Under countless astonished gazes, Underworld Fire Annihilating Mountains roared toward Huo Shan's head.
Some sighed regretfully. Was the Yellow Sand Continent under an ill omen? Not long ago, the Supreme Emperor of the White Sand Dynasty, a Late Integration expert, perished. Now, the Great Elder of the Fire Underworld Sect was to follow?
But events defied their expectations. Suddenly, a cheerful, clear voice rang out:
"Hehe, Water-Wind Devouring Heaven and Earth…"
Kun Ming Yue, in a form-fitting sea-blue outfit accentuating her curvaceous figure, smiled brightly, her crimson lips parting. Boundless Wind and Water spiritual energy surged to her mouth, rapidly fusing.
From her seemingly delicate lips formed a massive sphere, hundreds of miles in radius, terrifying in scale.
Kun Ming Yue's body looked like a speck before it.
Under the crowd's bulging eyes, she puffed her cheeks and blew. The Water-Wind sphere shot out like a small planet, hurtling toward Huo Wu Ya's colossal fireball.
The Water-Wind sphere carried no destructive force but acted like a cosmic black hole, exuding immense suction, as if to swallow the entire world. Huo Wu Ya's Underworld Fire Annihilating Mountains was instantly drawn in, halting its descent toward Huo Shan.
"What's happening?" Huo Wu Ya jolted in shock.
In the sky, the Water-Wind sphere, like a bottomless abyss, devoured the Thunder-Fire sphere, resembling a moon eclipsing the sun, relentlessly consuming it.
One sphere swallowed another, a bizarre spectacle.
In moments, Huo Wu Ya's terrifying fireball, condensed from Raging Thunder Rigid Flame, vanished entirely. The Water-Wind sphere dissipated as if it never existed. Seizing the moment of stunned silence, Kun Ming Yue darted down, grabbed the dying Huo Shan, and flashed back to the Dream Immortal Boat.
This was Lan An's instruction.
Silence fell over the heavens and earth.
Lan An and Yan Yue Qi exchanged glances, jaws dropping in unison.
They recognized Kun Ming Yue's technique. Over a year ago, when Lan An went to the Dark Origin Continent to save Ji Ya from beast hordes, Yan Yue Qi had rescued him. Using the Thunder Flame Mysterious Art, she drew out a Kun Clan expert claiming to be the Kun Emperor, who, due to an old grudge with the Evil Emperor, challenged her.
The technique Kun Ming Yue just used, Water-Wind Devouring Heaven and Earth, was created by the Kun Emperor. Both she and the Kun Emperor were Kun Clan members—perhaps their connection wasn't simple.
"Ming Yue, who taught you that technique?" Lan An asked immediately.
Kun Ming Yue paused, her finger brushing her vibrant lips, giggling, "Don't remember…"
Lan An's mouth twitched. Her action was instinctive.
"Do you know the Kun Emperor?" Yan Yue Qi pressed.
"Kun Emperor…" Kun Ming Yue frowned tightly. The name stirred an odd feeling, as if she'd heard it before…
A furious shout interrupted her thoughts:
"Harem, why meddle in the Fire Underworld Sect's affairs!"
Huo Wu Ya and Huo Di snapped back to reality, their eyes blazing with rage as they flew before the Dream Immortal Boat, demanding answers.
They'd noticed the Harem watching but ignored that Lan An held the Great Force Earth Flame and Underworld Fire Annihilating Mountains. Lan An had rightfully won them, witnessed by four Transcending Tribulation experts and countless cultivators, so Huo Wu Ya didn't dare reclaim them.
But he hadn't expected the Harem to interfere, saving Huo Shan. Fury surged. I didn't provoke you, yet you provoke me?
This was the Yellow Sand Continent, backed by the Dan Clan and the Mysterious Emperor Academy. The Fire Underworld Sect didn't fear Lan An, especially since the Harem struck first.
"Sect Leader, don't be angry. I'm interested in Huo Shan's Fire Spirit Grass. Once I take it, I'll hand him over," Lan An said calmly.
