Chapter 412: Strength Skyrockets

Watching the Fire Protector, who had been beaten back to his original form and had already reverted into a mass of flames, the Metal, Wood, Water, and Earth Protectors, the Metal Protector shouted:

"Brothers, protect Old Huo's primordial spirit! As long as this mass of Nanming Li Fire remains, Old Huo will eventually return one day."

Having said this, the four of them struggled to get up from the ground, wanting to protect this mass of the Fire Protector's primordial spirit.

But how could Duan Fengyun possibly give them the chance? Duan Fengyun understood the principle of "if you strike a snake, you must kill it" better than anyone else.

Duan Fengyun patted his right arm and said:

"Little guy, now is the time for your revenge!"

No one knew when it happened, but Duan Fengyun had already quietly summoned the Zhurong Fire Spirit back into his Kirin Arm, letting it wait silently for this moment.

From the very beginning, Duan Fengyun's target for execution had been clear: the Fire Protector!

He had said he would get justice for the Zhurong Fire Spirit, so he had to keep his word.

Seeing the Zhurong Fire Spirit summoned by Duan Fengyun, the Metal, Wood, Water, and Earth Protectors realized what Duan Fengyun wanted to do!

The Wood Protector said with an indignant face:

"Duan Fengyun, don't you dare touch our Brother Huo's primordial spirit!"

Duan Fengyun gave a cold laugh; at this point, did they have any way to stop him?

Duan Fengyun sucked with his palm, and under the influence of the same origin as the Divine Fire Clone, the Fire Protector's primordial spirit, the Nanming Li Fire, began to slowly rise.

Even though the Fire Protector, whose Spirit Sense still remained, wanted to stop it, it was of no use at all; the Nanming Li Fire came directly into Duan Fengyun's hand.

Duan Fengyun gripped this mass of Nanming Li Fire tightly with his Kirin Arm, feeling the terrifying power upon it.

There had already been the precedent of the Zhurong Fire Spirit feeding back into him; he wondered how much of an improvement he would receive this time after the Zhurong Fire Spirit devoured the Nanming Li Fire.

Duan Fengyun was, of course, very happy to do such a thing that benefited both himself and others.

Duan Fengyun placed the Nanming Li Fire in front of the Zhurong Fire Spirit. Seeing the Fire Protector, who had been beaten back to his original form, a sense of inexplicable hatred rose in the Zhurong Fire Spirit's heart.

Although it had forgotten everything, how could it possibly forget this bone-deep hatred?

Without waiting for Duan Fengyun to speak, the Zhurong Fire Spirit opened its mouth directly and began to devour the Nanming Li Fire.

"Old Huo!"

"Brother Old Huo!"

Seeing the Fire Protector being devoured by the Zhurong Fire Spirit, the Metal, Wood, Water, and Earth Protectors knew that the Fire Protector was surely doomed this time.

The Earth Protector, who had the best relationship with the Fire Protector, said with an angry face:

"Duan Fengyun, one day, I will kill you to avenge my Huo Ge!

Duan Fengyun, you must wait for me!"

Duan Fengyun sneered:

"Wait?

Why should I wait?

Isn't now the best opportunity for me to wipe out the five of you!

Once the five of you are dead, that old fellow the Demon Lord will have lost his right-hand men, and then I'll see how he can still stretch his demonic claws toward the Human Realm, Demon Realm, and God Realm."

The Water Protector said disdainfully:

"Bah!

Duan Fengyun, you are truly a despicable and shameless villain. We four are now all heavily injured by you.

Even if you kill us, your victory is not an honorable one."

Duan Fengyun laughed amusedly:

"You, is there something wrong with your brain?

You just said it yourself, you were all heavily injured by me, so how is my victory not honorable?

Today, no matter what you say, none of you will escape death."

Just as the Metal, Wood, Water, and Earth Protectors were arguing with Duan Fengyun, things were finally coming to an end on the Zhurong Fire Spirit's side.

"Ah, Duan Fengyun, I am not reconciled!

Brothers, you must avenge me!"

After the Fire Protector left his final words, he was completely swallowed into the belly of the Zhurong Fire Spirit.

Satisfied and knowing that it now needed time to refine the Nanming Li Fire, the Zhurong Fire Spirit returned to Duan Fengyun's Kirin Arm.

