Inside the spiritual realm, absolute crimson stretched as far as the eye could see. Walking through it, one could see neither sky above nor ground below, leaving everyone hesitant, unsure of which direction to take.
Not far from her, numerous figures lingered—those who had entered alongside her. It appeared they had not been scattered upon entering.
Sensing her surroundings, Shi Yu realized that her previously sealed spiritual Qi had resumed its flow, allowing her to sigh in relief.
Looking around at the crowd nearby, she saw some sitting with closed eyes to regulate their breathing, seemingly having suffered minor injuries, while others peered about in curiosity or conversed with one another.
“I’ve heard that the Yanyang Spiritual Realm is filled with treasures. With good luck, one might even obtain an inheritance or two.”
“How many years old is that rumor?”
The Yanyang Spiritual Realm had been open for a very long time, and they were who knows which batch of visitors to step inside.
Batch after batch had swept through like a whirlwind through fallen leaves. Long ago, the natural treasures within the spiritual realm had been picked clean. A single sweep of the eye revealed nothing but a vast, boundless expanse of crimson—truly empty.
Seeing this, the two speakers twitched their lips, unable to resist muttering, “It’s truly like a swarm of locusts passed through—not a single thing left...”
However, their primary purpose here was not to search for so-called natural treasures, but to observe the Yanyang Xuancang Flame—a Heavenly Fire—in hopes of planting a seed of comprehension for the Intent of Fire within their minds.
At this moment, whether it was the members of the Hengze Prefecture Alchemist Association or the alchemists from other prefectures who had scored high in the competition, their eyes drifted toward Yin Wenzhou.
Everyone was here for the Yanyang Xuancang Flame, and most were entering the Yanyang Spiritual Realm for the first time. Knowing that Yin Wenzhou was the most familiar with the realm, they naturally wanted to follow his lead.
Yin Wenzhou felt quite annoyed by these gazes seeking to ride his coattails, but he knew this small convenience wouldn't affect him in the slightest. Observing the Yanyang Xuancang Flame and gaining insights was entirely dependent on each individual's comprehension.
Thus, when speaking to Qin Qingmu and the younger members of the association, he did not bother hiding his words from the others: “The Yanyang Xuancang Flame is lively by nature, and its location shifts constantly. Attune your minds to the surrounding fire spiritual Qi; wherever the fire aura is most concentrated, that is where it lies.”
Saying that, he took the lead in sitting cross-legged, calming his mind to sense and discern the surrounding aura.
The others followed his example, sitting down one by one to quiet their minds.
Right at that moment, Pei Yanji, who had entered first and stood slightly away from the crowd, suddenly launched a surprise attack, summoning his magic treasure and the Fire-Absorbing Blood Toad to charge directly at Shi Yu.
Shi Yu's mouth twitched. Knowing her Qi Refining Realm cultivation made it difficult to contend with him directly, she decisively turned on her heel and ran.
Sensing something was amiss, Yin Wenzhou hurriedly opened his eyes. Seeing the situation, he was initially startled, but then a hint of gloating appeared on his face.
But then he saw Shi Yu, expressionless, sprinting straight in his direction.
His expression changed drastically, and he shouted in anger, “How dare you shift your trouble to me!”
Shi Yu felt not the slightest bit embarrassed. She had no personal grudge with Pei Yanji; his attack was simply due to his evil cultivator nature. Fearing her talent, he wanted to nip her in the bud before she could grow, eliminating a potential threat.
But when it came to talent and potential threats, were not Yin Wenzhou, Qin Qingmu, and the others in the same boat? Everyone who stood out among thousands of alchemists could be considered a brilliant young talent with a bright future.
Shi Yu's eyes narrowed slightly as she thought, Shift the trouble? This is called sharing the risk.
Executing the 《Swallow Walking Art》, her figure darted forward, gliding nimbly right between Yin Wenzhou and Qin Qingmu.
Sure enough, as Pei Yanji pursued Shi Yu, he made no effort to avoid Yin Wenzhou and the others. His magic treasure was a bizarrely shaped hooked weapon. He hurled the hook toward Shi Yu with ruthless precision.
As the hook flew, its head spun and split into three, whistling through the air with a massive area of impact. The faces of those standing nearby turned pale as they scrambled to get out of the way.
Yin Wenzhou and Qin Qingmu exchanged a glance and were forced to summon their own magic treasures. Spiritual light shields flared up, blocking the left and right hooks, while the center hook continued its unstoppable charge toward Shi Yu.
Hearing the whistling sound tearing through the air behind her, Shi Yu did not even turn her head, decisively shooting out two meteoric iron needles.
With two sharp clings, the meteoric iron needles collided with the hook, immediately followed by an ear-grating sizzle of corrosion.
Shi Yu had crafted the meteoric iron needles long ago and had barely used them. Right now, she could not afford to grieve over the loss, flinging them backward one after another.
The tips of the meteoric iron needles were slightly bulged, filled with Slaughter Spring water. Upon impact, the tips would shatter, and the Slaughter Spring water contained inside would instantly pour out.
The sharpness and lethal nature of the Slaughter Spring water were beyond words; the sizzling sound from earlier was precisely the sound of Pei Yanji’s magic treasure being corroded by it.
Seeing his Three-Split Curved Fang Hook damaged, Pei Yanji recalled the hook with dark, somber eyes. “You have quite a few tricks!”
