The flame-revived Soul Beast corpses, along with the still-crazed, surging live Soul Beasts at the cave entrance, faltered for an instant under the double, overlapping waves of terrifying pressure.
From deep within their bloodlines, an instinctive reverence for the primal force of fire surged forth. For the first time, fear—raw and undeniable appeared in their crimson, raging eyes!
A fear deeper than death itself, an instinctive submission to the source of annihilation.
Lou Gao seized that fleeting hesitation like a drowning man clutching the last straw.
He tore himself free from the boundless terror and panic, his survival instinct overwhelming everything.
His hoarse, cracked throat screamed at the top of its limits, infused with his Soul power, a desperate roar aimed at the two figures radiating destructive energy.
"Lin Xia! Larvitar! Go! Get out of here! We can't stay another second!"
"That thing in the depths is still summoning! Something even stronger is coming! We have to break through!"
Lou Gao's voice, amidst the heat-distorted air and the Soul Beasts' low growls, sounded so faint, like a candle struggling against a hurricane.
But to his despair, his cries fell into a void.
The two figures shrouded in destructive golden light did not respond to his voice!
Lin Xia's head, encased in molten lava with red-gold bones, had no remaining ear structures, only flowing gold-red magma!
Larvitar's lava-transformed carapace had long since lost any organ capable of receiving sound!
Their emergence from the core of the mineral vein was not triggered by Lou Gao's call. Instead, it was purely the result of their post-transformation, immensely enhanced mental perception, they sensed the familiar life force ahead, besieged by frenzied energy and lethal intent, in extreme danger!
Lin Xia and Larvitar were now guided entirely by two primal, overpowering instincts.
Protect!
Repel the enemy!
This was the only clear command in Lin Xia's consciousness, rebuilt by the Sun Essence, and washed with endless pain and newfound power!
Larvitar's mental link mirrored the same will, pure and ferocious.
Without hesitation, not even glancing at Lou Gao, Lin Xia's red-gold arm bones, wrapped in molten muscle, lifted and pointed toward the Soul Beast horde at the entrance, a living hell of boiling lava and unending malice!
Larvitar, synchronized with him in mind and spirit, its crimson-gold eyes locking onto the same target, roared.
"ROAR—!!!"
First Soul Skill—Sandstorm!
Their abilities instantly resonated, amplifying each other!
Vwoooom!!!
A force beyond description, mixing destructive heat with overwhelming impact, erupted explosively from the center of Lin Xia and Larvitar!
In an instant, the entire mine trembled violently!
Flame crystals embedded in the cave walls shattered!
This was no ordinary sandstorm.
The "sand" consisted of rock particles forcibly stripped, pulverized, and molten by extreme heat from the air itself!
Pieces of obsidian beneath their feet, baked crisp and crushed by invisible power into powder!
And more than that… the raging fire-element energy, ignited by the Sun Essence, permeating every corner of the mine!
Red-gold flames, as if given tangible form, carried billions of molten shards, now red-hot and even white-hot, into a towering, rotating column connecting earth and sky—a tornado of annihilation!
A flame sandstorm!
A cataclysmic storm born from the primal Sun Essence!
The moment it appeared, its core temperature surpassed molten lava.
Golden flames leapt and flowed among the lava particles, illuminating the surroundings as though the core of a hellish furnace!
The storm's terrifying suction drew in the corpses of Soul Beasts, debris, and even the lingering sulfuric gases at the cave entrance—grinding and assimilating them instantly, becoming part of the tornado, its ferocity escalating with every passing moment!
Lou Gao was still some distance from the storm's center, yet the instantaneous shockwave and the radiation heat alone—enough to melt steel, made his skin feel as if it were about to ignite!
The Martial Soul manifested instantly, all seven Soul Rings erupting with unprecedented brilliance.
"My god…!"
Lou Gao's horrified, almost paralyzed scream left no room for hesitation.
Lin Xia and Larvitar's Soul Skills were one thing, they were just Soul Masters but Lou Gao knew all too well that his body could never withstand flames infused with the power of the Sun Essence!
Like a rabbit whose tail had been set ablaze, Lou Gao spun around, pouring every ounce of his Soul power into his Sacred Molding Pen Martial Soul without holding back!
The pen, gleaming with metallic cold light, surged violently, its tip radiating a blinding white brilliance.
"Open a path for me—!!!"
Lou Gao roared and slammed the Molding Pen mercilessly against the seemingly "weaker" cave wall to the side.
With Soul Saint-level strength and the weapon's sharp edge, the hard rock split apart like butter under a hot knife!
Rumble!
Fragments of stone flew in every direction!
There was no time to carefully carve a refuge. He chose the most brutal, direct method—bust through the rock, then dig deeper with all his might!
The Molding Pen hammered relentlessly as his body acted like a drill, hands and feet working together to push deeper into the rock!
He could even feel the terrifying suction behind him and the radiant heat nearly scorching his back!
Lou Gao cursed that his parents hadn't given him more hands as he dug, clawed, and drilled desperately, trying to put as much distance as possible between himself and the two demigod-like figures and the terrifying flame sandstorm!
At that moment, the flame sandstorm, imbued with the primal power of the Sun Essence, surged like an awakened apocalypse beast. With the terrifying might capable of consuming the world, it barreled mercilessly toward the cave entrance, crushing the dense mass of Soul Beasts—both living and flame-revived corpses—once again driven into frenzy by the subterranean cries!
Those Soul Beasts, whether alive or resurrected, had instinctively wanted to retreat at the first appearance of the sandstorm, their bloodline-born fear surging.
But from the depths of the mine came a sharper, more urgent, and utterly unyielding "SHRIEK," filled with the intent of total annihilation. Like the most poisonous curse, it forcibly overwhelmed their fear!
Their crimson eyes were completely consumed by the raging golden flames and the desire to kill!
They roared and charged even more wildly into the incoming red-gold storm!
Their sharp claws tore at the air; lava balls coalesced in their mouths; burning bodies became living explosives, determined to shred these two "thieves" who dared to desecrate the sacred site and steal the holy fire!
"ROAR!!"
"AOO—!!"
The beast roars shook the very ground, carrying the madness of total annihilation!
And then… came obliteration.
Absolute, silent, and total obliteration.
The first few thousand-year-old Lava Lizards at the forefront had barely touched the leaping golden flames at the storm's edge…
No struggle. No screams.
Ssssh—!
Like a red-hot branding iron pressed against the thinnest ice.
Their proud, crimson scales, capable of withstanding ordinary fire, were paper-thin against flames infused with the Sun Essence!
The resilient scales instantly turned bright red, softened, and then… vaporized entirely!
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