Chapter 238: Divinely Assisted (Revised)

Bu Yuehua didn’t know what kind of spell this was, but she understood it was a power beyond her control—even if it merely channeled the vast spiritual soul force within her, she was merely being carried along; her already injured head nearly exploded under the microscopic yet star-sea-scale manipulation, and in the end, she gave up, letting her body move on its own.

Xie Jin couldn’t yet command the forces of heaven and earth, so he felt none of their strange fluctuations—only that the snowstorm had grown more chaotic; hearing the sound, he didn’t respond, but instead thrust his long spear, which instantly transformed into a wild thunderbolt, racing toward Lu Yan at the center of the charred earth like a runaway dragon tearing through the snowfield!

BOOM—

Lu Yan sensed the disruption in heaven and earth’s forces, felt something was wrong, but didn’t retreat; his left hand formed a fire seal, and the Command of Fire blazed with blinding radiance, condensing into over a hundred glowing dots before:

SHHH-SHHH-SHHH—

Gold-red flames surged like falling meteors, leaving a hundred fiery trails; from afar, they looked like an arrow volley, yet moved several times faster.

Whether thunder or fire arts, once locked onto by an immortal cultivator, they were nearly impossible to evade; martial demons and buddhas mostly relied on protective techniques to endure them—but Xie Jin’s cultivation level couldn’t possibly withstand Lu Yan’s fire assault.

But the outcome matched Lu Yan’s expectations: after the flying meteors shot out several zhang, he tried to control them to chase and dodge Xie Jin; the once dense, rain-like fireballs instantly scattered like blossoms from a celestial maiden, streaking wildly in all directions, triggering a series of explosions across the mountains and wilds:

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM—

Rocks shattered, pine trees turned to ash.

Xie Jin sprinted forward with spear raised, initially intending to dodge the skyward meteors, but realized they moved like Brownian motion, spraying randomly across the ground—no trajectory to track—so he switched to full-speed thrusting, fire splashing at his sides, the nearest flames just a few zhang away, his body feeling as if he ran through a storm of bullets and spears, yet pressed forward without hesitation!

Though Bu Yuehua was aided by divine intervention, her current cultivation level was still inferior; her dantian rapidly drained, meridians even stung, and she could only disrupt Lu Yan’s spell trajectories, unable to directly suppress his magic; now, her right hand maintained the spell, her left hand gripped a slender waist knife, advancing side by side with Xie Jin.

BOOM-BOOM…

In the blink of an eye, two great waves of snow-colored motion tore through the fire-ravaged wilds, like dragon-serpents rampaging down snow slopes, converging toward the man below.

Lu Yan had no idea what kind of divine art this was; facing their combined assault, he feared the Ten-Thousand-Li Divine Step might backfire and teleport him directly into their faces, so he stood his ground, the Command of Fire manifesting a flaming bird phantom circling his body, then both hands formed seals:

“Rise!”

No sooner had he spoken than the surrounding snow melted instantly; the fallen leaves beneath turned black in an instant, and eight gold-red fire lines emerged, linked tip to tail, then surged upward:

HU-HU—

Xie Jin charged forward with spear raised, but before he reached close range, he saw a six-zhang-tall wall of fire rise from the forest—a massive barrier like a crimson city wall stretching across the wilds!

Then a second, then a third…

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM…

In the space of a breath, Lu Yan’s surroundings formed a colossal octagonal cage, turning the entire wilds crimson.

Snowflakes and leaves hadn’t even reached the fire walls before they vaporized into mist and ash under the searing heat.

Xie Jin, still dozens of zhang away, felt suffocating heat press upon him; his eyes widened in disbelief—he hadn’t expected Lu Yan, wounded and disrupted, to unleash such overwhelming power using only his own dantian.

Seeing no way to breach further, he dragged his spear in a lightning-fast circle around the octagonal cage—but found no gap.

Lu Yan manipulated the chaotic forces of heaven and earth, choosing to defend and wait for an opening; he’d been waiting for them to close in, but seeing Xie Jin hesitate, he sneered:

“You think some obscure spell can stand against this Daoist? Now let’s see what tricks you still have left!”

