278: The Snipe and the Clam 2

Xu Tian's pupils suddenly contracted to the size of a needlepoint.

He was all too familiar with that ball of flame; it was the Solar Essence Fire, the Origin Fire of the Spirit Race's Soul Transformation Cultivator, Shi Yan.

But at this moment, this ball of flame had changed.

It was no longer purely golden, but instead displayed an eerie black-blue, like a ghost fire from the Nine Netherworlds, with a nascent bird seemingly chirping at its core, emanating a destructive aura that even made him feel a tremor in his heart.

This power had long surpassed Shi Yan, and even exceeded the scope of the Soul Transformation Stage.

"Lord Xu Tian, is this the treasure you spoke of?"

The honest and loyal face now bore a mocking smile.

"You are not Shi Yan! Who are you?"

Xu Tian was furious and shocked, his spiritual power erupted, and a golden flame armor instantly materialized.

However, his answer came in the form of a sharp shriek from the black-blue firebird.

Lin Feng's figure faded from its original spot.

The sound of wind and thunder flashed and disappeared.

He didn't even look at the result; the next instant, he had already appeared a hundred miles away, then stepped into the Void Realm and concealed himself within his Inner Universe.

Boom—!

There was no earth-shattering roar, only an extreme silence.

A black-blue sun bloomed explosively at Xu Tian's location.

Wherever the light reached, space was ignited like paper, silently annihilated, turning into pure nothingness.

The rock wall, which was strong enough to melt gold and iron, couldn't withstand this black-blue flame for even an instant, directly vaporizing.

The expressions on Huan Ji and Mo Chen's faces, who were closest, froze in that moment of shock.

They didn't even have time to let out a scream before their bodies, like ice and snow thrown into the scorching sun, were thoroughly disintegrated from the inside out by that destructive power, not even a wisp of Divine Soul escaping.

"Not good!"

Huan Tianqi and Spirit Lord Huang Liang in the distance simultaneously felt a fatal crisis.

Both were Void Refining Grand Cultivators who had experienced countless battles; their reactions were incredibly swift.

"Huan Gu Mirror!"

"Myriad Demon Barrier!"

Huan Tianqi conjured an ancient bronze mirror, its light transforming into a towering screen of light.

Spirit Lord Huang Liang, on the other hand, revealed his true form, and countless earthen-yellow Demonic Qi converged into an incredibly thick wall.

Crack!

The black-blue shockwave swept past.

The light screen and the wall only lasted for less than a breath before being covered in spiderweb-like cracks and shattering explosively.

Both were struck as if by heavy hammers, spitting blood as they flew backward, crashing heavily against the distant tomb passage wall, their eyes filled with horror.

And at the core of the explosion.

The thousand-zhang-tall Barbarian Giant bore over ninety percent of the damage.

Its indestructible stone body was pierced through the chest by the black-blue flames, a massive void continually expanding, and the destructive power furiously eroded its Origin.

Its enormous body swayed, and finally, with a silent lament, it collapsed with a crash.

After a long while, the light dissipated.

Only a bottomless, glassy giant pit, its edges still melting, remained at the original spot.

"Cough... cough..."

At the bottom of the pit, a charred skeleton staggered to its feet.

Golden flames flowed like living blood on the skeleton, and bits of flesh were slowly regenerating at a visible speed.

It was Xu Tian.

He had taken this close-range blow head-on and had not died.

"Damn it! Who exactly are you!"

He let out a roar that was not human, his voice filled with endless rage and venom.

He couldn't understand how a Human Race Cultivator could transform his Solar Essence Fire into something so terrifying.

That power had already touched the level of Law.

Rumble... As the Barbarian Giant completely collapsed, its massive body began to disintegrate, and countless things it had swallowed in life but failed to digest rolled out from its body.

For a time, treasure light shot out in all directions, dazzling the eyes.

"Is that... Setting Sun Crystal?"

Spirit Lord Huang Liang ignored his injuries, his rat-like eyes fixed on a head-sized crystal near the giant's feet that glowed like the afterglow of a setting sun, his breathing quickening.

"Eh, what's that small bottle?"

Huan Tianqi's gaze, however, was drawn to something else.

It was a small, ancient-looking bottle, completely black, which, even after such a terrifying explosion, didn't have a single scratch, lying quietly among a pile of treasures.

Hearing the two's exclamations, Xu Tian, who was still recovering his Physical Body, suddenly turned his head to look.

When his gaze fell upon the black small bottle, the Soul fire flickering in his eye sockets suddenly erupted with unprecedented brightness.

"It can't be wrong, this is Divine Blood!"

He no longer cared about his injuries, nor did he care about pursuing the mysterious person.

"Burn my spiritual blood, mold my true form!"

Xu Tian roared, and the golden flames on his body suddenly surged, the half-grown flesh instantly burned to ashes, but the next moment, a perfect, brand-new Physical Body reformed in the flames.

He paid a huge price to forcefully restore his combat power.

The next instant, he transformed into a golden streak of light, rushing frantically towards the black small bottle.

"Brother Huan, attack!" Spirit Lord Huang Liang shrieked.

"Hmm!" Huan Tianqi's eyes also burst with brilliant light.

Although the two were horrified by the mysterious person's attack, with the treasure before them now, how could they let the Spirit Race take it all for themselves?

A mighty Sword Qi and an earthen-yellow Demonic Claw, moving faster than Xu Tian, accurately struck his path.

Boom!

Xu Tian's figure was forcefully blasted out of mid-air, rolling several times on the ground before steadying himself in a sorry state.

His face was pale, and his aura was clearly unstable, indicating that the secret art and this blow had aggravated his injuries.

"Damn Human Race and Yao Race Cultivators!" Xu Tian stared fixedly at the two, his eyes seemingly spitting fire, "If I weren't injured, how could you two be my opponents!"

"Heh heh." Huan Tianqi stroked his beard and sneered, "Xu Tian, you couldn't even block a secret art from a Soul Transformation Cultivator, and you still have the nerve to say that!"

Though he was mocking him, his heart was churning with immense waves.

Soul Transformation Cultivator?

What kind of Soul Transformation Cultivator could, with a single blow, severely injure a Void Refining Middle Stage Spirit Race Prodigy to such an extent?

If that power had hit him head-on, he would likely not die but would at least lose a layer of skin.

Spirit Lord Huang Liang had the same thoughts; calculating light flickered in his rolling eyes.

Xu Tian's strength was originally above either of theirs.

But now, he was severely injured.

And they were only lightly injured.

Two against one, the advantage is mine!