After Nie Tian and Pan Tao’s gang had separated thousand of metres away from the short mountain, they slowly came to a stop. 

Nie Tian’s face looked heavy as he turned around and looked at the mountain that was still madly absorbing the heaven and earth spiritual energy. 

The remaining people were still cursing at him and blaming him. They scolded him for acting of his own accord and rushing towards the center of the volcano at such a crucial moment. He had almost caused everyone to suffer a calamity. 

An Shiyi didn’t say anything, but rather measured Nie Tian with full concentration. After quite a while, she asked with a soft tone, “Nie Tian… You’re in the Houtian Realm?”

The rest of the people became silent one by one after she said that. They came to curiously examine Nie Tian. 

They felt that there were slight spiritual fluctuations in the surroundings, despite the fact that Nie Tian had his attention fixed on the short mountain and wasn’t moving at all.

These people, after going through the trial in the Green Illusion Realm, had all just broken through from the Lianqi Realm to the Houtian Realm. They all knew the greatest difference between the Houtian Realm and the Lianqi Realm. 

When you were in the Houtian Realm, even if you did nothing, as long as there was heaven and earth spiritual energy nearby, the spiritual vortex that was within your spiritual sea, would still be able to slowly take in the heaven and earth spiritual energy and trigger subtle spiritual fluctuations.

“It really is the Houtian Realm!” Pan Tao shook his head and said oddly, ”You brat… You have already broken through just by staying within the mountain for two hours?”

Everyone’s faces also changed color. 

They were all the people that had experienced the cruel training within the Green Illusion Realm. After returning to their respective sect, they had also wasted a good amount of time to understand their insights, and only then did they manage to break through. 

The speed at which they cultivated wasn’t considered to be slow, but it definitely wasn’t smooth either.

Yet Nie Tian, just two hours ago, was clearly still at the Lianqi Realm and was weaker than them by one realm. How could they’ve expected that with just a bit of effort, Nie Tian would go so far as to break through?

“Hehe, I got lucky.” Nie Tian responded without thinking the matter through and confirmed An Shiyi’s guess. Soon after his face turned serious, and said, “Pan Tao, Sister An, do you guys know that the volcano that was regarded as dorment by you guys, actually is a completely different world in the earth’s core?”

“What do you mean?” Pan Tao said while being puzzled. 

“Deep within the the short mountain, there is actually fiercely burning magma from the earth’s core!” Nie Tian softly let out a breath. “A layer of bizarre, crystal-shaped colored ribbons covers the magma. If my guess is not wrong, the colored ribbons, shape like a crystal net, which belongs to a part of the Heaven Burning Earth Fire Array. 

“The range that was covered by the enormous Heaven Burning Earth Fire isn’t only limited to the three volcanoes nearby the entrance to the Ling Bao Court. From what I see, the entire Scarlet Flame Mountain Range is under the coverage of it!” 

“How… How is this possible?” Pan Tao was overwhelmed with shock.

Both An Shiyi and An Ying were also surprised. They clearly weren’t aware of that fact. 

“Nie Tian, are you sure you didn’t miscalculate?” Jiang Lingzhu also had an astonishedlook on her face, and she said, “The purpose of the enormous Heaven Burning Earth Fire array was just to protect the sect entrance of the Ling Bao Court, so how would it possibly cover such a wide range? Besides, there aren’t any volcanoes that exist in other parts of the Scarlet Flame Mountain Range, so what’s the point of it covering such a huge area?”

Nie Tian showed a bitter smile, and said, “In order to seal an unusual beast.”

“Ah!” An Shiyi called out softly with her mouth covered.

“Nie Tian! What exactly have you seen?” Pan Tao concentrated his attention and asked. 

“An Earth Flame Beast!”

Nie Tian took a deep breath, but didn’t summarize the unusual behaviour of the Flame Dragon Armor. He merely explained about the Earth Flame Beast within the lava lake and the restricting power of the crystal-net colored ribbons. 

He also informed them that the Earth Flame Beast would soon escape since the enormous array had been undone and partly damaged.

“Dear G.o.d! There is actually an Earth Flame Beast within the core of the Scarlet Flame Mountain Range!” Jiang Lingzhu’s face color changed and she became agitated after she finished listening. “Legend has it that an Earth Flame Beast has the veins of a flame unicorn, so it is capable of gathering flame aura continuously with the power of its vessels! No wonder the Ling Bao Court would build their sect in the Scarlet Flame Mountain Range. It was because of the Earth Flame Beast!”

