Myriad Beast Spirit Flame!

His thoughts flashed through his mind like lightning. Xiao Lei quickly calmed himself and sensed the strain on his soul.

The number of snake-type magical beasts the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils could control was limited. It mainly depended on the difference between the beast's strength and that of the owner of the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils.

"Just as I thought! I managed to control that head earlier, but Xiang Liu has nine heads. Controlling just one is useless!"

The unbelievable sight had shocked him so badly that Xiao Lei hadn't even noticed the strain on his soul.

"Run, Xiao Lei!"

Seeing him standing there in a daze, Yun Yun was frantic with worry.

"It's fine. Step aside. I'll take on this magical beast!"

Now that he understood what was happening, Xiao Lei regained his confidence. He pulled Yun Yun's hand away and plunged straight down.

"Hey, Xiao Lei!"

Xiao Lei's actions nearly drove Yun Yun mad. He wasn't just refusing to run—he was taking the initiative to attack!

Whoosh!

His Dou Qi wings cut through the air as Xiao Lei used his footwork to dodge another attack.

Once he had calmed down, Xiao Lei studied Xiang Liu's movements. It never pursued him; whenever one of its heads burst up to a certain height, it would fall back down.

Xiang Liu was a sixth-tier magical beast, fully capable of flight. Its movements were clearly meant to hide something.

As Xiang Liu leapt toward its apex, Xiao Lei quickly circulated his Dou Qi and attacked the part of it buried beneath the ground.

Bang!

Just as the attack was about to hit, the water exploded. Two more heads shot out together, hurtling straight toward Xiao Lei.

Two enormous jets of water blasted from their gaping jaws, rushing straight at his face. But Xiao Lei didn't flinch. He held his ground and summoned the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils.

A flash of emerald light passed through his eyes. Three-flower patterns appeared in the pupils of both heads, but their attacks continued unabated.

The jets of water slammed into Xiao Lei, sending him flying hundreds of meters before he finally managed to steady himself.

"Let's see how many heads you've got for me to control!"

He spat out a mouthful of blood, endured the agony of the water's impact, and rose once more.

The attack's true threat lay in its poison. Amid a sizzling hiss, Xiao Lei's alchemist robe—said to surpass the empire's armor—rapidly dissolved into acidic liquid.

At the critical moment, Xiao Lei circulated his Dou Qi, forming a richly colored veil over his body and sparing himself an embarrassing predicament.

But that was the full extent of the poison's effect on him!

Xiao Lei could even feel his cultivation slowly strengthening as the poison ate away at him.

What a thrill! What a thrill!

Watching this, Yun Yun was nearly scared to death. Especially when Xiao Lei was struck by the poison-laced water jet, she felt as if her heart had been seized in a vice.

Yet when she saw that, aside from a few minor injuries from the impact, Xiao Lei seemed perfectly fine, she was stunned all over again!

Hadn't they said Xiang Liu's poison was so sinister and evil that anyone who touched it would turn to blood?

At first, Yun Yun had thought the Poison Nether Swamp beneath them had formed naturally. Only after seeing Xiang Liu did she realize it was the beast's doing.

Yet this poison, powerful enough to reshape the land, had done nothing to Xiao Lei. Worse, he even looked like he was enjoying it!

Yun Yun didn't dare interfere in the fight. From the moment Xiang Liu appeared, she had known the gulf between them was too great. If she rashly stepped in, she might only get in the way, just as she had when Xiang Liu first appeared.

But Yun Yun wasn't the only one in shock. Xiang Liu was equally bewildered, and its remaining three heads rapidly conferred.

"This human's cultivation is low, but he's immune to poison. What do we do?"

"Old Nine and the others have all been controlled. All we can do now is use our numbers to forcibly control their bodies, but that'll only drag us down and tie our hands!"

"Then abandon them and let Big Brother escape. As long as Big Brother gets away, we can all come back to life!"

Six minds raced within one body, but the one they called Big Brother still hadn't spoken.

"That human has a way to control us. If I try to break out alone, he'll control me in an instant!"

Big Brother looked at the other five heads and was speechless. Xiang Liu was in its nine-headed form, which was when its intelligence was at its lowest.

Few knew this, but the Nine-Headed Xiang Liu hadn't always had nine heads. The other heads had all been produced by the one the others called Big Brother.

It was also the only one whose intelligence remained unaffected.

Xiao Lei attacked again. His long saber dragged a trail of purple flame as it sliced into the ground, heading straight for the other heads.

"Then what should we do, Big Brother?"

