Chapter 347: The Departed Soul Orb Fueled by Obsidian Flames
The tinder fire of the Ten Thousand Bestial Flames floated in the sky quietly. It was dainty and delicate in size, and as beautiful as a harmless flower. It levitated in the air with a dazzling glow.
Many warriors still in combat mode peered toward that ball of fire. They suddenly began feeling all jittery and agitated inside. This was the object of their desire and the reason for their journey here—the tinder fire of the Ten Thousand Bestial Flames! If they could obtain this Heaven and Earth Obsidian Flames, they could surely achieve a great elevation in cultivation.
As a sect disciple coming from outside of the Southern Region, Bei Gongming attached great importance to this Heaven and Earth Obsidian Flames. This was a rare piece of treasure that could attract attention no matter where it was.
The force of energy on the Shura Sect Overlord exploded like a thunderstorm. Everyone nearby felt a sense of pressure, one that weighed down their hearts.
The warriors of the Clear Sky Pagoda also looked at the Shura Sect Overlord gravely. Everyone felt a little restless in the face of this legendary figure, who was known for stirring a havoc in the Southern Region.
"Halt! That Heaven and Earth Obsidian Flames belongs to me, Bei Gongming!"
Bei Gongming’s eyes flashed red when he caught sight of the Shura Sect Overlord inching toward the radiating Ten Thousand Bestial Flames. He bellowed and thrust a punch at the Shura Sect Overlord.
Buzz...
The Shura Sect Overlord flickered a calm look at Bei Gongming. He took a step forward and with a swoosh, suddenly traveled multiple feet. A dark force of true energy hovered around his body, one that almost distorted the air.
Bei Gongming’s fist arrived before the Shura Sect Overlord but was easily blocked by an unseeable force of energy. His punch, containing a rich source of the true energy of a Supreme-Being, was instantly dissolved.
Bei Gongming’s heart thudded. His fist contained a brutal degree of might, yet the black-robed man before him easily withstood it! Was this really a Supreme-Being bumpkin from the training grounds?!
Duan Ling lifted up his head, revealing eyes that were as cold as ice. A sense of bloodthirstiness washed over his body. Anyone who dared to fight over this Ten Thousand Bestial Flames... must die!
The Ten Thousand Bestial Flames was his and his only!
Bang!
He shoved a foot down. This heavy stamp almost left the air around him shaking violently. After a rich surge of energy rippled outwards, Duan Ling’s figure whizzed past and reappeared right before Bei Gongming.
The two exchanged looks. Confidence and contempt filled Bei Gongming’s eyes whereas only frostiness and ferocity could be seen in Duan Ling’s.
"Merely a Supreme-Being of the training grounds, you’ve got some guts!" Bei Gongming glared. The force of energy on his body heightened as he summoned his cultivation prowess.
"The training grounds?" Duan Ling’s murderous eyes suddenly dulled. Then, he curled the corners of his lips. "You’re from the Grand Sect?"
Bei Gongming’s heart skipped a beat as he sank into a state of mental unrest. How did this fellow know he belonged to the Grand Sect?
"Who are you?!" Bei Gongming howled as he flung at his opponent the glowing ball in his hand.
Duan Ling curled his lips scornfully. The waves of true energy suspending around him formed a claw that quickly smashed the glowing ball. A terrifying force of energy poured down and exploded between the two.
One of the figures was sent flying backwards and crashed onto the ground, causing the entire pavement to quake.
"The disciples of the Grand Sect are always so conceited. How unpleasant..." Duan Ling stretched his neck. The black robe wrapped around his body has been blown into pieces during the explosion, uncovering the silver armor underneath.
This armor glistened with a silver glow and exotic true energy fluctuations. It burdened everyone nearby with an uncomfortable sense of pressure.
With the flick of a finger, Duan Ling sent a stream of true energy toward the direction where Bei Gongming landed. Then, he proceeded to focus on the Ten Thousand Bestial Flames once again.
The Ten Thousand Bestial Flames was a kind of Heaven and Earth Obsidian Flames and something very important to him. The Semi-Divine Tool of the Shura Sect, the Departed Soul Orb, was a very unique object, one that lacked the adequate capability for attack found on other Semi-Divine Tools.
However, this Departed Soul Orb was a marvelous cultivation training tool for members of the Shura Sect. The hundreds of thousands of spiritual essences and phantom spirits captured inside this orb, once cultivated with the Heaven and Earth Obsidian Flames, would form a surge of spirit energy. This wealth of spirit energy would then be fed back into the person whose body contained the Departed Soul Orb, helping him or her achieve a breakthrough.
Duan Ling’s current cultivation level had reached the peak of the Supreme-Being echelon. If he wanted to achieve another breakthrough, he had to resort to risky methods.
The Southern Region was deficient of rich sources of spirit energy. If he attempted to surpass the Supreme-Being echelon through ordinary cultivation training... only god knew how long it would take. He certainly did not have that much time to waste.
With a swoosh of the sword, a strong beam burst out of the blade, forcing the red Fire Dragon that had crawled out of the pit to recoil.
Wu Mu, the Villa Master of White Cloud Villa pointed his sword at Duan Ling.
He must stop the Shura Sect demon from obtaining the Ten Thousand Bestial Flames.
From afar, the white-haired, white-browned Supreme Elder of the Celestial Arcanum Sect finally stepped in. A couple of jade talismans appeared in his hands. He injected a few streams of true energy into them and sent them flying straight toward the Shura Sect Overlord, Duan Ling.
"The Celestial Arcanum Exorcism Array!"
The solemn voice of the Supreme Elder reverberated in the air.
Wu Mu also bawled. Tens of thousands of flashes of blades showered down from the sky like a waterfall, "The River of Swords!"
