"The Angel Who Fell from Heaven..."
"Astaroth!"
The moment the old man's voice died away, the townspeople of Moondrift City, who had only just come through the threat of the Seventy-Two Ancient Demons, turned deathly pale. The assault led by Demon General Marsosius had left scars on both body and mind, so deeply buried that the townspeople were no longer even aware of them.
"This is bad... this is bad!"
"An Ancient Demon! An Ancient Demon is here!"
Amid the chaos, Bai Fanxian, one hand still resting on the cauldron, narrowed her eyes. She studied the young woman, who had been identified as Astaroth, and the corner of her mouth curled into a smile.
"You're not an Ancient Demon..."
Thud!
The Wild Bloom Sect Head froze on the spot. Bai Fanxian took the opportunity to continue.
"There's nothing demonic about you... You may look the part, but you're still human."
"..."
"...You're Astaroth's successor, aren't you?"
"..."
"...Like Grandpa Lu Qing?"
Tang Yeye, curious, whispered the question under her breath. Bai Fanxian gave a light nod in answer, then fixed her gaze on the sky.
"Don't get careless. She may only be a successor, but her power right now isn't something kids like you can handle."
Bai Fanxian hurried to warn them, having seen the thirst for battle in her little disciples, especially in Hui'er, who seemed to have grown even fiercer on learning that the woman was an Ancient Demon's successor.
"Then let me handle her myself..."
Luo Qingyan, who had been listening quietly and had now confirmed that Bai Fanxian was unhurt by the earlier sneak attack, rose into the air.
The aura of an Ancient Sage surged outward around her as the ground trembled. Dozens of enormous roots burst up through the wide courtyard and twisted together into a spiral. The instant Luo Qingyan's toes touched one of those branches, it split and spread, leafing out into a gigantic tree.
Domain of Three Seasons Flora!
"Empress!?"
The Palace's disciples were thrown into panic. Those who could see the look on Luo Qingyan's face were frightened out of their wits.
Because her face was utterly cold, concealing a fury barely held in check!
"All of you, get back..."
At Luo Qingyan's words, smaller roots sprouted and spread, carrying every disciple who was still outside into the central alchemy palace. The girls watched their Empress, now facing one of the Ancient Demons, with worry.
"A dying twig, bowing and begging anyone who'd listen... and look at you now. I never imagined you'd grow this much."
"..."
Luo Qingyan did not answer, but the faint trembling of the tree was a sign that she was not as "calm" as she appeared.
Wild Bloom.
Merely thinking of the damage done with that sect behind it was enough to leave her barely able to hold her emotions in check.
How many of her disciples had lost their lives on that battlefield?
They were cultivators, yes, but first and foremost, they were disciples of the Alchemy Palace. How many could possibly have survived the front lines of that war and returned alive?
But—
"I'd like to play with you too... but not right now."
The young woman laughed softly and turned to Bai Fanxian.
"Holding up a border while refining medicine... that's a lot to carry at once, isn't it?"
"Lady Bai!?"
Every eye turned to Bai Fanxian, whose expression remained calm and composed, but the fact that she did not deny it was beginning to make many people sense something.
"None of you even realize you're being protected, do you?"
Astaroth laughed softly and raised a finger. A black feather from her wing shot toward one of the villagers caught up in the scene. His face drained of color as he watched the unavoidable attack race toward him, hopeless.
BOOM!
But before it could pierce his body and leave a hole, a red bolt of lightning born of the border darted in and stopped it just in time. The force of the impact sent him tumbling back several meters. He was slightly hurt, but that was far better than dying, many times over.
"A border big enough to cover thousands of people and hold off an Ancient Demon's attacks from within..."
"...I wonder how much power that takes?"
Astaroth smiled at the corner of her mouth, giving the townspeople goosebumps.
"Isn't that border supposed to run by itself..."
One of the young disciples had gone pale. Though she only murmured it, the woman with an Ancient Demon's power heard her clearly.
