Qin Chu descended into the pit. Only by leaping across the pit could he approach the base of the altar stone platform and climb up along the altar's bottom.
After descending into the pit, Qin Chu conveniently collected all the Spirit Stones around him. There was no reason not to collect good things when he saw them.
While collecting Spirit Stones, Qin Chu moved closer to the altar.
As Qin Chu was digging out a larger crystal embedded in the earth, a sense of danger arose. Qin Chu's body twisted to evade, and at that moment, a faint light brushed past him, carrying a putrid, fishy odor.
Qin Chu turned his head to look, and it was a completely black snake. This snake, as thick as an arm, was coiled up, and from its triangular head, a pair of glowing eyes stared at Qin Chu.
Snake eyes are usually for show, with very poor vision. They rely on heat, smell, and vibrations to pinpoint targets. However, Qin Chu was certain that the eyes of this snake were definitely not just for show, and they carried a vicious aura.
As Qin Chu observed, the black snake moved. Its tail lashed the ground, and its body launched into the air, attacking Qin Chu again. Qin Chu swung his Azure Spirit Sword, striking out at the black snake.
Clang! Qin Chu's sword strike was extremely swift and hit the black snake, but it didn't slice the black snake in two as he had expected.
The black snake's body was as hard as metal, withstanding Qin Chu's sword, but because Qin Chu was strong, he sent the black snake flying.
The black snake's ferocity surged. It continuously lunged at Qin Chu, its gaping maw aiming for Qin Chu's head and neck, and its tail lashing at Qin Chu's body.
Qin Chu could only attack with his sword, but he couldn't injure the black snake. Qin Chu also determined the black snake's cultivation level: an eighth-level Heavenly Origin Realm, two levels higher than his own.
Qin Chu felt that this kind of battle wouldn't work; he couldn't kill the black snake! The black snake's defense was too strong. Fighting like this was just a waste of time. He had to attack its weak points.
Weak points... The black snake's entire body was covered in extremely formidable black scales. Its only weak points were its mouth and its rear, but trying to harm the black snake from its rear was very difficult, as the black snake's speed was simply too fast.
Qin Chu had only one option: the black snake's large mouth.
When the black snake lunged again, Qin Chu unleashed the Vermilion Bird Heaven-Seizing Claw. It was an energy claw that gripped the black snake's body, reducing its speed. Qin Chu swiftly delivered a diagonal thrust with his Azure Spirit Sword, piercing into the black snake's large mouth at an angle.
Qin Chu's Azure Spirit Sword passed through the black snake's upper palate and penetrated its head.
With the Azure Spirit Sword hitting its target, Qin Chu exerted force and rotated his right arm. The Azure Spirit Sword, with the black snake attached, spun around. What was originally an upward diagonal thrust became a downward diagonal thrust.
The tip of the Azure Spirit Sword pierced the ground. Qin Chu raised his right foot and stepped on the black snake's neck, immobilizing its head. Then, he pulled out the Azure Spirit Sword halfway and thrust it back in, repeating this several times. After shattering the black snake's brain, Qin Chu finally withdrew his sword and retreated.
Qin Chu let out a breath. This black snake was too difficult to kill. He had controlled it well just now; he almost let the black snake bite his hand. He was certain that if he had been bitten by this black snake, the consequences would have been absolutely tragic, as this black snake was extremely venomous.
The black snake writhed for a while, then stopped moving. Qin Chu put this black snake into a separate Storage Ring and continued to approach the altar, but his vigilance was higher than before. If there was a black snake, it was likely there were other Yao Beasts.
However, Qin Chu reached the bottom of the altar, and no other Yao Beasts appeared.
Qin Chu climbed towards the top of the altar, nearing the exotic flame.
As he got closer to the exotic flame, Qin Chu could determine what kind of flame it was. According to the ancient texts Mei Tianling gave him, this exotic flame was the Ink Spirit Flame. When it became completely black, that would be when the Ink Spirit Flame matured, and at that point, it would be difficult to subdue.
