The flame beast king's demonic core shared the properties of the earthcore fire. After all, it was a life form that had come into being from the power of fire the earthcore fire was emanating. Because of that, its demonic core allowed one to approach the earthcore fire unharmed.
If one approached rashly without the demonic core, one might be a victim of the earthcore fire’s attack. After spending a millennia to form, the millennium earthcore fire possessed a certain degree of intelligence. One could say that it now possessed some sort of consciousness. Thus, if one wanted to obtain it, one had to first obtain its approval.
Other than that, the only way to get it would be to rely on the brute strength of an expert. But since these people here were all Transformation Realm cultivators, none of them possessed the power to suppress the earthcore fire with brute force.
Xiang Shaoyun tossed Chen Zilong a grateful look before he resumed his climb. Without Chen Zilong's reminder, he would have focused only on entering the volcanic crater. And if he did that, he would most likely suffer gravely.
"Why did you tell him that?" Li Yaxuan asked doubtfully.
"I just want to see how strong he really is," Chen Zilong said nonchalantly.
They then continued up the mountain as well. At the summit of the mountain, a flame beast flew out. It spat terrifying tongues of flame out of its mouth repeatedly.
The flame beasts were simple demonic beasts that only knew one attack. This was completely unlike other demonic beasts that had numerous variations in their attacks. But flame beasts held the superiority in regards to the seemingly boundless energy they had at their disposal due to the kind of environment they resided in.
Although the first young man who was climbing the mountain was not a King Realm cultivator, he had an astonishing combat prowess. He was able to easily avoid the attacks of the flame beast and was able to even find an opening to launch a counterattack.
That young man's name was Huo Linfei, a freak from the Cloud Margin Pavilion. He ranked three among all the personal disciples and had a chance of becoming a King Realm cultivator in a few years' time.
He was surrounded by a clump of green flame capable of facing the surrounding flame, allowing him to remain unaffected despite the harsh environment. Holding a saber with a blazing flame on its blade, he swung it around repeatedly while dodging the attacks of the flame beast. Each attack he sent was capable of posing a threat to even King Realm cultivators.
That was the type of valiant combat prowess Cloud Margin Pavilion geniuses had. The middle-aged man arrived soon after and joined the battle as well. He was clear that the flame beast king had to be killed before they could proceed into the volcanic crater. Next, the barefoot man arrived as well. He drew a massive crimson sword, lifted it, and slammed it down at the flame beast.
The middle-aged man was called Qian Chen, while the barefoot man was called Fan Ren. The former was a high-level overseer of the Cloud Margin Pavilion while the latter had an unknown background. The two had similar combat prowess to Huo Linfei.
All three of them were equipped with king-grade weapons. They worked together and were able to force the flame beast into retreat. The flame beast had even sustained injuries. All three of them possessed enough strength to battle King Realm experts.
As the three were working together to deal with the flame beast king, yet another flame beast king shot out from the volcanic crater. The second flame beast king was even stronger than the first flame beast king. The moment it came out, a torrential flame flooded the area.
The three were forced to retreat temporarily. They did not dare to face the second beast, and the situation started turning for the worse for them. It was at this time that Xiang Shaoyun, Chen Zilong, Li Yaxuan, Xie Sanqian, and the others arrived as well.
"Let's work together and kill the flame beast kings first. We can fight for the demonic core after," Huo Linfei shouted.
"I agree," Qian Chen said.
"Yes, we have to first kill the flame beast kings," said Li Yaxuan.
Thus, they formed two groups and started fighting the two flame beast kings. The flame beast kings were not here as decorations. They kept spitting terrifying tongues of flame everywhere, forcing everyone to roll around dodging the flame. Those without king-grade armor were instantly killed.
Xie Sanqian was having a hard time dealing with the flame attacks. If it wasn't for the two people protecting him at all times, he would have been killed right then. He knew he shouldn't force it, so he stopped forcing himself and quickly retreated. He decided to try getting the demonic core after everyone was done with the flame beast kings. His eyes shone with a sharp glint when he noticed that Xiang Shaoyun was also present.
Xiang Shaoyun was not idling around. He drew his saber and joined the group with Chen Zilong, Li Yaxuan, and the others in their battle with the flame beast king. Everyone was fighting with their full power and nobody was holding back. Dreadful and powerful attacks started flooding the area.
Chen Zilong was fully displaying the combat power the number one young master of Cloud Margin City should have. His fists enlarged, and fiery scales covered them. Each punch he sent was accompanied by the projection of a roaring qilin; the might of his punches were extremely terrifying.
Qilin Arm!
That was Chen Zilong's proud trump card, the one and only in the Cloud Margin City.
It was rumored that the Chen Clan Emperor had injected some qilin blood he had obtained by accident into Chen Zilong's arms during his childhood. From then on, his arms had changed, becoming extraordinarily strong and capable of breaking through all defenses.
Chen Zilong did not disappoint and relied on this pair of arms to gain his title as the number one young master of Cloud Margin City.
As for Li Yaxuan, she was also astonishingly powerful. She was dual wielding a pair of swords, one of the wood element and one of the fire element. The two elements criss-crossed without stop as she unleashed her outstanding swordsmanship, which was destructive enough to directly injure the flame beast king.
With these two, Xiang Shaoyun did not feel much pressure from the flame beast king at all. However, his gold serpentine crocodile skin did get ignited by the flame beast king's attacks.
From that alone, it was obvious the flame attacks of the flame beast king was not something ordinary flames could compare to. The attack forced Xiang Shaoyun to retreat from the battle in a sorry manner.
While he retreated, he could sense that the coldstar stone was growing weaker and weaker. It did not seem like the stone would last any longer. He could not afford to delay any longer and had to enter the volcanic crater immediately.
"I can't hold back anymore," Xiang Shaoyun muttered to himself and charged forth again, unleashing his saber intent.
With Chen Zilong and Li Yaxuan keeping the flame beast king busy, he could attack without fear. He swung his saber, unleashing an enchanting saber energy that glided across the air. In a flash, the saber energy struck the flame beast king, severing one third of its body away from it.
"Roar! Roar!"
It enraged the flame beast king, and it immediately spat a fireball at Xiang Shaoyun. His face fell and quickly unleashed his Lightning Slash From the Clear Sky. This time, he did not attract any natural lightning from the sky. Instead, he only utilized the innate purple lightning in his lightning bone which shot forth together with the saber energy.
Rumble! Rumble!