by Translator: Pokka; Author: 我本纯洁 (I Am Pure); Licensed From: Migu
Gong Qinyin had not expected Xiang Shaoyun to leave just like that, completely ignoring her. She was slightly unhappy as she cursed inwardly, Has he noticed something?
"Sister, we should retreat for now. It is not wise to keep moving forward in this situation," said the young man in the Gong Clan who was no longer hiding his identity.
This young man was a young genius of the Gong Clan. Although he was incomparable to the Cloud Margin Pavilion geniuses, he was still someone with a chance to become a King in the future. His name was Gong Fen, a cousin of Gong Qinyin's.
The Gong Clan had never expected that Gong Qinyin would obtain the millennium earthcore fire. After all, she was too weak, which was why Gong Fen was sent with her. Gong Qinyin had no reasons to say no. She did want to tell Xiang Shaoyun the truth, but it was unfortunately prohibited by her father.
They planned to keep things hidden so Xiang Shaoyun could help clear some obstacles for them. And in reality, Xiang Shaoyun had done exactly that. But now, with Xiang Shaoyun leaving, they had to rely on themselves. Gong Qinyin knew that Gong Fen was right. She nodded and retreated with the group.
Hopefully he won't misunderstand me, Gong Qinyin thought to herself.
On the mountain, a large number of flame beasts could be seen, all spitting flame repeatedly at the Transformation Realm cultivators in the area. The weaker cultivators were instantly cooked alive while the stronger ones were able to leave calmly.
Naturally, there were still some cultivators who had high confidence in themselves and continued charging up the mountain, heading toward the volcanic crater. These were mostly the Cloud Margin Pavilion's Transformation Realm experts. All of them were amply prepared for the trip and equipped with high-tier equipment. None of them were willing to give up on the millennium earthcore fire.
Among these people, some were the overseers who were members of the previous generation. They had long reached peak Transformation Realm and were hoping that the millennium earthcore fire would help them take the final step and enter the King Realm. Some were the freak geniuses of the current younger generation, cultivators of flame power hoping to borrow the millennium earthcore fire to advance their cultivation.
For Xiang Shaoyun to continue climbing the mountain right now was undoubtedly a dangerous decision. He had to face the threats of the flame beasts and the fire in the surroundings that were growing more and more intense.
Ordinary people would immediately be turned to charcoal when they arrived. Not even the energy barrier of Transformation Realm experts could resist the high temperatures here. Xiang Shaoyun was shrouded by a purple, golden barrier. Thus, he could still advance despite the temperature. However, the flame beasts were obstructing his way as well.
The flame beasts were spitting raging flames toward Xiang Shaoyun. The flames they spat were much hotter than regular flames. Xiang Shaoyun could sense something from these beasts and was immediately overjoyed. "Looks like these flame beasts have all benefited from the earthcore fire, and it had let them go through some sort of transformation."
At this thought, Xiang Shaoyun grew excited and increased his pace. With an ingenious footwork, he advanced amid the raging attacks the flame beasts were sending his way. However, there were too many flame beasts. After avoiding four beasts in a row, a few other beasts pounced him.
Left with no other choice, Xiang Shaoyun had to draw his saber to face the beasts. He swung his saber, cutting the beasts into two. The beasts that were cut exploded and sent fireballs flying toward him, catching Xiang Shaoyun by surprise. His defense was nearly broken through by the fireballs, and the terrifying heat seeped into his body, causing him to feel an intense burning pain.
This is the power of lava! Xiang Shaoyun cried out inwardly.
Bang! Bang!
His momentary distraction caused him to be completely surrounded by flame.
"Piss off!" Xiang Shaoyun roared and unleashed his Berserk Lightning Blade and opened a path clear of fire. He then quickly fled through that path.
The Overlord's Nine Nether Steps was worthy of being a top-tier footwork. It enabled Xiang Shaoyun to move at a speed comparable to an eighth- or even ninth-stage Transformation Realm cultivator.
The flame around him became thicker and thicker, to the point he could no longer see the way forward. His energy barrier also started crumbling, forcing him to use the power of his lightning bone to protect himself instead. The innate purple lightning was worthy of being a high-level lightning power as it was completely capable of resisting the flame in the surroundings.
