Chapter 205 - 120: Magical Duel in the Fire Cavern (Part 2)

Xuzhuang's brow furrowed slightly. Without him needing to say a word, the guardian avatar that had been sitting silently beside him with its eyes closed opened them. It glanced into the Fire Chamber, then rose with a flicker and passed straight through the stone wall.

Leaving the refining chamber, Xuzhuang scanned his surroundings. Indeed, the Earth Fire outside had weakened considerably. With another frown, he flicked his sleeve, sending several pieces of spirit wood flying out. They embedded themselves in the stone wall and were instantly ignited by the surrounding Earth Fire, bursting into bright flames and restoring a measure of the heat.

However, this was merely a temporary solution. After setting up the spirit wood, Xuzhuang formed a Magic Formula. Like a fleeting shadow swept away by the wind, he transformed into a streak of flowing fire and shot deep into the earth against the current of fire. Before long, he had passed through numerous chasms in the ground. The deeper he went, the fiercer the heat became. Even with the protection of his Fire Escape Skill, Xuzhuang began to feel a slight discomfort.

A moment later, Xuzhuang's Spiritual Sense suddenly detected something. His heart stirred, and he urged his Escape Technique onward, speeding downward. It wasn't long before he abruptly burst into a subterranean cavern.

This cavern was quite vast and had clearly once been filled with immense heat. The entire space was crimson, with sparks and smoke flying everywhere amidst swirling dust. Yet, strangely, the Earth Fire did not fill the cavern. Instead, it was being drawn toward a single point, as if pulled by some unseen force.

Xuzhuang materialized, his body automatically shrouded in layers of spiritual light that repelled the fiery heat. After scanning his surroundings, he followed the flow of fire in pursuit.

The Earth Fire here had formed something of a vortex, naturally converging into swirling eddies. However, by the time Xuzhuang followed the flow to its source, the vortex had already dissipated. The event was so recent that the currents of fire had not yet calmed.

This situation... It was as if the Earth Fire vortex had dispersed the very moment before he arrived.

Xuzhuang's vigilance sharpened. Sure enough, in the next instant, a blazing meteor shot out from the Earth Fire. Xuzhuang abruptly activated his escape light and shifted aside. The meteor veered as well, but it ultimately missed him, grazing past. The gust of hot wind it created caused his spiritual light to flicker.

After flying past, the blazing meteor plunged back into the fire and vanished. Xuzhuang's expression remained unchanged, but his Magical Power was already circulating. He formed a Magic Formula with one hand, pointed downward, and shouted coldly, "Open!"

Instantly, a boundless power erupted from his body. With a BOOM, the Earth Fire parted like waves, separating in a moment to reveal a hundred-zhang-wide clearing. A Red-haired Taoist standing on a murky, flaming light was revealed. The man didn't seem to care, a sinister smile playing on his lips. He formed a hand seal, and dozens of blazing fireballs lit up in all directions—front, back, left, and right—before shooting down like a volley of arrows.

'A Demon Sect cultivator?' Xuzhuang's eyes narrowed slightly. He instantly activated a Daoist art. Streaks of pure white smoky qi emerged from in front of and behind him, forming small balls of mist. With a slight shimmer, they shot out like missiles, intercepting the blazing fireballs from all directions.

Without even an exchange of pleasantries, the battle began. The blazing fireballs and the Thousand Jin Dharma Qi collided mid-air, instantly erupting in a cluster of bright flames. Sparks flew and dust scattered. Immediately after, the Thousand Jin Dharma Qi pierced through the explosion, circled once in the air, and shot toward the Red-haired Taoist with renewed momentum.

The Red-haired Taoist's expression flickered with shock. He hadn't expected the seemingly light and airy balls of smoke to so easily disperse his Daoist art without losing any of their power. He no longer dared to underestimate his opponent. The flaming light at his feet flashed, carrying him away as he began to flee.

In the next instant, a dozen or so streams of Thousand Jin Dharma Qi arrived, chasing his escape light. The Taoist's thick, flame-like eyebrows furrowed. He flicked his sleeve, spraying out a cloud of murky qi that enveloped the Thousand Jin Dharma Qi. The streams of qi seemed to lose control, scattering wildly in all directions like headless flies.

The Red-haired Taoist was still smarting over the loss of his cloud of murky qi when he saw one of the Thousand Jin Dharma Qi streams fly over a hundred zhang and slam into the cavern wall. The entire cavern trembled violently for a moment.

Xuzhuang looked up as rocks and debris rained down, crashing into the sea of fire. He frowned and thought to himself, 'I really can't fight freely in this cavern.'

