Yun Lie's Reliance

Qin Han's heart tightened. Without sparing another thought, he immediately transmitted his voice to Hu Gan, who was locked in battle with a Dou Emperor Fire Spirit Body. "Vice Dean! That furnace is absorbing the Blood Qi and energy from the battlefield! Yun Lie's true Killing Move is probably inside it!"

Hearing this, Hu Gan blasted the Fire Spirit Body before him away with a palm strike and swept his sharp gaze toward the central furnace.

He had also sensed something unusual. Though those Fire Spirit Bodies appeared fierce, they had never managed to pose a fatal threat. They seemed more like they were stalling for time and wearing everyone down.

Coupled with Yun Lie's supremely confident attitude and this strange formation...

"Wu Tianlang!"

Hu Gan made his decision without hesitation and shouted, "Protect the others!"

Before his words had even faded, his body had already transformed into a Flowing Light. Ignoring the Fire Spirit Bodies around him, he charged straight toward the Myriad Fire Furnace!

Vast Earth-Yellow Dou Qi condensed into a pointed cone before him, aimed directly at the furnace itself.

Almost at the exact moment Hu Gan moved, Mo Tianquan, Silver Elder, and the others on the other side also sprang into action.

How could any of those old foxes, who had survived in the Black Corner Region for so long, be anything less than shrewd? Their noses for danger were sharp.

They naturally sensed the same wrongness Qin Han had noticed, though unlike him, they could not see through the tricks hidden within the Myriad Stars Flame.

The moment they saw Hu Gan charge for the core without hesitation, they immediately understood that the furnace was the key!

"Take him down together!"

Mo Tianquan shouted coldly. His deep-blue Dou Qi transformed into a Giant Python that lunged through the air at Yun Lie above the furnace.

Fan Lao was even more vicious. The Blood Mist filling the sky condensed into countless fine needles, raining down upon Yun Lie's vital points and sealing off all room for him to evade.

Silver Elder moved last, yet his silver Silk Threads arrived first, silently slicing at the energy connection between Yun Lie and the furnace.

Though the four Dou Emperors had exchanged no words, they had all chosen, with perfect tacit understanding, to attack the furnace's core at once.

At the edge of the battlefield, blue-white flames flickered beneath Xiao Yan's black robes as he readied himself to strike at any moment.

The expression of total control on Yun Lie's face finally changed.

He had not expected them to identify the key so quickly, much less that these people would react so decisively and join forces against him!

"Stop them!"

He roared hoarsely, wildly waving the Red Flag in his hand.

The Fire Spirit Bodies scattered across the battlefield immediately became agitated. In particular, several Dou Emperor-level Fire Spirit Bodies let out piercing shrieks and fearlessly pounced at Hu Gan and the other four.

At the same time, even more Fire Spirit Bodies surged like a tide toward the weaker groups among the various factions. Clearly, they intended to force Hu Gan and the others to return and reinforce them.

"Watch out!"

Wu Tianlang bellowed as Crimson Blade Light crisscrossed through the air, instantly cleaving apart a Dou Wang Fire Spirit Body that had rushed close.

But more Fire Spirit Bodies followed right after it. Two of them, their auras especially violent, charged directly at Qin Han and Zi Yan, who were being protected in the middle!

Zi Yan's little face tightened. Purple radiance surged from her as she threw a punch, blasting one Fire Spirit Body backward and dimming its flames considerably.

Before it could charge in again, a fist covered in Dark Red Magma smashed down viciously.

Bang!

The shockwave exploded outward. The Fire Spirit Body was knocked back, its flames flickering as though they were about to separate from the physical body beneath them.

Qin Han felt the recoil travel through his fist. A Dou Wang-level Fire Spirit Body was no longer so easy to deal with.

But his body, enhanced by the Flame Demon Rage Phase, could withstand it completely.

He moved like the wind and pursued it at once. His fists, elbows, and knees all became weapons as he engaged the Fire Spirit Body in close combat, Fallen Heart Flame winding around him to heighten his destructive power.

Seeing this, Zi Yan also gave up on harassing from afar and took the initiative to charge another Fire Spirit Body. Her fists and kicks flew in rapid succession, each collision ringing out with a bang, bang.

