Chapter 1063: Starfire Burns the World, Descendant of an Old Friend

Yellow sand rolled, the earth scorched for a thousand miles.

A boundless deep pit gaped in the vast desert like a bloodthirsty maw capable of swallowing men.

The scorching high temperature caused the surrounding space to become somewhat distorted.

Within the distorted void, several streaks of light shot over.

They landed in unison before the bottomless pit.

"It should be inside!"

"There are some fragments of the star-chaser scattered by the Master around here; the main body should be within."

"Such a massive extraterrestrial meteorite, and it even withstood a divine ability strike from the Master—if there are any remnants, their defensive power must be astonishing!"

After the few exchanged glances, Kong Chan volunteered.

"Let this humble monk go down and take a look; if the situation is dire, I can still retreat gracefully."

Among the five, Kong Chan possessed the greatest strength.

He was a Great Demon Emperor who had been famous for many years, and having followed Luo Chen for these years, he had gained many benefits, even learning Luo Chen’s Soul Transformation secret technique, the "Moonlight Cleansing Mantra."

His current abilities made him a leader among those in the late Nascent Soul stage.

This was evident from the fact that he had been the main force in several previous battles against Grade 5 Desolate Beasts.

Since he volunteered, the others naturally did not compete with him.

Gu Caiyi said, "Please go ahead, Fellow Daoist; we will stand guard for you."

Kong Chan smiled slightly, "I trouble you all to wait a moment."

Having said this, he leaped and jumped into the bottomless pit created by the extraterrestrial meteorite.

Seeing this, Gu Caiyi could not help but sigh that the rumored "Demon Monk Kong Chan" did not actually have such a bad temper!

Being so polite, he looked exactly like an enlightened high monk.

But upon second thought, the terrifying and hideous sight when Kong Chan manifested his true form, along with the skull prayer beads worn around his neck—she figured that must be his true, fierce style.

That he was so good-tempered now was entirely due to her husband.

Glancing at the three great sect-protecting spirit beasts nearby, Gu Caiyi felt a stir in her heart; she feared they were the same!

Tian Xuan was combative, Hei Wang was cunning, and Xuan Ming was reclusive; none had a normal personality, and their ability to gather peacefully was entirely due to her husband’s suppression.

She did not know what would become of these four sect-protecting spirit beasts if her husband were to ascend in the future.

The group stood guard outside, waiting with peace of mind.

Time passed bit by bit, and half a day went by without a sign of him, gradually causing everyone’s mood to grow anxious.

Suddenly.

There was movement within the deep pit.

*Whoosh!*

A tentacle soared into the air and hooked onto the edge of the pit.

Following this, a figure used the leverage to fly out of the pit.

It was Kong Chan.

He held a fist-sized mineral stone that emitted a deep, dark light.

As the group gazed at that black light, they felt as if their very beings were about to be swallowed into it.

"I have fulfilled the mission; although it was somewhat troublesome, I managed to bring this item out. I do not know what material this extraterrestrial meteorite is, but it actually absorbs magic power, making it difficult to shake in a short time. It was only by relying on pure physical strength that I was able to bring it out."

Kong Chan held up the black stone, feeling quite moved.

Just at this moment, a surprised voice came from the sky.

"It is actually Spirit-Transforming Crystal!"

Following that, the surprise turned into wild joy.

"If I have this item, refining a handy magic treasure will allow me to perfectly suppress the spells and divine abilities of human cultivators!"

On the ground.

Gu Caiyi and the others looked up abruptly, and when they saw the vermilion-gold, extraordinarily spirited Great Peng, their expressions changed in unison.

"A Desolate Beast!"

"It approached here without a sound, and we didn't notice it at all; could it be a Grade 5 Desolate Beast?"

"It speaks human language and understands mineral knowledge; its intelligence must be extremely high. We are in trouble."

Desolate Beasts are terrifying because of their formidable physical bodies.

In terms of intelligence, they are not actually very clever, as most act on instinct.

Creatures like the Gui Li are already considered relatively intelligent.

