The Nether Poison Fire

"We found it!"

As Ning Chen looked at the scene before him, his eyes lit up, and he couldn't help getting excited.

But then, he was suddenly puzzled. By rights, Heavenly Flames like the Nether Poison Fire, which was known as ghostfire, shouldn't make such a commotion fighting magical beasts.

So what was going on? It looked as though the Nether Poison Fire was the one attacking the three Black Scale Snake Kings.

"Strange..."

As Ning Chen pondered, his gaze suddenly fell on another Black Scale Snake King lying not far from the black pool.

The sight was horrifying. The giant snake, more than twenty meters long, had been reduced to little more than its head.

Everything below its neck had rotted and melted away, becoming a pool of foul-smelling, thick blood that the black mud beneath it was slowly swallowing.

Xiao Yi Xian had also recovered from her initial shock. She, too, saw the terrifying snake corpse.

A thought crossed her mind, and she murmured almost unconsciously,

"Could it be... the Nether Poison Fire is feeding?"

At her words, a flash of insight seemed to cross Ning Chen's mind, and everything suddenly became clear!

"That's it! It must be!" His eyes gleamed as he looked back at the mass of ghostly green flames.

"Though the Nether Poison Fire feeds on poisonous miasma, these high-tier magical beasts have lived in a deadly poisonous environment for years and accumulated vast stores of toxins in their bodies. To it, they're an even more tempting feast! It's hunting them!"

Once he understood, Ning Chen immediately focused on assessing the battlefield.

Each of the three surviving Black Scale Snake Kings had an extremely vicious aura, roughly equivalent to a Five-Star Dou Emperor. Their venom poured like waterfalls, and their attacks were formidable.

The Nether Poison Fire's energy was about equivalent to a Nine-Star Dou Wang. Its realm seemed far below theirs, but the extreme yin poison and heat contained in its flames were enough to make one's heart pound.

Whenever a ghostly green fire serpent lunged to bite or sparks scattered, even the slightest contact with a Black Scale Snake King's body immediately corroded and dissolved its iron-hard black scales, accompanied by a horrifying sizzling sound. The Snake King would shriek in agony, and its attack would falter.

Its poison was so terrifying that even an ordinary Dou Zong would probably have no choice but to keep well clear.

But Ning Chen wasn't afraid in the slightest.

He'd come to claim this fire, so of course he'd come prepared.

"I'm taking the Nether Poison Fire, and I'm taking the Magic Cores and materials from these three sixth-tier magical beasts, too!"

A greedy glint flashed in Ning Chen's eyes.

In this resource-starved world where the strong preyed on the weak, how could he pass up a feast delivered right to his door?

He quickly guided the Wind Riding Boat several li backward, then found a concealed spot in midair shrouded by dense poisonous miasma. He settled Xiao Yi Xian there and reminded her once again to hold tight to the Protective Jade Slip.

"Wait here. No matter what happens, don't come any closer."

With that, Ning Chen flashed away and appeared on the outskirts of the battlefield.

He flipped his hand, and a piece of yellow parchment appeared in his palm. It was made of ancient-looking material and marked with intricate blue patterns.

This was the other treasure Ning Chen had prepared to deal with the Nether Poison Fire: the Heavenly Net Spirit-Sealing Array Map!

"Array, rise!"

With a low shout, Ning Chen poured his vast Dou Qi into the map.

In an instant, the map transformed into countless shimmering runes that shot toward the air around the battlefield, the swamp, and the edge of the black pool, silently blending into their surroundings.

In the blink of an eye, an invisible yet exceptionally sturdy spatial cage had formed, spanning nearly a hundred zhang!

This array was designed to trap energy-based spiritual beings and stabilize space. It was the perfect way to stop a cunning spiritual flame like the Nether Poison Fire from escaping.

With the array in place, Ning Chen stopped concealing his aura. He stepped forward, his figure flashing like lightning as he charged straight into the heart of the deadly battlefield, where venom flew and flames roared!

His sudden arrival immediately drew the attention of both sides.

The flickering heart of the Nether Poison Fire seemed to turn toward him, while one Black Scale Snake King hissed and sent a stream of venom shooting his way.

Faced with an attack capable of corroding metal and melting bone, Ning Chen neither dodged nor retreated. He charged straight into it!

With the Wu Wu Kai System, even Emperor Flame couldn't hurt him in the slightest!

The venomous stream contained terrifying corrosive power and force. Even a top-tier Dou Emperor would have to deal with it cautiously.

Yet Ning Chen merely waved a hand, and a curtain of crimson flame easily vaporized the weakened venom.