The altar was very tall, nearly twenty zhang. A sixth-level Cultivator might reach the top in two leaps, but Qin Chu, without sixth-level cultivation, could only climb up.
After about fifteen minutes, Qin Chu reached the top of the altar, only two zhang away from the leaping black and white flame.
The top of the altar was flat, allowing Qin Chu to stand steadily. Once stable, Qin Chu slowly walked towards the flame. When he was very close to the flame, his Origin Qi cultivation erupted, enveloping the black and white flame.
Enveloped by Qin Chu's Origin Qi energy, the Ink Spirit Flame erupted, directly lunging at Qin Chu. Although it had no sentience, it possessed instinct.
Just as the Ink Spirit Flame approached Qin Chu, a burst of fire light erupted from Qin Chu's body. It was the Vermilion Bird Sacred Flame, which blocked the Ink Spirit Flame's attack on Qin Chu. At the same time, it counter-enveloped, trapping the Ink Spirit Flame and beginning to burn it. The Ink Spirit Flame also expanded, resisting the Vermilion Bird Sacred Flame.
Qin Chu controlled his Origin Qi energy to suppress the Ink Spirit Flame within the Vermilion Bird Sacred Flame. The Ink Spirit Flame continuously resisted the Vermilion Bird Sacred Flame, leaving it no time to deal with Qin Chu's suppression.
The Vermilion Bird Sacred Flame was much more powerful than the Ink Spirit Flame, putting the Ink Spirit Flame at a disadvantage.
The Vermilion Bird Sacred Flame also had another name, the Vermilion Bird Heaven-Burning Flame. It was one of the more dominant exotic flames. Furthermore, it had formed over a longer period than the Ink Spirit Flame and already possessed sentience, so the Ink Spirit Flame was no match for it at all.
As it burned the Ink Spirit Flame and absorbed the fire energy contained within it, the Vermilion Bird Sacred Flame grew stronger and stronger.
As one waxed and the other waned, the Ink Spirit Flame grew weaker and weaker. When the Ink Spirit Flame was only three inches tall, Qin Chu felt that if the Vermilion Bird Sacred Flame continued to devour it, the Ink Spirit Flame would extinguish and completely vanish. He felt he should give the Ink Spirit Flame a chance at survival; although the Ink Spirit Flame was not a living creature, it was still a spiritual item.
Qin Chu's thought was conveyed into the Vermilion Bird Sacred Flame. The Vermilion Bird Sacred Flame retreated, leaping continuously, expressing its joy. It had grown much stronger.
After expressing its joy, the Vermilion Bird Sacred Flame retreated back into Qin Chu's body.
With the Vermilion Bird Sacred Flame retreating, only Qin Chu's Origin Qi energy was left to suppress it, and the Ink Spirit Flame's condition improved significantly.
"Although I've left you a chance at survival, this sealed land won't last much longer and will soon be broken. Your fate is still uncertain," Qin Chu sighed. At this moment, the sealing energy above the Ink Spirit Flame was very thin. This was due to the burning during the battle between the Vermilion Bird Sacred Flame and the Ink Spirit Flame. It was estimated that in a few days, the natural spatial pressure of the Saint Martial Continent would break the seal, and the naturally rising altar would also pierce through the seal.
Qin Chu withdrew his Origin Qi energy. As he did so, the Ink Spirit Flame followed his Origin Qi energy and directly plunged into Qin Chu's body.
Qin Chu was greatly alarmed and mobilized the Vermilion Bird Sacred Flame to attack, but the Ink Spirit Flame darted through, entering Qin Chu's head along his neck.
Qin Chu's head spun for a moment, then cleared. At this point, he discovered that there was a space in his head where the Ink Spirit Flame was leaping.
Raising a tiger to cause trouble? Was the Ink Spirit Flame retaliating? Qin Chu didn't think so, because the Ink Spirit Flame was very gentle at this moment, with no intention of harming him.
What was this situation? Qin Chu didn't understand. He felt that after he got out, he needed to thoroughly check the ancient texts to find out what was going on with this Ink Spirit Flame.