But compared to this golden bird, they still paled in comparison.

A Grade 5 Desolate Beast with extremely high intelligence would have strength no less than that of a normal human Great Expert!

Relying on Kong Chan alone, they feared they would not even survive.

The Golden-Winged Great Peng looked down at the shivering group below, a look of disdain on its face.

"Juniors, voluntarily hand over the Spirit-Transforming Crystal; if this seat is in a good mood, I might just keep you as slaves."

Gu Caiyi took a deep breath and forced herself to stand forward.

"Senior, we are traveling through the wilderness with the Great Expert Luo Chen. This item was also obtained by my husband resisting the might of heaven and shattering the star-chaser. For you to forcibly demand it now is somewhat..."

"A human Great Expert?"

The Golden-Winged Great Peng blurted out, a look of suspicion and uncertainty appearing in its eyes.

It subconsciously looked around but did not discover the trace of any human Soul Transformation Great Expert.

"Are you not trying to deceive this seat?"

The Golden-Winged Great Peng said angrily, then let out a heavy snort.

"Even if there is a Great Expert, so what? This seat survived even that terrifying battlefield in the Central Plains; do I fear someone whose name I have never heard? I suspect the Soul Transformation Great Expert you speak of is merely a newly ascended one!"

Having said this, it ignored their reply and brazenly extended a claw, grabbing straight toward the group.

In its mind, even if there were a Great Expert nearby, so what?

As long as it took the extraterrestrial meteorite iron and seized the Spirit-Transforming Crystal, it could turn and leave.

With its escape speed, how could a mere human Great Expert catch up?

Yet, the moment it reached out, the Golden-Winged Great Peng suddenly felt a sharp intent.

It subconsciously withdrew, but it was still a beat too slow.

*Sshhh!*

On the Golden-Winged Great Peng’s claw, which looked as if it were cast from gold, a sword mark deep enough to see the bone appeared.

It subconsciously looked toward where the attack originated.

Unbeknownst to them, a blood-colored longsword was suspended in the void.

It was this object that had wounded its powerful physical body with a single strike.

Such a sharp treasure sword was rare in the world; in its entire life, the Golden-Winged Great Peng had only seen a sword-path expert’s avatar that had descended across realms on the Central Plains battlefield possess such means.

"A Spirit Treasure!"

Secretly thinking things were going poorly, the Golden-Winged Great Peng already felt a hint of regret.

However, it was already too late for regret.

Or rather, it was already too late the moment it opened its mouth to demand the extraterrestrial meteorite iron and arrogantly claimed it would take Gu Caiyi and the others as slaves.

The dim sky suddenly became as solidified as a quagmire.

Vast magic power swept across the firmament, stirring up boundless primordial energy.

The large amount of heat remaining from when the meteor fell also gathered once more under the agitation of this magic power.

Within its vision, the Golden-Winged Great Peng only saw stars the size of millstones condensing in the twilight sky, then blooming with light and heat, crushing toward it in unison.

Under the pressure of this terrifying power containing the might of heaven and earth, the Golden-Winged Great Peng felt its soul flee in terror, and while fleeing frantically, it shouted.

"Fellow Daoist, it is a misunderstanding!"

The only response it received was a single sentence.

"Remember, this move is called Starfire Burns the World!"

The next moment, meteors fell from the sky, and starfire bloomed.

The entire twilight sky was filled with boundless flames.

The Golden-Winged Great Peng’s body, which resembled golden glaze, fled in a sorry state, its entire body appearing as if it were about to melt, dripping droplets of golden liquid.

It disregarded everything, fleeing for its life.

Its speed was even faster than when it attacked the Central Plains years ago!

It was only because it knew that the Soul Transformation Great Expert who had cast this divine ability possessed strength even greater than the avatars of the Upper Realm experts who had descended upon the Central Plains back then.

If it did not hurry and escape, once the other party arrived in person, it would surely suffer a terrible fate.

"Luo Chen, I will remember you!"

