At the end of the fiery rock ground on the fifth level, in the heart of that volcano that spews heat waves all year round, lies a secluded entrance leading to the sixth level.
Linley and Bebe descended the passage, and the air grew increasingly scorching as they went down. When he passed through the last narrow crevice in the rock and stepped onto the sixth level, an overwhelming wave of heat hit him. Before him lay a blazing, crimson world—rivers of lava crisscrossed the land, splitting it into floating rocks, and the air was thick with the pungent smell of sulfur.
"This is the sixth floor," Linley said in a low voice.
Bebe had already transformed into the form of a giant beast, lying warily at his feet, its eerie eyes scanning the crimson world.
The sixth level is completely different from the previous five. There are no ancient puppets, no mazes, and no slumbering monsters here, only a vast, almost eerily empty lava plain. In the center of the plain stands a huge stone platform, made entirely of black rock, as if bearing some ancient existence.
The moment Linley and Bebe stepped onto the plain, a crimson light suddenly shone on the stone platform.
"They're here." Linley's pupils contracted slightly, and he gripped the hilt of his sword tighter.
The red light rapidly expanded, transforming into a figure several meters tall, which slowly rose from the stone platform. It was a giant with a bewitching blood-red body, seemingly formed from pure flames, with scorching magma patterns flowing around it, and a pair of burning giant eyes locking onto the two intruders from above.
Flame Monarch. Sovereign of the Sixth Floor.
"Another suicide bomber has broken in." The Flame Monarch's voice boomed like Leiming, echoing across the crimson world. "Little fellow, your body can't even withstand a single finger of mine. Why bother coming here to die?"
Linley did not answer. He slowly drew his Purple Blood Soft Sword, a thin layer of dragon scales covering his neck from the back of his hand. He had now reached the Saint Realm Middle Stage in human form, and his spiritual power had also broken through to the Saint Realm. His strength had increased significantly after Dragonform.
"How will you know you can't handle it if you don't try?" Linley said in a deep voice.
The Flame Monarch sneered and said no more. With a sudden wave of its hand, the river of lava beneath its feet exploded, and a pillar of lava fire as thick as a bucket shot straight toward Linley.
Linley didn't take the hit head-on. He shifted his feet sideways, his speed— Wind-Earth Fusion —transforming into his body, making him glide past the pillar of fire like a leaf caught in a heatwave. But the Flame Monarch wouldn't allow him to escape unscathed. Before the pillar of fire had even finished its advance, it struck again, this time with rolling lava, completely sealing Linley off from all sides.
Linley had no way to avoid it, so he simply didn't. He met the palm strike head-on and thrust out his sword horizontally— Wind-Earth Fusion, the wind flowed on the sword's edge, and the churning magma beneath his feet echoed it. The long and heavy sword force enveloped the giant magma palm, dissipating its sharpness layer by layer.
A muffled "plop" sound.
The giant magma palm exploded within Linley's sword strike, scattering scalding fragments everywhere. Linley was jolted back three steps by the aftershock, his sword-wielding hand trembling slightly, but he did not retreat. Instead, he charged forward to meet the Flame Monarch.
The two clashed in this crimson world. The Flame Monarch possessed immense strength and unleashed devastating attacks, each strike enveloped in magma powerful enough to melt gold and iron; Linley, relying on his mastery of Wind-Earth Fusion, moved with incredible agility, his sword targeting the Flame King's weakest points. The Flame Monarch grew increasingly impatient with the fight, and with a sudden roar, the magma around it surged violently, as if the entire plain was about to collapse under its immense pressure.
"You're courting death!" Its enormous body suddenly shrank dramatically, shrinking from several meters tall to tens of meters. Yet, its shrunken, solidified fiery form exuded a ferocity far more terrifying than before. With a wave of its hand, a giant axe, its entire body gleaming with a bloodthirsty red light, appeared out of thin air in its palm.
Bloodthirsty Great Axe.
Linley's heart skipped a beat. He had heard Desri mention that once the Flame Monarch unleashed its battle form, it would be a fight to the death. If that giant axe were to strike, even a Peak Saint Realm would be cleaved in two.
" Linley, retreat!" A voice came from afar. It was Desri, who had arrived on the sixth floor at some point, followed by Fain, Tulilei, Rutherford, and others. They had obviously come after hearing the commotion.
Seeing that everyone had gathered, the Flame Monarch was no longer in a hurry to attack. He brandished his Bloodthirsty Great Axe and looked mockingly at the intruders. "You, come at me all at once. It'll save me the trouble of sending you to your deaths one by one."
