Phoenix Heart, Nirvana!

At the treetop.

Ji Bai stared expressionlessly at the departing Titan Giant Ape.

Although he had protected Xiao Wu once before, that could not change what had happened.

"Now we wait and see how things develop!"

"Little Tang, Little Tang! Hurry up!"

"I've been waiting so long the flowers are about to wither!"

Ji Bai gently rubbed his index finger against his thumb, and a small golden-red flame sizzled to life between them.

Night gradually deepened.

The area ahead slowly fell quiet, but Ji Bai could still faintly hear some movement, like the sound of a girl crying.

Whoosh!

Ji Bai, who had been concentrating all along, instantly detected movement in the forest.

In his line of sight,

a dark figure with a pair of small wings on its back flew after the Titan Giant Ape in the direction it had previously left.

Whoosh—!

The Phoenix Wings behind Ji Bai slowly flapped. At first, they did not seem particularly fast, but the moment he took to the air, he transformed into streaks of Fire Shadow, flashing and weaving through the woods.

Before long, he discovered that Tang San's flying soul skill had already ended. After walking a stretch of the road, Tang San stopped and began cultivating on the spot to recover Soul Power.

Just then, Ji Bai sharply sensed an exceedingly fierce fluctuation of Soul Power from a large tree not far behind Tang San.

Boom!!!

Violent flames surged from Ji Bai's body.

"First Soul Skill, Flame Spin Burst!"

This soul skill was not launched outward, but swirled around his body.

The instant he shot out, he was like a flaming meteor in the night sky, crashing straight toward the source of that fierce aura at gale-like speed.

Boom—!

The moment the thunderous impact rang out, Tang San abruptly opened his eyes and hurriedly sprang to his feet. He looked around, quickly noticing the flames still burning behind him.

A kilometer away.

Bang!

Ji Bai came to a stop in midair. The Man Faced Demon Spider, which had been left with barely any life after his impact, was thrown onto the ground, its body giving off a thick burnt stench.

"Heart Fire, Demon Flame!"

A colorless, invisible ripple emerged from his palm. He merely pressed it lightly against the Man Faced Demon Spider's head, and it instantly let out a shrill scream.

At that moment, it seemed to be suffering unimaginable agony as it rolled madly across the ground.

Yet aside from the wounds Ji Bai had inflicted earlier, there were only several bloody marks on its abdomen.

Unpredictable spiritual attacks were always impossible to guard against.

Continuously scorched by Ji Bai's Heart Fire, the Man Faced Demon Spider's spirit visibly weakened, and its struggles became less violent. It was clearly at death's door.

That was exactly what Ji Bai wanted.

He wanted the Man Faced Demon Spider to suffer before it died. That would greatly increase the chances of a soul bone appearing, though normally no one would do such a thing.

Bzz—

When a purple Soul Ring appeared, it signified that the Man Faced Demon Spider had completely lost all signs of life.

Ji Bai's sword-like brows furrowed slightly. After thinking it over again and again, he spread his hands and activated Heart Fire, enveloping the Soul Ring.

He burned the Soul Ring while pressing it down toward the Man Faced Demon Spider's corpse.

Only after the Soul Ring had completely dissipated did Ji Bai frown in frustration. He propped up his chin and stared silently at the Man Faced Demon Spider's corpse in thought.

Just then, the Man Faced Demon Spider's torso and legs began to glow with a purple-black radiance.

"Fucking finally!"

Ji Bai immediately got to work, summoning golden-red flames to cover the Man Faced Demon Spider's corpse.

Boom!

The blazing fire burned rapidly. In an instant, every part of the Man Faced Demon Spider except the section connecting the spider legs to its torso was reduced to ash.

Bzz!

Under Ji Bai's gaze, the bone glowing with purple-black light rapidly shrank. In the blink of an eye, it became roughly the size of a human torso. Its eight spider legs contracted into eight small bulges connected to the main body.

After putting away the soul bone, Ji Bai swiftly left the area.

As for the rest...

After flying less than ten miles, he stopped to rest on a branch in the mixed zone and caught the scent of blood coming from above.

Ji Bai looked up and saw an entirely crimson firebird lying at the edge of its nest, blood staining the corner of its beak.

He spread his wings and flew into the nest.

The nest was about five meters wide. Based on his knowledge of Soul Beasts, he recognized what kind of Soul Beast the dead creature was and how old it had been.

"A Fire Phoenix that just passed ten thousand years... These are claw marks. So long... so deep..."

"Hiss!"

"What kind of Soul Beast left these behind?"

"A Fire Phoenix is a top-tier Soul Beast, after all!"

Ji Bai pondered for a moment. A cold gleam flashed in his hand, and a sharp blade appeared.

What he hated most was waste.

Besides, he had a bold idea—he still needed the wings of this kind of top-tier avian Soul Beast.

However, the moment he opened the Fire Phoenix's chest cavity, a heart glowing fiery red like a ruby entered his sight.

Dense fluctuations of Soul Power radiated from it.

"Uh..."

Ji Bai looked at the heart, then at the Fire Phoenix's corpse, blinking.

"You can't possibly still come back to life, can you?"

He carefully removed the heart, but even so, it continued beating.

"Holy shit!"

"That's amazing!"

"Good stuff!"

Ji Bai sat down cross-legged on the spot, then activated Heart Fire to envelop the Fire Phoenix's heart and brought it to his mouth.

With every breath he took, the heart transformed into wisps of fiery streams and flowed into his mouth.

Screech!

A sudden phoenix cry resounded through the night. The Phoenix Wings behind Ji Bai abruptly spread wide, and a phantom Phoenix shrouded in purplish-red flames slowly emerged.

Ji Bai suddenly felt the area around his heart become incomparably scorching, beating with greater strength than before.

Whoosh—

He suddenly discovered that the meridians and bones that had been scorched by Heart Fire and had yet to fully heal were rapidly recovering with every beat of his heart.

"In a sense, this should be an External Soul Bone located at the heart."

Ji Bai quietly opened his eyes. A hint of gold appeared in the depths of his originally red pupils.

Even the purplish-red flames around his Martial Soul were beginning to shift toward golden-red.

Before this, only when he used "Second Soul Skill—Bathing Fire Phoenix" would the purple flames be elevated, but now...

The quality of his Martial Soul had improved!

That was the only explanation he could think of!

"My Evil Fire hasn't disappeared too, has it?"

Ji Bai's pupils suddenly contracted.

To him, Evil Fire had both benefits and drawbacks. He did not want it to disappear so soon.

Whoosh—

When a colorless, invisible ripple emerged from his palm, Ji Bai let out a long sigh of relief before delight filled his face.

"Now it's perfect!"

"Not only can I cultivate using Evil Fire, I no longer need to worry about my meridians and bones being unable to withstand it!"

"The only remaining problem is that my spiritual power isn't strong enough, but that can gradually improve over time!"

"I've finally gotten on the right track!"

The corners of Ji Bai's lips lifted.

Having obtained such an opportunity, he did not forget his main task and swiftly began dismantling the Fire Phoenix's corpse.

He absolutely could not let those wings go.

"Since I'm helping, I might as well see it through. Thanks."