Chapter Eighty-Six: The Illusory Realm

On seeing this, Ma Fei was seized with sudden alarm. A gray radiance flashed in his hand, and a rope lash flew out at once, coiling around Shi Lei, who had been struck flying through the air. He only felt a surge of immense force pouring back through the whip; his hand went numb, and the lash nearly slipped from his grasp. Shocked, he hurriedly drove his inner power, whereupon the gray glow on the whip flared once more and, with brute force, held Shi Lei in place. Only when Shi Lei’s momentum was fully spent did he draw him back. Looking closely, he saw that Shi Lei had already fallen unconscious.

Zhang Ke and Gu Yunqi were both summoning flying swords in midair. With crimson light blazing, they were fighting the flood-dragon in a twisting, whirling aerial battle. Seeing Shi Lei rescued by Ma Fei, they cried out in haste, “How is he?”

Ma Fei bent down at once to examine him. Shi Lei’s pulse was steady and strong; though his breathing was rapid, it remained even. It seemed he had only been felled by pain. Only then did Ma Fei let most of his anxiety ease, and he shouted back, “It looks like he just fainted from the pain!”

Ye Hua and Zhang Lan had no leisure to concern themselves with what had just happened. The moment they saw the elder’s three eyes spit forth three tongues of flame, and heard Shi Lei call out the names of the Essence of Fire, the Star of Fire, and the Sun of Fire, they saw the old man give a cold smile. The three flames suddenly curled back and surged upon his own body, swelling as if fed by the wind, and in an instant the elder was engulfed in roaring fire, transformed into a living blaze.

The fiery figure’s three eyes turned blood-red. When it glanced this way, Ye Hua and Zhang Lan both felt their flesh crawl. There was an indescribable chill and horror in those three eyes. The man of flame clenched a hand, and a sword of blazing fire slowly took form. With a sweep toward them, firelight soared to the heavens, and a streak of infernal flame shot forth.

Ye Hua and Zhang Lan were both alarmed. With this strike, they knew they could scarcely withstand it. They retreated quickly, but before they had even steadied themselves, the flame abruptly bent and slashed across again. Wind surged behind them as well, and the searing breath had already reached their skin. The two of them leaped sharply to the left, dodging the fire striking from the front. Ye Hua cried urgently, “Senior Sister, dodge now!” As he spoke, white light flashed in his hand and a single-edged saber appeared. With a slight turn, he hacked savagely toward the rear!

A heaven-shaking blade light cleaved out, fierce and murderous. Only then did he see clearly that the attack from behind had come in the form of three red beams. The blade light struck upward in haste. Several thunderous booms rang out, and a brutal gust smashed against him like a massive hammer to the chest. Ye Hua instantly felt his inner power stutter and his blood and qi roil violently. A faint sweetness rose in his mouth.

The flaming figure, suspended in midair, was greatly shocked. This move of his, the Three Stars Sunburst, let alone to someone of the Seven Treasures Realm, was one that even many of the same Three True Realm would not dare take head-on; they would retreat at once. Yet he had never imagined that the youth before him would be so unexpected, possessing not only inner power of astonishing depth, but also meridians and flesh so resilient that he could actually withstand a direct blow from him, and appear to be only lightly injured at that.

At the thought, the elder’s gaze grew darker and darker. He resolved inwardly, “Today I must kill this brat with my own hand! Though the Taifu Temple’s Office of External Affairs had instructed beforehand that casualties should be avoided and only a slight punishment imposed, so as not to alarm the Sacred Emperor and leave matters beyond remedy, I can no longer care about any of that!” With that, he swung his long sword and struck again, sweeping a wall of flame toward Ye Hua. In the flames, the three red beams gleamed fiercely and shot forward at high speed.

Zhang Lan, after hearing Ye Hua’s warning, had already darted off four or five zhang. Seeing the flames rushing at Ye Hua, the jade mirror in her hand suddenly burst with white brilliance and flew in a circling arc. Judging from the force of the fire, it seemed utterly impossible to resist, but at that moment she could no longer worry about anything else. Ye Hua forcibly suppressed the disorder in his inner breath, his body flickering as dozens of afterimages, half-real and half-illusory, to evade the oncoming fire. His single-edged saber then swept diagonally upward, slashing toward the flaming figure in the sky.

