Chapter 207 - 121: The Dharma Jade Emerges, the Fire Dragon Refines the Devil (Part 2)

Xuzhuang had guessed correctly. That day, the Red Eyebrow Taoist had speculated that Xuzhuang was refining a treasure within the Fire Vein, and greed took root in his heart. After finding another crevice to exit the Fire Vein ahead of him, he didn't leave. Instead, he found a hidden spot to meditate and restore his Magical Power, all while keeping an eye on the cave entrance. But even after his Magical Power was fully restored, Xuzhuang still hadn't appeared.

This actually filled him with secret joy. Xuzhuang's long delay seemed to confirm that he was indeed refining a treasure, and it also gave him plenty of time to set up an ambush. He had therefore resolved to wait at the entrance to kill Xuzhuang and seize his prize. As for whether Xuzhuang might have escaped through another exit—not only was this the only nearby Fire Vein that led directly to the surface, but even if he had found some other way out, it would only mean wasting a few days, which was nothing to him.

And if his ambush succeeded, never mind the man's wealth or the Magical Artifact he was refining—the Nascent Soul corpse alone was incredibly precious. Even if he didn't use it for his own refinement, selling it to the Bone Sect would fetch a fortune.

As for failure, the Red Eyebrow Taoist never even considered it. He was an elder of the Manifestation Sect, one of the four great Demon Sects—an old demon known as Venerable Extreme Flame. He had cultivated for hundreds of years and had killed countless people. How could he be easy to deal with?

Although the Extreme Flame Demon had suffered a setback at Xuzhuang's hands that day, he reasoned it was only because he had expended too much Magical Power condensing fire essence. Besides, Xuzhuang had already revealed his Dao Skill, and it wasn't a signature technique of any major orthodox sect. The Extreme Flame Demon felt his success was all but guaranteed.

And so, the Extreme Flame Demon waited patiently for over ten days. Just as his patience was beginning to wear thin, he saw a streak of white light shoot out from the cave. Seemingly oblivious to anything amiss in the outside world, it soared upward, heading for the clouds.

"He's here!" A glint of delight flashed in the Extreme Flame Demon's eyes. As a veteran devil, he had no strange compulsion to let his victims know why they were dying; he never wasted words before striking. With a savage grin, he leaped up from the mountainside and formed a hand seal. Instantly, specks of crimson light began to appear one by one in the sky. Soon, they linked together, igniting into lines of fire that wove into dense, overlapping nets of flame, blanketing an area of ten square li.

Xuzhuang's streak of light came to a halt. He looked up to see layers upon layers of fire nets, the flames spreading continuously. In a moment, the trap was complete. The air between heaven and earth filled with a rolling miasma of muddy, fierce, and scorching energies. A line of fire shot up from the mountains, and the red-haired, red-browed Extreme Flame Demon appeared with a savage grin. He was using an old technique in a new way; once again, balls of scorching fire materialized from all directions, but the sight was entirely different. Each ball was a zhang in diameter, burning with ferocious intensity and billowing black smoke. Their power was clearly on a completely different level than before.

"I thought it was just a trapping formation, but it seems it also enhances fire techniques." Xuzhuang's eyes flickered as he saw the balls of scorching fire plummeting toward him like meteorites. But instead of panicking, he smiled calmly and thought, 'My Magical Artifact has just been completed. You'll make a perfect test subject.'

At this thought, Xuzhuang's Magical Power stirred. It flowed naturally into the Dragon Transformation Jade, and a golden stream, like smoke and flame, drifted out from his acupoints. It flew into the air and instantly transformed into a divine dragon with a distinct mane and whiskers, its golden scales burning with fire. It leaped out majestically and, with a single inhalation, swallowed all the incoming fireballs.

"What is this?" The Extreme Flame Demon frowned, seemingly trying to identify the technique. He raised a finger, formed a seal, and the Dao Skill detonated inside the Golden Flame Divine Dragon's mouth. The explosion made the dragon's head tremble slightly, and a wisp of black smoke escaped from between its lips, but there was no other effect.

'So it really is the Great Sun True Flame! This man has another fire technique like this?' The Extreme Flame Demon's expression turned grim, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart. He watched as the Great Sun Fire Dragon let out a long cry, leaving an agile trail of flame in the air as it instantly teleported above him. It formed a claw and swiped viciously downward.

A sharp glint appeared in the Extreme Flame Demon's eyes as he formed a seal with both hands. A murky fire cloud, roiling with foul energy and scattering sparks like fierce stars, rose from above his head. Ascending to a great height, he let out a long shout. A dark crimson flame then bloomed like a lotus, shooting upward to knock the Great Sun Fire Dragon away. The resulting explosion of golden-crimson flames scattered across the sky and rained down upon the mountain forest. In an instant, ten li of forest were ablaze. The trees were reduced to black ash, yet the fire showed no sign of stopping, burning fiercely as if to melt the very stone of the mountain.

The Extreme Flame Demon laughed loudly. "So what if you have the Great Sun True Flame? This venerable one's Earth Core Muddy Flame is in no way inferior!"

"Oh?" Xuzhuang raised an eyebrow. This Earth Core Muddy Flame was indeed extraordinary. With a thought, he halted the Great Sun Fire Dragon's retreat and had it circle by his side. Not rushing to attack again, he asked coolly, "Who might you be, exalted one? Why have you ambushed me time and again?"

"Hmph." The Extreme Flame Demon sneered. "This venerable one has no need to explain my actions to you."

Xuzhuang didn't seem angered by this, but gave a derisive smile. "In that case, don't blame this venerable one for being merciless!"

The Extreme Flame Demon was in the middle of a cold sneer when he suddenly choked. A blazing golden light seemed to flash through Xuzhuang's eyes, and an awesome might erupted uncontrollably from his body. The sound of fierce burning, HISS HISS, suddenly filled the air out of nowhere. Then he saw one streak, then a second, a third…

Fifteen streaks of golden smoke shot out from his body. Like sparks falling into hot oil, they instantly erupted into a spectacular golden inferno that soared to the heavens. In moments, several square li were transformed into a sea of golden fire, roiling and surging as if something were swimming beneath its surface.

"Th-This is...?" The Extreme Flame Demon's pupils contracted. He watched as Xuzhuang casually formed a hand seal. The flowing flames cascaded down like water, and fifteen dragon heads, all burning with brilliant golden flames, rose in unison from the sea of fire, their gazes fixed coldly upon him.

Xuzhuang had forged the Dragon Transformation Jade precisely to bypass the shaping and materialization steps of his Void Shape Xuan Creation Dragon Dao Skill. With the complicated casting process eliminated, how could the Dao Skill possibly be the same as it was before?