Chapter 209: Ice and Fire Clash

Amid the vast, desolate ocean, a man and woman kissed passionately, time and space frozen around them. The woman, breathtakingly beautiful, had smoky gray hair cascading to her shoulders, her glossy purple lips yielding to the man's fervor. They were Lan An and Shui Niang Qing.

As their lips and tongues grew parched, they parted reluctantly, exchanging tender gazes. "I must return. You're the talk of the continent be cautious," Shui Niang Qing said, her eyes tinged with worry, lips pursed.

Lan An caressed her oval face, a flicker of longing in his gaze. In mere months, their relationship had evolved from polite formality to shared trials, culminating in shared intimacy and her heart's capture a dreamlike journey he never wanted to end.

Yet greater duties called. Shui Niang Qing's role in nurturing his harem was irreplaceable. The couple faced a temporary parting.

"When you miss me, teleport back. Your husband is always ready to keep you company," Lan An said softly, gazing into her gem-like eyes.

"I will," Shui Niang Qing replied, smiling radiantly, a rare acquiescence. Even she, nearly two centuries old, couldn't believe how easily this man had claimed her heart. His genuine openness, sharing everything without reserve, made her feel he was her life's anchor.

"I'll seclude myself this time. Next we meet, I won't lag behind Sister Ji Ya," she vowed, determined to match the benefits he'd given her.

"Don't push too hard. Cultivation can't be rushed," Lan An advised, producing 500,000 top-grade spirit stones from his storage ring. "Hai Hong Sect is in its prime growth. Resources must abound, not lack. Young Shui Mo is worth nurturing pay attention to him."

"Isn't this too much?" Shui Niang Qing frowned, touched. She knew how desperately he needed spirit stones for the acceleration array, now powering Xiao Qing Xuan's push to become a Sixth-grade Alchemist.

"I can earn more. You know your husband's skills," Lan An grinned confidently.

"Fine, I'll listen," she relented, aware of his resource-gathering prowess, accepting without further protest. Though the Black Ice Shark and Dong Ming Chamber's spoils were plentiful, Hai Hong Sect needed more to soar swiftly.

"This is a technique for Aunt Hua," Lan An said, handing her a jade token brimming with water essence a Spirit-grade technique.

"I thank you on Mother's behalf," Shui Niang Qing laughed, pleased. Her mother, often bored, would benefit from a cultivation method.

"Politeness between us?" Lan An teased, smacking her firm backside, relishing its springy feel.

"Hmph, I'm off," she huffed playfully, tearing open a spatial rift. The Water Spirit Fairy, dream of countless men, revealed such a side. "Don't touch the Water Qilin Bloodline until Transcending Tribulation," Lan An transmitted sternly.

"I know, you old nag," she retorted, planting a purple-lipped kiss on his cheek, leaving a captivating mark. She leapt into the void, hiding her misty eyes.

Lan An sighed, parting always stirred emotions. Though they'd reunite, it might take months. He had to visit Elf Island for the Million-Year Ginseng and attend the Elf Queen's birthday, then return to the Academy for special training with his master.

"Shui Mo, grow fast. Don't disappoint your sister and brother-in-law," he mused. Little Lion appeared, and Lan An leapt onto her, a purple flash streaking across the sea.

Seven days later, despite Little Lion's meteor-like speed, Lan An still roamed the ocean. Kun Ming Yue had carried him far from shore. This fueled his thirst for strength. If he could tear space, travel would be effortless, unlike this arduous trek.

The Forbidden Technique was unpredictable, demanding increasingly rare materials for Core Formation. Initially, a Mysterious Water Pill and Earth Spirit Grass sufficed. Now, at Peak Nascent Soul, such common materials were insufficient.

"That's normal," Jin Ni appeared on his shoulder, giggling. "As a mortal, Earth Spirit Grass provided ample energy for Core Formation. Now, at Peak Nascent Soul, those are mere snacks, useless for progress."

Lan An nodded. A Peak Golden Core cultivator could break through to Nascent Soul with one Barrier-Breaking Pill, but a Spirit Transformation cultivator consuming a hundred would barely advance. The Immortal Derivation Scripture followed this logic higher cultivation demanded superior materials.

"Perhaps one day, even Heaven and Earth Anomalies won't suffice," Lan An said wryly.

"That's far off. Forbidden Techniques are tough, their paths steeper," Jin Ni replied charmingly. Others with five Anomalies would've reached Refining Void, yet Lan An lingered at Peak Nascent Soul a disadvantage. But the rewards matched the struggle, his monstrous combat power proof.

One day, spotting an island, Lan An sped up. Crack A spatial rift opened beside him, a withered hand wielding chilling ice energy grabbing for his throat.

"Courting death?" Lan An sneered, unleashing Purple Heart Space-Burning Flame, incinerating the surrounding space. The attacker, unprepared, swiftly conjured an ice shield, barely blocking the flames.

"Lan Clan?" Lan An's eyes narrowed, killing intent surging. The assailant, an old man in Lan Clan robes, was Lan Ba, their Eighth Elder, an Early Refining Void expert.

"You're in Hai Zhou," Lan Ba sneered, surprised to find Lan An. Lan Ying Bang had reported Lan An's mission to Hai Zhou from Saint Spirit Academy. Though unsure how Lan An evaded their surveillance, his disappearance from Saint City confirmed his presence here. Lan Po Lei dispatched four Refining Void elders Fifth to Eighth to hunt him. After two months of fruitless searching, Lan Ba, mid-flight, spotted him and struck.

