"To think, a Nine-Leaf Crimson Lotus, it actually exists in this world!" Teng Qingshan was simultaneously shocked and filled with ecstatic joy.

The Fiery Crimson Lotus is categorized into Three-Leaf, Four-Leaf, Five-Leaf, and so on. The highest discovered previously was the Seven-Leaf Crimson Lotus. The number of lotus seeds corresponded to the number of leaves; each seed could potentially forge one Xiantian expert. This meant the Nine-Leaf Fiery Crimson Lotus before him was sufficient to create nine Xiantian experts!

Nine of them—the entire Guiyuan Sect only possessed three or four Xiantian experts in total.

Even Qinghu Island, one of the Eight Great Sects, only had just over twenty Xiantian experts before suffering major losses. After the battle at Mount Dayan, Qinghu Island was left with only nine! Nine Xiantian experts equaled the entire remaining strength of Qinghu Island.

One Fiery Crimson Lotus was equivalent to all the remaining Xiantian experts on Qinghu Island.

In Jiuzhou, this Nine-Leaf Crimson Lotus would incite fierce competition among the major sects, let alone on the Duanmu Continent, where Xiantian experts were even scarcer.

"In the grasslands of Jiuzhou, I obtained the Black Flame Rod on Mount Tianshen. I never expected it would serve such a great purpose today, allowing me to acquire the Fiery Crimson Lotus." A myriad of thoughts flashed through Teng Qingshan's mind, yet, despite his internal excitement, his hands betrayed no hesitation. He immediately pushed off the magma.

Whoosh!

He shot swiftly towards the Fiery Crimson Lotus, reaching out to grasp it.

The surface of this Nine-Leaf Crimson Lotus had previously been engulfed in flames and gathered a massive number of red light motes. But the instant Teng Qingshan seized it—the flames on the lotus's surface instantly receded inward, and even the red light motes vanished completely. Teng Qingshan could clearly see the nine dark, lustrous seeds resembling black pearls atop the crimson receptacle.

"Nine seeds!" A faint smile bloomed on Teng Qingshan's face.

"Hm?" Teng Qingshan’s expression drastically shifted.

Right beside him, a figure clad in silver, frost-covered battle armor materialized from the magma. Their gaze landed on Teng Qingshan, and simultaneously noticed the Fiery Crimson Lotus in his hand.

"Nine-Leaf Crimson Lotus!" the person couldn't help but exclaim.

"Hmph," Teng Qingshan’s face changed; he made an instant decision. "This person must die!" The Nine-Leaf Crimson Lotus was a treasure potent enough to drive the entire Duanmu Continent mad. If the world discovered it was in his possession—ordinary schemes and trickery would be the least of his worries. What Teng Qingshan feared most was—

Inciting the covetousness of the Heavenly Wind War God and the Cloud Dream War God!

Although the Cloud Dream War God was friendly with him, a Fiery Crimson Lotus capable of forging nine Xiantian experts might make even the Cloud Dream War God unable to resist demanding a few seeds. As for the 'Heavenly Wind War God,' who had no kinship with him, he would likely show no mercy whatsoever.

"Swish!" The figure encased in frost battle armor plunged back into the magma almost instantaneously after emerging.

Before Teng Qingshan could act, the opponent vanished into the churning magma.

"Such decisiveness, not a hint of hesitation," Teng Qingshan sighed internally regarding the opponent's quick thinking.

Teng Qingshan couldn't see the figure in the magma and had no idea which direction to pursue.

...

Amidst the searing magma, Helian Haoyan, the Iron Sword Martial Saint enveloped in frost battle armor, felt a surge of lingering fear: "Fortunately, my reaction was quick enough to flee immediately. Otherwise... Teng Qingshan would definitely kill me to silence me to keep the secret of the Nine-Leaf Crimson Lotus safe." Survival in chaotic times meant witnessing life and death too often.

Any person capable of becoming a Martial Saint would likely act the same way in that moment.

"Teng Qingshan, I respect your strength. However..."

