Chapter 1485: A Turn of the Hand, Clouds Gather

The temperature throughout the Boundless Demon Domain rose sharply.

Wu Chang immediately narrowed his eyes and watched closely. At last, he understood what Yin Ji had meant. The man over there cultivated an art that countered Granny Xue’s.

What Wu Chang wanted to know now was who this person was and where Yin Ji had found him. For the moment, he simply observed.

A Nascent Soul cultivator who practiced a fire-aspect art?

Granny Xue’s expression changed as well.

On the meadow below, Yin Ji looked around. She too could feel the temperature climbing rapidly. The fire-aspect elements hidden between Heaven and Earth seemed to be gathering at astonishing speed.

She could no longer see the black mist in the sky. White vapor had spread everywhere, blanketing Heaven and Earth, and she could sense two arts contending across the space between them.

Clearly, Kunlin Shu had already engaged Granny Xue.

What surprised her was that Kunlin Shu’s cultivation was certainly inferior to Granny Xue’s, yet judging by what she could sense, the two arts seemed evenly matched.

The true reason was something only Granny Xue, trapped inside the Boundless Demon Domain, understood clearly.

Although Granny Xue possessed a certain ability to command water, her cultivation was not a pure water-aspect art of the Five Elements. Her opponent, however, was clearly practicing a pure fire-aspect art.

The same was true of Yun Ji. Although Yun Ji could travel through earth, hers was not a pure earth-aspect art of the Five Elements either.

Granny Xue could feel that the other man’s cultivation was plainly inferior to her own, yet his ability to command fire-aspect elements was not weaker than her command of water in the slightest. He could bring out the pure power of fire itself.

The purpose behind his attack was obvious, and it was already working.

He was using fire to break her art, cutting off the water vapor she was gathering.

In other words, he intended to prevent her from breaking the Boundless Demon Domain and trap her inside it until she died.

An ice-and-snow art meeting fire was no longer merely a clash of opposing attributes.

It was being countered outright.

A faint sense that this might be a trap arose inside Granny Xue. An inexplicable thread of fear followed it.

Her previous calm vanished completely.

She swept out her staff.

Countless ice crystals condensed from nothing in the air, forming a dense storm of icicles that shot toward Kunlin Shu.

Kunlin Shu thrust both palms forward.

Flames erupted like an exploding river, surging outward in a vast torrent before taking the form of a colossal fire dragon.

The dragon’s blazing head repeatedly shattered beneath the incoming icicles, but the flames behind it immediately replenished the front and continued roaring forward.

Countless icicles plunged into the fire dragon, refracting strange, dreamlike colors.

Even with spiritual power reinforcing them, their speed gradually slowed as they drove through the inferno, and the ice itself began to melt.

The closer they came to Kunlin Shu, the higher the temperature grew.

By the time the icicles reached him, they had already evaporated completely before they could touch his body.

The fire dragon unleashed by Kunlin Shu, meanwhile, came roaring straight at Granny Xue.

Granny Xue pushed her staff forward.

A mass of deep-blue profound ice appeared before her like an enormous shield, blocking the fire dragon’s violent impact.

Yet under such searing heat, the profound-ice shield was visibly melting.

Granny Xue drove her staff forward again.

Blue light flickered across it.

The shield instantly thickened, resisting the fire dragon’s assault.

Kunlin Shu, both palms still extended as he controlled the dragon, poured in more spiritual power and shoved both arms forward.

The fire dragon immediately opened its blazing maw and swallowed the shield together with Granny Xue in a single bite.

Blue light spread across Granny Xue’s body.

A sphere of profound ice burst outward like protective astral qi, holding back the flames that engulfed her.

Inside the ball of fire, she cast her art and resisted the refining heat.

Kunlin Shu suddenly clapped both palms together, then formed a sword seal with his fingers.

The enormous fire dragon instantly condensed into countless flaming swords.

