The golden flame was none other than the Nirvana Holy Fire.
Resorting to this fire was also a matter of sheer necessity for Luo Chen.
His ability to escape the raging Yellow Springs Sea was thanks to having once more exhausted the Wither-Bloom Divine Fire.
Yet because of this, the Wither-Bloom Fire Spirit had naturally lapsed into a state of lethargy once again.
To deal with a peak powerhouse below the Soul Formation stage like Qingshuang, ordinary methods were utterly useless; he had to rely on something of immense power.
Though the Nirvana Holy Fire was still relatively young, its foundation was exceptionally high, and it suited Luo Chen's Fire Spirit Physique perfectly.
Of course, if that were all, it would hardly suffice.
Luo Chen had another ingenious trick up his sleeve!
*Skreeee!*
Amid a piercing screech, a colossal fire phoenix soared into the heavens.
Though furious within, the majestic azure bird's eyes were supremely cold as she flapped her wings without the slightest fear.
*Whoosh!*
In an instant, the fire phoenix split cleanly in two.
When all was said and done, what bore the Nirvana Holy Fire was merely an ordinary fourth-tier spell.
Yet in the next moment, Qingshuang's cold gaze shifted.
The bifurcated fire phoenix did not dissipate; instead, each half eerily reconstituted its missing half, bearing down on her from the left and right with no less ferocity than before.
Qingshuang gave a low cry, both wings trembling in unison.
*Swish! Swish!*
Two colossal wind blades, every bit as vast as the fire phoenixes, tore through the void.
Crashing into the two fire phoenixes, they cleaved them both in two.
Surely that would resolve it?
Yet beyond all expectation, the four halved phoenixes eerily completed themselves and swelled, restoring themselves fully as before.
All at once, four phoenixes dominated the sky!
The already distorted light flickered erratically as the four colossal fire phoenixes wheeled and danced through the air, rendering even Luo Chen's diminutive figure in the distance faint and ethereal.
Qingshuang was no fool; witnessing this bizarre scene, her mind raced.
Soon, she arrived at the answer.
Her eyes, seemingly capable of piercing the void, fell upon the endless desert beneath her feet.
"Your power stems from this world!"
In the distance, Luo Chen stood motionless, hands maintaining a hand seal.
The vast fire qi within the surrounding earth veins was being drawn out by him, merging into the spell Fire Phoenix Ignites the Plains.
Not only that, strands of heaven and earth origin qi from the void were guided forth, turning into an endless fountainhead to empower him.
Had it been in the past, he could never have achieved such a feat.
Yet once he comprehended the origin of fire, he gained the qualification to bless ordinary spells with heaven and earth origin qi.
His eight years at Broken Soul Cliff had tempered his divine soul to the absolute peak.
Thus, he could execute such a formidable method—one that was not a divine ability, yet rivaled the power of one.
Four phoenixes in the sky was not the end!
Luo Chen let out a low shout, the hand seal between his fingertips shifting. Faintly, four more fire phoenixes were on the verge of splitting forth.
Each possessed the might of a full-powered strike from Luo Chen.
If eight formed simultaneously...
Gazing from afar at the majestic, elegant azure bird in the sky, he said in a deep voice, "Now that we have escaped the Yellow Springs Sea, continuing our battle serves no purpose. Why not cease our fight here?"
"Are you afraid?" Four solid fire phoenixes plus four illusory ones closed in from all directions, above and below, left and right, yet Qingshuang remained fearless, asking with mockery in her voice.
The corner of Luo Chen's mouth twitched. "Given that I could fight you to such an extent earlier, do you really think I still fear you?"
"If you are not afraid, why sue for peace?" Qingshuang retorted, then answered her own question: "You are weighing gains and losses! A person like you spends their entire life scheming, seeking meaning even in battle."
Luo Chen laughed heartily. "What meaning is there in a meaningless battle?"
Qingshuang screeched, "Yet to me, Elder Sister is everything—and it was you who harmed her!"
With that, paying no heed to the encirclement of eight fire phoenixes, she shot toward Luo Chen like an arrow loosed from a bow.
Luo Chen's expression shifted drastically, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes.
His hand seals shifted again!
*Boom!*
The foremost four fire phoenixes detonated in succession, whipping up boundless tides of spiritual qi, while a sea of golden flames surged and billowed.
Facing all this, Qingshuang disregarded everything, simply charging headlong through.
*Whoosh!*
Wreathed in wisps of golden flame, Qingshuang emerged bathed in fire from the blaze. Paying no heed to the four fire phoenixes pursuing her from behind, her talons lunged toward Luo Chen's diminutive form.
A single strike!
