Ji Changkong cried out internally, then unceremoniously unleashed all twelve Heavenly Fires, hurling them toward the two triangles, toward the bald brute, toward the Celestial Serpent Cultist!

Each of the twelve Heavenly Fires seemed to become his limbs, an extension of his very soul. Whatever he thought, the Fires reacted instantly!

The twelve Heavenly Fires split: four slammed into the two triangles, while the other eight divided in two—four chasing the bald man, and the remaining four abruptly shifting their trajectory to pursue the expert from the Celestial Serpent Cult.

The triangular soul techniques conjured by the bald man were caught completely off guard, struck instantly by the four Heavenly Fires. The triangles, imbued with the strange power to dissolve souls, vanished almost in a blink, leaving not even an ash behind.

Coils of massive pythons descended, but before they could reach Ji Changkong and Shang Bingjie, they were reduced to mere gusts of air under the assault of the Heavenly Fires, dissipating without a trace.

The Celestial Serpent Cultist’s face was a mask of sheer terror. He retreated desperately, but the four Heavenly Fires, having shattered her released soul technique, pressed on relentlessly. One of the Fires executed a bizarre positional shift, flying with uncanny precision straight for her soul.

The person shrieked, the sound echoing as waves of the most agonizing tremors through the soul. Clearly, under the power of the Heavenly Fire, the fellow had been struck.

Yet, this individual was, after all, a peak Bagua Celestial Master from an alien continent. Even the Heavenly Fire failed to incinerate their soul immediately. Like a snake shedding its skin, the body, already ethereal, split open, and a smaller soul flew out. This new soul darted away from its decaying shell, fleeing frantically from the approaching Heavenly Fires as if its backside were ablaze.

The bald man had slightly better luck. After his "Scythe of Separation" soul technique was broken, he realized the gravity of the situation. Before the four Heavenly Fires could close the distance, he immediately retreated. The blade, condensed purely from his mental energy, proved crucial at this juncture.

As he swung the razor-sharp edge, he batted the Heavenly Fires aside. Where the four Fires met his blade, they surprisingly failed to dissolve it.

Using this maneuver, the bald man managed to escape the pursuit of the four Heavenly Fires entirely, emerging unscathed, untouched by their attack.

Ji Changkong made no move to press the advantage. With a thought, all twelve Heavenly Fires reformed seamlessly before him. He stared strangely at the dozen flames, attempting to communicate with them mentally, and discovered that within each Fire, there seemed to be a fragment of his own soul…

More accurately, within these twelve Heavenly Fires resided a wisp of consciousness—a thread of his awareness!

He could perceive every movement of the twelve Fires, could command their every action. But even when he did nothing, simply conceiving of an enemy brought the Fires into immediate action, as if they had become twelve separate entities attacking any foe his primary consciousness registered, requiring no further instruction from him.

...In other words, these twelve Heavenly Fires could be considered living entities!

The moment this thought formed in his mind, Ji Changkong’s face turned ashen with shock. He gazed blankly at the newly constituted twelve Fires, feeling a strange sense of helplessness. Within them, beyond his own consciousness, he sensed a new power.

That power originated from the energy he had acquired in the Sea of Heavenly Fire—the same energy Shang Bingjie had previously absorbed, and the initial target of the peak Bagua Celestial Masters from those several celestial apertures!

Ji Changkong frowned, scrutinizing them with deeper concentration. He found that as long as his core consciousness issued a command, the twelve Fires would execute it tirelessly. Reassured that this fundamental aspect remained certain, he quietly let out a breath of relief. This meant the twelve peculiar Fires were still under his control, at least to the extent that they wouldn't harm him.

Better not to use them randomly before I get proficient, Ji Changkong warned himself inwardly.

He knew the formation of these new Fires was deeply connected to the power he had gathered in the Sea of Heavenly Fire. Their emergence had been so sudden, catching him entirely off guard. He felt a flicker of worry, resolving to understand the nature of these new Fires before deploying them again.

Unexpectedly, the moment this thought—better not to use them randomly—formed, twelve peculiar auras detached from the twelve Heavenly Fires. These twelve auras immediately entered his three flame-shaped soul forms, embedding themselves upon the cores of those three fiery souls, blazing with dazzling light.

Simultaneously, the twelve Heavenly Fires suspended before him instantly reverted to normal. They became simple weapons again, like the Heavenly Fires of old, requiring the exertion of his mental energy to attack, no longer guided by intrinsic consciousness.

This form of the Heavenly Fire was one he was familiar with. However, in this state, attacking enemies demanded a continuous expenditure of his spiritual power.

It was obvious that the previous, conscious form of the Heavenly Fire was vastly superior. Control based on consciousness surpassed the previous state in both refinement, speed, and flexibility.

