The Powerful Fire Spirit Body, A Bizarre Situation

"No need."

Hu Gan's gaze tightened slightly. Shaking his head, he said, "Look at the Black Emperor Sect, the Blood Sect, and Maple City. After obtaining one item each, none of them made another move. Anyone who tries to snatch food from a tiger's jaws now will pay a heavy price.

"As for the remaining two or three melee zones, they've already become deadlocks. Whoever gets involved will lose a layer of skin, and they might not even be able to hold on to the prize in the end."

"Jia Nan Academy is already a target for everyone here. Obtaining this Transformation Pill was an unexpected windfall. If we get greedier, we'll only become everyone's target. We've gained plenty from this trip already."

After saying that, Hu Gan looked up at the Myriad Fire Furnace, which was still slowly spewing Stellar Flame, and the sparks of Stellar Flame drifting through the sky.

"At most, we can see whether there's an opportunity with the Stellar Flame and the furnace itself."

"If things become impossible, withdraw immediately. This place has been making me feel uneasy..."

The others nodded one after another, quietly adjusting their positions and auras as they prepared to deal with any sudden developments or withdraw at any moment.

Boom!

A powerful wave of energy erupted from the most chaotic battle in the distance.

A blood-soaked Dou Wang from the Raging Lion Gang clutched a green, crystal-like object tightly in his hand.

He had just killed off the last person trying to seize it.

He clearly understood the principle that possessing a treasure invited disaster. The instant he got his hands on it, he did not linger for even a moment. He did not even dare inspect what it was, stuffing the crystal into his robes before flying back the way he had come without looking back.

But just as he was about to reach the edge of the plaza, a sudden change occurred!

Whoosh—

Three enormous waves of magma exploded from the dark-red Lava River surrounding the plaza.

Three crimson figures, each radiating the aura of a Dou Wang, shot into the sky!

The wild joy on that Dou Wang's face froze in an instant. Before he could make any defensive move, a scalp-numbing sound of tearing reached everyone's ears.

Sshk—

A flaming claw pierced through his Dou Qi defense, stabbing in through his back and emerging from his chest.

The other two lunged at him. Their flaming maws, lined with tooth-like flames, clamped down viciously and tore open half his neck along with his collarbone!

Crimson flames burned madly, and his flesh blackened and carbonized at a visible rate.

"Ah—!!!"

The shrill, despairing scream came to an abrupt stop.

In merely two or three breaths, a Four-Star Dou Wang notorious even in the Black Corner Region was torn into several charred chunks before everyone's eyes.

The noisy, chaotic plaza fell deathly silent for a moment.

Everyone felt a chill crawl down their backs.

"When did these damned things become so strong?!"

someone asked in a trembling voice.

The Fire Spirit Bodies they had encountered around the outskirts of the ruins before had been troublesome, but most had only possessed the strength of Dou Lings.

Yet these few before them were not only terrifyingly fast, but their attacks were far more brutal. The flame fluctuations emanating from their bodies had clearly reached the level of Three-Star Dou Wangs.

What made everyone's scalps tingle even more was this:

Fire Spirit Bodies were still continuously crawling out of the distant Lava River, bearing blackened marks left by cooled magma. Every step they took onto the plaza produced a hissing sound.

Dou Lings, Dou Wangs... Several that appeared to be leaders hovered silently amid the firelight near the furnace. The pressure they radiated made even several Dou Emperor Strong Experts frown.

"Something's wrong..."

Qin Han's face was icy as his gaze rapidly swept across the plaza.

The locations where those crimson spirit bodies had appeared vaguely formed a loose encirclement.

Farther out, in the direction that had originally been the exit, the air seemed to contain an extremely subtle layer of energy fluctuations.

"Headmaster! Look above!"

Qin Han suddenly shouted a warning.

Hu Gan abruptly looked toward the top of the Myriad Fire Furnace. Yun Lie, who had supposedly been exhausted, had somehow risen to his feet. There was no trace of helplessness on his face now—only near-mad ruthlessness and amusement.

An immense sense of danger gripped everyone's hearts.

"We can't stay any longer!"

Hu Gan kept his voice extremely low. "Old Wu, open the way. I'll cover the retreat. Elder Tai, you four protect the flanks! Qin Han and Zi Yan stay in the middle.

"Everyone, withdraw from the plaza immediately! Don't worry about anything else. Go!"

The command was issued decisively.

Without a word, Wu Tianlang gripped the Crimson Longblade in his hand as sharp, peerless dark-red blade aura began to gather.

The other Inner Academy elders also formed a tight formation, protecting Qin Han and Zi Yan without hesitation.

Even Zi Yan sensed the gravity of the situation. Her little face tightened, and she obediently stayed put.

"Don't be afraid. We'll be fine."

Qin Han patted her head and comforted her softly.

This time, Zi Yan did not dodge. She merely nodded her little head.

No matter how fearless she was, she was still just a little girl who had been sheltered in an ivory tower. She had simply seen too few scenes as eerie and oppressive as this.

The disturbance on Jia Nan Academy's side immediately drew the attention of the other factions.

Especially the small mercenary groups and lone cultivators who were already weak and had squeezed themselves along the edges of the plaza hoping to pick up scraps—when they saw that even Jia Nan Academy, the strongest force present, was preparing to flee, how could they dare remain?

"Run!"

"This place is cursed! Treasure isn't worth more than our lives!"

More than a dozen figures sprang up from different edges of the plaza almost simultaneously, frantically darting toward the passage they had entered through, their Dou Qi glowing in a blaze.

However—

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Several dull impacts rang out in succession, accompanied by screams.

The people at the very front seemed to have slammed into an invisible wall. They crashed to the ground in miserable heaps, their faces filled with terror.

"What's going on?!"

"Something's blocking us! We can't get out!"

Panic spread swiftly.

At some point, the entire plaza had been completely sealed by a faint, flickering pale-green barrier!

Yun Lie's teasing voice rang clearly in everyone's ears. "Trying to leave now?"

Standing atop the furnace, he spread his hands, the corners of his mouth curling into a savage arc.

"Isn't it a little too late?"

As his words fell, the enormous array patterns blanketing the plaza finally fully manifested in the air!

With the Myriad Fire Furnace as its core and the scattered Myriad Stars Flame as its energy channels, this grand formation had already been silently completed while everyone was madly fighting over treasures.

An icy chill crawled up every person's spine.

Hu Gan's pupils suddenly contracted. He raised his hand sharply and made an extremely subtle gesture.

Everyone's hearts tightened, Dou Qi surging beneath the surface. This was the highest level of alert!

The situation before them could not have been clearer. The strange Fire Spirit Body within the Fallen Fire Sect Ruins was clearly under Yun Lie's command.

Yun Lie had not broken the seal on the Myriad Fire Furnace because he had been forced to. He had planned this all along!

Perhaps even...

The news of the Fallen Fire Sect Ruins' emergence had very likely been deliberately spread by Earthflame Gate.

"Earthflame Gate has laid out one hell of a scheme..."

Upon hearing Qin Han's words, the elders also came to their senses.

"We can't stay here. Follow me and break out."

Hu Gan clenched his right fist and threw a plain, unadorned punch at the formation barrier trapping the plaza.

BOOM!!!

A fully charged punch from a Peak Dou Huang struck like a massive hammer against a great bell, making the entire plaza tremble.

The barrier twisted violently, caving inward in a startling arc. Green light flickered wildly, but as a surge of energy replenished it from the direction of the furnace, it slowly rebounded and returned to normal.

The sight made everyone's hearts sink.