Purple fireballs streak toward Shi Yang like meteors tearing through the night.
Shi Yang raises his palm.
Light gathers instantly.
A beam of condensed brilliance erupts outward, colliding with the incoming flames.
The sky flashes white and violet.
The impact detonates midair, scattering sparks of purple fire and fragments of radiant light across the clouds.
The night above the mainland turns into a sea of colliding Laws.
Shi Yunli steps forward with Lotus Step.
Each movement leaves a faint purple lotus imprint in the air.
His Dao manifests around him, fire at the core, dyed in deep violet by the mystery of the Purple Lotus.
His flames are not ordinary fire.
They twist.
They conceal.
They burn while distorting perception.
Shi Yang steadies himself.
His Dao radiates light from its centre, equally infused with the mystery attribute of the sect.
His aura shines brighter, but its depth is thinner.
Three small stages separate them.
Though both stand at Fourth Stage Spiritual Refiner,
Shi Yunli's foundation is deeper.
Older.
More tempered by battle.
Shi Yang releases Light Arrows in rapid succession.
They whistle through the air like a volley of stars.
Shi Yunli waves a hand.
Lotus Shield unfolds before him.
Three translucent purple petals rotate outward, forming a layered barrier.
The arrows strike.
Explosions of light ripple across the shield.
Cracks appear,
But the barrier holds.
Shi Yunli counters immediately.
Fire Balls surge from his palm, each orb carrying compressed heat and mystery distortion.
Shi Yang pivots with Lotus Step, leaving afterimages.
Two fireballs pass through illusions.
The third grazes his sleeve, burning fabric and skin.
Pain flares.
But he suppresses it.
Within his dantian,
The three-petal Purple Lotus continues dimming as he transfers its power into the angel egg.
The process strains his spiritual flow.
His output fluctuates subtly.
Shi Yunli does not notice.
He assumes instability is from Shi Yang's fresh breakthrough.
Shi Yang retaliates.
Light Beams lance downward from the sky like pillars of judgment.
Shi Yunli responds with Mystery Mirage.
His figure splits into multiple shifting forms, each wrapped in violet fire.
The beams pierce illusions.
Two mirages dissolve.
The real Shi Yunli appears above Shi Yang.
Hellfire ignites.
A phantom Purple Phoenix manifests behind him.
Its wings span across the sky.
It screeches.
Flames pour from its beak in a torrent of violet inferno.
Shi Yang raises both hands.
Lotus Shield blooms around him.
Light and purple petals interlock.
The fire crashes down.
The shield trembles violently.
Cracks spread across its surface.
Shi Yang grits his teeth.
The transfer of power inside him falters for a split second.
He cancels the process forcibly to stabilise.
The angel egg absorbs residual energy greedily.
With a shout, Shi Yang thrusts upward.
Light Beam concentrated into a spear pierces through the Hell Fire torrent.
The Phoenix phantom distorts.
Shi Yunli withdraws and steps back in midair.
For a moment,
They close the distance physically.
Spiritual Refiners are not only casters.
Shi Yunli's palm glows with condensed fire qi.
He strikes forward.
Shi Yang meets him with a light-wrapped fist.
The collision echoes like thunder.
Shockwaves ripple outward.
Clouds part violently.
They exchange rapid palm strikes.
Elbows.
Kicks.
Each contact bursts with Law-infused energy.
Shi Yunli's fire burns deeper.
Shi Yang's light cuts sharper.
Shi Yunli shifts suddenly.
Priaré Fire erupts, a focused spiral of violet flame.
It coils around Shi Yang like a living serpent.
Shi Yang slices outward.
Asura Sword manifests.
Behind him appears the phantom of a three-headed purple Asura.
The giant sword in its hands rises,
Then falls.
The blade crashes into the spiralling fire.
The impact splits the sky.
Flames scatter in all directions.
Shi Yunli slides back several meters.
His expression finally grows serious.
Shi Yang breathes heavier.
Inside his dantian,
The Purple Lotus grows dimmer still.
He cannot maintain a prolonged battle at this intensity while transferring.
Shi Yunli advances again with Lotus Step.
Fire gathers densely in his palm.
He thrusts forward.
Shi Yang responds with Light Arrows at close range.
The arrows explode against Shi Yunli's Lotus Shield.
Shi Yunli uses Mystery Mirage again.
Appearing behind Shi Yang.
A palm of Hell Fire strikes downward.
Shi Yang twists barely in time.
The fire grazes his shoulder.
Skin chars instantly.
He counters with a sweeping kick infused with light qi.
Shi Yunli blocks.
Their forearms collide.
Energy erupts outward.
They separate.
Hovering.
Breathing heavily.
Shi Yunli speaks calmly, though his aura burns hotter.
"You cannot win."
Shi Yang says nothing.
He gathers light above his head.
Asura Sword forms again,
But weaker this time.
Shi Yunli notices the fluctuation.
He narrows his eyes.
Still unaware of the internal transfer,
But sensing instability.
He decides to end it.
Hellfire ignites once more.
The Purple Phoenix phantom grows larger than before.
Its cry tears through the night.
Shi Yang channels every remaining stable portion of his light Dao.
Light Beams converge.
Asura Sword rises.
The two supreme manifestations charge toward one another,
Phoenix and Asura.
Fire and Light.
Mystery is woven into both.
The collision turns the sky completely purple-white.
A blinding explosion expands across the heavens.
Mountaintops below tremble.
Forests ignite briefly before being extinguished by shockwaves.
When the light fades,
Both figures remain suspended in midair.
