He clearly felt the endless Fire elemental energy pouring madly from all directions into the massive fireball, which spanned nearly a mile, and then merging into the divine bird at its center. The divine bird, bathed in flames high in the sky, spread its wings, its body continuously transforming.
Growing larger at a speed visible to the naked eye!
"What is that?"
"What kind of divine beast is that?" Tens of thousands of martial artists and the citizens of Tianfeng City stared dumbfounded. The mile-wide fireball was clearly visible even within Tianfeng City! Whether they knew of Qing Luan or not, everyone was stunned. All of them sensed the terrifying power of this divine beast emanating from the giant ball of fire!
Suddenly—
"Yooo~~"
A high-pitched, resonant cry, brimming with immense excitement, echoed across heaven and earth. The Immortal Phoenix in the flames fanned its wings, like a supreme queen gazing down upon her subjects.
"Qing Luan is the king among avian demonic beasts," Teng Qingshan watched the graceful figure in the high sky, whose feathers had entirely turned fiery red, the Immortal Phoenix. "The 'Immortal Phoenix' she has transformed into is even mightier than ordinary Void Realm demonic beasts! Even in ancient texts, it is listed as one of the most terrifying divine beasts. I wonder just how strong Qing Luan is now!"
Demonic beasts and humans are different.
When human Void Realm experts fight, the degree of control over the Heaven and Earth spiritual energy is paramount! But it is different for Void Realm demonic beasts. Although they can also manipulate the power of Heaven and Earth, ever since ascending from Innate Golden Core demonic beasts to Void Realm demonic beasts, their physical bodies undergo a metamorphosis. This physical transformation greatly impacts their strength!
For example, the demon dragon 'Zi Xi' needed no manipulation of Heaven and Earth spiritual energy at all; it merely spat out a breath of cold air and annihilated tens of thousands of soldiers, instantly freezing a group of Innate experts into fine dust! Yet, no matter how formidable a human Void Realm expert is, they cannot wipe out tens of thousands of soldiers in a single move—it is simply impossible.
Void Realm demonic beasts are dubbed 'Divine Beasts' not without reason, as their very essence of life has transformed to a higher level.
Even Teng Qingshan, before reaching the Void Realm, could stand up to an Innate Golden Core demonic beast with his physical body alone. However—when he and the demonic beast simultaneously reached the Void Realm, Teng Qingshan's body saw no improvement. But the demonic beast's body underwent a monumental shift! This is the difference between humans and demonic beasts!
Heaven is fair!
It grants demonic beasts the evolution of life essence and bestows upon them longevity. It also ensures they can never become supreme powerhouses! Humans, however, can produce supreme powerhouses!
"Yooo~~" Following a high-pitched cry that seemed to announce her birth, the massive fireball spanning nearly a mile in the sky rapidly contracted, then completely merged into the Immortal Phoenix's body. Only then did the Immortal Phoenix's true appearance reveal itself to the humans.
Entirely fiery red, without a single trace of impurity!
Her eyes faintly glowed with red light interspersed with seven colors, giving the viewer a sense of falling into a dream. The fiery red plumes growing from the top of her head resembled a crown. Even being stared at by this Immortal Phoenix compelled one to feel immense pressure! This was spiritual oppression stemming from a difference in life essence!
"What kind of demonic beast is this?" The War God of Tianfeng felt something was amiss.
He did not immediately associate this with Qing Luan; after all, Qing Luan's feathers and physique were vastly different from this Immortal Phoenix.
"Xiao Qing." Teng Qingshan allowed a faint smile to surface.
Whoosh!
From mid-air, the Immortal Phoenix left a blurred streak of fire and instantly appeared beside Teng Qingshan. Hissing—the snow beneath Teng Qingshan's feet immediately melted completely.
"So fast," Teng Qingshan gasped in shock. "Xiao Qing's current speed is two to three times faster than my absolute maximum speed! Too, too fast!" After reaching the Void Realm, Teng Qingshan's speed was already astonishing, but the Immortal Phoenix's speed ranked among the very best of avian divine beasts.
