The two traveled for about half an hour when a fiery red forest suddenly appeared ahead. The trees in the forest were entirely crimson, their leaves burning like flames, radiating a scorching heat. The temperature in the air suddenly rose, and even the spiritual energy of heaven and earth became scorching.
"This should be the only way to the Flame Soul Spring, the Crimson Flame Forest," Loran deduced based on Mo Chen's memory fragments. The Flame Soul Spring contains the ultimate power of fire, nourishing this Crimson Flame Forest and also nurturing many powerful fire-type magical beasts.
As soon as they stepped into the Crimson Flame Forest, a blazing pillar of fire suddenly shot out from the bushes on the left, heading straight for Loran. The pillar of fire contained a rich Edicts of Fire, and its temperature was so high that it distorted the surrounding air.
"Watch out!" Loran shoved Lei Lin aside and dodged the pillar of fire. The pillar of fire struck the ground, exploding into a huge fireball that instantly scorched the ground black and sent billowing smoke into the air.
"Roar!"
A roar resounded, and a massive Blazing Flame Lion King emerged from the bushes. Its entire body was covered in crimson mane, like burning flames. Its limbs were thick and powerful, its claws gleaming with a metallic sheen, and its eyes burned with intense flames. Its aura had reached the Late-stage Deity Level, making it even stronger than Qin Feng and Su Mei before.
"A sixth-tier magical beast, the Blazing Flame Lion King." Loran's eyes were solemn. This Blazing Flame Lion King was the overlord of the Crimson Flame Forest, wielding pure Edicts of Fire and possessing extremely formidable strength.
The Blazing Flame Lion King stared at Loran and Lei Lin, its eyes filled with hostility. The Crimson Flame Forest was its territory, and any intruder would be attacked. It roared again, spewing out an even thicker beam of fire towards Loran.
" Lei Lin, use the Thunder Domain to suppress its flames!" Loran shouted.
Lei Lin understood, and his Thunder Domain instantly expanded to a diameter of ten meters. The purple-gold lightning, like an electric net, enveloped the Blazing Flame Lion King. Lightning naturally counters fire, and when the Thunder Domain came into contact with the pillar of fire, the pillar of fire was instantly torn apart by the lightning, turning into sparks everywhere.
"A perfect opportunity!" Loran flashed forward like a ghost, rushing to the Blazing Flame Lion King. He gathered seventy Divine Essence and insights into the transformation of life and death in his golden longsword and slashed at the Blazing Flame Lion King's head. The golden Divine Essence on the longsword contained a trace of annihilation power, which amplified the power of this strike.
A flicker of fear flashed in the Blazing Flame Lion King's eyes. He hurriedly activated the Edicts of Fire, conjuring a thick Flame Shield in front of him. "Clang!" The golden longsword struck the Flame Shield, producing a deafening roar. The Flame Shield instantly cracked and shattered. The Blazing Flame Lion King was thrown back by the immense impact, spitting out a mouthful of fiery blood.
Without pausing, Loran flicked his wrist, and his longsword slashed out again, unleashing a barrage of sword energy imbued with the power of life and death, raining down upon the Blazing Flame Lion King. The Blazing Flame Lion King roared and brandished its claws to defend against the sword energy, but its fiery power was suppressed by Lei Lin's Thunder Domain, greatly diminishing its strength. It was quickly struck by the sword energy, and deep, bone-revealing wounds appeared on its body.
"Roar!" The Blazing Flame Lion King was completely enraged. The Edicts of Fire within its body surged wildly, and its body suddenly expanded, activating a berserk state. Its aura instantly surged, reaching the level of the Early-stage God King. The flames around its body became even hotter, and there was even a faint tendency to suppress the Thunder Domain.
"Not good!" Loran was shocked. The raging state of the Blazing Flame Lion King was beyond his expectations. If it were to fully unleash its power, the consequences would be unimaginable.
" Lei Lin, unleash the full power of the Thunder Domain!" Loran shouted.
Lei Lin let out a fierce roar, and purple-gold lightning surged around him, expanding his Thunder Domain to a diameter of fifteen meters. Within the domain, purple-gold lightning poured down like a waterfall, slamming heavily into the Blazing Flame Lion King. The Blazing Flame Lion King let out a shrill scream, its berserk state forcibly interrupted, and the flames on its body dimmed considerably in an instant.
