Volcanic Age

A green color, reminiscent of the great forest of the Southern Jungles, flowed out from the High Priest's eyes. No, it would be more correct to say that it rushed out of his eyes as if it were a blazing fire.

This wasn't a metaphor. The light really gushed out like a blazing fire. It was a bizarre sight, as humans were not supposed to spit fire out of their eyes. The High Priest's beard was the same; the forest green flames swayed like tongues of the devil from his beard, scorching the air itself.

The High Priest's hunched back straightened. He was just five feet tall, but his muscles swelled and grew bigger.

Is he even human? Even the matchless Zhou Xuchuan was stunned by the sight, and his jaw fell to the ground.

"Haaa…" The High Priest took a deep breath, and his swollen chest muscles grew even more as if they were to emerge from his chest.

Zhou Xuchuan flinched. Heat?

He felt a wave of heat hot enough to interrupt his breathing. However, he had the Extreme Temperature Immunity, so how could he feel hot?

"Dodge!" Zhou Xuchuan screamed, warning the others. He felt that something was wrong and instinctively threw himself to the side.

"GRAAAAH!" The High Priest exhaled—no, he roared.

What he had exhaled wasn't a puff of air but a green ball of flame that distorted the air around it. Moreover, it wasn't some fireball the size of a child's head. It was massive, and it fanned out as it emerged, engulfing one side of the temple.

"Ugh!"

"Agk!"

The warriors of the cannibalistic tribe were supposed to be unable to feel any pain due to their sorcery, but their tattoos were melted away, dispelling the sorcery cast on them.

In other words, they were no longer impervious to pain.

The screams that came out of their throats were so guttural that the martial artists and warriors fighting fiercely below the temple trembled at the sight of it.

What… Zhou Xuchuan was on his belly, face down like a frog. Even I would die upon getting hit by that.

He knew that the High Priest wasn't just an ordinary individual, as he was the leader of a tribe. However, Zhou Xuchuan hadn't expected him to be this terrifying.

There was a reason the Extreme Temperature Immunity was called that way. Zhou Xuchuan's physique had transformed, making him resistant to both cold and heat.

That wasn't all…

He had also undergone Bodily Reformation, meaning that unless he was literally covered in flames, he wouldn't be afraid of heat.

However, the flames before him were different. The attack missed him, but the heat of the flames alone still made him feel as if he were burning. Goosebumps appeared on his skin as sweat ran down in rivulets on his back.

"Graaah! You rat-like bastard!" The High Priest roared in a bizarre voice capable of making anyone's hair stand on end. His beard, seemingly made of fire, flared up in rage. "Die!"

Boom!

The High Priest swung his grotesque and swollen right arm. It wasn't covered in flames, but it still contained an extraordinary amount of power. The High Priest had swung only an arm, but a strong gust of wind streaked across the air.

The surviving party members crouched to avoid getting blown away.

"What—shit!" Zhou Xuchuan swore sincerely for the first time in a long time. He put strength into his legs and kicked off of the ground to avoid the gust of wind.

Swish!

He spun like a top in midair, and the sword in his hand slashed the High Priest's arm.

Shwik!

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Lines of blood streaked across the High Priest's arm; blood spurted out of the wound and splattered into the air.

"Argh! You bastard!" the High Priest screamed in pain and flailed wildly. The ground would tremble at every single movement he performed. It was a spectacular sight to behold; the ground beneath him would cave in and explode with each stomp, sending debris flying in all directions.

Landing gracefully, Zhou Xuchuan calmly dodged the High Priest's reckless attacks.

However, his face was stiff. I couldn't cut through it even with sword aura.

Just now, he had used sword aura instead of sword qi to slash at the High Priest's arm. He expected the High Priest's arm to be severed, but his expectations were betrayed.

However, Zhou Xuchuan knew the reason behind the failure to sever the High Priest's arm. The High Priest's unknown sorcery had the same effect as a defensive qi barrier.

"Let's see if you can avoid this, too," the High Priest remarked, and his beard flickering with flames quivered. Moments later, six balls of green flames manifested behind him.

"Ah…" Zhou Xuchuan gasped.

As time ticked by, the High Priest's sorcery was becoming more and more shocking in Zhou Xuchuan's eyes.

The fireballs weren't on the same level as the Samadhi True Flame. Zhou Xuchuan could tell by the way they hovered in midair that they were stronger than the Samadhi True Flame.

"Die!"

The balls of flame moved in response to the High Priest's voice.

