Volume 5 Chapter 6

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Volume 5 Chapter 6: Distant Past

"Feng Qingtian, he really wants to kill me!"

Watching as Feng Qingtian transformed into "Thunderbolt Thunder Fire" and charged directly at him without holding back, Xu Qingfan realized that if he was hit, he would be turned to ashes. More importantly, from the moment the duel began, Feng Qingtian’s killing intent was clear, confirming Xu Qingfan’s previous suspicions that Feng Qingtian indeed wanted to kill him.

But Xu Qingfan had no time to ponder the reasons, as "Thunderbolt Thunder Fire" was incredibly fast and already upon him in a blink.

If it were the old Xu Qingfan facing Feng Qingtian’s attack, he might have been in disarray, even if not severely injured. However, now Xu Qingfan merely sneered coldly, watching silently as the wild "Thunderbolt Thunder Fire" came towards him, without moving an inch.

Just as "Thunderbolt Thunder Fire" was three yards away from Xu Qingfan, Xu Ying suddenly flashed before him, shielding him. Powerful earthen Spirit Qi gathered on Xu Ying’s arm, causing it to swell several times its size, muscles knotted, as if brimming with infinite strength. With wild momentum, he threw a punch at the oncoming "Thunderbolt Thunder Fire."

At the same time, on the other side, Xu Zhiyuan raised his hands swiftly, sending countless ice-formed projectiles attacking the "Thunderbolt Thunder Fire" that Feng Qingtian had become.

"Boom…"

After the clash of fists and flames, Xu Ying’s body shook violently, taking more than three steps back. His once solidified form flickered between sharpness and blur due to the immense power of the "Thunderbolt Thunder Fire." At the moment of impact, the energy that composed Xu Ying’s body nearly collapsed.

However, Xu Ying, embodying the essence of Earth and Wood Spirit Qi, possessed incredible defense and healing abilities. It didn’t take long for his body to stabilize once again.

Meanwhile, the "Thunderbolt Thunder Fire" that Feng Qingtian had transformed into was significantly dispersed by Xu Ying’s powerful punch, causing his advance towards Xu Qingfan to come to an abrupt halt.

"Hmph…"

Then, a sound of pain came from Feng Qingtian.

It turned out that during this pause, the countless icy projectiles that Xu Zhiyuan had transformed into were launched at the "Thunderbolt Thunder Fire."

Xu Qingfan, having accidentally learned the Feng family’s secret technique from Feng Qingtian, had a deep understanding of the "Thunderbolt Thunder Fire." This secret method allowed the user to transform their entire body into flames, exponentially increasing speed and attack power. Since the body was made of pure energy, it was largely immune to most attacks in the world.

However, every strength comes with a weakness. Although "Thunderbolt Thunder Fire" was immensely powerful, its transformation into the purest fire energy made it particularly vulnerable to water-based attacks. For this reason, Xu Qingfan instructed Xu Zhiyuan to forego other attack methods and focus solely on using Water Spirit Qi.

Sure enough, under Xu Zhiyuan’s barrage of ice-formed projectiles, the fierce flames of the "Thunderbolt Thunder Fire" subsided, significantly weakening its power.

But things were far from over.

"Dong… Dong… Dong…"

The melodious and ancient sound of a bell rang continuously.

Suddenly, the "Five Spirit Bell" silently appeared in Xu Qingfan’s hand, and as Xu Zhiyuan’s icy weapon approached "Thunderbolt Thunder Fire," Xu Qingfan repeatedly struck the bell, using its sound to launch an attack on Feng Qingtian.

While performing "Thunderbolt Thunder Fire," Feng Qingtian’s entire body turned into Phoenix Spirit Fire, but his Original Soul remained. The bell’s sound attack from Xu Qingfan sent a shock through his mind, causing the "Thunderbolt Thunder Fire" that his body had become to disperse.

Meanwhile, Xu Qingfan’s expression grew increasingly serious.

It was too easy.

Although Feng Qingtian underestimated his opponent, although Feng Qingtian hadn’t anticipated that Xu Qingfan’s power would become so strong by now, and although Feng Qingtian didn’t know the mystery behind Xu Qingfan’s two "avatars," he was still Feng Qingtian, the greatest genius of Jiuhua Mountain in centuries, and he shouldn’t be suppressed by Xu Qingfan so easily.

