Angel of Fire

Chi Yan scoffed, as I knew he would.

"Don't take too much time," he sneered. "Or I'll end up killing the Ifrit before you can finish setting up whatever scheme you have in mind."

"If you can do it, then that's better," I responded affably. "I would rather not use this hand if I don't have to."

"Come on…" Hong Yao Yao sighed. "If we could kill the Ifrit so easily, we wouldn't need you to execute whatever plan it is that you have, right?"

"We'll buy you the time you need," He Shan Jie said, ignoring the banter and proceeding straight to business. He was the kind of guy I would get along with the most. As much as I considered Chi Yan a friend, his provocative attitude pissed me off to no end, even if I didn't show it. Fortunately, He Shan Jie's sincerity balanced Chi Yan's hostility out. I nodded gratefully.

"Thanks. I'll be counting on you."

The Ifrit charged forward, not caring that we were discussing a strategy right now. Why would it wait? It wasn't human, and it didn't understand our words nor should it care. Not to mention, it would be silly for us to expect it to behave according to human etiquette. Not that human opponents would stand around and wait for us to finish strategizing, but I digress.

He Shan Jie's golem was on hand to stop it, skidding into the center of the pathway and halting the fiery demon's charge. They collided with earthshaking impact, loosening dust from the walls and roof that had piled up after centuries of neglect. Cracks expanded across the ground and rock. The two rows of statues trembled ever so slightly, as if moved by the immense clash taking place in their midst.

Chi Yan swung his broadsword, slashing the Ifrit and unleashing another lotus fire or essence flame or whatever it was that his Esoteric Fire Arts produced. For a moment, I thought I could see a ghost of an old man hovering at his shoulder, giving him advice, but that was just me hallucinating from the heat. A mirage, perhaps?

Otherwise why would I imagine that the old man was some kind of Dou Saint alchemist?

Chi Yan certainly had no intention of waiting for me to complete my schemes. He attacked the Ifrit with swings that bordered on recklessness, flames trailing the blade of his massive broadsword. It flapped its fiery wings and retreated, its wounds already healing as liquid fires burned through the cuts. With a snarl, it swung its spear and countered with a tide of crimson flames of its own, which Chi Yan nullified with another lotus shaped fire.

The two infernos collided in an enormous explosion that sent shockwaves racing everywhere. I had to push Lan Bei Er behind and shield her from the immense impacts.

"I'm kind of jealous," Hong Yao Yao remarked, even as she sent forth a swarm of pink butterflies to detonate against the Ifrit's copper skin. The demonic beast howled and swatted them away, but they blew up upon impact, flaying flesh and muscle from bone. Hissing, the Ifrit withdrew its arms and allowed the bronze flames to regenerate itself. The pink-haired cultivator frowned. "Whatever it is you're planning, hurry up. The damned thing is immortal."

"I'm trying."

That wasn't a lie. After making sure that Lan Bei Er was all right, and knowing that I couldn't stop her from rushing forward to heal a battered Chi Yan or check on a flustered Hong Yao Yao, I returned to my task. Using several spirit materials, I continued to set up a formation that I had learned during my time in Heaven and Earth Sect.

Master didn't just teach me only the Heaven and Earth Formula.

I tried to ignore the booms and shudders as my three teammates traded blows with the Ifrit, and the presence of warmth as Lan Bei Er used her healing techniques to neutralize the damage they sustained. Apparently, Hong Yao Yao was aware that my wife was the lifeline of our team and she was taking measures to protect her while I was occupied with setting up a formation.

Hong Yao Yao wasn't just anyone. My curiosity about her true identity was only growing larger with every passing second. However, this wasn't the time to think about such frivolous things.

I scattered spirit dust across glowing crystals and stuck talisman flags with arcane runes drawn across the fabric. They responded to my qi, emanating bright lights as they came to life. Already esoteric patterns were forming under my feet, linked by the silver poles that bore the talismans high. The crystals resonated with the spirit runes, drawing power from heaven and earth, absorbing the potent yang qi from the ruin and converting it into their own.

The Ifrit noticed that something was not right and turned toward me, but the golem seized the chance to grab hold of it. It struggled before blowing itself up into a hellish inferno that consumed the bulky familiar, causing it to crash to the ground.

He Shan Jie coughed out a wad of blood and dropped to his knees, but Lan Bei Er was already on hand to treat his internal injuries.

Momentarily freed from the golem's rocky embrace, the Ifrit lunged at me, but Chi Yan dove between us, borne aloft upon his own wings. Unlike the Ifrit's wings of fire, Chi Yan's wings were purple and feathered, resembling an eagle. Yeah, well…I bet they were meant to emulate the wings of a Black Flame Purple Cloud Eagle. Why such a long fucking name and two different colors? Don't ask me, ask Heavenly Silkworm Potato.

In any case, Chi Yan was pulling out all the stops now, even revealing his true abilities. I doubted he would have used his Wings of Eagle in front of us if it wasn't an emergency.

It was time for me to repay his faith.

With a yell, Chi Yan swung his broadsword, forcing the Ifrit to parry it with his flaming spear. Then a lotus flame burst from the great ruler and swallowed the Ifrit, causing it to stumble back in a roar of pain. However, it rode out the explosion and continued to parry Chi Yan's broadsword, holding its spear up with both hands.

