Second Strange Fire Opportunity Option Quest

Xu Sheng put on the Soul Guidance Glasses Xuan Ziwen had made himself, observed for a while, and then saw Huo Yuhao occasionally popping a Soul Return Pill into his mouth.

He nodded, slowly removed the glasses, and acknowledged Xuan Ziwen's words.

"Indeed. Judging by how often that little friend takes pills, he already possesses thirty percent of Sun Moon's essence."

Xuan Ziwen fell into thought, seemingly recalling his younger days, and let out a long sigh.

"When I was his age, I took pills just like that to speed up my Soul Master cultivation so I could research higher-level Soul Tools."

Xu Sheng frowned slightly, somewhat confused. That did not seem to prove anything. "What can you tell from taking pills that frequently?"

"It shows that he may possess remarkable talent in the field of Soul Tools."

Xuan Ziwen was relying entirely on intuition, coupled with the martial soul that Huo Yuhao had used to let him sense his Mental Aura. Based on that alone, the other party's talent for Soul Tools was probably not poor.

"Xuan Ziwen, I trust no one but you."

Xu Sheng returned the glasses to Xuan Ziwen, feeling that his judgment had some scientific basis. The insights of geniuses were beyond ordinary people's understanding—always so unique.

Xuan Ziwen took the glasses and put them back on. "Mainly because researching Soul Tools depends heavily on both the quality and quantity of Mental Power."

"If he truly has an Original Martial Soul with a Mental Attribute, possessing both of those traits, then any Soul Master Academy on the continent would value him greatly."

A certain noble academy: What a coincidence. Not here, he would not.

In the Original Work, Huo Gua displayed the extraordinary support capabilities of his Spirit Eyes Martial Soul at Shrek Academy, yet the importance he received was rather ordinary, far below that of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy and the Body Sect.

Perhaps it was because Shrek Academy had too many talented disciples. After all, they could withstand Xuan Zi's antics and still emerge unharmed.

They truly were elites among elites, destined to become capable generals in Xuan Zi's Supervisory Group.

Huo Yuhao and Dugu Luo advanced while studying the map. They could clearly sense that the once fairly fresh air was gradually taking on a pungent odor. Hazy mist spread through the air, and the forest seemed draped in a Gray-Green Veil.

Although Dugu Luo felt a faint familiarity with the mist, the gloomy, dark environment made her shudder unexpectedly.

"Yuhao, from what you were talking about with Le Xuan Jie earlier... is founding a sect your dream?"

"Haha, half and half."

Huo Yuhao smiled without explaining further. His greatest dream, of course, was to let Buddha's Wrath Fire Lotus bring nuclear peace to Buddha.

Dugu Luo's Jade Eyes gleamed with amusement and charm. "Then this sister wishes you success as well."

Huo Yuhao walked ahead while looking at the map and raised a hand above his shoulder to give her an OK sign.

The deeper they went into the forest, the more dangerous it became. Dugu Luo also released her Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul in advance.

As her martial soul appeared, Dugu Luo's emerald eyes faintly turned into vertical pupils, lending a touch of seductive softness to her pale yet lovely face. Her figure became even more graceful and curvaceous, while her waist turned as slender as a water snake's.

"The poison in the surrounding mist seems to be getting denser and denser."

"Hiss... it's so creepy." Dugu Luo looked around at the silent forest, could not help shrugging and rubbing her arms, then twisted her waist and quickly moved closer to Huo Yuhao's side.

"Yuhao, aren't you scared at all?" Dugu Luo glanced at Huo Yuhao's profile. Other than being handsome, he showed not the slightest trace of nervousness.

Huo Yuhao turned to look at Dugu Luo. Her chin was resting on his shoulder, and he could not help laughing.

"Sister Dugu, didn't you used to travel alone? Why are you getting scared now?"

"Before, I was determined to either succeed or die. Now that I have hope of living, I naturally have to be much more cautious. Besides, this place really is dangerous," Dugu Luo said.

Feeling the eerie atmosphere around them, Dugu Luo hugged her slender arms around herself. Forgetting all about distance, she instinctively edged closer and closer to Huo Yuhao.

"Sister Dugu, you're too close... You're affecting my ability to make Buddha's Wrath Fire Lotus."

Huo Yuhao reminded her. While following the route on the map, he still had to manipulate two flames to fuse the Fire Lotus, so naturally he could not have his rhythm disrupted.

Through the shared Mental Detection Map, Dugu Luo could see the three-dimensional image of the Lotus Seat. "Can you use this trump card of yours at any time?"

"Of course not."

Huo Yuhao explained with a smile, "In principle, it should be used as a final trump card. But as long as I make it in advance, I can throw it out immediately to seize the initiative."

His combat mindset differed from Xiao Yan's. The greatest use of being educated was not suffering from a lack of education. Since the ultimate move was powerful enough, naturally he should prepare Buddha's Wrath Fire Lotus beforehand and open with it the moment he encountered an enemy.