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM—

As he spoke, Lu Yan unleashed a fire seal; the Command of Fire erupted again with countless flying stars, like locust swarms covering the surrounding mountains and wilds.

Though scattered and impossible to aim, Lu Yan became a living artillery piece, dumping untargeted firepower from his boundless dantian; without the Yin-Yang Ruler’s protection, Xie Jin would be incinerated at the slightest brush with the blazing true fire—bringing unmatched suppression.

Xie Jin darted wildly outside the Eight Gates Burning Array, unable to find an entry point, finally understanding why Xu Guanfu and Yan Lang had been killed in tandem.

Blazing True Fire made no sense; the Command of Fire, as its name suggested, was a divine artifact for controlling fire, with range bonuses, and combined with Lu Yan’s status as the second-ranked Daoist of the sect—it formed an invincible fire hedgehog; martial cultivators at range took pure punishment, and those who closed in had to first cross a sea of flame.

If he could still use the Ten-Thousand-Li Divine Step, no one would stand a chance.

Is this the power of the second-ranked of the Divination Sect…?

Xie Jin realized he couldn’t penetrate; his peripheral vision flicked to Bu Yuehua, who was also circling, searching for a way to break through.

Bu Yuehua, seasoned in the martial world, had heard of the secret arts of every major school; she knew the Eight Gates Burning Array had a life gate, allowing allies to enter or the caster to retreat, and that the array didn’t move with the cultivator.

Thus, the simplest way to break it now was to feign defeat and flee, luring Lu Yan out—if he didn’t follow, they’d simply leave.

Bu Yuehua had intended to retreat with Xie Jin, but her mind and body seemed to have other ideas; an inexplicable memory flashed in her head—something she’d once seen—and she blurted out:

“Is your father Lu Baoqing?”

“?”

Lu Yan was the Sect Master of Wuling Mountain; his master was the former Sect Master; his biological father had been a lowly sword-holding Daoist boy at the side of Huang Lin, one of the “Three Immortals of the Northern Frontier”—his cultivation and reputation were unknown, and he’d been dead for fifty to sixty years; Lu Yan’s memories of him were already hazy.

Hearing his father’s name suddenly, Lu Yan froze; instinctively he glanced at the woman’s face as she raced past, trying to see if she was someone he knew—and committed a fatal mistake!

In the instant their eyes met, the peach-red pupils of the knife-wielding witch glowed with eerie red light!

Then came an indescribable spiritual soul impact, striking straight into the depths of his mind; the surrounding heaven and earth instantly plunged into absolute darkness, his body plummeting into the Nine Heavens, seeing scenes from childhood—training with his parents on Wuling Mountain…

Hss—?!

Lu Yan realized he’d been struck by a mind-disrupting illusion; his face darkened, and he immediately chanted a Calming Spell—but it was too late!

Xie Jin and Bu Yuehua, advancing side by side, saw the fire walls instantly collapse as Lu Yan froze; even the Command of Fire hovering beside him plummeted from the air.

BOOM-BOOM—

Xie Jin seized the moment, delivering two consecutive Black Dragon Ramming Pillars, shattering the lingering flames; his second spear thrust was already before Lu Yan’s face!

Lu Yan, stunned, found two peak martial cultivators within seven steps; his heart froze with terror—but his battle instincts were astonishing; he snatched the fallen Command of Fire back up, blocking the invincible spear tip, then his whole body convulsed:

“Depart!”

BOOM—

A torrent of searing heat erupted from his yellow-black Daoist robe, like an internal thunderbolt detonating.

The fire ring blasted outward, instantly carving a two-zhang-wide crater around him!

Xie Jin’s full-power thrust struck the Command of Fire—but didn’t pierce it an inch; the explosive qi was rebounded and shattered by the flaming phoenix, the returning force shredding his robe and cloak into countless holes, burning them to black ash—but his body remained rooted like an immovable dragon across a ridge, unmoved.

Bu Yuehua had thought the “Flaming Phoenix Rebound” was flawless—but then a sudden inspiration struck; she became a fish gliding along the ground, her single knife slicing through the wind beneath the rebounding fire ring, then swept upward toward Lu Yan’s waist and abdomen—her motion so fluid she herself didn’t register it.

