Bai Luoyan's plan was indeed a provocation in disguise, a calculated goad.
She had no confidence in facing the Lake Dragon King, who had now reappeared after thousands of years.
Chen Kuang, with three severed heads in one night, had performed a sacrificial rite to the Lake Dragon King, scattering the storm clouds in an act so grand that it had shocked everyone.
Then came an even more shocking, if somewhat vague, rumor:
Someone had seen Chen Kuang addressing that Lake Dragon King as "Senior Brother."
That completely flipped the assumptions people had about him just being a rogue cultivator.
This young man who had somehow offended several major forces... turned out to have real backing!
Moreover, many mid-grade cultivators in sects near Jishao Prefecture had felt an invisible and chilling pressure flash past that night.
Though no one could pinpoint the Lake Dragon King's exact cultivation level, one thing was certain:
That very night, he had ascended into the upper three realms!
Even if he was a newly ascended high-tier cultivator, Bai Luoyan had no confidence in confronting him directly.
Even if she summoned the sect's ancestral spiritual treasure, the chances of success were slim.
So she threw away her pride and dignity to lure Chen Kuang out from the protection of the Lake Dragon King.
Only then, only if she could isolate him, could there be even a sliver of a chance to kill him.
What she hadn't expected was that Chen Kuang would take the bait so easily... still too young, she thought.
Too young, too arrogant, a dangerous combination.
Arrogant geniuses were the most likely to get cut down.
Even her grandson Bai Fen had been like that...
Back in the day, Bai Fen issued one life-and-death challenge after another, steadily climbing up the Canglang Evaluation, earning enemies at every turn. If not for her intervention, Bai Fen would have challenged the then-ranked #8..
Yan Taiyi, also known as "Xuan Yaozi," the current Dao Sovereign of the Mysterious Divine Path Sect.
Yan Taiyi, though immensely powerful, was a kind and merciful man. He almost never killed. Even when Bai Fen challenged him to a fight to the death, he spared Bai Fen's life.
Bai Luoyan, having just emerged from closed-door cultivation, was horrified when she heard. Bai Fen, however, was infuriated, he took the mercy as insult and wanted to challenge Yan Taiyi again.
It took her a full day to talk him down.
If she hadn't, whether Bai Fen lost or won, it would've spelled disaster.
If Bai Fen lost again, he'd suffer a shattered Dao Heart, or worse, die.
And if Bai Fen won, the entire Firebrand Sect would face extermination.
Because unlike the enemies Bai Fen had previously killed, geniuses from independent sects or lesser clans, Yan Taiyi had the backing of the entire Mysterious Divine Path Sect.
And though that sect upheld virtue and morality...
That was morality for the innocent. Not for their enemies.
Once the Mysterious Divine Path Sect chose a target, they crushed them completely.
So she had finally taught Bai Fen that cultivation was more than battles, it was also about navigating human relationships. She poured her hopes into him, raised him to Half-Step Grandmaster Realm, just a step shorto from greatness.
She had hoped he would carry the sect's legacy forward and maybe even take it higher.
But to think that this precious torch she'd guarded for so long was snuffed out by some nameless brat.
Though to be fair, Chen Kuang was no longer entirely obscure.
After the second Canglang Evaluation update that month, his name had begun to spread.
Still, Bai Luoyan couldn't accept it.
The entire Firebrand Sect couldn't accept it.
They had spent decades, even centuries, funneling resources into Bai Fen, only for him to die by some stone in the road?
Unforgivable!
If they didn't take revenge, they would become the laughingstock of the entire cultivation world.
...
On the river, the eyes of every Firebrand Sect disciple reflected the bloody red flames in their palms.
Boom!
At Bai Luoyan's command, the blazing flames all shot into the sky, rushing toward her.
Among them, three Sea-Cleaving Realm elders held flames nearly black in color, signifying an incredible intensity.
The entire river lit up.
But the moment the flames left their bodies, the Firebrand Sect disciples' faces turned deathly pale. The weaker ones vomited blood, some even fainted on the spot.
These weren't ordinary flames.
They were Life Flames, tied directly to their souls. Losing them meant injuring their very foundation.
The so-called Myriad Tribulation Enduring Fire, every time it was visualized, it would split off a sliver of itself, anchoring it in the cultivator's spiritual consciousness, bonded to their life force.
Upon the cultivator's death, the flame would return to the source.
This was the origin of the Firebrand Sect's cultivation method.
