Chapter 846: You guys at this level have quite fragile bodies...

In the inner perimeter of the Yunlun Mountain Range, a bare-chested young man bathed in the underground magma, clutching an enigmatic flame crystal in his hand and exuding an extraordinary aura.

With his eyes tightly closed, every time he inhaled and exhaled spiritual energy, intense fiery elements surged into his nostrils and mouth like dragons and snakes.

The energy of the magma was immense. Soon, as the surrounding spiritual laws shifted and the flame crystal's energy spread, a tidal surge occurred in the young man's Qi Sea, emitting a sense of clarity that dispelled all confusion.

He opened his eyes, which were filled with pleasant surprise.

"It's incredibly powerful!" he exclaimed. "The Fire Origin Stone truly lives up to its reputation as a supreme treasure. Combined with this fortuitously encountered Fire Essence Magma, in just half a day, it shattered the bottleneck that had confined me at the peak of the Yin-Yang Realm, allowing me to effortlessly break through to the Star Worship Realm. With the celestial stars now responding to my call, and holding the Fire Origin Stone, I can almost guarantee that no one below the Throne Realm can stand against me!"

The young man's name was Xiao Jing, a successor of the Grand Void Sect from the Eastern Region. After barely escaping the fierce struggle for the Origin Stone in the inner perimeter of the Yunlun Mountain Range and acquiring the supreme treasure, he had hidden himself here.

In just half a day, he had completed his breakthrough, reaching the Star Worship Realm—the most challenging stage to overcome within the Grandmaster realm.

"Once my cultivation is stable, I should leave," he muttered. His breakthrough was successful, and the formidable fire-elemental energy within the magma had already healed all his injuries.

Xiao Jing, clutching the Origin Stone, had a ruthless glint in his eyes. Above ground, too many people were still lurking and waiting to hunt him down. With this secluded cultivation and the aid of the Fire Origin Stone, Xiao Jing was confident that he could eliminate all hundred or so grandmasters who relentlessly pursued him!

"Where could he have gone?"

Above ground, as Xiao Jing had surmised, over two hundred grandmasters were conducting a sweeping search. Yet, within a one-mile radius, they had scoured every rock and explored every cave, but still couldn't find Xiao Jing's hiding place.

"Damn it, that brat, even with severe injuries, is a master at hiding... Where could he have possibly gone?" someone exclaimed in frustration.

After an exhaustive and fruitless search, a fire-elemental grandmaster sensed something subtle, and a look of surprise flashed across his face.

"Underground!" he declared. "Deep underground, it seems there's a hidden treasure trove. I can vaguely sense fire-elemental energy, perhaps a fire-elemental vein concealed by a formation, or even magma at the mountain's core. Xiao Jing is fire-elemental; he might be hiding underground!"

Someone expressed skepticism: "No way, right? That guy was chased to within an inch of his life; wouldn't going into magma now be suicide?"

"He possesses a Fire Origin Stone, which is miraculous. It's possible he could use the abundant fire elements deep underground to achieve a breakthrough!" The fire-elemental grandmaster clearly understood the unique properties of his own attribute.

To ordinary people, magma is terrifying. However, for a fire-elemental grandmaster whose physical body is strong enough, it's not impossible to cultivate directly in the depths of magma with the aid of certain secret techniques. As a successor of the Grand Void Sect, Xiao Jing could very likely achieve this.

"Then let's go underground!" "Smash it!" "We'll blast the ground apart, dig down a thousand feet if we have to, but we'll find him!"

The grandmasters quickly adopted their new objective, collectively unleashing their spiritual energy and launching a barrage of attacks on the mountaintop.

"Rumble...""Rumble..."

The ground was blasted through, foot by foot. Everyone focused their attention, attacking with full force, completely unaware that on a distant small hill, three hurried figures descended amidst the sound of wind.

"Young Master Xu, we're here." On the hilltop, Liu Changqing, clutching his trial jade pendant, gazed at the two hundred-plus grandmasters' frenzied assault on the ground in astonishment.

"Someone is hiding underground?" Xin Gugu raised an eyebrow as well.