Beside him, the Fire-Absorbing Blood Toad let out two croaks, spreading thick, dark red flames forward continuously. Shi Yu released Little Seven to stall the blood toad. With a clear, resonant cry, the Seven-Color Luan flew out and engaged the blood toad in a fierce struggle.
Shi Yu then pulled out a handful of spirit talismans, activated them, and hurled them at Pei Yanji.
However, this man was wealthy. Seeing the flurry of spirit talismans Shi Yu threw, he remained entirely unfazed. The defensive magic treasures on his body lit up, raising a protective barrier. As the talismans showered down, they merely caused ripples to spread across the shield without breaking his defense.
Immediately after, Pei Yanji’s eyes darkened even further until the whites completely vanished. Countless souls seemed to circle within them, emanating a heart-stopping pressure. Within moments, three spinning silver spots of light appeared in his eyes.
As the silver spots manifested in his pupils, Pei Yanji locked his eyes onto Shi Yu, his lips curling into a subtle smirk.
“Ugh...” Shi Yu’s body froze, falling into an involuntary daze. An invisible force seized her mind, trapping her in a trance she could not break free from.
In Shi Yu’s ears, countless souls wailed, their voices ringing out with startling clarity—some familiar, some strange, and even some belonging to those she hated to the core.
Taking advantage of this moment, Pei Yanji shot forward, closing the distance between him and Shi Yu in the blink of an eye.
Yet in mere moments, Shi Yu snapped out of her trance and bolted forward once again.
Though there was a significant gap in their cultivation, Shi Yu’s soul had long been tempered by the 《Soul Tempering Art》 into something immensely resilient. Such illusory voice enticements had little effect on her, allowing her to break free swiftly.
Seeing her break free from his Soul-Snatching Pupil so quickly, Pei Yanji showed a flash of surprise before his gaze turned even more ruthless: “This girl must not be allowed to live!”
Shi Yu knew this game of cat-and-mouse could not go on for long. With Pei Yanji’s Foundation Establishment Realm cultivation, she would inevitably be caught if she tried to stall. Her mind raced for a solution, but her feet nimbly veered around, charging straight back toward Yin Wenzhou and Qin Qingmu.
Yin Wenzhou could not help but curse loudly, “Stop dragging us into this!”
Qin Qingmu retreated repeatedly as well, holding her long sword guardedly before her.
The others scrambled to flee, scattering in all directions out of fear of being caught in the crossfire.
Shi Yu sneered, “Once he finishes me off, do you think he’ll just behave himself? You’ll all be picked off one by one!”
Yin Wenzhou knew her words were true, his expression turning into a mix of conflict and panic. In terms of raw cultivation, his aura was slightly stronger than Pei Yanji’s, but right now, with Pei Yanji’s sudden, ferocious display, Yin Wenzhou lost his confidence, feeling faintly outmatched.
Evil cultivators are full of unpredictable tricks, and this man named Pei has a deep foundation. From his posture, he might really do as she said—picking us off one by one to wipe us all out. Yin Wenzhou’s expression shifted, looking grim, until he was forced to step in and help.
Killing intent flashed in Shi Yu’s eyes, and she called out, “With this evil cultivator around, even if we find the Yanyang Xuancang Flame, we won't be able to observe it in peace! Why not join forces right now to kill him and eliminate the threat once and for all!”
Hearing her words, hesitation flickered in the eyes of many.
“Indeed... this evil cultivator is ruthless and tyrannical. If we don’t get rid of him, then as Miss Shi said, even if we find the Yanyang Xuancang Flame, we’ll constantly have to watch our backs.”
When it came to the spiritual fire, everyone’s emotions fluctuated.
Entering the spiritual realm was a rare opportunity that had to be seized; they could not let Pei Yanji ruin it for them.
All at once, everyone began summoning their magic treasures.
Qin Qingmu had hesitated on whether to act, but seeing everyone step up, she immediately made up her mind and shouted out, “If we attack together, this evil cultivator won't stand a chance! Everyone, strike now!”
In an instant, over a dozen streams of colorful spiritual light flared to life.
Seeing the crowd unite, Pei Yanji cursed under his breath and decisively retreated.
Seeing this, Shi Yu pulled out her restraint identity jade token, triggering the restraint divine ability within to firmly lock down Pei Yanji’s figure.
At the same time, she unleashed the Seven Emotions Array given to her by President Cui of the Array Association. Moving with lightning speed, Shi Yu prepared to lay down the array plate and array flags around Pei Yanji before he could break free from the restraint ability.
But right at that moment, an exceedingly violent fire-attribute storm suddenly swept over from the distance. Sensing the overwhelming power, everyone froze in shock before immense panic washed over them.
“What is that?!”
“Run!”
Though Yin Wenzhou had entered several times before, he had never witnessed such a terrifying sight. The force of the flame storm resonated from afar, so breathtakingly powerful that even a Golden Core Realm cultivator caught within it would likely be torn to shreds.
Even Pei Yanji looked toward the flame storm with a rare expression of terror.
At a time like this, no one had any mind left to fight Pei Yanji, scrambling blindly to flee in all directions.
Knowing she lacked the crowd's suppression to finish setting up the Seven Emotions Array in time, Shi Yu cursed her bad luck silently. Decisively stowing the array flags and plate, she called out to Little Seven, recalled it into the Fate-Tapping Bell, and bolted in the direction opposite the storm.
Survival was paramount. Pei Yanji temporarily set aside his intent to take Shi Yu's life, trailing a few paces behind her as he fled for his life.
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