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Outside Ling Wu City, Battlefield of Flame
Muo Hao and the Fourth Elder stared, eyes wide, at Lan An's sinister grin amidst endless violet flames.
A creeping dread gripped their hearts.
The Fourth Elder wiped sweat from his brow, scarcely believing a Spirit Blossom cultivator like him could be shaken by such searing heat.
Thump, thump.
The rhythmic pulse of the flames echoed, each beat hammering their chests.
The violet inferno blanketed the sky, its touch warping space with violent tremors.
As if struck by an unthinkable truth, the Fourth Elder's face twisted, ghost-pale, muttering: "No, impossible. Even a world-shaking genius with three spiritual roots couldn't possess that."
"Three… three roots?" Muo Hao swallowed hard, his throat dry. Lan An's Earth Bear, water-infused kicks, and now this flame-shrouded form…
Jealousy consumed Muo Hao's heart, his refined face contorting with rage, fists bleeding as he roared: "Why? Why isn't such terrifying talent mine?"
"Hmph, such petty envy," Lan An sneered, repulsed by Muo Hao's warped mindset.
"Haha, so what if your talent's monstrous? Today, you die!" Muo Hao cackled like a vengeful spirit, shouting at the elder: "Kill him! Kill him now!"
"Gulp, Young Master, I'll hold him. You escape," the Fourth Elder transmitted, his eyes wary of the dancing flames and the colossal phantom forming behind Lan An.
"Why? Why flee? Can't a Spirit Blossom like you crush him easily?" Muo Hao bellowed, baffled.
"Hiss, he's not so simple," the elder said bitterly, humiliated by a youth's threat. "You're Tian Mu's future. You can't fall."
"Absurd! A Spirit Blossom fearing a Golden Core brat? Madness!" Muo Hao protested.
"Strange Fire," the elder rasped.
"What… what?" Muo Hao's eyes bulged, dread surging as he stared at the violet blaze.
"It's Strange Fire—Violet Heart Void-Burning Flame, ninth on the Strange Fire List," the elder's trembling voice froze Muo Hao's heart.
"How… how's that possible?"
"It's true, unbelievable but true," the elder closed his eyes.
Wood cultivators dreaded Fire, even ordinary flames suppressing them. A legendary Strange Fire? They were invincible against Wood attacks, incinerating them before contact.
What could they fight with?
Only a Wood treasure rivaling Strange Fire might stand a chance…
This youth's eeriness birthed absurdity in the elder's heart.
A Spirit Blossom cultivator, he could flee with his speed, but Muo Hao? Even with Nascent Soul flight, could he outrun this monster?
Carrying Muo Hao would slow him, and if pursued, both risked death.
The youth's movement art was too terrifying, even for a Spirit Blossom.
Better to entangle Lan An, let Muo Hao escape, then flee himself—or strike from the shadows.
SCREECH!
Their thoughts shattered as the colossal phantom solidified.
A defiant, heaven-shaking cry heralded the king of birds.
Fire Phoenix.
One of the Four Spirits Soul Guardian Art.
Lan An, intent on silencing his foes, unveiled his Soul Cultivator identity, infusing soul power into the Phoenix.
It pulsed with life, its perfect form radiating majesty.
Its piercing eyes scorned Muo Hao and the elder.
With a thought, Lan An sent the Phoenix soaring above them.
SCREECH!
Boundless flames erupted from its beak, a sea of fire engulfing the pair.
"Damn it! What is this monster's background? Even his techniques are unearthly!" The elder's heart quaked. This was the legendary Phoenix, conjured by Strange Fire—an unheard-of feat.
"Ancestral Tree Shelter!" Despite his shock, the elder reacted swiftly, weaving seals.
Wood spiritual power surged, forming a towering ancient tree before them, its dense branches a massive shield.
Sizzle, sizzle.
Flames met tree, burning fiercely, but the elder's Spirit Blossom power slowed the Strange Fire's destruction.
SCREECH!
The Phoenix raged, its vast wings flapping, intensifying the blaze to devour the heavens.
The tree flickered like a candle in a storm. The elder shouted at Muo Hao: "Run! Only if you escape can I act freely!"
Muo Hao's eyes bled with hatred. Never had he, a prodigy, been reduced to a fleeing dog by a younger foe.
Yet reason prevailed—staying would burden the elder.
Glaring at Lan An, Muo Hao's greed had sparked this disaster, but he blamed Lan An's superior talent as a death sentence.
If looks could kill, Lan An would've died sixty-nine times.
Muo Hao's movement art flared, retreating swiftly.
"Escape?" Lan An sneered. To their shock, he stomped his Earth Battle Boots, chasing with Phantom Charm Wander Step.
"Hmph, distracted? Can you still control that Phoenix?" The elder mocked, but his laughter died.
The Phoenix didn't fade; its flames surged, wings thrashing wildly.
The tree neared collapse.
"How?" The elder's face blanched.
"Haha, nice plan," Lan An smirked, reading the elder's intent.
The elder assumed Lan An's focus on the Phoenix left him unable to pursue Muo Hao—a seasoned Spirit Blossom's calculation.
But he missed a fatal truth.
The Phoenix, infused with soul power, was nearly a clone.
Lan An needed no focus, free to act.
Phantom Charm Wander Step flashed, blocking Muo Hao's path.
"Young Master An, must you slaughter us all?" Muo Hao gnashed his teeth.
"I'll not only kill you, but wonder why a kind soul like Li Zhu Luan joined filth like Tian Mu. After you're dead, I'll care for her well," Lan An scoffed.
