129: Slay

Hayata's heart tightened. "This guy is clearly a Technique Cultivator, yet his Mental Energy is no lower than mine. Otherwise, the mirage couldn't have failed to affect him."

"I cannot die here. I'll risk it all!"

In an instant, Hayata thought of many things and immediately steeled his heart.

"Heart Nightmare!"

He poured out his Mental Energy without reservation. The nearly materialized Mental Energy condensed into an invisible giant snake, attacking Xiao Weiqing.

"Go to hell."

Hayata had absolute confidence. In the face of this Innate Skill, no matter how capable the kid before him was, he would have to meet his end here.

"Mental Shield!"

With a silent collision, the giant snake formed of Mental Energy crashed into the Mental Shield in front of Xiao Weiqing. Xiao Weiqing was completely unharmed.

Looking at the invisible snake before him, he extended his palm, Divine Power wrapping around his hand. He grabbed the snake by its jaw.

Pfft... With a silent scorching, the giant snake dissolved in an instant.

"What!"

"Impossible!"

"My Innate Skill, how could it...?"

"Monster, you monster!"

Hayata no longer had the courage to fight and turned to run away.

"Running? Too late!"

"Seamless Slash!"

The blade light illuminated the karst cave. Hayata felt his body lighten, and at the same time, he saw a headless body running forward, the back looking somewhat familiar. Right, that was his own body.

Immediately after, blood sprayed from the neck of the headless body like a fountain.

Hayata felt the world spin, and he lost consciousness forever.

Xiao Weiqing sheathed his blade and kicked the two corpses into the magma.

Although it was his first time killing someone, he felt not a shred of hesitation or burden regarding the slaying of these two.

A few minutes later, Xiao Weiqing arrived at the center of the volcano again.

This was the purpose of his trip.

The magma was still churning, and the scorching heat waves distorted the space. Under the illumination of that strange red flame, the entire space appeared blood-colored.

However, this could not make Xiao Weiqing retreat. Since he was already here, how could he be content without giving it a try?

"Where is that fire snake?"

"Doesn't matter, I'll take it and go."

Xiao Weiqing leaped up, heading straight for the red flame. Just then, the magma below churned, and a giant creature bathing in the magma poked its body out—it was none other than that Flame Viper.

"Hiss~~"

It opened its blood-red maw, mixed with heat waves and a foul stench, and the Flame Viper's body instantly lunged, coming to devour Xiao Weiqing.

"Playing dirty?"

The Red Dragon struck out with its blade fiercely. "Slash!"

He slashed out, striking the fire snake's head dead on and forcing it back, but Xiao Weiqing also landed back on the ground.

The Flame Viper's thick body arched high, its eyes like torches, staring fixedly at Xiao Weiqing, ready to launch a fatal strike at any moment.

"I knew it wouldn't be that simple." Xiao Weiqing had anticipated this.

The next moment, he unleashed his full power, preparing for a quick battle.

"Flame Dragon!"

With a dragon's roar, a Flame Dragon, its size no less than the Flame Viper, sprang out from behind Xiao Weiqing. The entire fire dragon was lifelike, with Refined Fire as its skeleton, Qi Fire as its meridians, and flames as its flesh and blood.

The two giants instantly clashed.

"Boom!~ Boom~~" The space constantly emitted sounds of collision as the two gnawed at and entangled each other.

A large amount of magma dripped from the Flame Viper's body, revealing the red, fiery flesh inside.

"Now is the time." Taking advantage of the Flame Dragon and the Flame Viper being entangled, Xiao Weiqing used force in his legs and charged toward the strange red flame again.

Seeing this, the Flame Viper's tail suddenly shot out from the magma, sweeping toward Xiao Weiqing.

"Hmph!" A ruthless glint flashed in Xiao Weiqing's eyes. "Fire Owl!"

A beam of flame, attached with a wisp of Samadhi True Fire, instantly struck the fire snake. The Flame Viper's body was being scorched; having lived in magma all year round, it actually couldn't withstand the energy of this flame.