Unusual lights circulated around An Shiyi’s dark pupils. She pondered for a while and then seemed as if she had gradually thought about something.

She was convinced in Nie Tian’s judgement. She knew that Nie Tian would never lie. Since there really was a living Earth Flame Beast deep within the earth’s core, but it had obviously been imprisoned, the Heaven Burning Earth Fire certainly must have been created by a certain expert from the older generation of the Ling Bao Court.

“Heaven Burning Earth Fire!”

She suddenly remembered that the true constructor of the enormous Heaven Burning Earth Fire spell was none other than the current head of the sect, Hou Zhengchen’s master.

And the Ling Bao Court also seemed to have been previously moved from other areas of the mythical realm to the the Scarlet Flame Mountain Range, where it was rebuilt during Hou Zhengchen’s master’s generation. 

In a flash, she understood the reasons behind the move. 

“That Earth Flame Beast is about to escape from the lava lake in the earth’s core?” Pan Tao had a frightened look across his whole face. 

Nie Tian nodded his head. “It shouldn’t take too long.”

As soon as he said that, everyone suddenly became panicked. They all felt that a great catastrophe was on the verge of happening. 

“Once the Earth Flame Beast rushes out from the earth’s core, the raging magma flames that were condensed because of it would madly erupt!” An Shiyi’s blossom face also lost its color. She continued, “If, according to what you say, the earth’s core deep within the Scarlet Flame Mountain Range is overflowing with magma, then all of the dead volcanoes in Flame Mountain will immediately erupt as soon as the Earth Beast comes out!”

“Then, the mountain streams, creek rivers, stone paths, as well as the forest of the whole Scarlet Flame Mountain Range will possibly be covered with blazing lava!”

“The magma that is condensed by the Earth Flame Beast is at a terrifyingly high temperature. It is capable of causing our entire fleshy body to melt down into a b.l.o.o.d.y pulp!”

“Run! Run quickly! At your fastest speed, get away from the Scarlet Flame Mountain Range!” Pan Tao’s mind was in a great hurry, as if it was about to burn to a crisp. 

Looking at his appearance, it was as if the short mountains in the surrouding area would spout out boiling magma in the next moment and flood him in a flash. 

Nie Tian glanced at the short mountain. He suddenly realized that the short mountain had already become as red as a fire stone.

He also realized that a dark, red-colored, fiery mist seemed to be coming out from each and every stone cave. 

At that moment, even though the Flame Dragon Armor was clearly still deep within the earth’s core below the short mountain, he could vaguely feel the violent aura emitted by it despite the extremely long distance.

He suddenly came to realize that after going through this whole period of acc.u.mulation, the Flame Dragon Armor should have gathered up enough flame energy. It was about to coordinate with the Earth Flame Beast to attack the enormous “Heaven Burning Earth Fire” that was hidden deep within the earth’s core. 

“You were right, we need to leave immediately!” Nie Tian had also become panicked. 

The party then changed direction. Right away, under Pan Tao’s guidance, they no longer rushed in the direction of the Ling Yun Sect, the Black Mist Palace, and Grey Valley. Rather, they headed along the fastest road that allowed them to flee from the Scarlet Flame Mountain Range. 

Nie Tian’s discoveries deep within the earth’s core had shocked all of them, making them realize that the whole Scarlet Flame Mountain Range was about to erupt with a terrifyingly enormous wave of lava as a result of the Earth Flame Beast’s escape.

Perhaps people with a high enough realm would be able to survive by a fluke before the enormous lava wave spread. 

But, if they failed to leave before it was too late, then by the time the fierce lava spread out to every corner of the Scarlet Flame Mountain Range, they would inevitably be buried there!

- Huhuhu! -

The party urged their spiritual energy. They used it excessively to run quickly and violently. They stopped deliberately covering their aura, as they also couldn’t care less about the pursuers from the Blood Sect and Ghost Sect finding them and following their footsteps. 

Until that moment, they had all realized that the catastrophe that would happen after the Earth Flame Beast made its escape was much larger then the threat from the Blood Sect and Ghost Sect.

However, after they had just been running along for a while, they were forced to stop.

Two people, a male and a female in red, stood beside a clear river. The woman was none other than the beautiful Yu Tong, who had once appeared in the Green Illusion Realm.