From the distant firmament, only such an angry and unwilling voice drifted back.

Gu Caiyi and the others stared blankly at this scene; brilliant starfire fell beside them, but with the sword shield unfolded by the Yuan Tu Sword, they remained completely unharmed.

A single move!

Her husband, from a thousand miles away, had defeated the Golden-Winged Great Peng—which had left them with no power to resist—with a single move!

Both were Grade 5; why was Luo Chen, who had just entered the Soul Transformation stage, so formidable?

It was one thing to easily deal with those Grade 5 Desolate Beasts that acted only on instinct, but this Golden-Winged Great Peng was a being full of intelligence!

Under the sky full of starfire, a figure stepped through the air, and wherever he passed, the smoke and dust vanished.

The group stared blankly, feeling as if a piece of heaven and earth were pressing down upon them.

"Husband..."

Luo Chen raised an eyebrow, his mind instantly retracting.

That connection where his primordial spirit merged with heaven and earth was severed, yet he still seemed to have a lingering bond with this world.

"By observing the celestial phenomena and the residual power after the meteor fell, I forcibly cast a divine ability I had just realized. But the price..."

Luo Chen sighed faintly.

He truly could not stay in this Mountain-Sea World any longer.

If this continued, he would sooner or later be assimilated and would never be able to ascend.

"Let's go!"

"Where to?"

"Back to the Eastern Wasteland."

"Are we returning the same way?"

"That won't be necessary; we have crossed the wilderness and reached the Eastern Extremity. This boundless desert should be the Vast Sea Desert. Once we cross this place, we will be in the Western Desert cultivation world."

A look of melancholy appeared in Luo Chen’s eyes.

"Let's go to the Western Desert first; I promised a certain friend that after I reached the Soul Transformation stage, I would return to the Western Desert to burn a stick of incense."

The group had no more doubts and boarded the Frost Eagle Flying Shuttle.

As for the Golden-Winged Great Peng, Luo Chen did not pursue it.

That beast’s escape speed was rare in the world; even if Luo Chen could catch up, killing it would require a great deal of effort.

And in his current state, because he had realized a divine ability, his connection with the Mountain-Sea World was too tight; if he acted frequently, he feared the shackles of heaven and earth would only grow deeper.

This trip to the wilderness had achieved its purpose of both hunting powerful Desolate Beasts and honing his own means.

There was no need to linger any longer.

In the Vast Sea Desert, a figure was advancing rapidly.

His body was filled with red light, emitting a bloody glow.

If anyone saw this, they would surely exclaim that this was the famous Blood Escape Technique of the demonic path.

However, this Blood Escape Technique consumed a great deal of one's origin, and unless it was a life-or-death moment, it could not be used.

Clearly, no one was pursuing him, yet this Nascent Soul cultivator was going to such great lengths; one could not help but wonder why.

Only Qi Ying himself knew the reason for his desperate flight.

If he ran any slower, he feared he would be dragged back by the Golden-Winged Great Peng to refine some "Sarira Pill" for it.

Yet, despite running at full speed, he still felt uneasy in his heart.

"The drop of blood in my body is too overbearing and too sharp; it is almost about to pierce my Purple Palace barrier. Relying on secret techniques alone is no longer enough to suppress it."

"This won't do; if this continues, before my origin is exhausted, I will first have my Purple Palace breached and my Nascent Soul destroyed by this blood."

"I must stop and suppress this blood!"

*Thud!*

The figure stopped abruptly; Qi Ying stumbled to a halt, failing to control himself, and rolled several times in the desert.

As soon as he landed, he frantically mobilized his own magic power to restrict the golden drop of blood.

While focusing entirely on the suppression, Qi Ying was unaware of the situation outside.

When a surprised, light exclamation appeared in his ear, he opened his eyes and realized it was already the dawn of morning.

In the faint light of dawn, a young, white-robed Daoist landed before him.

"Little Friend, the aura on your body is somewhat familiar to this seat! I wonder where you learned your craft, and who is your master?"

