Chapter 953: Endless Flame (1)

"Hmm?" A look of surprise once again appeared on Yao's face.

He had only recognized Liu Shaji’s overwhelming strength and had considered him the sole threat. It was why he had targeted Liu Shaji from the very beginning. He had not expected, however, that the Grand Princess’s lover would also possess such formidable strength.

Yao’s gaze swept across the silver broken sword and, sensing the terrifyingly sharp aura it exuded, his expression changed once again. “A Human Emperor’s weapon?”

As an elder of the King-ranked clan, a branch of the Twin Pearl Prince line, Yao’s understanding of humans far surpassed that of ordinary Reapers. He instantly identified the origin of the silver sword.

Li Xiaofei urged the silver broken sword forward and asked, “How did you discover our identities?”

Could the treasures from the Grand Princess have a flaw?

Yao smiled faintly and said, “I didn’t know you were humans. It’s just that someone placed a sky-high bounty on your head, so I began to investigate and follow you. Haha, I didn’t expect you all to be human spies. This is perfect; I’ll finally earn my merit.”

If he could uncover such powerful human spies within the Holy Ruins, kill them, and report back to the Ancestor Court, the reward he would receive would be enough to make even the King-ranked clan leaders envious.

The Twin Pearl Prince line never hesitated to reward those who achieved great merit for their kind.

“Who placed the bounty?” Li Xiaofei pressed further.

“What do you think?” Yao answered coolly, “Who do you suppose hates you so deeply, wants you dead, and can also afford to offer a bounty so high that even I would be tempted?”

A flash of realization crossed Li Xiaofei’s mind like a single streak of divine light. In that instant, he knew exactly who had issued the bounty.

“I didn’t expect the Yeniao Clan would go so far just to kill me. They’ve truly gone mad.” He chuckled, his expression calm and composed, and said, “Still, all of this is in vain. Someone like you could never kill me.”

Yao burst into laughter. As his laughter echoed, a column of magma suddenly shot up from below. The pillar twisted like a giant drill, spinning rapidly as it pierced the void. In an instant, the entire cavern within the Endless Flame mountain was filled with columns of magma.

“You were able to kill Zhou Shisan and the twelve warriors by his side all on your own. That proves your strength, and perhaps you even have some unknown trump cards. But... hehe, in the Fire Domain, we Windwalkers clan are invincible.”

A supremely confident smile appeared on Yao’s face. That confidence wasn’t blind arrogance. It had been forged through countless battles and tempered by life-or-death experiences.

Yao laughed. “Do you know why I bothered wasting words with you? It was to buy time to activate my divine ability. As long as I have enough time, I can transform this entire region into my own domain. At such extreme temperatures, everything will burn. Even that broken Emperor’s weapon of yours won’t be able to fully sever it... so, how will you respond?”

Thousands of magma pillars radiated terrifying heat strong enough to annihilate worlds. Some spun like dragons, others slithered like serpents, and still others coiled like vines. They weaved back and forth in a dense and intricate pattern.

The space around Li Xiaofei and the others was constantly being compressed. This place had completely become Yao’s domain. He stood at its center like a god manipulating the world.

The Windwalkers clan had become the overlords of the Fire Domain precisely because their innate divine abilities allowed them to draw out the full potential of this harsh environment. They controlled fire with wind and fueled fire with wind. It made them nearly unbeatable.

Zhu Zhixun and the others began to panic. They could feel Yao’s overwhelming strength. He was a terrifying existence that surpassed all known limits. None of them dared slack off anymore. They immediately brought out all the strange magical tools they had acquired from the Burial Ice Cliff. They took out the black pots, fire pokers, barbecue racks, oversized skewers, and activated them to protect themselves.

Xiong Gang fixed his eyes on Yao, preparing to try and trap him inside the pot for refinement. But at that very moment—

Whoosh.

A single streak of dark red sword light flashed through the air. Yao, who had still been smiling confidently, suddenly froze. He instinctively lowered his head to look. A dark red longsword had somehow pierced straight through his chest, the tip jutting out from the other side.

Blood began to drip. The sword then flew backward in an instant. That sword tip carried a mysterious power. In the blink of an eye, it drained every drop of blood from Yao’s body, devouring his energy and the essence of his flesh.

Deprived of the energy that had been shielding him, Yao instantly turned to a cloud of gray ash and vanished completely. A level eight Reaper, who had held every advantage of timing, terrain, and divine power, had reached the peak of his strength, only to suddenly die at the very summit. He hadn’t even managed to utter a final word.