The Ifrit put more force into swinging its flaming spear and blew Chi Yan aside in a detonation, only to be met with a cloud of exploding pink butterflies. The qi technique that took the form of beautiful insects barely had any effect on the Ifrit, who continued to charge through the billowing inferno, its body ravaged by both the multiple explosions and the lotus flame that Chi Yan unleashed when he swooped down earlier.

With a bellow it descended upon my position, swinging its flaming spear.

"No!" Lan Bei Er shouted, rushing forward to put herself between the Ifrit and me. She gathered whatever white qi she had to form a barrier, but the Ifrit smashed it apart into frosty fragments in a second. With a cry, my wife was hurled aside.

"Oi." I rose to my feet, clutching Abyssal Edge. Black qi lined the blade, threatening to erupt along with my fury. "You can beat me up all you want, but the moment you touched my wife, you're dead."

Ignoring my threat, the Ifrit swung its spear at my head, flames billowing out of the sharp tip. I resisted the urge to blast it with a Heaven and Earth Strike, knowing that it would simply regenerate anyway, and instead plunged my Abyssal Edge into the center of the formation, activating it.

"Gr?!"

The Ifrit didn't expect my next move, and its body was bathed in golden light as a palace materialized around us. Four gates, one white, one vermillion, one green and one black, floated on all four sides, each bearing the crest of the four Celestial Creatures.

Then I stomped on the ground, causing it to glow golden. In addition to the Black Tortoise of the North Gate, White Tiger of the West, Vermillion Phoenix of the South, and Green Dragon of the East, the emblem of the Golden Kirin of the Center appeared beneath me.

The Ifrit thrashed about as chains wrapped around its limbs, bringing its movements to a halt. Even its fiery wings were not spared, with arcane chains coiled around them, immobilizing it from flying.

"The Palace of the Celestial Creatures!?" Hong Yao Yao gasped, helping Lan Bei Er to her feet and watching the formation in awe. "Isn't this a ninth level spirit array?! Why do you know…?"

"What?! Ninth level spirit array?!" Chi Yan spluttered.

"Ho…your friend is really quite the figure, huh?" He Shan Jie grinned, impressed. Hong Yao Yao recovered quickly, her lips also crinkling into a smile.

"I'm becoming more curious about your real identity."

The feeling's mutual, lady.

"Hmph, whoever you are doesn't matter. Now's the best time to attack, isn't it?" Chi Yan dropped the subject and drew his broadsword. Kicking off the ground, he lunged at the bound Ifrit and stabbed it in the back. It howled and flailed about to throw him off, but Chi Yan dug his heels in, gripping his sword tightly. Grinning, he unleashed his lotus flame right inside the fiery demon. "Let's see if you can survive being blown apart from the inside out!"

The Ifrit shuddered as the green lotus flame consumed it from within, then it appeared to explode with such force that Chi Yan and his great ruler were hurled aside. He flipped about and landed on his feet and knees, plunging his broadsword into the ground to skid to a stop. He held his chest and coughed, blood trickling from his mouth and burns all over his arms and face.

"Hang in there, I'll heal you immediately!" Lan Bei Er hurried over, her hands already glowing with healing energies.

"Hope that bastard is finally dead," Chi Yan spat. As the smoke cleared, it appeared that he was hoping for a bit too much.

The Ifrrit stepped out, still mostly bound by chains, but at least half of its body had been incinerated. Bone stuck out of a partially destroyed body, a gruesome hole that had taken the place of its missing arm and shoulder, and one wing was completely gone. So was half of its once majestic horns. It snarled and staggered on both legs.

"Damn," He Shan Jie breathed. "How the hell is that thing still alive?"

"But it's no longer regenerating," Hong Yao Yao noted, amazed. She was right. The Ifrit's blood that took the form of liquid fire was no longer flowing freely, and its grievous injuries weren't closing up and mending. It teetered, looking like it was going to topple at any moment. However, its vitality was incredible. Hong Yao Yao narrowed her eyes. "You really did cut off its connection to the yang qi in the ruin."

"The Celestial Creature Palace creates a completely separate dimensional space that is closed off from the material world," I explained, mostly because I knew Hong Yao Yao already knew about it. It was more for the benefit of Lan Bei Er, who was studying the mortally wounded Ifrit curiously. Then I raised a hand. "But that's not all. Water counters fire. Black Tortoise, this is your fight."

The gate in the north glowed black and streams of water surged from its now open doors, drowning the Ifrit in a titanic tide. The angel of fire gurgled before it was crushed and pulverized by both the tremendous pressure and irresistible qi, torn apart by violent currents and reduced to nothing.

Hong Yao Yao glanced at me, her normally bright pink eyes now dark. "Just who are you?" She asked quietly. "To be capable of setting up and wielding a level 9 spirit array…even among the top demonic cultivators, the number can only be counted on one hand."

"Great job, bro!" In contrast, He Shan Jie was delighted. He threw an arm over my shoulders and cheered. "You did it! Thanks to you, we defeated the Ifrit!"

"It's thanks to everybody," I corrected with a smile. "If it weren't for you guys helping me to distract the Ifrit, I wouldn't be able to set up the Celestial Creature Palace formation in the first place."

"We can discuss the accolades and sharing of credit later," Chi Yan cut in impatiently. He was resting his broadsword on his shoulder, already in front of the double doors that the Ifrit had been guarding. I allowed my formation to disappear, returning us to the real world, and began collecting the materials that I used to set it up. Chi Yan didn't bother to help, his attention fixed on the chamber beyond. "We're finally here at the core of the ruin. Time to collect what we came here for."