*Thud!*
The earth shook, and yellow sands collapsed.
For miles around, the ground plummeted a hundred zhang in an instant at a speed unimaginable to mortals.
The four fire phoenixes followed closely in relentless pursuit, diving into the deep pit.
"Roar!"
A furious roar rang out.
Then, a massive body nearly a thousand zhang tall, holding up the two sharp talons with both hands, rose from the earth. Enormous quantities of sand and soil rustled down from his body like a downpour of yellow sand.
It was none other than Luo Chen revealing his true form!
Only, unlike before, while this true form still bore some resemblance to him, it now had a green face, fangs, and skin like blackened iron, with a faint foul stench lingering around it.
His appearance was somewhat hideous, faintly resembling the legendary Yaksha.
Upon the earth, the thousand-zhang giant firmly gripped the majestic azure bird as the four fire phoenixes ripped through the sky and smashed into her body.
*Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!*
Successive explosions rang out, throwing up a mushroom cloud in the endless desert, while surging shockwaves swept across hundreds of li.
Amid the rolling blast waves, the two figures were forced apart.
*Bang!*
Luo Chen was hurled dozens of li away, his massive body skidding across the desert like a bulldozer.
Wherever he passed, sand hills were leveled in an instant and mountains sheared apart.
When he finally ground to a halt, the thousand-zhang giant let out a muffled groan, and then—*Pffft!*
In an instant, the colossal giant shrank to the extreme, reverting to his normal, imposing eight-foot stature.
Uncontrollably vomiting a mouthful of clotted blood, Luo Chen staggered and fell to one knee.
The dark hair once bound by the Pingshan Crown was now loose and disheveled, dancing wild like silver snakes in the howling wind.
His robes had long since torn to shreds when he transformed into his true form.
"In the end, the battle in the Yellow Springs Sea depleted too much source power—to the point where I can't even maintain the Giant Spirit True Body?"
Luo Chen wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, rose slowly to his feet, and looked into the distance with a grim gaze.
From within the surging blast waves, the divine azure bird beat her wings, ascending to the skies once more.
"Do you truly think I fear you? At worst, we'll perish together!"
Watching Qingshuang swoop in for the kill once more, Luo Chen held two fingers together like a sword, and five streaks of flowing light flew from his mouth.
*Whew, whew, whew, whew, whew!*
As the lights emerged, sword qi manifested.
Amid ringing sword chimes, a terrifying storm of sword qi surged skyward, turning into an unmatched sword formation to bar the way.
Qingshuang's speed was astonishing; unable to evade in time, she plunged straight into it.
Instantly, she suffered the extreme grinding and shredding of the sword formation.
Having incorporated top-grade Nine Yang Geng Metal, this Great Five Elements Sword Formation possessed sharpness unparalleled under heaven.
Ever since Luo Chen successfully completed this formation, it had proven invincible whenever deployed.
Whether Perfected Shenyuan or Marquis Ziyi and their ilk, when facing this formation, they had either had to destroy their own natal magical treasures or ended up grievously wounded.
Yet an unexpected scene unfolded.
Within the sword formation, Qingshuang rampaged and collided headlong, surprisingly without suffering much damage.
Clanging sounds of clashing metal rang out incessantly from within.
Feeling the rapid drain of dharmic power within his body, Luo Chen's expression turned increasingly gloomy.
He had not anticipated that Qingshuang would temper her true body to such a terrifying degree, practically turning it into a peerless divine weapon.
While the Great Five Elements Sword Formation was undeniably powerful, it was not a pinpoint puncture concentrated to the extreme, but a continuous crisscrossing barrage of slashes.
Facing Qingshuang's all-around, flawless hardness, it had nowhere to gain purchase.
"Truly tiresome!"
Luo Chen ground his teeth, spitting out each word.
Then, raising both hands, five streaks of light entered the great formation, silently thrusting toward the majestic azure bird under the cover of sword qi.
Unlike the sword qi blocked from without, these five streaks of light followed the circulation of dharmic power and penetrated straight into the azure bird's body.
*Pfft!*
Luo Chen's face turned fierce. "Suppress!"
The Law-Suppressing Five Elements Awls exerted their power simultaneously, beginning to suppress Qingshuang's entire body of dharmic power.
Not only that, Luo Chen, whose divine soul foundation was immensely formidable, deployed another method.
With a flick of his sleeve, a golden light shot forth, plunging directly into the azure bird's skull.
It was none other than the True Artifact Soul-Weaving Needle, also obtained from Great Demon Sovereign Baizu, crafted specifically to attack the divine soul.