Apart from the lightning power, Xiang Shaoyun also had a king-grade armor on his body, which was something Dong Ziwan had given him previously at the Blackhill Town. With the two layers of defense, the damage he suffered was greatly suppressed. Otherwise, he would have been burned to death alive.
The higher he climbed, the stronger the flame beasts were. Now, he was already facing attacks of numerous Great Demons. He wanted to avoid these beasts, but he failed, as he was already surrounded by three Great Demon flame beasts.
"Roar! Roar!"
The three flame beasts roared and sent forth blazing waves of flame that wrapped around Xiang Shaoyun. He quickly retreated, but he was still struck and nearly lost his hair to the flame!
"There are increasingly more flame beasts around here. I need to move faster!" Xiang Shaoyun muttered before finally deciding to use his saber intent.
He then unleashed the Berserk Lightning Blade together with his saber intent, achieving human saber unity. The purple saber energy glided across the air, slicing through the incoming flame before slashing the three flame beasts apart.
Rumble! Rumble!
The three flame beasts exploded at the same time, resulting in a terrifying explosion that forced Xiang Shaoyun to retreat. He was even forced to take out the coldstar stone to protect himself against the heat. The moment he took out the coldstar stone, someone not far away noticed him.
Chapter 195: Battling the Double Crimson Tyrants
The coldstar stone was worthy of being an item of extreme cold. The instant it was taken out, the temperature around Xiang Shaoyun instantly dropped to an ice-cold temperature. An ordinary person would suffer frostbite just by holding the coldstar stone. Even freezing to death was a possibility.
But here in this environment with such intense heat, the coldstar stone was extremely useful. Xiang Shaoyun sensed a wave of chill expanding from the stone, and suddenly, he felt much more comfortable than before.
"Good thing I had prepared myself in advance," Xiang Shaoyun muttered as he resumed his climb.
But it was at this moment that he sensed someone rushing toward him at an extremely high speed. He turned around and saw two middle-aged men approaching him quickly. From the aura they were emanating, it was obvious they were about eighth- or ninth-stage Transformation Realm cultivators.
Xiang Shaoyun did not wait in place for them to arrive. Instead, he increased the speed of his climb.
"Kid, stop right there!" shouted the middle-aged man in a black robe.
The other person also howled, "Stop there or we will kill you after we catch you!"
Without a doubt, these two were here for Xiang Shaoyun's coldstar stone. Both of them were cultivators of the power of fire. Even so, the temperature here had exceeded their resistance, and it was nearly impossible for them to actually get near the volcanic crater. The coldstar stone brought by Xiang Shaoyun had given them hope.
Xiang Shaoyun was fast, but due to the flame beasts getting in his way, his speed was only half of his usual speed. Fortunately, his pursuers were also obstructed by the flame beasts and were forced to slow down as well.
Xiang Shaoyun turned around and shouted provocatively, "Old dogs, if you keep this up, I will slaughter you!"
"You dare speak like that to us? Stay there and wait for us if you have the balls!" shouted the man in the black robe.
Xiang Shaoyun only gave them the middle finger before further increasi
ng his speed. He exhausted a large amount of energy doing so, but he was able to ultimately break free of a large number of the flame beasts around him. Even so, the higher he got, the stronger the flame beasts he encountered. The world of flame up here was quite a terrifying sight.
Xiang Shaoyun took out a gold serpentine crocodile skin and used it as a cloak while he braved the flame all around him. Inwardly, he started grumbling, If I had known this, I would've bought a shield. I would suffer less with a shield.
The gold serpentine crocodile skin he had was a king-grade leather that he had yet to get someone to forge into armor. Now, he was forced to use the raw material. But staying only on the defense was not a solution. A flame beast had already appeared noiselessly behind him and bit down at him.
Xiang Shaoyun had been focused on his front. Thus, he was unable to avoid the bite and was bitten. The flame spitting out of its mouth broke through his energy barrier and landed on his king-grade armor.