Loran seized the opportunity, pouring seventy percent of his Divine Essence into the golden longsword. The life and death power on the sword intertwined and swirled, forming a dazzling sword aura. " God King's Divine Power - Life and Death Slash!"
Loran let out a low shout and slashed his longsword towards the Blazing Flame Lion King's neck. The golden sword energy, carrying an invincible force, instantly pierced through the Blazing Flame Lion King's defenses and severed its neck. The Blazing Flame Lion King's head rolled off, and its massive body crashed to the ground, its life force completely dissipating.
Having defeated the Blazing Flame Lion King, Loran let out a long sigh of relief. His Divine Essence was significantly depleted, leaving him with only about fifty percent. He sheathed his longsword, looked at Lei Lin, and praised, "Well done, Lei Lin. Your Thunder Domain is getting stronger and stronger."
Lei Lin walked to Loran's side, nuzzled his hand with its head, and let out a gentle bark. Although the battle just now was intense, it had also benefited greatly from it, becoming more proficient in controlling the Thunder Domain and its lightning power more refined.
Just as the two were about to continue their journey, a chilling laugh echoed from the Crimson Flame Forest ahead, "Lord Loran, I didn't expect you to be able to kill the Blazing Flame Lion King. Truly impressive."
Loran's eyes sharpened, and he spread out his divine sense, discovering five figures hidden in the bushes ahead. All of them possessed an aura of at least the Mid-stage Deity Level, and the leader of them even had an aura that reached the Peak Deity Level, comparable to Mo Chen from before.
"The remaining forces of the Azure Mist Sect." Loran understood. After the deaths of Mo Chen, Qin Feng, and Su Mei, the Azure Mist Sect would certainly not let it go and would send even stronger forces to hunt him down.
Leading the group was a middle-aged man in a black robe, his face sinister, his eyes coldly fixed on Loran. He said in a deep voice, "I am the Sect Master of the Law Enforcement Hall of the Azure Mist Sect, Hei Pao. Elder Mo Chen and the other two died at your hands. Today, I will avenge them and reclaim the treasure of the Spirit Marrow Spring!"
The four Azure Mist Sect disciples behind the Hei Pao also emerged from the bushes, forming a fan shape to surround them. They unleashed their Mid-stage Deity Level -level pressure without reservation, locking onto Loran and Lei Lin.
Loran looked at them coldly, her tone indifferent. " The Azure Mist Sect colluded with the Destruction Divine Court and betrayed its mission to protect the seal; they deserve to die. Mo Chen and the other two were just the beginning; next, it will be you!"
"Arrogant!" A fierce glint flashed in the Hei Pao's eyes. "You're merely Early-stage God King, and you've already exhausted much of your Divine Essence. Today, you are doomed!"
Before he could finish speaking, the Hei Pao made his move first. A long black whip appeared in his hand, its surface wreathed in dense poisonous energy. It lashed out at Loran with a sharp, swift wind. Wherever the whip passed, the air was tinged with a faint green mist, emitting a pungent, toxic odor.
Loran's eyes sharpened, and he dodged the whip's attack with a swift movement. At the same time, he gave Lei Lin a wink, Lei Lin understood, instantly unleashing his Thunder Domain, which enveloped the four Azure Mist Sect disciples.
"Stop that Qilin!" the Hei Pao shouted at his four disciples.
Four Azure Mist Sect disciples attacked simultaneously, each conjuring a weapon and heading towards Lei Lin. Their attacks coordinated, forming a tight offensive to try and restrain Lei Lin.
Lei Lin roared, and the lightning power within his Thunder Domain surged wildly, transforming into beams of lightning that shot towards the four disciples. These lightning beams were incredibly fast and powerful. The four disciples' expressions changed drastically, and they hurriedly activated their Divine Essence for defense. However, their strength was far inferior to Lei Lin's; their defenses were instantly shattered by the lightning beams, and they were all struck, spitting out blood as they were sent flying backward.
Having dealt with the four disciples, Lei Lin turned and charged towards the Hei Pao, a thick beam of lightning shooting out from the single horn on his head, aimed directly at the back of the Hei Pao.
