Clang!
A crisp metallic clash suddenly rang out, echoing through the silent courtyard like thunder. The flame palm seal condensed in Xiao Yan's hand collided violently with the short blade slashed down by the shadow. The searing Green Lotus Core Flame instantly enveloped the blade, its pale green fire spreading madly along the edge like a parasite clinging to bone. The shadow felt an incomparably tyrannical scorching force shoot from the hilt into his palm, as though he had grabbed a red-hot branding iron. Agonizing pain from his burning flesh exploded from his fingertips and spread up his arm to his shoulder, drawing a suppressed, pained groan from him.
The short blade fell onto the bluestone slab with a clang. After bouncing twice across the ground, the remaining flames on its edge continued to burn. The iron blade, once gleaming with a cold light, had been corroded by the Green Lotus Core Flame, leaving a fine notch along its edge. Dark red molten marks appeared around it before it turned into a wisp of bluish smoke carrying the scent of rust and dissipated into the air.
"Seeking death!" Xiao Yan's gaze turned icy, like a frigid pool that had never thawed in ten thousand years, with a flash of killing intent passing through his eyes. The Dou Qi within him erupted without reservation, and the Green Lotus Core Flame wreathed around him instantly expanded. The pale green flames danced like living creatures, enveloping his entire body in a blazing halo. The surrounding air warped violently from the heat. The courtyard's crabapple petals curled and dried the instant they came into contact with the heat waves, while even the Bluestone Slabs took on a faint scorched hue.
Before the shadow could regain his senses, Xiao Yan stomped down hard. With a