Over the years, the "Enduring Fire" had been split into fragments, helping grow the sect, but also diminishing the original flame.
Now, they were doing the reverse, consolidating the fragments to restore the fire to its original strength!
Bai Luoyan inhaled deeply, and from her sleeve floated out a tiny flame, warm-yellow in color.
Nothing about it seemed threatening.
It wasn't black. It wasn't crimson. It was pure golden-yellow, no color layering, no variations. Just warm light.
Ancient texts spoke of how true flame burns in layers: "Green above the smoke, a sword's flash in the eyes", implying blue inner heat is the hottest, and sharpness lies in the eyes of the wielder.
But here, this flame was one singular, unnatural color.
And that contradiction, that deviation from common sense, was deeply unsettling.
All the gathered flames fused into this one yellow flame.
But it didn't grow, didn't shrink, it didn't even change color.
And yet, at that moment, Chen Kuang's pupils shrank and Wen Si's face turned serious.
Sizzle... Hssss...
As the flames merged, the river beneath began to vaporize.
Steam rolled up from the surface like a volcanic eruption below.
Within seconds, the water level had visibly sunken, forming a shallow crater in the surface of the river.
And Bai Luoyan was floating thirty about 100 feet above the river!
Even at that height, the heat was so intense it was affecting the environment below.
The air in front of Chen Kuang visibly warped. Heat distortions shimmered like a mirage.
The waves of scorching energy surged toward him and he could even see burns forming on Bai Luoyan's face.
Her aged skin blistered and turned red, patches sloughing off to reveal raw flesh beneath!
Her Thunderstruck Wood staff began to char and crackle with flames while her clothes and hair started smoldering too.
Bai Luoyan's face contorted in agony.
Her raised hand trembled violently. Flames engulfed her palm, burning it black, the charred bits flaking away and exposing bone.
Chen Kuang had no doubt, if her staff had been made of metal, it'd be melting by now.
Crack-BOOM!
The forests on both riverbanks ignited.
What started as a few sparks exploded into a wildfire that spiraled completely out of control.
Centered around that single cluster of warm yellow flame, within a radius of a hundred feet, the world had already transformed into a heavenly furnace capable of smelting all things.
But Bai Luoyan was still not satisfied.
She clenched her teeth fiercely, the veins on her forehead bulging, and with the last remnants of her mutilated hands, she formed a seal and chanted:
"Essence in fire, fate in the dark. Ten thousand tribulations upon me, yet undying true gold! Unseal!"
Within the flame, runes flickered. As her chant echoed out, the runes turned to ash, instantly devoured by the fire.
Then, that tiny cluster of flame exploded into a storm of brilliance.
Boom!
In the blink of an eye, it had become like a miniature sun. Though it was clearly still night, the world was illuminated as if it were broad daylight.
An inch, a foot, a zhang...
Below, the river sank into a semi-spherical crater nearly a hundred zhang deep.
From afar, it looked as though the river had been cut off entirely, turning the current into a cascading waterfall.
The moment the flames surged, Bai Luoyan's expression changed drastically, and she hastily retreated.
Even so, she was nearly scorched by the fire, and shed an entire layer of skin.
The Firebrand Sect disciples were utterly terrified, the bamboo rafts spinning around to flee, but many were too slow, some were engulfed in flames atop their rafts, shrieking in agony as they fell into the boiling river.
But the water didn't save them.
Because now, the river had turned into a cauldron of scalding death.
Clearly, this unsealed Myriad Tribulation Enduring Fire showed no distinction between friend or foe.
And the range of the heavenly furnace was still expanding!
...
Wen Si watched the surging flames, speaking in a low voice:
"This is the Myriad Tribulation Enduring Fire. Legend has it, this was the primordial fire born at the dawn of chaos, having existed for tens of millions of years. It is said to be capable of incinerating all things."
"To suppress this fire, one must either counter it with extreme cold, or return it to a chaotic void, quelling its ferocity."
"This fire is no easy foe. Be cautious, Junior Brother."
He gave a warning, but made no move to stop Chen Kuang.
In his view, this junior brother of his was a clever man. If he had accepted the duel, it would not have been due to a moment of impulse, he surely had something planned.
Though the danger was great, Wen Si didn't believe his junior brother would be caught unprepared.
On the contrary, he was eager to see how Chen Kuang would respond.
Chen Kuang nodded gravely, staring ahead at the overwhelming blaze.