The Hei Pao was shocked, not expecting Lei Lin to be so powerful. He hurriedly turned around, swung his long whip, which was wrapped with poisonous attributes, and lashed it towards the pillar of lightning. The whip collided with the pillar of lightning, making a sizzling sound. The pillar of lightning was dispersed by the whip, and the Hei Pao was also forced back several steps by the backlash.
Loran seized the opportunity, flashed forward, and rushed in front of the Hei Pao. He gathered fifty percent of his Divine Essence and insights into the transformation of life and death in his golden longsword and thrust it toward the Hei Pao's chest. The golden Divine Essence on the longsword was mixed with a trace of annihilation power, making the power of this sword extremely terrifying.
A flicker of fear flashed in the Hei Pao's eyes. He hurriedly circulated his divine Divine Essence, conjuring a black shield in front of him. "Clang!" The golden longsword pierced the black shield, producing a loud bang. The black shield was instantly covered in cracks. The immense impact caused the black- Hei Pao to cough up a mouthful of black blood, and he was sent flying backward, crashing heavily into a crimson tree.
The Crimson Flame Tree shook violently from the impact, its leaves falling one after another. The Hei Pao struggled to his feet, his face ashen, his eyes filled with shock and fear. "You... how can you be so strong?"
Loran didn't answer. Her figure flashed again, rushing towards the Hei Pao, her golden longsword thrusting out once more. The Hei Pao was shocked and tried to dodge, but found his body locked by an invisible force, unable to move. This was Loran's initial mastery of spatial confinement power, gained through her understanding of life and death transformation.
"No!" The Hei Pao let out a desperate scream. The golden longsword pierced his chest and penetrated his Divine Spark in an instant. The Hei Pao's body went limp and fell to the ground, his breath completely dissipating.
Having dealt with the Hei Pao and the four Azure Mist Sect disciples, Loran let out a long sigh of relief, with only about 30% of his Divine Essence remaining. He walked to Lei Lin's side, patted its back, and said in a deep voice, "Let's go, the Flame Soul Spring is just ahead."
Lei Lin nodded and followed closely behind Loran, continuing deeper into the Crimson Flame Forest. The trees in the Crimson Flame Forest became increasingly dense, the temperature rose higher and higher, and the Edicts of Fire in the air became increasingly concentrated. Loran could sense a powerful fluctuation of fire energy not far ahead, which was the aura of the Flame Soul Spring.
However, he could also sense that an even more terrifying existence seemed to be hidden around the Flame Soul Spring. That aura was extremely powerful, far surpassing the Blazing Flame Lion King and the Hei Pao, and even faintly approaching the God Lord Realm.
"It seems the Flame Soul Spring won't be easy to obtain." Loran's eyes were solemn as her Divine Essence began to circulate rapidly within her body, preparing to deal with any danger. Lei Lin also sensed the terrifying aura, and his Thunder Domain quietly unfolded as he vigilantly observed his surroundings.
The two proceeded cautiously, getting closer and closer to the Flame Soul Spring. Finally, a wide-open space appeared ahead, and in the center of the space was a spring blazing with flames. The spring water gushed with crimson liquid, radiating extreme fire power—this was the Flame Soul Spring.
Beside the Flame Soul Spring, a massive Fire Qilin lay there, eyes closed in meditation. Its entire body was covered in crimson scales, like burning flames, and the single horn on its head was crimson gold, radiating powerful flames and Qilin power. Its aura had reached the Peak Late-stage God King, faintly touching the threshold of the God Lord Realm.
" Fire Qilin!" Loran was shocked. The Fire Qilin was an ancient divine beast, belonging to the same Qilin clan as the Lei Lin, and its strength was extremely formidable. She never expected that the Flame Soul Spring would be guarded by a Fire Qilin.
The Fire Qilin seemed to sense the arrival of Loran and Lei Lin, and slowly opened its eyes. Its eyes burned with intense flames, and its gaze fell on Loran and Lei Lin with a hint of scrutiny and vigilance.
"Humans, and a Thunder Qilin..." the Fire Qilin spoke in human language, its voice booming like a bell, "What do you want by trespassing into my territory?"