Chapter 215

Chapter 215: Hide-and-Seek

A sudden realization struck Lou Yun. He truly hadn’t expected to discover the precise location of the heavenly fire storm—it was concealed right behind this very mass of dark clouds.

Swiftly, Lou Yun struggled to stand upright upon the Xiang Tian sword. Fixating on the position of that cloud, he began channeling immense effort into controlling the blade beneath his feet!

No matter how many times the waves battered him, Lou Yun felt his body had ceased to be his own—numbed beyond sensation. Yet, through it all, he finally grasped how to steer the Xiang Tian sword’s direction mid-flight!

In truth, the method proved simple: harmonizing spiritual awareness and spiritual energy. To veer left, he guided his awareness leftward, compelling his spiritual energy to follow—and so forth for every direction.

Despite the agonizing process, master flight elated Lou Yun beyond measure. This marked his maiden voyage through the skies—especially under such treacherous conditions.

Had Lou Yun paused to reflect, he would have recognized an inconsistency: earlier, while the quartet neared Binhai City, they’d sensed chaotic energies swirling in the sea ahead—energies potent enough to shatter their grip on magical weapons, forcing them to proceed by boat.

Now, within this tempestuous sea, those fluctuations had intensified to maddening extremes. Not long ago, mere spiritual awareness instantly vanished into its vortex. Logically, flight relying on magical or common weapons should have been utterly impossible here.

Yet Lou Yun soared—not only flew, but did so with fluid ease, untouched by the area’s savage currents!

The reason was simple: he tapped into Chang Xiang’s energy, not his own. Why did Chang Xiang’s power remain immune to these raging forces? Had Lou Yun pondered this, he might have glimpsed a fragment of Chang Xiang’s true identity!

Regrettably, such complexities eluded Lou Yun now. His focus narrowed to guiding the Xiang Tian sword freely, savoring flight.

Eventually, Chang Xiang urged impatiently: "Enough. The power I’ve extended is finite—focus on your true objective. Plenty of skies await you later."

"Right!"

This thrill had sufficed. Lou Yun knew his mission remained taming the heavenly fire storm.

So, atop the Xiang Tian sword, he pivoted sharply. Straight upward he ascended, racing toward the previously noted cloud-cloaked haven of the celestial blaze.

Oddly, as if the heavenly fire storm perceived his approach, silver serpents suddenly multiplied inside the obscuring cloud as Lou Yun veered. Bolts descended lightning-fast, each shaft unerringly directed at him!

Before Lou Yun, stretched an electrified universe—crackling bolts like enraged golden vipers, clawing viciously to dismantle him. Survival demanded he pilot the Xiang Tian sword—darting, slipping between strikes at blistering speeds.

Though lightning grazed him countless times, its current prickling his skin, this baptism-by-storm honed his aerial reflexes exponentially. Mid-evasion, he even began intentionally dancing around the strikes—playing hide-and-seek amidst the tempest.

Nearing the dark cloud’s embrace, discharges rained thicker and faster. Reaching the cloud’s threshold, lightning cascaded so densely that gaps vanished altogether.

Undaunted, Lou Yun threaded perilously—yet unscathed—through the lightning barrage, finally arriving at the cloud’s fringe.

Thick, stinking vapor coated his nostrils with scorched rot—so repulsive he couldn’t fathom what substance birthed such clouds.

Steeling himself, Lou Yun plunged blade-first into the murk.

Darkness devoured him—then, abrupt, searing brightness stabbed his eyes. Squinting hard against the glare, his lips curved in astonished joy. Before him, a palm-sized flame danced frenetically—at its core sat a longan-sized pearl orbited by liquid silver snakes. Undeniably, this entity was the heavenly fire storm!

Without Chang Xiang’s insight, who could have fathomed this tempest’s heart lay hidden mere clouds away?

"But how do I tame it?"

Though he beheld his quarry, Lou Yun hesitated. Heretofore, he’d only subdued one heavenly fire: the Heavenly Fire Fusang—and even that required forcible induction by a Lou Family elder. No hope lingered that this blaze would willingly merge with his flesh.

Moreover, doubt gnawed at him: if he somehow absorbed the heavenly fire storm, could he truly subdue it? Ranked ninth among heavenly flames—how fiercely would its offensive fury rage?