Injured.
But neither has fallen.
And neither is willing to yield.
But the balance begins to tilt.
Shi Yunli advances again, fire coiling around his limbs like living serpents.
His aura grows denser with each exchange.
Veteran composure steadies his rhythm.
Shi Yang's breathing grows uneven.
The internal transfer of his natal Purple Lotus to the angel egg continues to strain his meridians.
His light Dao still shines brilliantly,
But its foundation trembles.
Shi Yunli unleashes Priaré Fire once more.
This time, the spiral tightens midair, compressing into a spear of violet flame.
Shi Yang counters with Light Beams, but the beam fractures before fully dispersing the attack.
The fire pierces through.
It tears across his side.
Blood spills into the night.
Shi Yang staggers backwards.
Shi Yunli presses forward relentlessly.
Fireballs rain down.
Hell Fire ignites again, the phantom Purple Phoenix roaring with greater intensity than before.
Shi Yang raises Lotus Shield,
But cracks appear instantly.
The shield shatters.
The Phoenix's flames crash against him, hurling him across the sky.
He stabilises barely with Lotus Step, leaving fading afterimages.
His aura flickers.
Shi Yunli closes the distance in a flash.
A palm strike infused with fire and mystery slams into Shi Yang's chest.
Ribs crack.
Blood sprays from his mouth.
Shi Yang is pushed back hundreds of meters through the air.
He is losing ground.
Slowly.
Inevitably.
Shi Yunli hovers above him, eyes cold.
"Return," he says. "You cannot win."
Shi Yang wipes blood from his lips.
His gaze hardens.
Inside his dantian,
The Purple Lotus dims further.
The angel egg pulses faintly.
He makes a decision.
Without hesitation,
He releases the Purple Lotus outward.
The three-petal lotus manifests fully before him, radiating violet brilliance.
Shi Yunli frowns.
"Nephew?"
He strikes.
A concentrated fire palm crashes directly into the Purple Lotus.
At that instant,
Shi Yang grits his teeth.
And detonates it.
The Purple Lotus explodes.
Violet light consumes the sky.
The blast tears through space.
Shockwaves ripple outward violently.
When the light subsides,
Shi Yunli floats in midair, blood covering his robes.
His left arm hangs limp.
His natal object inside his dantian has been damaged by the backlash.
He withdraws it instantly to prevent collapse.
Shi Yang is also grievously wounded.
The self-destruction backlash tears through his meridians.
Blood streams from his mouth.
His body sways in the wind.
But within his dantian,
The angel egg absorbs the raging energy.
It subdues the chaotic qi.
Stabilising him.
Shi Yunli's expression shifts from anger to shock.
He studies Shi Yang carefully.
His cultivation has not collapsed.
The severing of the Purple Lotus did not cripple him.
Understanding dawns.
"You are refining another natal object," Shi Yunli says slowly.
"You have abandoned the sect's Purple Lotus."
His voice turns cold.
"You have betrayed the sect."
Shi Yang says nothing.
Shi Yunli's eyes darken.
"Nephew… this time you have crossed the line."
Spiritual energy surges violently around him.
He performs a great magic power.
Purple Fire Divine Hand.
Above him,
Space ripples like disturbed water.
Circular waves expand outward.
The sky darkens unnaturally.
From within distorted space,
A colossal purple fire hand emerges.
Its palm is open.
Descending toward Shi Yang.
The space around Shi Yang freezes.
He cannot move.
He cannot absorb spiritual energy.
He is locked.
Determination flashes in his eyes.
If he retreats now,
He dies.
He reverses his qi flow violently.
Burns his vitality.
Forces the final stage of refining the angel egg.
Cracks echo from within his dantian.
Then,
His vision changes.
The battlefield disappears.
He stands in a world of endless clouds.
Floating lands drift like islands in a sea of mist.
On the highest island,
Tall humanoid beings kneel.
Golden.
Black.
Blue hair and eyes.
Four, five, six pairs of wings.
They bow toward a central platform.
Above it,
Sixteen enormous eyes float.
Wrapped by two crossed golden rings.
One eye turns.
Looks directly at him.
His consciousness freezes.
A torrent of information floods into his mind.
Outside,
Light erupts from Shi Yang's body.
Golden light.
It expands outward violently.
The descending Purple Fire Divine Hand shatters upon contact.
The explosion disperses into nothingness.
When the brilliance fades,
Shi Yunli stares in disbelief.
Shi Yang floats midair.
All injuries gone.
Golden radiance surrounds him.
When he opens his eyes,
They are no longer violet.
They shine gold.
Cold.
Inhuman.
Without a word,
He becomes light.
Like a meteor.
He shoots away at impossible speed.
Vanishing beyond the horizon instantly.
Shi Yunli remains suspended in the night sky.
Stunned.
He does not pursue.
Something in Shi Yang's transformation unsettles him deeply.
A hesitation grips his heart.
Far away,
Inside a towering structure that glitters like starlight,
At the pinnacle chamber,
A man cultivates before a pool of golden liquid.
Within the pool,
Several eggs rest.
Around it,
A white ring inscribed with ancient runes.
Suddenly,
The runes blaze with golden light.
The pool ripples violently.
The man's eyes snap open.
Shock flickers across his face.
He obtained this relic from a ruin.
It has never reacted like this.
The golden glow intensifies,
Then abruptly stops.
Silence returns.
The man narrows his eyes.
He senses the barrier within his cultivation.
One final obstruction before reaching the True Spirit Stage.
He closes his eyes again.
And resumes cultivation.
But unease lingers.