Sss—

Lu Yan never expected this witch to know who his father was, to break Wuling Mountain’s secret art, and to strike with such speed; facing blades and spear already upon him, he could only use the Ten-Thousand-Li Divine Step to create distance.

Sss—

But the surrounding heaven and earth were chaotic; Lu Yan formed a seal with one hand and retreated—only to begin spinning uncontrollably midair.

Yet the knife-wielding witch seemed to perceive the chaotic patterns of heaven and earth; she followed like a shadow, closing to his side, and slashed backward at his neck—Xie Jin followed right behind.

Seeing his situation turn utterly desperate, Lu Yan knew he was truly doomed; he gritted his teeth, formed a seal, drew in all his qi, his robe swelling; all surrounding energy rushed back into the Command of Fire.

Hu—

In an instant, the Command of Fire encircling him blazed gold-red with blinding radiance; the flaming bird phantom swelled violently, cracks appearing across its surface!

?!

Bu Yuehua’s face paled; before Lu Yan even moved, she yanked her knife back at full speed, then grabbed Xie Jin beside her.

Xie Jin realized this mad Daoist had just unleashed a “Heaven-and-Earth Co-Death” killing technique; he too was startled, immediately forming the Immovable Dragon Across the Ridge to protect his entire body—then:

BOOM—

Blinding fire erupted across the wilds, instantly rising into a crimson mushroom cloud!

Xie Jin felt the entire world turn white; the earth beneath his feet shattered under the unstoppable force; his defensive qi scattered, his organs trembled violently, his heart stopped instantly, even his spiritual soul seemed ripped from his body—he became a black line, flung by the shockwave deep into the wilds.

Lu Yan had forced them back without amplifying destruction—but this technique was meant for a last-ditch life-or-death gamble; he himself wasn’t unharmed; beneath the explosion, he too was flung backward, landing on the snow, bouncing twice before flipping over.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM—

The mushroom cloud surged skyward; the airwave instantly blew away the snow cover over two li of surrounding land.

He Can and the others atop the ridge saw a visible shockwave sweep across the wilds, flattening snow and trees; the thunderous roar reached their ears moments later—the sheer power chilled seven hearts to the bone.

When the smoke cleared, a ten-zhang-wide crater appeared atop the snow ridge.

But the three combatants had vanished.

Lu Yan had forcibly repelled them, but his old wounds from Fire Phoenix Valley could no longer be suppressed; his face flushed crimson.

Sensing Xie Jin was too bizarre, and that the woman’s interference gave him no advantage—possibly even doom—he rose and fled outward, scanning the snowfield behind him, wary of ambush from the two strange martial cultivators.

But across the ruined snow ridge, no trace of them remained—only the gradually calming blizzard. “They ran?”

Lu Yan paused, but thought it reasonable: Xie Jin gained nothing by fighting him, risked being surrounded by reinforcements from other provinces, and now that he’d escaped, he’d surely flee back to the Southern Court—not chase Lu Yan to the death.

Thinking this, Lu Yan considered pursuing—but that “Chaos Heaven Spell” had been truly strange; the woman had clearly mastered Wuling Mountain’s secrets; chasing alone was too risky; he raised his hand to recall the Command of Fire—ready to flee immediately—but…

Lu Yan reached out to command it—nothing flew back to his hand; he glanced left and right, then behind…

Where was the Command of Fire?!

Lu Yan had always kept the Command of Fire hovering three chi around him; just now, he’d channeled all his energy into it to form the blast; though he himself was thrown back, he’d lived eighty years—he’d recall the artifact even if he’d been knocked unconscious—how could it be gone?

Could the chaotic heaven-and-earth forces have interfered, causing him to forget or fail to recall it…?

All three were blasted away; the Command of Fire, uncontrolled, could only remain at the explosion’s center…

Realizing this, Lu Yan flew back like a madman; one Ten-Thousand-Li Divine Step brought him to the crater’s center; he scanned left and right, dug through the soil, looked skyward—but his lifelong heirloom had vanished completely…

Could it have been blasted away…?