Firstly, Duan Fengyun's Kirin Arm could provide it with a space to refine, and secondly, the Zhurong Fire Spirit discovered that inside the Kirin Arm, its refining speed could actually be accelerated.

Seeing the Fire Protector, whose primordial spirit had already dissipated from this world, the eyes of the Metal, Wood, Water, and Earth Protectors were filled with tears.

Brothers who had been through life and death together for thousands of years had just disappeared before their eyes like this.

Although they were demons, they still had brotherly affection.

The Metal Protector looked at Duan Fengyun with an angry face and said:

"Duan Fengyun, as long as you cannot kill us today.

One day we will surely make a comeback, destroy you and that thing in your arm, and avenge our Brother Huo."

Duan Fengyun mocked:

"Rest assured, I won't give you the chance to make a comeback either.

Since you brothers are so deeply attached, I will send you five brothers down to reunite in a moment.

Don't be in a hurry, come one by one; your Brother Huo will be waiting for you down below."

Duan Fengyun looked at the remaining Metal, Wood, Water, and Earth Protectors; he was still thinking about who the next target would be.

Finally, he pointed the Xuanyuan Sword at the Earth Protector and said:

"You're the one!

Didn't you and the Fire Protector excel at some kind of combined ultimate technique?"

"Now that Protector Huo has already gone down, there is no point in you living alone, is there?"

"I shall send you down first to keep Protector Huo company!"

Facing Duan Fengyun's mockery, Protector Tu said with an indifferent expression:

"Kill me or carve me up, do as you please!"

Protector Tu pretended to be indifferent on the surface, but in his heart, he was already brewing a lethal move.

Among the five of them—Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth—he was the only one who had not yet revealed his true abilities.

Now that he had recovered a bit of his cultivation, he wanted to seize this opportunity to buy a chance for his other brothers to escape.

Only by living could there be a chance for revenge; in order to let his other brothers live to take revenge on Duan Fengyun, he was willing to sacrifice himself.

Just as Duan Fengyun's Xuanyuan Sword directly touched Protector Tu, Protector Tu sneered:

"Duan Fengyun, do you know why I am called Protector Tu?"

"Because I am immortal when on the earth."

"Take this!"

Protector Tu condensed a mud ball in his hand and blasted it toward Duan Fengyun; Duan Fengyun mockingly swung his sword and split the mud ball open.

Seeing this scene, Protector Tu wore the look of someone whose scheme had succeeded.

The moment Duan Fengyun split the mud ball, a large amount of mud surged out from within, directly trapping Duan Fengyun inside.

Protector Tu laughed:

"Duan Fengyun, weren't you so arrogant?"

"Why have you fallen for the trap now!"

"Brothers, this mud can restrain Duan Fengyun for a while; you go first, I will cover the rear."

Protector Tu spoke with a light and breezy tone on the surface, but in reality, he had already made his preparations.

He did not forget to transmit his voice to Protector Jin, saying:

"Boss, you all must leave quickly."

"You are the hope for me and Huo Ge to get revenge; you must take revenge properly."

"I cannot hold on for long, hurry and take the brothers away!"

Protector Jin's heart shook; he knew that Protector Tu was going to risk his life to protect them as they left.

Protector Jin nodded and said:

"Alright, brothers, we will follow Old Tu's wishes and leave quickly."

"Old Tu, take care of yourself!"

Where Wood and Water could not see, a tear fell from Protector Jin's eyes.

"Alright, Brother Tu, take care of yourself, we will wait for your return."

Protector Wood and Protector Water said.

Protector Tu nodded slightly toward the three of them, not forgetting to continue adding mud around Duan Fengyun with his hands.

Watching Gold, Wood, and Water leave, Protector Tu smiled; he turned his head to look at Duan Fengyun, who was surrounded by mud, and shouted:

"Duan Fengyun, even if I die today, I will drag you down to be buried with me!"

"Duan Fengyun, return my Huo Ge's life!"

The Dharma seals in Protector Tu's hands were cast out continuously, and the mud around Duan Fengyun grew thicker and thicker.

At this moment, Yuwen Tuo, who was in a great battle with Ning Ke, saw this scene and, disregarding the relentlessly entangling Ning Ke, immediately turned around and returned to Duan Fengyun's side.