Previously, the Heavenly Fire Fusang had tormented Lou Yun internally for three full days before yielding. Facing this tempest now—especially one famed as the storm’s fury incarnate—confidence remained scarce.

Yet abandoning it mid-effort felt unthinkable. Thus, Lou Yun retrieved the ice crystal jade weapon, tucking it protectively against his chest. A mental command sent the Xiang Tian sword darting at full speed toward the flame.

Chang Xiang once described heavenly fires as akin to demon beasts—creatures pulsing with primitive awareness. This roaring blaze before Lou Yun possessed startlingly vivid instinct!

Immediately the heavenly fire storm recoiled, mirroring Lou Yun’s velocity with unnerving parity!

Flabbergasted, Lou Yun wondered: Could this flame truly lack eyes yet somehow track his advance?

Accelerating abruptly, Lou Yun witnessed the fire accelerate too. Thus began a mad chase—human and element entwined in aerial hide-and-seek within the sea-storm’s murky veins!

Despite Lou Yun’s superior raw speed, the heavenly fire storm commanded intimate knowledge of this territory. At every near-capture, it flickered serpent-quick behind lightning-imbued clouds. When Lou Yun pursued, plowing through those murky curtains, lightning inevitably blasted him—once, twice, dozens of times per passage.

Purely emergent bolts; individually manageable. Yet cumulative strikes numbering in hundreds overwhelmed his endurance.

Soon, his every nerve crackled beneath electric torment. Scalded hair stung his nostrils with scorch.

Fury clenched Lou Yun. He unleashed maximum speed—pursuer narrowed gap to prey. Victory seemed palpable. Anticipating evasion, the heavenly fire storm twisted toward sanctuary amid vapor.

Lou Yun resolved unshakably: these flights ceased—now. Snarling ferociously, he snapped both feet from the Xiang Tian’s steel—lunging through air bare-handed!

Momentum surged him unerringly forward. His right palm captured the heavenly fire storm—igniting instant, seeping heat that radiated through his veins!

"So blistering!"

This inferno penetrated despite the ice crystal jade weapon against his flesh. One shudders imagining its devastation absent that artifact’s protection—total, instantaneous incineration!

Victorious capture achieved… yet flight required feet on steel. Plunging earthward, Lou Yun had abandoned both propulsion and safety.

Desperately his gaze locked on the idle sword—motionless without spiritual energy’s pulse. Think! A fall from this height wouldn’t kill outright… but crashing waves and vengeful bolts would.

As if by providence, a gale howled past. Insight flashed. Drawn breath expanded Lou Yun’s frame impossibly light—buoyed upward by wind’s breath. Simultaneously, a serpentine bolt cleaved a nearby cloud diagonally.

Instinct took command. Feet flicked precisely against lightning’s course—numbing soles instantly—rebalancing his trajectory mid-air, propelling him toward the hilt of the Xiang Tian sword!

Lou Yun invoked the Wind Play Decision movement art, exerting it to perfection. Body as willow supple; mind as air’s essence. With wind as compass, he swayed… until boots found purchase again on the airborne sword.

Restoring spiritual energy into the blade re-energized their bond—a visceral, stabilizing relief.

At that moment, Lou Yun noted: the heavenly fire storm’s capture had provoked the cloud-mass. Like hive disturbed, black billows coalesced—swelling in dark convergence. Where once solo golden snakes writhed within clouds, they now fused—a mammoth serpentine coil, exponentially thicker. Its sizzle permeated the world; raw unleashed power thickened the atmosphere.

The cause remained elusive—but Lou Yun recognized catastrophe brewing. This convergence swelled explosive. Escape—to the ship—felt imperative.

Urgently steering the Xiang Tian sword, he carved a path through bolts, waves, and gales toward the distant vessel.

His hunt had consumed considerable time. Within it, five massive craft breached the storm-sea’s violent epicenter. Espying them ahead, Lou Yun pressed pursuit.

The fleet hovered agonizingly in view when—suddenly—a lightning shaft as thick as a child’s arm plummeted directly. Impact! The Main Ship’s stern imploded violently beneath thunder’s fist!

With brutal finality, surrounding seas gushed through a jagged cavity—a floodgate to horror inside.