Impossible—the blast centered on the Command of Fire; without external interference, it wouldn’t move…

Lu Yan’s face turned ashen; he ignored his wounds, leapt into the air, and scoured the snow ridge, desperate to recover his heirloom—even forgetting Xie Jin’s ambush.

But the snow ridge held nothing; it seemed that during the explosion, he’d instinctively pulled the Command of Fire back—but someone else hadn’t been stunned, and had used a secret technique to sever his connection to the artifact, then stolen it…

How could this be?!

He himself had been stunned for an instant; he couldn’t believe two opponents with lower cultivation could possess spiritual soul strength powerful enough to manipulate heaven-and-earth forces, silently and unseen, to pluck his artifact away during such a blast—even his Sect Master couldn’t do this…

Could this be a ghost…?

Lu Yan frantically dug through the soil, found no trace of the Command of Fire; his face grew pale; after a moment’s thought, he shot south like a lightning bolt:

“Cunning brat! Stop right there!”

He chased south because Xie Jin had just killed the Sect Master of Lishan, defied authority by beating him—the Vice Minister of the Taichang Temple—and stolen a Daoist heirloom—equivalent to slapping the Northern orthodox sects thrice across the face!

If he didn’t flee now, once the Divination Sect’s elite and righteous martial figures arrived, Xie Jin would be torn apart by a mob of Northern cultivators.

And if the Command of Fire fell into Southern hands, it would be lost forever.

Thus, Lu Yan risked his life chasing south—even if he didn’t catch him, he must block Xie Jin at Shanhe Pass.

……

Meanwhile, atop a distant ridge.

He Can peered through his long-range lens, watching as the earth-shaking dust gradually cleared—a fiery meteor shot southward, and his taut nerves eased slightly:

“Is it over?”

Zhang Chu had no idea who won or lost; now he frowned, studying the scene:

“Looks like it’s finished.”

He Can had only seen the spectacle of that relentless pursuit—Shi Laomo chasing Lu Yan—and felt Xie Laomo couldn’t possibly have died so easily; he pressed again:

“What other tricks do you have left?”

Chu Xing had never imagined Xie Jinhuan and a witch could survive such a chain of assassinations; if Lu Yan couldn’t finish them, surely the Sect Master wouldn’t have to come himself—now he stared at He Can with deep suspicion:

“Are you sure you survived Xie Jinhuan’s two killing blows—and were chased to his hideout multiple times?”

He Can shrugged slightly: “What’s the problem?”

“The problem is huge!”

Chu Xing gestured toward the distant battlefield:

“Look for yourself—your paltry cultivation, how could you possibly have survived one strike from this boy? You’re still alive and whole—not because you’re lying through your teeth about your past, or because Xie Jinhuan deliberately planted you as a mole to feed him intelligence…”

At these words, He Can’s eyes went blank.

“I was turned from a gang heir into an orphan—everyone I knew, everyone I didn’t, all dead at his hands. Only that damn Zhang Chu remains alive—and now you suspect me of colluding with the orthodox?”

Zhang Chu felt another round of “ancient interrogation” coming and hurriedly said:

“We were just lucky, and Xie Jinhuan was fast back then—his cultivation in Luojing wasn’t this high yet…”

Chu Xing didn’t believe a word, but this mission’s failure had nothing to do with these two jinxes; he merely replied:

“Save your explanations for your superiors—see if they believe you. As for Xie Jinhuan, they already anticipated he might slip away. Now that he’s killed Li Huaichuan without cause and refused arrest, injuring the Vice Minister of the Temple of Rites, he has no future in Bei Zhou—he can only flee south. Lu Yan has already pursued him southward; the Zhan Yan Sect and all the martial clans who heard the news will surely rush to Shanhe Pass to intercept him—he won’t live to return to Nan Chao.”

He Can thought the northerners had some real cunning—even if they couldn’t kill Xie Jinhuan, they’d make him incite universal wrath, rendering him unable to stand in the north; he nodded slightly:

“I heard Xie Jinhuan is Guo Empress Dowager’s favorite. What if he does the opposite and heads for Yanjing…”

Chu Xing shook his head: “You believe that rumor? Xie Jinhuan is a classic loyalist of Nan Chao. Saying he’s a Bei Zhou spy or Guo Empress Dowager’s confidant is like saying I’m an orthodox mole. Even if he truly went to Yanjing and defused the situation, it wouldn’t matter—I left some ‘clues’ in the mine, tied directly to that witch. They’ll investigate Guo Empress Dowager—this is driving a tiger to devour a wolf.”

