Chapter 462: Green-Eyed Fire Suan Ni, Great Escape, and Power Boost, Fury

Bang!

At a depth of fifteen kilometers in the Blood Miasma Plain, beneath a blood-red mountain roughly four to five hundred meters tall, a black figure suddenly plunged from midair, smashing straight through the mountainside with his body, carving an opening, and swiftly fleeing inside—before slashing his sword to trigger an avalanche of snow, completely burying the entrance.

Cough… cough… cough…

Inside the pitch-black cave, Xia Hong coughed over a dozen times, spitting out five or six mouthfuls of blood before his breath gradually steadied.

His face was deathly pale; he hurriedly pulled a golden circular pill from his Yellow Jie Bag and swallowed it, then immediately summoned the Enlightenment Lotus Platform, sat cross-legged alone, and began closing his eyes to heal.

“What the hell was that thing!”

While healing, Xia Hong never lowered his guard; his spirit remained fixed on the cave’s exterior. After dozens of breaths passed and he sensed no approaching presence, he finally relaxed slightly—his pupils filled with both lingering fear and intense fury.

“A hundred-jun power level. Beyond the Yin-Yang Mirror’s replication, the Shattered Star Sword, all other martial arts—identical to mine. Fire Oil and Yellow Candle had no effect. How did that anomaly achieve this…?”

Xia Hong looked at his twenty-plus wounds, recalling the hour-plus chase by the fake Xia Hong and Fan Qinghu’s group, still trembling with dread.

At that critical moment, he had no choice but to flee southward into the deeper Blood Miasma Plain—but he didn’t charge blindly inward.

Compared to the five pursuers, the deep miasma zone was clearly far more dangerous; if he’d rushed in without caution, he’d likely have met a far worse end.

So Xia Hong only slightly veered southward, maneuvering for over an hour while ensuring his safety as much as possible.

The result? The five kept catching up to him repeatedly—his twenty-plus wounds came from that.

As he maneuvered, he continuously adjusted his southern angle; the longer he evaded them, the more helplessly he was driven deeper into the miasma.

“Are they afraid to follow now—or have they already achieved their goal?”

While Xia Hong closed his eyes to focus on his breathing, he never ceased sensing the outside. He murmured softly, his expression still grim.

As his injuries rapidly healed, his expression slowly eased.

The Holy Vein Pill is the most precious sixth-grade pill in Great Xia. Even if one’s entire meridian network is shattered, a single pill restores them completely. Strictly speaking, its effects far exceed healing—it’s a divine pill capable of saving lives and helping crippled cultivators regain their cultivation.

Great Xia produces very few of these; each is priceless. Xia Hong brought only ten on this journey. Last year, when the Black Wind General wounded him in the Bone-Eroding Path, he used only one.

This time, he already swallowed one during the chase, and another upon entering the cave—two in total.

The Enlightenment Lotus Platform’s fivefold cultivation boost made his healing efficiency far surpass normal; though less than a hundred breaths had passed since entering, his injuries were already seventy to eighty percent healed.

“I know nothing about the miasma zone—I can’t move recklessly anymore…”

Xia Hong opened his eyes. Even though his senses detected nothing amiss outside, his expression remained grim.

He wasn’t new to surveying unfamiliar territory. Even after the near-fatal chase, he’d memorized his approximate location and time.

“From entering the plain until now, barely three hours. My current position should be at the fifteen-kilometer depth of the miasma zone, fifty kilometers southwest of Cai Qiu’s Zone 21—shouldn’t be far from Chen Cang!”

Inside the miasma zone, the sky was invisible, everything crimson—no distinction between day and night. Xia Hong could only estimate time by instinct. The chase had been so perilous; he’d remembered even this much only thanks to years of surveying experience ingrained in his bones. Any other person would’ve lost all sense of direction.

“Every direction is dangerous now. No rush. Hm…”

Sssss…

After a moment of contemplation, a faint sound suddenly emerged from within Xia Hong’s body. His expression froze slightly, then his pupils flared with excitement.

“It’s the three Blood Jade Pearls I just swallowed…”

The flesh beneath his skin was rapidly dissolving and reorganizing!

The Blood Jade Pearls’ effect was intense—he’d sensed it when he first took them—but back then, he’d had no time to meditate, so he’d let them progress slowly on their own.

Now, their already potent effect had intensified several times over.

No—it was dozens of times!

Xia Hong glanced down at the Enlightenment Lotus Platform beneath him and instantly understood. Joy rose on his face, followed by a flicker of suspicion.