Being called "Little Friend" as a Nascent Soul True Person was something that would make others laugh.

However, Qi Ying did not dare to be careless, for in his eyes, the person before him was like a piece of heaven and earth, bringing him infinite pressure.

A Soul Transformation Great Expert!

These four words naturally surfaced in his mind.

Qi Ying swallowed his saliva, a bitter smile on his face.

Having just escaped the lair of a Grade 5 Desolate Beast, he had now encountered a rare Soul Transformation Great Expert; what kind of baleful star had he offended recently?

"Junior Qi Ying, my learning comes from the Mingyuan Sect..."

After these words were spoken, Qi Ying felt something was wrong.

Because the young man opposite him subconsciously frowned.

"Mingyuan Sect?" The young man had not expected that while passing through the Vast Sea Desert, a casual sweep of his divine sense would lead him to encounter a remnant of the Mingyuan Sect.

Qi Ying felt terrified in his heart; did this Soul Transformation Great Expert have a grudge against the Mingyuan Sect?

He suppressed the fear in his heart and forced himself to finish the rest of his sentence with difficulty.

"My master is Mr. Xuan Yan."

Yet unexpectedly, after this sentence, the young man suddenly smiled.

"So you are the only personal disciple of Mr. Xuan Yan; no wonder you gave me a feeling of inexplicable familiarity."

Qi Ying was stunned and asked cautiously, "Does Senior happen to know my master?"

The young man smiled slightly, "This seat is Luo Chen; I have had some dealings with Mr. Xuan Yan. You should recognize this book, right!"

As he spoke, a pill formula appeared before Qi Ying.

On it were written the three characters "Ti Hu Elixir".

But this was not a complete Ti Hu Elixir formula, but a residual formula jointly deduced by Mr. Xuan Yan and the Alchemy Saint Chu Yan back then.

The Ti Hu Elixir that Luo Chen refined later was deduced and completed by himself on this basis.

However, the familiar handwriting allowed Qi Ying to recognize it immediately; it was indeed his master’s handwriting.

And he had heard the name Luo Chen many times.

Just attacking the Tianyuan Dao Sect and reverse-slaying the expert Liancheng, no one in the world today does not know about it.

Moreover, the other party indeed had some connection with the Mingyuan Sect where he was, and his master, Mr. Xuan Yan.

Years ago, Luo Chen joined the Mingyuan Sect; he heard that he had entered the Pill Saint Hall with his master to accept the inheritance assessment, but unfortunately, the specific results were unknown. All that was known was that the Heavenly Glow Origin Monarch had destroyed the Mingyuan Sect.

Qi Ying had been traveling outside at the time; later, when the Mingyuan Sect was gone, he did not return, wandering outside on his own until these years, when he entered the wilderness to pick a medicinal herb that had gone extinct in the cultivation world, only to be captured by the Golden-Winged Great Peng.

"Since you are the descendant of an old friend, this seat will help you out!"

Luo Chen saw the dire situation of the other party at a glance; without waiting for Qi Ying to speak, he pointed his right hand like a sword, pointing through the air at the lower abdomen of the other party.

A strand of extremely scorching power penetrated his body, swept upward, and found that drop of golden blood.

"Desolate Beast Source Blood, containing the Origin of Metal, happens to be countered by me."

Luo Chen pointed his finger, and in the midst of conversation, the means left on Qi Ying by the Golden-Winged Great Peng vanished into thin air, as if nothing had happened.

Qi Ying stared blankly at Luo Chen, subconsciously touching his lower abdomen, and felt no further discomfort.

"Little Friend Qi Ying, we are passing through the Western Desert to return to the Eastern Wasteland. Do you have any plans?"

Qi Ying opened his mouth and stammered, "Junior... Junior would like to travel with Senior, I wonder if that is possible?"

"Haha, then let us travel together!"

Luo Chen laughed heartily and turned to board the flying shuttle hovering in the high sky.

Qi Ying looked up at the sky, then back at the road he had come from, feeling as if he were in a dream, completely dazed.