Chapter 243: Fire

For a moment, the blurred figure in the fiery sea above the heavens fell utterly still.

Amidst the blinding, dazzling glow of flames, only the scorching air currents stirred by the heat produced a continuous howling wind.

Master Chihuo, who had previously shown no emotion whatsoever, finally began to slowly turn his eyes—two orbs burning with brilliant golden flames—as if gazing down at Li Mu, seated upon the eaves of the Bai Xiang Pavilion.

Li Mu, however, maintained his usual expression throughout, silently observing the shifts in the atmosphere between heaven and earth, carefully studying every detail of the opponent's use of his innate divine ability.

Yet now, seeing Master Chihuo suddenly halt his assault and cease attacking him,

Li Mu furrowed his brows:

"Why stop?"

Then he waved his hand toward the blurred, flame-wreathed figure above and said:

"Continue."

At these words, the sea of fire above the Bai Xiang Pavilion erupted in violent turmoil, surging up dozens of flame waves, each ten feet high, followed by a thunderous roar from the blurred flame figure:

"I underestimated you."

Li Mu said nothing, merely waiting silently.

Indeed, as soon as Master Chihuo's words faded,

the next instant, the flames within a hundreds-of-zhang radius above the sky suddenly coalesced into streams of molten-bright fire, reversing like a retreating tide.

Within mere breaths, all the roaring flames were drawn back, as if rivers returning to the sea, entirely absorbed into the body of the blurred figure.

Instantly, the once-bright Bai Lian City, illuminated as if by daylight by the towering flames, rapidly dimmed, swallowed once more by the black veil of night.

Only a colossal flame figure, ten zhang tall, remained凝聚 above the Bai Xiang Pavilion.

After absorbing all the flames of the heavens, the massive flame figure was wreathed in streams of intensely condensed gold-red light, while at its brow, a black fire core formed—a vortex that devoured all surrounding light, radiating a terrifying heat as if capable of burning all things to ash.

Seeing this, Li Mu's eyes brightened.

Admittedly, this flame-controlling innate divine ability looked flashy and extravagant, its visual spectacle delightfully impressive.

Of course, this did not mean the ability was merely superficial; when wielded to such an extreme degree, it could effortlessly crush the likes of the top martial experts of Bai Lian Peak.

At this moment, the flame figure, like a god descending from the heavens, stood suspended in midair, radiating unimaginable heat and pressure, then stretched out its arms and clenched its fists, crashing down toward Li Mu below.

Instantly, the massive flame figure plunged from the sky, engulfed in rolling waves of fire.

The fiery tail trailing behind it left searing, iron-red scars across the night sky, while the surrounding air rippled like water from the intense heat.

Then, streams of gold-red light converged at the fist of the terrifying flame figure, and visibly, a section of space above the Bai Xiang Pavilion's roof collapsed and vanished in the blazing light.

Yet, this monstrous punch, as large as a house, halted once again—just like all previous attacks—three feet above Li Mu's head, unable to advance an inch.

And the entire Bai Xiang Pavilion beneath Li Mu, despite the overwhelming flood of flames pressing down upon it, remained utterly unharmed from start to finish.

Seeing this, the colossal flame figure's flames erupted violently, unleashing a deafening roar.

Immediately, it gathered rolling streams of fire and swung its fist again toward Li Mu below.

One punch, two punches, three punches…

After dozens of punches, the space around Li Mu and the colossal flame body was entirely filled with what seemed an endless sea of firelight.

All that could be seen was blinding, sky-piercing flames—no other detail remained visible.

Only after several breaths did the firelight finally dissipate, revealing the true structure of the Bai Xiang Pavilion's rooftop.

And atop the pavilion, the colossal figure wreathed in gold-red flame streams had now ceased its punching.

Yet Li Mu still sat calmly upon the eaves, unharmed, and the Bai Xiang Pavilion beneath him remained perfectly intact.

For a moment, the air between them seemed frozen, so silent that a falling pin could be heard.

After a long silence, the flame figure finally spoke in a low, heavy voice:

"Who are you? I have never heard of any young martial expert in the Great Li court possessing such overwhelming strength."

Hearing this, Li Mu shook his head—but did not answer the question.

You're a dead man already; asking so many questions only proves you talk too much.

Better to just keep attacking—then even if you die, at least your final battle will look impressive.

