After moving for a while, they found a good hiding spot.
"Here's the plan," Lian whispered.
"We wait for them to finish fighting. After that, one of us distracts the remaining beast while the other grabs the Fire Essence."
Lian took his sword out from his dimensional storage ring.
"Mhm." Yànhuā nodded as she drew her blade. It was a deep sapphire-blue, releasing a chilling aura that made Lian's bones tremble.
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.
But the serpent was faster. Its spiked tail whipped 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 already too late.
Crack.
Crack.
Crack.
The bird's bones shattered one by one. The Firebird stopped moving.
"It's time," Lian said.
He leapt forward with his sword 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.
He attacked using the second technique of the astral blade, a piercing attack.
"Damn it—its scales are so tough I can't even cut through!" Lian thought as the sword left only a shallow wound.
Before he could react further, a swift strike from the serpent's tail shot toward him.
Bang!
The tail slammed into his body and sent him flying.
He heard his body crack, but couldn't pinpoint where the sound came from.
"Oho? It can still find me?" he muttered, forcing himself to his feet.
Both of the serpent's eyes were destroyed, yet it continued lunging toward him. Its eyes remained tightly shut, but it kept charging straight at him.
"Mmm… snakes can sense vibrations through the ground," Lian whispered. "Is that what's happening?"
His brow raised, trying to find a solution.
He picked up a nearby stone and hurled it forward. Instantly, the serpent turned in that direction and struck.
"So that's how it is."
Using his footwork technique, Lian darted around rapidly. His afterimages flickered as the serpent kept striking—not at his body, but at the echoes and disturbances he left behind.
"Are you done?" Lian shouted, panting. He was exhausted, and still no signal from her.
"Yes!"
And when Lian looked up, 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. The air shook with pressure—far beyond her cultivation realm.
Her blade chimed, and the world around her froze solid. With a single swift motion, she swung.
And the air froze, forming ice as her blade drew towards the snake.
The snake's head fell.
Its massive body crashed to the ground, instantly frozen as it hit the earth.
Lian's instincts screamed danger.
She slowly descended, landing lightly. The transformation faded as if nothing had happened.
But her breath did seem a little unsteady.
"What… what was that?" Lian asked, his voice trembling.
"It's my family's secret technique," she replied calmly.
Hearing those words, Lian didn't pry further. He understood better than most—families protected their techniques with their lives. Revealing such a secret could destroy an entire clan.
"Did you get the essence?" Lian asked, changing the topic.
"Yeah. Here."
She handed him an ice crystal. Inside was the Fire Essence—burning and flickering like a caged flame, its colours reflecting off the crystal walls.
"Goodbye," Lian said, turning away as soon as he received it.
"What, you think I'll steal it after giving it to you?" Yànhuā asked, a little offended.
"No—no. I just have to return to the compound!" Lian shouted back. His voice echoed as he was already gliding through the trees, vanishing into the forest.
After travelling for a while, Lian found a secluded mountain cave and entered.
Sitting cross-legged on the cold stone, he began cultivating to heal from the battle.
"I think it was a good idea to leave after receiving the essence," he muttered. "If I stayed longer, something bad would have happened.
There's something peculiar about her. Sure, forming a connection would have been nice… but after seeing that technique, I doubt she would have let me walk away."
After seeing their family technique cultivators, they would make it a point to kill whoever saw it. Lian was right to flee; there was a chance he would die.
He took a deep breath and circulated his Qi.
His spiritual energy ran through his meridians, slow at first, then steady and calm.
"The barrier to the Foundation Realm has cracked a little," 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.
"If I absorb this," Lian whispered, "I'll have enough power to win any battle."
He began cultivating the Lotus Sutra. The world's Qi flowed toward him, and 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. "The ice also contains Qi Ice essence…"
A freezing force suddenly surged into his body. It was unbearably cold—like he was naked in the heart of winter. His flesh trembled; his bones ached.
Even so, he pressed forward.
Soon, his Qi touched the Fire Essence itself—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 teaches balance. Ice and fire… if I don't balance them, I'll die."
"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.
"All lies in balance," he whispered. "I must find the middle path…"