All over Blue Emerald Island, violence wreaked havoc. Whether in the center or on the edges of the island, resistance fighters battled the Nether Lotus Sect.

In a fishing village on the south of the island, for example, five native cultivators battled four Nether Lotus Sect outer disciples. Their fight erupted in the center of the village, toppling the ground, destroying walls, and causing an earthquake. The homes of the miserable villagers were destroyed and flattened. The villagers themselves ran, trying to reach a nearby hill where they thought they would be safe from the battles.

In a city north of this little fishing village, dozens of cultivators fought in several spots. East of that city, an elder of Nether Lotus Sect battled five cultivators in the middle of a red-light district, where women in indecent clothes ran, trying to find protection.

In the nearby mountains, near a half-formed formation array, ten people engaged in a bloody battle that spilled blood on the ground and painted the rocks, trees, and bushes red.

Not all resistance groups successfully launched ambush attacks, but many did, gaining an advantage from the start. Once they won their fights, they rushed toward nearby battles and joined the fray. Some launched sneak attacks and successfully beheaded demonic cultivators; others became distractions so their comrades could stab their enemies through the heart. Some even successfully and savagely tore the necks of demonic cultivators, their own lower jaws painted with red blood.

As more and more Nether Lotus Sect disciples died and the resistance won their engagements, the demonic cultivators became overwhelmed and began to retreat. Since their main base was the Red Palace, all the retreating demonic cultivators slowly converged on the center of Tranquil Lake. The resistance fighters chased them, their expressions enraged and twisted, their attacks strong, brutal, and overwhelming. The demonic cultivators' faces paled, and they hurriedly tried to fall back. They hoped their elders could help them.

"'Kill them! Kill them all! Don't let anyone escape!'" a cultivator atop a flying sword shouted, launching a thunderbolt toward a demonic cultivator who had a hole in his back.

"'Old Gu! No, Old Gu!'" a demonic cultivator shouted in despair as he saw his senior have his body torn apart by a giant axe, his innards and entrails painting the ground red and yellow.

The green forest surrounding Tranquil Lake became a battlefield. Explosions tore apart the trees. Smoke and fires bloomed all around the forest. Nonstop shouts, the clash of blades, the rush of wind, and the rumble of quaking earth created a cacophony of chaos. Shouts of fury, triumph, and bloodlust, as well as despair, sadness, and bitter anger, reverberated through the chaos.

The resistance was winning. The demonic cultivators were slowly but surely becoming overwhelmed. At first, each demonic cultivator fought only one or two opponents at a time, but now, more and more demonic cultivators found themselves fighting three or even four simultaneously.

"'Where the fuck are the reinforcements?'" a demonic cultivator with white hair and a pale face shouted with a grimace. He had never thought these cultivators would dare to attack them openly. He had thought the Nether Lotus Sect had successfully subjugated this island.

"'Senior, help!'" a demonic cultivator with red hair and a pale face, wearing nothing, shouted desperately. He was encircled by ten cultivators. Each of them snarled like rabid dogs.

The senior sneered. That bastard was famous for his despicable cultivation method. Instead of refining people into pills like a normal person, he practiced a cultivation method that harvested Yin from his targets. Since he wore no clothes, he had probably been ambushed while engaged in the act.

"'Die, you bastard!'" A burly man, his shredded clothes revealing massive muscles, successfully caught him with both hands. Then, he hugged his enemy so hard that the man's eyes popped from their sockets and he burst into a cloud of mist. Then, the cultivators who had circled him began to trample his remains, as if trying to kill him again even though he was already dead.

The senior used this opportunity to leap into the lake, trying to swim undetected to the Red Palace. But when he opened his eyes underwater, more fights greeted him.

Every demonic cultivator around Tranquil Lake realized their situation was dire.

They knew they could even die if they were careless. Yet, even so, they rushed toward the Red Palace, pinning their hopes on their elders. They knew that while the elders in charge of this place were not part of the Six Elite Elders, they were famous, strong, ruthless, and resourceful. This was especially true for Bewitching Princess. Her techniques were so powerful that if one of the Six Elite Elders died, many believed she would be the strongest candidate to fill that role.