The six fireballs spun rapidly and flew toward Zhou Xuchuan.

Those are bad news! Zhou Xuchuan lampooned inwardly. They weren't as hot as the forest green flames earlier, but Zhou Xuchuan could still feel their heat. In addition, a glance was enough for him to tell that they were dangerous.

Zhou Xuchuan jumped sideways and rolled down the slope of the temple.

He slid down before stopping himself halfway, feeling relieved.

"Huh?" Zhou Xuchuan was astonished. The fireballs had changed direction and were chasing him down.

"I should have told you that they're impossible to avoid!" the High Priest exclaimed, grinning widely at the sight.

The fireballs weren't just flying mindlessly. They were connected to him through a strand of will that he could control as he wished.

Zhou Xuchuan clicked his tongue lightly upon hearing that. He tried to block the fireballs using a defensive qi barrier.

Just then, something caught his senses. He looked up and saw someone flying in from somewhere. It was the corpse of a cannibalistic tribesman, and there was a hole in the corpse's neck.

Bang!

A fireball collided with the corpse, and a deafening explosion reverberated. The fireball struck the corpse and exploded, scattering a bloody mist into the air.

"And who are you, you bastard?!" the High Priest yelled resentfully, and his smile was no longer visible on his lips.

Meanwhile, another corpse flew over from somewhere and collided with one of the five remaining fireballs.

BOOM!

A thunderous boom echoed as a magnificent explosion occurred in the air. The corpse had successfully taken away one of the remaining fireballs.

"Hmph!" The High Priest tapped the ground with the tip of his staff, and the remaining four fireballs returned, orbiting him. His green, blazing eyes turned in the direction where the corpses had come from, but there was nothing there.

No, it only seemed as if there were nothing there.

"You can't fool me!"

"Little Ghost!" Zhou Xuchuan grinned in delight.

Little Ghost had been hiding amidst the Tang Family and the Diancang Sect. She had been working with them against the cannibalistic tribesmen, but she sensed that the Phantom Sovereign was in danger and promptly ran over to assist him.

"You filthy bastaaards!" the High Priest roared and swung his staff downward with all his might.

BOOM!

The ground sank. Then, it was flipped over and thrown into the sky. The High Priest's move wasn't just a physical attack. An ominous aura rose into waves and made a beeline for Zhou Xuchuan and Little Ghost.

"Hmph!" Zhou Xuchuan raised Tai'e and plunged it into the ground, holding on. Little Ghost was blown away by the shockwave, but she recovered quickly and landed gracefully on the ground after a somersault.

The High Priest thought that it was time for him to attack, so he raised his staff.

A green light shot out from his skull, and a fireball rushed forward.

The fireball left a trail of flames in the air. The four remaining fireballs split into two groups and made a beeline for both Zhou Xuchuan and Little Ghost.

Thud!

Little Ghost reacted first. She threw herself in front of the Phantom Sovereign to protect him before anything else. She wasn't worried about getting hurt, as the Phantom Sovereign was more important than her own life.

"Little Ghost!"

Zhou Xuchuan ran toward Little Ghost. He didn't want her to die an avoidable death.

Just then, the fireballs converged in one place.

Boom! Boom! BANG!

The fireballs collided with each other and inundated both Zhou Xuchuan and Little Ghost. The heat of the explosion was so high that it scorched even the air, setting it ablaze.

The flames seemed to be as hot as lava, and they melted everything around them, including the stairs and the slope.

"Great Hero Zhou!" Duan Hecheng screamed at the sight. He had been keeping his eyes on Zhou Xuchuan even in the midst of the fierce battle.

The faces of the search party members weren't so good either. They had just witnessed the fireball's power, after all.

"No!"

"What? The Great Hero Zhou Xuchuan was struck?!"

Voices of shock and alarm echoed everywhere.

Poison Phoenix Tang Hui looked up and froze. As she took in the burning flames, there weren't any emotions in her eyes, but they glimmered with coldness and composure, resembling placid waters.

"No." Tang Hui denied it. "He's not someone who can be defeated so easily."

Tang Hui was not denying reality here. Her words were sincere, as she had seen the truth. She hadn't lost her mind at the sight, and she wasn't indifferent, either.

She was simply confident.

Yuan Dashi looked at the flames with an expression of incredulity upon hearing his mistress' words.

"Hmph!" the High Priest snorted. "Not only his brains and his heart but even his bones are gone. That is the price anyone will have to pay for making me angry—"

Swoosh!

