The next moment, before Southern Bright Leaving Fire could react.
Su Shi'er's True Yuan drove the profound aura to its utmost limit. His cross-legged body slowly rose half a zhang into the air, his robes stirring without wind.
Moments later, the Nascent Essence separated from the qi sea in his dantian, driven by the profound aura straight toward the Southern Bright Leaving Fire in the air.
Having entered its mature stage, Southern Bright Leaving Fire had long possessed a faint trace of intelligence—or rather, the instinct of a living creature.
Sensing an inexplicable force rushing at it, it instinctively realized that something was amiss.
It reacted swiftly at once. The flame trembled, and blazing firelight erupted as the temperature of the surrounding air soared sharply.
Meanwhile, the true body of Southern Bright Leaving Fire within rapidly retreated. Following its instincts, it broke free of Su Shi'er's control and attempted to return to the Sun Seal.
However, Southern Bright Leaving Fire had already expended a great deal of power resisting the cold in the underground ice cavern of Demon Dragon Pool. It had then consumed no small amount of fire essence while dealing with the resentful spirits.
Moreover, Su Shi'er had clearly prepared in advance to cultivate the Second Nascent Soul. Though Southern Bright Leaving Fire reacted quickly this time, it was still half a beat too slow.
Just as Southern Bright Leaving Fire rushed to within an inch of Su Shi'er's brow, the profound aura, carrying the Nascent Essence emanating from Su Shi'er's Dantian, swallowed it whole.
Beneath the cover of the profound aura, fire essence and Nascent Essence surged against each other, releasing terrifying power like tidal waves crashing in every direction and slamming into the walls of the cavern.
The cavern walls suffered further devastation. The space inside