“No, no—the Lotus Platform only boosts cultivation fivefold. The Blood Jade Pearls’ enhancement far exceeds that. There must be another reason…”

After over ten breaths of intense thought with no answer, Xia Hong simply discarded the puzzle and immediately activated the Blood Jade Pearls’ energy to assist his body’s tissue reformation.

He absorbed all three Blood Jade Pearls’ energy in under twenty breaths. After absorption, his expression froze, then flooded with shock.

“Ten zong? Increased by 0.1 jun strength? Did I misread that?”

After his shock, Xia Hong clenched his fist and re-sensed—confirmed his strength had truly risen that much. Instantly, ecstatic joy filled his face; then he remembered something and swiftly pulled a blood-colored crystal from his Yellow Jie Bag.

It had flown out from the shattered bones of a Bone-Iron Corpse Demon he’d accidentally slain in the Loman Flower Sea.

The Blood Jade Crystal’s color matched the Blood Jade Pearls almost exactly, its size similar to a fingernail. The only difference was form: one was crystalline, like quartz; the other, spherical, like a pill.

“Same origin—so the usage must be identical!”

After a brief observation, Xia Hong swallowed the Blood Jade Crystal whole.

Boom…

As the crystal entered his belly, a torrent of energy exploded, rapidly spreading through his body—flowing through skin, flesh, meridians, organs—then slowly seeping into his bones.

During this, Xia Hong’s face had already flushed crimson; as the crystal’s energy passed through every part of his body, unbearable tearing pain surged into his consciousness, nearly knocking him unconscious.

Xia Hong clenched his fists tightly. Though his entire body trembled, he made not a single cry—even now, half his spirit remained focused on the cave’s exterior.

His innate talent far surpassed ordinary people, so the pain of reshaping skin, regenerating flesh, and refining bones was several times—even up to ten times—greater than normal. By now, his nerves could endure pain far beyond any ordinary person’s capacity.

As the crystal’s energy flooded into his bones, his six-zhang-tall dark-red bone form slowly manifested behind him, its exterior clearly lined with blood-red meridians—closer than ever to full formation since his breakthrough.

Huh… huh…

Xia Hong’s Bone-Scorching marks now bore many intricate patterns resembling molten lava. As the crystal’s energy seeped into his marrow, those lava-like patterns glowed with renewed power.

Waves of intense light brought Xia Hong immense agony, forcing suppressed, low roars from his throat. Yet even amid these continuous roars, his dark-red bones grew increasingly textured—more precisely, their dark red hue was shifting toward bright red.

“The Blood Jade Pearls mend flesh defects. This Blood Jade Crystal targets bone defects. Both enhance foundation… this…”

Within barely a hundred breaths, Xia Hong fully absorbed the Blood Jade Crystal. As the pain faded, he snapped back to awareness, murmured in surprise, then clenched his fist and sensed—his pupils contracted sharply:

“Boosted nearly 0.3 jun at once? So I’m… 48 jun now?”

Xia Hong was hyper-aware of his own strength. Before entering the miasma, he’d been at 47.5 jun. So three Blood Jade Pearls and one Blood Jade Crystal had collectively increased him by nearly half a jun?

“Kill a Cold Beast, get Blood Jade Pearls. Kill a Bone-Iron Corpse Demon, get Blood Jade Crystals. Then kill a Bone-Copper Corpse Demon—wouldn’t I get something even better?”

Key point: if there’s Bone-Copper, what about Bone-Silver? Bone-Gold?

Xia Hong’s expression froze. He immediately suppressed the unrealistic thought.

He’d seen the four Bone-Copper Corpse Demons in the Loman Flower Sea—each around 30 jun. Crucially, their defense was exceptional, they moved in groups, and could coordinate with anomalies. Not easy to fight. If Bone-Copper was this tough, even if Bone-Silver or Bone-Gold existed, he couldn’t possibly handle them now.

Yet even so, Xia Hong’s pupils burned with heat.

“If I gather enough Blood Jade Pearls and Blood Jade Crystals to rapidly mend flesh and bone defects, I can keep enhancing my foundation. These foundations will directly translate into strength—meaning, even without breaking through cultivation realms, my power will undergo another surge…”

Vvvvv!

A low-frequency vibration came from beneath the ground. Xia Hong’s excitement vanished instantly. He looked down, sensed something, and his face flooded with terror—he leapt up, dismissed the Lotus Platform, and sprinted desperately toward the cave’s entrance.

Boom…

“Ahh!”

A pillar of scorching molten lava suddenly erupted from the ground, instantly filling the cave. Violent cyan flames shot skyward, reducing the entire mountaintop to ash within moments.

