050 The Storm of the Barrier (3)

Somewhere in the unseen depths of the world, an invisible force was at work, carrying to her the tenderness of a mother’s care, the gentle thread of hope, and Luo Yun’s longing. She was not alone; she was supported by unseen hands.

So long as her divinity remained unbroken and her soul undimmed, the Goddess of Earth would surely rise again. The throbbing pain from her wounds only made her mind sharper and more resolute. Having once fallen, she would never allow herself to be lost a second time.

It was as if a soul adrift in the night had finally found its destination, as though an eagle, its wings once broken, had been reborn. The first wave of despair had passed, leaving behind a resilience born of survival.

Luo Yan gathered her strength anew. She had been reborn, and the spiritual energy that had been blocked for so long now surged back into her. The protective barrier materialized once again.

Within the barrier, Luo Yan’s wounds began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye. Though her fractured divinity could not recover so quickly, the scars would forever remind her of all that had passed.

She stood up, finally able to rise again. The powers of ice and fire flared simultaneously around her, and the immense protective barrier kept all danger at bay. No sword could harm her now. The Guardian’s strength, formidable as it was, could not shatter her resolve or break the path she had chosen.

Restored to her former grandeur, Luo Yan stood tall once more—the Goddess of Earth, ruler of the mortal realm. Through this ordeal, a new, regal dominance shone from her, a commanding presence she had never possessed before—a majesty that seemed to rule the heavens themselves.

She heard a faint sigh but paid it no mind. If the Guardian had left her such a trial, then let him witness the true might of the Earth Deity’s line.

The swords, as though alive, circled the newly formed barrier, desperate to shatter its protection. This time, however, history would not repeat itself.

The barrier, once broken, now gleamed brighter than ever as Luo Yan rose to her feet. Pure, crystalline white merged flawlessly with dazzling red—the sacred light born of a pure soul fused with the flame of life.

Then, the situation changed again. Countless swords began to merge, spinning into a massive vortex whose powerful pull drew all the blades into its heart. Each sword shattered in an instant, then began to fuse again.

Luo Yan was careful to avoid being pulled in by this force. She did not know what was happening, but she could sense a power even greater than before slowly taking shape.

With a sudden crash, a blinding light burst from the heart of the vortex. Luo Yan instinctively stepped back and closed her eyes; the brilliance seemed sharp enough to pierce them without hesitation.

Gradually, she adjusted to the intensity and opened her eyes.

A cry of surprise escaped her. Before her appeared a colossal sword, vast enough to cleave the sky itself.

Its edge pointed to the heavens, radiating an overwhelming aura of supremacy, and a killing intent as sharp as any blade encircled it.

On the desolate earth, beneath the towering sword, with its piercing aura of death, four words were engraved upon the blade: Blade of Ice and Snow.

It was the Blade of Ice and Snow. Even here, in the Underworld, she could sense such potent wintry power.

Luo Yan let out a cold laugh. If she had not been utterly destroyed last time, then no matter what obstacles appeared, she would destroy them all. Since this sword represented the power of ice and snow, she would match it against her own ice powers. Though before she had nearly been annihilated by these swords, the Luo Yan who had returned from the edge of death was not the woman she once was. Now, she possessed enough confidence to face any challenge.

Around the protective barrier circled six massive swords of flame, while six-pointed snowflakes manifested in flawless form. As Luo Yan’s strength grew, so did theirs.

The Blade of Ice and Snow hovered in the air, exuding unprecedented menace and arrogance. Its tip aimed straight at Luo Yan’s heart, bristling with countless tiny spines that would rend her heart to pieces if they struck.

With a thunderous crash, the tip of the sword collided with the barrier, producing an earth-shaking roar.

Luo Yan staggered back a step. But this time, the barrier did not shatter or even crack—it merely trembled, withstanding the blow.

Her confidence soared. The swords of flame, inspired by her spirit, launched volley after volley at the Blade of Ice and Snow. This time, it would taste what it was to be pierced.