"Scram!" Xiang Shaoyun yelled and swung his saber at the flame beast.
The slash managed to injure the flame beast, but Xiang Shaoyun also suffered due to the flame beast's explosion. He was sent rolling on the ground, coughing blood.
"Damn it! These beasts will all explode upon death. Damn it!" Xiang Shaoyun cursed gloomily.
The other flame beasts were still attacking without stop, forcing him to flee in a sorry manner.
At this time, Xiang Shaoyun caught a glimpse of the two pursuers not far away. He sneered and muttered, "Well, let's play a game then."
He charged toward the two while dissolving some low-grade spirit crystals in his astral cosmos sea to quickly replenish his exhaustion. This was the benefit of having an astral cosmos sea. He was able to devour the energy within spirit crystals to replenish his energy at a much faster speed than others.
After dissolving a large number of spirit crystals, Xiang Shaoyun once again had a sensation that he was about to break through. His energy supply became extremely plentiful, seemingly able to break through at any time he wanted.
"Good boy. You are coming back to your death?" shouted the man in the black robe when he saw Xiang Shaoyun returning.
At the same time, the man broke away from the flame beast he was fighting and swung the chain in his hand at Xiang Shaoyun. The other middle-aged man in a gray robe took on the flame beast for him, allowing him to focus on Xiang Shaoyun.
These two were unaffiliated cultivators that were rather well-known in Cloud Margin City, known as the Double Crimson Tyrants. The man in the black robe was called Wei Chixiong, while the man in the gray robe was called Wei Shaxiong. The two cultivated the power of flame, and they also cultivated a team battle technique that was extremely powerful when they worked together.
The one attacking Xiang Shaoyun was Chixiong, who was good at flaming-chain attacks. The flaming chain in his hand shot out like it was alive, trying to wrap itself around Xiang Shaoyun. Xiang Shaoyun chose to not face the incoming attack head on. He quickly moved to the side, causing the chain to hit the flame beast behind him instead.
Bang!
The flame beast immediately exploded when hit.
Chixiong was already on guard, so he quickly pulled his chain back and formed a shield of chain in front of him, blocking the impact of the explosion. Unfortunately for him, Xiang Shaoyun took this opportunity to sneak an attack. From the side, the saber slashed straight toward Chixiong.
"Die, old dog!" Xiang Shaoyun shouted with an intense killing intent.
"Don't dream of hurting my elder brother!" Shaxiong shouted and stabbed his flaming fork toward Xiang Shaoyun.
The flaming fork split into three sharp energy spikes that stabbed straight at Xiang Shaoyun's vitals. Xiang Shaoyun was forced to shift the trajectory of his saber to face the incoming attack. Chixiong finally had the time to react, and his chain shot out again and formed a pincer attack with his brother.
The Double Crimson Tyrants were both late eighth-stage Transformation Realm cultivators. And with their teamwork, they were able to unleash a combat prowess no weaker than that of ninth-stage Transformation Realm experts. In fact, in their current form, they could even kill some ninth-stage Transformation Realm experts.
Xiang Shaoyun was instantly pushed into a crisis. Chixiong's attack whipped his shoulder, leaving a burning pain as blood started seeping out. If it wasn't for the flame beasts disturbing them at the side, he would have been captured then and there.
"Damned flame beasts!" Chixiong cursed in rage.
They wanted to capture Xiang Shaoyun but were also forced to deal with the flame beasts as well. The disturbances of the flame beasts made things much more difficult for them. Xiang Shaoyun wasn't any better off either. He was also suffering the attacks of two different parties—the beasts and the brothers. He was forced to use anything he knew just to stay alive.
But then again, this predicament was something he had intentionally put himself in. He was trying to use pressure to force more of his potential out. Once again, he dissolved over 1,000 low-grade spirit crystals in his astral cosmos sea. A boundless energy filled his body while his nine stars erupted in power. The energy coursed through his meridians while his acupoints shone brightly as his entire body absorbed the energy to grow stronger.
The pincer attack neared while a flame beast was spitting flame at him from behind. Attacked from all directions, escape was now impossible.
