Chapter 250: Four Fires' Weakness

Xu Qing had never truly fought someone with the power of six fires, but he knew perfectly well what it entailed; he could even imagine it. He understood that in the Foundation Establishment realm, the emergence of each additional fire brought a world-shattering increase in combat power. In fact, many times he felt that after the first fire in Foundation Establishment, every additional fire felt like breaking through a major realm, similar to when one transcends the Qi Condensation stage to enter Foundation Establishment. Xu Qing didn't know if there were other worlds beyond the starry sky of this one. If so, he wondered if the various races in those worlds cultivated in the same manner, and if, in the Foundation Establishment realm, they also cultivated Life Fires, with each additional Life Fire bringing such immense changes.

Xu Qing believed the gap between Foundation Establishment cultivators was simply too vast. For instance, four fires could instantly suppress and slay three fires, unless the opponent possessed an astonishing treasure. This wasn't something that could be compensated for by numbers, which was entirely different from the Qi Condensation stage. The same applied to the combat power of six fires suppressing five fires.

At that moment, Xu Qing could only sense that Sheng Yunzi had moved; his eyes simply couldn't fully discern the other's figure. Even with three Life Fires blazing within him, the power of his Life Lamp formed, and his Golden Crow physique augmented, he could barely make out Sheng Yunzi's blurred afterimage, appearing directly before him at an incredibly astonishing speed.

The next instant, an utterly terrifying wave, powerful enough to shatter everything around it, erupted before his eyes, shaking the heavens and the earth, irresistibly sharp. A thunderous roar echoed through the sky. Xu Qing's entire body shook violently, and he was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string. His face was pale, blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, but he suffered no other injuries.

A light shield had activated around his body the moment Sheng Yunzi arrived, forming a defense that blocked this terrifying six-fire strike!

"So, it's reliant on a Nascent Soul's protection," Sheng Yunzi said calmly, looking at the retreating Xu Qing and retracting the hand he had just pressed forward. "But this protective power seems weak. How long can it last?"

Xu Qing's body slid backward along the ground, carving a long trench. He only stopped after retreating dozens of feet. When he looked up at Sheng Yunzi, his gaze was icy.

Xu Qing now personally experienced Sheng Yunzi's formidable power. The feeling he got from the opponent was nearly identical to that from the Seastar clan leader on that day, when he had only revealed his Golden Core cultivation and not his true fiendish form. The same speed, the same explosive power. Thus, the several princes of the First Peak couldn't resist and were defeated in a single strike. Clearly, had this not been within the Seven Blood Eyes sect and had the fight occurred outside, that one strike would not have just been a defeat, but a kill. Therefore, Xu Qing knew very well that even with his current five-fire combat power, he would have died at that instant in front of six fires if not for the protective jade slip gifted by Sixth Master; his purple crystal wouldn't even have had time to recover.

The terror of six fires wasn't limited to just that. The small black bug Xu Qing had released was still only able to hide outside Sheng Yunzi's body, unable to break through the invisible defense formed by his Life Lamp power.

"So, six fires... is equivalent to Golden Core power? Equivalent to a Heavenly Palace?" Xu Qing recalled that the information he had read about Sima Ru of the Heterogeneity Hunting Sect mentioned Heavenly Palaces. Now, he wasn't entirely ignorant of the Golden Core realm. He knew that Golden Core cultivators cultivated Heavenly Palaces, and not just one. For instance, Sima Ru was in seclusion, attempting to form a second Heavenly Palace.

"A Heavenly Palace in the Golden Core realm, one palace for six fires?" Xu Qing mused.

If an outsider had been present at that moment, witnessing this scene and knowing Xu Qing's thoughts, they would have found it incredibly peculiar. This was because Xu Qing, at such a time, showed no sign of worry; he even had the leisure to ponder the power of a Golden Core's Heavenly Palace.

"Interesting, you're actually pondering," Sheng Yunzi said. "Let's see how many strikes your reliance can withstand."

Sheng Yunzi's expression remained unchanged. He took a step forward, once again exhibiting that astonishing, ultimate speed where only afterimages could be seen, arriving directly before Xu Qing. He attacked again. But this time, Xu Qing began to counterattack. The moment the opponent's palm descended, Xu Qing's ninety-two apertures instantly blazed to life again, radiating blinding light outwards. He then rapidly formed a hand seal and pressed his hands forcefully forward.

With that press, a wisp of remnant soul from within his apertures was directly released by Xu Qing, becoming a weapon that shot straight towards Sheng Yunzi. A roar immediately echoed. Sheng Yunzi was too fast, appearing directly beside Xu Qing. He lightly waved his right hand. Xu Qing's entire body violently trembled, and as the jade slip's protection shook intensely, his body was sent flying backward once more. However, the remnant soul he had released earlier seemed to possess some instinct; upon appearing, it shot straight for Sheng Yunzi, exuding greed and madness.

"Too weak," Sheng Yunzi shook his head, raising his right hand and waving it to the side, intending to obliterate the remnant soul. But the instant his right hand came into contact with the remnant soul, the greed within it surged, and it actually ignored Sheng Yunzi's attack, drilling fiercely towards his right hand. This remnant soul was precisely that of a Ghastly Ghost race member, which Xu Qing had captured and tortured until now, but which had yet to die.

