Chapter 1661: Intense Battle

Wang Changsheng's eyes sharpened with a cold glint. The blue river enveloping him surged violently, transforming into a blue water dragon over a hundred *zhang* long, which then charged straight towards his opponent.

True Monarch Lihuo showed no fear. He formed a hand seal, causing the crimson sea of fire to churn violently, from which a crimson qilin, over a hundred *zhang* in size, emerged. This was a manifestation of magical power, not a physical entity.

The crimson qilin, radiating immense heat, charged towards the blue water dragon.

A thunderous crash echoed as the blue water dragon collided with the crimson qilin, erupting into dense white mist that enveloped an area of several *li*. A powerful shockwave rippled outwards, tearing away vegetation, collapsing buildings, shattering rocks, and raising clouds of dust.

A colossal roar reverberated from high above, and the sky suddenly darkened. A crimson fire cloud, over ten *li* in diameter, materialized in the upper atmosphere, churning violently and radiating immense heat.

Following another series of massive roars, house-sized fireballs rained down like a meteor shower, hurtling towards Wang Changsheng.

Wang Changsheng formed a hand seal, causing eighteen Ocean-Calming Pearls to spin in mid-air, emitting blinding blue light. A thick blue water curtain materialized instantly, enveloping his entire body.

Over a hundred massive fireballs successively slammed into the blue water curtain, exploding one after another. The surrounding area of several *li* was engulfed in a crimson sea of fire, radiating immense heat and sending flames soaring towards the sky. Any vegetation touched by the crimson flames was swiftly reduced to ash.

Witnessing this, True Monarch Lihuo showed a hint of triumph in his eyes. His signature magic treasure was a set of Lihuo Banners, primarily crafted from the hide of a Tier 4 high-grade Lihuo Rhinoceros, along with dozens of other materials like thousand-year fire lizard wood, making them incredibly powerful.

The flames unleashed by the nine Lihuo Banners were, naturally, far from ordinary.

Within the crimson sea of fire, towering trees disintegrated into ash, buildings crumbled into ruins, and even some unique jade stones began to show signs of melting.

If the Lihuo Banners were no ordinary magic treasures, then Wang Changsheng's Ocean-Calming Pearls were certainly no less remarkable. Crafted primarily from One-Yuan Heavy Water and various other water-attribute materials, they boasted exceptional capabilities in both offense and defense.

From within the crimson sea of fire, eighteen dazzling blue lights emerged, followed by a hazy blue blade aura that shot forth, instantly appearing before True Monarch Lihuo and slicing towards him.

True Monarch Lihuo remained composed. He summoned a small, exquisite red shield, then cast a hand seal into it, causing the shield to rapidly expand and position itself defensively before him.

With a dull thud, the blue blade aura struck the red shield, leaving a faint, almost imperceptible gash upon its surface.

A resounding dragon's roar echoed as eighteen blue water dragons, each over a hundred *zhang* long, charged forward. Their passage was marked by continuous thunderous sounds. These eighteen water dragons, formed from the Ocean-Calming Pearls, each wielded a force of a million *jin*, making them utterly unstoppable.

True Monarch Lihuo's expression turned serious. He altered his hand seal, causing the nine Lihuo Banners to erupt in blinding fiery light. They spun in mid-air, transforming into nine colossal crimson quilins, each wreathed in raging flames, as they lunged towards the eighteen blue water dragons.

A thunderous crash! The nine crimson quilins collided with the blue water dragons, resulting in a series of tremendous roars, rolling shockwaves, and endless clouds of mist.

True Monarch Lihuo flicked his sleeve, and nine shimmering red mirrors flew out, hovering in mid-air. The back of each circular mirror was engraved with a crimson sun pattern, making them resemble miniature blazing suns from a distance.

These were the Crimson Sun Mirrors, a set of magic treasures.

As the sole descendant of True Monarch Tianhuo, True Monarch Lihuo was certainly not lacking in magic treasures.

He formed a hand seal, causing countless crimson runes to surge across the surfaces of the nine Crimson Sun Mirrors, radiating astonishingly high temperatures.

With a flash of red light, nine thick red flames shot forth, converging into a crimson pillar of fire over ten *zhang* in diameter, which then struck towards Wang Changsheng.

As the crimson pillar of fire passed, the void rippled, as if about to tear apart.

Wang Changsheng felt the astonishing heat radiating from the crimson pillar of fire and dared not meet it head-on. Just as he prepared to dodge, an incredibly strange beast roar suddenly echoed, and he felt his surroundings blur. He abruptly found himself amidst a cluster of red volcanoes.

The sky was crimson, the air permeated with a pungent sulfurous smell, and the ground itself was red.

"An illusion!" Wang Changsheng's expression changed. All this time, it had been Wang Ruyan who ensnared enemies in illusions; now, he himself had fallen victim to his opponent's.

True Monarch Lihuo held a palm-sized red bell, its surface adorned with a miniature qilin pattern, as red light continuously shimmered around it.

This was the Crimson Qilin Bell, capable of generating illusions. While higher cultivation and stronger divine sense allowed immortal cultivators to recover faster from such illusions, even a single mistake in a battle between masters could determine victory or defeat.

As Wang Changsheng regained his senses, the crimson pillar of fire had already struck the blue water curtain.

With a thunderous explosion, the blue water curtain was torn to shreds by the crimson pillar of fire. The pillar then struck Wang Changsheng directly, and raging flames engulfed his figure.

A painful shriek echoed. True Monarch Lihuo frowned, turning his head to see that his Fire Blight Ants were no match for the Gold-Devouring Ants. This was not surprising, as the Fire Blight Ant Queen had not yet fully recovered from injuries sustained in a previous battle against a Tier 5 demonic beast conjured by the Heavenly Ripple Pagoda.

The Gold-Devouring Ant Queen had ingested an unknown quantity of crafting materials, rendering its body impervious to weapons, and its mandibles were incredibly sharp. Fire Blight Ants, being fire-attributed spiritual insects, had weaker defenses. It was therefore not surprising that the injured Fire Blight Ant Queen was no match for the Gold-Devouring Ant Queen.

The Gold-Devouring Ant Queen and dozens of Tier 3 high-grade Gold-Devouring Ants ferociously gnawed at the Fire Blight Ant Queen, which retaliated by spewing demonic fire at them, but to little effect.

True Monarch Lihuo frowned, disregarding the fate of his spiritual insects. His killing intent intensified, realizing the opponent's spiritual insects possessed considerable power, having defeated his own so swiftly.

A sudden flash of fire erupted from his back, revealing a pair of shimmering red fiery wings adorned with golden electrical arcs. They exuded a violent aura and immense heat.

These were the Thunderfire Wings, a flying magic treasure gifted by True Monarch Tianhuo to True Monarch Lihuo for his Nascent Soul formation. Crafted primarily from the wings of a Tier 4 high-grade Thunderfire Beast, along with various thunder and fire-attributed materials, they could be wielded by anyone possessing either a fire or thunder spiritual root.

With a powerful flap of the Thunderfire Wings, rolling flames surged forth, causing ripples in the void. A deafening thunderclap sounded, and True Monarch Lihuo vanished.

The next instant, a blinding flash of fire lit up behind Wang Ruyan, and True Monarch Lihuo abruptly reappeared, his eyes filled with a cold glint.

True Monarch Lihuo cultivated both magical arts and physical combat, making close quarters fighting one of his strengths. He perceived that Wang Changsheng was difficult to handle; in contrast, Wang Ruyan seemed weaker. While they ignored illusions created by sound, only sound waves themselves could potentially harm him.