Huo Shikai bellowed for his followers: "Go and chase after them, don't let them escape!"
Just when some of the cultivators were about to follow his orders, they heard another voice obliging them to stop.
"If anyone moves, I'll immediately blow everything away!" Huo Shihong raised the red Skystone and the pressure descended again. The situation once again got tense and everyone had to watch Lilian, Yuyin and Huo Jianhong disappear from their sight.
Lilian was using every bit of her Qi to carry Yuyin the farthest possible from that place. It didn't take too long for her to notice that Huo Jianhong was following her from behind. He had somehow entered the Profound Qi middle-stage realm, the same as her, making his speed be enough to follow her closely.
Her mind was in a mess, she kept thinking about her father predicament while trying to run from Jianhong at the same time. She could not exert her full strength while at that state and her speed was a bit lower than at her maximum.
While running, there were moments that she wished Seth was present here. After witnessing the destruction of the Blazing Phoenix Sect foundation, he was the only safe haven left for her. Unknow to her, a black mole behind her neck started to weakly shine.
Huo Jianhong was two years older than Lilian, but his talent could be considered high inside the Blazing Phoenix Sect. While chasing after Lilian he noticed that he was slowly approaching her. She was carrying Yuyin along and it would be her doom.
Fearing that he may reach her, Lilian increased he speed, increasing the consumption of Qi as well.
This situation didn't keep for long, because fifteen minutes later he was close enough to attack.
Huo Jianhong slashed using the Firebrand and he felt a chunk of his own Qi being consumed. The sword vibrated and a fifteen-meter-tall fire slash flew in high speed towards Lilian and Yuyin.
Lilian paled after feeling the power he was able to display while using that weapon. There was no way for her to escape anymore, or else she would get struck by that fire blade.
She hastily put Yuyin down and turned to confront the incoming attack. She took her sword out of its sheath and channeled her Phoenix arts, creating a counter-slash made of Phoenix fire. But there was a difference of five meters between their slashes, since hers was only ten meters tall.
As the energies clashed the heat rose to alarming levels. The fire that Huo Jianhong released threatened to consume Lilian's phoenix fire, but even after twenty or so seconds, it couldn't overpower her phoenix flames. There was a difference of quality between their flames, making their energies comparable.
Huo Jianhong could not understand it, he was using the cursed sword his father lent him, yet he was only able to enter in a draw with her.
The energy inside the slashes were consumed and they disappeared, leaving only the scorched ground behind.
The Firebrand was a cursed sword that would put a flame curse on an enemy after a cut. It could increase the output of strength using more Qi from the user too, however it was a cursed sword after all. Jianhong felt a hot sensation spreading on his palm that was handing the sword. It did not burn him, but there seemed to be a fire poison spreading.
"Damn! it has begun. Father warned me about this shitty curse." He looked fiercely towards Lilian. This sword was really bloodthirsty, it would curse the enemies after cutting them, but if the user failed to do it, then the curse would end up being put on the wielder. Although it was a reversible situation, since it would be dispelled if he cursed someone right after.
Jianhong started to feel the effects of using the cursed sword. His Qi was being sucked towards the blade, enhancing its power, and at the same time, there was a fire poison entering his body, but he felt nothing out of the ordinary from that condition.
He held the sword with more strength and advanced towards Lilian. He eyed her as a conquered prey, as his aura increased again.
While he came running to strike her, Lilian used her fire arts to build some fire barriers between them. She retreated while lifting more and more fire barriers.
Yuyin was already a bit far from them, hiding somewhere, where she silently cheered for her sister. Since Yuyin was already hidden, Lilian used the entire area as the battlefield, in order to obtain some advantage on this fight.
Huo Jianhong kept cutting every single barrier Lilian erected, while advancing with all his might. He could feel his strength raising each second. At some point in time, he was cutting her fire skills like they were a piece of paper.
He finally entered melee combat against her, striking fast and precisely towards her.
Ting!