“He’s dead?”

“What just... happened?”

Zhu Zhixun and the others stared with wide eyes.

They couldn’t quite grasp what they had just witnessed. Yao, who had held an overwhelming upper hand and stood as a top-tier level eight Reaper, had suddenly vanished like a puff of smoke.

With his death, and the loss of his divine power’s control, the terrifying magma pillars also split apart and collapsed, crashing heavily into the sea of magma below. The crisis was over.

𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

A trace of disdain flickered across Li Xiaofei’s face as he muttered, “You were waiting for a chant... But I was waiting for my cooldown.”

With a casual wave of his hand, the crimson longsword flew to his side.

Li Xiaofei had brought out his ultimate trump card without hesitation. He instantly killed Yao using the Emperor’s weapon, the Blood-Drinking Sword.

At any time, in any place, greed was always the original sin. It was pitiful that someone like Yao, a commander-level powerhouse of the Windwalkers clan, had died so meaninglessly in the Endless Flame volcano, simply because he had coveted the Yeniao Clan’s bounty.

Not a trace of his body remained. In contrast, the Blood-Drinking Sword, having absorbed the energy of a level eight Reaper, grew even more powerful. As expected, after refining that energy, it began to feed back into Li Xiaofei. Pure Immortal Force surged endlessly into his body, nourishing his flesh.

At that moment, Liu Shaji returned.

“There’s no one else outside. That guy really did come alone,” he said.

Liu Shaji wasn’t surprised that Li Xiaofei had dealt with Yao so quickly. He knew exactly what Li Xiaofei’s trump card was. His calm, relaxed demeanor only shocked and excited Zhu Zhixun and the others even more.

The overwhelming strength the two of them had displayed dramatically increased the success rate of their mission to rescue Sword Immortal Lin Beichen. Perhaps this was fate. Zhu Zhixun and the others began to believe the Fate Qi of the human race was finally returning.

“It looks like we have no choice but to head down,” Liu Shaji said, his gaze fixed on the magma below. “Everyone, be careful. The temperature down there could be dozens or even hundreds of times hotter than on the surface. One misstep and we’ll be reduced to ashes.”

He summoned a silver longsword. It was a weapon he had purchased from the Human Race Universe.

It was a longsword at the Immortal Artifact level. The blade hummed as it vibrated. Nine lotus blossoms bloomed. Nine streams of sword qi pierced into the magma, parting it like a scepter splitting water, opening a path downward.

“Let’s go,” said Liu Shaji, once again taking the lead.

Zhu Zhixun and the others did not hesitate. Holding their various bizarre magical treasures, they followed close behind. Li Xiaofei brought up the rear.

The searing, extreme heat caused everyone to feel stinging pain on their skin. Zhu Zhixun and the others, lacking sufficient strength, felt the burning sensation even with fire-resistant treasures. Their skin began to smoke beneath their armor. It continuously charred and regenerated.

“There’s a formation blocking the way.” Liu Shaji’s voice came from ahead, tinged with excitement.

A formation meant they were on the right track. It confirmed this place was indeed a suspicious zone. Without hesitation, Master Jin brought out the Time Jade and activated it, breaking through the formation below.

This process repeated again and again. They continued descending into the depths of the magma for a full ten thousand meters. Suddenly—

Pop.

It sounded like the sudden bursting of a water bubble. Everyone felt a flash of light before their eyes, and in the next instant, the overwhelming burning sensation that had permeated every corner of the space abruptly vanished.

The magma disappeared as well. In its place, a strange silver-white space surrounded them. Just like the one they had encountered beneath the Burial Ice Cliff, this silver-white realm was filled with a holy and luminous aura that brought immense comfort to everyone present.

It felt as though fish had returned to water. The burns on their bodies quickly healed. Their previously exhausted minds began to feel refreshed and full of vitality.

“This is the aura of Senior Sword Immortal Lin,” Zhu Zhixun exclaimed in delight.

Excitement also spread across Li Xiaofei’s face. There was no mistake. This aura was too familiar. It was unmistakably the aura of Sword Immortal Lin Beichen. It wasn’t just similar to the aura at the bottom of the Burial Ice Cliff’s abyss, it was exactly the same, without the slightest difference.

This was the place. Whether Sword Immortal Lin Beichen was still here or not, this place definitely contained traces or clues he had left behind. Everyone immediately began to search the area.