"Bloodblade! Blood Slaughter!!"
Just as Yun Qianhang was about to strike, a thin, elderly figure suddenly cut in.
Wu Tianlang swung his blade with all his strength, meeting Yun Qianhang's palm.
But it barely slowed him down.
Boom—!!!
Yun Qianhang's furious strike effortlessly shattered the blade light and landed squarely on Wu Tianlang's chest.
The sound of bones breaking was clearly audible.
Wu Tianlang's chest visibly caved in. Blood mixed with fragments of organs sprayed wildly from his mouth, drawing a glaring crimson arc through the air.
"Old man!!!"
Qin Han's eyes nearly split apart.
"Take them and go!!!"
Hu Gan's eyes were bloodshot, his beard and hair standing on end. Ignoring the fire poison corroding him as he circulated his Dou Qi, he charged fiercely at Yun Qianhang.
Zi Yan flashed to Qin Han's side and used her small shoulder to support one of his arms.
She raised her little face, stained with soot and tear tracks. Her large purple eyes were filled with stubbornness and fury as she glared at the flaming monster in the sky, gritting her teeth.
Xiao Yan paused briefly, then gritted his teeth and rushed out as well.
Standing shoulder to shoulder with Hu Gan, one on each side, they tightly entangled Yun Qianhang, who was trying to continue his assault on Qin Han.
"Fallen Heart Flame again..."
Yun Qianhang let out a shrill roar, his maddened hatred nearly breaking through his reason.
His aura was still slowly and irreversibly declining, already close to falling to the level of a One-Star Dou Zong.
Hu Gan barked at Xiao Yan, "Hold him back! The old bastard can't last much longer!!"
After saying that, Earth-Yellow Dou Qi erupted from his body like a volcanic eruption. Holding nothing back, he directly burned a portion of his Essence Blood, causing his aura to surge.
His Peak Dou Huang cultivation nearly broke through its limits, with one foot already stepping into the Dou Zong realm.
Coupled with Xiao Yan's seasoned and tricky fighting style after Old Yao took control of his body, the two of them actually managed to hold Yun Qianhang back.
"Get out of this sect's way!!"
A vicious gleam flashed through Yun Qianhang's eyes. Forming a seal with one hand, he sent Myriad Stars Flame surging toward the two of them.
The roaring Flame Tide nearly swallowed the entire plaza. Seizing the moment when the two were briefly tied down, Yun Qianhang's figure flickered strangely, appearing before Qin Han and Zi Yan as they flew toward the edge of the plaza.
"You little bastard!"
"A Two-Star Dou Wang student, and quite talented at that. Today, this sect will let Jia Nan Academy see their prized genius student turned into neither human nor ghost!!"
His lava-burning claw grabbed toward Qin Han's heart!
"Get away!"
Zi Yan screamed, instinctively preparing to throw a punch.
Qin Han abruptly shoved his palm against Zi Yan's shoulder.
"Go!"
Zi Yan only felt an irresistible yet gentle force sweep over her. Her small body floated uncontrollably backward and to the side, away from the deadly reach of the claw.
Meanwhile, Qin Han was completely exposed beneath Yun Qianhang's claw.
At that moment, Hu Gan, raging like a mad tiger, charged in again and threw a punch at Yun Qianhang's back, forcing him to defend himself.
An extremely venomous sneer crossed Yun Qianhang's face.
He neither dodged nor evaded, taking Hu Gan's punch squarely on his back. His half-flame body shook violently, and even the flames dimmed somewhat.
At the same time, his molten left claw did not change direction, still descending toward Qin Han with a vicious grin.
"Mang Qianchi! You brought this upon yourselves!!"
"Get down there for this sect!!!"
Yun Qianhang's strength had already weakened to Peak Dou Huang, but that did not stop him from easily knocking Qin Han down with a single palm strike.
Pfft!
Qin Han vomited blood again, his body falling uncontrollably like a broken kite.
And the direction of his fall was precisely the black hole spewing black fire poison and viscous magma.
"Qin Han!!!"