Xia Hong hadn’t escaped the cave voluntarily—the cyan molten lava was too fast. He’d barely reached the entrance when it struck him; his entire body ignited, and he was flung hundreds of meters away onto the snow.

Bang…

When struck by the flame pillar, Xia Hong let out a piercing scream. Only when he crashed into the snow did his cries subside. When he rose again, his clothes were in tatters, his entire body blazing, his skin membrane nearly gone—he was charred black from head to toe.

Suppressing the agony of his skin and flesh burning, he rapidly activated his bone energy to extinguish the flames, then turned to look at the cave he’d just left—his pupils filled with horror.

Gulp…

Where was the cave?

Xia Hong remembered clearly: the cave had been beneath a four-hundred-meter snow mountain. Now, in his vision—not only the cave, but the entire four-hundred-meter mountain was gone.

Not gone—it had been instantly vaporized. Its height had dropped by more than half; the remaining half was engulfed in cyan flames, rapidly shrinking before his eyes.

It would be completely flattened in under a hundred breaths.

Behind the mountain, within the crimson miasma, a colossal entity had appeared—unseen moments before.

Its entire body was covered in pale cyan manes, standing a hundred zhang tall at the shoulder, at least two hundred zhang long. Standing still, it resembled a giant mountain, filling one with dread.

Long crimson-cyan manes covered its neck and spine.

No—those weren’t manes. They were flowing crimson-cyan flames, radiating blinding light that pierced the miasma, encircling its massive head like a terrifying sun rising from the blood mist.

Its four black claw-blades, pressed firmly to the ground, continuously emitted crimson-cyan fire. Not only snow, but soil and stone beneath were being incinerated and vaporized, spewing thick smoke—making it seem as if its enormous body floated above the ground, riding clouds and mist.

Most chilling of all: its pair of cyan-gold vertical pupils. No animalistic madness dwelled within—only boundless coldness and piercing insight. They locked onto Xia Hong, radiating lethal intent—and a hint of mockery.

“Fire element, Five Radiance Realm, Beast Sovereign…”

Three words instantly flashed in Xia Hong’s mind. He looked up at the colossal beast—his first reaction wasn’t fear, but overwhelming panic that left him suddenly parched.

If he had to compare it to something familiar, he first thought of a lion from his past life. But this Five Radiance Beast Sovereign—beyond a vague silhouette—bore no trace of lion traits.

“Suan Ni. Qingyan Huo Suan Ni. That name fits better.”

Xia Hong quickly dredged up the only term from his limited knowledge sufficient to describe this Five Radiance Beast Sovereign.

Of the Nine Sons of the Dragon, the one most resembling a lion was the Suan Ni.

Qingyan Huo Suan Ni—this name suited it perfectly.

Roar…

Xia Hong’s face twisted in agony. Naming the Beast Sovereign was dark humor.

The Fire Suan Ni suddenly roared—and molten cyan lava erupted from the very spot where Xia Hong had stood.

He’d been burned once—he wouldn’t be burned again!

The instant the pillar erupted, Xia Hong didn’t hesitate—he sprinted westward, fleeing for his life.

Pfft…

“Get burned again and I’ll be naked!”

Xia Hong spat a mouthful of blood, glanced at his tattered clothes, and muttered a self-deprecating joke. These clothes were bought in Cai Qiu—thankfully woven with silver thread. Any ordinary garment would’ve vanished in that blast.

Of course, the clothes were just a joke.

His entire body had no unburned skin or flesh left. Leaving aside the flame’s intensity, he’d clearly felt the force behind that pillar—minimum eighty jun.

Yaozhidao ， Zhehuozhu ， Zhishinatouhuosuannisuiyishizhandeyixiashouduan ， Shenzhikenengdousuanbushangshenmelihaishouduan ， Jiuzheyixialiliangyoubashijunyishang ， Naqizhenzhengshilideyouduoqiang ？

「 Zheqingyanhuosuanni ， Yinggaishidanhuoxingdewuyaojingshouhuang ， Huoxingjieqiyijijiunenghuidiaowoquanshenpimohexuerou ， Zailaijixiawobisiwuyi ， Zhehaizhishijieqishouduan ， Tadeshili ……」

Shhhhh…

Wuxuxiahongyice ， Naqingyanhuosuanni ， Yagenjiumeiyougeitataopaodejihui ， Nazunruodadeshenqu ， Jingzhiyonglebudaoshiyuxijiuzhuidaoletadeshenhou ， Youqianzhiquheidetiezhaomengranpulai ， Xuezhangshunjianjiubeisandaozhaofengdianran ， Kanshangqudeshijuexiaoguo ， Jiuxiangshikongjianbeizhuachulesandaoliefeng 。

Clang…

Though terrified, Xia Hong could only raise his Shattered Star Sword and twist to block; with a resounding clang, he was slammed diagonally into the ground.

