After a thunderclap, a thick silver arc plunged straight into the massive fireball.
Just when most onlookers were certain the silver arc would pierce clean through, the lightning flashed and sank into the fireball's surface without a trace, as if it had been swallowed whole.
Lei Lan was startled as the fireball arrived before her in an instant, its momentum utterly terrifying.
After a flicker of hesitation on the woman's face, her body shot backward slightly, and her wings wrapped tightly around herself.
Layers of lightning materialized out of thin air in an instant, and within the crackling glow, a silver-white peng bird took shape. Silver arcs danced across its entire body, yet around its neck hung a peculiar necklace from which dangled a gleaming golden gourd several inches tall.
The woman had ultimately decided to rely on her most mastered transformation technique to defeat her opponent.
The massive fireball ceased rolling the moment it saw the peng bird appear. A deep rumbling echoed outward as the fireball suddenly twisted and transformed, becoming a crimson fire bird.
The fire bird was several times the size of the opposing peng bird. Yet the peng bird showed not the slightest fear. After a clear, piercing cry, its body surged violently in size, shrinking to just slightly smaller than the fire bird, before charging straight at its opponent amid countless arcs of lightning.
The fire bird that Hong Sha had become was equally fearless. Flames blazed across its body as it raised a pair of razor-sharp claws into the air, and ten streaks of crimson claw-light shot downward.
The two great birds spread their wings in unison, nearly obscuring half the sky within the light barrier. Their battle only grew fiercer because of it.
Blood and feathers fell from high above from time to time.
But the instant before they hit the ground, they dissipated without a trace.
To everyone's surprise, the peng bird transformed from Lei Lan — who possessed only the cultivation of a low-stage Spirit General — was not at a disadvantage in the close-quarters combat. On the contrary, she seemed to grow fiercer the longer the fight went on.
The arcs of lightning that appeared on her claws and body gradually shifted from silver-white to a pale purple hue, their power far surpassing that of the silver lightning.
No one else had noticed. They all assumed the peng bird was simply channeling some technique of its own to dramatically enhance the power of the silver lightning.
But through his spiritual eyes, Han Li could see it with perfect clarity. The so-called purple lightning was not generated by the peng bird's body at all. Instead, thin threads of purple lightning were periodically shooting out from the tiny golden gourd hanging at its neck. The moment these threads made contact with the silver arcs produced by the peng bird itself, they merged in seamlessly and vanished without a trace.
It was because of this that the protective silver lightning around the peng bird had gradually transformed from silver-white to pale purple.
These purple lightning threads seemed to carry a significant origin.
Hong Sha had been unexpectedly pushed into a disadvantageous position, and her heart was filled with shock and fury.
Though she had no idea how her opponent had accomplished this, it was clear some special means were being employed. Otherwise, in terms of raw cultivation alone, how could her opponent possibly be her match?
Just then, a man's voice reached her ears. It was quiet, yet hearing it made the woman's heart tremble. She immediately cast aside her last shred of hesitation, flapped her wings, and unleashed the killing move she had prepared for the trial.
An extraordinarily long feather shot out from the top of the fire bird's head.
With a soft sound, the feather transformed into another fire bird identical to the first. It opened its mouth and spat out fireballs in rapid succession, then plunged into the fray as the flames across its entire body blazed even brighter.
The peng bird, which had just barely gained a slight upper hand, was immediately hard-pressed under the combined assault of the two fire birds. It let out continuous cries of rage.
The intertwining collisions of flames and purple lightning made the air within the barrier vibrate and hum, and the surrounding atmosphere seemed to faintly warp and shimmer.
But this also made the battle between the silver peng bird and the two fire birds somewhat blurred and indistinct.
Yet anyone could see that the silver peng bird was in imminent danger, unable to hold out for much longer. Perhaps in the very next moment, it would suffer a devastating blow and fall from the sky.
This time, Han Li simply watched in silence for a moment. Then suddenly, the wings on his back unfurled, and with a peal of thunder, he transformed into a streak of blue-white lightning and vanished from where he stood.
Almost simultaneously, another dark shadow somewhere in the crowd also flickered and disappeared without a sound.
With a resounding boom, a golden sword-light over ten zhang long materialized from thin air and slashed downward toward the entangled battle of flames and lightning.
Before the sword-light even reached the fray, a faint white streak appeared out of thin air in its path, emitting a piercing shriek.
The moment the flames and lightning touched the white streak, they crumbled and dissipated as if made of clay.
The two fire birds and the great silver peng bird in the battle saw only a flash of golden light as something extraordinarily sharp arrived above their heads and slashed down without mercy.
They had no way to resist at all.
In great alarm, the three birds abandoned their fight, retracted their powers simultaneously, and shot backward.
The massive sword-light cleaved through the gap between them by a hair's breadth, leaving a white streak lingering in its wake. Immediately after, a tremendous surge of energy erupted from the white streak.
A violent gale suddenly whipped up nearby as vast quantities of heaven and earth essence rushed toward the white streak from every direction. It was as if space itself had been cleaved open.
The spectators outside erupted into chaos. The peng bird retracted the lightning arcs around its body and reverted into a young woman, though her face was filled with astonishment and suspicion.
"You are not this woman's match. There is no need to continue fighting." A calm voice suddenly sounded behind Lei Lan, as if the speaker were right beside her.
The silver-robed woman's expression changed. She hurriedly turned to look and found a young man in green robes standing quietly behind her.