Zi Yan's little face turned completely pale.
Time seemed to freeze for a moment, and the hearts of Jia Nan Academy's people seemed to skip a beat.
A sharp gleam burst from Xiao Yan's eyes as he finally used the trump card he had been holding back.
One green and one white flame intertwined and fused, forming a Green-White Fire Lotus no larger than a palm, yet breathtakingly beautiful.
"Go!"
The fire lotus left his hand without a sound and accurately struck Yun Qianhang's flaming body on the left.
Boom!
This explosion was far more condensed and far more terrifying than the previous one.
Yun Qianhang let out a shrill scream. Clusters of blood mist exploded from his body as he continuously spat blood and fell downward.
Yet the savagery in his eyes did not diminish in the slightest.
"This old man will make this brat and my Fallen Fire Sect perish with me!!"
Rather than stabilizing himself, Yun Qianhang slapped the cracked body of the furnace.
Rumble!
Driven by his immense force, the furnace suddenly tipped to one side, its opening aimed directly at the Lava Black Hole below.
At the same time, his remaining Dou Qi surged madly into the black hole.
Fire Poison Smoke ten times denser than before, nearly black in color, shot into the sky from the black hole and instantly spread across half the plaza.
"Careful!"
Hu Gan's eyes nearly split apart. He wanted to rescue Qin Han, but the erupting Poison Fire Lava forced him back again and again.
Yun Qianhang himself had also forced out the last of his strength, causing all his injuries to erupt at once. His aura withered to its lowest point, and when the erupting poisonous magma swept over him, he screamed as he fell into the black hole.
Boom—
Just as his figure was about to be swallowed by the black hole, the toppled Myriad Fire Furnace finally lost its balance completely and flipped over with a thunderous crash, landing squarely over the cave entrance of the magma black hole spewing poisonous fire.
The cave entrance was completely sealed.
The plaza instantly fell deathly silent.
Hu Gan's chest heaved violently, blood constantly spilling from the corners of his mouth. He made to charge toward the furnace, but had flown less than thirty feet.
"Pfft—!"
A mouthful of dark blood, nearly black in color, sprayed wildly from his mouth. Fine crimson particles were mixed within it—the fire poison that had invaded his lungs and organs was wreaking havoc.
"Careful!"
Xiao Yan hurriedly supported Hu Gan as he dropped to his knees and said quickly, "That furnace itself is a supreme treasure for refining countless flames. Though damaged now, its remaining sealing power cannot be broken in a short time!"
He spoke rapidly, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings at the same time.
Dark-red magma was bubbling out through tiny cracks between the furnace and the rocks. The moment it met the air, it gave off fire poison nearly black as ink.
This fire poison no longer spread outward like before. Instead, it drifted upward in thin wisps, gathering together and forming a rolling poison cloud above the plaza.
Farther away, the Fire Spirit Bodies that had lost Yun Qianhang's control began gathering again within the poisonous smoke, closing in on the central area.
"The fire poison concentration is still increasing. If we don't leave now... none of us will get out..."
Hu Gan's body shuddered violently, and he suddenly turned his head.
Within his line of sight, several Inner Academy elders were using every last bit of their remaining Dou Qi to maintain a Defense Circle, protecting the unconscious and gravely wounded Wu Tianlang and Zi Yan at its center.
Hu Gan's eyes were bloodshot. The muscles in his cheeks trembled as he clenched his teeth. After hesitating again and again, an unwilling voice finally forced its way from his throat.
"Retreat!"
Earth-Yellow Dou Qi swept up the unconscious Wu Tianlang and Zi Yan. "Follow me! I'll cover the retreat!"
"Vice Dean, this..."
An elder had just begun to hesitate when Hu Gan's furious roar cut him off. "Shut up! Get out first, then talk! Contact the Great Elder immediately!"
"Yes!"
The group swiftly vanished into the sky.
Xiao Yan gave the overturned furnace one last look. Blue flames rose around him as he hurried after Jia Nan Academy's group and withdrew from the plaza...
Before you continue