The mission only required the Fire Spirit Grass, not saving Huo Shan's life. He could turn him over after.
Huo Wu Ya and Huo Di nearly exploded with rage. Such brazen robbery, spoken so righteously?
If Lan An got his way, where would the Fire Underworld Sect's dignity go?
This wasn't about the Fire Spirit Grass's value but the sect's honor. Huo Wu Ya would rather fight than let Lan An do as he pleased.
Huo Shan, lying half-dead, saw a glimmer of hope in his eyes. Staring at Lan An, he rasped,
"Young Master Lan, save this old man, and my grandson and I will serve you as our master for life, unwavering!"
Huo Shan, advanced in years, didn't fear death for himself but couldn't bear his foolish grandson dying with him. Huo Li, gravely injured, was stored in Huo Shan's treasure. If Huo Wu Ya killed him, both would perish.
"Really?" Lan An's heart stirred.
A Late Integration expert was akin to a Ninth-Grade force's leader. Having him pledge loyalty would bring immense benefits, plus Huo Li as a bonus. Subordinating Integration cultivators would shock countless.
If he offered two Integration experts as betrothal gifts to court Bing Lan Xi and aid Bing Yong's power struggle, things would be much easier.
Nodding to Huo Shan, Lan An said, "Deal!"
"Shameless!" Huo Wu Ya roared, stunned that Huo Shan would make such a choice and that Lan An agreed so quickly, utterly disregarding him.
"Sect Leader, Huo Shan is gravely injured and won't live long. Let them be," Huo Di transmitted quietly.
Huo Di had his own calculations. With Huo Shan pledging to Lan An, he'd left the Fire Underworld Sect, securing Huo Di the Great Elder position. No need to risk a fight.
"No! If we let this slide, where's the Fire Underworld Sect's face? My face?" Huo Wu Ya said darkly. Before countless witnesses, he couldn't yield.
Though his spiritual energy was low, he'd fight grandly, then retreat if needed.
Seeing Huo Wu Ya's defiance, Kun Ming Yue soared up, her stunning face alight with joy. Boundless energy gathered in her fist, striking at her opponent:
"Hehe, Whale Fist! Go, little fish!"
A massive whale of Water energy roared forth, charging at Huo Wu Ya.
"Flaming Thunder Palm!" Huo Wu Ya's face grew stern. He hadn't anticipated the Harem hiding such a formidable woman, absent from the White Sand battle.
"Sect Leader, I'll help!" Huo Di moved to join, but Bai Suo Mai and Yan Ruo Xue blocked him.
"Watch quietly," Bai Suo Mai said coldly, her serpentine eyes devoid of warmth.
Huo Di shivered, nodding.
He hadn't forgotten her terrifying power, capable of clashing with Late Integration experts, with Yan Ruo Xue, the Water Desolate Fairy, beside her.
Huo Di became a spectator.
BOOM!
Whale Fist and Flaming Thunder Palm collided, kicking up clouds of dust.
The Variant Flame was indeed potent, defying Water's advantage over Fire, even suppressing Kun Ming Yue's attack.
As the strike neared her, she opened her mouth, spewing Earth spiritual energy, forming a sturdy wall to block the Flaming Thunder Palm.
"She has an Earth spirit root too?" The women's eyes sparkled.
Kun Ming Yue possessed Water, Wind, and Earth spirit roots, exceeding their expectations.
"Hmph, I'll show you Ming Yue's might!"
Unhappy her attack was countered, Kun Ming Yue puffed her cheeks. She'd promised Lan An to shine.
Under countless wide-eyed stares, her exquisite form glowed.
A colossal shadow, larger than a warship, appeared, dwarfing the Dream Immortal Boat, blotting out the sun and casting a massive shadow below.
"My heavens, so huge!" Someone shouted in shock.
"Another beast…"
"A whale… Kun Clan?"
"The Harem has such a being? A Late Seventh-Grade beast! They didn't use full strength against the White Sand Dynasty!"
The crowd buzzed, some secretly recording with Image Jade.
The Harem's depth surpassed their imagination, especially with a young Top 10 Golden Ranking leader.