Zaxiangdimiandezuihouyishun ， Xiahongconghuangjiedaizhongquchudierjianbingqipanlonggun ， Xiexiangchengzhudimian ， Jiezhupanlonggunderenxing ， Wanshendansheerqi ， Sisiyazhuxiongqiangyongdongdeqixue ， Jixuchaoxicefengkuangduomingbentao 。

“At least thirty percent stronger than me—minimum 130… no, 135 jūn!”

So, that fake Xia Hong hadn’t abandoned the chase—he simply saw no need to continue pursuing.

Zhetouqingyanhuosuanni ， Jiushiduifangzhunbeideshazhao ！

Xiahongtongkongzhenchan ， Xiangtongguohoubiaoqingyinchendaolejidian ， Kecikeyijinglunbudaotalaixiangle ， Dimiandeqingserongjianghuozhu ， Yidaojiezhuyidao ， Shenhoudehuosuanniyuelaiyuejin ， Tazhinengfengkuangjixuxibeifangxiangtaocuan 。

South led deeper into the Blood Miasma Plain, east brought him back to Caiqiu Zone 21—he could only flee northwest, hoping to escape the Blood Miasma Zone.

“There’s another way…”

Xia Hong unleashed his full power, his left eye glowing faintly as he constantly scanned his surroundings; noticing how the molten lava pillars he’d dodged had killed numerous high-level Cold Beasts—even Beast Kings—he suddenly flashed a ruthless expression.

“Let’s see how fierce you can be!”

Taniutoukanlekanhoufangqiongzhuibushedehuosuanni ， Fachuyishenglengxiaohou ， Jingniushenchaozhudimianduntaoleguoqu ， Mubiaoheranjiushinaxiebeishadeshouwangyijigaojihanshou 。

“Saves me the effort!”

Huosuannizhaochudehuozhu ， Zhijingjibendouzaiwuliumiyishang ， Naxiecangnidegaojixuehanshoujiubieshuole ， Napashouwangyeshiqingkejiubeixiaorongle ， Mandidexueyuzhuhexueyujing ， Xiahongyebuguan ， Zhijiesuishoujiuhaoleqilai ， Naqilaiyebucangzhu ， Zhijiewangzuilisai 。

Shhhhh…

Zhishizheyangdeshi ， Ganleliangciguohou ， Likejiujiqilehoufanghuosuannidefennu ， Taxianrankanmingbailexiahongdexingwei ， Houzhilingkongtengyue ， Chouzhunlexiahongjijiangxialuodedisangequyu ， Huazuoyidaojuxingqinghonghuoqiu ， Shuranjizhi 。

Yet Xia Hong never expected to succeed so easily a third time; the Blood Jade Crystal he’d just seized had already been swallowed. As he caught the outburst of flame from the corner of his eye, he had already raised his Shattered Star Sword.

Hssss…

He retracted his body to dodge, then flipped midair to gather momentum, and thrust his Shattered Star Sword straight back along its original path, unleashing a blade of energy hundreds of meters long.

Jianfengdangzhongmibuzhuwushuxingguang ， Shunxihuakaixuezhang ， Jingzhibenzhuqingyanhuosuannidetongkonghualeguoqu 。

Heaven-Grabbing Sword Art!

After arriving in Caiqiu, Xia Hong stole this martial art from Cai Yunzhou, the lord of Qinghua City—but unlike Cai Yunzhou, the version he now unleashed was the perfect form, synergizing with his fist-striking technique to amplify his power by fifty percent.

With a base strength of 48 jūn, enhanced by five percent from his Sacred Mark and another five percent from this martial art, Xia Hong had now unleashed his maximum power—98 jūn. Excluding his Battle Body’s armor, in pure strength alone, he was barely two jūn short of the weakest Calamity Body cultivator.

Roar…

Raner ， Mianduiruciyijian ， Qingyanhuosuannilianshangfeidanmeiyoubandianjuyi ， Fanerxiahongzhechuhuyuliaodedikang ， Sihugengjiajiqiletadenuhuo 。

It didn’t dodge or evade; it tilted its head and roared fiercely. Along the path of Xia Hong’s hundreds-of-meters-long blade, columns of green molten lava erupted upward, attempting to neutralize or outright block the sword’s force midair.

Boom…