"This old madman..." Duke sighed as he looked at the charred figure, barely clinging to life yet still gripping the Molten Fire Flower tightly.
The purple-robed elder's condition was even worse than Duke had imagined. The flame of his life was like a candle flickering in the wind, ready to go out at any moment.
His once-luxurious purple robe had long since turned into charred scraps clinging to his flayed body. Every labored breath carried scorching air and bloody foam.
One of his arms was twisted at an unnatural angle, its bones clearly shattered. He supported himself solely through willpower, while his other hand clutched the Molten Fire Flower, which radiated alluring red light and terrifying energy, like an iron shackle.
The flower swayed slightly in his blackened palm. Pure fire-element energy seeped out, intertwining with the lingering aura of the Emperor Flame Turtle on his body and forming a dangerous signal.
The elder seemed to have barely regained a trace of clarity from the dizziness of spatial teleportation. His clouded eyes struggled to focus, and he finally saw Duke floating in midair, surrounded by yellow sand.
His pupils suddenly contracted. There was no hope in his eyes, as though he had found a lifeline. Instead, he was as wary and desperate as a trapped beast spotting another predator.
He instinctively tried to retreat and hide the Molten Fire Flower inside his spatial ring. After obtaining it, he had immediately teleported away and had not even had time to put it into the ring.
But he was already gravely wounded and on the verge of death. He could not muster even a trace of spiritual power. His battered body merely staggered, nearly collapsing.
"Cough... cough, cough..." Violent coughing brought up more black blood and fragments of internal organs. The purple-robed