Flame-Tailed Lion King! Fire Illuminated Black Spring!

Leaving the town and heading into the mountains.

Yang Xiao followed the remaining traces on the mountain path.

The Qi-Gathering Bottle was attached to my waist, and the vibrations were more pronounced the closer I got to the western mountains.

Along the way, one could only occasionally see some burning bushes and unhurried footprints, as if setting fire to Black Spring Post Town was just a casual matter for the other party.

At the end of the mountain road stood a dilapidated temple.

The temple gate was charred black, and cracked tiles were scattered on the stone steps.

Yang Xiao stopped at the door.

The Core Illumination Domain was first deployed, and three hundred feet of Core Illumination Light swept across the temple, both inside and outside. Only after finding nothing unusual did they step into the courtyard.

On the wall of the main hall, there is a fiery claw mark.

Five finger marks, deeply embedded in the brick, their edges charred black.

Next to the claw marks was a line of words, the strokes crooked, carved out by the tip of a claw.

"Whoever killed my old friend, if he passes by this place, leave your life behind."

The Qi-Gathering Bottle at my waist vibrated even more violently as it approached the wall.

The wisp of crimson Yao Qi within the bottle crashed against the bottle's walls, as if trying to burst forth.

Yang Xiao was not angered by those words.

He bent down to examine the edges of the claw marks.

The engravings are very new; brick dust still clings to the spaces between the characters, not yet completely fallen off.

This means the other person just left, or didn't leave at all, but was watching you from nearby.

He Qi-Gathering Bottle back into his waistband and slowly walked out of the main hall.

I just stepped down the stone steps.

From the woods directly opposite came the sound of branches breaking underfoot.

Click.

A pebble rolled down the slope and landed in the weeds in front of the temple.

Immediately afterwards, the surrounding temperature suddenly rose.

The withered leaves on the ground curled up on their own, swirling around without any wind.

A crimson light slowly appeared in the distant woods, causing the surrounding temperature to rise silently.

A lion demon, its body wreathed in flames, emerged from the forest.

Its body was over two zhang tall, its mane surging with incessant crimson flames, and its fur charred red like a hardened rock.

A cluster of flames burned at the end of its tail, leaving long trails of fire wherever it swept, distorting the surrounding heat waves and making the air crackle.

From its left shoulder down, its arm was thinner than the other, and its newly grown fur was a light color, which clashed with its dark brown skin all over.

It is a trace of arm regeneration.

The Flame-Tailed Lion King sized up Yang Xiao's attire, narrowed its eyes slightly, and did not attack immediately.

Until he smelled a familiar scent on the other person, and that familiar Yao Qi.

It recognized this aura all too well; back then, it had devoured the Flame Marrow Fire Vein alongside the Red Lizard, and the Fire Pattern were forged together during that time.

It didn't believe the news of the Red Lizard's death when it arrived.

That old man is very timid and rarely provokes the Demon Suppression Division like I do; something must have happened to him.

It guessed it was from the Demon Suppression Division, but couldn't be sure who it was.

After secretly investigating for some time, I only became suspicious recently when I heard that a new Demon Suppression General had appeared in Qingzhou.

It searched its way along, occasionally burning down a few towns, leaving its mark behind.

Until today, it finally encountered it.

"Did you kill the Red Lizard?"

The Flame-Tailed Lion King shifted its gaze from the Qi-Gathering Bottle to Yang Xiao's face, trying to get a clear look at him.

Yang Xiao spoke first.

"Did you set the fire at Wuquan Post Station?"

"If you hadn't come, I still had several places to go." The Flame-Tailed Lion King did not deny it.

Orders were sent from Yellow Wind Mountain: all Demon King were to withdraw from Qingzhou and were forbidden from acting alone.

It then headed southwest alone, hoping to find a secluded place to recuperate.

Passing through Black Spring Town, the shouts of people and the neighing of horses were somewhat irritating, so it casually lit two fires, blocked the road, and tested the mettle of the local Demon Suppression Division.

Unexpectedly, it actually came out to kill the Red Lizard.

Yang Xiao held the Army-Breaking Spear horizontally in front of him, the tip of the spear pressed against the direction of the tail flame.

