Chapter 112: The Flame Demon Clan!
"The situation here is unclear. Let's explore the surroundings first, get a rough idea of the lay of the land, then consider our next move!"
Jiang Yun looked around, spreading his soul power outward. Detecting nothing unusual, he spoke calmly.
"Alright!"
Zi Yan naturally had no objections. And Medusa, having grasped their current predicament, adopted an attitude of taking things as they came. Jiang Yun had already broadened her horizons. As a strong-willed queen, she also wanted to seize this opportunity to see if she could raise her strength. The snake-people were still waiting for her!
Having decided, Jiang Yun withdrew the surrounding arrays. The three of them no longer lingered. Their figures moved, transforming into streaks of light that shot rapidly into the distance. For caution's sake, however, they chose to fly at low altitude, while Jiang Yun also raised a soul barrier to conceal their auras.
Traveling at full speed, range after range of mountains were left behind. Yet as they advanced, Zi Yan and Medusa's brows furrowed more and more tightly.
Compared to the Dou Qi Continent, the space here was far more resilient. The spatial power, so active on the Dou Qi Continent, had become exceptionally still here.
The laws of heaven and earth in this place were abnormally chaotic. Fighting in such an environment would likely consume far more energy than on the Dou Qi Continent.
Moreover, perhaps due to too many battles between powerhouses, the activity of energy here was suppressed to an extremely low level. An omnipresent pressure filled the surroundings. This made Zi Yan and Medusa, so accustomed to the Dou Qi Continent, feel uncomfortable all over.
"It's so desolate here!"
In flight, gazing at the dark-red earth in the distance, Medusa felt an extreme sense of oppression.
An ancient, boundless aura permeated every corner of this realm. Even the setting sun in the sky was shattered and fragmented, emitting only faint light.
Across the land, endless ravines stretched as far as the eye could see, tearing open like abysses. That boundless darkness made one's hair stand on end.
This world seemed as if it had once been crushed raw by several terrifying great hands, pulverizing all life and all laws within it.
Was this the aftermath of battles between top-tier experts? Even after tens of thousands of years, it still persisted. Truly horrifying. And truly enviable.
"If no life exists here, then this trip will likely have been for nothing!" Zi Yan withdrew her surveying gaze, turning back to Jiang Yun and speaking gravely.
"Mm." Jiang Yun nodded, frowning slightly. Indeed, if this shattered continent could not give rise to life, then it held no value for training. And he would truly need to find a way back.
"Scatter!!!"
Right at that moment, Jiang Yun suddenly shouted. Zi Yan and Medusa instantly focused, trusting Jiang Yun's words without the slightest hesitation. The three split apart abruptly.
"Boom—"
In the next instant, the earth split open. Blazing magma shot skyward. At the same time, a terrifying dark-red figure extended a massive hand from the magma beneath the ground.
"Bang—" Heavy force slammed against the earth. With a muffled sound, the ground itself seemed to sink from the blow.
Under the trio's watchful gaze, a humanoid demonic shadow, horned and seemingly composed entirely of magma, slowly emerged.
"What is that thing?"
"Roar—"
Before the three could react, the demonic shadow let out an enraged roar, its body transforming into a blur as it shot straight for Zi Yan.
"Zi Yan, be careful!"
Sensing the presence exuding the early stage of the Heaven-Connecting Realm, Jiang Yun's expression shifted slightly. He shouted to Zi Yan while executing his movement technique, Darting Light and Fleeting Shadow, exploding toward her.
"Looking down on me, are you?!" Seeing the opponent charge at her, Zi Yan's face immediately flared with anger. Dense purple light erupted from within her body.
In the next instant, a form-fitting suit of purple dragon-scale battle armor clung tightly to her graceful figure. In her hands, a purple long spear, even thicker and longer than her body, materialized.
"Coiling Dragon Spear Art!" With a delicate shout, the long spear danced, its golden radiance dazzling. Zi Yan put her full strength into one vicious swing, lashing out at the opponent.
"Boom—"
In the sky, two dazzling rays of light collided violently. Carrying a terrifying storm of gale-force winds, it suddenly swept across the heavens.
"Ngh!" A muffled grunt sounded as the gale dispersed. Zi Yan, Purple Crystal Dragon Spear in hand, staggered and flew sideways for dozens of zhang.
The dark-red demonic shadow opposite her also shuddered violently, stumbling backward several steps. With each step it took, the air beneath its feet was compressed into nothingness by the terrifying force.
"Scorching Flame Palm!"
Accompanied by Jiang Yun's soft shout, fiery-red spiritual energy condensed in his palm, then abruptly shot forth from his hand. With a rumble, it tore through the air. In a flash, as if transcending space itself, it slammed onto the demonic shadow's body.
