Chapter 607: Killing the Nine-Layer Realm

Winds of the Nine Provinces

Something had to be done, or death was certain. A powerful will to survive pushed Huo Liaoyuan beyond his limits. The last remnants of spiritual power within him surged, and his mind achieved an unprecedented level of focus.

With a "snap," his hands suddenly pressed together, fingers splayed. A faint glow instantly appeared in the center of his palms, then rapidly expanded, emitting a brilliant light. Violent and chaotic spiritual power fluctuations emanated outwards.

Looking on, it seemed as if Huo Liaoyuan held a small sun between his hands, its spiritual power visibly flowing across its surface.

At this very moment, Lu Ye was only ten zhang from Huo Liaoyuan!

Huo Liaoyuan's actions put Lu Ye on alert. He had never underestimated his opponent, but he didn't stop his charge. He could cross the ten-zhang distance in a single breath. By then, no matter how powerful Huo Liaoyuan's technique was, he could end him with one strike. This was because Huo Liaoyuan's spiritual glow was dim, indicating he was clearly at his limit. He had poured all his remaining spiritual power into the small sun before him.

Just then, Huo Liaoyuan suddenly pushed his hands forward. The small sun between his palms rapidly shot towards Lu Ye.

As it sped forward, the spiritual power flowing across the small sun's surface surged even faster, peeling away in layers, like a blooming fiery lotus, its petals unfurling one by one. As these fiery petals bloomed, a terrifying aura instantly filled the entire death arena.

In the blink of an eye, the small sun transformed into a gigantic fiery lotus. Lu Ye had already tried to evade, but he hadn't expected such a transformation. By the time he realized it, he was completely enveloped by the fiery lotus.

The Lotus of Blazing Flames bloomed silently. It lacked the grand scale of the Prairie Inferno or the spectacular majesty of the Meteor Fire Rain, but the power it unleashed was more terrifying than either of those techniques. It was a horrifying high temperature capable of melting anything.

This was another of Huo Liaoyuan's trump cards, one he hadn't fully mastered. Ordinarily, there was a fifty percent chance of this technique failing. Therefore, Huo Liaoyuan never dared to use it in combat, to avoid harming himself instead of his enemy. If not for being cornered, he would never have risked it this time. Fortunately, luck was on his side. Despite only a fifty percent success rate, he managed to unleash it—perhaps due to the extreme focus brought on by immense pressure.

His face ashen, he quietly watched the blooming fiery lotus, seeing Lu Ye's figure completely engulfed, and truly let out a sigh of relief. "Now... Lu Yiye couldn't possibly survive, could he?"

Just as that thought crossed his mind, his pupils sharply contracted, and his eyes trembled violently. Right before him, a figure slowly emerged from within the blooming fiery lotus. His expression was relaxed and carefree, his movements unhurried, as if he were strolling through his own backyard rather than crossing a vortex of death. His demeanor was utterly calm, without the slightest ripple of emotion.

Lu Ye wasn't sure what this technique of Huo Liaoyuan's was called, but judging by his opponent's performance and his own sensations, its power was indeed terrifying. Yet, under the protection of his Talent Tree, he could isolate himself from the flame's harm. Comparatively, this fiery lotus caused Lu Ye less harm than the Prairie Inferno had moments ago. At the very least, the impact of the Prairie Inferno had caused him considerable injury, whereas the silently blooming fiery lotus hadn't even singed a single hair on him.

"Hah!" Huo Liaoyuan let out an involuntary gasp of shock, subconsciously stepping back a few paces, his face filled with terror. It was a nightmare scenario again! First the Prairie Inferno, then the Lotus of Blazing Flames—what exactly had Lu Yiye done? How could he withstand two of his ultimate techniques and still live?! Was he dreaming, or what was happening? But the weakness and pain in his body constantly reminded Huo Liaoyuan that this was no dream.

Step by step, Lu Ye slowly approached Huo Liaoyuan, stopping three zhang in front of him. Behind him, the gigantic fiery lotus slowly dissipated, and the space distorted by the high temperature seemed to be gently smoothed by an invisible hand.

Their eyes met. Huo Liaoyuan's dry lips moved, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, no words came out. He merely roared, then fiercely lunged at Lu Ye. There wasn't a single drop of spiritual power left in his body. As a spell cultivator, without spiritual power, he no longer had the means to cast techniques. But he neither surrendered nor begged for mercy. Because this was the death arena, a place where only one person could survive.

Lu Ye didn't move. With a flick of his wrist, a blade light flashed. He lightly shook the Pan Mountain Blade, then returned it to its sheath. Behind him, a dull thud echoed, and trickling blood stained the death arena's ground red.

In the spiritual land, the wolf pack and the cultivators from the Shengyu Spiritual Land stood in distant confrontation, separated by a hundred zhang. This distance was within the cultivators' attack range, but the Shengyu Spiritual Land cultivators did not initiate an attack on the wolf pack. The reason they were confronting the wolf pack was that they were waiting for Huo Liaoyuan. According to the rules of the death arena, both parties who enter fight to the death. When one party dies, the other is returned to their original location. Huo Liaoyuan had previously activated the death arena's power within the Huitian Spiritual Land, drawing Lu Ye into it. Therefore, his subsequent appearance would also be in the Huitian Spiritual Land. The cultivators from Shengyu Spiritual Land had to ensure they could intercept Huo Liaoyuan the moment he reappeared. Since they hadn't attacked, the wolf pack naturally wouldn't seek trouble...

