Li Qinghong had been watching quietly for a while now. Her intervention wasn’t impulsive. She’d experienced much and suspicion had long stirred in her heart, A duel between thunder cultivators, and I just happened to stumble into it? Curious indeed... Shen Yanqing and I are acquainted, and she’s backed by two Purple Mansion Realm cultivators... With a clash like this, I wouldn’t be surprised if signs of higher-realm interference had already begun.
Regardless of whether Purple Mansion Realm cultivators were involved, Li Qinghong knew her stealth art wasn’t anything profound. She suspected that Shen Yanqing had already sensed her presence earlier, perhaps she had even been retreating in this direction on purpose.
Whether or not it’s worth intervening, if I turn away now, I’ll likely offend both the Purple Smoke Gate and the Shen Family. There’s no other way forward.
As the two of them were speaking, Li Qinghong had already reached her decision. She reversed her spear grip, let violet light flicker from its tip, and surged forth on thunder, intercepting the man in an instant.
Shen Yanqing was quick-witted, calling her sister was enough to startle Miao Quan into momentary hesitation, making him glance over in a daze.
After all, Li Qinghong was a late-stage Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator. If she was indeed from an immortal family bloodline, her strength was likely on par with Miao Quan’s. And with Shen Yanqing at her side, taking Li Qinghong down wouldn’t be easy.
Miao Quan’s face flickered with indecision for a second. Then he gave Li Qinghong a once-over and suddenly sneered, "You think I'm so easily fooled? That armor of hers doesn’t even register at the Foundation Establishment Realm. She’s not from the Shen Family."
Li Qinghong wasn’t surprised in the least. She angled her spear and said quietly, eyes blazing with battle spirit, "Come."
Miao Quan’s face turned grim. He raised his axe high, white lightning surging from its edge. He said, "Foolish!"
He lunged forward, and the lightning gathered before him in a flash, rippling outward from his axe. This wasn’t Celestial Thunder he cultivated, it was brighter, denser and violently focused.
Li Qinghong lifted her spear. Her technique born from the Xiao Family's Wing Clipper Spear technique and the Fei Family’s Dragon Reflection had become increasingly masterful. Pale violet avian shadows burst forth in the air, swarming like birds from every direction.
As the two types of thunder clashed, a series of deafening explosions echoed through the sky, churning the waves and dispersing the clouds. Miao Quan pulled his axe back and only a faint layer of white light remained on its blade.
Only slightly better? He was secretly shocked, though his face betrayed nothing. With a flick of his wrist, he rode the momentum to summon more lightning. White brilliance surged outward in dense, worm-like arcs, striking toward both opponents.
Li Qinghong twirled her spear gracefully, sending up a wave of violet light to block the strike. Nearby, Shen Yanqing's face paled slightly as Miao Quan suddenly erupted with overwhelming force. The white lightning around his axe grew several times stronger, shaking the air with deafening momentum.
That white lightning clung to his axe like countless writhing worms, crawling up his arm, it was a terrifying sight. His earlier moves had only been feints, now he was showing his true strength.
But Shen Yanqing was only in the early Foundation Establishment Realm. Li Qinghong had no choice but to step forward with her spear and intercept the blow.
Boom!
A thunderclap rang out from the flat sky. White lightning crashed into the sea, raising clouds of steam and countless dead fish floating belly-up in the water.
Staggering slightly in the mist, blood trickled from Li Qinghong’s lips. Her long spear hummed with excitement, resonating against the thunder.
"Know your place! Get lost while you still can!" Miao Quan still didn’t know her background. He simply wanted to scare her off quickly. Lightning lashed forth from his axe as a faint smile crept onto his face, though it quickly froze in suspicion, Why is it... like her aura is growing stronger...?
He saw Li Qinghong’s spear dance with increasing might. Purple lightning and spear shadows surged forth in a storm, battering his axe without pause.
Miao Quan thought her reckless. White light flared from his elbows as thunder surged up his arms, connecting with the lightning of his dharma artifact. He released pulse after pulse of blinding white light.
He fought two opponents alone. His spirit axe swung faster and faster, thundering with lightning. Li Qinghong still managed to trade blows and deflect the backlash, but Shen Yanqing was clearly beginning to struggle.
Growing more ruthless, Miao Quan clenched the air, grasping a roiling bundle of white lightning. His other hand formed a seal, then flipped his palm outward. White lightning leapt forth.
At that exact moment, the violet-patterned lightning flask at Li Qinghong’s waist activated, erupting with streams of purple-white lightning in various hues that collided with Miao Quan’s spell.
Miao Quan's spell was clearly of a high tier, yet it matched Li Qinghong’s long-refined lightning forged from heaven and earth. He was briefly surprised, then gave a chilling grin.
His spell seals grew faster and faster, and the white lightning became more ferocious. Shen Yanqing quickly pulled a small mirror from her robes and released a soft yellow glow that shone gently toward the white lightning.
Boom!
The spell faltered. Miao Quan's expression shifted, he rapidly changed his hand seals but could no longer hold it together. The lightning scattered into countless motes of white light and vanished into the air.
Just as anger began to show on his face, Li Qinghong suddenly lifted her head. A pair of violet glints surfaced in her eyes. Though her voice was a touch hoarse, it still carried that same nimble and spirited tone, "Senior... take this strike from me."
Li Qinghong pressed her lips together and exhaled a bead of white light. The warm and elegant light bounced lightly and in an instant expanded to the size of a fist. In the sky, streaks of violet lightning patterns appeared.
The white light flickered in the air and surged forward at incredible speed. Miao Quan’s face twisted in sudden fear. His heart skipped a beat as he cried inwardly, Dao of Thunder Steering and Cloud Dwelling?!
Boom!
He only had time to summon a bronze shield. In a blink, the reef stones on an island several hundred meters away crumbled with a crash. The sea depressed inward, then erupted violently, streaked with violet-white lightning that rained down in a dense barrage.
It was the Profound Thunderbolt, nurtured for years in Li Qinghong’s personal thunder pool!
Li Qinghong hadn’t spent her years cultivating in the outer seas in vain. Times had changed. Back when she was only in the early Foundation Establishment Realm, that very thunderbolt had already drawn praise from Zhang Yun of the Golden Feather Sect.
Now she was in the late-stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm. Her cultivation, insight, mana and spiritual sense were all far beyond what they had once been. When this thunderbolt landed, it was as though even heaven's light bent down in awe.
Only when the white radiance finally faded did Miao Quan reappear, his expression dark. He hadn’t been gravely injured as only a corner of his robes was singed. But there was clear frustration and humiliation on his face.
His body was now covered in writhing white lightning. It was like a fearsome armor clinging to his frame. Taking a step forward, his hand brimming with lightning, Miao Quan reached straight for the long spear in Li Qinghong’s hands.
But how could Li Qinghong let him get his way? She flicked her spear with elegant precision. The tip lashed out with a flash and a boom, forcing him several inches away in a burst of thunder.
Miao Quan grasped at nothing and felt as if he’d struck solid iron. Then his eyes fell on the silver spear in Li Qinghong’s hand, it looked oddly familiar. He froze for a moment, focused his gaze, and blurted out, "Duruo?!"
The moment the words left his lips, Li Qinghong was visibly taken aback. Behind her, Shen Yanqing was also momentarily stunned. Both of them turned their eyes toward the spear in her hand.