recognized earlier that the sixteen scales surrounding the glowing halo were magical scales of a green-necked flood dragon; thus, the illumination had to be a confounding light of coalesced water, troublesome to neutralize. The best counter was naturally to strike at where the enemy must defend, forcing him to dispel the spell!
Murong Yan instantly raised the Heyuan Cudgel. With a twitch of his brow, he ceased expanding his Ningwuchen divine ability, keeping it tightly wound within ten paces of himself to lock out all light.
Clang!
The collision of spiritual weapons rang out like thunder. As expected, Murong Yan cut short his spellcasting, stalling slightly. Dasheng overflowed with brilliance as another streak of Embracing Radiance white light leaped out. Two specks of white light spiraled around the halberd, warding off the radiance of the Ningwuchen divine ability.
Yet the moment Murong Yan parried Dasheng, a hazy golden luster rose along the halberd's length. Though the physical weapon remained in place, holding off the Heyuan Cudgel, a golden halberd shadow whipped out in an elegant arc, lunging straight for his neck!
It was the avatar marvel born of Dasheng's Attuned Adherence!
'He wants to trade a phantom shadow to force out my female countenance!'
Astonishment flashed in Murong Yan's eyes. Comprehending his opponent's intent, he was nonetheless forced to raise his head, revealing that disheveled, fair, and beautiful woman's face, which clamped down upon the phantom shadow with a resounding clang.
'When his female aspect manifests, his true body is indeed momentarily weakened!'
The avatar of Attuned Adherence shattered with a crash, but the physical weapon in Li Zhouwei's hands was no longer hindered as it had been during their first duel. Resplendent with golden light, he spun the weapon around, knocking aside the Heyuan Cudgel whose dharmic power had dimmed, and thrust forward once more, smashing the woman's head to pieces.
"Impressive!"
Amidst the swirling black mist, a hand as white and fair as jade gripped the short handle of the Heyuan Cudgel once more. Murong Yan finally shed every remnant of his corpulent exterior shell, revealing a stalwart man standing in midair, his luminous arms gleaming jade-white amid the rolling purple flames rushing toward him.
The form of the Heyuan Cudgel expanded boundlessly in the air, condensing into a colossal black demonic edge that cleaved straight downward!
Boom!
The clash of metal on metal rang out deafeningly. Blinding Mingyang radiance soared into the sky as billowing grey light of Female Water flowed like a torrent. The black demonic edge, massive as a mountain peak, stalled in midair, casting a colossal shadow over the earth below.
A single golden halberd, looking like a mere twig in comparison, stood upright in the air to hold the demonic edge at bay. Li Zhouwei was driven downward by over a hundred zhang, nearly plunging into the river. His knuckles were pale from his grip, while beneath his feet, the river surface caved in under the crushing weight of their divine abilities, surging outward to either side until an enormous waterless chasm appeared in the middle of the rushing river.
Boom!
Brilliant sparks burst forth alongside purple flames at the point of collision. In an instant, the sky was split cleanly along their boundary into two halves: one side blazing with resplendent light, the other churning with surging grey mist.
Cultivators from both factions battling across the river were frightened out of their wits, scrambling and tumbling away in terror, opening a vast, gaping void in the midst of the chaotic battle.
This spectacle born from the violent collision of divine abilities lasted only for a fleeting instant. The divine abilities of the masters once more blanketed the sky, the True Fire and Yuzhen light brightening anew in a weave of red and white that cast a brilliant glow across Li Zhouwei's face. His eyes burning bright, he locked gazes with Murong Yan in silence.
Thump...
The cry of a phoenix, the roar of a dragon, banners rising and streamers fluttering—muffled rumbles churned within the clouds. That pristine white gate tower descended from the heavens once more, reenacting the scene of their first battle. Staring into the smiling eyes of his foe, Murong Yan finally sensed that something was amiss.
The target of Audience at the Heavenly Gate was not him, but...
The Heyuan Cudgel!
Chapter 949