Chapter 299: Black and White (First Update)

A vast pressure suddenly descended!

A powerful devouring force erupted from within that water droplet!

The phantom that was about to reach Chu Liuyue seemed to sense danger; a flash of panic crossed its eyes, and it immediately retreated!

A streak of red flame surged from within Chu Liuyue's body! It chased after the phantom with frantic intensity!

*Sizzle!*

In the blink of an eye, the black and the red—the two flames collided, emitting a piercing sound!

As if encountering something terrifying, the black phantom retreated rapidly, returning into the transparent medicinal tripod!

However, the crimson flame still pursued it to the edge of the tripod, burning violently!

A cloud of grayish-white smoke rose from it!

*Roar—!*

The black Karmic Fire within the transparent tripod suddenly leaped out of control, as if it had received a massive shock!

And that shrill, mournful cry came from within!

Chu Liuyue watched this scene in shock.

That red flame... actually came from her?!

Just now, before she could even think, the water droplet within her dantian had acted first, driving the black phantom back!

To be precise, the black Karmic Fire had fled in utter disgrace.

Even through the transparent medicinal tripod, Chu Liuyue could sense the deep-seated terror in the ferocious beast's heart!

"Is this the soul of some kind of demonic beast..." Chu Liuyue murmured softly.

She had seen clearly just now; when the black Karmic Fire rose, there was no physical body of a demonic beast present within it.

But what kind of demonic beast could survive for a thousand years with only its soul remaining?!

The doubts in Chu Liuyue's heart grew larger as she stared at the scene before her, her brow furrowed tightly.

At this moment, the mass of crimson flame had transformed into a massive fence, completely surrounding the transparent medicinal tripod!

The shrill cries gradually grew faint.

Tuanzi, standing to the side, wagged its tail, seemingly very regretful that it hadn't been able to go up and deal with the ferocious beast personally.

Chu Liuyue stood still for a long time, her expression subtle.

In truth, although the crimson flame had appeared very suddenly, she had felt it.

For instance...

She now seemed to sense the beast's fear and retreat.

It seemed... to want to surrender?

Chu Liuyue sensed carefully and discovered that she could seemingly control the crimson flame.

With a wave of her slender hand, the flame flew back into her palm.

The once-arrogant black Karmic Fire had now withered.

By comparison, it was clearly no match for the flame in Chu Liuyue's hand.

Chu Liuyue couldn't help but look down.

In her palm, there was only a small cluster of dancing crimson flames.

If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, no one would have imagined that such powerful strength was contained within this flame!

This crimson flame had clearly surged from that water droplet; its color was very similar to the red characters that had once appeared upon it.

Chu Liuyue suppressed the many thoughts flashing through her mind and looked up ahead.

"Surrender, or continue?"

***

The fifth floor of the Nine Nether Tower.

The black Karmic Fire had already rapidly spread upward from below.

From the inside out, everything was filled with scorching flames.

At a glance, it looked like purgatory.

However, amidst this sky-filling sea of fire, a single person was walking upward with slow steps.

He wore a suit of white clothing, his figure tall and slender. Every step he took was casual, calm, and composed.

In the endless black, he was the only speck of white.

With every step he took, the flames before him would automatically part, making way for him.

Walking alone, the two simple yet extreme colors reflected one another, like an eternal painting.

Soon, he reached the barrier of the sixth floor.

He came to a halt on the stairs, his deep gaze sweeping faintly across the barrier.

Then, he extended his palm and placed it slowly upon the barrier.

He could still seem to feel a trace of residual warmth.

That was her aura.

Rong Xiu let out a soft sigh.

He had thought she would reach the sixth floor at most, but he hadn't expected...

As his fingers curled slightly, the barrier expanded silently!

He continued to walk upward.

"Rong Xiu has already reached the sixth floor?!"

Ye Zhiting, who had been closely monitoring the situation inside the Nine Nether Tower, suddenly cried out in shock.

Sun Zhongyan's eyelids twitched violently!

One Chu Liuyue wasn't enough, and now Rong Xiu too—

How on earth were they doing this, one after another?!

After pondering for a long while, he finally said

"Martial Uncle, actually, this might not necessarily be a bad thing. Currently, the bottom five floors of the Nine Nether Tower are completely surrounded by that black Karmic Fire. If we can escape to the upper floors, perhaps we can avoid—"

"Zhongyan, I recall you went up to the fifth floor, didn't you?"

Sun Zhongyan nodded, confused.

Ye Zhiting let out a long, melancholy sigh.

"Then do you think the flames below are more dangerous, or the floors above?"

Sun Zhongyan was speechless.

He remembered clearly that with every floor ascended, the pressure increased by a degree.

Whether it was Chu Liuyue or Rong Xiu, neither seemed to have enough strength to sustain it.

"Dean! The flames seem to have grown smaller!"

Not far away, Bai Chen suddenly shouted.

The others quickly looked over and indeed discovered that the flames, which had originally burned up to the fifth floor, had not continued upward.

Moreover, compared to their previous momentum, they did indeed seem to have weakened.

Ye Zhiting stared for a long time, but there was no trace of relief on his face; instead, his brow furrowed even tighter.

Sun Zhongyan was about to say "That's great," but when he turned to see Ye Zhiting's expression, the smile on the corners of his mouth froze instantly.

"Martial Uncle, what's wrong?"

"Something is wrong..." Ye Zhiting murmured lowly.

Sun Zhongyan looked again and asked in confusion

"Wrong? What's wrong? Hasn't the ferocious beast been suppressed by our Heaven-Sealing Array? I see the flames have also shrunk quite a bit!"

This should be a sign that they were going to win!

Ye Zhiting did not speak, only slowly shaking his head.

It was indeed wrong.

The Heaven-Sealing Array had not suddenly applied more force; the beast's change was too abrupt!

Could it be—that something had happened inside the Nine Nether Tower?

For some reason, he felt an underlying sense of unease, as if something was about to happen.

*Chirp!*

At that moment, a crisp cry drifted from the distance!

Everyone looked up and saw a palm-sized Green Sparrow flying rapidly toward the Nine Nether Tower!

Its speed was extremely fast, and its body was burning with green flames! From a distance, it looked like a ball of green fire!

"Is that... a Grade 7 demonic beast—the Green Sparrow?!"

Ye Zhiting was startled.

Sun Zhongyan hurriedly explained

"Martial Uncle, that is the demonic beast of Shi Chenmu Qinghe from the Heaven's Decree Imperial Dynasty!"

Ye Zhiting had been in seclusion and was unaware of external affairs, but he heard the words "Heaven's Decree Imperial Dynasty" very clearly.

His heart jolted. Looking closely, he indeed saw a young man following behind the Green Sparrow.

He was dressed simply and had a handsome face, but a scar over his left eye gave him an air of severity and intimidation.

Most surprising to Ye Zhiting was that he was actually unable to see through the man's cultivation realm!

Seeing the burning black Karmic Fire, Hong Yao grew furious. He immediately flapped his wings and soared violently toward the Nine Nether Tower!

(End of Chapter)