The two stood back-to-back in perfect coordination, dealing with the Dou Wang Fire Spirit Bodies charging from every direction. For a time, their defense was completely impenetrable.

Elsewhere, Yun Lie's pressure abruptly intensified under the combined assault of the four Dou Emperors.

He frantically waved the Red Flag, mobilizing the Myriad Stars Flame that filled the sky into thick layers of Green Light Screens in an attempt to block them.

He also activated the power of the great formation across the entire plaza. Invisible pressure squeezed in from every direction toward Hu Gan and the other four, seeking to slow them down.

"Yun Lie! You can't stop us!"

Fan Lao grinned savagely. A blood-colored palm print condensed within the churning Blood Mist and slammed fiercely into the Star Flame light screen, making it shudder violently.

Hu Gan was even more direct. His Earth-Yellow Dou Qi condensed into the phantom image of a mountain, battering the same point on the light screen again and again with tremendous force.

Just as the Star Flame light screen was about to collapse, a flash of resolute madness crossed Yun Lie's face.

He suddenly stopped waving the flag. With a flicker of his body, he actually drifted down from above the furnace on his own initiative and positioned himself directly in front of it.

"You think the likes of you can ruin the grand undertaking of my Fallen Fire Sect?!!"

His hoarse voice was filled with hysteria. "Years of planning—how can I let it all come to nothing!"

He spread his arms wide. Facing the attacks of the four Dou Emperors rushing toward him, he not only did not defend himself, but instead madly mobilized every last bit of Dou Qi within his body. His aura swelled rapidly at an unnatural rate!

"Sect Leader!!!"

Yun Sha and the others from Earthflame Gate were red-eyed with rage.

"Not good! He's going to self-destruct!"

Hu Gan was the first to notice. He shouted a warning and simultaneously retreated at top speed, Earth-Yellow Dou Qi layering into barriers before him.

"Damn it, has that old bastard gone mad?!"

"Fall back, now!!"

Mo Tianquan, Fan Lao, and Silver Elder also paled drastically. They all halted their attacks and switched to defense, cursing as they rapidly withdrew.

Yet under everyone's wary gaze, Yun Lie's body, swollen to its limit, did not explode. Instead, terrifying bloody cracks split across it.

All the Dou Qi, essence blood, and even soul fluctuations within him gradually transformed into an incomparably thick, solid crimson pillar of blood that slammed into the Myriad Fire Furnace behind him!

"Using my Blood Soul as the catalyst... return to position!!"

Yun Lie's final voice, filled with fervor and relief, echoed across the plaza.

The moment those words fell, everyone's scalp tingled as fear surged uncontrollably from the depths of their hearts.

"Return to position..."

"What does that mean?!"

Mo Tianquan swallowed with difficulty and turned to look at Hu Gan and Silver Elder.

The two exchanged a glance, each seeing profound gravity and confusion in the other's eyes.

Before they could speak, the activity inside the Myriad Fire Furnace answered the question.

Rumble—!

As the pillar of blood poured in, the Myriad Fire Furnace emitted a thunderous boom. The dim Runes on its surface suddenly erupted with blinding blood light!

The Myriad Stars Flame spewing from its mouth instantly changed from gorgeous green to an eerie blood-green!

At the same time, every Fire Spirit Body locked in battle across the battlefield froze.

They ceased attacking and, as if by prior agreement, turned toward the furnace. Their flame-forged bodies trembled faintly, revealing an instinctive... grief?

The next moment.

A terrifying aura, as though it had slumbered for endless ages, began to slowly seep from within the Myriad Fire Furnace, which had absorbed all of Yun Lie's essence along with the massive amount of blood qi from the battlefield. It was like a Prehistoric Fierce Beast awakening.

The aura was ancient and scorching hot, filled with an oppressive force. It far surpassed that of a Dou Emperor, and even Hu Gan and Silver Elder felt heart-pounding dread, unable to muster the will to resist.

The slaughter on the plaza came to an eerie standstill at that moment.

Everyone's gaze converged uncertainly upon the furnace, where something seemed about to emerge.