Nether Poison Fire

"Found it!"

Looking at everything before him, Ning Chen's eyes lit up, and he couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.

However, he was immediately struck by confusion. Logically speaking, the Nether Poison Fire, an exotic fire known as "Ghost Fire," shouldn't be causing such a massive commotion by fighting with Magic Beasts.

Yet, what was going on here? It looked as if the Nether Poison Fire was actively attacking these three Black Scale Snake Kings.

"Strange..."

As Ning Chen pondered, his gaze suddenly swept to a spot not far from the black pool, where another Black Scale Snake King lay.

What made his skin crawl was that the giant snake's twenty-meter-long body was now reduced to nothing but a head.

From the neck down, it had completely rotted and melted away, turning into a pool of foul-smelling, thick, bloody sludge that was being slowly swallowed by the black mud beneath it.

At this moment, Little Fairy Doctor also recovered from her initial shock and saw the terrifying snake corpse as well.

A thought flashed through her mind, and she subconsciously whispered, "Could it be... that this Nether Poison Fire is feeding?"

Hearing this, a spark of realization seemed to flash through Ning Chen's mind, and everything instantly became clear!

"That's right! It must be!" He looked back at the flickering green flames with burning eyes.

"Although the Nether Poison Fire feeds on poisonous miasma, these high-level Magic Beasts that live in highly toxic environments and store vast amounts of poison in their bodies are undoubtedly a much more tempting delicacy for it! It is hunting!"

Having figured this out, Ning Chen immediately focused on assessing the battlefield situation.

The three remaining Black Scale Snake Kings each possessed an aura of extreme ferocity, roughly around the level of a five-star Dou Huang, with venomous attacks as torrential as waterfalls and astonishing power.

As for the Nether Poison Fire, its energy fluctuations were roughly equivalent to a human nine-star Dou Wang. While the gap in cultivation seemed significant, the extreme, sinister poison and scorching heat contained within its flames were enough to make one's heart tremble.

Every time a green fire-snake lunged or sparks splattered, as long as it touched the body of a Black Scale Snake King, those iron-like black scales would immediately corrode and melt, emitting a terrifying "hissing" sound that caused the snake kings to shriek in pain and falter in their attacks.

With such terrifying toxicity, even an ordinary Dou Zong expert would likely have to keep their distance.

But Ning Chen felt no fear.

Since he dared to scheme for this fire, he was naturally well-prepared.

"I want the Nether Poison Fire, and the magic cores and materials from these three Tier 6 Magic Beasts... I'm taking those too!"

A glint of greed flashed in Ning Chen's eyes.

In this world of scarce resources and survival of the fittest, how could he not devour the fat meat delivered right to his mouth?

He quickly maneuvered the Wind Riding Boat, silently retreating several miles away. He found a hidden spot in mid-air shrouded by thick poisonous miasma, settled Little Fairy Doctor there, and once again urged her to hold tightly to her protective jade slip.

"Wait for me here. No matter what happens, do not come near."

After speaking, Ning Chen flashed away and appeared on the outskirts of the battlefield.

He flipped his palm, and a piece of yellowed paper with a primitive texture and complex blue patterns appeared in his hand.

This was another 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 injected his vast Dou Qi into the array map.

The map instantly transformed into countless brilliant, flowing runes that shot out at an astonishing speed toward the surrounding void, the mudflats, and the edges of the black pool, silently merging into the environment.

In the blink of an eye, an invisible yet incredibly stable spatial cage covering a radius of nearly a hundred feet had been formed!

This array was specifically designed to trap energy-based spiritual objects and stabilize space, making it the perfect method to prevent a cunning spiritual fire like the Nether Poison Fire from escaping.

With the trap set, Ning Chen no longer concealed his aura. He took a step forward, his figure moving like lightning as he brazenly charged into the center of the death battlefield where venom flew and flames roared!

His intrusion immediately drew the attention of both sides.

The jumping core of the Nether Poison Fire seemed to turn toward him, and one of the Black Scale Snake Kings hissed, spitting out a water arrow of venom in his direction.

Facing an attack capable of melting gold and dissolving bone, Ning Chen did not dodge or evade; he charged straight into it!

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

The venomous water arrow contained terrifying corrosive power and impact; even a top-tier Dou Huang would have to handle it with caution.

However, Ning Chen merely waved his hand, and a screen of crimson fire easily evaporated the weakened venom.

At almost the same moment, Ning Chen did not hesitate to crush another trump card he had prepared.

[Seven-Star Dou Huang Experience Card (Five Minutes)]!

"BOOM--!"

A surge of power, dozens of times more vast and majestic than before, erupted from Ning Chen's body like a volcanic explosion!