The High Priest couldn't continue his words. The flames before him split into two, and a dagger flew out, grazing his cheek.

"Impossible!"

No, this couldn't be. There was no way anyone could survive that explosion.

Unfortunately, the High Priest's belief shattered spectacularly. Even the expectations of everyone who thought that Zhou Xuchuan was dead were betrayed.

Zhou Xuchuan and Little Ghost emerged from the cloud of flames without even a single burn.

How?! The High Priest was so shocked that he couldn't even speak.

"I'm coming," Zhou Xuchuan whispered.

Just moments before the explosion, Zhou Xuchuan had wrapped his arms around Little Ghost and deployed his most powerful defensive qi barrier. The exertion had depleted a big chunk of his qi reserves.

Swish!

It wasn't just the flames that split; even the air itself was split as Zhou Xuchuan shot toward the High Priest before. The air seemed to be nonexistent in Zhou Xuchuan's world as he made a beeline for the High Priest and swung Tai'e, imbued with sword aura, with all his might at the High Priest.

"How audacious!" The High Priest raised his staff horizontally in response. He held it with both hands instead of one to ensure that he'd withstand Zhou Xuchuan's attack.

Clang!

The sword and staff clashed, and the sound of metal clashing against metal reverberated. Neither side was going to back down. The High Priest exerted strength, and his muscles bulged. His tattoos also seemed to be trying to wriggle out of his skin.

"Did you know?" Zhou Xuchuan smiled. "I have two swords instead of just one."

"What bullshit are you—"

"Little Ghost!" Zhou Xuchuan exclaimed.

Then, the girl who looked to be about nine or ten years old slid across the ground and passed by the High Priest's legs—no, she didn't just slide past him. The daggers in her hands moved like lightning.

"Argh!"

The High Priest's legs which had become as thick as logs weakened instantly. The High Priest's muscles were torn apart, so he lost his strength, and the light on his tattoos dimmed considerably.

Upon losing the support of his legs, he staggered. His staff could no longer block the sword properly, and he was forced to retreat.

Don't make me laugh! The High Priest grumbled inwardly. He couldn't die here. Who do they think I am?!

He was the High Priest of the Cannibalistic Tribe—a leader of the Southern Jungles! He had accomplished so much that he couldn't let himself be defeated here.

The High Priest chanted an incantation in an unknown language to amplify his sorcery, but he couldn't continue his incantation. Little Ghost had stepped on his back and climbed up onto his shoulder. Then, she thrust her daggers into his blazing green eyes.

"ARGH!" the High Priest screamed. At the same time, the staff that he had barely been holding onto finally fell from his hand.

Little Ghost grabbed the High Priest's head. Then, she used all her strength to snap his neck.

Crunch!

A grotesque, crisp noise sounded.

The High Priest's eyes widened.

"D-don't… make… me… laugh…" It was unknown whether it was because of his sorcery or because of his willpower right before death, but he was still alive despite his broken neck. "ASHGOWHQEH!"

Zhou Xuchuan couldn't tell whether it was a roar, a scream, or a word. It sounded like an incomprehensible combination of letters.

The High Priest had lost his eyeballs, but his gaze was still transfixed on Zhou Xuchuan. His entire being radiated hatred, including even his blood.

Zhou Xuchuan and Little Ghost retreated ten steps away and threw their daggers almost at the same time.

The Hidden Nether Flying Dagger Art had just been simultaneously unleashed by the Phantom Sovereign and Little Ghost.

The Phantom Sovereign's dagger pierced the High Priest on the right side of his neck and continued onward. The dagger from the rear also pierced the left side of the High Priest's neck.

The daggers flew in opposite directions, and both Zhou Xuchuan and Little Ghost caught the dagger flying toward them.

The High Priest couldn't see anything, but he felt a burning pain in his neck and heard someone catching something. A sense of foreboding filled him to the brim.

"No…"

Swish, swish, swish!

The dagger in front of him went behind him, while the dagger behind him went in front of him. There were only two daggers, but it felt like there were dozens of daggers piercing him at rapid speeds.

Zhou Xuchuan would catch Little Ghost's dagger, and the latter would catch the former's dagger. Just like that, the High Priest's fleshly body covered in tattoos was transformed into a sieve. Finally, two daggers pierced his heart from both sides.

Thud.

The High Priest, who had been ruling the Cannibalistic Tribe for decades, fell lifelessly on the altar at the summit of the temple. Zhou Xuchuan and Little Ghost stood before him, looking down from the temple.