In previous lives, Crimson Flame had taken over a dozen years to boil the sea. Subtly and gradually, it was only after all that time that it burned away and dried up the Congyun Sea completely.
Yet now, the black flames had descended for barely half a day, and the entire Congyun Sea was already boiling.
Dense water vapor surged upward relentlessly, forming clouds of thick mist that drifted across the sea's surface.
Judging by the situation, the Congyun Sea would dry up completely in a matter of days!
The gap between the Crimson Flame and the black flames was starkly evident.
"Still, compared to Mo Sha's terrifying power to obliterate all things, it falls somewhat short," Li Fan mused to himself as he watched the boiling, churning sea below.
Right at that moment, Immortal Lord Hongxi flew back.
"The earth veins!"
He offered only that brief warning before rapidly forming countless hand seals to manipulate the Tianyuan Creation Formation.
Across the light screen, the scenery shifted. A colossal, glowing web appeared before everyone.
And Li Fan saw that the outermost edges of this web were already stained black!
Realization dawned on Li Fan.
So the black flames had been using the rushing power of the earth veins spread across the Congyun Sea to rapidly channel their heat to every corner of the waters.
*No wonder it was nowhere to be seen. Not only is its martial might on another level, but its intelligence has evolved as well?*
"Drain the earth veins and force him out!" A vicious look flickered across Immortal Lord Hongxi's face as he snarled.
The earth veins were the very foundation of the land. Once damaged, not only would the province's geography be overturned, but all manner of bizarre anomalies would arise. It might even become permanently uninhabitable for cultivators.
Unless there was truly no alternative, no one would ever do such a thing. Even if one survived the calamity, escaping the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals' punishment would be impossible.
Yet at this moment, having already committed the act of murdering their fellow cultivators, the crowd could hardly care less.
The Tianyuan Creation Formation, originally connected through earth vein nodes everywhere, now operated in reverse, beginning to siphon power from the earth veins.
*Buzz...*
Before long, a strange sound rang in everyone's ears.
As if the earth were overturning, or mountains and rivers were caving in.
The already boiling seawater grew even more turbulent. Towering waves surged once again across the Congyun Sea. Even in the sky, black storm clouds gathered from parts unknown, rolling in heavily.
Wild winds howled, and the ocean trembled.
Before this might of heaven and earth, the cultivators in Congyun City turned ash-pale, trembling from head to toe.
Yet having absorbed the earthy-yellow power of the earth veins, Congyun City's defensive formation became far more solid and resilient. In this apocalyptic scene, it stood as immovable as a mountain, like a storm shelter amidst the tempest.
It ultimately preserved a shred of courage among the cultivators.
The wind and waves grew fiercer.
As the Congyun Sea's water level steadily dropped, sections of shallow seabed began to be exposed.
Unlike the usual sight of the seabed covered in silt, the sea floor was now completely blanketed in an unknown black substance.
It resembled stone thoroughly shattered by fire.
"Even if we survive this calamity, without decades or a century, the Congyun Sea will never return to the way it was," many cultivators sighed at the sight.
Seeing that the black flame still had not appeared, Hongxi hardened his heart completely.
"Keep going! Do not stop!"
The roaring boom of the seabed fracturing rang out, yet the Tianyuan Creation Formation continued operating at maximum power.
*Boom!*
Seemingly reaching a certain threshold, fiery-red molten lava suddenly erupted from the seafloor.
Then, as if setting off a chain reaction, fiery dragons burst forth across every corner of the Congyun Sea, shooting columns of magma straight toward the sky.
Millions of fire dragons surged, scorching heaven and earth.
Amidst the warped air, a figure half-red and half-black quietly surfaced beneath Congyun City.
"You're finally out!"
A glint of killing intent and greed flashed through Immortal Lord Hongxi's eyes, and his figure vanished.
In the next instant, he transformed into an undulating mountain range, hemming it in the center.
"That is..."
"Crimson Flame! The anima of Heaven and Earth, Crimson Flame!"
Witnessing the true form of the evolved Crimson Flame, the cultivators fell into a frenzy.
Even though they had witnessed its terrifying power that could boil seas with a casual gesture, it could not extinguish the longing in their hearts.
"So it wasn't some meteorite disaster after all, but the descent of an anima of Heaven and Earth!"
"Indeed, it's an opportunity! A tremendous opportunity!"
"Offering sacrifice to an anima of Heaven and Earth allows one to ascend straight to heaven, directly into Dao Integration!"
...
In mere breaths, the cultivators were completely swallowed by greed. Some urged everyone to join together and hunt Crimson Flame down.
Still more who had lost their minds charged directly toward Crimson Flame like moths to a flame.
The result, naturally, was that before they could even draw near, the scorching heat incinerated them to ash.
*It's still Crimson Flame, not pure black flame.* Li Fan paid no mind to their lives, instead staring at the mutated, half-red and half-black Crimson Flame, lost in thought.
Greed surged within this avatar just the same.
Yet at the same time, unlike previous lives where seeing Crimson Flame almost made him lose his mind, back at his true body, without even deliberately circulating the Xuanhuang Immortal Heart Incantation, the greedy thoughts brought by the avatar spontaneously dissolved into nothingness.
Like ice and snow melting into water, it merely stirred faint ripples, producing no actual effect on him.
*Immortal techniques are truly extraordinary. Not only is my true mind clear as water, but even an avatar tens of thousands of li away can maintain such composure.*
Li Fan marveled silently.
To avoid revealing any flaws, Li Fan still pretended to be deeply enthralled by the anima of Heaven and Earth, struggling desperately to restrain himself.
His eyes were bloodshot, veins bulged on his skin, and he froze stiff in place.
He wanted to see where Immortal Lord Hongxi, facing Crimson Flame all by himself, got the courage to do so.
After all, even against the weakened version of Crimson Flame in the previous life, Hongxi and several other Soul Formation cultivators working together had been no match for it.
Not to mention this black-and-red Crimson Flame in this life.
Without some other trump card, Immortal Lord Hongxi would likely be killed in an instant.
Yet Hongxi was clearly not such a reckless man.
Under Li Fan's gaze, Hongxi flew directly before Crimson Flame.
Conjuring layers of mountain peaks, he briefly trapped it. At the same time, he held up a small square mirror, aiming it at Crimson Flame!
"This is..." Li Fan's pupils constricted sharply.
"Xuantian Spirit Sealing!" Immortal Lord Hongxi bellowed.
A clear, brilliant beam of azure light shot from the square mirror, striking straight at Crimson Flame's body.
Like a blast of gale-force wind, Crimson Flame's translucent body flickered ceaselessly.
Yet despite all the formidable might it had just displayed, it was entirely powerless before this azure light!
As if inherently countered, a look of bewilderment appeared on its face, and its body instantly froze, unable to move!
Wild ecstasy surged across Hongxi's face.
*Oh no!* Li Fan thought to himself.
*Could Hongxi really succeed in Dao Integration so easily in this life?*
He had never expected that Immortal Lord Hongxi, having returned from the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals headquarters, would actually possess such a lethal weapon as Xuantian Spirit Sealing.
And that an anima of Heaven and Earth could be this feeble before Xuantian Spirit Sealing!
Chapter 644