After all, no one had ever managed to strike him this many times before; most were obliterated within two moves.

Yet Master Chihuo clearly failed to grasp Li Mu's goodwill, seeing only his indifference.

Instantly, he became furiously enraged, roaring in fury.

"I refuse to believe your defense is flawless!"

Master Chihuo's voice rolled like thunder, and the next instant, his ten-zhang-tall fiery body collapsed inward, the swirling flames compressing relentlessly, the gold-red light darkening into profound, heavy depths.

Clearly visible, the massive flame figure shrank instantly to normal human size, revealing Master Chihuo's true appearance.

Though his body had shrunk, his aura grew even more unfathomable.

And though Master Chihuo appeared as an ordinary middle-aged man, he was far from human.

His body was naked, his skin translucent, with magma surging through his veins, illuminating the contours of his ribs.

Deep within his eye sockets burned brilliant flames like two collapsed miniature suns; his pupils had become white-hot vortices, and wherever his gaze fell, the air ignited, surging into flame waves several zhang high.

Simultaneously, a black fire core, the size of an eye, appeared at his brow, and the space where he hovered had become a black hole that devoured all light, its edges wrapped in flames that never extinguished.

"Now, can you still block me?"

Master Chihuo's blazing golden eyes locked onto Li Mu below, his crimson hair like three thousand flame dragons, whipping through the firewaves as it flared with radiant firelight.

Then, a streak of ink-black flame drifted from his brow core and merged into his fingertip.

He pointed at Li Mu—and instantly, a ring-shaped firestorm erupted, containing strands of flame hurricanes compressed to their absolute limit.

At once, the surrounding space seemed unable to withstand such terrifying heat, cracking open into fissures, from which erupted vertical pillars of flame shaped like inverted thorns.

Without sound, the heavens tore open in a spiderweb of cracks; the space above the Bai Xiang Pavilion's roof collapsed instantly, all light and heat from Bai Lian City converging here, then erupting in an instant like a solar prominence of gold-white radiance.

In that moment, heaven and earth fell silent; Li Mu and the Bai Xiang Pavilion below were engulfed by the terrifying radiance, as if a burning sun had crashed onto the pavilion's roof.

Several breaths later, all light vanished, and everything returned to normal.

The black fire core in Master Chihuo's brow, dark as ink, dimmed slightly; he looked down, then immediately frowned.

Although Li Musheng, who had originally been sitting on the ridge of the Hundred Incense Pavilion, had vanished, the pavilion itself remained exactly as before, completely undamaged.

In an instant, a bad premonition arose in Master Chihuo's heart, and his eyes, burning with brilliant flames, immediately swept around.

Wherever his gaze fell, firelight illuminated and the air distorted, yet he saw no trace of Li Musheng's figure.

"Stop looking; I am here."

Just then, Li Musheng's voice floated lightly beside Master Chihuo's ear.

The flames burning in Master Chihuo's eyes suddenly swayed violently; next, he saw in shock Li Musheng's figure materialize in the air a few feet before him.

"How is this possible? How can such powerful defense exist in the world? It even withstood the 'Earth Core Fire Kernel' that this Venerable spent countless efforts to condense!"

"You... just how did you do it?"

Master Chihuo clearly found it hard to accept.

Over the past few decades, using his innate divine ability to control fire, he had day after day absorbed the essence of the Earth Core Flame from the molten magma beneath the ground, barely condensing that single fire kernel capable of burning metal and stone.

Yet even so, he still could not break through Li Musheng's defense, not even burning off a single corner of the other's robe.

Facing Master Chihuo's question, Li Musheng shook his head and said nothing.

His gaze at that moment was fixed only on the black fire kernel the size of an eye in the other's brow.

Li Musheng narrowed his eyes slightly, his face showing a look of contemplation; then he glanced at Master Chihuo before him and said:

"Your innate divine ability is indeed not bad, but you have not reached my realm and do not understand where true Unity of Heaven and Man and the limit of the Martial Way lie. Although you can control powerful forces, knowing only what happens without knowing why is useless."

Having spoken, he ignored the look of shock and doubt that instantly appeared on Master Chihuo's face, then raised his hand and reached for the black fire kernel in the other's brow.

In the next moment, Master Chihuo's expression changed drastically; he could clearly feel that the fire kernel in his brow had suddenly slipped from his control.