Lan An patted Little Lion. "Three Thousand Thunder Motion!" Three purple lightning bolts flashed, Little Lion splitting into three afterimages, darting in different directions.

"Petty tricks," Lan Ba scoffed, chasing the left figure, tearing space to reappear beside them. Boom Endless ice descended, but Little Lion and Lan An exploded into purple lightning, numbing his arm.

"Damn it!" Lan Ba roared, humiliated by a Fifth-grade beast's evasion. As a Refining Void expert, he tore space again, pursuing.

"Stay clear of that island to avoid opportunists," Lan An muttered, riding Little Lion at breakneck speed. His Prestige Points neared 10 billion, his wealth and visage known across Hai Zhou. Without Shui Niang Qing, his combat strength was reduced, requiring caution. The Luo Clan's pursuit suggested Blood Spirit Sect and Fan Yin Temple might know his location, multiplying his enemies.

Seeing Lan Ba roar after another afterimage, Lan An sneered, "Fool." A hundred miles from the island, in a desolate sea, Luo Ba closed in, grinning wickedly.

Crack He emerged from a rift. "Ice Palm!" His domineering strike shattered space, his withered hand brimming with killing intent.

Lan An smirked, stowing Little Lion in the Spirit Realm Pearl. Purple Heart and Golden Crow flames roared, his index fingers crossing. "Cross Heaven Fire!" A ferocious cross-shaped flame tore through space, clashing with the Ice Palm.

Boom The sky erupted, clouds scattering. Lan An flew back dozens of steps, while Luo Ba retreated only two, his expression grim. "Far stronger than An Li," Lan An muttered. Lan Ba's head-on attacks, fueled by Mysterious Ice energy, outclassed An Li's stealth.

"Freak! You can't live," Luo Ba growled, unaware of Lan An's clash with An Li, stunned that a Peak Nascent Soul blocked his strike. If this youth grew, the Lan Clan was doomed.

"Star-Plucking Hand!" Lan An struck first, twin flames forming a massive hand crushing toward Luo Ba's head.

"More Heaven-grade skills? Kill you, and they're ours," Lan Ba's eyes gleamed greedily, his hands unleashing endless ice. "Ice Palm!" Dual palms shook space with overwhelming force.

Lan An's Piercing Weakness Sight was useless Lan Ba's Ice Palm was flawless, far surpassing Lan Chang or Xing's attempts. Another Star-Plucking Hand formed, the sky warping from heat, the sea evaporating. Luo Ba's ice turned the sky snowy, freezing the sea a clash of ice and fire altering the heavens.

Boom Boom Boom Boom Space shattered as the attacks collided. Star-Plucking Hand incinerated Ice Palm but dissipated. The shockwave cracked the sky like a spiderweb. Wood Turtle formed, shielding Lan An from the fallout, fading dimly after.

Lan An recalled the Elf Queen's Heaven-Defying Wood, which could've amplified Wood Turtle's counterattack. "What monster is this?" Lan Ba gaped. A Peak Nascent Soul blocking his Earth-grade skill, executed by a Refining Void expert, was absurd. Using two Heaven-grade skills without depleting energy? Monstrous.

"Two Anomalies? They'll fetch a high price," Lan Ba muttered, eyeing Lan An like prey. "Old dog, come on!" Lan An taunted, feigning strain.

"Fearless at death's door," Luo Ba sneered, vanishing in a frost blur. "Ice Mountain Fist!" A mountain-like fist roared toward Lan An's face.

"Gentleman Demon-Subduing Fist!" Lan An advanced, channeling physical and spiritual power. Heaven-Devouring Wood and Nirvana Spirit Water coated his fist, striking like a mountain to subdue demons.

Boom Lan An flew back like a cannonball, spitting blood, his arm shattered, Nirvana Spirit Water struggling to heal. Lan Ba was far tougher than An Li.

"You survived?" Luo Ba licked his lips menacingly, frustrated at failing to crush this ant. When Luo Po Lei sent four Refining Void elders, many in the Lan Clan thought it overkill. Now, Lan Ba saw his patriarch's wisdom Spirit Transformation cultivators might not suffice.

Fearing Lan An's potential, Lan Ba unleashed his trump card. The air plummeted below zero, space freezing, the sea solidifying. "Falling Moon Ice Palm!" A colossal ice palm formed, a shattered moon vision behind him a Heaven-grade skill's celestial phenomenon at its peak.

Lan An's face grew grave. This palm dwarfed An Li's Dark Heaven-Shrouding Palm. He couldn't block it. Yet, he feigned defiance, condensing Spirit Fusion Palm at full power, one arm still mangled from the prior fist.

Lan Ba's eyes narrowed at the terrifying energy, confident in victory. "A fish on the chopping block dares struggle?" he sneered.

But his face froze as Lan An's eyes glinted with mockery. Luo Ba felt trapped in an unbreakable prison. "Ice Water Boundary!" a voice colder than his ice rang out, sweat beading on his brow.

"Lingering Wave Heaven-Imprisoning Hand!" A terrifying strike shattered space, closing in. "This is what I waited for!" Lan An laughed triumphantly, unleashing Spirit Fusion Palm with ferocious force.