Chapter 525: Absorbing Flame

"Quickly hide in the void!"

Su Miaoyin pressed both hands together and prayed silently in her heart.

"Boom—" a deafening roar. The massive fire phoenix folded its wings and slammed solidly onto Ye Liuyun.

The scene everyone expected—the phantom shattering—never occurred.

What they saw was Ye Liuyun spitting out a mouthful of blood, being blasted dozens of zhang away, and then crashing heavily to the ground.

All the spectators were dumbfounded.

"He didn't dodge this time?"

"What does he intend? Seize the chance to cultivate his Physical Body?"

Everyone was puzzled.

Especially Liang Xue and the others; although they knew Ye Liuyun wouldn't venture out without reason, they still felt such pity that tears welled up.

Ye Liuyun's clothes were in tatters at this moment, but this minor injury meant nothing to his Physical Body. He lay on the ground, caught his breath, and immediately rose.

"Luckily, I held up!" he thought to himself with relief.

What he wanted was to personally feel the fire phoenix's power, hoping to gain insight, and also to temper his Buddha-Demon Golden Body.

Since he conceived of merging the four forces, all his techniques have been refined toward that goal. The Buddha-Demon Golden Body is no exception.

His Buddha-Demon Golden Body, after previously integrating bloodline power, can already repel attacks from ordinary Heavenly Gang Realm strongmen.

Sure enough, it didn't disappoint him this time. After the four forces merged, they could draw more Heaven and Earth Power for defense, so this time he avoided serious injury.

Consequently, he also uncovered some issues, perfect for further refinement.

Thus, when facing the second and third fire phoenix assaults, he didn't dodge at all, intending to use his Buddha-Demon Golden Body to bear the blows.

Just as the second fire phoenix was about to strike, Ye Liuyun suddenly realized that the Golden Crow Holy Fire within him, after the initial merging of the four forces, had begun absorbing fire elements from Heaven and Earth.

And Lie Hongyun's attack happened to be its supplement.

"Directly absorbing the fire flame's True Essence is far faster than me having to absorb and refine it!"

Thinking that, he could no longer afford to dodge.

Ye Liuyun simultaneously used his Physical Body to stubbornly block Lie Hongyun's phoenix‑wing skyward assault while voraciously absorbing the fire phoenix's True Essence. At the same time, he continuously refined his Buddha-Demon Golden Body, enhancing its defense through combat testing.

In everyone's eyes, Ye Liuyun became increasingly resilient. At first he was blasted away, but gradually it turned into merely stepping back a few paces.

Lie Hongyun, seeing the unfavorable turn, instantly altered strategy. She maneuvered the fire phoenix to one side, its massive wings like sharp blades, slashing toward Ye Liuyun.

"Want to spar with a blade?" Ye Liuyun smiled faintly, drawing the Demon Slaying Sword from his back: "I'll judge you by your performance!"

The Demon Slaying Sword sensed Ye Liuyun's emotion and emitted a hum in response.

Immediately, he faced the fire phoenix's wing and swung a slash.

After the slash, he realized that wielding the sword, because his sword intent itself is a realm containing Heaven and Earth Power, made this strike far more potent than when he used his Golden Pupil.

Thus, he kept slashing blade after blade, feeling the merged power and continuously refining the fusion.

Although his current strength was somewhat weaker than Lie Hongyun's, his True Essence was abundant, so if one slash fell short, two would make up the gap.

He also seized a moment when Lie Hongyun was inattentive and struck her with a slash.

For this slash, he employed Spatial Power, releasing it instantly. Yet Lie Hongyun, battle‑hardened, reacted in an instant and sidestepped. However, the blade's aura stripped a piece of her red attire, exposing a stark white arm.

"Despicable and base!" she thought Ye Liuyun had done it on purpose.

Lie Hongyun, after landing, had an extra flush of crimson on her pretty face, glaring at Ye Liuyun with disgust.

Ye Liuyun was unfazed. He had no other thoughts. As for being misunderstood, he cared even less. All he was thinking about was how to defeat his opponent.

At this moment, the Golden Crow Holy Fire inside Ye Liuyun had silently absorbed a massive amount of Fire Flame Power.

And Ye Liuyun's attempts at merging forces were already showing early results under the pressure of crisis.

"It's time to clash with her!"

With that thought, Ye Liuyun swung the Demon Slaying Sword, channeling his utmost power to form a three‑legged Golden Crow. He swung once more, directing the Golden Crow to crash into the fire phoenix released by Lie Hongyun.

His sword intent wasn't fire‑type power, but its domineering will could somewhat compensate for the lack of Heaven and Earth Power.

"This kid wants to go all out!"

"Haven't you noticed how quickly this kid's strength is growing?"

The audience below, seeing Ye Liuyun prepare to face Lie Hongyun head‑on, couldn't help but start commenting again.

"Boom—!" The Golden Crow and fire phoenix collided violently in the air, causing the arena to tremble slightly.

This time the Golden Crow finally blocked the fire phoenix.

Ye Liuyun felt a surge of joy. "Finally seeing results! This path truly isn't wrong."

Soon, the arena rang with continuous "Boom—, Bang—" sounds of True Essence collisions.

The golden‑red and fire‑red flames clashed and fluttered across the sky, looking quite spectacular.

Around them, the battlefield's rocks and ground had each been scorched into a layer, visibly caving in.

Ye Liuyun grew stronger the longer the fight dragged on; the extended battle favored him.

The more fire phoenix power he absorbed, the stronger his Golden Crow Holy Fire became. Thus he kept getting stronger.

Moreover, his True Essence was already far greater than an ordinary person's, so even with continual drain, the first to be exhausted could only be Lie Hongyun.

By now, the other seasoned observers also realized that Ye Liuyun was siphoning Lie Hongyun's flame power to empower himself.

"This kid actually has such ability!"

Gao Qiang shook his head helplessly. At this pace, Ye Liuyun will only become stronger. If Lie Hongyun has no killing move, Ye Liuyun is virtually assured victory.

Lie Hongyun also sensed the oddity. Yet aside from her flame power, she had no other force to draw upon. She could only intensify her attacks, striving to defeat Ye Liuyun as quickly as possible.

But Ye Liuyun's strength was rising too fast; she could no longer hope to finish him swiftly. Lie Hongyun's brows knit tightly, a hint of worry flashing in her eyes, her expression growing increasingly stern.

"No, we can't delay any longer! Prolonging it only harms me!"

She prepared to look for an opening to deliver a lethal strike to Ye Liuyun.

And at this moment, Ye Liuyun again merged the power of Blood Thunder into the Golden Crow Holy Fire; each time he clashed with Lie Hongyun, there was an added "Ka‑cha" sound of blood‑colored Lightning Strike.