His own bloodline, the flames in his eyes, and the gold-red fire streams swirling around him were all drawn by an irresistible suction force, completely leaving his body and converging toward that fire kernel now far from him.

In an instant, the flames around Master Chihuo extinguished in a flash; his entire figure immediately dimmed, returning to the appearance of an ordinary person.

At this moment, he could only rely on his own Martial Way true qi to keep his body suspended in midair without falling.

With the black fire kernel, accumulated and condensed over decades, seized, Master Chihuo's innate divine ability instantly lost most of its power.

"No, this Venerable still possesses Martial Way cultivation!"

Suddenly, Master Chihuo looked at his own hands, and a bit of confidence gradually returned to his eyes.

At this moment, the Li Musheng opposite him made the black fire kernel float half an inch above his palm, then glanced at Master Chihuo.

Even his innate divine ability couldn't deal with him; now he wanted to compete in Martial Way cultivation? One didn't know what the other was thinking.

However, he paid no attention to Master Chihuo, instead examining the black fire kernel before him, which contained an extremely terrifying temperature.

Just now, his ability to withstand Master Chihuo's flames relied entirely on his Martial Way cultivation realm and his control over the entire heavenly and earthly space by driving the heavenly and earthly true qi.

In fact, with Li Musheng's current realm of Unity of Heaven and Man, as long as he did not wish it, no force could approach him even a fraction.

And what he had just observed was that, although the power employed by the innate divine ability controlled by those of divine nature differed from the heavenly and earthly true qi, the way they mastered and applied power was largely the same, both following the same "operating rules."

Therefore, when he reached a certain realm impossible to surpass, even innate divine ability could do nothing to him.

As for why Li Musheng was paying attention to the black fire kernel, it was because a spark of curiosity had suddenly arisen in his heart just now.

He himself had previously created and mastered a Martial Way cultivation technique named "Indestructible Golden Body"; this divine technique, in his view, was absolutely the first-class body-forging and body-protecting divine technique under heaven, impenetrable to blades and spears, invulnerable to ten thousand poisons.

Li Musheng wanted to test whether the extremely high temperature of the black fire kernel could break his Indestructible Golden Body.

Thinking this, Li Musheng shifted his will; immediately, golden patterns arose on his skin, emitting a faint golden radiance.

Next, he released the suppression on the black fire kernel, letting it fall on its own toward his palm.

During this time, his gaze closely monitored the entire process.

After all, as the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat; if this black fire kernel accidentally burned through his palm, then...

And just then, a palm condensed with terrifying burning fire and surging Martial Way true qi silently pressed onto Li Musheng's chest.

Immediately followed Master Chihuo's furious and gloomy voice:

"Daring to be distracted while facing this Venerable..."

However, before he could finish speaking, in the next moment, the clear radiance faintly shimmering on Li Musheng's skin surface swayed slightly, and that palm was knocked away at a speed faster than its arrival.

Li Musheng glanced at the flying-back Master Chihuo; immediately, a wisp of formless true qi directly pierced through the other's brow.

And the body of Master Chihuo, whose life force vanished in an instant, as if having lost all strength, fell like a kite with a broken string toward the ditch in the street below.

That ditch already held the corpses of a group of experts from the Fallen God Peak, including the Peak Master of Hundred Refinements Peak and the Zhang Sect's eldest disciple.

Master Chihuo's corpse falling into it seemed to make no difference; whether he was there or not, it mattered little.

At this moment, Li Musheng withdrew his gaze and continued observing his experiment.

The black fire kernel fell into his palm; the golden patterns densely covering his skin glowed, blocking the fire kernel containing terrifying high temperature from entering.

Next, Li Musheng felt a trace of warm breath coming from his palm.

However, his hand remained completely unharmed.

Only the fire patterns as black as ink merged with the golden radiance on his body surface, emitting a black-gold luster.

Seeing this, Li Musheng slightly raised his eyebrows.

This divine technique, Indestructible Golden Body, was indeed impeccable; enabling a mortal flesh body to withstand such high temperature basically reached a non-human level.

However, in Li Musheng's view, it was still not enough.

After all, he was someone pursuing transcendence in the Martial Way; moreover, a thought suddenly occurred to him at this moment: if only there were something like Fire Qilin blood or Azure Dragon true qi that could further enhance physical constitution and defense.

(End of this chapter)