【To be honest, I've been using Wild Fruit Reading to catch up on chapters lately; it has many sources and various reading voices, available on both Android and Apple.】

Yuwen Tuo shouted at Duan Fengyun, who was surrounded by mud:

"Big Brother, Big Brother, how are you!"

No matter how Yuwen Tuo shouted, Duan Fengyun gave no response.

Yuwen Tuo looked at Protector Tu with murderous intent and said:

"You actually dared to plot against my Big Brother, I will kill you!"

Yuwen Tuo held his sword and was about to kill Protector Tu; just as the Xuanyuan Sword was about to pierce Protector Tu, Ning Ke suddenly ran out and blocked the way in front of Protector Tu.

Ning Ke shouted at Yuwen Tuo:

"Yuwen Tuo, if you want to kill Protector Tu today, you will have to step over my dead body."

Yuwen Tuo looked at Ning Ke before him; although Yuwen Tuo desperately wanted to kill Protector Tu, he ultimately could not bring himself to strike when facing Ning Ke.

Yuwen Tuo retracted the Xuanyuan Sword and came to Duan Fengyun's side, attempting to open the mass of mud surrounding Duan Fengyun.

Ning Ke turned her head and said to Protector Tu:

"Protector Tu, well done."

"Once we finish off Duan Fengyun and return to the Demon Realm, I will definitely have the Demon Father reward you handsomely."

Protector Tu nodded slightly; looking at the deathly aura on Protector Tu, Ning Ke asked suspiciously:

"Protector Tu, what is wrong with you?"

"Why do I feel like your life force is fading away!"

Shuxiang walked over, saw the deathly aura on Protector Tu, and said thoughtfully:

"I think Protector Tu must be using his primordial spirit power to maintain the restraint on Duan Fengyun."

"Protector Tu is a spirit formed from Breathing Soil, and what he is using right now is exactly that Breathing Soil."

"I think he intends to sacrifice himself to buy a chance for Protector Jin and the others to escape."

Protector Tu smiled at Shuxiang, confirming her words.

Ning Ke said:

"Shuxiang, in your opinion, won't Duan Fengyun be able to break free from this mud very soon?"

Shuxiang nodded and said:

"Indeed, I think with Duan Fengyun's strength, he should have been able to break free long ago.

He is lingering inside without moving; I wonder if he has discovered something!"

Just as Shuxiang's voice fell, the mud surrounding Duan Fengyun burst apart.

Duan Fengyun was bare-chested, the Kirin tattoo and dragon-shaped tattoo on his body appearing vivid and lifelike.

Duan Fengyun touched his Kirin tattoo with excitement; just a moment ago, his cultivation had achieved a Breakthrough again, and now he could already unleash the Sword-Drawing Heaven-Slaying Technique at the Divine Realm.

While in the Earth Protector's mud, Duan Fengyun could have shattered it with a single sword strike, but he discovered that the Zhurong Fire Spirit within his Kirin Arm was Refining the Nanming Li Fire much faster in this environment.

Thinking of the principle of the Five Elements generating and overcoming each other, Duan Fengyun knew that this might be the best time to refine the Nanming Li Fire.

Thus, he deliberately stayed inside this mass of mud to allow the Zhurong Fire Spirit to rapidly refine the Nanming Li Fire.

With so many favorable conditions provided by Duan Fengyun, the Zhurong Fire Spirit finally lived up to expectations and refined the Nanming Li Fire.

As the master of the Zhurong Fire Spirit, and with the Nanming Li Fire being refined within his Kirin Arm, Duan Fengyun also gained immense benefits.

First, after experiencing the Zhurong Fire and the Nanming Li Fire, Duan Fengyun's Kirin Arm had perhaps become the most fire-resistant thing in the world.

Then, his strength also underwent a qualitative change at this moment; the Divine Realm he had originally estimated would take decades to reach had now been attained.

Most importantly, after the Zhurong Fire Spirit refined the Nanming Li Fire, the combination of Zhurong Fire and Nanming Li Fire caused the Zhurong Fire Spirit to evolve, and now the Zhurong Fire Spirit had undergone an atavism into Vermilion Bird Fire.

The explosive growth of his own strength and the explosive growth of his subordinate's strength gave Duan Fengyun two even stronger trump cards.