Two Supreme-Being warriors united, launching their respective strikes right at Shura Sect Overlord. A terrifying pressure spread in the air, prompting many to retreat backward. This was a battle between the fiercest supreme warriors of the Southern Region.
No matter the Shura Sect Overlord or the Celestial Arcanum Sect Supreme Elder, both stood at the top of the hierarchy in the Southern Region as matchless warriors.
The disheveled Bei Gongming crawled out of a pile of rubbles. He gazed at the battle in the sky with an incredulous expression.
"How could there be so many Supreme-Beings at the optimal stage... in the training grounds! Damn it!"
Even though Bei Gongming was a disciple of the Grand Sect, his cultivation only reached the middle stage of the Supreme-Being echelon. How could there be this many Supreme-Beings at their peaks in the training grounds, a land he dismissed as barbaric and backward?!
One after another jade talisman bloomed high up in the sky, forming a giant magic array. This magic array encircled the Shura Sect Overlord and transformed into a pitch-black darkness, as if night had befallen.
Shooting stars glided across the night sky.
Each and every jade talisman rested in a location guarded by a sparkling star.
A sword flash plunged down from the sky, and without tarnishing the magic array, shot straight for Duan Ling, who was trapped within.
Having dipped into the magic array, the river-like sword flash somehow absorbed additional energy to become even more powerful.
"You old bastard of the Celestial Arcanum Sect! You cannot stop me this time!"
Duan Ling glared at the white-haired, white-browed Celestial Arcanum Sect Supreme Elder coldly. He bellowed as all the true energy from his body soared skyward. These pitch-black waves of true energy transformed into a tornado, effectively swallowing the sword flash charging his way.
This was a spectacular sight. The sword flash mixed in the dark surges of true energy. It looked like a hurricane that shook the earth.
A thunderous boom erupted.
A figure broke out of the howling tornado like a beam of light, ripping apart the magic array, and bolted for the Ten Thousand Bestial Flames.
The Supreme Elder bellowed angrily. Wu Mu also waved his sword. Both chased after the figure.
A blaze broke out in the sky as blood-colored jade talismans plummeted down. They formed a dense net large enough to blot out the sky and sun, effectively obstructing the Supreme Elder and Wu Mu.
The Shura Sect High Priestess made a move!
"Damn it! You sorceress!" Wu Fu, incensed, slashed with his sword. The sword beam traveled like a majestic dragon, but the strike was dispersed the moment it hit the blood-colored jade talisman net.
"This sorceress is an expert of magic arrays. In fact, she is a Magic Array Master at the echelon of Supreme-Being. Let this old fellow handle her."
The Celestial Arcanum Sect Supreme Elder wore a sober expression. He twisted his wrist and extracted a fair, clear jade talisman. He crushed the talisman and threw it toward the blood-colored talisman net, on which a crack appeared soon after.
Wu Mu nodded and glided through the air on his sword. He penetrated the jade talisman net and chased after the Shura Sect Overlord.
The High Priest wanted to further intercept but was held back by the Supreme Elder.
The two Magic Array Masters came at each other in the sky as their respective magic arrays collided into each other.
The scorching flames were burning violently. As one drew nearer to it, the degree of heat escalated.
Duan Ling eyed the Heaven and Earth Obsidian Flames below with the utmost excitement and greed. Seeing that this Ten Thousand Bestial Flames had just taken shape, its force of power was limited. If it had already matured into the fully developed Heaven and Earth Obsidian Flames, he sure as hell couldn’t even physically approach it.
He groped for the grayish white Departed Soul Orb, clutching it with one hand. Dense mists drifted within the Departed Soul Orb. Every trace of smoke was a spiritual essence. If one looked closely, one could see the distorted human faces. Duan Ling’s heart was joined with this Departed Soul Orb, and so could detect the sense of desire stirring within the orb.
He pinched it with his fingers and the Departed Soul Orb transformed into a white beam of light. The light rushed toward the tinder fire of the Ten Thousand Bestial Flames as tempestuous waves of vitality energy began to spread outwards.
A sword beam fell from the sky. Duan Ling’s face hardened. Instead of dodging, he had to bear this slash. He couldn’t move. If he dodged, the strike would harm the Departed Soul Orb.
"If you want to die... I can make that happen!" Pitch-black waves of true energy dissipated. Duan Ling twisted around his head, burning with a bloodthirsty intensity. He charged at Wu Mu. The two were drawn into a fierce battle.
The Ten Thousand Bestial Flames flickered quietly. The Departed Soul Orb hovering continued to spit out vitality energy. These streaks of vitality energy, when set ablaze, transformed into strands of spirit energy and converged within the Departed Soul Orb once again.
...
Bu Fang stuffed the last piece of meat into his grease-covered mouth. This Roasted Earth Dragon Meat tasted delightful indeed. The texture of eighth grade spirit beasts never disappointed.
Duan Yun had lost all hope on the Ten Thousand Bestial Flames at this point. He gripped his Roasted Earth Dragon Meat and sat on the side. He chomped on the meat, feeling like all meaning of life was lost. He fueled his appetite with this intense sense of grief, seeking to thoroughly savor this gourmet dish.
Bu Fang peered at Duan Yun and then looked back at the battle of the Supreme-Beings happening in a distance.
The flames that had lit up the sky reflected on his slim face. He suddenly curled the corners of his lips.
Bu Fang drew in a short breath and stood up. After patting Whitey’s belly, he took a big stride and sauntered off.
Whitey rubbed its round head, its eyes flashing red, and then trailed behind. The man and puppet were both headed towards the direction of the Supreme-Being battle.
Duan Yun gaped at them dully. A piece of meat fell out of his mouth.
"Are you freaking crazy? There are so many Supreme-Beings engaged in a battle... what’s a seventh grade Battle-Saint like you got to do there?!"