Looking at the situation, it was clear that these grandmasters had failed to intercept the Fire Origin Stone holder and, having sensed his presence underground, had begun a systematic bombardment.

Xu Xiaoshou extended his "Perception." Within a ten-mile radius, there was no powerful fire-elemental energy apparent. Instead, deep underground, a massive surge of pure fire attribute energy was hidden by spiritual laws. But while this might fool others, it couldn't fool Xu Xiaoshou.

"A familiar scent..." Xu Xiaoshou smiled, recalling the scene of digging for the Ashen Illumination Seed in the Spirit Melt Marsh. Back then, the aura emanating from the pool of magma deep underground had been far more terrifying than what he was sensing now.

He focused his "Perception" like a beam, piercing directly towards the fluctuating fire attribute energy. Upon sensing the fire-elemental spiritual laws, Xu Xiaoshou moved as if entering an uninhabited realm; with a single thought, he broke the concealment formation.

"Such pure energy!" The aura emanating from the underground magma was captivating. But what surprised Xu Xiaoshou even more was finding a young man seated within, cultivating with his eyes closed, holding a crystal. The most captivating fire-elemental spiritual law aura emanated from that very crystal.

"This is... the Fire Origin Stone?" Xu Xiaoshou understood. He retracted his "Perception," watched the coordinated movements of the hundreds of grandmasters in the distance, and smiled faintly, "The show is about to begin!"

Xin Gugu enthusiastically asked, "Young Master Xu, tell us, how do we kill them? Do we go straight in and gang up on them, or is it three against all?" Liu Changqing also cast a hopeful glance his way.

"No rush." Xu Xiaoshou waved his hand slightly, a smirk playing on his lips: "There's still some time before the guy underground meets the people on the surface. Let me set up a small formation to capture all of them in one go."

"Set up a formation?" Liu Changqing was startled. His lips twitched, and he transmitted a message, "Young Master Xu, this Heavenly Secret Art shouldn't be used carelessly..."

"Who said I only know the Heavenly Secret Art?" Xu Xiaoshou looked at him, chuckling, "To deal with these people, a few nested spiritual formations are more than enough. Why would I need to use the Heavenly Secret Art?"

Liu Changqing was speechless.

Xu Xiaoshou raised his hands, and the "Thirty-Six Heaven-Sealing Boundless Array" he had seen in the White Cave flashed through his mind. To deal with these guys, there was naturally no need to deploy the entire grand array. Moreover, he couldn't set up an array identical to the one used by the Red-Clothed in the White Cave. A few modifications would suffice. As long as it could trap these people, it was fine.

"What a pity, why are there so few people? I thought I'd encounter thousands this time!" Xu Xiaoshou lamented while secretly setting up the formation.

He also knew that because of the Spatial Spirit Drop's interference, he had missed the first battlefield. Otherwise, the number of people he'd be trapping this time would be far greater.

But it didn't matter. Waiting for prey to come to him! As long as he acquired the Fire Origin Stone, he needn't worry about people from other places not being tempted to come.

Xiao Jing, cultivating with his eyes closed deep underground; two hundred grandmasters bombarding the surface; and Xu Xiaoshou, secretly orchestrating and setting up a formation...

"Is this 'the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind'?" Xin Gugu watched Xu Xiaoshou's hands flutter and his hand seals flow endlessly, secretly thinking that morality was declining and human hearts were unfathomable.

"We've hit bottom!""As expected, it's a spiritual formation! Damn it, Xiao Jing isn't a formation master, so this must be a formation plate he brought with him.""What a grand formation plate! It can completely encompass such a vast amount of Fire Essence Magma, preventing any trace of aura from leaking out. No wonder we couldn't find him.""The Grand Void Sect successor is terrifying indeed...""Heh heh, but what good is being terrifying now? We've found him; this guy's reached the end of his road!"

In just a short while, over two hundred grandmasters had blasted through the ground. A deep pit, several hundred feet wide and deep, had been forcefully carved out from the mountaintop, forming an abyss. Such a world-altering feat of power, if seen in the mortal world, would surely be enshrined in myths like "The Foolish Old Man Removes the Mountains." But at this moment, no one found it particularly remarkable. After all, for grandmasters, moving mountains and filling seas was effortless.

