Chapter 1640: Strange Forms

After Qiong Qi's reminder, Ye Liuyun searched carefully and finally saw the Fire Spirit hidden under the yellow sand poke its head out, but it quickly retreated back into the lava.

"I see it! But what kind of monsters are those?" The Fire Spirits Ye Liuyun saw all had very strange shapes.

Some had a single eye and a single horn, some had blue faces and fangs; none resembled normal ferocious beasts.

"Fire Spirits have no fixed shape; they are like flames. So they can freely transform into human or beast forms. I guess they previously encountered some monsters here and copied their appearances! When you see them take your form, don't be surprised!" Qiong Qi reminded Ye Liuyun and the others.

Ye Liuyun also noticed that even when a Fire Spirit took a human shape, its head still bore sharp teeth and pointed ears, eyes like bronze bells, far from their own appearance.

The Warship drifted silently, its speed not fast.

Others also saw Fire Spirits emerging from the lava beneath the yellow sand, and they chatted about those strange forms.

A day later, the group saw Fire Spirits more and more frequently. Some even poked their bodies out of the sand to observe them.

Each Fire Spirit is actually a manifestation of a source of flame, but with so many and possessing sentience, Ye Liuyun couldn't understand how they originated.

If so many Fire Spirits evolved sentience, how long would that take!

Qiong Qi hadn't figured that out either.

The last place he explored was limited, so he wasn't especially knowledgeable about this thing.

Not far ahead, Qiong Qi pointed at a sand pit and said to Ye Liuyun, "I was trapped here last time!"

"At such a short distance, how many years did it take you to get out?" Ye Liuyun asked in surprise.

He thought that a Warship traveling a day's distance, even at Qiong Qi's realm, rushing back at full speed wouldn't exceed a day. Yet Qiong Qi had been trapped for years!

"You have no idea how many Fire Spirits attacked me! At that time the whole area was swarming, lava gushed everywhere!" Qiong Qi explained.

"If we go further inside, will it be dangerous?" Ye Liuyun heard this and grew concerned.

"Based on the scale of their last attack on me, we should be able to handle it!"

As soon as Qiong Qi finished speaking, a stream of lava erupted from underground, shooting straight at the Warship.

Above the lava, a Fire Spirit that had transformed into a fish‑headed humanoid, twice Ye Liuyun's size, held a fork of flame in its hand and attacked the Warship.

"Boom!"

The Warship shook from the blast, but it was only a Formation ripple; the Warship sustained no damage.

"Attack!"

Ye Liuyun also gave orders to the Kuailei, wanting to see the Warship's attack effect.

A spear‑like object also extended from the Warship, aiming at that Fire Spirit.

The fish‑headed spirit was very curious, looking at the spear.

Suddenly, the spear emitted a white light, accompanied by a chilling cold, instantly freezing the fish‑headed spirit into an ice block and shattering it!

The lava beneath that spirit immediately receded into the ground, sinking back into the yellow sand.

"The effect is pretty good!" Qiong Qi evaluated.

"Can't discern the realm of these Fire Spirits!" Ye Liuyun said regretfully.

Qiong Qi told Ye Liuyun, "Just look at the size! The larger the size, the more energy, the higher the realm. This one is roughly at the early Earth Sovereign realm!"

"A Fire Spirit of Earth Sovereign realm just came up?" Ye Liuyun, a bit worried for everyone's safety, immediately had everyone don armor.

"Not that many! Probably they wanted to knock the Warship down, so they sent a big one up!" Qiong Qi said.

"What if we don't go down?" Ye Liuyun retorted.

"Then just keep moving forward! Until they send a strong one that can bring down the Warship!" Qiong Qi said indifferently.

"Then let's just drop it! We'll land on the ground and melee them!"

Ye Liuyun feared the Warship might travel too far and encounter powerful Fire Spirits that the Warship couldn't withstand.

At this moment, several streams of lava erupted upward again, and the fish‑headed humanoid Fire Spirits led the charge against the Warship.

Ye Liuyun preemptively had the Warship intercept, eliminating those Fire Spirits.

The Warship also slowly descended.

Perhaps seeing the Warship descending, the Fire Spirits ceased initiating attacks and simply waited quietly.

"We'll hold a line for a while, then release those Demonic God Sect disciples."

Ye Liuyun greeted those beside him, then led the group down from the Warship.

Once the Warship and its Kuailei were retracted, lava immediately surged on the surface, and the Fire Spirits seized the chance to rush out and attack Ye Liuyun's party.

In an instant, Ye Liuyun and the others saw the Fire Spirits' various monster forms—single‑eyed, four‑armed, multi‑legged, bizarre humanoids…

These monsters erupted from around the people, continuously springing up from the ground.

Fortunately, everyone wore armor forged by Qiong Qi, so they were unharmed for a time.

Qiong Qi, Ye Liuyun and other fire‑aligned people and Monster Beasts killed one, absorbed its fire source, constantly growing themselves, replenishing True Essence, with little consumption—effectively a cultivation method.

But Man Shu, Wu Qingcheng and others expended huge amounts. They not only spent True Essence to resist the higher temperature, but also had to freeze those monsters and the lava.

"You all return to the Space World to rest!" Ye Liuyun called to them, then pulled them back into the Space World.

Afterwards, he released three hundred fire‑aligned Demon Cultivator disciples of the Demonic God Sect, letting them fight while boosting their Fire Flame Power.

These monsters could only be judged by size for strength, so Ye Liuyun, Qiong Qi, Flame Lion and others of higher realms fought the larger ones, while lower‑realm members dealt with the smaller.

About an hour later, the erupting lava gradually receded, and the Fire Spirits' monster forms ceased to appear.

"What's going on?" Ye Liuyun asked Qiong Qi, puzzled.

"It's just a test. Next will be endless attacks! We can't stay here; follow me and keep slashing forward!" Qiong Qi reminded the group.

So everyone followed Qiong Qi, accelerating forward.

Yet before a quarter of an hour passed, the attacks started again!

Ye Liuyun's party formed formations, mixing realms, caring for each other, fighting while advancing.

"What's up with the yellow sand on the ground? The lava can't burn it?" Ye Liuyun muttered, then realized the problem.

The lava behaved like water, flowing over the sand and receding, while the sand itself remained unaffected.