And indeed, they were right to put their hopes in them, especially in Bewitching Princess, because she could, and would, turn the tide of this battle.

Soon, a creature made of fire emerged from the crumbling palace. This creature was made entirely of fire. Its size was gigantic; while not as large as the palace itself, a dozen people could stand on each of its fiery wings. Its two heads—one lizard and one human—looked around the battlefield as if to assess the situation. When it roared, every cultivator around Tranquil Lake heard it. The lake's surface began to churn, as if the water itself tried to escape the fire demon. The qi emitted from the fire creature was vast, boundless, and terrifying.

Every cultivator, whether resistance fighter or demonic cultivator, stumbled mid-fight and snapped their heads toward the fire creature, their eyes widening.

Some resistance cultivators felt intense dread when they saw the creature. Though the demonic cultivators initially felt a similar urge to escape, they recognized Bewitching Princess's powerful qi amidst the fire creature's aura. Thus, hope blossomed in their hearts, and they began to fight with renewed fervor, as if the creature had given them power.

The fire creature—a technique originally made by Cangxuan Wutian as a trump card when his life was on the brink of forfeit, now perverted by Bewitching Princess and enhanced by incorporating Graceful Phoenix—began to soar into the sky.

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

Each flap of its wings created a gust of wind so strong it disturbed the airflow, and it moved with incredible speed despite its enormous size. The creature's first victim was a cultivator zipping through the air. In an instant, the creature arrived right behind the cultivator. When it arrived, it opened its mouth and let out a deafening roar. The cultivator's eyes instantly bled, his qi disrupted, and he plummeted into the lake. But, as if unwilling to let the lake swallow him, the lizard head opened its mouth and breathed a gigantic torrent of fire toward this pitiful cultivator. Swallowed by the torrent of fire, he shouted fearfully for a moment before his voice vanished and he turned to ash.

The fire descended into the lake. When it touched the water, the fire evaporated, creating a dense mist that looked like smoke. This vaporous mist spread unnaturally, accompanied by a bewitching laugh that sounded like ringing bells.

Upon hearing that laugh, the demonic cultivators began to laugh triumphantly. After all, they knew the Bewitching Princess's laugh all too well.

"'Haha, with this, you fools are gonna die!'" a demonic cultivator shouted, pointing toward a terrified woman holding a blood-coated, wicked blade.

"'Her wrath will swallow you all!'" another demonic cultivator shouted joyfully from atop a tree branch.

Soon, the unnatural vapor spread and began to touch the cultivators.

Bewitching Princess's fighting style was mysterious. There were many rumors about what she did inside the mist. Some rumors said that everyone inside her mist fell completely under her control. Others claimed the mist induced rage in its victims, causing them to kill their friends before killing themselves. Some even whispered that Bewitching Princess had untold horrors lurking within her mist, tearing apart every enemy she successfully trapped inside.

The demonic cultivators thought they would finally learn the truth about her fearful attacks, but after the mist settled and caressed them, fire suddenly erupted from their bodies, as if they were dry wood touched by flame.

At first, they were surprised and tried to extinguish the fire that had suddenly appeared on their bodies. This was not what was supposed to happen. Did this mist have the property to burn its victims? They had never even heard of it! But when they realized the fire was not hurting them—it didn't even burn their robes—they let the flames envelop them.

"'What is this? Is this truly Bewitching Princess's technique?'" a demonic cultivator asked no one in particular, looking at his body.

"'I don't know, but it's as if my body has been invigorated. My wounds have closed, and I feel... powerful.'" After she spoke, she cycled her qi. When the fire answered her control, she extended her right arm, pointed her palm toward an enemy cultivator, and shot a torrent of fire from her hand.

Her enemy dodged to the side, but although he evaded the blast, she could not help but grin. "'It's a blessing from Bewitching Princess!'"