He Can frowned: “Aren’t you afraid Xie Jinhuan really is Guo Empress Dowager’s favorite?”

“If he is, the fun’s just beginning. Xie Jinhuan is seen by the Nan Chao Emperor as a son-in-law-in-all-but-name, and by the cultivation world as the next heir—yet if he’s secretly Guo Empress Dowager’s agent, this scandal will shatter Nan Chao’s stability. Then, whether Bei Zhou kills him or not, Nan Chao won’t tolerate him. Either way, Xie Jinhuan must offend one side—he won’t have an easy day ahead.”

…

He Can pondered carefully and realized it made sense—he was now genuinely curious how Xie Jinhuan would break this dead end.

Chu Xing, seeing the ambush had utterly failed, dared not linger. He dragged the two Nan Chao spies bound by chains down the ridge.

……

The commotion in Jianchuan was too great—those watching from afar were far more than one group.

Dozens of li away, atop another mountain peak.

Three constables in blue robes crouched carefully in the snow, observing the distant snowy ranges through long-range lenses.

Shen Cang, a famed constable of the Ministry of Justice bearing a gold medal, had seen many storms in his twenty years of service—but never a clash of this caliber. Terrified of being caught in the crossfire, he hadn’t dared breathe loudly the whole time; only when the thundering ceased did he whisper:

“These two bandits are unknown and possess heavenly-level cultivation. If we confront them, we die—we can’t handle this. Quickly notify the capital—send the Grand Sacrificer to deal with it…”

Beside him, a female constable with dozens of tiny braids sat with a halberd beside her, her eyes gleaming with pure hunger for merit:

“This man just killed Li Huaichuan, who guarded Lizhou, and severely wounded Lu Lao, the Immortal of Wu Ling Mountain. If we capture him, won’t we get promoted three ranks?”

“Huh? Us?”

Old Wang, the deputy, didn’t know what to say; he sighed helplessly:

“From the battle’s commotion, one of these bandits is definitely transcendent-tier, the other a fearsome powerhouse. If we three blue-robed justice constables could capture them, it wouldn’t just be three promotions—you’d be lucky if Shen Daoren became Commandant, I’d become Deputy Commandant, and you wouldn’t even need to dream of joining the Phoenix Guard—you’d leap straight to the top, becoming the Empress Dowager’s right hand, one of the Heavenly Pavilion’s dual crimson staffs…”

Jiang Qi’s eyes lit up, sparkling with stars: “Really?!”

Shen Cang sighed softly: “If I could capture a transcendent-tier bandit, becoming Commandant of the Ministry of Justice would be beneath me—I should be promoted to Vice Minister of the Temple of Rites, standing shoulder to shoulder with Lu Yan. But the gap between first-tier and transcendent-tier is the difference between mortal and immortal. Without that power, dreaming of this is asking for death. Xiao Biao, you’re still young—act with caution and restraint from now on. If you’d come alone to search Jianchuan today, you’d have gotten yourself killed… Hey?”

As Shen Cang spoke, he lowered his long-range lens and turned to his side—only a snow pit remained; the girl with the braids was gone. From the other side came:

“Oh my god! Xiao Biao! Come back!”

He turned—and saw Old Wang’s face ashen, scrambling up to chase down the slope. Half a li away, a girl as swift as a snow leopard sprinted full speed, halberd in hand, her eyes fixed solely on glory, deaf to the shouts behind her.

“My god…”

Shen Cang was stunned—he never imagined this little tiger cub would chase a transcendent-tier bandit. He snatched up his blade and sprinted after her, afraid of alerting the bandits, so he strained his neck, veins bulging, whispering desperately:

“Xiao Biao~ Are you mad…?”

Whoosh!

In the blink of an eye, the three had charged toward the peak, racing toward Lizhoucheng…

(End of Chapter)