John halted his steps, not daring to move forward recklessly. He took out the Soul Essence to observe its state.
“Still not working?” He frowned deeply as he noticed no reaction from the Soul Essence. The surrounding temperature clearly wasn’t high enough.
Gritting his teeth, he held his breath and continued pushing forward against the blazing heat, inching closer to the center of the Undying Flame’s explosion.
-10,000
-10,000
…
The damage numbers flashed above his head, indicating a loss of 10,000 health points per second.
The intense heat from the flames was now posing a threat to his very life.
Fortunately, he had grasped the Power of Life’s Laws and was linked to the Tree of
Life through a life-sharing pact, making this level of health loss manageable.
The ground beneath his feet was scorching hot, and he could already see the flickering white flames in the distance.
He checked the state of the Soul Essence once again.
“Just a bit more,” he muttered while staring at the undulating white flames ahead. The distorted space around them marked the location of the altar, right at the explosion’s core. It seemed like he needed to reach the core area to fully refine the Soul Essence.
If those white flames touched him, death would be inevitable.
But giving up now would be too much of a regret for him to bear.
After all, this treasure was hard-earned, and aside from using the Undying Flame, he couldn’t think of any other way to refine it.
“Screw it!” He decided to take the risk, knowing he could always retreat if things got too dangerous.
He stepped forward and entered the core explosion zone of the Undying Flame.
“Ugh!” His brows furrowed, and his face twisted in pain. The terrifying heat instantly fused with his flesh and began to sear his very soul.
The agony was unbearable-something beyond the endurance of ordinary people. He felt as if he would be completely incinerated in the next second.
Fortunately, the Soul Essence in his hand finally reacted. Under the intense heat of the Undying Flame, it began to slowly refine.
“It’s working!” He suppressed the pain and sat cross-legged, trying to calm himself down and focus on absorbing the Soul Essence.
“Why is it taking so long?” He opened his eyes, the pain intensifying to the point that he almost gave up.
The temperature here was still too low for the Soul Essence. At this rate, it would take three to five months to fully refine it.
There was no way he could endure for that long.
He glanced at the nearby flickering white flame. Though it looked feeble, it was something that could threaten even the soul.
Buzz!
An idea came to mind. He activated Sword Mastery, and the Three-Foot Black Dragon Sword flew out, carrying the Soul Essence toward that white flame.
Whoosh…
The flame flickered and instantly adhered to the Soul Essence, merging into it.
“It’s working!” John was overjoyed. He could clearly feel the Undying Flame refining a substantial portion of the Soul Essence.
He continued!
Guiding his longsword, he maneuvered it toward another white flame to accelerate the refining process of the Soul Essence.
…
Like this, the flying sword, bearing the Soul Essence, was bathed in dozens of white flames until it was thoroughly refined and ready for absorption.
The Soul Essence returned to his hand. Ignoring the scalding heat radiating from it, he immediately began to absorb its energy.
“Ugh!” A cry of pain escaped his lips as his eyes widened, his face contorted in agony.
The Soul Essence had actually absorbed the power of the Undying Flame. As he absorbed it, the scorching energy surged directly into his soul, burning it furiously.
Not only that, he cried out in agony as his lungs filled with the searing air, and his entire body seemed on the brink of combusting and exploding.
“It’s over!” Despair washed over his face as he realized that his soul had been severely damaged by the Undying Flame. The flame continued to burn relentlessly, and at this rate, his soul wouldn’t be able to withstand it.
Buzz!
At that critical moment, the Jade Heart Lotus appeared within his mind, emitting a soft green glow that enveloped his soul and shielded it from the ravaging white flames.
The Jade Heart Lotus was actually absorbing the power of the Undying Flame!
Moreover, as he continued to absorb the Soul Essence, the increase in his Soul Technique was simultaneously strengthening the Jade Heart Lotus.
“This might not be such a bad thing,” he realized, clenching his teeth and pressing on with refining and absorbing the Soul Essence.
A surge of powerful soul energy flowed into his body, accompanied by the scorching Undying
Flame.
Once more, his soul and body were subjected to the torment of searing burns. Intense pain flooded his mind, and his health plummeted at an alarming rate.
Fortunately, with the life-sharing pact from the Tree of Life, his life was not in any real
danger.
His soul was shielded by the Jade Heart Lotus, and though the pain was excruciating, he wasn’t in mortal peril.
And as he absorbed the Soul Essence, his soul power steadily grew.
…
John endured this relentless torment for an entire day. He was pushed to the brink of mental collapse several times before he finally managed to fully absorb the power contained within
the Soul Essence.
[You have refined and absorbed the Soul Essence. Soul Technique +10,000]
[The Jade Heart Lotus has absorbed the Undying Flame, evolving into the Crimson Karma
Lotus. Soul Technique +10,000]
[You have learned a new skill: Red Lotus Fire]
[Red Lotus Fire: A soul-based area skill. The karmic flames are intangible, purifying the soul.
They cannot be defended against and are immune to soul backlash. Consumes 1,000 soul
power per second; no cooldown.]
A series of notifications flashed before his eyes.
He was stunned. Everything around him seemed to become crystal clear, and his soul
perception range expanded significantly.
Even the pain caused by the Undying Flame had diminished noticeably.
“So powerful!” He couldn’t help but swallow nervously as the reality of his newfound
strength sank in.