"Make a decision, Big Brother!"

At the crucial moment, Big Brother seemed to summon all its resolve and yanked the snake tail buried deep beneath the ground free.

As Xiao Lei charged toward Xiang Liu, he suddenly felt the flame inside his body weaken. The purple fire on his saber shrank rapidly, as if frightened of something!

The next moment, a massive snake tail whipped out, and a blood-red flame shot toward Xiao Lei.

Xiao Lei's pupils contracted. When he recognized the flame, he couldn't help crying out in shock.

"Myriad Beast Spirit Flame!"

It was blood-red, and as it burned, phantoms appeared within it, like countless beasts.

Forged from the souls and bloodlines of countless beasts, it was the sacred flame of the beast race!

"Flame Barrier!"

Xiao Lei quickly raised his hand and conjured a wall of fire, trying to stop the incoming Myriad Beast Spirit Flame.

The next moment, the blood-red flame smashed through his defense. The poisonous mist around it dispersed at just the right moment, and its flames blazed even brighter!

The Heavenly Flame lunged straight at Xiao Lei.

Xiao Lei had no time to dodge. A wisp of the Heavenly Flame immediately burned through his Dou Qi veil and touched his body!

Xiao Lei reacted swiftly. He circulated his Dou Qi and sent it surging toward the wisp of flame as he retreated.

It was a close call. Fortunately, Xiao Lei had reacted quickly, and only a wisp of the Heavenly Flame had landed on him. He escaped without serious injury.

"The Myriad Beast Spirit Flame! I can't believe it's in the Magical Beast Mountain Range!"

The shock in Xiao Lei's heart refused to settle. Even more astonishing was that Xiang Liu seemed to know how to use the Heavenly Flame, deliberately controlling when it erupted.

And there was no question that Heavenly Flames suppressed cultivators who practiced fire-attribute techniques.

But seeing the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame didn't make Xiao Lei back down. If anything, it only strengthened his resolve to control Xiang Liu. After all, Xiao Lei's cultivation technique was still Yellow Tier Low Grade!

Xiang Liu had already recalled the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame and was preparing to flee. Xiao Lei quickly used Step of the Dipper to pursue it.

Seeing that it couldn't shake Xiao Lei, Xiang Liu knew that if it kept dragging things out, a few more uses of that control ability would spell its end. With no other choice, it decided to risk everything.

The next moment, Xiang Liu's entire body surged out of the mire, its nine heads all lunging toward Xiao Lei.

Xiang Liu no longer bothered hiding its body. It rose into the air, choosing to fight Xiao Lei to the death!

At the same time, Xiang Liu hurled the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame at Xiao Lei once more.

At this critical moment, Xiao Lei unhesitatingly activated the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils again, focusing their full power on the remaining six heads.

Taking the souls of six sixth-tier magical beasts at once was too much even for Xiao Lei. Blood seeped from both his eyes, making him look terrifying!

Boom!

Just as the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame slammed toward him, Yun Yun rushed over, channeling her Dou Qi as she struck it with her sword. A terrifying wave of fire erupted.

Knowing that the fight would be decided by this clash, Xiao Lei couldn't spare a thought for the bloody tears running from his eyes. He drove the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils to their limit.

Thump!

At the instant the victor was about to be decided, one of Xiang Liu's nine heads suddenly broke away from its body, then quickly swam toward the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame Yun Yun had knocked away.

What shocked them both was that the Heavenly Flame, which Xiang Liu had previously been able to move only by whipping it with its tail, was now flying toward it on its own.

"I did it! I understand now! I understand! I've been going about this the wrong way all along! The number of souls doesn't matter. A Heavenly Flame can't bear the marks of nine different minds at once!"

Big Brother practically cheered as it escaped. After so many years of waiting, at last its plan had succeeded!

The poisonous mist that had been swirling around the flame seeped into the Heavenly Flame Origin!

And Xiang Liu had successfully gained control of the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame!

Xiang Liu's poison was renowned for its corrosive power. It could even turn an ordinary stretch of land into a Poison Marsh. Now Xiang Liu had achieved the feat of corroding a Heavenly Flame with its poison.

With the Heavenly Flame under its control, Xiang Liu immediately turned around to kill Xiao Lei. Unfortunately—

When Xiang Liu turned back, all it saw was Xiao Lei's pair of eyes, filled with strange patterns!

"I'll take that Heavenly Flame off your hands!"

The next moment, the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils' pattern surfaced in Xiang Liu's pupils.

It was completely under his control!