Chapter 1665, Subterranean Battlefield

In front of Brilliant Flame Sect’s headquarters, the elites of Ice Heart Valley, led by Luo Li, broke through countless layers of defensive barriers as they drove towards the center of the Sect.

The five Starships formed a line in the sky and continuously shot volleys of Crystal Cannon fire, bringing death and destruction wherever they went.

Aboard the fleet’s flagship, Luo Li watched indifferently as the Elders of Ice Heart Valley all displayed their might.

In a certain square up ahead, a thousand meters below, at this moment, the leaders of Brilliant Flame Sect had all gathered, led by Wei Qing, all of them wearing ugly expressions as they stared upwards.

Between these two groups, a fiery red-light barrier remained intact.

This was Brilliant Flame Sect’s last defensive barrier, and once it was breached, Brilliant Flame Sect would become completely undefended and fall to the mercy of Ice Heart Valley.

Staring across the barrier and each other for some time, Wei Qing shouted, “Senior Luo Li, is Ice Heart Valley really determined to fight to the death with my Brilliant Flame Sect?”

“Yes!” Luo Li responded immediately.

Wei Qing laughed, “Forcing Senior Luo Li to act personally is my Brilliant Flame Sect’s honour, but… does Senior believe Brilliant Flame Sect is some soft persimmon you can crush at will? If that is the case, Junior must advise Senior to reconsider. If Senior is not prepared for all of us to die here together, Junior advises her to retreat, otherwise Senior will surely regret it!”

“Are you threatening this Queen?” Luo Li’s cold gaze pierced Wei Qing, like a sharp knife, causing even someone as strong as him to stumble back a few steps.

With shock in his heart, he cupped his fists and shouted, “Junior would not dare; however, this Wei Qing is Brilliant Flame Sect’s Sect Master, so he must take into consideration the safety of the Sect’s tens of thousands of disciples. Senior’s cultivation is profound, and there is indeed no one in Brilliant Flame Sect that can serve as your opponent, but if you wish to destroy my Brilliant Flame Sect, know that it will not be as easy as you believe.”

“I know what it is you are relying on!” Luo Li smiled suddenly, “To be honest, this Queen also felt that dealing with that thing would be quite difficult, and if at all possible I do not wish to confront it.”

“If Senior understands, everything can be discussed!” Wei Qing’s face brightened slightly, thinking Luo Li was still worried about acting rashly, lest innocents be hurt.

Unexpectedly though, Luo Li simply smiled even more brightly, “But this Queen is only responsible for dealing with you, as for that thing, someone else will take care of it, so… you’d best surrender quickly. This Queen does not enjoy bullying the weak. As long as you waste your cultivation, this Queen will give you a chance to survive!”

Wei Qing’s face turned angry and was just about to snap back when suddenly his Knowledge Sea rolled as an astonishing and terrifying will spread out from a certain direction, carrying with it a message that caused a chill to run up his back!

“A trivial Artifact Spirit dares challenge this King’s majesty? A foolish ant that knows not its place! Tremble before my power!”

As soon as this voice sounded, a fierce battle erupted at the volcano in the deepest part of Brilliant Flame Sect.

Everyone clearly felt the energy fluctuations from this clash spread out.

Brilliant Flame Sect’s leadership all wore looks of shock as they turned in the direction of this disturbance.

“Who would dare provoke the Heavenly Thunder Fire!” An Elder of Brilliant Flame Sect exclaimed.

“It has already started?” Luo Li narrowed her eyes.

She had apparently still underestimated the speed with which Yang Kai would act. She thought it would take some time before Yang Kai engaged the Heavenly Thunder Fire in battle, but now, she had barely reached her main target with her forces and Yang Kai had already begun.

“You have ten breaths to cripple yourselves. Do so and this Queen will spare your lives. If you still refuse to comply and force this Queen to break this barrier, you will all perish!” At this moment, Luo Li’s temperament, which should have been cold and indifferent, became fierce and aggressive.

The grievances between the two great forces were too deep, reaching the point where they could simply not live under the same sky.

Wei Qing’s expression changed dramatically as he felt the powerful fluctuations coming from the Heavenly Thunder Fire’s Restricted Area and understood that the last card he had to play was no longer available to him. However, crippling himself was naturally impossible.

All cultivators fought against the Heavens throughout their lives, crossing one narrow bridge after another, with countless trillions falling along the way. Wei Qing had spent three hundred years cultivating to the peak of the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm and had high hopes to break through to the Origin King Realm.

How could he be willing to waste his cultivation now?

Rather than linger on in disgrace, it would be better to put his life on the line to fight for a chance to survive.

“To battle!” Wei Qing roared.

Brilliant Flame Sect’s leadership obviously held the same idea as Wei Qing. All of them knew how deep the grievances were between their two Sects and that even if they begged for mercy, there would be none. As such, once Wei Qing cried for war, all the Elders present pushed their Saint Qi, summoned their artifacts, and struck towards the five Starships.

“Death!” Luo Li’s face went cold as she lifted her hand and gently tapped the air in front of her.

She did not make any fancy movements, nor create any spectacular display, but the moment her finger pointed forward, a crystal-clear six-petal snowflake condensed before her.

In the blink of an eye, this six-petal snowflake expanded to cover the entire sky above the square.

A chill that caused all to shiver quickly descended from the sky!

“Endless Frozen Seal!” Bing Long, Ran Yun Ting, and all the other Ice Heart Valley Elders shouted in unison.

Saint Qi surged from all their bodies and gathering together before flooding into the space in front of them.

