At the summit of the cliff, Xiao Yan finally opened his eyes, which had been closed for three years. At the same time, a purple flame flashed through the depths of his eyes.
After three years of refining and absorbing, the Red Lotus Karmic Fire has finally completely merged with the Heavenly Flames within its body.
Standing up, Xiao Yan twisted his body slightly, and a series of crackling sounds, like firecrackers, emanated from the bones throughout his body. The comfortable and relaxing feeling made Xiao Yan let out a long breath. Feeling the abundant power within his body, a satisfied smile appeared on his lips. However, immediately afterward, Xiao Yan noticed a chilling gaze.
Turning his head, he saw Li Bingrui, dressed in a blue dress and with a pretty face, standing on a cliff behind him. The chilling killing intent emanating from her was also from her.
"So, are you happy and satisfied now? But my teacher is gone, and it's all because of you!"
Seeing Xiao Yan completely unharmed, Li Bingrui felt a thousand resentments in her heart. She hadn't expected that although her master clearly didn't want to pay attention to Xiao Yan Xiao Yan, he still managed to obtain the Red Lotus Karmic Fire after she left. Even after she came out of seclusion, she could only watch helplessly as Xiao Yan continued to refine it.
Li Bingrui could certainly have taken that opportunity to kill Xiao Yan, but she knew that if Ye Honglian hadn't volunteered, Xiao Yan would never have been able to refine the Red Lotus Karmic Fire. Besides, she didn't want to take advantage of someone in distress. If she was going to fight, she wanted to defeat Xiao Yan fair and square. Moreover, before she left, Ye Honglian clearly acted as if she didn't want to deal with Xiao Yan, but after she left, this happened. Obviously, Ye Honglian was just putting on an act for her, probably to prevent her from continuing to obstruct him.
After thinking about these things, Li Bingrui's killing intent lessened a little. However, when she thought about it again, she realized that Xiao Yan had caused her to lose her master and her only relative in the world, which still made it impossible for her to let go of her killing intent towards him.
"I'm sorry, I understand how you feel, but..."
"What do you understand...?"
Just as the last word was about to escape her lips, Li Bingrui suddenly recalled Xiao Yan's lewd behavior towards her. This caused her face to show shame and indignation, and the killing intent she had been suppressing suddenly rose in her heart. With a wave of her jade hand, an icy longsword instantly condensed in mid-air. Then, with a tremor in her body, she charged towards Xiao Yan without hesitation.
"You bastard, I'll make you pay!"
The two were not far apart to begin with, and with Li Bingrui's current skill level, her movements were naturally even faster. In the blink of an eye, the long sword in her hand had already reached Xiao Yan's jaw, and she could easily take Xiao Yan's life in the next second. However, compared to Li Bingrui, Xiao Yan's movements were several times faster.
As the longsword thrust forward, Xiao Yan swiftly extended three fingers to clamp the blade, instantly controlling it and preventing it from advancing even an inch further.
"Snort!"
Upon seeing this scene again, Li Bingrui was not too surprised. Instead, she gripped the longsword tightly and her body surged with Origin Qi. A chill immediately spread along the longsword and quickly invaded Xiao Yan's palm.
"Hiss hiss hiss..."
However, the terrifying chill that had previously put Xiao Yan under immense pressure was now completely evaporated by an invisible, scorching energy when it touched Xiao Yan palm. If Li Bingrui wasn't surprised by the previous scene, this one caused Li Bingrui expression to change drastically.
"How is that possible...?"
" Two-Star Origin King? Not bad."
Xiao Yan smiled, then exerted a little force with his fingertips. An invisible force surged out along the sword. With a crack, the entire blade broke into pieces. Li Bingrui was forced back half a step and looked at Xiao Yan in disbelief. If it weren't for the overwhelming difference in their cultivation levels, Xiao Yan wouldn't have been able to completely ignore her Frost Origin Qi.
"Your cultivation level... far surpasses mine."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan smiled noncommittally, and then said:
"Let's put that aside for now and leave. It took me quite a while to refine the Heavenly Flames, and I wonder how things are going at Burning Flame Valley. Let's go."
After saying this, Xiao Yan turned to leave, but Li Bingrui remained unmoved. Although she was full of complaints about Xiao Yan, she also understood that with her current cultivation level, she couldn't kill him at all, so no matter how much she complained, it was useless.
Seeing that Li Bingrui was unwilling to leave, Xiao Yan looked at her again, his gaze sweeping over her from head to toe. After a moment's thought, he said:
"It was your master who sent you to follow me. She told me to protect you. If you still listen to her, then come with me. If you insist on staying here, then I won't say anything more."
After speaking, Xiao Yan ignored her and headed towards the northern horizon. Li Bingrui hesitated for a moment before following him with a cold expression.
Regarding what Xiao Yan said, Ye Honglian saw the information left for her by her master when she came out of seclusion. However, she really did not want to see this guy who caused her to lose her master. If it weren't for Ye Honglian's last wish, she would never have followed this shameless, despicable, and vile guy.
Now that Xiao Yan's cultivation has reached the Origin King level, he crossed the Fire Maple Forest much faster. In just a few hours, he crossed countless mountains and forests, and on the outskirts of the Fire Maple Forest, he encountered Zhu Hao and his son again. But rather than encountering them, it would be more accurate to say that they had been waiting for him there all along.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Xiao Yan led Li Bingrui northward, while Zhu Hao watched their departing figures, especially Xiao Yan's, with considerable shock in his heart.
"This kid, no wonder the master asked me to save him. In just three years, his cultivation has reached such a level. But... why is there something different in his aura?"
What Zhu Hao was referring to was the Red Lotus Karmic Fire.
Zhu Can, on the other hand, stared fearfully at Li Bingrui's departing figure behind Xiao Yan. He had never forgotten this childhood nightmare; if it weren't for Li Bingrui's terrifying nature, he probably wouldn't have been able to escape the Fire Maple Forest.
"Sigh, you brat, when will you be as good as those two? You're the one with the most perfect bloodline awakening in my Blood Flame Bird clan right now. If you embarrass me in the future, I'll pluck all your feathers and make them into a fan."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Can immediately shrank back in fear. While Zhu Hao was shaking his head, he grinned sheepishly, turned around, and disappeared into the depths of the forest. Even Xiao Yan, in his current state, would be quite surprised by such speed.