Bai Luoyan, battered and singed, barely landed back on her bamboo raft and composed herself. She roared once again:
"Form the Fire Serpent Array! Feed the flame!"
"Yes!" the Firebrand Sect disciples responded.
The three elders glanced at one another, as if confirming their resolve, then each flew into position as array anchors.
With their Spiritual Energy converging, dark red streams twisted and braided into a serpentine column of flame.
Boom!
The fire serpent hissed and roared, surging directly toward the little boat.
Evidently, their goal was not just Chen Kuang, they were targeting everyone on the boat.
This old hag had completely discarded all shame, first calling for a one-on-one challenge, and now turning around to strike at bystanders.
Chen Kuang frowned, but Wen Si calmly spoke:
"Junior Brother, you go ahead. I'll handle this."
Chen Kuang nodded. With a light tap of his foot, he glided forward, alighting above the river's surface.
Wen Si stirred his bamboo pole, and the little boat slid backward.
He looked at the oncoming fire serpent and murmured:
"Rise."
Instantly, waves surged upward as a pillar of water shot forth, colliding with the fire serpent, and transformed into a hydra-like water dragon.
Hiss!
Water and fire clashed, steam erupting as they wrestled mid-air and the two sides fell into a deadlock.
But at that moment, Bai Luoyan sneered.
"Change the formation, set the fire to feed upon itself!"
Her body now had no unburnt skin, like a walking skeleton in charred rags. What clothing remained was merely the hardened remnants of protective materials.
Bai Luoyan opened her mouth and spat out a tiny flame of warm yellow!
She had secretly swallowed it earlier, disguising the act as being burned.
That same flame now flowed through the array, infusing the fire serpent and fusing all surrounding flames into one.
The serpent flared yellow, overpowered the water dragon, and turned it instantly to steam.
Wen Si's eyes narrowed.
The Spiritual Energy construct shifted, forming a flaming net that encompassed the entire boat, cutting Wen Si off from Chen Kuang.
That was Bai Luoyan's true plan!
To stall Wen Si, just for a heartbeat,so that the Myriad Tribulation Enduring Fire could kill Chen Kuang.
After spitting out the flame, she vomited blood, face half-ruined, yet still smiling madly.
The Enduring Fire was unimaginably potent. Swallowing even a wisp of it had left her completely mutilated from the inside out.
But she didn't care.
Her beloved grandson was dead. Someone had to be buried with him.
She stared at the descending "sun" of flame with bloodshot, hopeful eyes.
If she could see Chen Kuang die... all the pain would be worth it.
...
Chen Kuang obviously understood her plan.
He drew in a deep breath.
The fire ahead surged, waves of heat rolling outward. The river was already cratered, unable to refill, that alone was proof of the flame's terrifying intensity.
His various passive abilities had already activated, he'd survive.
But that wasn't enough.
The new passive "Poetic Madness" required that he recite a poem in a fitting setting to unleash its power.
The poem had to match the occasion.
Chen Kuang thought for a moment.
He looked at his elder brother in a fisherman's disguise...
Then at the Jade Wave River, where shattered moonlight resembled scattered snow.
And he smiled.
"I've got it!"
...
Within Wujian Zhijian, the Great Void Illusion Realm, the illusion around him vanished.
With his limited Wishforce, he couldn't construct much, but he could still manifest what was within his means.
Chen Kuang landed gently upon the river's surface. As his foot touched water, ripples spread out in all directions.
He lifted his head and whispered:
"Let it snow."
Then, cold wind surged through the night.
The Firebrand Sect disciples were caught off-guard.
One of them felt something cold on his brow. He reached up, touched it, and found melting water.
"Wh-what the hell?! Is it snowing?!"
"No way! It's still only the ninth month, how could it be snowing?!"
Bai Luoyan's eyes narrowed, stricken with dread.
"What Divine Ability is this?! He speaks, and reality obeys? He's only at the Tower Ascension Realm! How is this even possible?!"
...
Snow began to fall, heavy and thick.
The mountains and banks were instantly coated in white frost.
At Chen Kuang's feet, the river's surface froze into a sheet of ice, spreading outward rapidly.
He stood in white robes upon that ice, amidst the swirling snow, and calmly intoned:
"A lone boat, cloaked man in straw cape,
Fishes alone in the cold river snow.
A thousand mountains, no birds in flight,
Ten thousand paths, no sign of man."
Deep murderous intent surged.