"Heh heh... what a pity this useless Second Prince botched the job..."
That single sentence made many people understand.
Because the Second Prince's earlier attack had broken through the border without even needing to try!
That meant the enemy had some method of rendering the border, as it had been raised before, useless!
Then why had the red lightning a moment ago been able to stop her feather...?
"So that's why you won't budge from that spot, huh?"
Everyone who heard turned sharply, and then saw numerous ancient characters swirling beneath Bai Fanxian's feet, centered on the spot where she stood. The qi from her body was flowing down into them like fuel being drained away without end.
She was using her own qi...
...to reinforce the border?
"One hand refining medicine to save lives, the other raising a border to protect people. Truly admirable."
There was no telling whether Astaroth's words were genuine praise or veiled sarcasm.
"But good people like you don't usually live long, you know..."
"Lady Bai!?"
Fwoosh!
No sooner had she finished speaking than the cracked crown on her head flared with brilliant green light, then gathered into an enormous beam that cut across the sky toward the helpless Bai Fanxian!
"Hmph!"
Luo Qingyan would not let it happen twice. She moved in front of Bai Fanxian, a vast mass of roots twisted into what looked like a wall, her qi exploding outward to catch the attack just in time!
"Useless..."
At Astaroth's word, the green beam that should have been stopped passed through Luo Qingyan's defenses as though they were thin air, and the young woman's eyes went wide. She could not feel the impact of the attack at all. It was exactly like the earlier attack that had pierced the border's defenses!
"Lady Bai!"
Luo Qingyan could no longer move in time. She turned toward the attack hurtling at Bai Fanxian behind her, her face drained white.
"Lady Heroine! Abandon the refining for now!"
Even King Jongliean knew that what bound Bai Fanxian in place was a Grade-7 medicine whose process could not be halted midway. But in a moment this dire, nothing mattered more than staying alive.
But—
"ROOOAR!!"
BOOM!
The roar of some creature rang out from the sky, along with a blaze of crimson flame that rushed in and collided with the attack, setting off a tremendous explosion. The people, still bewildered, sensed the shadow of an enormous creature spreading its wings to block out the sun.
"Th-that's..."
"A dragon! There's a dragon in the sky!"
Every eye lifted and met a huge, awe-inspiring pair of eyes. Its gentle breath alone produced heat enough to nearly set their bodies aflame, and as it moved, its flame-colored scales glittered like diamonds.
"Meow!? Could that be..."
Little Kuro, who had only just popped out, leapt onto Tang Yeye's shoulder, tail sticking straight up and eyes round as goose eggs, for it sensed a familiar presence in that giant body in the sky.
"It's been a while, hasn't it..."
Tang Yeye smiled wryly. After the events of that day, both she and Hui'er had treated the dragon like a doll or a small pet, and the name "Little Red" had only made it worse, so that over time they had forgotten what Little Red had really been.
An ancient being, revered above all by the people of one dimension.
Her name was
The Dragon Queen!
"ROOOOOOOOAR!"
A single earth-shaking roar was enough to make the ground quake. Even Luo Qingyan, an Ancient Sage, could not keep her alarm hidden when faced with the Dragon Queen.
"You've been hiding something like that all along..."
Astaroth was filled with caution. The power spreading with the primordial beast's scorching breath was equal to hers, if not greater. On top of that, she sensed a strange current of power within it, drawing in the life force of the world itself.
Fwoosh!
Green magical power fused into a huge spear. Astaroth spun it in one hand with a whirring sound, a gust of wind spreading in every direction.
BOOM!
A violent clash rang out as the Dragon Queen's claws met the spear, shaking the ground. The Greybeard Alchemist turned to Bai Fanxian, who was still maintaining the refining process, and asked in a trembling voice.
"L-little miss... you're really going to keep refining?"
And seeing her nod, unafraid of the battle before them, the old man gritted his teeth. He moved closer and spoke in a resolute voice.
"Then I'll be your assistant!"