The man of fire pinched a hand seal, and flames before him shot forth, revolving and condensing into a fire shield. The blade shadow struck it with a clang. The shield trembled, and the fiery man was forced back a step, while the blade shadow dispersed as well. The flaming figure laughed harshly. “Even with your abundant inner power, you cannot escape death today!”

He cast a sidelong glance and saw the jade mirror the girl had conjured circling through the air, seemingly attempting to block the Three Stars Sunburst he had released. He muttered, “You don’t know how to value your life.” With a sweep of his hand, the three red beams mingled in the inferno suddenly shone brighter, dispersing from within the flames and spiraling upward to pursue Ye Hua. At the same moment, the blaze burst apart violently and wrapped itself around the jade mirror.

Zhang Lan’s face flushed red, and threads of blood seeped from the corner of her mouth. She formed hand seals with both hands and called desperately. The jade mirror trapped in the fire emitted a low hum, then with a bang burst through the flames and trembled back toward her, but its spiritual light had already dimmed, plainly suffering severe damage.

Seeing Zhang Lan injured, Ye Hua glanced again toward Ma Fei and the others. Shi Lei was actually lying on the ground, unconscious and insensible, life or death unknown. He could not help feeling startled, then anxious. In only this brief span, their side had already suffered repeated wounds. If it continued like this, they might all perish here.

Though his mind raced, his feet never stopped. His form flickered in rapid succession, real and unreal, becoming dozens of afterimages as he avoided the flames striking at him. Yet those three red beams danced and circled, following closely and never allowing him to shake them off.

The flaming figure in midair laughed wildly, sending out occasional slashes of fire with his sword. Watching the youth in the distance dodge in such miserable fashion filled him with smug delight. The Three Stars Sunburst possessed tremendous power, but it consumed a great deal of inner force and energy, and could not be used lightly. Today, angered by this brat, he had cast it twice in succession, and afterward would likely need a long period of rest. While he was calculating this, he saw the youth suddenly summon up a bronze mirror, and he could not help but start. A pale green radiance shone straight toward him.

Fearing some hidden trick in that light, he dared not be careless. With a sweep of his flaming sword, he sent out four tongues of fire, coiling outward in an attempt to block the light. He thought that whatever formidable magic treasure this was, it should at least be able to resist. Who could have expected that the fire would strike into it, yet the radiance seemed insubstantial, as though it met no resistance at all, and still shot toward him like lightning. He inwardly cried out, “Not good!” By the time he tried to evade, it was already too late. He was enveloped by the light, and his consciousness grew dizzy and blurred. A strange warmth spread through him, making him feel indescribably comfortable.

“Hm? Why am I here?” Before him lay a boundless desert. The blazing sun in the sky scorched the land, and behind him towered a lofty stone mountain. On its face was carved a stone statue several zhang high, holding a fire implement in both hands, clad in a long robe, with a broad nose and mouth. Looking again, he saw that a third eye stood conspicuously between its brows. The man of fire was startled and uncertain. “How did I come to the Flame God Sect? I haven’t worshiped the Bright Radiance Great Emperor for more than a decade!” He bowed several times.

It turned out that the stone statue was none other than the Heavenly King of Bright Radiance, also known as the Great Emperor of Bright Radiance. Legend said that he once caused great havoc among the three realms, but was later subdued by the True Martial Emperor and became one of his thirty-six heavenly generals, a guardian deity of the Daoist faith. The Supreme, High, and Sacred Jade Sovereign Great Heavenly Exalted Emperor had once conferred upon him the title of Grand Marshal of the Fire Ministry, placing him in charge of the fire division.

Deep in thought, he felt that all things remained the same. The Fire God Temple was at the summit of this mountain peak. He had left the sect more than ten years ago and was just about to step forward to pay respects to the chief master when he suddenly heard a thunderous boom. He could not help looking up, only to see a bright sun in a clear sky, with not a trace of lightning. Instinctively, he felt that something was wrong, and a faint unease rose within him.

He stood still, frowning in thought for a long while, the confusion only deepening. From where had he come, and where was he meant to go? He seemed to be serving under Lord Zhang of the Six Northern Xihe Departments, secretly dispatched to the Taifu Temple to annihilate the young followers of the Sun Moon Divine Alliance. How had he suddenly ended up in this place?