Both swords collided and Lilian was pushed back by the impact. Huo Jianhong was already over buffed, making her retreat with every clash between their swords. The boons he received from the Firebrand were no joke, but the price wouldn't be easy to handle too.
He grinned while feeling that power coursing through his veins. In a matter of seconds after they entered melee combat, he was already at an advantageous position.
"Phoenix Call!" Lilian shouted as she exerted all the power within her bloodline to use the third instance of her family arts.
Chirp!
A small and beautiful phoenix formed in the air over Lilian, it circled her twice and shot towards Jianhong.
Huo Jianhong saw that small phoenix coming towards him and grinned. 'How can something so small pose any threat towards me?'
He evaded it, not bothering to even attack the phoenix. He focused on Lilian some twenty or so meters away from him and prepared to strike at her again.
Suddenly, he turned back and used a good amount of Qi to create a fire shield in front of him. The small phoenix had circled behind him while hovering in the air. It concentrated the purest fire energy in its mouth, discharging thirty Phoenix Beams right on his back.
A rain of fire crashed with his shield, destroying it. From the thirty beams, twenty got past the shield entering in direct contact with him.
The Firebrand spirit sucked more of his Qi as he created a huge slash to destroy all those beams, but it was impossible to contain them all. Three beams of fire passed through his right shoulder, scorching his skin.
Argh!
He felt an immense pain coming from three small holes that were seared right on his shoulder. His mistake costed him a lot.
Chirp! The phoenix prepared to launch another attack. Lilian was already tired from creating the small phoenix, but she gritted her teeth to not pass out, withstanding the huge quantity of Qi it was needed to deal this last fatal blow.
AAAARRRGGHHH!
Huo Jianhong bellowed after losing his reason to anger. He fed all his energy to the Firebrand and his aura skyrocketed. The flame poison entered deep inside his body and some changes started to appear on his skin.
He didn't notice those changes and kept abusing the sword powers. He slashed towards the small phoenix, and a huge thirty meters tall blade of fire flew at an impossible speed, cutting the phoenix and dispersing it.
Cough!
Lilian coughed blood and knelt on the ground. Her bloodline power was forcefully dispelled, resulting in internal injuries.
"Ahaha, let's see how you will deal with me now." Huo Jianhong's voice was already different from normal. It sounded dark and hoarse.
He approached the place she was, slashing down on her. A red shield appeared in front of her, protecting her from the attack, it was a life-saving treasure she received from her father. The shield didn't last long against that cursed sword and it broke down. The remaining power behind the slash, made a shallow cut on her arm, but the fire poison from the spirit within the Firebrand entered her body.
Finally, Huo Jianhong wishes were about to become true. Lilian was defenseless right in front of him. However, for some reason he was not feeling lust. Actually, he wasn't feeling anything right now, not even pain anymore.
"Ahaha, this is the feeling when someone have this kind of power. Awesome!"
"It's good that you liked, however, it ends here."
The Firebrand left his hands and flew towards a man that was standing ten meters away from them.
Seth received the sword, feeling the total control he had over the medium grade spirit inside it. It didn't even have sentience yet, so it was a piece of cake for Lexi to take control over it and tame the spirit.
"Seth!" Lilian wishes finally turned into reality. He came.
"You!!!" Jianhong remembered the person he wanted to kill the most. The man that made him lose face, destroying his ego.
"It's about time for you to taste from your own medicine." Seth had control over the spirit, while Jianhong lost his grasp over it. Seth dispelled the fire poison from Lilian and she felt that a weight has been lifted from her, but the same thing could not be said for Huo Jianhong.
The Fire poison within his body got more active making his sensations return. All that pain he received before, couldn't even be compared to what he was feeling right now.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"
His body was burning from the inside. The curse was frying his cells from within, while his Qi was surging towards the Firebrand on Seth's hands.
The spirit within the sword sucked all his Qi, living him dry, as it used the same Qi to power up the fire poison that was torturing the target.
Jianhong died by his own strength.. Lilian and Seth only watched, as he turned into a deep-fried meat.
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