Most of his Divine Techniques were immensely powerful and devastatingly destructive. The Thousand Jin Dharma Qi was already one of his more restrained abilities. If he were to unleash his full power, he would likely cause the cavern to collapse. While it probably wouldn't affect the surface world so far away, he could not accept it if it disrupted his other avatar's refinement of the Magical Artifact.

'It seems capturing this person won't be so easy.' A glint flashed in Xuzhuang's eyes. He activated his Escape Technique, transforming into a streak of flowing fire and plunging into the sea of fire, using the flames as cover to continue his pursuit.

While Xuzhuang was contemplating, the Red-haired Taoist saw the Thousand Jin Dharma Qi slam into the cavern wall, shaking the entire place. His face twitched, and he inwardly exclaimed, 'What a powerful Daoist art! Thank goodness I didn't get cocky and try to block it head-on.'

He looked back toward the center of the cavern, only to find that the white-robed Daoist had vanished without a trace.

'Not good.' The Red-haired Taoist's heart skipped a beat. He hesitated no longer and stomped his foot forcefully. The flaming light beneath him flared up, engulfing his entire body in an instant. He now looked like a man made of fire.

In the next instant, a streak of flowing fire shot out from the sea of fire. Xuzhuang materialized and pointed down with two fingers. A magnificent beam of sword light burst forth, splitting mid-air into hundreds of streams of Sword Qi. They linked together, weaving what looked like a net of swords or a raging storm, which descended and instantly sliced the Red-haired Taoist into a hundred pieces.

Strangely, when his body was torn apart by the Sword Qi, there was no flesh or blood to be seen—only clusters of murky fire that transformed into a hundred flying flames, scattering in all directions.

"Oh?" A look of surprise flashed in Xuzhuang's eyes, but his movements didn't slow. The Sword Qi exploded in mid-air, with individual streams chasing after the flying flames. After dozens of flames were extinguished, the farthest one flickered, and the Red-haired Taoist leaped out from it. With a backhanded strike, he destroyed the pursuing Sword Qi, then plunged into the sea of fire and vanished.

Xuzhuang's gaze sharpened. With a flick of his robes, he transformed into a magnificent beam of sword light and shot forward, cleaving through the sea of fire for a couple of miles in pursuit. Still, he found no trace of the Red-haired Taoist. He tried to use a minor Tracing Technique, but it failed, obstructed by the murky qi of the Earth Fire. At this, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

'He actually managed to escape.' Xuzhuang stopped his Sword Escape, showing no signs of anger. Judging by the Red-haired Taoist's cultivation, he was an expert who had reached the second level of the Nascent Soul realm. Such a figure was never going to be easy to deal with.

Moreover, Xuzhuang had been holding back many of his more powerful abilities to avoid collapsing the cavern, disrupting the Earth Fire, and ruining his Magical Artifact refinement. It was only natural that the man had managed to get away.

Xuzhuang turned back and searched the area. He saw that the Earth Fire had stabilized and was beginning to grow strong again along with the leyline's energy. He nodded to himself in satisfaction.

The earlier weakening of the Earth Fire was indeed due to some mischief by that Red-haired Taoist. But since he had been driven away, Xuzhuang couldn't be bothered to hunt him down just to slay a demon and defend the righteous path. Of course, if the man fell into his hands again, that would be a different story.

After inspecting the state of the Earth Fire and confirming there was no longer a risk of it dying out, Xuzhuang didn't rush back. He calculated the time; refining the precious materials would still take another ten days or so. To prevent the man from returning, he decided it was better to patrol the vicinity to ensure nothing went wrong with his important task.

And as Xuzhuang patrolled through the chasms, the Red-haired Taoist had already exited the vast cavern from another direction. He materialized, walking through the Earth Fire naturally without any visible defensive measures, and frowned in thought. 'I was just struck by the impulse to kill someone and refine their power, but I ended up provoking an opponent with impressive Daoist arts. I wonder who he is and why he's here.'

Stroking his red beard with a large hand, a sudden thought struck him. 'That man only appeared after I started absorbing the Earth Fire. Could it be he's refining a treasure on the Fire Vein?'

Instantly, a hint of greed appeared in his crimson eyes. He pondered for a moment, then thought, 'His Daoist arts may be impressive, but I am not to be trifled with. If I hadn't expended so much Magical Power refining the fire essence earlier, I wouldn't have needed to avoid a direct confrontation.'

'Besides, I've already seen his Daoist arts, so it won't be hard to find a way to counter them. I'll find another chasm, leave this place first, and then set an ambush at the exit of the Fire Vein. How could I possibly fail?' The more he thought about it, the more certain of his success he became. With a sinister chuckle, he shook his body and transformed into a wisp of black smoke, disappearing into a nearby chasm.