"If you want revenge, come at me. The people of Yizhen have nothing to do with this."

The Flame-Tailed Lion King took a step forward.

With each landing on its four hooves, four scorch marks were left on the ground, and flames erupted from the tail end, shooting three feet into the air.

"Innocent or not..."

It grinned, revealing its gleaming white fangs.

What does it have to do with me?

Boom!

The Fire Pattern suddenly lit up, and the Core Illumination Domain spread out in the sky.

The dead leaves and woodland surrounding the dilapidated temple spontaneously combusted in patches, quickly forming a continuous fire.

The fire spread rapidly along the mountain path, forest edge, and temple wall, instantly burning into a huge ring that completely encircled the small patch of land where Yang Xiao was standing.

The moment the fire domain closed in, the Flame-Tailed Lion King moved.

It stood on a hillside in the forest, its four hooves slightly apart, its neck raised, and the Fire Pattern all over its body suddenly blazed brightly.

He exhaled a scorching breath from his throat.

Boom--

Hot air and flames exploded simultaneously, sweeping outwards in all directions and instantly covering the entire mountain path.

At this moment, the air was filled with scorching sparks imbued with Demon Power, and every breath of air that entered the lungs felt like red-hot iron filings drilling into them.

As soon as Yang Xiao took a breath, a burning pain shot through his throat and lungs.

The Spiritual Power within his body seemed to be held back by something, its circulation speed noticeably slowed down.

The Flame-Tailed Lion King didn't give him time to adjust.

With a powerful push from its hind leg, its massive body instantly closed in, and its right palm slammed out!

The fist was wrapped in fiery energy; even before the fist arrived, the ground in front of it was already cracked open with spiderweb-like patterns by the heat wave.

Boom!

Yang Xiao did not take the hit head-on.

With a Void-Treading Wind-Chasing Steps step, he swept past the edge of the fiery wave.

The spot where he was standing was instantly blasted into a crater two zhang deep.

The punch missed its mark, and the fire wave spread out with a roar, the crimson flames like a burst of fire bristles, rushing in all directions.

The Flame-Tailed Lion King seized the opportunity to catch up.

The fists flew in a continuous barrage, one punch after another, the force of the punches wrapped in fiery energy, forcing Yang Xiao to quickly shift positions between the ruined walls of the dilapidated temple and the barriers of fire.

A human and a demon were locked in a fierce battle within the fiery realm.

The Lion King's momentum grew stronger with each battle.

Once inside its Core Illumination Domain, one should be exhausted by the scorching heat in the very first round. This one can hold out, but can it hold out for a while, or for a lifetime?

With each breath the area burned, his Spiritual Power circulation became scorched for a breath more intensely.

Sooner or later, they'll be worn down by their own actions!

"The new general of the Demon Suppression Division..." it spoke coldly, its tail flames whipping behind it, "Is all you know how to do is run away?"

Yang Xiao did not answer.

With a firm step, the Core Illumination Domain instantly expanded!

The three-hundred-foot -Core Illumination Light spread silently, and five-colored rays rose from his body, pressing into the domain of the Flame-Tailed Lion King.

Crimson flames and pale blue water appeared one after the other.

The Vast Azure Water Light seeped into his chest, quickly dissolving the scorching heat in his lungs. When Yang Xiao inhaled again, the burning pain in his lungs had lessened considerably.

As the Sky-Splitting Wind Light was drawn, the scorching and chaotic air currents around were directed to both sides, and the vortexes of hot wind on the mountain road were leveled one by one.

The Slaughter-Edge Gold Light extended along the boundary of the domain, like a sharp pair of scissors, clearing out the territory that the Flame-Tailed Lion King had originally covered.

The two territories met silently on the mountain path.

No, it shouldn't be said that it offset each other; rather, the original Fire Pattern Domain was suppressed to the point of almost disappearing in an instant!

The flames surrounding the Flame-Tailed Lion King visibly subsided.

It sensed that its newly expanded territory had become strangely weaker, even showing signs of dissipating.

What happened?

When competing in a field, what matters is the scope and the depth of knowledge.

The guy opposite me was only recently appointed Demon Suppression General, how could he have such a large range, even suppressing my strength!?