"Xiao Jing, your death is at hand! If you know what's good for you, get out here and hand over the Fire Origin Stone!" A burly man with a scimitar shouted loudly from outside the spiritual formation.

The spiritual formation was of a high level. All present were talented spiritual cultivators, not very old, who had dedicated their time to cultivation. Not a single one had studied the path of spiritual formations, so breaking it by force would likely require considerable effort. However, if they could just call him out, the outcome would be entirely different. It would save time and effort. And it would avoid the potential risks hidden within the magma.

A chorus of taunts erupted. A barrage of insults and curses filled the air. Everyone was simply testing the waters, hoping to provoke Xiao Jing into coming out, though they didn't have high hopes. Unexpectedly, after just a few words, the magma suddenly churned violently.

"As you wish!"

Responding to a shout, a bare-chested figure burst forth from the underground magma. Xiao Jing's brows were furrowed, his black hair flew wildly in the wind, and the flowing, scorching magma slid off his perfectly sculpted muscles, dripping onto the spiritual formation below with sizzling sounds.

"Xiao Jing!""It's Xiao Jing! That guy actually dared to come out, holy crap!""Look at his cultivation realm...""Star Worship Realm!""He actually broke through to the Star Worship Realm!"

Among the two hundred grandmasters, some now saw the truth and felt a surge of fear. Everyone present was a genius, having suppressed their realms to enter the Yunlun Mountain Range. But after breakthrough, some could only reach the Heavenly Manifestation, while others could reach Yin-Yang. Yet, those who could directly break through three realms and directly enter the Star Worship Realm were exceedingly rare. After all, how many years of cultivation must one suppress in the Innate Realm to suddenly break through three major realms and reach the peak of the Grandmaster realm through accumulated power? It was simply impossible!

Yet now, Xiao Jing, who had previously only shown cultivation in the mid-to-late Yin-Yang Realm, had, with the help of the Fire Origin Stone, astonishingly surged to the peak of the Grandmaster realm—the Star Worship Realm!

Could a single Star Worship Realm expert take on two hundred Heavenly Manifestation and Yin-Yang experts? No! This was a truth everyone knew well.

However, if he was a fire-elemental grandmaster, wielding a Fire Origin Stone, and a successor of the Grand Void Sect, then the outcome of a direct confrontation would truly be hard to predict. At the very least, to defeat Xiao Jing, a significant portion of these two hundred-plus grandmasters would have to fall!

"Damn it, how did this guy break through to the Star Worship Realm? Is the Fire Origin Stone really that powerful? In just half a day, how did he do it..." Someone panicked.

No one wanted to be the first to provoke the furious Star Worship Realm expert. But after provoking him out of the magma, the two hundred-plus grandmasters felt apprehensive. As for Xiao Jing, whose anger had surged, determined to exact his revenge, his murderous intent was uncontrollable.

"Die!" he bellowed.

Hovering in mid-air, Xiao Jing flipped his hand, and a large halberd appeared in his grasp. Then, his movements agile like a swimming fish, he took but a single step.

"Spirit Underworld Step!" Xiao Jing instantly appeared before the burly man with the scimitar who had first hurled insults.

With a swing of his halberd, fire elemental energy surged. Spiritual laws erupted, clearing the area of other elements. "Furious Wave Sweeps Sand!" With a horizontal strike to the chest, like a tidal wave crashing onto the shore, sending sand flying, this wave possessed both destructive power and scorching heat.

The halberd strike was so fast that the man opposite had no time to react. Star Worship versus Heavenly Manifestation. A qualitative suppression.

"Boom!" With just one strike, the perfectly executed grandmaster spirit skill ripped the chest of the boastful burly man to shreds, sending his entire body flying backward.

Having succeeded with one halberd strike, Xiao Jing smoothly turned, transforming the sweeping momentum into a palm strike. In mid-air, he clenched his hand fiercely at the figure he had just sent flying.

"Inferno Burst!" Fire poison permeated his body. At that moment, it took over the burly man's Qi Sea spiritual energy, then violently ignited it.

