Lava Reverse Rush

The faint light from the collapsed cave opening was like a guide to the gates of hell. Li Yuan stood below, knees slightly bent; beneath his bronze-colored skin, the newborn Crimson Sun Qi and Blood surged steadily, carrying a weight and heat like molten lava. He didn't need to look up to clearly sense the few chilling presences above, clinging like Bone Maggots—the Netherworld Cult Deacon and his remaining lackeys, still lying in wait.

They hadn't come down—whether out of fear of the unknown dangers deeper in the ruins, or the lingering aftershock of that energy eruption.

It didn't matter.

Li Yuan's mouth curled into a smile devoid of any warmth. He took a deep breath, the air scorching and long; the sulfurous smell permeating the cavern seemed to fuel the fire within. Deep in his Sea of Qi, the Dark Gold sun spun faster, and a power far purer, denser, and heavier than before—like an awakening volcano—instantly flooded his limbs and bones!

He didn't let his muscles swell grotesquely as before; his frame only rose slightly, his lines sharper and more defined, the bronze luster beneath his skin shifting to a deeper, darker red, like cooling lava. In his eyes, Crimson Gold Pupils blazed like tangible flames, burning quietly.

[Crimson Sun Battle Body] State!

This was his new mastery over the battle body—power drawn inward to its extreme, yet more dangerous, more lethal.

"Boom!"

He pushed off the ground, and the hard, warm rock beneath his feet cracked and sank slightly! His figure shot upward like a reverse pillar of molten lava, tearing through the dim air toward the collapsed opening above!

So fast it left only an afterimage!

At the edge of the opening, the Netherworld Cult Deacon was focused on sensing the movements below, his gray-green pupils filled with uncertainty. That sudden burst of vast, yang-aligned energy that had flared and then quickly subsided made his heart pound with dread. Was that brat alive or dead? What was down there?

Suddenly!

A dark red figure, carrying a scorching pressure that made even the deacon's own curse power stagnate, shot up from the opening like a ghost!

It was Li Yuan! He wasn't dead! And his aura...?!

The deacon's pupils contracted sharply. He didn't even have time to think about what had changed in Li Yuan—the terrifying speed and pressure were already upon him! Instinctively, he swung his bone staff, hastily forming a gray-black barrier of curse power in front of him!

"Sssss—!"

Li Yuan didn't dodge or evade. He didn't even use any technique. He simply slammed into it!

The curse barrier, strong enough to block ordinary blades, met his body like fragile glass hitting a red-hot anvil. With a piercing sizzle, it shattered in less than half a breath! The dissipating curse power was vaporized by the scorching heat radiating from Li Yuan's whole body!

"What?!" The deacon's face twisted in shock. Li Yuan's speed and power were a world apart from before!

He wanted to step back, to cast a stronger curse—but it was too late!

Li Yuan's momentum didn't slow as he broke through the barrier. A hand covered in dark red skin, fingers hooked like talons, pierced through the shattered curse fragments, carrying a terrifying heat that could melt metal, and clamped down precisely on the deacon's throat!

Fast! Too fast!

The deacon only managed to raise his bone staff across his neck!

"Crack!"

The staff, forged from exotic beast bones and incredibly tough, snapped like a dry twig under Li Yuan's grip!

The next moment, that burning hand, like a steel vise, locked onto the deacon's cold, fragile neck!

"Guh..." The deacon's eyes bulged instantly, a gurgling sound escaping his throat. All his curse power was suppressed by the searing heat from that hand, as if it could incinerate everything, leaving him unable to mobilize a shred! He struggled uselessly, feet dangling off the ground, like a chicken with its neck caught.

Only then did the few remaining monsters, twisted by curse power, react. They let out hoarse roars, swinging claws and bone blades as they lunged at Li Yuan.

Li Yuan didn't even turn his head.

He casually swung his free left hand behind him, and a condensed wave of Crimson Sun Qi and Blood, like an invisible wall, blasted outward!

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

The monsters hit that wall like they'd slammed into a red-hot iron barrier, flying back faster than they'd come. They crashed heavily into the surrounding rock walls, bones snapping like popping beans. After twitching a few times on the ground, they fell silent.

Casual. Effortless. Crushing ants.

Only then did Li Yuan turn his gaze back to the Netherworld Cult Deacon in his grip. Those gray-green pupils were now filled with utter terror and disbelief.

"You... you..." The deacon forced out a few words, feeling the terrifying heat at his neck that seemed ready to burn him to ash at any moment. His whole body trembled.

Li Yuan leaned in closer, his Crimson Gold Pupils coldly fixed on the other man. His voice was low, carrying the texture of flowing lava: "What's down there is mine. Where is your Netherworld Cult's 'Sacred Sacrifice'?"

A flicker of struggle passed through the deacon's eyes.

Li Yuan's fingers tightened slightly.

"Crack..." The neck bones groaned under the strain.

The fear of death crushed everything! The deacon shrieked, "It's... in the Netherworld Path... east... the largest cavern... you need... a 'key' and... a 'vessel'..."

"The key? These?" Li Yuan's other hand produced the Talisman Fragments and Black Fragments, waving them before the deacon's eyes.

The deacon's gray-green pupils contracted sharply, fixed on those items, a guttural sound escaping his throat—whether from fear or excitement, it was unclear.

Li Yuan had the answer he needed. He didn't waste another word.

His fingers clenched!

"Crack!"

The crisp sound of bone breaking was especially sharp in the silent corridor. The deacon's head lolled to the side, the light in his eyes fading instantly. He was dead.

Li Yuan dropped the corpse like trash, not sparing it a glance.

He stood there, feeling the surging, seemingly inexhaustible power within him, and the profound Crimson Sun True Scripture in his mind.

Key, vessel, Sacred Sacrifice, Netherworld Path...

He lifted his head, his gaze seeming to pierce through layers of rock, toward the deeper part of the ruins—the direction called the Netherworld Path.

The hunt had leveled up.

Now, it was time to wipe out the rat's nest.