Chapter 496: Chapter 471: Heaven-Defying Talent
Several figures, with astonishing speed, pounced toward Lu Yan and his companions, launching a deadly attack without a sound.
Hiss!
A fearsome long spear thrust toward Lu Yan’s brow.
Lu Yan swung the Thunder Sword, with a clang, blocking the spear.
"This is..."
Lu Yan looked intently and realized his attacker was a middle-aged man in tattered red armor, his skin withered and his eyes hollow and lifeless.
Like a walking corpse.
Because there was no trace of life to be felt.
Swish!
The man brandished his spear and charged at Lu Yan again, with formidable strength.
"Immortal Third Layer."
Lu Yan thought to himself.
This middle-aged man’s cultivation level was of the Immortal Third Layer, brazen and fearless in his assault on Lu Yan.
Lu Yan channelled the combined forces of the Thunder and Fire Rules and struck with his sword.
The fusion of the two rules brought about a phenomenal power. At the moment of contact, a devastating energy was unleashed, making the middle-aged man stagger backward.
Lu Yan stepped forward, catching up with the man, and struck seven consecutive blows.
Gurgle—a sound, and the middle-aged man’s head flew off, as his body heavily crashed to the ground.
Inside the body, there was no Primordial Spirit.
Truly a walking corpse.
Roar roar roar...
Suddenly, roars echoed from the Flame Mountain Range ahead.
This time, at least a dozen figures charged toward them.
There were humans, members of the Beast Clan, and even those from the Immortals and Devils Clans.
These beings all had one thing in common: they had withered skin, lifeless eyes, all of them walking corpses.
"Not good, these are all beings that perished in the Gravewatch after entering in the past, turned into soldiers by The Atmosphere of Arms within. Be careful."
Mr. World warned.
Shortly after, the dozen or so figures drew near and flung themselves at them.
A giant wolf with two heads, its body fiery red and permeated with a faint immortal power, pounced to kill Lu Yan.
Lu Yan wielded the sword.
Clang—the sound resonated, and Lu Yan felt a mighty force, causing him to tremble slightly and step back twice.
"Immortal Fourth Layer."
Lu Yan’s expression turned solemn.
Swish swish...
Dreadful bursts of energy came their way, and several figures targeted Lu Yan, each with a cultivation of at least Immortal Second Layer or above.
Lu Yan concentrated and struck nine consecutive slices, fending off the figures.
Fortunately, these soldiers were already dead, devoid of Primordial Spirits, thus unable to wield soul power. All their techniques were useless, and even though they were fearless, their strength was far less than in their prime, at least a notch lower.
The strength of an Immortal Fourth Layer soldier was comparable to an Immortal Third Layer cultivator, which is why they could manage it.
Thump!
Thunder roared past, and a silver serpent was halved.
"Yinuo, be careful."
Lu Yan noticed a mantis, taller than a person, ambushing Shen Yinuo from behind.
Shen Yinuo, enveloped in blood light and merged with the Great Sun Melting Furnace, demonstrated the Great Sun God Fist, blowing up an Immortal Second Layer soldier.
Clang clang...
The mantis’s sickle-like forelimbs were incredibly sharp, striking dozens of times in an instant, vigorously shaking the Great Sun Melting Furnace.
Lu Yan leaped into action, his Thunder Sword slashing at the mantis, delivering over a dozen strikes and eventually splitting the mantis in two with one final blow.
"Chain Cage."
Mr. World stepped in an arcane pattern; each step released numerous runes that dissolved into the ground. His figure flickered ceaselessly, elusive and profound, avoiding all attacks from the soldiers.
Then, with his hands forming a seal, a formation surfaced from the ground, enveloping all the soldiers within.
Following that, hundreds of chains crawled out from the ground, wrapping around the legs of all the soldiers.
These soldiers struggled violently, but for a time, they simply could not break free.
"Quick, strike them down; I can’t hold this for long."
Mr. World shouted.
Lu Yan and Shen Yinuo naturally did not miss this opportunity.
Lu Yan swung his sword, and the blade’s light flashed repeatedly, purging soldier after soldier.
"Blood Flame Slash."
Shen Yinuo activated the Great Sun Melting Furnace, and from it, two streams of blood-red flame flew out, whirling around Shen Yinuo’s arms which sliced through the soldiers like blades.
Being struck meant explosion for the soldiers, consumed by blood-red flames, incinerated to ash.
"Such tremendous power, Yinuo, is this the Immortal Skill?"
Lu Yan blurted out without thinking.
"Yes, I’ve gleaned it from the Great Sun Melting Furnace, but I’ve only scratched the surface given the limited time," Shen Yinuo replied.
Lu Yan marveled at the profound mystery of the Great Sun Melting Furnace; no wonder the people of Skull Fire Mountain were after it.
"Immortal Skill, I must find a way to cultivate the Immortal Skill too, otherwise my strength can’t be fully unleashed," Lu Yan thought to himself.
Together, the three quickly finished off all the soldiers.
While they were dealing with them, deep within the Five Elements Mountain Range, within a cave, an old man suddenly opened his eyes.
This old man’s skin was withered, and his white hair hung loose, a grisly wound in his brow extending down to his abdomen, constantly opening and closing like a grimacing mouth, horrific and dreadful.
"The trap I’ve laid with thousands of years of effort, which has left me heavily wounded, shall not be disrupted. Whoever dares to do so will meet their death by my hands," the old man spoke coldly, vanishing from the cave with a flicker.