To his surprise, after penetrating halfway into the azure bird's skull, the Soul-Weaving Needle came to a dead halt, unable to advance another inch.
"I don't believe I can't suppress you!"
Luo Chen turned ruthless. Disregarding the precipitous drain of dharmic power, he opened his mouth and spat out an object.
A streak of gray light spun outward.
As it flew, it swelled with the wind, transforming into a hundred-zhang colossus in a flash.
*Dong!*
The giant cauldron sat astride the void, emitting a muffled thud.
Crimson chains snaked forth from within, coiling toward Qingshuang's physical body.
Not only that, a waterfall of radiant brilliance cascaded downward, parting the ubiquitous sword qi to engulf Qingshuang entirely.
Sword pellets swept the field, black awls suppressed dharmic power, a golden needle locked the soul, and the Hunyuan Cauldron sealed the void.
Luo Chen had brought forth nearly all his methods; he intended to refine Qingshuang alive!
His dharmic power drained at an unimaginable speed, and Luo Chen's aura grew increasingly withered.
Yet he showed no sign of stopping, and the surrounding heaven and earth origin qi seemed to cast off all restraint, rolling toward him in torrents.
Within the sword formation, the divine bird Qingluan's gaze remained chillingly cold; even under terrifying suppression, she kept her eyes fixed unwaveringly on Luo Chen.
Through the void, their gazes met, each filled with biting chill.
An intent of relentless conflict to the bitter death was almost palpable.
Clearly, this duel had reached its final juncture.
Either Luo Chen, having exhausted his means, would refine Qingshuang, or Qingshuang would break free from the formation to slay Luo Chen, whose source power was spent and whose dharmic power was on the verge of running dry.
Their contest was about to be decided.
***
Inside a tent, a young girl listened closely, a suspicious look on her face.
Blinking, she turned toward the middle-aged man beside her.
"Big Brother Zhou, did you hear anything?"
Zhou Mingxuan's face was already grave. He nodded and stepped straight out of the tent.
Looking across the void, he gazed far into the distance.
Then, spreading his divine sense to transmit his voice, he summoned all the surrounding guards.
"Though this is a borderland, we cannot fail to guard against a demon race raid. Everyone, follow me!"
*Whew! Whew! Whew!*
Streaks of light soared into the sky, numbering roughly several hundred, each radiating an impressive aura.
Looking across them, even the lowest in realm possessed Foundation Establishment cultivation.
And the leading Big Brother Zhou possessed a formidable realm of the early Nascent Soul stage.
Under his lead, this troop sped forward. After half a day, under the moonlight, they crested a towering dune.
Instantly, a harrowing scene burst into view.
The earth was cleaved open, rolling yellow sands continuously pouring into abyssal chasms.
In some places, the yellow sand had even been burned into crimson magma, flowing sluggishly.
And in the middle of a sea of magma spanning a full ten li across, a man with ragged clothes and wild black hair was pinching hand seals, his expression deathly pale.
Before him stood a terrifying grand formation swirled with sword qi, along with a massive gray cauldron hanging high in the sky.
All of this was suppressing an exceptionally majestic large blue-green bird.
Seeing this scene, the young girl who had sensed the disturbance earlier was shocked at first, then overjoyed.
"It really is a great demon breaching the border to attack the Buddha Land! Fortunately, this senior held off the great demon for us. But he looks to be at his limit—let's go help him!"
As if accustomed to such scenes, the crowd took out their magical treasures one after another and headed toward that lake of magma.
Zhou Mingxuan at the head thought the same.
Yet once they drew within a certain distance, his expression suddenly shifted drastically.
"Wait!"
"Everyone, fall back immediately!"
Alas, his warning came too late.
The man seated cross-legged in the void turned pale as a sheet and spat out a mouthful of blood.
The surrounding sword formation could no longer hold, shattering in an instant.
Terrifying sword qi shot wildly in all directions in fractured disarray.
Wherever it swept, figure after figure burst into mists of blood.
Amid spurting sounds, the disheveled man beckoned with his hand, drawing the five sword pellets and the giant cauldron back to him, and cast a venomous glare at Zhou Mingxuan and the few survivors.
"Useless fools, good for nothing but ruining everything!"
With that, he shot away into the distance without hesitation.
Zhou Mingxuan's face was white as ash; clearly, he had realized what had happened.
"Luo Chen, you won't escape!"
From within the lake of magma, the azure bird, whose aura had withered to the extreme, slowly floated into the sky.
Gazing coldly at Zhou Mingxuan and the others for an instant, she set off in pursuit of Luo Chen.
After the human and demon departed...
The surviving young girl trembled all over. Facing the instantaneous slaughter of hundreds of companions and the countless severed limbs and broken bones on the ground, her eyes were filled with terror.
