"Well, do you have a plan to get the fire essence?" Yànhuā asked, slowing down her pace.
"Well, seeing how you're well leading the charge, I thought you had a plan. I guess you are just useless." Lian whispered the last part, under his breath
"What!" Yànhuā turned her head.
"Nothing, so here is the plan clearly. There is no way for us to defeat two fifth tear beast at the same time, the only way for us to get the essence is if one of them dies right!"
"We will look at whichever is losing and assist t that way. When the stronger one dies, we can kill the one who won and take the fire essence flower."
"Mhm, yeah,h that a great plan we should go with that," she nodded as she drew her blade. It was a deep sapphire-blue, releasing a cold, chilling Aura that froze the grass underneath them.
"Wasn't she using flame Qi before and now it Frost Qi, mmm so she is one of those geniuses with more than one affinity, I am so envious I don't even know the affinity I have, tch those cheap elders they said they didn't want to waste an infinity testing crystal on me seeing as I hadn't even broken to the third human layer, I have to find I away to know my affinity."
Boom!
The beasts continued their battle. The Firebird swooped through the air, slashing across the serpent's eye.
The snake recoiled in agony and spat a red poison that splashed onto the Firebird's leg, instantly melting it. The trees nearby dissolved as well, turning into dust where the poison touched.
"Kurrrr!" The Firebird screeched and rose into the sky again, wings blazing.
Just then, Yànhuā swung her sword upward, and an arc made from ice sliced at the fire-bird's wing, causing it to descend.
The serpent attacked with its spiked tail, whipping forward, catching the Firebird mid-flight and slamming it into the ground. The giant snake immediately coiled around its body, crushing it with overwhelming force.
"Krrr—! Krrr—!" The Firebird screamed and struggled, but it was far too late.
Crack!
The bird's bones shattered, and it went limp and stopped all movement.
"Nice lets go now before it recovers." Lian leapt forward with his sword already in hand and, without hesitation, drove the blade into the serpent's remaining eye.
The serpent jerked its head up, writhing in pain, and managed to fling Lian away. He spun through the air and landed hard, but immediately rushed forward again, his blade flashing as it struck the snake's scales.
"Ha, so he is also a blade practitioner, he seems strong too, maybe this was a good deal," Yànhuā thought, waiting for her own opportunity.
"Astral blade second form: Rising torrent." Lian's blade vibrated and shot upwards, clashing with the snake scales, and sparks flew everywhere.
Clank!
"Damn it—its scales are so tough that the attack was shallow." When Lian tried pulling his sword out, a swift strike from the serpent's tail shot toward him.
Bang!
The tail slammed into his body and sent him flying.
"It can still trace where I am even without both its eyes?" he muttered, forcing himself to his feet.
"Careful, it can track you using vibrations." Yànhuā 's voice boomed, and the snake's head shot up facing where Yànhuā was.
"So that's how it is. What happens if there are so many vibrations that you can't pinpoint my exact location?"
"Astral dash- reformed version: Star Duplicate."
Lian shot forward, his speed blazing so quickly that afterimages flickered everywhere, and the serpent kept striking at the echoes and disturbances he left behind.
"What should I kill it?!" Lian's blade vibrated once more as he prepared to use another form. Just as he was about to attack, he felt the temperature drop, his gaze flew up and there he saw the most majestic sight he had witnessed in his entire life.
Yànhuā had transformed.
Her hair turned snow-white, her robes shifted to an icy blue, her body had grown quite a bit, her waist had become thinner, and her chest had grown bigger.
"What the hell am I looking at?" Lian froze midstep.
Yànhuā's blade chimed, and with a single swift motion, her blade fell, and the air froze, forming ice shards.
THUD!
The snake's head fell frozen over.
Its massive body spasmed and crashed to the ground, instantly frozen as well.
Doom!
Lian's instincts screamed danger.
As Yànhuā slowly descended, the transformation faded, and she reverted to her old self.
"What… the hell are you?" Lian asked, holding his blade tightly.
"It's my family's secret technique," she replied calmly.
Hearing those words, Lian didn't pry further. Though he was still new to Murim, he understood better than most that families protected their techniques with their lives. Revealing such a secret could destroy an entire clan, and so his prying feather would just lead to an early death.
"I see you got the essence."
"Yeah, took it as you were fighting the snake, that movement technique of yours was impressive. I'm a disciple of the heavenly star sect. What sect do you belong to?" she asked, her hands moving forward to hand over an ice crystal.
Inside was the Fire Essence flickered many colours, each shifting as he moved the crystal through the light.
"I can't tell you that."
"What, why, can't you…" Her eyes were wide, and she looked almost like she was going to pull Lian by his robes.
"Goodbye," Lian turned without saying another word.
"Hey, I'm still talking to you. Why are you being so rude?" Yànhuā asked, a little offended.
"If fate wills it, we will see each other." His voice echoed; he was already gliding through the trees, vanishing into the forest.
"Mmmmm, what with him is he acting all cool because he is trying to woo me, that won't work, acting all mysterious." Though Yànhuā said all those words, her face flushed pink.
"I want to see him again, though…"
After travelling for a while, Lian found a secluded mountain cave and entered.
Sitting cross-legged on the cold stone.
'Have to seize this optionality, now I am running out of time.' He took a deep breath and began circulating his Qi.
"Mmmmmm, I think my foundation has stabilised enough. I can now attempt to break through the foundation stage," he said, inspecting his dantian.
After a full day of recovery, his injuries were mostly healed. Lian then took out the Fire Essence.
The flame inside the crystal flickered violently, as if it were alive and struggling to break free.
"So, this is it, at first it looked like a flower, but now it's more like a living flame," Lian whispered, "With this, I can finally break through and be in the same realm as my peers."
Lian closed his eyes and began repeating the cultivation poem. During that time, heavenly Qi purred towards him; he drew it into his body like a whirlpool. His meridians expanded and pulsed with spiritual light.
Once his breathing stabilised, he reached toward the Fire Essence.
"Mmm… what's this?" Lian muttered as he widened his senses. "There is also ice essence Qi that is being absorbed…"
A chilling force suddenly surged into his body. It was unbearably cold; it felt like he was naked atop a mountain during winter. His flesh trembled; his bones ached.
Even so, he pressed forward.
Soon, he took all the ice Qi covering the fire essence and got into the flame core; the heat erupted like a volcano.
"AAAHHH!"
Lian roared as the two energies invaded his body. One cold. One burning hot. They crashed into each other inside his meridians like two warring beasts.
Half his meridians froze. The other half ignited in flame.
His entire body became a battlefield.
"Concentrate…" he thought, biting down hard. "The Lotus Sutra teach me about the flow and balance I must balance Ice and fire… just like how Yànhuā did."
...
Moments later.
"Tch, I was reckless; I should have searched for a proper method to absorb the essence."
The cold Qi and the fiery Qi clashed again and again within him, shaking his core. His dantian trembled violently, and one side began to freeze over.