Suddenly he was struck with terror and cried out, “No, this is an illusion!” Alarmed, he was just about to summon his magic treasure when, all at once, a searing pain shot through his chest. Several cracking sounds rang out, as if a few ribs had been broken. He could not help but cough up a great mouthful of blood. The scene before his eyes blurred, and he saw a young man in the distance holding a bronze mirror in his left hand, while golden light blazed in his right. It seemed that the blow to his chest had been launched by this very person. Looking around, he found that the Three Stars Sunburst he had released had vanished without a trace.

His face contorted savagely. “You little thief, you actually dared to plot against me with an illusion!”

He tried to circulate his inner power, but another wave of excruciating pain surged through his body. Darkness flooded his vision, and he nearly collapsed. His meridians had been severed in great part, and he had been grievously injured, with no strength left to continue the fight.

Ye Hua, standing at a distance, kept his eyes fixed on the elder, fearing that if the old man launched a desperate final strike, he would have no means to resist. Recalling the scene just now, so thrilling and perilous, he found his body slick with cold sweat.

Zhang Lan slowly flew over from afar. Seeing what had just occurred, she was truly astonished and bewildered, unable to make sense of it. She had seen Ye Hua summon a bronze mirror and send a hazy radiance toward the fiery man. Though the elder had tried to resist, afterward he had suddenly stood stupefied, as if dumbstruck, his gaze drifting and lost. After a while, he had actually bowed down and knelt, muttering under his breath. To others, the sight was at once absurd and uncanny.

Then she saw Ye Hua suddenly leap into the air again, his saber light whirling as it slashed out to block the three red beams behind him. Several explosive booms followed, and a savage gale ravaged the air. Though she stood dozens of zhang away, the cutting force of the violent qi still bit into her skin like blades, impossible to endure.

Sure enough, after a moment the light receded. Ye Hua appeared disheveled, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, clearly not lightly injured. Just as she was about to hurry forward to help, she saw him leap upward once more. His right arm flashed madly with golden light, his hand swelling as large as a winnowing basket, and he struck squarely into the flaming man’s chest. The elder was blasted flying, spitting several great mouthfuls of blood, and the flames over his body immediately went out.

For an instant, Zhang Lan could scarcely believe her own eyes. How had the situation reversed so suddenly? In the blink of an eye, the old man had been knocked to the ground, blood gushing from his mouth, as though he were badly wounded and unable to rise.

After a long moment, she finally came to herself and flew over. She saw that Ye Hua was already swaying as if about to fall. Hastily supporting him, she cried, “Junior Brother Ye, are you all right?”

Ye Hua gave a wry smile. “I’m fine, only my inner power has been drained badly. Let me rest for a moment.” Having said this, he ignored the others entirely, sat down slowly on the ground, closed his eyes, and quietly circulated his inner power to regulate his breathing. As for the elder, he paid him no mind at all.

Ma Fei and the others were still locked in fierce combat with the flood-dragon. Its long tail lashed wildly, its twin claws struck and tore at each other, and its wings swept laterally. From its mouth it spat streams of demonic mist from the underworld, each burst so overwhelming in power and arrogance that it was hard to bear. The three of them suffered in secret, fighting desperately to hold it back. Even so, they were constantly in peril, several times nearly struck and severely wounded.

After a short while, however, the flood-dragon’s movements suddenly grew slow and sluggish. Ma Fei, Gu Yunqi, and Zhang Ke were all astonished and turned to look. Only then did they see the elder standing motionless in midair, as though he had fallen into a daze and could no longer properly command the dragon. Seizing this chance, the three of them frantically unleashed their magic treasures and struck at the beast. A moment later, they heard a miserable cry from the distant elder, and the flood-dragon before them gradually dispersed, revealing in midair a colored banner bearing the image of that very flood-dragon.

The three of them could not help feeling both uncertain and delighted. Looking aside again, they saw the elder vomiting blood, collapsed on the ground and too weak to rise. The three exchanged a glance and flew up together, each invoking his magic treasure to strike downward. At once the colored banner gave a mournful cry and turned into a mass of black vapor, slowly dissipating into nothingness.