Furthermore, the conscious Heavenly Fires possessed an even greater advantage…—they required no expenditure of his mental energy!

Within the Heart of the Sun, mental power was the most precious resource. Every soul technique demanded a heavy toll. He had previously dared to control only nine Heavenly Fires because mastering even that many pushed his limits; controlling nine Flames invariably caused massive depletion of his spiritual energy.

Yet, after the twelve conscious Heavenly Fires manifested, he could command them skillfully merely through the presence of a thought, without spending a single drop of mental energy, while simultaneously achieving far greater precision in his control!

A stream of ideas flashed through his mind. Ji Changkong suppressed the surging euphoria and released a new thought: Emerge!

The twelve ethereal auras that had entered his soul instantly returned to the twelve Heavenly Fires before him. The instant his intent to kill formed, the twelve Fires sprang into action, dividing into two groups to pursue the bald man and the ** body of the Celestial Serpent Cultist.

The Destruction Net was torn, but Ji Changkong felt no alarm. He picked up the Nine Luminaries Life Tree, smiling toward the front, and casually inquired, "You seem quite familiar with the conditions on other continents?"

Shang Bingjie’s long lashes fluttered slightly. She had been focused entirely on Ji Changkong until his question broke her concentration, causing a hint of panic to surface. "Of course, I am familiar with the conditions on other continents, Changkong. My family on the Hailan Continent is one of the eight supreme powers of the Solar Star Domain!"

After a pause, Shang Bingjie asked with sudden curiosity, "What... what is going on with you? Your soul form is very strange. Within your soul, there seems to be... a lot of that peculiar energy from the Heart of the Sun that I absorbed earlier, isn't there?"

Smiling, Ji Changkong nodded. "Yes. I was accidentally dragged into the Sea of Heavenly Fire. In that sea, I obtained more than a dozen wisps of that strange energy, just like you obtained before. Heh, I must be quite lucky."

"Your luck is astonishing!" Shang Bingjie frowned at him, then after a long silence, asked, "Why wasn't your soul dissolved within the Sea of Heavenly Fire?"

"The soul techniques I cultivate might be rather special. As you saw, my soul form can transform into flame. Being the same Fire attribute, it's normal that my soul could adapt to the burning of the Heavenly Fire. Besides," he added with a slight, ambiguous smile, "I am inherently skilled in refining and controlling Heavenly Fire, as you just witnessed."

Shang Bingjie didn't entirely believe him, but she didn't press for details, merely nodding faintly and saying, "Oh."

"Um, those eight supreme powers of the Solar Star Domain—which powers are they?" Ji Changkong, genuinely curious, couldn't help but ask.

"Hmph, nothing," Shang Bingjie turned her head away, affecting an air of not caring to discuss it.

Ji Changkong felt a touch of awkwardness, then shifted his attention away from Shang Bingjie. It was then he noticed that under the pursuit of the twelve Heavenly Fires, both the bald man and the Celestial Serpent Cultist expert were completely enveloped.

Six Heavenly Fires encased the bald man, and the other six wrapped around the Celestial Serpent Cultist expert. In the blazing flames, the twelve Fires began to refine the two figures.

Their soul bodies were shrinking bit by bit; their mental defenses were being pulverized. At this rate, it wouldn't be long before these two masters from the alien continent were completely refined to death by the twelve Heavenly Fires.

Ji Changkong was stunned. He had only issued a simple command to kill, and then let go. He hadn't expected the conscious twelve Heavenly Fires to handle the matter so thoroughly and efficiently without any further input from him.

He considered it honestly: even if he had actively controlled the twelve Heavenly Fires with his consciousness, he doubted he could have achieved such a clean and decisive result!

"The Celestials from the alien continents who can cultivate on the Sun and Moon all belong to the Solar Star Domain. The continents surrounding the Solar Star Domain are dotted with countless Celestial Sects, like stars. The most formidable among them are eight great powers. My family, the Severing Heaven Sect, and the Celestial Serpent Cult are all among the eight supreme powers," Shang Bingjie waited for a while, seeing that Ji Changkong wasn't continuing to press the issue. She couldn't help herself and coldly explained the secrets of the Solar Star Domain to him.

"Uh, are there any of the Eight Supreme Powers from the Five Elements Continent?" Ji Changkong asked with a dry laugh.

Shang Bingjie shot him a cold, disdainful glance. "No. Your Five Elements Continent hasn't produced a Ten Directions Celestial Master in many years; you simply don't measure up to that level. For a power to be considered one of the Eight Supreme Powers, a Ten Directions Celestial Master must emerge within a thousand years!"

[Ti: Dear reader, the current chapter has reached the final page of this book]