Scorched...
...Battlefield!
BOOM!
The entire landscape had transformed, as though they were standing inside a volcanic crater. The Dragon Queen felt her own scales bristle. It was as though she had gone back in time to a place where she had once lived.
Fwoosh...
A wave of heat swept outward, so intense that it seemed capable of vaporizing every trace of moisture in the air. Luo Qingyan, sensing that her own Domain was taking damage, quickly withdrew. She dispelled it so that it would not obstruct that tremendous heat.
"..."
It was as though the world had lost all its color, swallowed by the gray smoke hanging over the entire area. Even beneath the Palace's border, people felt the sweat running down their bodies evaporate into steam.
"That's really terrifying..."
Su Lin watched the unfolding events with a sense of dread. She had never once imagined that Little Red, who usually clung to the top of Hui'er's head and lazed the days away, was in truth a being so awe-inspiring that it could force one of the Ancient Demons to retreat.
Kuro, on the other hand, stared at the primordial beast's massive form with sparkling eyes.
BOOM!
With a single step from the Dragon Queen, scalding fluid from beneath the ground burst up through thick layers of stone toward Astaroth. The throne's magic slowed the streams of molten fluid as they scattered through the air. Twisting aside in midair, Astaroth spread her black wings and shot upward with the Second Prince's body, attempting to break through the border into the sky.
But the Dragon Queen would not allow that.
A single beat of those massive wings, and she had closed the distance, blocking the escape route with ease. The mouth, filled with sharp fangs, opened wide and unleashed crimson flame packed with destructive power, without a shred of mercy.
"Hmph!"
Astaroth frowned. She spun the spear formed from her own power and met the attack head-on. The moment the two forces collided, the flames slowed once more, just as they had before.
"...This..."
Luo Qingyan, below, burned with urgency. She longed to fly up and help the Dragon Queen with all her heart, yet she feared it would only turn into getting in the way. After all, her strength lay not in charging headlong into a clash but in healing and pinning down the opponent. But with the battlefield in the open sky like this, she could not display her true power.
"It's fine..."
Bai Fanxian spared some of her attention to answer. Power continued to flow steadily through both her hands, as though her reserves were inexhaustible. She continued speaking.
"You think that Domain of hers... can only summon pillars of fire from the ground?"
"...?"
Bai Fanxian gave a faint smile at the corner of her mouth, her gaze fixed on the battle in the sky, unhurried.
Thud!
The fierce clash, who knew which round it was by now, sent the two sides flying apart in opposite directions. The Dragon Queen stared impassively at her claws, which trembled where they had clashed with Astaroth's spear. She could clearly sense some power blanketing the area, one that was trying to stop her movements.
Clang!
Astaroth, on the other side, let out a soft laugh. "You can't stop me, you know... once it's up in the sky, your Domain barely hel..."
Fwoom!
But before she could finish, tiny sparks of flame appeared at the hem of her usually baggy robe, burning. Slowly, trailing gray soot-smoke, they ate into the clothes she wore. Astaroth fell silent for a moment, then sliced the burning hem away with the tip of her own spear, without a second thought.
"What, you think burning the clothes I'm wearing will embarrass me?"
She turned toward the Dragon Queen, who remained calm and still. She was surprised that even a robe woven from special materials could catch fire, but she quickly dismissed the thought. The young woman asked in a mocking tone.
"In the end, all your flames can do is...!"
Fwoom!
The sparks she thought she had extinguished appeared again. This time, however, her eyes widened. They were no longer clinging to the hem of her robe...
Instead, they were burning the very tip of the spear formed from her own power!
Fwoosh!
The ashes from the burning fell below and were scattered into the air by the wind. Astaroth's hand gripping the spear shook uncontrollably.
Why is the tip of my spear on fire!?
No one could give her an answer. But in the next moment, a sight she had never dreamed of took place before her.
The Throne of Lethargy.
The power that was the hallmark of the Angel Who Fell from Heaven.
...was burning!
"What on earth is going on!?"
Astaroth tried to shake the flames out, but that only seemed to feed them. The tiny sparks swelled into palm-sized fireballs, devouring everything at an ever-increasing rate. Soon, they were beyond her control.
"Aah!?"
And in the end, the most terrifying thing happened.
Her very fingertips were being devoured by the sparks!
Pain exploded through her, forcing her to scream. She tried to suppress the flames with both qi and magic, but it was futile. Every attempt only made them consume her faster. The Dragon Queen watched the other woman thrash and writhe in a desperate bid to survive as the sparks spread across her whole body.
Her Domain.
Scorched... Battlefield.
Whether it was clothing and garments,
or weapons of great power,
or even flesh, energy, and spirit—
all would burn to ash!
"Aaagh!?"
The people below watched in terror, too afraid to move. Fearing that some tiny spark might catch on their own bodies, they shuffled back, packing tightly together, deeper into the central alchemy palace.
"Just give up... My master didn't order me to take your life."
Astaroth ground her teeth.
"Grr!"
At that moment, the border behind Astaroth was ripped open by some force, leaving a wide hole.
Then the figure of a man in a fully concealing cloak appeared in midair.
He drew the sword at his waist and severed Astaroth's burning arm without hesitation. Gritting her teeth, she used the power of the Throne of Lethargy to stem the flow of blood before tossing the Second Prince's body to him.
"...We have to pull out now."
The man's voice was hoarse. He could feel his body temperature and the energy within him climbing higher. When Astaroth heard him, she nodded at once and got ready to shoot out through the opening.