“At last, we have found you.” Feng Luo, who was standing beside Yu Tong, grinned and showed a brilliant smile. He said, “Previously, I was already unable to find your tracks and wasn’t aware of where you guys were hiding. But hey, I didn’t foresee that you guys would suddenly lose your cautiousness and completely expose yourselves.”

After both Yu Tong and him had left the mountain, they had been tracking the group using footprints and sensing with their mental conciousness.

Only after they had wasted a lot of effort were they able to confirm that Nie Tian and the rest of the party were in the area nearby. However, as soon as they caught up, they were unable to find even the slightest trail.

Because thearea nearby was extremely lage. Feng Luo could only search with his mental consciousness spread out like a carpet. 

That kind of searching actually had a really low efficiency. It would also be awfully troublesome for him to find something.

“Nie Tian!”

Suddenly, threads after threads of blood curled up in Yu Tong’s eyes. The blood threads moved within her eyes like dragons and snakes that flowed together. 

“The Blood Sect’s Feng Luo!”

An Shiyi’s face color abruptly changed when she saw the man beside Yu Tong. She hastily reminded the crowd, “Be careful everyone! That Feng Luo is the martial brother of Yu Tong’s master, Shen Xiu. He is a strong figure that advanced to Xiantian Realm not too long ago!”

“Xiantian Realm!” Nie Tian was shocked.

An Shiyi, who was the strongest on their side, was merely at the late stage of the Zhongtian realm. It was still a large distance away from the Xiantian Realm. 

Even though Feng Luo hadn’t advanced to Xiantian Realm too long ago, everyone was well aware of how big of a difference there was between the Zhongtian Realm and the Xiantian Realm. 

If there weren’t any accidents, Feng Luo, who had advanced into the Xiantian Realm, would be able to completely suppress An Shiyi. In addition to that, he would still have more power. 

Yu Tong, on the other hand, had already advanced into Houtian Realm while she was still in the Green Illusion Realm. It was rumored that even though she had been seriously injured after returning from the Green Illusion Realm, after she had recovered, her strength had become superior to before. 

One Feng Luo, and one Yu Tong. Their strength was completely clear and the group was completely overwhelmed,. 

Perhaps it was also because of this that Feng Luo and Yu Tong had such strong self-confidence. Just with the two of them, they already dared to pursue them for so long and confront them without any tricks. 

They hadn’t mounted any secret attacks.

“So he is the disciple of old monster Wu?” Feng Luo sweeped across Nie Tian once, following Yu Tong’s look. He nodded his head and said, “Yeah, he has also advanced into the Houtian Realm. The fact that he is now at the same realm as you and you are both at the early stage of the Houtian Realm is good. In this case, both of your strengths should be considered as equal. After you have killed him, it won’t feel as if you fought a one-sided battle.”

“Xiao Tong!” Feng Luo’s expression became upright. “Since you are in confusion because of him, kill him now and eliminate the demon in your heart completely!” 

After speaking, he opened up his hand and suddenly formed a seal. 

As soon as the seal was complete, Nie Tian and the party immediately saw threads of blood mist emerging from the earth under their feet. 

- Pu! -

Pan Tao’s figure shook and he looked as if he was. .h.i.t with a force and helplessly spit out a mouthful of blood. 

Jiang Lingzhu, Ye Gumo, as well as An Ying shook a little, and their faces also became red like blood. They all appeaerd to have been bombarded by a certain invisible force.

Their bodies, normally tall and upright, suddenly shook violently. They appeared as if they couldn’t even stand steadily. 

The bright and clean river water from the clear, tiny river next to Feng Luo and Yu Tong also seemed as if it overflowed with b.l.o.o.d.y water. It had become red and smelled like blood.

Among the numerous people, only Nie Tian and An Shiyi were completely unaffected.

Nie Tian’s face was gloomy. He bowed his head and looked down for a while. He noticed that there wasn’t any b.l.o.o.d.y water flowing out of the stone land that he was standing above. The same also went for An Shi Yi.

He swiftly realized that the secret technique used by Feng Luo was only directed against Pan Tao and the others. It had purposely let off An Shiyi and him. 

“Let’s go, Little Tong.” Feng Luo casually waved his hand and said, “Let me handle that brat from the An Family. I will leave that Nie Tian to you. The reason I didn’t touch him was precisely so that he could fight you honorably!”

“Thank you Uncle Feng.” Yu Tong said softly.

……

Translator: Amazon Aaron
Editors: Zesty Zach and s.l.u.tty Sietse