Fire Cloud Crystal

The old man's attacks grew more and more ferocious. Li Xingluo felt increasingly overwhelmed; his opponent was simply too powerful.

Caught off guard, Li Xingluo took a hit to the abdomen, and pain instantly spread through his entire body.

He skidded dozens of meters before finally coming to a stop. The old man at last wore a smug smile.

He walked toward Li Xingluo step by step, seemingly certain that in the next moment he could crush this reckless little brat who didn't know the immensity of heaven and earth.

"Little thing, you don't actually think you can take on a Dou Wang head-on with the strength of a Da Dou Shi, do you?"

Right in front of Li Xingluo, the old man demonstrated the Dou Qi wings that only a Dou Wang could possess, declaring that before absolute strength, everything else was just a passing cloud.

Li Xingluo slowly got to his feet. A strange smile tugged at his lips. He rolled his eyes and looked coldly at the smug old man.

The next second, it was time to wipe that smile off his face. A pair of wings appeared behind Li Xingluo, and they looked even more advanced than ordinary Dou Qi wings.

Now it was the old man's turn to be astonished. His mouth hung open, and for a moment he didn't know how to face the situation before him.

"You..."

"Surprised?"

"Impossible. You haven't reached the strength of a Dou Wang yet. How could you..."

The old man's expression was one of shock, and his voice grew urgent. Then, halfway through his sentence, he abruptly stopped.

A moment later, the old man burst into laughter. "Hahaha!" He muttered to himself.

"Little thing, it seems this time I've not only recovered the Bronze Fragment, but also stumbled upon an unexpected bonus. This Flying Dou Technique is a real treasure. I never expected you to have one too. Looks like you've got plenty of other treasures on you. This old man is going to make a fortune today."

The old man's eyes gleamed, as if Li Xingluo before him were a walking treasure vault.

The old man was beside himself with glee. Without another word, he rushed toward Li Xingluo.

Li Xingluo turned and ran. Seeing the old man go crazy, he figured the old bastard had lost his mind.

"Let's see how much longer you can keep that up."

The old man pursued Li Xingluo, unable to hide his excitement as he grinned with delight.

Li Xingluo, however, remained unhurried, turning back now and then to dodge the old man's attacks. And so Li Xingluo fled ahead while the old man chased after him.

He didn't know how far they had gone, but seeing that the old man still hadn't given up, Li Xingluo couldn't help admiring his persistence.

Trees and boulders up ahead were struck by the old man's Dou Qi from time to time, toppling over or rolling away.

The sun was already sinking in the west when Li Xingluo stopped. A great mountain rose behind him, its slopes covered in dense vegetation.

Seeing that Li Xingluo had stopped running, the old man came to a halt too. He looked at Li Xingluo with smug excitement.

"Little fellow, why did you stop running? Tired?"

Li Xingluo only smiled without answering, a hint of mockery in his expression. It greatly displeased the old man.

"Little thing, die!"

The old man swung a palm at Li Xingluo, but this time Li Xingluo didn't choose to block it with Dou Qi.

Instead, he withdrew Sky Feather and plummeted straight down. The old man's palm struck the mountain, leaving a handprint in its face as chunks of stone tumbled down the slope.

Li Xingluo's actions baffled the old man, but he didn't stop to think about it. He flew down after him.

The distance between them shrank. The old man saw no fear on Li Xingluo's face, only a smile—a smile of triumph.

The old man was puzzled. A few ideas crossed his mind, but he dismissed each one in turn.

He had no time to think. The old man quickly closed in and attacked Li Xingluo. Countless black snakes formed from condensed Dou Qi came hurtling down, covering every angle around him.

Li Xingluo fell at great speed. As he hit the ground, the black snakes followed close behind, and waves of energy rippled across the earth.

Trees and flying stones scattered in every direction. Dust billowed, completely obscuring what lay below.

The old man searched through the dust for Li Xingluo's figure. After a long while, no one emerged from the clouds of dust.

The dust slowly cleared. To the old man's surprise, Li Xingluo was nowhere to be seen where it had just billowed.

"Looking for me?"

Somehow, Li Xingluo had appeared thirty or fifty meters away. Behind him was the entrance to a cave.

The old man looked down and saw Li Xingluo alive and kicking, without a single scratch. His face turned green with rage.

He was a Dou Wang, yet a mere Da Dou Shi had led him around by the nose. If word got out, he would lose face entirely.

Li Xingluo watched the furious old man, in a very good mood. Just as the old man, seething with rage, prepared to launch another deadly attack on Li Xingluo—

A roar came from inside the cave, followed by the earth trembling beneath their feet. The sound drew closer and closer.

Li Xingluo flew clear of the cave and hid directly above its entrance, in just the right blind spot.

Suddenly, a burst of flames shot out of the cave. The old man hurriedly summoned Dou Qi to protect his entire body.

At the same time, a gigantic ape charged out of the cave, roaring furiously. Its eyes were fixed solely on the old man.

"Flame Demon Ape?" The first thing the old man did when he saw the ape was call out its name.

From a concealed spot, Li Xingluo pointed at the Flame Demon Ape, then at the old man.

His lips moved silently. Judging by the shape of the words, he seemed to be saying, "How do you like the surprise I prepared for you?"

The old man's face turned even greener. He glared fiercely at Li Xingluo, then had no choice but to focus his attention on the Flame Demon Ape.

He knew this Flame Demon Ape had the strength of a fifth-tier beast, equivalent to a human Dou Wang. Its body was even tougher than a Dou Wang's.

Without a word, the Flame Demon Ape attacked the old man. The old man had no choice but to deal with it, temporarily putting his pursuit of Li Xingluo aside.

Watching the two of them fight their way farther and farther away, Li Xingluo even waved at the old man, who was glaring furiously at him, as if to thank him for his effort.

That nearly drove the old man, already hard-pressed against the Flame Demon Ape, up the wall.

The old man didn't know that Li Xingluo had deliberately wandered through the woods all along the way, just for this moment. He had scattered plenty of Beast Attracting Powder through the forest, and every time the old man attacked, some of it rubbed off from the trees onto him.

Li Xingluo had used quite a lot of the stuff along the way.

As for why Li Xingluo had come here, it was because he'd discovered the Flame Demon Ape while passing through the area last time. He'd planned to sneak in and steal something, but had nearly been spotted. Luckily, he'd run in time; otherwise, he'd be one with nature by now.

Li Xingluo flew down and glanced at the Flame Demon Ape, which was battling the old man some distance from the cave.

Daring not to waste a moment, Li Xingluo hurried into the cave.

A fiery red glow shone from within. After a few leaps, Li Xingluo stopped on a platform.

The source of the light was the Fire Cloud Crystal on the platform. According to the books, this stuff aided Heavenly Flames and fire-attribute cultivation.

Li Xingluo didn't dare delay. He took out a small knife and began cutting them free, then put several pieces into his Storage Ring.

The Flame Demon Ape's roar came from outside the cave. Li Xingluo looked back. Had it returned so soon?

He looked at the Fire Cloud Crystals, of which he'd taken less than a quarter. He really couldn't bear to leave them behind.

But he didn't want to become the Flame Demon Ape's meal. Reluctantly, Li Xingluo turned to leave, glancing back every now and then.

The moment he stepped out of the cave, the Flame Demon Ape was already in sight.

That damn old man was useless. Couldn't he have kept it occupied a little longer? Li Xingluo felt helpless and slipped quietly away from the cave.