Huo Wu Ya, seeing Kun Ming Yue's true form, paled.
At the same level, beasts outclassed humans, especially a Kun Clan member, one of the Dark Origin's three Ninth-Grade races, equal to the Fire Underworld Sect.
ROAR!
Kun Ming Yue ignored Huo Wu Ya's thoughts. Her massive form, wreathed in raging winds, slammed toward him.
BOOM!
Empowered by Wind energy, her speed overwhelmed Huo Wu Ya, sending him flying like a speck of light.
The impact shattered space like a broken mirror.
But soon, a spatial rift opened beside her. Huo Wu Ya, blood on his lips, emerged, his face grim. Raging Thunder Rigid Flame coated his hand, forming a ferocious claw, roaring,
"Blazing Thunder Rigid Claw!"
The sudden strike left five faint scratches on Kun Ming Yue's skin.
"Crush you with flesh! How dare you anger Ming Yue!" Unfazed, she huffed angrily, her colossal whale body flipping toward Huo Wu Ya.
"What the hell?" Huo Wu Ya hadn't anticipated this, feeling the world spin as her mass pressed down like the universe itself. Beside her, he was an ant to an elephant, with nowhere to dodge.
The crowd's mouths twitched. Being crushed by that warship-sized body—what a sensation.
Huo Wu Ya's face paled, tearing space to escape.
But Kun Ming Yue, experienced now, whipped her massive tail with terrifying force, shattering the surrounding space, leaving him no refuge.
"You forced me!" Huo Wu Ya roared, producing a peculiar treasure.
A bronze incense burner, etched with ancient patterns, stood on four sturdy legs with a wide square mouth.
"Heaven-Burning Incense Burner? The Fire Underworld Sect's Top Spirit-Grade treasure!" Someone recognized it, gasping.
Huo Wu Ya had unleashed the sect's guardian treasure.
Under solemn gazes, the burner absorbed his Variant Flame, paling his face further from spiritual energy loss.
Fueled, the Heaven-Burning Incense Burner soared, expanding to hundreds of meters, hovering above Kun Ming Yue.
"Burn Heaven!"
Huo Wu Ya bellowed. The burner shook, its mouth inverting, pouring out countless Thunder-Fire meteors, scorching the sky.
"Hot! Ming Yue's done playing!" Kun Ming Yue's massive body couldn't dodge nimbly. Abandoning her plan to crush Huo Wu Ya, she swam upward.
A few meteors hit her skin, leaving faint red marks.
Huo Wu Ya, seeing her retreat, drove the burner in pursuit, proving its Top Spirit-Grade prowess.
"Her mental state affects her combat thinking. She acts on instinct, not strategy," Dan Meng Ji said softly.
"Even so, Ming Yue's incredible. Huo Wu Ya's used many tricks and can't harm her!" Nam Cung Wei Dung said gently.
The women nodded. Kun Ming Yue's defense rivaled true Body Cultivators, despite facing a Variant Flame's potent attacks. The Harem lacked a main tank—she was perfect.
After a prolonged fight, Huo Wu Ya couldn't dent her, his spiritual energy nearly depleted, feeling utterly aggrieved. He'd never seen a beast so resilient, barely scratched by Variant Flame attacks.
Realizing he couldn't defeat Lan An's group, even with the entire Fire Underworld Sect, and reluctant to seek the Dan Clan's help over a minor issue—especially since Huo Shan had left the sect—Huo Wu Ya considered his goal half-achieved.
"Harem, I'll remember this debt!"
With a threatening shout, he recalled the Heaven-Burning Incense Burner and tore space to flee.
Huo Di hurriedly followed.
Lan An and the women didn't stop them. Their goal was achieved beyond expectations; further fighting was pointless. Provoking the Dan Clan or Mysterious Emperor Academy would trouble Wu San Niang.
Both sides tacitly retreated.
Kun Ming Yue's massive form reverted to her beautiful human shape, landing beside Lan An, pouting unhappily,
"Ming Yue feels I have stronger moves to crush him, but I can't recall them!"