Shen Fei charged forward again.
This time, he moved faster than before. He poured all the Spiritual Power of the Dark Prison Reincarnation Art into his legs, practically skimming along the ground. His Blade Forelimbs, wrapped in dense, dark Spiritual Power, cut in from Shen Hong's right.
Shen Hong turned sideways to block. His flaming longsword collided with the Blade Forelimbs, scattering a shower of dark red sparks. Shen Fei did not pull back. He attacked without pause, slash after slash, forcing Shen Hong to retreat again and again.
Shen Hong's heels dragged shallow furrows through the rubble-strewn ground. His defense grew increasingly strained, and the gaps between his blocks grew longer.
Shen Fei seized that opening, crossing both hands in a sweeping motion before him. The Spiritual Power of the Dark Prison Reincarnation Art became a mass of dense black mist. It spread rapidly, like a hand opening wider and wider, and swept over Shen Hong.
The black mist enveloped the space around Shen Hong. Dark vapors closed in on all sides, like a gigantic hand curling its fingers shut, trapping him within.
A faint sizzling sounded as the black mist touched his clothes. The edges of the fabric began to curl and turn brittle.
Shen Hong glanced down at the discolored edges of his robe, then raised his gaze to look through the black mist at Shen Fei a few steps away. His expression did not change, but his eyes grew colder.
Shen Hong drew a deep breath. Behind him, the phantom of the Sacred Flame Roc Eagle abruptly spread its wings. Dark red fire surged from the edges of its feathers, like lava erupting through fissures in the earth.
The flames exploded outward from Shen Hong's body, burning away all the black mist around him in an