"...Meteoric Iron Powder."
"Y-yes, understood!"
With the Greybeard Alchemist as her assistant in place of Luo Qingyan, who had gone out to join the Dragon Queen, the refinement of the Celestial Path Elixir could continue. Connected to the border of the Goddess Alchemy Palace, the old man sensed the presence of a vast quantity of ingredients. Using his knowledge and understanding, combined with decades of experience, he sorted and picked them out in the blink of an eye.
"You pests!"
Elsewhere, even an Ancient Demon like Astaroth was growing irritated. The pressure of the Dragon Queen alone was enough to stretch her thin, and with her being within Luo Qingyan's Domain besides, she felt even less able to move freely.
"...The one who fell from heaven."
"Throne of Lethargy."
At once, a throne adorned with black feathers appeared behind the young woman. When the venomous vines and roots born of Luo Qingyan's Domain touched the current of power radiating from the feathered throne, they slowed visibly, even to the naked eye, like raging beasts struck by tranquilizer darts and left weak. Even the Dragon Queen, who had been charging in, had to back away to gauge the situation, narrowing her eyes.
...Dangerous.
"Not coming in anymore?"
Astaroth smiled at the corner of her mouth, raising one eyebrow in provocation. Luo Qingyan, worried, sent a message through her qi to warn the Dragon Queen.
"Careful. It's like time stopped for my roots... they're barely responding."
"..."
Roar!
The Dragon Queen roared again. The qi from her entire body gathered at her throat, and then crimson flame capable of melting even steel burst from her mouth. She compressed it into a nearly straight line, its force and piercing power several times greater than before.
"Hmph!"
Astaroth, the target of the attack, swung her spear up to resist. The momentum, combined with her magical power, was enough to deflect the oncoming fire to one side. On top of that, the flames that touched the throne's power slowly lost speed, moving no differently from slow motion!
"..."
The Dragon Queen's brows knitted tight. The special powers of these Ancient Demons were more annoying than she had expected.
"Looks like nobody can stop me now, huh?"
Astaroth laughed softly. She hoisted the Second Prince's body onto her shoulder again and prepared to leave.
But—
BOOM!
Out of nowhere, a huge pillar of fire erupted from the ground behind her, along with the smell of ash drifting over the whole area. Even those inside the central alchemy palace coughed on the smoke, tears streaming, looking left and right in alarm.
BOOM!
A second pillar of fire rose and grazed Astaroth's body, forcing her to dodge in haste. She tried to find whoever had done it but could sense only the primordial beast's power, churning, right in front of her.
Only Bai Fanxian, who, though busy refining, could still spare some attention here, had a smile curling at the corner of her mouth.
"You're not just big anymore, are you?"
No one understood what Bai Fanxian meant, except the Dragon Queen, who felt the qi in her own body, which had always circulated only within her, spreading outward around her in a way it never had before.
She had never once doubted her own power.
In the world where she had lived, she had been the one and only Transcendent-level being, unrivaled by any. Her power had grown with time through the Eternal Myriad Heavens elixir within her body. Her qi alone was enough to crush every being in that world like tiny ants.
But that had caused her to miss many things.
Fighting Bai Fanxian had shown her that she was merely a frog at the bottom of a well.
Hiss...
The fallen leaves scattered across the ground were scorched by heat without warning. One by one they crumbled slowly into ash, gray smoke drifting up into the sky.
But she could not be blamed for that, because no one had ever taught her this...
Roar!
Grown only in size?
Her master had been right.
She had never known what she was capable of. In her master's eyes, she must have been no different from a bottom-rung scrub of a warrior who carried a legendary weapon yet had no idea how to swing it at all.
But not anymore...
Vwoom!
The primordial beast's eyes blazed with dazzling light as the ground shook from the heat moving beneath the earth's surface. Every tree outside, left unprotected by the Palace's border, was burned to dust by the very atmosphere!
...The Dragon Queen's Domain.
Scorched Battlefield!