Absorbing the Soul Essence had instantly increased his Soul Technique by 10,000 points.
Moreover, the Jade Heart Lotus had absorbed the Undying Flame and evolved into the Crimson Karma Lotus, greatly enhancing its power and adding another 10,000 points to his
Soul Technique.
His current Soul Technique had reached over 31,000 points, far surpassing the vast majority of
mid-tier gods.
The most terrifying thing was the soul skill he had comprehended-Red Lotus Fire.
It completely disregarded any defensive measures of the target and caused no soul backlash, burning the target’s soul relentlessly.
He felt incredibly powerful right now. With his Soul Technique elevated to this level, he was confident that he could stand toe-to-toe with mid-tier gods and even had a real chance of
killing one!
“It’s time to head back.” He stood up, having spent more than a day in the ancient battlefield ruins after absorbing the Soul Essence. He was worried that Sini and the others might
encounter trouble.
Utilizing Sword Flight, he left the ancient battlefield ruins immediately.
Buzz!
With a spatial ripple, he reappeared in the Skyline Continent.
“Roar…” Suddenly, roars and snarls echoed around him as countless hunters lunged toward
him.
John was momentarily startled, but he quickly realized that these creatures were likely drawn
by the Hunter’s Hatred Mark that lingered on him.
He didn’t release any offensive skills but instead opted for a soul-based attack.
He wanted to test his theory: were these hunters truly connected to the mother insect, sharing
a single soul?
Buzz… Buzz…
The air vibrated, and in an instant, the souls of the dozen or so hunters rushing toward him were annihilated. Their bodies collapsed limply to the ground.
Just as he suspected, the souls of these hunters were linked to the mother insect’s.
With the mother insect already slain, these hunters had lost their soul protection and their
ability to resurrect.
“Looks like you aren’t so formidable after all!” He sneered, and suddenly, a crimson flame bloomed, spreading like a lotus flower and enveloping the hunter army.
Soul attack skill-Red Lotus Fire!
The crimson flames flickered as the hunters stared blankly. They didn’t feel any heat or pain;
the fire seemed illusory, almost as if it weren’t real.
But the very next second, they clutched their heads, letting out agonized, ear-piercing shrieks
as their souls were purified, and they died completely.
[You have slain a Level 1000, Tier-7 Hunter, gaining 678,300 experience points.]
…
Notification messages kept flashing. These hunters were all ordinary beasts, not bosses, so he
didn’t plunder many attributes.
“No boss among them?” He surveyed the field littered with hunter corpses-there were over
ten thousand of them. Under normal circumstances, there should have been at least one boss
present.
The only plausible explanation was that the bosses had developed some level of intelligence. Realizing that the mother insect was dead and that they had lost their ability to resurrect,
they dared not confront him recklessly.
“How interesting.” He chuckled coldly, picked up the loot from the ground, and then rode his
sword, flying toward the Saint Martial Sect.
On his journey back, John was ambushed by hunters several times. However, they were all ordinary beast-level hunters, and he didn’t encounter a single boss-level leader.
He felt no pressure at all and easily slaughtered them, quickly returning to the Saint Martial
Sect.
The Saint Martial Sect was relatively quiet and hadn’t suffered any major incidents, though
there were hunter corpses scattered around. It was clear that the sect had experienced an attack from the hunters.
He hadn’t expected these creatures to spread so quickly. In just one day, they had already
reached the Eternal Forest.
This made him a bit concerned. Hunters were capable of biting and devouring souls, which
meant they could completely obliterate players.
“John, you’re back.” Sini’s eyes lit up when she saw him. She rushed over excitedly, with Tracy
following closely behind.
This young girl had now reached the eighth tier and was adamant about not staying in the
Death Land anymore.
With her strength slightly improved and Sini by her side, she would be safe as long as they didn’t encounter a god-tier enemy.
John decided not to force her to stay away any longer.
He looked around at the hunter corpses and asked, “Hunters have appeared here too? Were
there any casualties?”
Sini shook her head and replied, “No, there weren’t. Fortunately, we were well-prepared, and
the number of hunters wasn’t overwhelming, so we managed to fend them off easily.” “That’s a relief.” He sighed in relief.
Sini continued, “But other factions weren’t so lucky. When the hunters descended, they
targeted the major faction strongholds right away. The Dark Humans suffered severe losses-
over a hundred cities were annihilated in just one day. Also, the Heavenly Court faction of our Beast Clan was completely wiped out. Malina’s Phoenix City was destroyed as well.” “The Heavenly Court was wiped out?” John was stunned. “Where were Tony and the others?
Couldn’t they hold off the hunters?”
Sini explained, “Tony and Ben weren’t there. As soon as they left the ancient battlefield ruins,
they split off from us, saying they were going to unite with other god-tier powerhouses from different races. By the time we received word that the Heavenly Court was in danger and rushed to their aid, it was already too late. Fortunately, the Beast Clan didn’t suffer too many
casualties.”
“That’s good to hear.” John felt relieved. The Heavenly Court could be rebuilt as long as the Beast Clan didn’t suffer significant losses.
He then asked, “What about Phoenix City?”
Phoenix City was a faction established by the Undead Lord, known as the Undead Kingdom,
and was under his direct control. Malina had been managing it for some time.