Indeed, anyone from the Nether Lotus Sect who was touched by the mist became enveloped in flames, as if they were on fire. Yet, the fire gave them strength and control over it. Furthermore, the fire invigorated their bodies and minds, allowing their qi to flow through them as smoothly as water. It was akin to an advanced enhancement technique, and many demonic cultivators had never felt stronger.

Inside the mist, the resistance fighters felt fear. The mist was laced with a killing intent so strong that even a seasoned cultivator could not help but tremble. They understood this was a mental attack, but even so, they could not shake it off. Then, a moment later, with a cackle of madness, a demonic cultivator whose body was wreathed in fire came at one of them and tried to burn him.

This happened all across the mist. Some resistance fighters died in agony, burned by a grinning demonic cultivator. Many successfully dodged these attacks, yet the mist became thicker, making it hard for them to move, let alone work together. Hence, they naturally tried to retreat and regroup.

The one who organized this retreat was Lady Oracle, and with her power, the remaining resistance fighters successfully escaped the mist. Yet, they could not be relieved, as the mist spread even further. The demonic cultivators inside it, as if crazed by power, burned anything and everything in their path.

In the sky, the fire monster that gave them power began shooting torrents of fire their way, scattering them further.

"'Retreat! Retreat!'"

Thus, the Nether Lotus Sect began spreading across Blue Emerald Island once again after being overpowered, scattered, ambushed, and forced to retreat. From above, the view was horrifying. The mist covered the island like a veil hiding terrifying monsters. Yet, dim orange glows lit its interior, as if lava flowed within the mist. In truth, it was not lava but demonic cultivators unleashing fire and burning everything.

Soon, smoke began to drift into the air, and the demonic cultivators, wreathed in fire, once again spread across the island. Some harbored hatred and fury, as if they wanted to find those who had dared to attack them, thirsting for revenge. Others were drunk on power and just wanted to fight. The others, more calm, wanted to retreat and recuperate, yet when an order reached their ears, they spread out like the other demonic cultivators, intending to burn everything and everyone.

Her order was simple. "'Make the entire island burn!'"

And thus, the second phase of the war began.

***

While the cultivators fought, the mortals squirmed on their toes.

One of them was a mortal named Li Yangde, a carpenter. While he sometimes aspired to become a legend in the world of carpentry, and daydreamed of one day creating a throne for a mighty emperor, he actually loved his daily life. True, there were some hardships and new competitors each year, but he was skilled and always found work, successfully putting food on the table. He wanted a child—specifically a son—but it seemed that the heavens had decided he and his wife were not yet worthy of being blessed with one.

His life was neither too good nor too bad, and he was grateful for that. That is, until the Nether Lotus Sect came along and shattered his daily life.

He was captured and imprisoned. Then, he was chained up, handed a pickaxe, and ordered to mine while his wife was taken to another place. What could cultivators possibly need that required him, a mortal, to dig? He did not know, nor did he care. What he cared about was his wife, and he was anxious for her every day. His wife was a tender and sensitive person—kind and loyal, though a bit of an airhead. And so, when the demonic cultivators who had imprisoned him and many others underground were suddenly ambushed by, and began fighting, mighty cultivators from the Immortal Wave Sect—he did not mistake their blue robes—he begged one of them to be freed from his chains.

His begging was incessant, even to the point of distracting the fight. His back was slashed because of it, but he could not help but beg to be freed, so he could find his wife and bring her to safety. He could see the cultivator was so furious with him that he thought he would be killed. But then, that cultivator cut the chains so fast and so smoothly that one moment the chains tying him were there, and the next, they broke. Before he could even say thank you, the cultivator growled and continued his fight.

Of course, Li Yangde began to run, but then he turned around and started freeing the other prisoners. Soon, a large group of men in ragged clothes emerged from the mine. But what they saw was a sea of flames.

Seeing this, Li Yangde's first thought was of how scared his wife would be, so without further ado, he began running toward the burning city.

"Dear, wait for me!"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.