Each attack from the flaming swords chipped away countless fragments, and those shards of icy power were absorbed by the six-pointed snowflakes. The balance of power began to change, shifting in her favor.

At last, Luo Yan had reversed the tide. Her strength grew with each test of life and death, and the snowflakes swelled with every fragment they absorbed.

The Blade of Ice and Snow, unwilling to concede, surged forward in relentless waves of assault.

But Luo Yan met each crisis with growing confidence. Already, her counterattacks had begun.

The enormous six-pointed snowflakes drew in the blade’s power, while the swords of flame darted across its surface.

The Blade of Ice and Snow recoiled. Compared to its first appearance, its aura had faded; the arrogance and dominance were gone, replaced by defeat.

Luo Yan gathered her strength once more, merging ice and fire into a single, final blow, with the six-pointed snowflake at the center and the flaming swords as its edge.

In an instant, the Blade of Ice and Snow was shattered. The snowflakes devoured every trace of its power, their crystal radiance growing ever more lustrous. At last, the fearsome sword that had once nearly destroyed her was gone.

The empowered six-pointed snowflake soared skyward, tracing a splendid arc before descending again, more perfect and lustrous than ever. Around it spun countless sparkling snowflakes, a vision as beautiful as moonlight, snow swirling in a dreamy glow.

Luo Yan realized that her ice powers had broken through once more. She stood now at the pinnacle of the sixth tier, already reaching toward the seventh. Beyond the six points of the snowflake, a tiny new tendril had taken form, like a budding shoot brimming with life.

Could she truly master the seven-pointed snowflake mentioned only in the divine tomes of the gods? It seemed every opportunity was hidden behind peril, every advancement paid for with blood.

Through this battle, Luo Yan felt her fractured divinity beginning to heal. As the six-pointed snowflake absorbed the Blade of Ice and Snow’s power, her ice energy was replenished, providing the strength her divinity needed to mend.

With that healing, Luo Yan was reborn. She felt the protective barrier’s power strengthen as well.

Now, dressed in red like a living flame, she set this desolate land alight with her presence. Because she was here, the landscape was transformed—a brilliant stroke of color on a barren canvas.

With the Blade of Ice and Snow gone, the Underworld Fire Barrier changed again. Life began to return to the wasteland, though it was unclear whether this was her doing or what was meant to be. Yet everything was shifting.

Alone on this vast, empty plain, Luo Yan felt not loneliness, but an unprecedented drive. She had taken another great step forward. It was as if she stood at the edge of dawn—though darkness still loomed, it could no longer hold back the coming light.

Everything here was changing because of her, and she was changing because of this place. Her gaze was resolute as she searched for the sparks she had seen before, but now there was nothing to be found. Where were they hiding? Were they truly Underworld Fires? The answers awaited her discovery.

The Guardian had not revealed himself, but she knew he had not left—he must be watching from some hidden corner, observing all that transpired. That sigh she had heard must have come from him—but what was he mourning?

Luo Yan’s guess was correct. The Guardian had watched everything within the barrier. He had seen her fall, seen her nearly annihilated. He had heard her cries of pain, the shattering of her divinity, and finally witnessed her miraculous awakening. Reborn, she seemed transformed.

He could not understand what had happened after she lost consciousness. She had clearly given up; once her divinity was destroyed, she would have vanished forever, her fragments consumed by the devouring spirits beyond, just as another deity of the Earth lineage had disappeared before her. Yet, at the final moment, she had awakened, miraculously.

He sighed—awed by her strength and resilience. The lineage of Earth truly was the most tenacious among the gods, drawing indomitable power from the land itself.

What astonished him even more was how Luo Yan, reborn, had forced the Blade of Ice and Snow to reveal its true form, and in the end, the blade of infinite strength was vanquished, its fragments absorbed entirely by her ice powers. Seeing the new changes beyond the six points of her snowflake, he wondered—could she truly create a miracle?