"Hiss~ Hiss~~~" The fire snake wailed and rolled continuously. Its massive body churned the magma, and its body slapped against the rock crystal walls, causing the entire space to shake. Even the elemental stones on the rock walls fell down with a rustle.

Hum~~ The strange red flame suddenly split off a wisp of flame, drifting onto the fire snake's wound. The two forces intertwined, attempting to counteract that wisp of Samadhi True Fire. But it was completely useless; the fire snake continued to wail miserably.

Wisp after wisp. Dozens of them, yet they couldn't strip the Samadhi True Fire from the fire snake, and the strange flame had shrunk by a third. Finally, the entire strange flame submerged into the Flame Viper's wound.

In the blink of an eye, the Flame Viper was not only fine, but its aura had actually increased by a notch.

However, the fire snake did not counterattack; instead, it burrowed under the magma.

"Damn it!" "They are truly in cahoots."

Xiao Weiqing developed the intention to retreat. He alone could not sever the connection between the two, and in such a space, it was impossible for him to dive into the magma.

"Forget it, I won't force it."

He scooped up the falling elemental stones and retreated. As the Flame Viper returned to the magma and Xiao Weiqing left, the space calmed down once again.

It was unknown how much time had passed.

Seemingly discovering that Xiao Weiqing had retreated, the Flame Viper poked its head out, and a rare trace of relief flashed in its fiery red vertical pupils. Xiao Weiqing's strength just now had truly frightened it; this person was the strongest intruder in the last dozen years or so.

Opening its mouth, the strange flame flew back onto the rock crystal pillar, but it was only the size of a palm now, several circles smaller. The Flame Viper gnawed on the elemental stones to feed the strange flame.

...

Outside the cave entrance, Xiao Weiqing weighed the elemental stones in his hand; there were 12 in total.

"Not bad, at least I didn't come for nothing."

The sky gradually darkened. Xiao Weiqing returned to the base. The electronic billboard displayed 8/31.

In the cafeteria, Xiao Weiqing prepared some simple food.

"Brother Qing, how was your haul today?" Ding Yong and Ye Lei walked over with their meal trays, their faces beaming with smiles; it seemed they had a good harvest.

"Not bad. How about you guys? Looks like you had a bountiful harvest."

Ding Yong laughed: "Not bad. With the information left by the teacher, we gained something."

"Do you guys know where the nearest large stronghold is?" Xiao Weiqing asked.

Ding Yong said: "Brother Qing, are you leaving?"

"Yeah, I have other things to do."

The two nodded without asking further. They knew that with Xiao Weiqing's strength, he couldn't stay in such a remote place.

Ye Lei said: "Brother Qing, head north. The further north you go, the closer you get to the center of the ruins, and the more Opportunities there are. Of course, the danger is also greater."

"Thanks."

Not far away, the three people from the Tianlang Empire were whispering to each other.

"Xiao Jun, are you saying that guy slaughtered the two from Sakura Prefecture?" A trace of horror flashed in Lin Hai's eyes.

The youth called Xiao Jun nodded, "Brother Hai, you know me."

"My Extraordinary Talent makes my nose exceptionally sensitive."

"He has a heavy scent of blood on him—some from Yao Beasts, and some from humans."

"It's already dark, and those two from Sakura Prefecture still haven't returned. Two more people are gone from the electronic board. This stronghold is located in a remote area; it's unlikely that the two from Sakura Prefecture would leave just after arriving. They most likely died at that guy's hands."

Hearing Xiao Jun's words, Lin Hai swallowed hard, his back soaked with sweat. He felt like he had just walked through the gates of hell. He had provoked this person the day before yesterday; thinking about it now made him fearful.

"From now on, when we see this person, stay far away. If anyone provokes him, don't blame me for being impolite." Lin Hai warned the two.

"..." The two were speechless. It was you who wanted to provoke others the day before yesterday, alright? Now you know fear.