Within White Azure Cavern, in Jade Flow.
Cold condensed and jade light surged. A woman in an azure skirt reclined sideways on an ice bed, the serpentine lower half of her body covered in azure scales. It twisted slowly, stirring up dark ripples of watery light.
Qing Ling stared at a water mirror with a troubled expression, sighing and scratching her head from time to time.
Layers of thunderclouds appeared in the mirror, with a sword-bearing Daoist standing amid them. Heavenly laws settled into place, and tribulation lightning flickered, enveloping all of Red Cloud.
The region had already become a domain much like the ancient Thunder Palace's territory. The Daoist raised his head, silver lightning flashing in his eyes. As though sensing something, he joined two fingers and slashed from afar.
The water mirror instantly shattered into a puddle of lightning slurry wreathed in silver electricity. Fearsome sword qi shot out, then dispersed.
"How frightening."
Qing Ling sighed. If that tribulation lightning struck her, she would lose a layer of skin even if she survived. She twisted her serpent body and slithered toward the ice seat at the head of the cavern.
A woman in a long, white-frost dress occupied the seat, silently reading a cold-jade Dao text, the Pure White Frost and Snow Scroll. Qing Ling approached, laid herself across her knees, and sighed.
"He's advancing so quickly it's frightening. Even with the help of spirit pills, I've only just mastered one divine ability. He's cultivated for barely a dozen years, yet he's already achieved [Primordial Sequence]. He must have some miraculous blessing."
"I took part in that affair back then, too. Sister, do you think..."
Bai Xuan had her eyes closed, looking pure and aloof. Cold air drifted around her, and frost and snow spilled across the floor,