Xiao Yifeng cast a grim look at the sky. Seven, perhaps eight Golden Roosters at the Golden Core stage were circling overhead, their skeletal wings blotting out the crimson light. More were joining the flock by the second.
Beneath the chaotic barrage of feathers and claws, Su Miaoqing was a beacon of tragic beauty, her life force burning away to sustain the barrier around them. If she withdrew her support now, Xiao Yifeng knew he wouldn’t last a breath.
This is my fault, he thought, a bitter taste rising in his throat. He had severely underestimated the fatal allure of the Undead Bird Source Blood. To these undead monstrosities, she wasn't just prey; she was the holy grail of evolution. His miscalculation had led them straight into a deathtrap.
He forced his eyes shut, severing his senses from the carnage outside. He couldn't afford distractions. His mind dove into the spiritual void, channeling every ounce of his focus into the intricate lines of the array he was carving into the ether.
Construct the Formation. It is the only way out.
Time warped. half a cup of tea’s worth of time felt like a century of torment. His heart hammered against his ribs, anxiety clawing at his resolve. Finally, the formation disk suspended in the sky above them clicked into completion.
Hum.
A terrifying pressure descended. The atmospheric temperature spiked, the air warping as the complex runes ignited with a distinct, ancient violence. The flames didn't just burn; they roared.
Even in her berserk state, Su Miaoqing froze, her eyes widening as she looked up. The formation spinning above was profound, a labyrinth of spiritual geometry she had never seen in any sect manual. It was ancient, domineering, and impossibly complex.
"Come forth!" Xiao Yifeng’s eyes snapped open, his voice thunderous. "Nine Li Fire Dragon!"
A dragon’s roar, filled with primordial majesty, erupted from the center of the array. The soundwave alone shattered the nearest skeletal roosters into dust.
Blinding light flooded the Golden Rooster Mountain. From the heart of the swirling vortex, a colossal head emerged. It was a creature of molten rock and living flame. The dragon was so obscenely large that the formation—already massive—could barely accommodate its head.
It gazed down at the swarm of undead birds with eyes like burning suns. It opened its maw.
ROAR!
A torrent of liquid dragon fire poured down like a waterfall of magma. It washed over the battlefield, incinerating the rocky terrain and turning the undead horde to ash instantly. The Golden Core roosters, sensing true predation, shrieked in terror and scattered. Those too slow were vaporized mid-flight, leaving not even scorched bones behind.
Su Miaoqing felt the crushing weight on her shoulders vanish. She stared, dumbfounded. Judging by the suffocating aura, this summoned beast was at the peak of the Golden Core stage.
The dragon seemed displeased with its confinement. It struggled, forcing two massive claws out of the portal to grip the rim of the formation. With a heave that seemed to tear the sky apart, it dragged its serpentine body into the mortal realm.
Xiao Yifeng staggered. The moment the dragon fully materialized, he felt his spiritual energy vanish as if a dam had burst.
The Nine Li Fire Dragon, over a hundred meters in length, coiled in the air, its scales radiating a heat that distorted reality. It roared again, shaking the heavens.
"Go!" Xiao Yifeng grabbed Su Miaoqing’s waist and launched them upward, landing on the dragon’s massive, burning head. He drove his sword into the scales to anchor them. "Fly! To the summit!"
The dragon surged upward.
The undead swarm, driven by their hunger for the Source Blood, refused to yield. They surged like a tide of white bone.
The Fire Dragon sneered. It swiped a claw, crushing a dozen roosters into powder. It was a massacre. While the enemy was also at the Golden Core stage, the difference in quality was an abyss. Under Xiao Yifeng’s precise mental command, the dragon was not a mindless beast, but a grandmaster of combat. It snapped necks and melted steel-hard bones with casual disdain.
Su Miaoqing watched, her mouth slightly agape. To slaughter Golden Core beasts like chicks... She had never imagined her Junior Brother possessed such a terrifying trump card.
"Senior Sister!" Xiao Yifeng’s angry shout broke her trance. "Do you want to damage your foundation? Stop the Blood Burning Secret Technique immediately!"
Jolted, Su Miaoqing hastily severed the technique. The golden flames around her vanished, and the recoil hit her instantly. Her face turned sheet-white, and she collapsed onto the dragon’s scales, her strength completely hollowed out.
Seeing her trembling, fragile form, the harsh reprimand died on Xiao Yifeng’s lips. She had burned her very essence to buy him time. He silently shifted his position to block the wind for her.
Meanwhile, at Evil Dog Ridge.
The atmosphere here was oppressive, reeking of sulfur and wet fur.