Of course, it was also possible that Xiao Yan feared missing his ultimate move, so he first weakened his opponents before throwing Buddha's Wrath Fire Lotus to ensure it hit.

Huo Yuhao did not have much to worry about in that regard. After all, he had the Spirit Eyes Martial Soul. With Mental Detection's x-ray vision and auto-aim assistance, the odds of missing his ultimate move were fairly low.

"Yuhao, I think your skills are truly both powerful and special."

Dugu Luo thought about it seriously. Huo Yuhao had previously defeated an Evil Soul Master using an invisible Buddha's Wrath Fire Lotus, and it had completely stunned her. She had never imagined combat could be conducted that way.

"Especially that Soul Skill that can make us invisible. Combined with your fighting style, it could simply overturn other Soul Masters' understanding."

Huo Yuhao smacked his lips. He could hardly say that he had a cheat.

He modestly replied, "It's all right. Just luck."

As they spoke, much of the negative emotion brought on by the eerie surroundings dissipated.

Simulation allowed the two of them to blend into their surroundings, giving them considerable peace of mind. With Buddha's Wrath Fire Lotus already prepared, their sense of safety rose even further.

The forest was deep and quiet. Gray, veil-like poisonous mist continuously spread through it. Looking into the mist, they could see many strange, distorted, hazy shadows of Soul Beasts caused by unusual refraction.

The transformed shadows of those Soul Beasts looked immensely oppressive within the poisonous fog.

Without Mental Detection, ordinary three- or four-ring Soul Masters might find themselves face-to-face with a Soul Beast the very next second without even realizing it.

The two continued along the route marked on the map through the poisonous fog. Without warning, the figure of a strange spider quietly appeared on the Detection Map.

Huo Yuhao stopped. "A six-thousand-year Cave Demon Spider. Its territory begins ahead. There are several traps around it meant for ambushes. Should we go around?"

A six-thousand-year Cave Demon Pearl did not pose an especially great threat to Huo Yuhao and Dugu Luo. After all, Soul Elders could fight Soul Beasts that were a few thousand years old, and the Cave Demon Spider's body was far less sturdy and brutal than that of a Man Faced Demon Spider.

The main issue was that fighting it might attract other Soul Beasts.

"Yuhao, has it noticed us?" Green light flowed through Dugu Luo's eyes, and a section of snake tail appeared behind her. She was ready to fight at any moment.

"We avoided the webs it laid outside through the Detection Map, so it hasn't discovered us for now."

Huo Yuhao narrowed his eyes and added, "We may be invisible, but we haven't disappeared."

"If we want to pass through the Cave Demon Spider's territory later, it should be able to sense something unusual through the webs covering the ground."

After a brief discussion, the two decided not to detour and continued onward while invisible.

This Cave Demon Spider was less than ten thousand years old. It would be best if it did not notice them, but if it did, the two of them could still defeat it together. They would simply have to end the battle as quickly as possible.

Having made their decision, they stepped into the poisonous fog blanketed in spiderwebs.

"Screech... screech..."

The Cave Demon Spider instantly sensed something amiss. Yet when its perception swept over that area, it could not sense any aura at all.

Hearing the faint sounds around them, Huo Yuhao held Buddha's Wrath Fire Lotus at the ready, while Dugu Luo was prepared to unleash her strongest thousand-year Third Soul Ring Soul Skill at any moment.

Using a trap it had set long ago, the Cave Demon Spider lurked toward the area where the disturbance had just occurred.

Whether or not it sensed an aura, it would first cover the area with a web prison.

If there really was an intruder, it would naturally gain the initiative. If there was nothing there, it would merely waste some silk.

"It's coming. Look at the Detection Map—it's nearby. We'll attack together in a moment."

Through the Detection Map in their minds, Huo Yuhao and Dugu Luo saw a three-dimensional image of a massive, strange spider rapidly approaching their location.

The Cave Demon Spider's movements as it lurked underground were displayed clearly on the Mental Detection Map.

Watching from behind in order to protect them, Xuan Ziwen and Xu Sheng grew somewhat tense because they did not know Huo Yuhao and Dugu Luo's true combat strength.

"Xuan Ziwen, what are you worried about? If they're about to be ambushed, I'll just kill the Cave Demon Spider with a single heavy slash."

Xuan Ziwen's glasses reflected a faint white gleam in the poisonous fog.

"From their reactions, they must have noticed that something was wrong. Yet they still chose to enter the Cave Demon Spider's territory, so they should have some confidence that they won't be killed."

Though he guessed the two had confidence in surviving, he was still not entirely at ease. After all, one had two rings and the other three. Generally speaking, a Soul Elder could deal with an ordinary thousand-year Soul Beast, but six thousand years clearly exceeded the range a Soul Elder could withstand.

Xu Sheng and Xuan Ziwen kept their eyes on the poisonous fog, prepared to rescue them immediately if anything seemed likely to go wrong.

Huo Yuhao and Dugu Luo focused on the Cave Demon Spider's precise location on the Detection Map.