In the air, flesh and blood splattered, startling everyone. The man was directly crushed by Xiao Jing through the air.

"Exploded?""Has Xiao Jing gone mad? He just killed someone outright?""The trial jade pendant can preserve Zhang Hao's body from harm, absorbing the attack and teleporting him out of the Yunlun Mountain Range, but the pain his soul endured in that instant could very well cause Zhang Hao's consciousness to perish!""This guy... he's serious..."

The two hundred-plus grandmasters were intimidated by this ruthless individual. Xiao Jing, holding the Fire Origin Stone and wielding his great halberd, bursting from the magma, was like an enraged God of Fire, surveying all directions and dominating the entire scene.

"What's there to fear?""We've offended him either way. So what if he's a Grand Void Sect successor? Once inside the Yunlun Mountain Range and becoming a trial participant, everyone is equal.""Charge! This guy's a close-combatant; we'll attack him from afar!"Several shouts rang out. Their morale surged once more.

With a plan, the two hundred-plus grandmasters collectively widened their distance, gathering their spiritual energy from afar, and a myriad of attacks rained down from the sky.

"This again!" Annoyance flashed in Xiao Jing's eyes. He was a close-combatant, and against such a ruthless "fish-blasting" team, he had no other option but to close the distance and pick them off one by one. Fortunately, this time he had the aid of the Fire Origin Stone.

Under the overwhelming energy attacks, Xiao Jing lowered his eyelids, clenched his left hand, and directly entered a state of sudden enlightenment. Then, he opened his eyes again, and a joyous glint flickered in their depths.

"A weakness!" That momentary fusion with the Heavenly Dao allowed him to pinpoint three gaps within the overwhelming attacks. His objective was to pass through one of these gaps and instantly eliminate a dozen or so people on that side.

"Spirit Underworld Step!" He dodged crosswise. Trapped, Xiao Jing moved as if in an uninhabited realm. He brushed past various energy attacks, advancing with minimal cost to the nearest group of over ten people.

"Damn!" The faces of the dozen or so people changed dramatically in fright as they were suddenly confronted, instinctively grabbing their spiritual artifacts. But it was too late.

Xiao Jing clenched the Fire Origin Stone again; time and space seemed to freeze. In that instant, he gained the clearest judgment of the battle situation before him.

"Dragon Snake: Flame Sweep!" He feigned a step and then brandished his halberd. Taking another step, he shattered the air. His Qi Sea spiritual energy transformed into wildly dancing fire-elemental dragon-snakes. With a swing of his halberd, scorching energy directly engulfed the dozen or so people in front of him.

"It's over..." In that instant, as the dozen or so grandmasters truly faced Xiao Jing, they finally understood how terrifying a fire-elemental grandmaster in the Star Worship Realm, wielding a Fire Origin Stone, truly was. They couldn't stop him at all!

As the fire-elemental energy instantly invaded their Qi Seas, Xiao Jing flipped his palm across the air, poised to clench his hand. Everyone felt a surge of deathly despair. It was the Grand Void Xiao family's special secret technique: Explosive Fire Poison. And the peak grandmaster spirit skill: Inferno Burst.

"Die!" Xiao Jing roared, fiercely clenching his palm.

A soft thud. To Xiao Jing's horror, the dozen or so grandmasters neither died nor exploded. Instead, an additional person appeared before him! And in his palm, there was an extra fist!

"Who is he?" As that thought flashed through his mind, Xiao Jing felt a terrifying surge of immense power erupt from the palm that held the person's fist. Irresistible!

"Bang—" A loud explosion. Xiao Jing had only used a slight gripping force. But after gripping the fist of the person before him, the counter-force and cutting power from that person's hand directly severed and blasted away his five fingers!

A mist of blood dispersed. The entire scene fell silent! This sight left all two hundred-plus grandmasters present dumbfounded.

Xu Xiaoshou was also stunned, staring blankly at the young man in front of him whose hand had been blown off, leaving only a wrist, simply because he had gripped Xu Xiaoshou's fist. For a moment, a look of apology appeared on his face.

"My bad, I rarely fight grandmasters, so I momentarily forgot that bodies at your level are quite fragile..."