"This is a Nine-Leaf Crimson Lotus!" Helian Haoyan’s gaze burned fiercely. "My Tianfeng family must obtain it!"

Instantly, Helian Haoyan’s eyes turned cold. Deep within the rolling magma, he roared: "The Fiery Crimson Lotus has been taken by the Strongest War God, 'Teng Qingshan'! It is the Nine-Leaf Crimson Lotus!"

The loud shout...

Instantly echoed throughout the entire volcano, reverberating endlessly within its depths.

"Teng Qingshan obtained it!" "Teng Qingshan obtained it!" "Teng Qingshan obtained it!"...

"It is the Nine-Leaf Crimson Lotus!" "It is the Nine-Leaf Crimson Lotus!" "It is the Nine-Leaf Crimson Lotus!"...

The echoes continued throughout the volcano. Furthermore, as the foremost Martial Saint of the Northern Cold Domain, the power imbued in his roar was unquestionable. It didn't just echo inside the volcano; it blasted out of the crater, resounding across the heavens and earth of Fiery Ridge... In virtually an instant, the tens of thousands of people near the volcano heard the shout.

Everyone tilted their heads back to gaze at the crater.

"It's a Nine-Leaf Crimson Lotus! Nine leaves, truly!" Those who had tirelessly searched for seven or eight days were now completely galvanized.

After carefully placing the Nine-Leaf Crimson Lotus into the inner pocket of his leather coat, Teng Qingshan, brandishing the Black Flame Rod, swiftly shot upwards.

But after only a moment of ascending—

"The Fiery Crimson Lotus has been taken by the Strongest War God, 'Teng Qingshan'! It is the Nine-Leaf Crimson Lotus!" This booming voice reached his ears.

"Damn it!" Teng Qingshan’s expression darkened terribly.

"How ruthless is this Helian Haoyan!"

Upon hearing that shout, Teng Qingshan knew... the situation had devolved into the worst possible state.

"Hmph, so what if the world knows? At worst, I'll take Xiao Jun and the others and leave temporarily, seeking a desolate place. With Qingluan and the Six-Legged Saber-toothed Beast as mounts... the world is vast, where could we not go?" Teng Qingshan made a swift decision, maintaining his speed, and continued charging straight up.

The searing magma was utterly incapable of breaching his Flame Battle Armor.

"Gurgle~~~"

Around the magma lake, countless martial artists were staring fixedly at the lava pool; they had all heard the preceding roar.

Boom!

Magma splashed as a figure in Flame Battle Armor shot out, landing on the lake shore.

"Who is that?" The surrounding martial artists widened their eyes, but they dared not try to identify the figure shrouded in the battle armor.

Whoosh!

Teng Qingshan didn't pause at all, moving as if teleporting. Every stride covered seventy or eighty zhang, and in just a few steps, he had rushed out of the volcano crater. The surrounding martial artists were dumbstruck. Just then—

Boom! Boom! Boom!

It happened in quick succession.

Three figures emerged, though with slight variations in timing, none were significantly delayed. One transformed into a streak of electric light rushing toward the crater. Another became a silver afterimage following close behind. The last one morphed into a crimson streak of light. The speed of these three was pushed to the extreme. The martial artists watching around the magma lake barely had time to blink twice.

These three had already burst out of the crater.

Boom! Boom!

Subsequently, one after another, Martial Saints emerged from the magma lake. Since Teng Qingshan had already obtained the Fiery Crimson Lotus, it was impossible for this group of Martial Saints to remain foolishly lingering in the lava pool.

"So many Martial Saints!"

"The one who turned into an electric streak is the Rising Sun Martial Saint; I’ve seen his Qinggong technique before," someone exclaimed.

"And there’s a figure like a bolt of lightning—that's the Thunder Blade Martial Saint, 'Fu Dao'."

The surrounding martial artists began discussing the names of the various Martial Saints who had just emerged.

"The Strongest Martial Saint, Teng Qingshan, is likely the first one to rush out—that extremely fast, fire-red figure."

...

The instant Teng Qingshan leaped out of the crater, he swept his gaze around and couldn't help but be greatly shocked. He saw tens of thousands of people scattered across the volcanic mountain, most of whom were looking towards the crater.