Having dealt with the soldiers, Lu Yan, Shen Yinuo, and Mr. World continued toward the Flame Mountain Range.
Before them, they saw that the soldiers had burst out of a cave within the Flame Mountain Range.
The Artifact Spirit was likely within that very cave.
Boom, boom, boom!
The entire Flame Mountain Range trembled slightly, a sea of flames spreading and converging, forming into a Flame Phoenix that flew towards the group.
With a flap of its wings, feathers made of flames shot out like arrows, covering the sky and hurtling toward the three of them.
"Block it for me, World Wall."
Mr. World uttered softly, as ninety-nine formation flags spun in a mysterious arrangement, evolving into a massive... tortoise shell.
The so-called World Wall was this tortoise shell, standing like a high wall before them.
Boom, boom, boom!
The arrows struck the tortoise shell, causing it to vibrate continuously, but ultimately blocking the fiery projectiles.
Squawk!
The Fierce Flame Phoenix screeched, diving at the tortoise shell.
With a loud bang, the tortoise shell shattered.
The ninety-nine formation flags flew backward, returning to Mr. World’s hands.
Whoosh!
Lu Yan surged forward, Immortal Power madly pouring into the Thunder Sword, which was covered in golden lightning, unleashing a terrifying force.
Lu Yan normally swung the Thunder Sword without triggering its true power, for doing so drained Immortal Power immensely.
With his own reservoir of Immortal Power, he couldn’t sustain but a few strikes.
Lu Yan felt the Immortal Power within his body rapidly depleting as the Thunder Sword vibrated. A bolt of lightning shot up into the sky, cleaving towards the Flame Phoenix.
Boom!
A thunderous roar shook the heavens.
The advance of the Flame Phoenix was halted, but Lu Yan also staggered back, his body enveloped in flames, threatening to incinerate him into ashes at an alarming temperature.
Fortunately, Lu Yan possessed complete mastery of the Rule of Fire, granting him immunity to flames.
Unless the opponent’s flames far surpassed Lu Yan’s, the immunity would not be broken.
"Suppress it for me."
Shen Yinuo urged the Great Sun Melting Furnace to grow as huge as a mountain, pressing down on the Flame Phoenix.
"Hundred Flag Great Array."
Mr. World held a particularly large formation flag in his hands, waving it continuously. The ninety-nine flags danced along with the large flag and eventually flew towards it.
A hundred flags merged into one, mobilizing massive amounts of energy from heaven and earth. Like an ocean of power, they roared towards the Flame Phoenix.
Boom, boom!
The sky shook violently, the earth thundered, and under the combined assault of the three, the Flame Phoenix finally exploded with a bang.
Having dealt with the Flame Phoenix, the three continued towards the cave in the mountain range.
"Senior, your combat power seems to have increased?"
Lu Yan asked curiously.
In the recent battle, Mr. World had used several techniques he hadn’t before, apparently stronger than in the past.
With his power, he could probably rival someone of the Immortal Fourth Layer.
Yet, when they had first met, he clearly wasn’t that strong, or else they wouldn’t have feared the Master of Skull Fire Mountain.
"Hahaha, you’ve noticed too, I’m a genius favored by the heavens. I can comprehend new techniques rapidly during a great battle, grow stronger amid the clash, and rise from the fight," Mr. World said with a wide smile, radiating pride.
But Lu Yan and Shen Yinuo wore faces of disbelief.
"Cough cough cough, don’t look at me like that. To tell you the truth, when my creator was refining me, he sealed many profound techniques within my body. As my cultivation level improves, I can unseal some of them on my own and master more techniques. Of course, amidst fierce battle, I can also break some seals and awaken marvelous methods. In the heat of the recent fight, fortune favored me, and I mastered a few techniques—with no need for cultivation, they were completed," Mr. World explained.
Lu Yan and Shen Yinuo could only feel envious and resentful.
To break seals during a cultivation breakthrough or in battle, mastering various profound techniques and marvellous skills, and not needing to cultivate them—directly achieving mastery.
It was simply defying the heavens.
In a sense, he truly was a genius favored by destiny.
How could they not envy him?
"Senior, there are great battles ahead, and I suggest you take the lead. That way, you may awaken more methods," said Lu Yan.
"You have quite the scheme in mind," Mr. World glared.
As they talked, they had neared the vicinity of the cave.
Upon reaching this point, they stopped talking, concealed their auras, and probed the cave with their Spiritual Sense, trying to discern the situation inside.
But shortly after their Spiritual Sense entered the cave, it was blocked by a powerful force.
"It seems we can only force our way in," they concluded.
Side by side, the three slowly walked towards the cave.
Inside the cave, there was a passage—dark, silent, and thousands of meters long.
After passing through the corridor, they found a vast cavern.
A fiery red fan floated in mid-air.
The fan was woven from beautiful feathers that closely resembled those of a phoenix.
However, the fan wasn’t solid; it appeared more like a soul body.
Artifact Spirit.
As Lu Yan, Shen Yinuo, and Mr. World entered the cave, the fan burst into a dazzling light, the entire mountain range trembled, and endless fire energy converged towards the fan.
Whoosh!
With a flick of the fan, a scorching flame surged towards them.
"World Wall."
Once again, Mr. World conjured the tortoise shell, positioning it before them.
But under the scorching flame, the shell quickly turned red and then exploded.
The relentless flame surged towards Lu Yan and Shen Yinuo.