This race was mysterious, naturally possessing soul-seizing abilities. Even if Sheng Yunzi had Life Lamp protection, it protected the body, not the soul. Thus, the Ghastly Ghost soul ignored the defense, drilled into Sheng Yunzi's body, and surged madly towards his soul, intent on devouring it. "A bit interesting," Sheng Yunzi's expression remained unchanged, but the strange bird Mie Meng, with its green body and red tail, behind him, let out a disdainful cry. It spread its wings and flew up, suddenly pecking at Sheng Yunzi's body. Its form was illusory, and its peck passed directly through Sheng Yunzi's physique. With a shrill shriek, the Ghastly Ghost remnant soul, which Xu Qing had tortured for so long and was now incredibly fragile, a shadow of its former self, was bitten out by Mie Meng and instantly swallowed.

One could see that within the strange bird Mie Meng's body, there seemed to be a black hole. After swallowing the Ghastly Ghost remnant soul, it was directly suppressed within this black hole, unable to escape, its screams shrill and tragic. From beginning to end, Sheng Yunzi's expression showed not a single ripple, as if this remnant soul was insignificant to him. He turned his head and looked at Xu Qing, who stood in the distance with blood at the corner of his mouth, and shook his head.

"Do you have any other tricks?" he said. "If not, the moment your protection collapses will be the moment of your demise."

"You talk too much," Xu Qing said calmly, licking away the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes filled with coldness.

Sheng Yunzi didn't reply. He raised his right foot, preparing to step forward. But just then, his body suddenly jolted, and his expression changed for the first time. He abruptly lowered his head and saw that within the last of his one hundred and twenty apertures, a black shadow had appeared at some unknown point!

This black shadow seemed like a living thing, frantically spreading within the aperture. Its speed was so rapid that almost the instant Sheng Yunzi's expression changed and he noticed it, it had already completely covered the last of the one hundred and twenty apertures, not revealing a trace, completely blocking it.

As this aperture was blocked, the fourth Life Fire within Sheng Yunzi's body suddenly dimmed, and along with it, the light emanating from his entire body also became a little fainter. And this dimming didn't stop; within just three breaths of time, the fourth Life Fire within Sheng Yunzi's body abruptly extinguished!

Within one hundred and twenty apertures, every thirty apertures could support the burning of one Life Fire; this was an unchangeable law of the Foundation Establishment realm. No one was an exception; one hundred and nineteen apertures could not support four Life Fires.

This was why Xu Qing had dared to take the initiative to strike earlier, and why, facing Sheng Yunzi's six-fire combat power, he still had time to ponder the Golden Core Heavenly Palace's power. This was the greatest weakness he had discovered in the four-fire prodigies of the Seven Sects Alliance after studying them: by simply extinguishing one aperture, the opponent's combat power would instantly drop by one Life Fire. And the shadow could even extinguish Life Fires; even if Sheng Yunzi's cultivation was stronger, the shadow's power, when exerted fully to suppress an aperture, was completely capable of doing so. This was Xu Qing's true method!

As the shadow frantically adhered to the aperture like sticky plaster, desperately blocking it, the Life Fires within Sheng Yunzi's body dropped from four to three. This caused his expression to darken. Yet, whether it was Mie Meng attacking or his Life Lamp blazing, he found that the black shadow was exceedingly bizarre and could not be expelled. He also understood how the opponent had appeared. It had hidden within the previous remnant soul, drilling into his body. The remnant soul on the outside had merely been a diversion, drawing his attention, and Mie Meng had only expelled the remnant soul, not noticing the shadow. This gave the opponent an opportunity.

"Such a method..." Sheng Yunzi looked at Xu Qing, a murderous glint flashing in his eyes.

"What can you do? A weakling is ultimately a weakling. Even if I have one less fire, with the power of five fires, I can still suppress you!" With these words, Sheng Yunzi's five-fire combat power erupted, surging towards Xu Qing.

But this time, the killing intent in Xu Qing's eyes was fully unleashed. Because he could now clearly see all of the opponent's movements; their speed was now the same as his own. So, in an instant, Xu Qing moved. His speed was incredibly fast, like lightning, and in the blink of an eye, he was in mid-air, clashing with the incoming Sheng Yunzi.

Sheng Yunzi's eyes narrowed; Xu Qing's speed greatly astonished him. At that moment, Sheng Yunzi raised his right hand and struck with a palm. Xu Qing, his expression calm and his eyes cold, directly threw a punch. As their figures crisscrossed, Sheng Yunzi snorted coldly, formed a hand seal, and flicked his sleeve. Instantly, a powerful force spread out, and his fingers darted straight towards Xu Qing's eyes.

Xu Qing's left hand formed a seal, conjuring a dagger that slashed towards Sheng Yunzi's neck. With a crash, the two clashed again.

Sheng Yunzi lifted his right foot and suddenly swept it towards Xu Qing. Xu Qing dodged by bending his knees, then sprang up, ramming directly into Sheng Yunzi's chest. Simultaneously, he waved both hands, causing his Fiendish Fire to erupt and spread in all directions. A sharp glint appeared in Sheng Yunzi's eyes. He clasped his hands together and slammed them forcefully downwards.

A massive roar erupted again, like a torrent of bells. A series of thunderous roars continuously exploded, spreading in all directions, shaking the forests, changing the colors of the wind and clouds, and rocking the heavens and the earth. Xu Qing's and Sheng Yunzi's figures were indiscernible to outsiders; only roaring sounds and terrifying energy fluctuations constantly exploding in all directions could be heard. Countless buildings on the ground collapsed continuously, as if an invisible hand was sweeping across them, destroying everything in its path. The battle was incredibly intense.

The next instant, Sheng Yunzi's figure appeared in mid-air, retreating more than ten feet. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes as he stared intently at Xu Qing and suddenly spoke.

"There's something wrong with you!"