The opponent had no time to react whatsoever, smashed suddenly onto the ground by the giant flaming hand. Seeing this, Jiang Yun was still not satisfied. The flames around him coalesced strangely, gathering at his fingertip. He flicked his finger, and in the next moment, pointed through the air.
"Flame Spiral Finger!"
Swoosh swoosh swoosh!
A sky-covering barrage of violent energy beams, like a rain of meteors and fire, carrying astonishing destructive power, swept down from the sky. That range directly enveloped every vital point on the demonic shadow's body!
"Rumble—"
A terrifying roar resounded through heaven and earth. Dust and smoke filled the air. Below, all movement ceased, as if the opponent had already been slain.
"Roar—"
Suddenly, an enraged roar rang out. A fiery-red light gathered within the smoke and dust. Terrifying energy was coalescing.
"Boom—"
At the critical moment, a fearsome nine-colored serpent shadow descended with a crash. A nine-colored serpent tail, a full hundred zhang in length, suddenly lashed out. With one flick, carrying sky-supporting, terrifying force and a dreadful sonic boom, it ruthlessly slammed onto the opponent's body.
That horrifying sound of exploding air blasted a colossal crater nearly a thousand zhang wide into the dark-red ground.
Watching Medusa quietly retract the nine-colored serpent shadow behind her, Jiang Yun smiled and nodded. His soul power swept the ground. Confirming the opponent was truly motionless, he dispersed the energy hand seal in his palm.
"Peh, peh, peh! Where's that bastard? I'm going to tear him apart!"
Right then, Zi Yan, who had been sent flying, charged over in a furious huff, her entire body radiating a fearsome aura.
From Zi Yan being knocked away to the opponent being jointly killed by Jiang Yun and Medusa—it had all happened in the span of a spark. If Zi Yan wanted revenge, she was likely to be disappointed.
"That fellow's already been dealt with!" Jiang Yun looked at the somewhat disheveled Zi Yan. Sensing the roiling blood and qi within her, he retrieved a fifth-tier healing pill and fed it to her.
"What?! Already dead!" Hearing the culprit was dead, Zi Yan immediately shouted in exasperation. But her tongue was not slow, rolling the pill delivered to her mouth into her belly. Only then did she say, full of lingering resentment, "Lucky bastard. Damn it, I've never suffered such a loss before!"
Having heard all this from the side, Medusa curled her lip disdainfully and headed toward the corpse in the depths on her own.
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!" Zi Yan, with her sharp hearing, caught Medusa's dismissive sound and chased after her, dissatisfied.
Seeing this, Jiang Yun rubbed his brow with a slight headache, following closely behind the two women.
"What a strange creature!"
When Jiang Yun landed, he saw Zi Yan, now calmed down, examining the dark-red figure in the deep pit alongside Medusa with a frown. The question just now had come from Zi Yan.
"This thing isn't a magical beast?" Medusa, her brow tightly furrowed, voiced her own judgment at that moment.
Jiang Yun looked at the figure in the deep pit. The demonic shadow, which had just moments ago radiated a terrifying presence, was now utterly lifeless. Its dark-red body lay on the ground, emitting a strange aura.
This aura was both familiar and foreign!
Jiang Yun lightly tapped his finger. A pure-white flame shot out. In an instant, the corpse was incinerated. As time passed, a crystal, half black and half white, appeared before their eyes.
"This is...?"
The three stared at the object in Jiang Yun's palm, puzzled. It was a rhombus-shaped crystal, about the size of a thumb. Faint fluorescence and dense energy mist spread out from within it.
"Rather strange."
Jiang Yun frowned at the object in his palm. Holding it gave him an even stronger sense of familiarity. The next moment, something clicked. He circulated his cultivation art. Two streams of pure yet diametrically opposed energy surged toward his body.
Following the art's circulation, the energy flowed once through his meridians, then gradually dispersed into his limbs and bones, finally seeping into his muscles, skeleton, cells...
The power within his body was strengthening!
"So that's how it is?"
After one cycle, looking at the crystal in his palm, now shrunk by a circle, Jiang Yun spoke with sudden understanding.
"What? What?" Zi Yan looked at Jiang Yun rather impatiently, asking eagerly, "Xiao Yun, what is this thing?"
Beside them, Medusa also cast a curious gaze!
"It's an energy core, storing extremely pure energy. You can circulate your cultivation art to absorb it and quickly increase your strength!" Jiang Yun briefly explained the core's use.
Such items were very rare on the Dou Qi Continent, unlike the Great Thousand World, which had Sovereign Spiritual Liquid as a currency for transactions.