"Break!" Xiang Shaoyun unleashed all his power and howled, causing a terrifying power to emanate from him and ripple outward.
Chapter 196: Drawing in Lightning
With Xiang Shaoyun's shout, his aura soared. At the same time, the presence of dragon and tiger surged out from him, roaring. Instantly, the seemingly unequaled kingly presence roiled out from him, pushing the attacks of the Double Crimson Tyrants and the flame beasts away.
"What's going on here!" Chixiong asked in astonishment when he noticed the powerful pressure.
Shaxiong's eyes went wide as he said, "His aura is growing! He is breaking through! Stop him or things will get troublesome!" Just as the two were about to attack Xiang Shaoyun, the flame beasts suddenly started attacking them and ignored Xiang Shaoyun.
They had all sensed the presence of the king of beasts emanating from Xiang Shaoyun, a presence that they instinctively feared. Because of that, Xiang Shaoyun was able to catch a respite and successfully break through.
Third-stage Transformation Realm!
After the breakthrough, Xiang Shaoyun felt himself fill with power. Astral energy coursed through his veins, thoroughly improving the condition of his body.
The strength Xiang Shaoyun gained through a breakthrough was perhaps several times or even more than 10 times more than what others at a similar cultivation level would obtain. Otherwise, he wouldn't have required so many spirit crystals to sustain his breakthrough.
Previously, he was able to battle an eighth-stage Transformation Realm cultivator as a second-stage Transformation Realm cultivator. Now, he could easily fight a ninth-stage Transformation Realm cultivator or even someone at peak Transformation Realm. That was the scary part about his physique.
Xiang Shaoyun took a deep breath and smiled in satisfaction. "Finally, another breakthrough. Let me try out my new strength..."
His gaze landed on the flame beasts not far from him. The beasts were also staring at him, a complicated look in their eyes. The person before them was obviously a human, but why was he giving off the pressure of a beast king?
Xiang Shaoyun casually swung his saber, sending out a saber energy that was much stronger than before. Before the flame beasts could even react, they were killed.
As the flame beasts exploded, an energy barrier formed around Xiang Shaoyun's body again. The defensive power of his energy barrier had also increased significantly. Now, the barrier was able to easily block all the explosions without suffering any damage whatsoever.
"Not bad. I have indeed grown a lot. If I was at the fourth stage, I doubt I would even
need to fear the temperature here anymore. But for now, the coldstar stone will be enough," Xiang Shaoyun muttered in satisfaction before his gaze finally landed on the Double Crimson Tyrants.
The two were naturally still dealing with the flame beasts. Of course, they had also sensed the increase in Xiang Shaoyun's strength and were already planning to fight while retreating. Earlier, they hadn't been able to take down their opponent even after working together. Now that their opponent had broken through, they stood an even smaller chance against him.
"Let's go," said Chixiong when he saw Xiang Shaoyun looking at them.
"Leave? Will you be able to?" Xiang Shaoyun smiled before he darted forward like a lightning bolt and arrived before the two in the blink of an eye. At the exact moment he arrived, he swung his saber at them.
Berserk Lightning Blade!
No saber intent was used in the attack, but the power of innate purple lightning was used instead. The tyrannical lightning power was akin to a divine lightning bolt shooting down from the sky.
The Double Crimson Tyrants were given no choice but to counterattack, as they were unable to escape in time.
Trapping the Sun, Piercing the Moon!
They held nothing back and worked together to unleash their strongest attack. They were using a king-grade technique, which was also the only technique they knew. This was the same technique that had helped them kill many experts.
Chixiong's flaming chain turned into numerous chains that enveloped the area several dozen meters around them. At the same time, Shaxiong stabbed his flaming fork more than 10 times in quick succession, each stab sending three energy spikes flying forward. With the two working together, it almost seemed like they could trap the sun and the moon and that they possessed the power to destroy stars.
Rumble! Rumble!
The attacks of the two parties finally met, creating a series of intense explosions. The flame beasts were all forced into retreat by the might of the collision. They no longer dared to advance. As for Xiang Shaoyun, he was completely trapped in the cage of chains formed by the Double Crimson Tyrants.