The terrifying pressure of a seven-star Dou Huang soared into the sky, instantly stirring up the poisonous miasma for miles around, causing both the Nether Poison Fire and the three Black Scale Snake Kings in the heat of battle to falter, instinctively sensing a powerful threat!

"Heh, you want to fight me?"

Ning Chen felt the surging power flowing through his body. His long hair danced wildly without wind, his robes snapped in the air, and deep within his eyes, golden-red divine flames seemed to burn. A cold, sharp arc curled at the corner of his mouth.

"Without ten-out-of-ten certainty, you wouldn't even be able to see my face!"

He stopped wasting words, held his hands in a void-grasp before his chest, and the vast Dou Qi belonging to a seven-star Dou Huang surged wildly within him.

He circulated his energy rapidly along the path of the Nine-Layer Phoenix Fire Art, finally pouring it all into the finishing move whose essence he had long since mastered.

"Great Sun—Heaven-Burning Sword!"

His sharp shout shook the swamp!

A massive sword of light, over ten zhang in length and solid crimson-gold as if cast from concentrated sunlight, suddenly condensed above the head of Ning Chen!

The moment the sword of light took form, a scorching high temperature swept in all directions, causing even the viscous water of the black pool below to boil and evaporate violently.

The dense poisonous miasma was burned into large voids, and that terrifying sword intent—supremely yang, supremely rigid, and capable of burning everything—caused both the Nether Poison Fire and the Black Scale Snake King, which were primarily yin-poison in nature, to emit uneasy shrieks and hisses!

"Slash!"

Ning Chen swung his arms down, and the crimson-gold giant sword, carrying the momentum to tear the firmament asunder, struck down ferociously toward the intertwined dark green flames and the three pitch-black giant snakes below!

At this moment, the momentum of offense and defense had reversed!

Relying on the absolute defensive properties of the Wu Wu Kai domain, I do not fear your attacks!

Relying on the crushing power of the Seven-Star Dou Huang Experience Card, you must endure my attacks with everything you have!

This was the tactic Ning Chen had meticulously planned: simple, overbearing, yet incredibly effective!

The brilliant sword light descended like divine retribution!

Facing this terrifying attack that far exceeded their expectations, the four entities on the battlefield reacted differently.

The Nether Poison Fire possessed the highest intelligence and the keenest sense of danger.

The instant the crimson-gold giant sword descended, its mass of dark green flame shrank inward violently, like a startled hedgehog, before exploding into dozens of smaller, ghost-fire-like sparks that shot off in all directions to escape!

However, the effect of the Heavenly Net Spirit-Restricting Array manifested at this moment; those darting sparks collided with the invisible spatial barrier, emitting sizzling sounds of burning, their speed plummeting as most were forced to reconverge.

Although it narrowly avoided the core strike of the giant sword by relying on its superb agility and the temporary obstruction of the array, it was still swept by the aftermath of the supremely yang, scorching sword qi, causing its flame volume to shrink significantly.

Its dark green light also dimmed slightly, emitting sharp, rapid humming sounds; it was clearly heavily damaged.

As for the three Black Scale Snake Kings, which had already been locked in a long struggle with the Nether Poison Fire and were already covered in varying degrees of burns and corrosive scars, they lacked such agility and luck.

Their bodies were massive, and they were constrained by the Nether Poison Fire, making it difficult for them to fully dodge this thunderous strike with its vast area of effect in their haste.

"Hiss—Roar!!"

The miserable, painful roars shook the heavens and the earth!

The two more heavily injured Black Scale Snake Kings bore the brunt of the attack, struck solidly by the edge of the crimson-gold giant sword's blade!

The scorching sword light cut into them like a red-hot blade through butter, instantly shattering their tough black scales, which were capable of resisting the attacks of ordinary Dou Huangs.

Violent, supremely yang Dou Qi invaded their bodies, clashing and exploding against their cold, yin-natured poison energy!

"Boom! Boom!"

With two muffled thuds, accompanied by the sound of scales shattering and flesh charring, the fierce light in the eyes of those two five-star Dou Huang-level Black Scale Snake Kings rapidly dimmed.

After struggling for a moment, they crashed into the boiling black pool below, kicking up towering waves of mud as their vitality rapidly dissipated.

The final Black Scale Snake King, which was slightly stronger and positioned further to the side, was lucky enough not to be hit directly by the blade, but it was still sent flying by the shockwave of the explosion and the scattered sword qi.

Countless deep, bone-revealing burns were added to its body, large patches of scales peeled away, and it was drenched in blood. Its aura was withered to the extreme, leaving it with only half a breath as it lay gasping in the mud by the pool, lacking even the strength to hiss.

The power of a single strike was truly this terrifying!