Nearby, Li Baxian's face was so grim it seemed about to drip. He constantly checked Lu Ye's battle imprint to ascertain his life or death. When Lu Ye was drawn into the death arena, Li Baxian nearly went mad. He truly hadn't expected Huo Liaoyuan to possess such a rare treasure. His junior disciple was at the fifth-level cultivation, while Huo Liaoyuan was at the ninth-level. The difference in cultivation was immense! Although his junior disciple had a strong foundation and excelled at killing enemies beyond his rank, there was always a limit to everything. Li Baxian didn't believe Lu Ye would be a match for Huo Liaoyuan. If Lu Ye could have Amber's assistance and activate the Beast Transformation Secret Art, Li Baxian would have some confidence in him. But Amber had been in a deep sleep and hadn't awakened since, so Lu Ye had no way to cooperate with her. In this battle, his junior disciple was clearly in great peril. Li Baxian wished he could take his place... but even he had no certainty of victory if he truly faced Huo Liaoyuan. The atmosphere throughout the Huitian Spiritual Land was extremely oppressive.

Time flowed by, a teacup's worth, an incense stick's worth...

Li Baxian's expression turned strange. In his estimation, his junior disciple's limit in a one-on-one fight against Huo Liaoyuan would probably be a hundred breaths of time. Yet, a full incense stick's worth of time had passed, and his junior disciple was still safe and sound. Li Baxian suddenly realized he might have underestimated his junior disciple, or perhaps Amber had suddenly awakened? If so, as long as his junior disciple could activate the Beast Transformation Secret Art, it would be truly hard to say who would win or lose this battle.

As time continued to pass, Li Baxian became increasingly certain that Amber had awakened at this critical juncture, or perhaps his junior disciple had even woken her up! His former anxiety and unease vanished. Li Baxian quietly waited for Lu Ye's return, confident that his junior disciple could defeat Huo Liaoyuan, as long as he successfully activated the Beast Transformation Secret Art!

Across from them, the cultivators of the Shengyu Spiritual Land had quite relaxed expressions, for in their view, with Huo Liaoyuan's cultivation being four minor levels higher than Lu Yiye's, how could he possibly lose? The prolonged duration must mean Senior Brother Huo was toying with Lu Yiye. At this very moment, Lu Yiye must be suffering a fate worse than death. Their task was simple: merely rush to meet Huo Liaoyuan when he returned.

"What is Huo Liaoyuan doing?" Xia Liang muttered softly from somewhere in the crowd. Although it was a pity he couldn't personally kill Lu Ye for revenge, since Huo Liaoyuan had promised to share twenty percent of the bounty, he would certainly fulfill it. It was just that the fellow's efficiency was too slow. How long had he been in there? Why wasn't he out yet? Didn't he know that delays could lead to complications?

"Let's wait a bit longer. Maybe he'll come out soon," Tan Sheng advised.

Xia Liang nodded slightly, then glanced forward and whispered, "Brother Tan, I need your help."

"Please speak, Brother Xia."

Xia Liang said, "I want to kill Li Baxian!"

His original objective was to kill Li Baxian. Yan Xing had died by Li Baxian's hand, and Xia Liang had to avenge him. His primary goal when targeting Lu Ye in the hunting grounds was to lure Li Baxian out, which unfortunately resulted in his sect, the Mad Blade Sect, having to pay a large amount of resources. His enmity with Lu Ye was also sparked by this. Although there had been many twists and turns since then, he still hadn't forgotten his original intention to this day. Comparatively, he wanted to kill Li Baxian even more. Now that Lu Yiye was destined to die by Huo Liaoyuan's hand, he only had one target left.

Tan Sheng naturally knew of Xia Liang's obsession with Li Baxian. Hearing this, he nodded and said, "I will cooperate with Brother Xia then."

Xia Liang said, "Thank you. If this succeeds, feel free to call upon me anytime you need help in the future."

Tan Sheng's eyes lit up. Although he believed his strength was not much inferior to Xia Liang's, there was still a difference in their sects' ranks. The Mad Blade Sect was a first-rank sect, while his New Moon Sect was only third-rank. Receiving such a promise from Xia Liang would undoubtedly bring future benefits. Such favors were often very valuable at certain times.

"Brother Xia, you're too kind. He's out!" Tan Sheng suddenly exclaimed softly.

At the same time, everyone noticed something unusual. A point of light suddenly bloomed out of thin air in mid-air. Immediately after, the phantom image of the death arena appeared within that light, and a streak of white light shot out from the death arena, landing in a certain spot. The space at that spot suddenly warped, and then a figure appeared out of thin air!

The cultivators from the Shengyu Spiritual Land, who had been poised to rush forward and intercept, froze in place as if struck by a lightning charm. Their eyes trembled, filled with disbelief.

In the crowd, Tan Sheng's eyelids twitched wildly, and Xia Liang cried out in astonishment, "How is that possible?" It was as if they had witnessed something utterly unbelievable.