Volcanic Age

Among the men visiting the Tang Family to meet the Poison Phoenix, about three out of ten dared to challenge her to a duel with marriage on the line. Tang Hui accepted every duel and defeated them with a surprise attack right then and there.

To the people working in the main residence, this was a common occurrence. Although they were surprised at first, they had grown accustomed to it over time.

This was the answer to Zhou Xuchuan's confusion. The members of the main residence had gotten used to this scene, so they no longer paid attention even if something significant happened near the guest hall, merely thinking, this again? And going on with their lives.

This time was no different. Everyone thought that someone had fallen for the Poison Phoenix again and was throwing away his pitiful life, and that Tang Hui would emerge victorious just like she always did. This was simply common sense.

Tang Hui frowned.

"Haa."

She kept sighing in annoyance. When she examined her reflection in a precious stone mirror, she could see fatigue on her face. This was the first time she had tasted defeat since she became the Poison Phoenix. When this news spread, she was scolded by the family. She wasn't simply a cultivator, she was also a figure that represented the whole Tang Family. If someone of her caliber lost a battle, she would naturally have to take responsibility.

The Tang Family, being an organization of the Orthodox Faction, cared about their reputation a lot. That was why they scolded her when she explained the circumstances leading up to the duel.

As punishment, she was forbidden from accepting duels without permission for a while. It wounded her pride to hold back even if someone provoked her.

After that, the Tang Family quickly stepped up and dealt with the rumors so that no one would have any weird ideas. They clarified that it was not a match that staked marriage, and the Poison Phoenix had not revealed the full extent of her abilities.

"An interaction between the Ten Major Organizations and the Five Great Ancient Families… for the sake of friendship between Mount Hua and the Tang Family…"

She didn't like it because it all felt like an excuse.

Had not revealed the full extent of my powers… huh.

That wasn't true. While she had not attacked with killing intent, she had used her full strength in order to subdue him in one go. The family did not seem to have accepted that, but the truth was just that: she had indeed used her full strength.

Maybe she could make an excuse if it was an up-front battle, but the truth was that all of her sneak attacks had failed.

Zhou Xuchuan…

Handing over an Icefrost Poison wasn't that important. What got her nerves was her complete and utter defeat. That humiliation deeply rooted itself in her heart.

*

Mount Zhongliang, Sichuan.

"Phew, I came to the right place."

After searching multiple peaks, Zhou Xuchuan finally arrived at his destination. It took him around three hours.

The heat in this area that made it hard to breathe, the unpleasant moisture, the hot puffs of steam rising from the ground, convinced him. He walked toward the large puff of steam in the distance. Before long, he reached a hot spring over ten zhang wide.

Gurgle, gurgle.

Looking at the surface of the water that bubbled like lava, he dismissed any thoughts of dipping himself in. He felt like he would melt if he went in.

Boom!

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Suddenly, a deafening bang rang out. When he lifted his head to check, he saw a geyser erupting at the other end of the hot spring. Although it was quite spectacular, he had no time to spare.

He went down the two hundred-something limestone stairs leading to the hot spring. The intense heat reddened his skin.

He did not climb all the way down and instead stopped at a suitable point and started focusing on his senses.

Found it!

An hour later, he spotted the silhouette of something swimming around in the water. It was much larger than an ordinary fish.

"The Ten Millennia Fire Carp!"

The Ten Millennia Fire Carp didn't actually live for ten thousand years, but it had still lived for an incredibly long time and was a spiritual beast. The fact that its habitat was such a high-temperature environment indicated that it wasn't ordinary.

"Thanks, Dark Heavens Association."

Many spiritual medicines and beasts were discovered during the Era of War and Chaos. This was partly due to cultivators exploring various places, and also the Dark Heavens Association's doing.

The Dark Heavens Association operated a department called the "Archive," that collected and recorded spiritual medicines and animals, which indicated how much importance they placed on spiritual medicines and internal cores.

There was a reason they were strong. They collected many precious resources to either boost their own strength or to invite outside experts. The records written by the Archive were accessible to the people who were higher in power. The purpose of that was to help various sects recover from the damage they sustained from the wars.

Zhou Xuchuan also had access to view it as an elder. However, it wasn't that useful since the Dark Heavens Association had gotten all sorts of spiritual medicines and animals from all over the place.

"Before, I read them to kill time. Never did I imagine that it would come in handy!"

There were many other things he read aside from the spiritual records. Knowledge is power—these words were indeed correct.

Although, the truth was that he wasn't tasked with much due to his lack of skills. That was why he had a lot of free time… but he chose to overlook that fact.

"Carp!"

He shot arrows a few times. About a dozen arrows whisked through the air toward the Ten Millennia Fire Carp.

Bang!

The first arrow pierced the surface of the water and struck the ground. It contained a full one-tenth of his internal qi, so its destructive power was immense.

He believed that yang qi or yin qi didn't really matter, so he just shot it without care. Still, the destructive power was quite something, causing a pillar of water to rise into the sky.