As Xu Qingfan pondered what might be wrong, a sense of alert danger suddenly surged within him. Without hesitation, he infused a large amount of Spirit Qi into the "Five Spirit Bell," which instantly transformed into a colorful bell-shaped shield, enveloping Xu Qingfan within it.

Just when the "Five Spirit Bell" shielded Xu Qingfan completely, a spark from when Xu Ying’s fist clashed with the "Thunderbolt Thunder Fire" suddenly grew larger, transforming back into a streak of "Thunderbolt Thunder Fire" racing towards Xu Qingfan, just as fierce as before, while the previous "Thunderbolt Thunder Fire" vanished instantly.

"Boom…"

"Clang…"

The "Thunderbolt Thunder Fire" struck all around Xu Qingfan’s "Five Spirit Bell," the sound of tolling and booming erupting simultaneously. Caught off guard, Xu Qingfan was hurled dozens of feet away, feeling his insides quiver violently, nearly spitting out blood. The colorful shield from the "Five Spirit Bell" shuddered and flickered strongly, yet it barely managed to fend off Feng Qingtian’s surprise attack.

Just as Feng Qingtian’s "Thunderbolt Thunder Fire" was about to chase Xu Qingfan again, Xu Ying and Xu Zhiyuan, under Xu Qingfan’s command, rushed towards Feng Qingtian. Xu Zhiyuan, in particular, was not slower than the "Thunderbolt Thunder Fire," flashing in front of Xu Qingfan, gathering all his Water Spirit Qi, transforming into layers of a water shield to envelop both him and Xu Qingfan.

Seeing the layered water shield ahead, Feng Qingtian hesitated for a moment but ultimately charged towards Xu Qingfan without hesitation, ignoring the severe harm Water Spirit Qi would cause him…

It seemed Feng Qingtian was determined to kill Xu Qingfan today.

But Xu Qingfan showed no fear; in fact, a strong sense of excitement faintly arose deep within him.

Perhaps, ever since the defeat at the hands of Feng Qingtian over sixty years ago, Xu Qingfan had been anticipating this battle?

As Xu Zhiyuan blocked Feng Qingtian, Xu Qingfan continued to strike the "Five Spirit Bell" without concern for the depletion of his Spirit Qi. The powerful and heart-shaking sound echoed across Jiuhua’s rear mountain, sweeping towards the front.

Under Xu Zhiyuan’s Water Spirit Qi assault and Xu Qingfan’s bell chimes, Feng Qingtian’s "Thunderbolt Thunder Fire" began to slow. Taking this chance, the slightly slower Xu Ying caught up from behind, concentrating his mighty Earth and Wood Spirit Qi, and once again swung his surging arm at the "Thunderbolt Thunder Fire."

Fist and flame clashed, a roar erupted, the ground shook, and sparks flew everywhere.

Just as Feng Qingtian was suppressed by Xu Qingfan again, a sudden change occurred.

The "Thunderbolt Thunder Fire" before them vanished abruptly, while one of the previously scattered sparks, closest to Xu Qingfan, suddenly grew rapidly like before, transforming back into "Thunderbolt Thunder Fire," rushing towards Xu Qingfan.

This time, not only Xu Qingfan, but even Xu Zhiyuan was struck far away, engulfed by the Phoenix Spirit Fire.

However, Xu Qingfan was protected by the "Five Spirit Bell," and Xu Zhiyuan’s body, composed of Five Element Spirit Qi, wasn’t fatally harmed.

Nevertheless, Xu Qingfan’s expression grew increasingly solemn.

After Feng Qingtian’s two fierce attacks, Xu Qingfan realized that the "Five Spirit Bell" could only withstand six to seven attacks of the same intensity.

However, after being attacked twice, Xu Qingfan had already seen through the mystery of how the "Thunderbolt Thunder Fire" suddenly disappeared and reappeared beside him.

Feng Qingtian could transfer his Original Soul and all his Spirit Qi instantly to any spark, and every time Xu Ying scattered a part of the "Thunderbolt Thunder Fire," sparks would fly everywhere. This allowed Feng Qingtian to have countless duplicates, enabling him to change positions at will, making his attacks unpredictable and mysterious.

According to Xu Qingfan’s understanding, this was not a secret technique passed down by the Feng family. It seemed to be one of the divine abilities Feng Qingtian had comprehended over the years, truly remarkable, and almost on par with the Feng family’s three major secret techniques.