"Then doesn't that mean we..."
Hearing Jiang Yun's words, Zi Yan and Medusa's eyes immediately lit up as they looked at the surrounding land. They were currently in a 'weakened' state! If a large amount of these could help them, wouldn't they be able to rapidly recover their strength!
"There are likely many more such things hidden across this land. But we must be careful. These fellows are quite strong; let's not capsize in a ditch. Also, after obtaining the energy cores, don't rashly absorb them on your own. I'll process them and set up an array. That way, absorption will be much faster!"
Jiang Yun nodded, agreeing with the two women's thoughts. The appearance of the evil qi instantly stirred his memory, reminding him why the opponent had seemed familiar.
The Flame Demon Clan!
The Flame Demon Clan was one of the thirty-two great Extraterritorial Evil Clans, with a Demon Emperor guarding their ranks. Now, it seemed the Flame Demon Clan had been the primary opponent of the Myriad Flames Imperishable Body back then.
They had fallen on this land. Through the passage of time, their corpses had mutated, forming such things. And because evil qi and spiritual energy coexisted here, the energy cores contained not only pure spiritual energy but also domineering evil qi.
Zi Yan and Medusa naturally could not absorb evil qi. That was why Jiang Yun had warned them beforehand not to rashly absorb the energy cores, lest they provoke any mishaps.
"Alright!"
Jiang Yun's method was simpler and more convenient. Zi Yan and Medusa naturally had no reason to object and agreed immediately.
Following this, the three figures swiftly moved onward, delving deeper into the realm.
"Roar—"
Sure enough, they seemed to have entered a specific region where quite a number of experts had fallen. Those whose bodies hadn't been destroyed after death had all formed into such existences. Jiang Yun's trio cooperated seamlessly.
Even existences at the Heaven-Connecting Realm level could not withstand the trio's hunting!
Very soon, Jiang Yun's group had gathered a considerable number of energy cores. On a hilltop, the three quietly watched the ground, where over a hundred energy cores were now piled.
Jiang Yun looked at Zi Yan and Medusa and said, "These should be enough to restore some more of our strength. Next, I need to process the energy cores and set up an array. You two get ready!"
Saying this, Jiang Yun walked over and sat beside the pile of energy cores. Flames interwoven with black and white enveloped the cores. In a place unseen by the two women, traces of black qi flowed along the flames toward Jiang Yun.
Sensing the evil qi within him, Jiang Yun did not hesitate. He circulated his cultivation art. As the evil qi entered his body, he did not absorb it but instead channeled it toward the Saint Demon Flame in his dantian.
Although the Xie Ling Clan was innately capable of cultivating both evil qi and spiritual energy, the system he was cultivating now belonged to the Great Thousand World. It was better not to try it rashly.
After the refinement was complete, Jiang Yun used the energy cores to set up a Spirit-Gathering Array. Then he looked at Medusa and Zi Yan and said softly, "It's ready!"
"Finally!" Zi Yan said excitedly upon seeing this. Then her expression shifted, and she raised her chin at Medusa. "This time, I'll definitely reach the Heaven Transformation Realm!"
This matter had been weighing heavily on Zi Yan's mind. Jiang Yun and Medusa were both at the Heaven Transformation Realm, while she was the only one at the Heaven-Fusing Realm—she had even nearly failed to reach that! It absolutely infuriated her.
"Tch—" Hearing Zi Yan's smug words, Medusa did not indulge her. She let out a mocking laugh, her alluring tongue licking her rosy lips. Her enchantingly seductive voice rang out: "Heaven Transformation Realm? This time, I'm aiming for the Heaven-Connecting Realm."
"Oh~ I forgot. Little sister, you still have quite a way to go before the Heaven-Connecting Realm!"
"You—!" Medusa's words made Zi Yan choke with frustration. She still wanted to argue.
But at that moment, Medusa had already sat cross-legged and begun quietly cultivating.
Having been angered by Medusa, Zi Yan glared fiercely at her, then silently sat down, devoting herself fully to cultivation.
Sensing the two women finally quiet down, Jiang Yun rubbed his chin. Having a stronger Medusa around to spur Zi Yan on... wasn't so bad after all!
Shaking his head, he too joined the grand undertaking of cultivation. There were still many areas of this battlefield left unexplored, and that required strength!
Somewhere on a dark-red massive rock.
A spatial rift appeared abruptly. Immediately after, pillars of light descended from the sky one after another.
As the light pillars faded, squads of people materialized out of thin air. In just a few short minutes, dozens of squads had appeared on this rock.
Without exception, they all wore standard uniforms, clearly hailing from different powers.