Chapter 77

Ruan Xinli didn't hide behind the two either; although she had a wood spirit root and was naturally afraid of fire, she gritted her teeth and persisted, trying to wrap the vines around the Crimson Lace Bird's ankle, but after several attempts she still failed.

Shi Ran was the only female cultivator among the four with a fire spirit root, but her talisman had become the most embarrassing existence at this moment; the Crimson Lace Bird, which legend says feeds on earth-core magma, is an ancient demon beast innately controlling pure fire spirit; its whole body seethes with scorching aura, and against ordinary fire techniques it almost has absolute suppressing power.

Shi Ran's fingers twitched slightly, spiritual power surged; a crimson fireball instantly blazed to life in her palm. She waved both hands, a basin-sized scorching fireball roared out, straight toward the Crimson Lace Bird's flank—but the Crimson Lace Bird merely flicked a wing casually, the scorching airflow it kicked up was like an invisible barrier!

Shi Ran's fireball struck it—not only did it not explode, but it was like a drop of water falling into a sizzling oil pan, with a light "hiss"—it was instantly decomposed by that even purer, more vivid demonic fire, completely consumed, not a single spark left, as if it had never existed!

Shiran's heart sank sharply; her fire spiritual root was nothing but a joke before the crimson lace bird! Fantian let out a long, indeterminate sigh in her sea of consciousness and asked Shiran, "I can lend you a hand—let me out!"

The Golden Void spirit weasel was so frightened it squeaked wildly, hiding in a corner of Shiran's sea of consciousness, curled into a ball, trembling.

Outside the secret realm, Lingxiao furrowed his brow slightly; a completely black crow had flown into the hall at some unknown time, swooping past everyone to land on his shoulder with a "caw!"

Lingxiao shook his head; the time isn't right yet—he has to believe Shiran!

The crow tilted its head at Lingxiao, seeming not to understand; it spread its wings to fly, but Lingxiao cleared his throat a few times, so the crow could only awkwardly preen its feathers, no longer thinking of anything else.

"Damn it!" Shiran cursed silently and yanked her hand back. Pitting her fire spiritual root against demonic fire was nothing but self‑humiliation; her thoughts raced—if fire won't do, we'll use the ice element that counters it!

Shiran again used her hand as a brush, drawing an extraordinarily complex profound ice talisman that turned in the air into several sharp deep‑blue ice shards, carrying a bone‑piercing chill toward the crimson lace bird's relatively soft belly. Yet as the shards neared the steaming demonic‑flame domain, their speed dropped sharply; the surfaces melted instantly, large patches of white mist staining the bird's feathers, and the ice shards vanished without even touching it—extreme cold was utterly feeble before absolute fire.

The crimson lace bird seemed enraged by these tickling attacks; it threw back its head and let out a piercing scream, its massive skull snapping toward Shiran, its molten‑gold pupils locking onto her. The terrifying heat wave struck like a solid hammer, slamming in from afar. Shiran felt her protective spiritual power scorched through like thin film, her skin burning with sharp pain, and even the tips of her hair began to curl and scorch.

At the critical moment, Shiran's gaze shifted; she stopped trying to strike the body directly, thought a moment, bit her finger, and slapped down a huge earth‑binding talisman whose power punched through the thick snow beneath her feet straight to the dark earth below.

No light, no snow— in an instant the iron‑hard frozen soil and snow beneath the crimson lace bird's claws turned into a flowing mire; the violent swirl caught it off guard, its massive body lurching and losing balance.

The terrifying fireball it had vomited stalled in its throat; it angrily beat its wings, trying to shake off this sudden binding, while sprayed ice, snow, and mud flew in all directions.

This brief delay gave the others a precious opportunity.

Luo Changfeng's Breaking Cloud seized the moment the crimson lace bird swayed, turning into a silver snake that stabbed at the base of its relatively weak neck with a clear "ding"—only to be deflected by the hard feathers, leaving a white trace, yet it still managed to draw the bird's attention.

Qiu Chengshuang's Silver Soul surged up and down, trying to restrain the crimson lace bird's movements; Ruan Xinli saw the vines were useless, switched tactics instantly, and the tough, root‑like vines burst from the snow—not to attack but to cleverly coil around the waists of Luo Changfeng and Qiu Chengshuang, hauling them back to safety just as the bird's violent thrashing threatened to overturn them.

Shiran did not let up; the earth‑binding talisman could only hold the crimson lace bird for a moment. She swept her gaze over the base of its giant wings, constantly flapping as it struggled—feathers relatively thin, faintly exposing the skin beneath. A thought flashed like lightning through her mind: Could its weak point be… the joint?

She had to give it a try—her fingers flew as she unleashed her trump‑card armor‑breaking golden sharp talisman.

The talisman blazed with golden light, bearing an aura of unstoppable piercing sharpness. Shiran poured all her spiritual power into it, and in an instant it became an ultrafine golden thread—soundless yet swift as lightning—aimed straight at the base of the crimson lace bird's left wing, at the exposed reddish‑yellow ankle joint.

Whoosh!!

The golden thread hit its mark precisely. A miserable, extreme shriek rang through the ice abyss as the base of the crimson lace bird's left wing exploded in a blinding golden‑yellow flash, violent energy shredding great swaths of scarlet feathers and sending chunks of flesh and blood flying. Its massive body lurched violently to one side, the left wing instantly going limp and drooping; the violent struggle jerked it once, and the overwhelming pain drove it completely mad.

Its lone right wing flailed wildly, whipping up a devastating firestorm that swept the area indiscriminately—instantly vaporizing the snow, exposing black frozen soil cracked and scorched by the heat.

Though the strike wasn't fatal, it truly dealt a heavy blow to this ancient ferocious beast.

Qiu Chengshuang gazed at the heavily wounded crimson lace bird, then snapped a look at Shiran—her face was ashen, clearly her spiritual power was vastly depleted.

Qiu Chengshuang's florid jeer caught in her throat, her eyes wide with disbelief. Luo Changfeng recalled his Breaking Cloud, holding it before the group as a shield, and his look at Shiran grew more solemn and approving.

The crimson lace bird went utterly mad, its lone remaining eye locked forever on Shiran, blazing with bone‑deep hatred and destruction; its towering rage seemed poised to melt this icy haze entirely.

Shiran had no strength left to fight, and she didn't care about the bird's hatred—this was literally a fight where you die and I forget.

Seizing its weakness to take its life, Qiu Chengshuang and Luo Changfeng locked eyes, then acted together—two massive ice spears shot up into the air.

Shiran stepped back and shouted, "Attack its eyes!"

Ice cones shot down, piercing the crimson lace bird's both eyes; its golden pupils snapped to a pinpoint, staring wide‑eyed as the ice came down, unable to struggle any longer—unwillingly locked to the snow‑mountain peak, the scorching flames fading until they turned to ash that blew away at a breath.

Several people exhaled in relief; thinking over Shiran's words, it wasn't alarmist—"But it seems we can't go back either!" Ruan Xinli said helplessly.

"Let's rest first!" Luo Changfeng said. "Today everyone's worn out!"

?? Although life is hard, we must stay happy every day.