Swish!

Teng Qingshan violently pushed off the mountain rock beneath his feet, launching himself like an arrow loosed from a bowstring, soaring directly down the mountain. The volcano was several hundred zhang high, yet Teng Qingshan covered the distance to the foot of the mountain in a single, extremely fast leap. None of the pursuing Martial Saints dared to imitate such a feat.

But those people were flying at top speed. A distance of several hundred zhang was traversed in the blink of an eye, so Teng Qingshan couldn't open up too large a gap.

"Teng Qingshan, this Nine-Leaf Crimson Lotus is a supreme treasure of the world; you shouldn't think of monopolizing it." A powerful voice echoed through the world.

Teng Qingshan didn't bother to reply.

Martial Saints?

He didn't take these people seriously at all. What worried him was the potential greed of the two Great War Gods incited by the 'Nine-Leaf Crimson Lotus.' Those pursuing Teng Qingshan also understood... even if they caught up to him, they lacked the ability to seize the Nine-Leaf Crimson Lotus. However... only by following Teng Qingshan did they have any chance of obtaining the treasure. Otherwise, they had no hope whatsoever.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

One figure fled ahead, while streaks of light chased furiously behind.

"Heavens above."

"His Qinggong can actually be this fast."

The martial artists on the volcano, looking down from a height, watched in astonishment as over a dozen streaks of light pursued the yellowish-brown figure in the lead. Yet, the further they chased, the more the distance between them and the lead figure grew. This caused the watching martial artists to gasp in awe.

"The Strongest Martial Saint is indeed the Strongest; even his Qinggong technique is the best."

...

In the magma, employing the Fire Elemental Force was best. However, using the Qinggong technique that combined Tianya Xing and earth-movement arts, utilizing the Earth Elemental Force, yielded the best results.

**

Under the pitch-black night, along an official road in the Donghua Domain, amidst a continuous range of mountains.

Zing!

A bolt of lightning streaked across the peaks, vanishing in an instant towards the eastern horizon.

Within the electric flash was the Cloud Dream War God, carrying the wolf-head saber on his back.

In terms of speed, the Cloud Dream War God at this moment was far, far faster than Teng Qingshan or Mu Wang.

"I didn't expect the birth of this Fiery Crimson Lotus to cause such a violent tremor in the Heavenly Fire spiritual energy. I could even sense it in Cloud Dream Ancient City. This phenomenon only occurs when a Seven-Leaf Crimson Lotus is born. And this time, the spiritual fluctuation was even stronger than what was recorded in my family texts. It must be at least a Seven-Leaf Crimson Lotus, perhaps even higher!"

When the crimson glow filled the sky, the Cloud Dream War God, being far away in Cloud Dream Ancient City, could not see the event.

But he felt the spiritual energy fluctuation.

Thus, he had rushed over!

...

In the night sky above the Donghua Domain.

Whoosh!

A massive eagle, snow-white from head to toe, cleaved the air southward with its wings spread wide. Seated cross-legged on its back was a silver-haired man in black robes, his face icy cold. Surrounding him and the giant white eagle were silver and grey streams of light, which enveloped the eagle, propelling its speed to an astonishing level.

"Fiery Ridge!" The Heavenly Wind War God swept his gaze downwards, his ears twitching slightly.

"Hm? The Nine-Leaf Crimson Lotus was taken by Teng Qingshan? It's actually Nine-Leaf!"

"Yes, this Nine-Leaf Crimson Lotus must be obtained. With nine Xiantian experts, my Helian Family has a much higher probability of producing another War God."

"Teng Qingshan is truly audacious, even daring to seize the Nine-Leaf Crimson Lotus. He is courting death! Very well, this time, I will settle everything with him."

The Heavenly Wind War God emitted a low, strange sound from his mouth.

The giant snow-white eagle beneath him seemed to understand; it did not descend but instead soared toward Mount Niutou in the south.

Swish!

The white eagle, enveloped in its strange streams of light, vanished in a flash across the night sky.

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