"Remember, never turn your back on your enemy," Scarlet Heaven Sword said coolly once more.
The shadow within the Flame Pupil turned its head in disbelief and looked behind it.
There, the Merit Snake Beauty had slipped behind him, ignoring the raging flames. She held her sword thrust forward, having landed a strike he never saw coming.
When the shadow within the Flame Pupil looked at her, the Merit Snake Beauty smiled, innocent as could be.
"How did you get here?" the shadow asked.
There was clearly still a Merit Snake Beauty lying facedown on the ground with both hands covering her face.
As he spoke, the Merit Snake Beauty on the ground suddenly swelled into a round, plump Fat Whale and bounced up. A white-furred beast cultivator was faintly visible inside the whale's belly.
The Merit Snake Beauty pulled Scarlet Heaven Sword free with a flourish and flew backward.
Scarlet Heaven Sword was an Immortal Divine Weapon. It was especially effective against the Flame Pupil's fanatics: one strike, one kill.
Even stabbing the Flame Pupil itself had worked remarkably well. The thrust had left a gaping hole in the shadow's chest.
"How can you withstand my flames? When did you get behind me?" the shadow asked calmly. He pressed a hand to his chest, and flames from the Flame Pupil gathered there, mending the wound.
"You think I'd tell you? I'm not in the habit of explaining my secrets to enemies. Use your imagination and figure it out yourself," Scarlet Heaven Sword said coolly.
The Flame Pupil's fire was astonishing, but that level of heat meant nothing to Scarlet Heaven Sword. When its first master, Master Scarlet Firmament... no, scratch that!
When its master, Master Scarlet Firmament, used it to unleash the Heaven-Burning Flame Saber, even a casual strike