Wherever their Saint Qi passed, the ground began to freeze.

Snow then began falling from the sky.

Shocking energy fluctuations pulsed from each tiny snowflake and as they landed lightly on the fiery red barrier, it seemed to melt through it, slowly opening holes in Brilliant Flame Sect’s last protective shield.

A region of frozen earth spread out towards the square.

The less powerful Brilliant Flame Sect disciples instantly turned into ice sculptures.

Wei Qing instantly fell into despair, knowing that Brilliant Flame Sect was doomed this time.

With Luo Li taking action personally, all hope was basically lost. Originally, he had been relying on the sealed Heavenly Thunder Fire making Luo Li cautions, but now it had somehow been entangled by some unknown force and was of no use.

Moreover, looking at Luo Li’s appearance and aura, where were there any signs of injury?

She was clearly at her peak!

[Is Brilliant Flame Sect really going to fall today?] Darkness covered Wei Qing’s eyes, as if dark clouds had descended upon him, blocking out any trace of light.

…..

Inside the volcanic crater, Yang Kai landed on a red rock outcropping. This rock was extremely hot, and Yang Kai was forced to use his Saint Qi to protect himself so he would not be burned.

The magma in front of him roiled as two different auras fought desperately down below. From time to time, the low roars of the Heavenly Thunder Fire and the cries of the Firebird rang out

It seemed the two were evenly matched.

However, as the owner of the Artifact Spirit. Yang Kai was keenly aware that the Firebird was at a disadvantage.

It was not as evolved as the Heavenly Thunder Fire as the conditions for its birth were not as profound as the latter.

The Artifact Spirit was born from an Origin King Grade Artifact Refining Furnace after ten thousand years of accumulation in the Earth Lung Fire Pond, meaning it was an acquired entity.

As for this Heavenly Thunder Fire, it was an innate existence that had steadily grown since the formation of this star, a rare, pure energy entity.

Both in background and strength, the Firebird was inferior, so even with the assistance of its host Artifact Refining Furnace, the Firebird was gradually being suppressed.

It needed assistance.

Yang Kai promptly sat down cross-legged atop the rock, summoned Xiao Xiao to protect him, closed his eyes, and began releasing his Divine Sense.

An illusory shadow suddenly projected from Yang Kai’s forehead, one that had an appearance identical to Yang Kai himself.

However, this figure had no physical essence.

Soul projection!

What had appeared was Yang Kai’s Soul Avatar!

With a flicker, Yang Kai’s Soul Avatar plunged into the magma and dove down deep.

Releasing one’s Soul Avatar outside one’s body was an extremely dangerous move as, once it was done, one’s physical form would be left in a completely undefended state.

This was why Yang Kai summoned Xiao Xiao again.

Moreover, the Soul was a fragile and sensitive existence. Without the protection of a physical body, it would be easily damaged.

Even in an ordinary environment, one would need to be wary of releasing their Soul Avatar, much less in this burning hot volcanic crater. The Soul of an ordinary cultivator would not be able to survive in this kind of environment and would likely be incinerated the moment it appeared.

But Yang Kai was different.

He possessed a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, which meant that his Spiritual Energy and Soul had the same attribute as the flaming magma of this place.

As such, the burning heat that would even deter an Origin King in this place was no hindrance to Yang Kai.

Without much effort, Yang Kai’s Soul Avatar penetrated deep underground.

The surrounding environment grew hotter and more terrifying the deeper he proceeded.

After finally reaching the deepest depths, a strange subterranean battlefield appeared.

In this battlefield, with a wingspan of nearly three hundred meters, the beautiful Firebird Artifact Spirit flew back and forth as it fought against a massive red and purple shadow.

This shadow had a figure somewhat similar to a human’s as it floated in the sea of magma, but instead of ordinary limbs, it had long tentacle-like arms that swayed back and forth throughout the entire space.

At the head of this shadow, there was a single massive eye that emitted a frightening light.

Its body pulsed with rich Fire Attribute energy as purple arcs of lightning danced across the surface of its figure.

Heavenly Thunder Fire!

Yang Kai could not help staring for a moment, not having expected the true body of the Heavenly Thunder Fire to look like this.

However, just as he expected, this Heavenly Thunder Fire contained a terrifying destructive power that could make any who felt it tremble.

Its tentacle-like arms swept about, shrouding the entire battlefield in a torrent of attacks. Any time the Firebird was impacted by these attacks, the light of its body would slightly weaken.

It was as if the Heavenly Thunder Fire was sapping the strength of the Firebird.

The Firebird did not back down though, and whenever an opportunity presented itself, it would rush forward and bite into the Heavenly Thunder Fire, swallowing its essence to restore itself.

These two strange creatures regarded one another as prey and were using their own unique methods to try to consume the other, resulting in a strange but still earth-shaking battle.

However, Yang Kai keenly noticed that behind this Heavenly Thunder Fire, eight golden energy chains locked its body in place.

These eight chains gave off the exact same aura as the Spirit Array which surrounded the volcanic crater.

It seemed that the existence of these eight chains greatly limited the abilities of the Heavenly Thunder Fire. If not for it, the Firebird would not have been this entity’s opponent.

Realizing this, Yang Kai felt deeply shocked.

It was hard to imagine just how strong the Heavenly Thunder Fire would be without the shackles of this Spirit Array. Would it be equivalent to a Second-Order Origin King? Perhaps even a Third-Order Origin King?

Moreover, which kind of master was able to chain it here in the first place?