With one thrust of the sword seal, the fire swords shot out like arrows, densely bombarding Granny Xue’s protective profound ice.

Granny Xue’s cultivation truly was formidable.

Under such a barrage, there was not the slightest sign that her protective ice would break.

Every fire sword that struck it shattered apart.

Battle intent boiled in Kunlin Shu’s eyes.

His arms opened and swept through broad circles as he cast his art.

The shattered fire swords transformed back into two fire dragons, each drawing a vast arc through the darkness before circling back toward him.

After making the turn, they became fire swords once more and shot out again.

Countless fire swords shattered into dragons, returned, transformed into blades again, and struck once more.

The cycle repeated without end, a ceaseless tempering intended to break the ice through sheer persistence.

Dense explosions rolled one after another like endless thunder.

The spectacle was astonishing.

Wu Chang watched coldly from the side.

Even he had never seen such a dazzling style of combat before.

He had no idea where this man had come from.

...

On the meadow, Yin Ji looked up.

The rising white vapor had dispersed, allowing her to see the churning black cloud again.

Within it, booming explosions continued without pause, almost like incessant thunder and lightning.

Yet the flashes were not lightning.

Blue and red radiance intertwined, and the red light clearly held the advantage.

At some point, Hei Yun and the Demon Fox Clan elders had emerged as well, drawn out by the unending violent explosions above the swamp.

All of them now raised their heads and stared at the terrifying spectacle overhead, unable to make out what was actually happening within it.

Hei Yun asked uncertainly, “Former Clan Chief, has Kunlin Shu started fighting the old demoness?”

Yin Ji glanced around. “Why did all of you come out? Stay away!”

She meant it for their own good.

With combatants of this level fighting overhead, if the battle spilled toward them, these clan members might not even have time to flee.

Hei Yun and the others exchanged looks, then sank back into the swamp one after another.

...

Wu Chang, still observing coldly, gradually raised his brows.

Granny Xue had indeed met her nemesis.

She had lost all of her usual fighting momentum and was almost entirely occupied with defense.

She could no longer bring out her true strength.

Just then, Granny Xue finally acted again.

At first, uncertain of her opponent’s depth, she had not dared move rashly.

And because the fire-aspect art countered hers so directly, her confidence had been suppressed. A trace of panic had even crept into her heart.

But after probing Kunlin Shu’s strength and learning its limits, her misgivings vanished.

Encased in protective profound ice, she charged straight at him.

She forced her way forward against the endless fire swords like a blue gemstone smashing through sparks, rapidly closing the distance.

Kunlin Shu was slightly startled.

He finally understood just how great the gap in raw strength between them truly was.

While continuing to drive the fire swords into her, he retreated at high speed.

In truth, he had another method of evasion.

The Fire Phantom Shadow Escape within the Heavenly Fire Limitless Art could be used here.

It would have been enough to let him contend directly with Granny Xue, and she might not necessarily have been able to break the escape technique.

But Yin Ji had warned him repeatedly not to expose Tianhuo Sect’s arts unless absolutely necessary.

Otherwise, it might bring enormous trouble down on Niu Youdao.

Unless both Granny Xue and Wu Chang could be eliminated, he was not to use those techniques lightly.

With that option closed, Kunlin Shu could only fight while retreating.

Wu Chang’s gaze flickered.

He too could see that Kunlin Shu was not strong enough to clash head-on with Granny Xue.

How could Wu Chang allow Granny Xue, already trapped inside his cage, to succeed?

If she killed Kunlin Shu, the Boundless Demon Domain alone could not hold her.

They had struggled against one another for so many years.

Now an excellent opportunity to eliminate the old demoness had finally appeared.

How could he let it pass?

The colossal, imposing dharma manifestation vanished in a flash.

Just as Granny Xue was about to reach Kunlin Shu, black mist churned from the side.

A gigantic black palm shadow came thundering through it alongside Wu Chang’s furious invocation.