Mo Shuiyao tore through the gray mist, her expression dark. Below her, the endless howls of frenzied dogs echoed from the gloom. She had been flying for what felt like hours, yet the horizon never changed.
She wasn't stupid. She stopped, teeth gritting. "Wuchen..."
She had been played. That detestable man had deliberately pointed her down a dead end.
"I merely coveted your Junior Sister's Source Blood a little bit," she fumed, her internal monologue dripping with venom. "Was it necessary to send me to this hellhole? Petty man!"
She wasn't the only one suffering.
Wang Laoxie stood amidst a sea of corpses. He didn't have the luxury of the Reincarnation Immortal Abode’s walkthrough like Xiao Yifeng, nor the protective artifact Mo Shuiyao possessed. He was doing this the hard way.
His twin giant hooks danced with brutal efficiency, gutting the rotting hounds that leaped at him. Blood and viscera coated the ground.
"Too many..." he panted, stepping over a twitching carcass. Yet, instead of fear, a twisted grin stretched across his face. "The treasures of the Immortal Abode are mine! No one else's!"
He scanned the area. Seeing no competitors, his grin widened. He channeled his Qi, and with a sudden burst of speed, he shot into the sky, transforming into a streak of light. Surprisingly, the flight restriction arrays seemed to have no effect on his strange movement technique.
Elsewhere in the ravine, Lin Xiao moved with the grace of a scholar.
Folding fans spun around him like a barrier of steel petals, slicing through the air. Swish, swish. The attacking dogs were diced into chunks before they could touch his robes. His breathing remained steady; his stamina was monstrous.
He paused, spotting a weathered black stele ahead.
Evil Dog Ridge.
Next to it, dozens of massive hounds guarded the path. Lin Xiao’s eyes lit up. He had seen Xiao Yifeng’s group fly toward the sky earlier. Seeing the stele, he realized the mechanic.
"So that's the way." He rushed toward the monument.
Further back, Luo Yun and Liu Yue were fighting back-to-back.
Liu Yue was a whirlwind of violence. His red hair blazed like fire as he swung a massive golden saber, cleavage shockwaves tearing paths through the horde.
"Die!" he roared, his fighting spirit soaring.
Above him, Luo Yun floated like a fairy, her fingers dancing over her zither. Invisible blades of sound shot past Liu Yue, decapitating the beasts that tried to flank him.
Liu Yue glanced back, checking on her. Luo Yun met his gaze and offered a gentle, reassuring smile.
That smile struck Liu Yue harder than any blow. She is perfect, he thought, his heart racing. Gentle, sensible, elegant. For her... I would slaughter the world.
The obsession with the blade that had defined his life began to shift. A new obsession was taking root.
Back at Golden Rooster Mountain.
The situation was deteriorating rapidly.
Although the Nine Li Fire Dragon looked imperious, tearing through the sky like a god of war, Xiao Yifeng was suffering unspeakable misery.
It’s too much.
The mana drain wasn't a trickle; it was a hemorrhage. He had arrogantly used a Golden Core technique while only in the Foundation Establishment stage. The cost was catastrophic. The dragon was eating his reserves like water.
"Hold on..." he gritted his teeth, sweat stinging his eyes.
They crested the summit. The downhill path was visible. Just a little further, and they could escape the aggro range of the mountain.
But the Reincarnation Immortal Abode was not merciful.
As they crossed the peak, the air shrieked. Over a dozen new Golden Roosters rose from the cliffs—all Golden Core stage. The total count now exceeded twenty. They swarmed the fire dragon, pecking and tearing at its flames.
The dragon roared in fury, thrashing its tail, but the numbers were overwhelming.
Su Miaoqing struggled to her feet, summoning a weak flame to help, but it was a drop in the bucket. The increased intensity of the battle spiked the mana consumption instantly.
Snap.
Xiao Yifeng hit his limit. His spiritual seas ran dry.
The Nine Li Fire Dragon let out one final, unwilling roar of defiance before it shattered into sparks, dissolving into the wind.
Gravity reclaimed them.
"Ah!"
Xiao Yifeng’s face was deathly pale. He plummeted, consciousness fading.
"Junior Brother!"
Su Miaoqing, despite her exhaustion, moved with the speed of a desperate predator. She dove, catching him mid-air.
But the swarm was upon them. Countless firebirds screeched, diving for the kill.
Instinct took over. Xiao Yifeng, barely conscious, twisted his body in mid-air. He wrapped his arms around Su Miaoqing, pulling her head into his chest, using his own back as a shield against the incoming hell.
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