The woman wore a short emerald-green jacket, her figure tall and graceful, her face exceptionally alluring. Her bare arms, white and smooth as lotus roots, were exposed on either side. Golden light flickered along their surface — several arrow-shaped magical implements, roughly an inch long and made of something that resembled gold but wasn't, were embedded in her skin. Yet her lovely eyes, fixed on the cluster of fish-monsters before her, held a trace of an ambiguous smile.
The fish-monsters all appeared to be in their prime. They hovered several zhang above the ground in midair, emitting threatening growls as they surrounded the woman, but their faces were the ones showing fear.
"Will you hand over two of your clansmen yourselves, or shall I do it personally? If I didn't think your lot might be of some use to my people, I would have slaughtered every last one of you long ago — and you certainly wouldn't still be here in this Emberfire Land, breeding and multiplying." The woman's cherry lips parted, and from them came words that sent ice through one's veins.
"D-Dream on! We will n-never hand over our clansmen!" One of the male fish-monsters, abnormally tall, showed far less fear on his face than the others. After hearing the woman's words, he stammered out human speech through his growls.
High above, hidden in the sky, Han Li listened to this exchange. A flicker of surprise crossed his face, followed by a subtle sense of relief.
The two sides were conversing in an ancient language recorded in the texts of the Spirit Realm. This surprised him, but it also brought a measure of pleasure.
"Hmph, what a group of ungrateful creatures. I've only just finished dining and had no intention of causing trouble, but if you refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit, then a little more fresh meat wouldn't hurt." The woman's expression darkened upon hearing this, and the faint hint of amusement hidden in her eyes vanished in an instant.
The leading male fish-monster's face twisted with rage. He let out another roar, and then he and all the other fish-monsters — male and female alike — flashed with crimson light on their bodies. In a flash, like bolts of lightning, they shot back down toward the surface of the lava lake. Some raised their weapons high, while others waved their arms ceaselessly.
Immediately, the lava below churned and surged. Wave after wave of scorching crimson radiance erupted from within and sank into the bodies of the fish-monsters.
The firelight on their bodies blazed skyward. Their forms swelled, each transforming into something several zhang long, and most now radiated an aura roughly equivalent to the Spirit Severing stage.
The leading male fish-monster had even entered the initial stage of the Void Refinement realm.
"So it seems you lot truly forget the pain once the wound heals. Besides this paltry Fire-Bathing Art, what other tricks could you possibly have? Very well — I'll teach you another harsh lesson."
The young woman, far from alarmed, actually let out a delicate "ge ge" laugh. She twisted her slender waist, her body blurred, and in the next instant she appeared right in the midst of the fish-monsters. Without any visible movement, a brilliant flash erupted from her body, and countless crystalline threads shot out at inconceivable speed.
The sound of piercing air rang out!
Nearly every fish-monster collapsed and toppled over simultaneously.
The seemingly thick and solid crimson glow protecting their bodies had been utterly incapable of withstanding the penetrating strike of those crystalline threads.
The young woman's gaze swept over the immobilized fish-monsters on the lava lake. A ferocious smile — one that clashed with her beautiful features — curled the corner of her mouth. One arm moved, and her palm made a grasping gesture toward two of the female fish-monsters.
With two muffled "pu pu" sounds, the chests of the two female fish-monsters heaved violently, and two hearts were ripped free by an invisible force, shooting straight toward the young woman.
She opened her small mouth and spat out two crystalline threads. In a flash, the threads pierced through both hearts, then curled back. Without a moment's hesitation, she swallowed them whole.
"The taste is still as delicious as ever — truly something you never tire of eating. It's a shame your Void Fish clan reproduces so sparsely. To avoid waste, I'll use these two as offerings this time. But while the death penalty may be spared, you are not excused from punishment!" The young woman licked the traces of blood from the corner of her lips, an expression of savoring a fine delicacy playing across her face, yet her words grew ever more chilling.
Suddenly she opened her mouth and spat out a ball of blue light, then thrust one hand into it.
As the glow receded, a pale-blue whip materialized in her hand. Its surface was studded with gleaming blue barbs, each one razor-sharp.
A flash of malice crossed the young woman's face. She flicked her wrist, and the long whip transformed into countless phantom lashes that descended upon the living fish-monsters.
A storm of cracking sounds erupted.
No one could tell what material this whip was forged from, but it seemed specifically designed to counter these fish-people. A single light strike was enough to scatter their protective spiritual light with ease, leaving behind deep, bloody gashes.
Groans and low howls immediately filled the air above the lava.
The leading male fish-monster bore the brunt of the lashes. At first he could still glare defiantly at the young woman, but after being thrashed for a while, he could do nothing but clutch his head and writhe. The others were likewise whipped until blood ran freely, not a single inch of intact skin remaining on any of them.
Only then did the young woman stop, withdrawing the whip. She let out another light laugh and said: "This whipping should teach you to remember your place and behave yourselves for a while. If you're smart, you'll produce more clansmen. That way, even though some will be taken as offerings, your clan can still grow. If you do, our Matriarch will be most pleased, and she may even grant you certain benefits. The next time I come, if your Void Fish clan still only has this many members, it won't be settled with just a whipping."
Having delivered her threat with practiced fluency, the young woman paid no further attention to the other fish-monsters. Instead, she opened her mouth once more and spat out a milky-white, bubble-like object. It swelled in size, then descended over the corpses of the two dead female fish-monsters. She pointed a finger at it.
Instantly, the bubble and the bodies within shrank countless times over. With a吸 of the young woman's breath, they were drawn back into her body.