The sudden drop of water level revealed the Ten Millennia Fire Carp. Its body was the size of an average adult's arm, and it was as white as snow. It truly looked exactly like what he had seen from the spiritual records.

Bang, bang!

The second and third arrows struck the ground, increasing the number of pillars of water. However, the Ten Millennia Fire Carp could no longer be seen, having swam away at a speed his naked eyes could barely follow.

Its title as a spiritual beast was truly befitting, but it was still a monkey on Buddha's palm. There was nowhere for it to run in this small hot spring.

"You're NOT going anywhere!"

He redirected the flow of his qi to his feet and rushed into the hot spring. The heat became even more intense.

The moment his left foot touched the water, he immediately lunged forward with his right.

"Haahp!" He shouted, though it didn't prevent him from sinking.

Instead, he used an advanced technique of the lightness art, Treading Waters, which he naturally became able to use when he fully mastered the Shadow Scattering Art.

As the Ten Millennia Fire Carp swam, Zhou Xuchuan ran in the water, creating splashes with every step.

"Core!"

Zhou Xuchuan's sword struck toward the carp's tail. Although the steam obstructed his vision, he didn't have any difficulties. The sword pierced into the water. In order to minimize water resistance, he imbued a lot of qi into his attack.

However, things didn't go as planned.

Splash!

The Ten Millennia Fire Carp leaped into the air, its white body on full display.

Oh my lord!

Zhou Xuchuan inwardly exclaimed, his eyes widening. He did not expect the creature to avoid his attack like this.

However, it was still too early to be surprised, as the Ten Millennia Fire Carp drew a parabolic curve. However, it wasn't to escape, but the opposite. The snow-white carp seemed to be infuriated at its attacker and swung its tail with all its might.

Smash!

"Ugh!" a grown escaped his lips. He wasn't this surprised even when Tang Hui launched a sneak attack at him. He almost sank because he lost control of his qi.

His cheek went numb, having been slapped by a tail.

"Haha."

A grin spread across his face, yet his eyes weren't smiling. Why did he train? It was for this very moment.

Gurgle, gurgle.

The water boiled again, creating bubbles of air that rose to the surface. The boiling was too intense to be caused by the hot spring alone.

More than sixty years' worth of internal qi was released into the surroundings. The pure qi of Daoist martial cultivation quietly spread out before sweeping the area. He converted the qi he wasn't using into his power.

"You won't leave this place alive!"

His original intention was to kill it anyway, but he still had the urge to say such words.

Zhou Xuchuan jumped in from the front.

The Ten Millennia Fire Carp spotted movements behind it. If it was a person, it might have sneered, thinking an inferior animal with feet was trying to catch up to it. It was no use as the whole area was its domain. Even a winged creature and a furry long-armed creature had been toyed by it, unable to catch it.

The carp twisted its body with the water currents to glide forward, thinking about toying with its pursuer and acting casually.

"First Form."

However…

"Violet Haze Dawnbreaker!"

Rumble!

A bolt of lightning struck despite the lack of clouds. Birds from the mountain flew away, startled.

The qi on the sword rotated rapidly, creating grinding noises. Its speed was so fast that the carp could not follow it with its eyes. However, being a spiritual animal, it could feel an unordinary amount of qi in the sword. It tried to escape with all its might.

"Second Form, Arc Flower Rain!"

The sword that shot forward spread out into an arc. A single streak of sword qi separated into dozens and flew forward all at once.

Boom, boom, boom!

Streaks of sword qi fell into the water, causing a mess and sending gravel flying everywhere. The shock caused waves in the water and swept past the surroundings.

The Ten Millennia Fire Carp panicked and twisted its body frantically. Its struggle looked desperate as its life was on the line. It had never encountered something like this before. Still, it managed to avoid the crisis thanks to its struggle.

Being cornered to the end of its domain, the carp tried to breathe through its gills.

Whoosh!

Zhou Xuchuan's leg rose into the air.

"Haaaahp!"

With a mighty cry, he delivered a punishing blow with his foot.

BOOM!

The moment his heel hit the water, an explosive sound rang out, causing large waves. The floor could now be seen after the attack.

The Ten Millennia Fire Carp shook its body frantically, trying to swim away as fast as it could.

However, its body was no longer in water, but on air instead.

"FISH!"

Zhou Xuchuan swung his sword at the carp in the air.

Smash!

He struck with the blunt of the blade, causing a blunt sound instead of a slicing sound. If the Ten Millennia Fire Carp had vocal chords, it might have screamed. The carp that had lived an unimaginable number of years was smacked to the ground, where it started jumping.

"Haha."

Zhou Xuchuan gently stepped on the carp with a victorious smile.

"See that, Ten Millennia Fire Carp?"

Even though there was no one around, Zhou Xuchuan still muttered triumphantly.

"Even a spiritual beast is nothing but a beast in the face of men!"

He couldn't help but smack his lips.

What do carps taste like?

He was excited about eating it.