Being two to three times faster than Teng Qingshan was perfectly normal.
"Yoo~ Yoo~~~" The Immortal Phoenix let out a few grateful chirps towards Teng Qingshan, then fixed her gaze on the War God of Tianfeng not far away, a murderous glint flashing in her eyes.
Whoosh!
Leaving only a fiery red afterimage, the Immortal Phoenix flew dozens of feet above the War God of Tianfeng, opening her beak to spew a stream of purple flame. As this purple flame shot out, it caused space itself to distort completely. The War God of Tianfeng roared in defiance, "Vermin! You seek death!!!"
This War God of Tianfeng actually leaped up, sword in hand, attempting to slay the Immortal Phoenix.
But when a wisp of purple flame touched the protective shield formed by the Heaven and Earth spiritual energy around his body... Sizzle~~ Like dry tinder meeting a fierce fire, the War God of Tianfeng's surrounding shield of Heaven and Earth power rapidly dissolved. This terrified him, causing his expression to drastically change. He frantically controlled the Heaven and Earth power to protect himself while simultaneously plunging rapidly towards the ground.
However, precisely because the War God of Tianfeng actively jumped up, his evasion of the purple flame was slightly delayed.
"Ah!" The War God of Tianfeng let out a cry of agony.
Simultaneously, a ghostly glint of sword shadow flashed by, and the War God of Tianfeng's left arm was severed cleanly at the elbow. The severed half-arm, just as it fell, instantly turned into fine ash.
"What kind of monster is this?" The War God of Tianfeng transformed into a ghostly phantom, quickly fleeing. "My Heaven and Earth power has reached five-tenths mastery. Yet, five-tenths mastery could barely hold off that flame for a single instant! What in the world is this flame!" Indeed, the War God of Tianfeng only controlled five-tenths of his Heaven and Earth power!
However, having reached the Void Realm for two hundred years, he had also created his own ultimate move, capable of unleashing the power of six-tenths mastery using only five-tenths mastery.
It was similar to Teng Qingshan's move, the 'Crimson Gold Tiger Cannon,' which gained an extra tenth of power out of thin air.
"No, so fast?" The War God of Tianfeng had barely fled when he saw the Immortal Phoenix reappear above him. "Such a gap in speed compared to me!" The War God of Tianfeng, who had always prided himself on his speed, watched his face pale, discarding all else. His body shot down like a sharp cone, plunging directly into the earth.
Sizzle, sizzle~~~
Leaving a cavity in the ground, he successfully burrowed underground.
** At this moment, Teng Qingshan, the War God of Yunmeng, and others were watching the battle between the Immortal Phoenix and the War God of Tianfeng. To call it a battle was inaccurate; it was the Immortal Phoenix hunting down the War God of Tianfeng! The Immortal Phoenix's flames were clearly formidable; controlling five-tenths of Heaven and Earth power barely offered a moment's defense.
"Qingshan." Li Jun also ran to Teng Qingshan's side.
"Xiao Jun, this Xiao Qing is truly terrifying. An Immortal Phoenix, it is indeed an Immortal Phoenix! Even just entering the Void Realm, it's this powerful." Teng Qingshan couldn't help but praise, while sighing... in some aspects, demonic beasts truly hold an advantage over humans!
"The War God of Tianfeng escaped?" Li Jun asked.
"Rest assured." Teng Qingshan smiled. "Xiao Qing is the Immortal Phoenix now, a Void Realm demonic beast. It also possesses a Domain. As long as he is within a thirty-four-mile radius, she can easily locate the War God of Tianfeng. Do you think... Helian can truly create a distance of thirty-four miles from Xiao Qing?"
Upon witnessing the Immortal Phoenix's speed, Teng Qingshan even suspected that even a fully realized Void Realm human expert might not match the Immortal Phoenix in terms of sheer velocity.
Sizzle~~
Qing Luan's body suddenly became enveloped by black flames that stretched four to five Zhang long, and she dove rapidly towards the earth. These black flames instantly vaporized any soil or rock they touched. Qing Luan tore through the ground at an astonishing speed, completely unimpeded.