Almost at the same time, Ning Chen decisively crushed another trump card he'd prepared in advance.

Seven-Star Dou Huang Experience Card (five minutes)!

"Boom—!"

A mighty force dozens of times more powerful than before surged out of Ning Chen like a volcano erupting!

The terrifying pressure of a Seven-Star Dou Huang shot into the sky, instantly stirring the poisonous miasma for several li. The Nether Poison Fire and the three Black Scale Snake Kings, locked in fierce combat, all faltered, instinctively sensing a powerful threat!

"Heh. You think you can fight me?"

Ning Chen felt the surging power within him. His long hair whipped in the wind, his robes fluttered, and crimson-gold divine flames seemed to burn deep in his eyes. A cold curve lifted the corner of his mouth.

"If I weren't absolutely certain I could win, you wouldn't even have seen me!"

He wasted no more words. He held his hands out in front of his chest as the vast Dou Qi of a Seven-Star Dou Huang surged wildly within him.

Following the path of the Nine-Layer Phoenix Fire Art, it raced through his body before pouring entirely into the finishing move he had already mastered.

"Great Sun—Heaven-Burning Sword!"

His shout shook the swamp!

A giant sword of light, more than ten zhang long and glowing red-gold, abruptly took shape above Ning Chen. It looked as though it had been forged from a condensed sun.

As soon as it formed, scorching heat swept in all directions. Even the thick black water in the pool below began to boil and evaporate violently.

The dense poisonous miasma burned away, leaving vast holes. The sword intent was pure yang, blazing with the power to incinerate all things. The yin-aligned Nether Poison Fire and the Black Scale Snake Kings let out uneasy shrieks and hisses!

"Slash!"

Ning Chen brought both arms down. The red-gold giant sword tore through the sky and crashed toward the ghostly green flames and the three massive black snakes tangled together below!

In an instant, the tide of battle turned!

With the absolute defensive properties of the Wu Wu Kai domain, their attacks couldn't hurt him!

With the overwhelming power of the Seven-Star Dou Huang Experience Card, they had to bear the full force of his attacks!

This was the strategy Ning Chen had carefully devised: simple, overbearing, and incredibly effective!

The brilliant sword light descended like divine punishment!

Faced with this terrifying attack, far beyond anything they'd expected, the four beings on the battlefield reacted in different ways.

The Nether Poison Fire was the most intelligent, and also the most sensitive to danger.

The instant the red-gold giant sword came down, the mass of ghostly green flames abruptly contracted, like a startled hedgehog. Then it burst into dozens of smaller ghostfire-like sparks that shot off in every direction!

But now the Heavenly Net Spirit-Restricting Array came into play. The escaping sparks struck the invisible spatial barrier with a sizzling sound, their speed plummeting. Most of them were forced to gather together again.

Thanks to its extraordinary agility and the brief obstruction caused by the array, it narrowly avoided the giant sword's direct strike.

But the scorching sword energy still swept over it. The mass of flames visibly shrank, its ghostly green light dimming as it emitted a series of sharp, hurried hums. It had clearly been badly hurt.

The three Black Scale Snake Kings had already been battling the Nether Poison Fire for some time, and all bore varying degrees of burns and corrosive wounds. They weren't nearly so lucky or agile.

Their massive bodies were already held in check by the Nether Poison Fire, and they couldn't fully evade the wide-reaching, thunderous strike in time.

"Hiss—ROAR!!"

Their agonized shrieks shook the heavens and earth!

The two more heavily wounded Black Scale Snake Kings took the brunt of the blow, struck squarely by the edge of the red-gold giant sword!

The blazing sword light cut into their tough black scales as easily as a red-hot knife through butter, piercing defenses that could withstand ordinary attacks from a Dou Emperor.

The violent, pure-yang Dou Qi surged into their bodies and violently clashed with their yin, poison-based energy.

"Boom! Boom!"

Two dull explosions rang out, accompanied by the sounds of scales shattering and flesh burning. The fierce light in the eyes of those two Five-Star Dou Emperor-level Black Scale Snake Kings quickly faded.

After struggling for a few moments, they crashed into the boiling black pool below, sending mud surging skyward as their life force rapidly vanished.

The last Black Scale Snake King was slightly stronger and positioned farther away. It had the good fortune to avoid a direct hit from the sword, but the blast and scattered sword energy still sent it flying.

It suffered countless new burns, deep enough to expose bone. Large patches of scales had fallen away, and blood streamed from its body. Its aura was nearly extinguished; it was barely clinging to life, sprawled in the mud beside the pool, too weak even to hiss.

The power of that single strike was truly terrifying!