Nangong Wan's crimson moon clearly couldn't keep pace. The black-and-white rainbow traced a sweeping arc and in an instant reached the ceiling of the great hall, striking with savage force.
A muffled boom rang out. The red glow shuddered and failed to punch through — only a few stone chips drifted lazily downward.
The icy woman froze, still not understanding what had happened, when a flash of light blazed from above. Swarms of three-colored flying insects surged out from the ceiling, buzzed in unison, and rapidly coalesced in the center to form a massive tri-colored shield.
Heart skipping a beat, the icy woman had no time to think. She flicked her hand and a silver-patterned talisman materialized between her fingers.
Below, Nangong Wan witnessed this and naturally understood her senior sister's intent. Her beautiful face darkened at once. Rather than deploying the Samsara Divine Light, she swept a hand to her waist, produced a small red-hazed flag, and without a moment's hesitation flung it at the ground beneath her feet.
With a sharp hiss, the little flag dissolved into a wisp of red smoke that burrowed swiftly into the earth.
The icy woman swung her jade hand at that instant, activating the talisman's power. Wrapped in a cocoon of hazy yellow radiance, she shot upward like a falling star chasing the moon.
A tearing sound rang out as the yellow light pierced clean through the great shield as though it were nothing, streaking straight toward the hall ceiling beyond.
But almost simultaneously, Nangong Wan's incantation left her lips, activating the hidden restrictions within the cave dwelling. The entire great hall flashed crimson as a dazzling curtain of red light materialized on the walls — even the ceiling and the bluestone floor blazed without cease.
The crimson light appeared to be the natural counter to the icy woman's yellow radiance. The moment the two made contact, far from escaping, the lights intertwined — and then vast swathes of crimson surged forward like a magnet, swarming in to completely engulf the yellow glow.
Nangong Wan's senior sister was horrified, but she was no stranger to the world. After a brief mental deliberation, she immediately recognized what sort of restriction this was.
Within the yellow light, her expression grave, she flicked a finger. A bone-chilling white sword beam shot forth and circled outward, scattering the crimson light into disarray.
The icy woman was overjoyed. The yellow light flashed as she shattered the remaining restrictions and plunged straight through the ceiling.
But just as half her body had passed through, a purple light flared before her eyes. Something descended over her, trapping her inside — then yanked her forcibly back out of the ceiling.
A light, tinkling laugh followed. A white shadow flickered, and a charming young woman in white robes materialized from above.
In one jade hand she held a remarkably crystalline purple thread, its other end connected to the icy woman's body.
Only then did this grand elder of the Yanyue Sect realize that what covered her was a net emanating a soft purple glow.
The treasure flickered — now visible, now vanishing, caught between existence and void.
The icy woman was beside herself with shock and fury. Without a second thought she flicked all ten fingers; more than a dozen beams of black-and-white sword qi lanced outward. Still unsatisfied, she opened her mouth and spat a grotesque jet of jade-green flame. One after another they hammered into the purple net.
The pale purple glow blazed magnificently. Neither the black-and-white sword qi nor the green flame left so much as a scratch.
Now panic truly seized the icy woman's face. She was about to grit her teeth and unleash some qi-devouring secret art to break free, but the white-robed woman simply chuckled, tugged on the purple thread, and parted her fragrant lips to utter a single word: "Shrink."
The once slightly loose net instantly contracted and tightened.
The woman inside was completely immobilized, unable to stir even a fraction.
Her face turned scarlet with humiliation. Ever since condensing her Nascent Soul, she had always been the one others looked up to. When had she ever suffered such treatment — let alone now, as a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator?
Humiliated and enraged, a cold gleam flashed in her eyes. The spiritual light around her body surged violently, suddenly intensifying several-fold, and a faint bloody crimson light began swirling within her gaze.
Yin Yue's smile vanished the instant she saw this. She knew something terrible was about to happen and was about to activate the "True Fire of the Jade Sun" contained within the Purple Cheng Net, when Nangong Wan's voice came urgently: "Don't kill her — leave her to me!"
As the words rang out, a fiery crimson moon leaped upward from below and enveloped the icy woman within it.
The moon began spinning rapidly. Ring after ring of rosy halos rippled outward from its core. Bewitching light and shifting moon-shadows flooded the entire hall in an instant.
From below, Han Li glanced briefly at the ceaselessly rotating moon and immediately felt his mind waver and his head swim. He couldn't help but be startled.