They'd schemed against him, unprovoked, dragging innocents like Uncle Wu into their plot. His fury was boundless.
Muo Hao spat blood, enraged, snarling: "You forced me!"
Seeing the elder entangled with the Phoenix, Muo Hao drew a crimson pill, reeking of blood.
"No!" The elder's eyes widened, roaring: "Ten Thousand Forest Canopy!"
Spitting blood, he wove strange seals.
Wood spiritual power drained the land for a thousand li, the earth withering. A dense forest canopy materialized, trapping Lan An and Muo Hao.
AAAH!
The Phoenix seized the chance, spewing Strange Fire. The elder screamed, flames searing his flesh, exposing bone.
The stench of charred meat spread.
Though soul-infused, the elder's Spirit Blossom soul resisted Lan An's soul power, unscathed spiritually.
Blood-soaked, the elder cackled, tears mixing with blood, his face ghastly: "Was a moment's greed worth this? Worth this?"
The Phoenix faded slightly, Lan An trapped in the Ten Thousand Forest Canopy, the Blazing Heart Cauldron cut off.
Yet its will endured, wings flaring, flames engulfing the elder.
Within the Ten Thousand Forest Canopy
Lan An clicked his tongue, impressed. A Seventh-Grade sect's Spirit Blossom cultivator wielded endless techniques.
His body was locked, unable to move a finger.
Opposite, Muo Hao, similarly bound, clutched the crimson pill, his face dark, unable to use it.
The technique trapped all within, friend or foe.
"Jin'er, what's that pill?" Lan An asked through their bond.
"Blood Surge Pill, a forbidden pill that consumes the user's blood, converting it to spiritual power for a sudden strength surge," Jin'er explained.
"Madness. Draining all blood to boost power? It'd leave him a husk," Lan An mused.
Smiling at the binding forest, his Blazing Heart Cauldron spun, Strange Fire enveloping him.
Where he passed, trees burned to ash, nearing Muo Hao.
Poor Fourth Elder, assuming Lan An's Strange Fire was spent on the Phoenix, leaving none in his body.
A fair assumption—who'd expect a pre-Nascent Soul cultivator to wield such vast flame reserves? Conjuring a Phoenix should've been his limit.
But the Immortal Genesis Scripture defied reason.
As long as the Blazing Heart Cauldron endured, Lan An's flames were inexhaustible.
Muo Hao, still bound, gaped at Lan An's blazing aura, speechless, sharing the elder's misconception.
"Who are you? No prodigy this monstrous exists, not even in Ninth-Grade sects!" Muo Hao roared, thrashing futilely.
The Ten Thousand Forest Canopy held firm, leaving him to scream. Had the elder foreseen this, he'd die of rage.
Lan An frowned, uninterested in banter. He snatched Muo Hao's storage ring, storing it in the Spirit Blossom Orb, and took the Blood Surge Pill under Muo Hao's murderous glare.
"You can die now," Lan An smiled coolly, channeling spiritual power.
"No! I'll take you with me!" Muo Hao bellowed, his body swelling for self-destruction.
"Dream on!" Lan An, seasoned, unleashed Great Flood Kick, slamming Muo Hao's abdomen.
"No!" His Nascent Soul shattered, spiritual power dissipating. Muo Hao became a cripple, denied even self-destruction.
"Believe me, you're not my first victim. Did you spare yours?" Lan An sneered, his triple-refined body surging.
Crack.
Muo Hao's neck snapped, his life extinguished.
Lan An's silver eye gleamed.
White Moon Soul-Seizing Eye – Soul Devour.
Muo Hao's fleeting soul was swallowed.
Savoring the soul power surge, Lan An grinned.
The forest still bound him. The Blazing Heart Cauldron roared, forming another Fire Phoenix.
Outside the Canopy
The elder sighed as the Phoenix faded, muttering: "No matter your tricks, your low cultivation exhausts your power."
"Oh, really?" Lan An's amused voice struck like lightning.
The elder turned, stunned. His Ten Thousand Forest Canopy was ash.
Lan An grinned, his silver eye bearing a crescent moon, eerie. Behind him, a new Fire Phoenix hovered.
"How?" The elder's disbelief echoed endlessly.
"He's dead. Your turn," Lan An's calm voice shrank the elder's pupils.
Realizing Lan An's boundless flames, the elder cackled, tears streaming: "Haha, I killed him indirectly. I enabled his death, and you still wield flames!"
Seeing the elder's madness, Lan An sighed. Though their fates were sealed, the elder's loyalty to Tian Mu was undeniable.
Pity he served the wrong master.
"I'll send you off," Lan An's eyes hardened. Against enemies, mercy was folly.
The Phoenix screeched, charging the bloodied elder.
"Haha, kill me? Dream on!" The elder laughed, soaring a hundred zhang into the sky.
With Muo Hao dead, he was unburdened. Though wounded, a Spirit Blossom's speed was unmatched.
Today's defeat stung, but he'd not return to Tian Mu. He'd heal, plotting vengeance.
Killing this "Young Master An" became his life's goal.
Mid-flight, a chill gripped him, death's shadow looming.
Turning, his heart leapt to his throat.
Lan An's silver eye blazed.
Thousand-Mile Piercing Sight locked on.
The elder's form was clear.
In Lan An's right hand, the Big Dipper Bow trembled space.
His left held a violet flame arrow, razor-sharp.
The transparent bowstring stretched taut.
The sky dimmed, the Big Dipper constellation faintly shimmering behind Lan An, mystic and profound.
"Damn it, flee!" the elder screamed, soul scattering in terror.