The group exchanged glances, none of them backing down. Bebe let out a low growl, and the Three-Headed Six-Eyed Golden Ni leaped out from behind Desri, rushing towards the Flame Monarch together.
A chaotic battle erupted on this lava plain.
The Flame Monarch's Bloodthirsty Great Axe was truly ferocious to the extreme. With a single swing, it cleaved a bottomless crack in the lava ground, the heat and blood-red light forcing everyone to retreat. Tulilei was the first to be hit, swept by the axe wind, and was sent flying backward, crashing heavily to the ground, spitting blood. Rutherford desperately rushed forward to help, but was ripped apart by the Flame Monarch's backhand axe, blood gushing from his arms as he screamed in agony.
" Desri!" Linley shouted hoarsely.
Desri's face turned ashen. He formed hand seals, and a gentle, Light Magic landed on Rutherford, barely stopping the gushing blood. But the Flame Monarch gave them no chance to breathe, wielding his Bloodthirsty Great Axe and closing in step by step.
Linley looked at Tulilei, who was lying on the ground, at Rutherford, whose arms were both broken, and at the crowd who were being forced to retreat by the Flame Monarch. The fighting spirit in his chest could no longer be suppressed.
He suddenly flipped his hand and took out a jet-black heavy sword from his spatial ring.
Black Jade Heavy Sword.
This was his trump card, his last resort. It lacked the lightness and sharpness of the Purple Blood Soft Sword, but its absolute weight and solidity contained all his understanding of the Profound Truths of the Earth over the years. At this moment, he held the sword hilt with both arms, the tip of the sword touching the ground, and his whole body gave people the feeling that a towering mountain had been condensed into a single point.
" Linley!" Desri's voice held a hint of alarm, "You—"
"I'll break it," Linley interrupted him, his voice low but clear, "You all step back. This sword will clear a path for you."
The Flame Monarch, wielding its Bloodthirsty Great Axe, looked at the young man who had suddenly stood with his sword drawn, and a vague, inexplicable sense of unease arose within it. Its mocking expression vanished, and the Bloodthirsty Great Axe was raised high, carrying the power to cleave mountains, as it cleaved down towards Linley.
Linley did not dodge.
Facing the Bloodthirsty Great Axe, he pressed all his Saint Realm Middle Stage Battle-qi, along with his Saint Realm- level spiritual power, into the Black Jade Heavy Sword. The churning magma beneath his feet seemed to resonate with him at this moment, as he pressed the sixty-four Earth Pulsation into the same sword layer by layer.
"Break!"
With a roar, the Black Jade Heavy Sword met the Bloodthirsty Great Axe head-on.
The two heavy weapons collided violently in the crimson sky, creating a deafening roar that reverberated throughout the entire sixth level. Lava splashed everywhere, and waves of heat surged. To everyone's astonishment, the Bloodthirsty Great Axe was actually cracked open by the Black Jade Heavy Sword.
The Flame Monarch's massive body trembled violently, revealing fear for the first time.
"Impossible!" it roared, but the cracks on the Bloodthirsty Great Axe were rapidly widening and crumbling inch by inch.
Linley gave it no chance to breathe. After the Black Jade Heavy Sword shattered the giant axe, its momentum continued, piercing straight towards the Flame Monarch's chest—the very spot where the transparent core was located.
"Pfft!"
The sound of the heavy sword piercing the rocky body was dull and grating. Linley's arms bulged with veins as he poured all the power of the sixty-four Pulsation into the tip of the sword, piercing straight through. The Flame Monarch's transparent core was struck squarely by this sword, exploding violently and shattering into pieces.
"No--!"
The roar of the Flame Monarch echoed through the sixth level of space before dissipating into smoke.
The transparent core spun half a circle in the air before finally cracking into countless fragments with a "crack," falling into the lava river below and disappearing without a trace.
The sixth floor suddenly fell silent.
Linley gripped his heavy sword, knelt on one knee, and gasped for breath. That single strike had almost drained him of all his strength, but he didn't fall. Instead, he slowly raised his head and gazed toward the passage belonging to the seventh level, scorched red by the lava.
In the distance, Desri and Fain helped the Tulilei and Rutherford slowly gather around him.
" Linley," Desri looked at him, his voice filled with unspeakable shock, "Your sword strike... after Dragonform, I'm afraid even Peak Saint Realm couldn't withstand it. When did you train your human form to this level?"
Not long ago, on the fifth floor, Linley exhaled a breath of stale air.