Before long, an enormous spider burst from a pit in the ground. Its abdomen was huge and swollen, spewing out a massive amount of spider silk.

The silk vaguely formed the shape of a cage, preparing to envelop the area where Huo Yuhao and Dugu Luo stood.

"Buddha's Wrath Fire Lotus!"

"Third Soul Skill, Jade Serpent Poison Spear!"

Huo Yuhao and Dugu Luo both opened with their ultimate moves.

Seeing that there really were people there, the eight tiny dark-blue eyes beneath the Cave Demon Spider's abdomen flashed with bloodthirsty light.

It was truly lucky today. It could have a change of taste.

Then, in the very next second, it suffered the most devastating fatal blow of its several-thousand-year life.

Huo Yuhao hurled the Buddha's Wrath Fire Lotus he had prepared long ago directly at the Cave Demon Spider's face.

Jade Phosphor Serpent Poison surged within Dugu Luo's body, and a deep emerald radiance began to spread around her. All of the Jade Phosphor Serpent Poison continuously gathered above her head, rapidly twisting into the shape of a sharp spear.

As the Jade Phosphor Serpent Poison continued pouring in, the spear-shaped phantom quickly solidified, its surface shining with a faint emerald glow.

The next instant.

A white-and-purple Lotus Seat and an emerald spear struck the Cave Demon Spider's body one after the other.

With a thunderous boom, the Cave Demon Spider was blown into scattered limbs. Strange liquid sprayed in every direction from its body, only for an emerald spear to pierce straight through it afterward.

The spear nailed the Cave Demon Spider to the ground. Not a single part of its body remained intact, and it collapsed into a mangled puddle on the ground.

"First Soul Skill, Serpent Spirit Strangulation!"

Dugu Luo followed up on the Cave Demon Spider. Dense emerald poison gas gradually gathered, condensing into a Jade Phosphorous Serpent spirit. Under her control, it swiftly drifted toward the Cave Demon Spider.

The Jade Phosphorous Serpent spirit coiled around the Cave Demon Spider, strangling it forcefully while releasing poison. Before long, the Cave Demon Spider was completely dead.

"Yuhao, we're amazing." Dugu Luo could not help looking delighted.

Huo Yuhao smiled. "Your Soul Skill really is quite powerful. It's filled with Jade Phosphor Serpent Poison while also possessing impressive offensive force."

To prevent Soul Beasts from neighboring territories from coming over, he used the Simulation Soul Skill to create another identical Cave Demon Spider. Its shadow stretched long as it paced back and forth through the poisonous fog.

After dealing with the Cave Demon Spider blocking their path, Huo Yuhao and Dugu Luo continued onward.

Meanwhile, Xu Sheng behind them was dumbfounded. "Xuan Ziwen, is there really such a difference between Soul Masters who take pills?"

"Why is he so fierce after taking pills? He doesn't look like his foundation is unstable at all."

Xuan Ziwen adjusted his glasses. "Perhaps the pills he takes are different. The underlying principles may be different from the start."

"Could he have been taking explosive-type pills all the way here, erupting with power several times greater than his own in battle? That instantaneous burst caught the Cave Demon Spider off guard and killed it."

Xuan Ziwen shook his head. "Doesn't seem like it. His own aura didn't suddenly surge."

Seeing the Buddha's Wrath Fire Lotus Huo Yuhao had used just now, Xu Sheng only felt that a move of such power was truly terrifying when released by a two-ring Soul Master.

Within the poisonous fog, Huo Yuhao and Dugu Luo took Soul Return Pills to restore their Soul Power to full. After walking for some time, they successfully arrived at the Three-Way Intersection.

Looking into the hazy distance ahead, they saw that the poisonous fog had become incomparably deep in color and contained vivid, brilliant rainbow hues.

"Is this the poison formation of the Jade Phosphor Seven Absolute Flowers?" Huo Yuhao asked instinctively.

Dugu Luo compared it with the blueprint in her hand. "This is the outer poison barrier. Once we choose a path and enter, the terrain inside is still extremely complicated."

Through the Detection Map, they could see that within the rainbow-hued poisonous fog, three small paths hidden beneath dense forest growth vaguely stretched deeper inward.

Huo Yuhao looked into the poison barrier, and three options appeared before his eyes.

Option One: Choose any path, pass through it, and successfully enter the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well. Entering now carries the risk of Tang San sensing the aura of fate once again. Completion reward: one Soul Hall cultivation technique obtained by the mid-stage Flame Emperor from an enemy's Ring of Holding.

Option Two: Enter the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well only after becoming powerful enough. Completion reward: Ten Thousand Beasts Cauldron, an item seized by the early-stage Flame Emperor from Han Feng.

Option Three: After breaking through to three rings, summon the Ice Empress to intimidate them, have the Snow Empress Soul Spirit hold the line, and enter the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well for friendly exchanges with the immortal herbs. Completion reward: determined by the opportunities obtained in the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.

Huo Yuhao was delighted. So there was hope for the second Sub-fire of Strange Fire after all.