“Extinguish Life!”

Boom!

The impact sounded as though Heaven and Earth had split apart.

Granny Xue’s protective profound ice shattered instantly.

Wu Chang’s true figure flashed briefly within the enormous palm shadow before disappearing again.

The moment that palm broke her defenses, the dense swarm of fire swords came whistling through the fragments of ice.

“Wu Chang!”

Granny Xue erupted in a furious, grief-stricken roar, enraged by his sneak attack.

It was hardly the first time Wu Chang had done this to her.

Whenever he found an opening, he would strike her from the shadows.

There was no helping it.

Even now, Wu Chang could only launch occasional surprise attacks.

He still had to maintain the entire Boundless Demon Domain. He could not devote his full strength to fighting Granny Xue directly.

Fury was one thing, but the danger before her still had to be dealt with.

This was no time to indulge in emotion.

Granny Xue instantly transformed into a streak of blue light and shot away, barely avoiding the incoming fire swords before disappearing into the rolling black mist.

Kunlin Shu immediately formed a sword seal and directed the fire swords after her.

But Granny Xue had already vanished from sight.

Yet this was Wu Chang’s world.

Where could she hide?

Inside the Domain, no matter where she concealed herself, she could not escape Wu Chang’s eyes.

“She’s casting an art to break my Demon Domain. Stop her!”

Kunlin Shu whipped his head around.

Wu Chang’s voice seemed to have come from directly behind him, yet no figure could be seen.

Kunlin Shu could feel it as well.

Granny Xue was once again gathering water vapor between Heaven and Earth, preparing to flood the Boundless Demon Domain until it burst apart.

Without hesitation, Kunlin Shu cast his art again and began obstructing her.

The moment he acted, Granny Xue sensed it.

Floating in midair, she abruptly turned and looked around.

At last, she understood.

Unless she killed this man who had appeared from nowhere, she would never be able to break the Boundless Demon Domain and escape its invisible imprisonment.

The worst part was that this was Wu Chang’s world.

Wu Chang controlled the entire Domain.

At any moment, he could conceal the other man and help him evade her.

With Wu Chang assisting him, there was almost no possibility of Granny Xue killing Kunlin Shu.

A nameless panic began spreading through her heart.

It had been many, many years since she had last experienced such a feeling.

Firelight suddenly flared behind her, illuminating the darkness ahead.

She spun around.

A rain of fire swords was already shooting toward her.

Granny Xue immediately flashed into the rolling black mist again.

Wu Chang, aware of every disturbance within the Domain, casually turned one hand.

Granny Xue had nowhere to hide.

She was exposed once more directly within Kunlin Shu’s line of sight.

Here, Wu Chang truly could turn his hand and make the clouds gather.

Kunlin Shu once again drove countless fire swords after her.

Granny Xue flashed away again.

Wu Chang pressed his palms together.

Within the rolling black mist, countless tendrils stretched outward like vines, tangling around Granny Xue, obstructing her movements and slowing her flight to create an opening for Kunlin Shu’s pursuit.

Caught in the entanglement, Granny Xue repeatedly shattered the tendrils around her.

But her speed truly did slow.

She could no longer shake off Kunlin Shu, who was pursuing from behind.

Fire swords came like a swarm of locusts.

Blue light flared around Granny Xue.

She once again wrapped herself in protective profound ice, blocking the violent storm of blades while remaining constantly wary of another sneak attack from Wu Chang.

Yet the flames eroded the profound ice at an enormous rate.

And that profound ice came from her own body’s ice essence.

If she continued consuming it this way, she simply could not endure.

Left with no other choice, Granny Xue cast her voice outward.

“Wu Chang, there’s no harm in us talking this through. Whatever conditions you want, name them!”

Wu Chang ignored her completely.

As far as he was concerned, what condition could possibly benefit him more than eliminating the old demoness?

[End of Chapter 1485]