“Now this is interesting.”
Shen Yi watched quietly, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. So even a Mixed Origin Grandmaster was this feeble before such a guardian — not the slightest room to resist. If he could get hold of one himself, then when a crisis came, he’d have a place to hide too. He wondered whether he could carry this river of fire away with him.
As he mused, a phoenix’s cry burst out at his ear. Blazing true-fire gathered into a raptor with wings a dozen zhang across, plunging down to kill from on high!
“Die for me!”
Xiang Tianyan’s voice was shrill, a longsword streaming brilliant radiance in her grip.
A wave of scorching air swept out, sending the many Core-Nurturing cultivators scrambling to dodge; even those who mustered their qi to resist found black, seared marks appearing across their skin.
“…”
Shen Yi glanced over idly. Facing the vicious fire-bird and the piercing sword-light contained within it, he raised his hand slightly. His sleeve flared up, his palm closed into a fist, and then he smashed it out brutally.
Beneath that fist, the longsword shattered inch by inch, and the gorgeous fire-wings wrapped around Xiang Tianyan scattered as though swept by a gale, turning into a sky full of firelight before swiftly guttering out.
“…”
Xiang Tianyan gripped the sword-hilt, staring blankly at the young man now right before her. Deep terror surged up from the bottom of her heart.
Then she watched that hand seize her by the hair and wrench her violently downward.
Boom!
Shen Yi planted a foot on her shoulder, pinning her hard to the ground, and took her storage pouch away in the same motion.
“Don’t waste time. I throw you across, or you go yourself — pick one.”
The calm voice sounded from behind her, leaving not the slightest room for discussion.
Xiang Tianyan sprawled on the ground struggling with all her might, but under that carelessly planted boot, her shoulder had long since crumbled, exposing the scorching path infant within. Even now, she still hadn’t made out just what art the young man cultivated.
“Young friend… Senior… let me go first…”
Hearing these words that came near to begging for mercy, the others couldn’t even spare a thought for the burns on their own bodies, all looking over in terror.
Watching this young Grandmaster’s practiced technique — the Xiang siblings’ so-called overbearing conduct really could only be reckoned small potatoes by comparison. This was no fledgling prodigy fresh from the nest; this was plainly a ruthless, seasoned old hand.
“…”
The scholar watched in fear and trembling. A moment ago he’d still dared to put in a word with Xiang Tianxiong; now, looking at Shen Yi’s expressionless, handsome face, he drew even his breaths with the greatest care, terrified of disturbing the man. Father had been right — the cultivators outside really weren’t a single one of them easy to trifle with.
“Senior!”
Feeling the boot lift from her body, Xiang Tianyan crawled up from the ground with lingering dread. Under the man’s gaze, she felt cold all over, and looked silently toward the bank.
The Xiang family had paid a steep price to buy the news of this place from elsewhere. Inside, in all likelihood, was hidden a spiritual root suited to her. She’d thought to seize this chance to advance her realm one step further — never imagining it would become her elder brother’s burial ground instead.
Now her only chance was to cross the waves of fire. Harvest the spiritual root, break through while there was time, and only then would she have a sliver of hope of surviving… The young man weighed on her nerves far too heavily; even after a breakthrough, she’d no assurance of beating him, and her heart held only the thought of fleeing for her life.
“Senior, might you return my…”
Xiang Tianyan pointed at the storage pouch in his hand.
“Hm?” Shen Yi shot her a glance.
“No—! Might Senior lend me your treasures, to use just this once…” Xiang Tianyan wished in her heart she could eat his flesh raw, but on the surface she’d no choice but to hold her nose and submit.
She honestly explained the use of each item. The siblings had never pinned all their hopes on others to begin with, and so they’d prepared some river-crossing implements too.
Shen Yi cast a glance at the scholar.
“Uh, no problem with any of it.”
The little scholar shuddered all over and hurriedly nodded like a chick pecking at grain.
Where a cave estate’s treasures were concerned, Shen Yi wasn’t stingy either. He took the items out one by one and lent them all to Xiang Tianyan.
“I’ll go, then.”
Xiang Tianyan gathered up the heap of treasures and walked warily to the bank’s edge. The tall, gaunt man watched her silently, then briskly retreated several steps back. The rule the siblings had set — the bigger fist was reason itself; and now their fists weren’t as big as another’s…
The situation reversed, the bitter fruit swallowed by oneself.
“Hoo.”
Xiang Tianyan draped a layer of pale blue gauze over herself, slipped two jade rings onto her wrists, then stepped onto a flying shuttle. Red light blazed across her body as she poured her aura into the shuttle with all her strength.
Her whole figure shot off like an arrow loosed from the string — but not toward the far bank. Instead she darted upward, into the sky!
The tall, gaunt man’s eyes went wide. Her earlier reaction had been too convincing; even he had believed the woman would obediently cross the river. He’d never imagined that from beginning to end, what she’d been thinking of was escape!
Whsh.
Xiang Tianyan had only just flown up into the heavens when a hovering ink-black saber came to rest against her neck.
Her whole body stiffened, her lashes trembling, and she looked down at the young man below.
Shen Yi still stood where he was, not so much as glancing at her, tidying his cuffs on his own. Yet that ink-black saber abruptly tore into Xiang Tianyan’s flesh. She cried out hurriedly, “Spare me, Senior!”
What manner of treasure was this saber, that it seemed to have taken on a spirit of its own, as though heart-linked with the young man?
Xiang Tianyan was, after all, a mid-tier Mixed Origin Grandmaster; it certainly couldn’t cut her down. But the man had already given her a way to step down — was she really going to force him to fly up and smash her back down instead? He might not offer a second chance.
She honestly guided the flying shuttle back down, watched the ink-black saber return to the scabbard at the young man’s waist, then withdrew her gaze and, gritting her teeth, swept toward the far bank.
“I’ll stake it all!”
The flying shuttle swept through midair, and the earlier scene played out once more. In an instant it lost all control and dropped downward.
Xiang Tianyan had long been prepared. She stamped down hard against it with the tip of her toe and, without calling out her path infant, leapt for the far bank on the strength of her mortal body alone!
At the same moment, the waves of fire beneath her feet abruptly surged up, reaching for her like tentacles.
She couldn’t use her aura to shield herself. The two jade rings on Xiang Tianyan’s wrists burst into white radiance!
This formation would seal off one’s aura, but these jade rings had been collected from some small nation, and what they held within was accumulated faith. She didn’t much understand what accumulated faith was — she only knew this thing could protect her.
Sure enough, the white radiance slammed head-on into the flames… and in a single breath was scorched away to nothing. The two jade rings shattered outright.
The next moment, just as Xiang Tianyan, half a foot already touching down, seemed to have made it, surging chains of fire wound about her body. The blue gauze on her held out an instant longer, then was thoroughly evaporated away.
“Save me!”
She had time only to leave behind one last cry.
Her whole person was dragged into the sea of fire — and this time, as though the formation had been provoked to anger, she couldn’t even send her path infant bursting out.
From beginning to end, in less than the span of an hour, three people had fallen here.
The sea of fire looked placid in its silence, yet left everyone’s hearts pounding with dread. The cave estates cultivators left behind took men’s lives in ways beyond all seeing.
(End of Chapter 258)