Now that Xu Qingfan had figured out Feng Qingtian’s methods, he devised a countermeasure. During subsequent battles, whenever the "Thunderbolt Thunder Fire" was scattered by Xu Ying, and sparks flew, Xu Qingfan instructed Xu Zhiyuan not to rush with Xu Ying to attack Feng Qingtian. Instead, they first extinguished the scattered sparks, cutting off Feng Qingtian’s escape method.

In this way, with the "Five Spirit Bell" in hand, Xu Qingfan, along with Xu Ying and Xu Zhiyuan, managed to fight Feng Qingtian to a standstill.

In truth, both Xu Qingfan and Xu Ying, including Xu Zhiyuan, were at the peak of the Fake Golden Core Stage, whereas Feng Qingtian had reached the initial late stage of the Real Golden Core Stage. Logically, even with the three of them combined, they should not have been a match for Feng Qingtian.

Yet, Feng Qingtian, who was fighting Xu Qingfan and his two external incarnations, also had to control the "Flame Phoenix" to battle Little Black. Juggling these tasks, his strength was significantly reduced.

Additionally, although Xu Qingfan and his two incarnations were, in terms of realm division, at the late stage of the Fake Golden Core Stage, their cultivation methods were mysterious, and the "Five Spirit Bell" was a defensive treasure. Any one of them could hold their own against an early stage Real Golden Core Stage cultivator.

Furthermore, Xu Zhiyuan and Xu Ying, though external incarnations, were in complete harmony with Xu Qingfan’s mind and were as easy for him to control as his limbs. Their coordination in attack and defense was seamless, not simply a matter of three late-stage Fake Golden Core Stage cultivators joining forces.

Precisely because of this, although Feng Qingtian’s abilities were far beyond Xu Qingfan’s, Xu Qingfan could hold his own in a fight with Feng Qingtian, and even subtly suppress him.

…

As Feng Qingtian and Xu Qingfan began their battle, the immense clash of forces and the deafening roar of powerful Spirit Qi spread throughout Jiuhua Mountain.

Sect leader Zhang Hualing, Supreme Protector Gongsun Huasa, Jin Qinghan, Lv Qingshang, Dongfang Qingling, and all the elders of Jiuhua, whether they were in secluded training or handling worldly affairs, all suddenly looked up towards the back mountain of Jiuhua at the moment Xu Qingfan and Feng Qingtian clashed.

The lower-ranked disciples of Jiuhua, despite being far away, still felt a sense of suffocation under the overwhelming pressure of Xu Qingfan and Feng Qingtian’s aura.

There, the aura was all-encompassing.

"Feng Qingtian? Xu Qingfan? What are they doing?"

"I never expected their powers to have grown so incredibly strong!"

Whether pondering in silence or murmuring to themselves, many elders of Jiuhua marveled.

But very soon, the elders noticed something was wrong. The Spirit Qi fluctuations from the back mountain became increasingly chaotic and intense, and the rumbling sounds grew louder and more frequent. This level seemed no longer like a competition, but a battle for life.

Realizing this, everyone turned pale and hurriedly flew towards the back mountain of Jiuhua.

Meanwhile, at the site where Xu Qingfan and Feng Qingtian were fighting in Jiuhua’s back mountain, the wild "Thunderbolt Thunder Fire" in front of Xu Qingfan disappeared again. However, this time, Feng Qingtian did not use the Original Soul Spirit Qi transfer technique but instead retreated about thirty feet away, where the flames swiftly gathered and transformed back to his original form.

In the sky, the "Flame Phoenix," which was battling Little Black, quickly returned to Feng Qingtian’s side and turned into pure fire Spirit Qi, which was reabsorbed by Feng Qingtian.

At the same time, Little Black landed on Xu Qingfan’s shoulder, its icy eyes coldly watching Feng Qingtian. Earlier, in the tussle with the "Flame Phoenix," Little Black had the upper hand but was still entangled, unable to assist Xu Qingfan.

With a slight sigh, Feng Qingtian slowly said, "I never thought you’d reach such a level. Even Jin Qinghan might not have been able to handle my previous attack, let alone push me to the disadvantage."

"It’s a pity that the commotion from our fight was too great and alerted those people at the front mountain. We must settle this quickly between us. It’s a shame; I was hoping to spar with you a bit more."

As he spoke, Feng Qingtian’s eyes turned fiery red, as if two blazing flames were fiercely burning within them.