But then.
Crash!
Before they could so much as move, the space around them cracked and shattered, and Grandmaster Lu Qing appeared. The old man brought his hands together before his chest, preparing to use Bathin's dimensional power to trap Astaroth, the cloaked man, and the Second Prince.
Bai Fanxian had told him to wait for a crucial moment like this one. That was why he had held himself in check all this time and kept out of sight from the very beginning.
And now, the time had come.
"...!"
But the instant the old man's eyes met Astaroth's—he stopped.
The momentary lapse gave the hoarse-voiced man an opening. He unleashed his power, enveloped all three of them in it, and transformed them into a streak of light that shot westward.
"Elder!?"
Su Lin, watching from below, thought Grandmaster Lu Qing had been struck down. But Bai Fanxian, watching from a distance, sensed that something was amiss. Her attention settled on Lu Qing, who stood staring dazedly after the departing streak of light, as though he had lost his senses.
.
.
.
Rumble!
The refinement of the Celestial Path Elixir resumed after nearly being interrupted. King Jongliean struggled over to Bai Fanxian, hope and worry mingling in his voice.
"You... there isn't any problem with it, is there?"
His voice was thick with worry. His second son had just betrayed him and caused a great disaster, so the only one he could still place his hopes in was his eldest son, who remained unconscious.
"Emp... Lady Bai, you aren't hurt, are you?"
Luo Qingyan was frantic with concern. The sneak attack had been beyond anything she expected, and she could not stay still. She used her Heaven Sense to examine Bai Fanxian from head to toe.
Hui'er and Tang Yeye joined in as well. The three of them checked Bai Fanxian over, and only once they were satisfied did they relax and let their lady go back to refining.
"Who do you think I am..."
Bai Fanxian sighed. She had not expected the offhand remark to pique the curiosity of the Greybeard Alchemist beside her.
"Good question, little miss... who are you, really?"
"..."
Silence fell over the entire palace. Whether it was the young female disciples or the townspeople who had come to enjoy the festivities and been dragged into a dangerous incident, everyone shut their mouths at the same moment.
Every eye in the palace turned toward Bai Fanxian.
"At first I thought you had to be the disciple of some great expert from the past... but I guess not."
She had dealt with a Demon General in a single move.
She had refined Grade-6 medicine by the handful.
And now, with one hand, she was refining a Grade-7 medicine, while the other fused her qi with the Palace's border to shield thousands upon thousands of people from a being on the level of an Ancient Demon.
Even if every great expert throughout history joined forces, he doubted they could accomplish what Bai Fanxian was doing today!
"You all want to know?"
Bai Fanxian did not hurry to answer. Instead, she swept her hand out to the side, and dark clouds gathered in the sky above once more. Numerous bolts of golden lightning streaked down into the medicine in the cauldron, producing a deafening roar that shook even the ground.
The Greybeard Alchemist stared, his eyes widening as his instincts told him what was about to happen.
A Grade-7 medicine... was about to be born into the world!
BOOM!
An explosion rumbled like the roar of a beast. A beam of golden light shot skyward, as though it were holding up the heavens themselves, stretching so far that its tip vanished from sight. Across the city, people abandoned what they were doing and stared at the legendary spectacle unfolding in the sky.
...Because this might be the only time in their lives
to bear witness to the birth of a Transcendent-grade medicine!
Rumble!
The golden light had its source in the mouth of the cauldron. Now Bai Fanxian raised both hands and gently pressed down on it.
"..."
In that sliver of a moment, all living beings on the continent sensed the same thing at once.
A rich fragrance swept over them like a passing breeze, leaving a trace of power in its wake. Those who were ill felt warmth spread through their bodies, while cultivators who had long been stuck at the same level suddenly broke through to the next.
The nearer one stood, the stronger the effect, especially on the mountain where the alchemy palace stood, which had been scorched by the fierce battle moments earlier. Many withered trees burst back into life, their branches filling with fresh leaves. Even the stream that had dried up began to flow again, its renewed vitality nourishing the entire valley.
"Gulp..."
Those inside the palace were affected most of all. Many cultivators hurriedly sat down to cultivate and attempt a breakthrough. Even King Jongliean, who had endured his chest wound for so long, felt the pain ease considerably, though the wound itself remained unhealed.
Whoosh.
With a slight twist of Bai Fanxian's hand, cracks spread across the pillar of golden light before it shattered into glittering fragments that filled the sky.
And at its center, three golden pills, each the size of a marble, drifted slowly down. Before they could touch the ground, Bai Fanxian swept her hand gently beneath them and caught them.
"..."
"...About who I am."
Bai Fanxian swept her gaze around, from the townspeople she did not know to the Palace's disciples holding their breath. Last of all, she turned to meet Luo Qingyan's eyes, and Luo Qingyan gave her a soft nod of assent.
Tick.
The three pills in Bai Fanxian's hand trembled. Her qi burst outward in every direction, then contracted back inward with the pills at its center. The overwhelming power radiating from the Transcendent-grade medicine was gradually sealed within the pills by a force incomparably greater.
"My name... could only be Bai Fanxian..."
Once sealed, no more power leaked out. Bai Fanxian held out her palm, the three pills resting upon it.
As they touched the sunlight, they gave off a faint golden shimmer.
"..."
"...Though you may call me the 'First Alchemy Empress,' I suppose?"
End of Volume Seven
Return to the Palace