"Big Brother Zhou, we clearly came to help that senior—why did he turn around and harm us?"
Zhou Mingxuan gave a bitter laugh, unable to explain easily.
Help?
More like a hindrance!
Just now, that unfamiliar human and demon had clearly been locked in the deadliest stalemate: one suppressing and refining, the other resisting and gathering strength.
Their hasty intrusion had instead disrupted the disheveled man's concentration, even drawing the surrounding sword formation outward so that the suppressive power waned, allowing the great demon to break free.
Otherwise, why would the man have cursed them as useless meddlers before fleeing?
And at bottom, all of this was not to be blamed on the girl's rashness, but on him, the Nascent Soul True Person in charge, for failing to notice the signs sooner.
He could not easily explain, only moving his lips feebly.
"No good deed goes unpunished!"
The girl was indignant, finding the sudden, horrific deaths of so many companions especially hard to accept.
"For this person to turn around and bite the hand that tried to help, I will definitely report this to the Discipline Court and the Arhat Hall!"
Zhou Mingxuan parted his lips, but did not stop her.
Yet in his heart, he kept silently repeating the name the azure bird had shouted before departing.
"Luo Chen?"
***
Beneath the curtain of night.
Two figures, one ahead and one behind, relentlessly pursued each other across the boundless wasteland.
When fierce winds surged forward, the man in front whipped around with a backward sword strike, severing the gale.
From time to time, fire phoenixes and flame dragons materialized from the void, striking at the divine bird behind him.
Yet compared to their initial clashes, both the man and the azure bird were far weaker now.
Now and then, words rang out during their close-quarters clashes, gradually dispersing into the night wind.
"Luo Chen, you cannot escape!"
"Qingshuang, why pursue me so relentlessly?"
"Why didn't you say that when you were trying to refine me earlier?"
"If this continues, we will only both suffer and perish together!"
"The only one dying will be you!"
"The mixed poison in your body must be beyond suppression by now! And my Law-Suppressing Five Elements Awls, though unable to completely seal your dharmic power, sink deeper the more you circulate it. Not to mention the Soul-Weaving Needle—if you don't force it out soon, your divine soul will crumble as well..."
"What of it? My elder sister is trapped at Broken Soul Cliff all because of you. I could have saved her, yet you betrayed us!"
"Betrayal? How can you speak of betrayal?"
"On Mount Cangwu, my elder sister guided your cultivation, keeping you from straying down the wrong path, and later lent you a spiritual cave dwelling to cultivate. Is this how you repay us?"
"That was nothing more than a transaction! Did you think my Dao Combining Pill was so cheap that I would just hand it over for nothing? And what happened at Broken Soul Cliff was entirely out of my hands. With my life held in another's grasp, what choice did I have?"
"If you had no choice, then go die!"
Perhaps from fighting battle after battle and repeatedly brushing against death, or perhaps from self-blame and anguish over Monarch Qixia, the usually taciturn Qingshuang now burned with fierce indignation.
With communication impossible, she even disregarded Monarch Qixia's warnings from years past and marshaled her source power.
"Sub-spatial Slash!"
Under the night sky, a pitch-black fissure abruptly appeared.
Luo Chen, who had remained vigilant all along, dodged to the side.
Yet he was still too slow.
*Crack!*
His left arm snapped cleanly in two.
Luo Chen's expression shifted slightly. He grabbed the severed arm, attempting to reattach it, but an eerie power prevented them from joining.
Having no surplus source power left to regenerate the limb, he could only stow it into his storage ring.
Behind him, after unleashing this strike, Qingshuang stumbled, her form turning slightly illusory as though on the verge of vanishing from this space entirely.
Luo Chen cast a grim glare at her, gripped the Yuantu Sword, and fled once more.
Qingshuang soon stabilized herself and caught up in close pursuit once again.
In this chase and flight, the two had long penetrated deep into the boundless desert.
As dawn was about to break, Luo Chen plummeted like a shooting star to the foot of a tall mountain.
*Boom!*
As his feet struck the ground, uncontrollable fluctuations of dharmic power leveled the mountain outright.
Down below, figure after figure seemed to sense something, looking up in unison.
Foul stenches, cruel gazes, extending without end.
No one could have known that an army of demonic beasts of such staggering scale was gathered in this desert.
High in the sky, the azure bird closed in once more.
"Luo Chen, how will you escape this time?"
Luo Chen gave a ferocious grin, fleeing no longer, and raised his hand.
The Yuantu Sword transformed into a beam of blood light, plunging straight toward the army of demonic beasts.
Chapter 980