"The reason it's difficult for one Void Realm expert to kill another is threefold. First, they can detect their opponent from thirty-four miles away."
"Second, a Void Realm expert can deliberately muddy the surrounding Heaven and Earth energy, preventing the enemy from discerning the situation within a mile radius of them."
"Third, once they achieve the state of 'Body Fused with Heaven and Earth,' the speeds of Void Realm experts become nearly identical."
Teng Qingshan knew these common facts.
Void Realm experts detected opponents by relying on Heaven and Earth power! For instance, Teng Qingshan could fully control the 'Fire elemental energy' to gather within a one-mile radius, rejecting all other Heaven and Earth energies! If no other energy was present, the opponent couldn't perceive where Teng Qingshan was within that one-mile range.
Of course, if the opponent also understood the Dao of Fire or the Dao of Metal, Teng Qingshan could not easily confuse their senses.
As for 'Body Fused with Heaven and Earth,' that represented the limit of lightness skill speed!
When humans use movement techniques to flee, the fastest speed is not achieved by relying on auxiliary Heaven and Earth power! It is by integrating the body into the Heaven and Earth power, becoming a part of it, that the maximum speed is reached. Generally, the limit speeds among Void Realm experts are very similar. Unless someone has a special attribute, they can only be slightly faster.
...
Boom! The War God of Tianfeng burst out from underground.
"Teng Qingshan, if I die, you die with me!!!" The War God of Tianfeng charged furiously towards Teng Qingshan, his face contorted. During his underground escape, the War God of Tianfeng realized that underground, he was slower than the Immortal Phoenix.
Underground, he was slower than the Immortal Phoenix! On the surface, he was also slower!
In the sky? That went without saying, as he could not fly!
Therefore... the maddened War God of Tianfeng decided: "If I must die, I will drag Teng Qingshan down with me. I have lived for nearly four hundred years; it is enough! My Tianfeng family... has deep foundations. Even if I die, the family might decline temporarily, but once a Void Realm expert emerges in the future, they will surely flourish again!"
The crazed War God of Tianfeng moved with incredible speed!
"Helian, you wish to kill me?" Teng Qingshan smiled.
"Die!" The War God of Tianfeng's expression changed drastically; he sensed the Immortal Phoenix was already above his head.
Whoosh~~
Vast expanses of purple flame instantly enveloped the War God of Tianfeng. This time, the Immortal Phoenix flew directly above him, spewing flames at close range. The War God of Tianfeng dove into the earth again, but... the ground had already been scorched into nothingness; the War God of Tianfeng had nowhere left to flee.
"Aooo~~" Amidst the purple flames, the War God of Tianfeng wailed in agony, his cry resounding through heaven and earth.
Then, with unconcealed unwillingness, the War God of Tianfeng finally dissolved into fine ash. Even his dark divine sword continuously melted away within the purple flames.
The War God of Tianfeng, dead!
"Too fast, too fast." The War God of Yunmeng nearby looked solemn, staring intently at the Immortal Phoenix in the distance. "Whether above ground or underground, its speed is overwhelming! If one's power is inferior, merely being targeted by it means certain death! To resist its flames, cultivating the Dao of Fire might make resistance easier. Perhaps... one needs to master seven-tenths or even eight-tenths of Heaven and Earth power to fully withstand the flames spat out by this divine beast."
The War God of Yunmeng also felt the threat of death!
"Fortunately, she is on Qingshan's side," the War God of Yunmeng mused to himself.
"Mu Wang." The War God of Yunmeng suddenly spoke.
"Teacher?" The Great Elder, 'Mu Wang,' nearby snapped out of the shock of the War God of Tianfeng's death.
The War God of Yunmeng glanced at the Helian family members nearby, who were watching in disbelief and shock, and quietly commanded, "Mu Wang, now that the War God of Tianfeng is dead, and so many people witnessed it, the Tianfeng family is in deep trouble... They will certainly attempt to transfer various treasures to lay low and hide. We must now locate the Tianfeng family's accumulated treasure trove spanning millennia."
"Yes, Teacher." Mu Wang's eyes lit up.