In the vortex of life, everything descended into complete chaos. As the Ice Clan seized Xiao Han, the Flame Demon Clan and the Blood Clan simultaneously imprisoned numerous experts from the Three-Eyed Clan and the Winged Clan, all preparing to use these captives as sacrificial pawns to gauge the depth of the terrifying vortices swirling around them.

When they began seizing people, conflict was inevitable. The various vortices, large and small, scattered everywhere, often harbored immense killing intent. In their pursuit of others, they themselves faced persecution from the vortices. At times, before they could even capture their target, they would be swallowed by a vortex instead, becoming the very test subjects they intended to use.

Among these unfortunates, few were lucky. Once pulled into a life vortex, one would either be torn apart in moments or soon have their power utterly depleted, dissolving into some free-floating energy within the vortex itself.

On the Ice Clan's side, Bing Ao was just preparing to execute Xiao Han as Bina commanded, when he suddenly spotted Ji Changkong and Huofeng flying out of the raging, flame-engulfed vortex together. Furthermore, it was Huofeng who was chasing Ji Changkong—a scene that instantly stunned the Ice Clan members. Bina blinked, then roared, "Kill—that merchant's companion!"

Bing Ao snapped back to attention and quickly nodded, "Understood!"

"Huofeng! Ji Changkong! What in the world are you two doing?" Xiao Han, immobilized and facing imminent execution, mustered the last sliver of strength remaining in her body and suddenly shrieked.

Huofeng, cursing loudly and fixedly staring at Ji Changkong, abruptly turned her head. The moment she saw Bing Ao’s movement, she glared at Ji Changkong with gritted teeth before finally turning to charge toward Xiao Han. Midway through her dash, a new crimson robe enveloped her entire body, cloaking Huofeng’s exquisitely curved figure.

Ji Changkong, positioned behind Huofeng, had also heard Xiao Han’s sharp cry. He turned back just in time to see the Phoenix tattoo concealed on Huofeng's back. The tattoo was startlingly lifelike, covering her entire back—it was the Diagram of Phoenix Rebirth through Nirvana. Wisps of flame pulsed across the design, lending it an air of profound mystery.

Although the Diagram of Phoenix Rebirth through Nirvana on Huofeng’s back was hidden by the crimson robe, it could not conceal the power unleashed after her rebirth. The surging flame power within Huofeng seemed completely unrestrained here. As she lunged toward the Ice Clan members, Huofeng opened her mouth and spat out a fire serpent that shot forth.

The fire serpent was fifty to sixty feet long, and its body even possessed the texture of snake scales, identical to a real serpent, yet it was forged purely from coiling flames.

The fire serpent snaked forward, its flames utterly undiminished even within the current, reaching the Ice Clan's position in an instant and rushing toward Bing Ao.

With the great fire serpent leading, Huofeng followed. As she waved her hands, smaller fire serpents rushed out from between her fingers. These snakes followed one after another; viewed from a distance, they resembled slick fire eels, all moving with blinding speed, flashing through the water.

"Bing Ao, kill her quickly!" Bina’s face changed drastically. Her body produced a series of crisp "kaka" sounds, the icy glint in her eyes retracted, and her body transformed into a beam of ice, instantly arriving before Bing Ao, utterly disregarding the resistance of the water current.

Bina pushed both hands forward levelly. The water instantly gathered, possessing weight heavier than ten thousand jun. Within the vapor, wisps of cold, faint smoke slowly coalesced. The gathered water immediately began to freeze. In mere seconds, the water before Bina had formed an iceberg dozens of feet high.

The entire mountain of ice was crystal clear, threaded through with a single, ethereal strand of cold energy twisting and leaping within. At a glance, it seemed as though countless exquisite, cold butterflies resided inside the ice, providing the mountain with an inexhaustible supply of chill.

The fire serpents of varying sizes unleashed by Huofeng slammed into the iceberg and were entirely blocked. Both the large and small serpents instantly burrowed into the ice, continuing their advance, albeit slowed down a thousandfold. Bing Ao pressed one hand onto Xiao Han’s chest, his fingertips radiating a biting cold, sharp as an icy dagger.

A blinding shaft of light suddenly erupted, shooting straight into Bing Ao's face. As Bing Ao brought his hand down to strike, he appeared utterly mesmerized under the intense glare, and the blow landed in empty space. "Seeking death!" Another Ice Clan member holding a captive Three-Eyed Clan expert changed expression violently and lunged forward to kill the source.

That blinding, powerful light had originated from the third eye of the captive Three-Eyed Clan expert. His body entirely constrained, his third eye unleashed a beam of intense light at the critical moment, saving Xiao Han from Bing Ao’s fatal strike. "Damn Ji Changkong, hurry up!" Huofeng roared, her voice laced with impatience. "Huh?" Upon hearing this, a sense of foreboding suddenly washed over Bina. She stared intently and realized Ji Changkong seemed to have vanished. "Where is that brat?" Bina demanded.

"I’m right here, Ice Beauty." Ji Changkong suddenly appeared from behind a massive vortex. The vortex had somehow shifted near Bing Ao. By the time Ji Changkong manifested, he was already beside Bing Ao. "Damn it, that vortex is fake!" Bina exclaimed angrily. "Be careful!" She saw that the vortex had stopped spinning and was gradually dissipating after Ji Changkong appeared. Focusing her gaze, she realized the vortex’s rotation was purely caused by Ji Changkong’s hand spinning at high speed. This vortex was not naturally occurring within the life vortex.

"Heh heh!" Ji Changkong sneered and reached out a hand. A tremendous suction force emanated from his palm. Bing Ao’s body shook, as if being pulled into a vortex, and his expression immediately changed.

"Let me send you to a vortex. Perhaps you can even break through to the next realm," Ji Changkong said with a malicious smile. The suction in his palm intensified, wrenching Bing Ao and forcibly sending him into a nearby vortex. "Lord Bina! Save me!" Bing Ao’s face turned ashen, and he screamed, flailing his limbs.

"Idiot!" Bina’s brows twitched with fury. She instinctively released a thread of cold energy. That cold energy was strange; it seemed to merge with the water current midway, vanishing mysteriously, only to reappear with a sudden flash a second later. The cold energy had astonishingly reached Bing Ao’s side.

The cold energy entered Bing Ao’s body like a miraculous elixir. Bing Ao, his body no longer under his control, instantly became an ice sculpture, suspended quietly in the water current. His facial expression first showed a degree of blankness, which quickly gave way to one of pleasant surprise.

As an ice sculpture, Bing Ao’s body stabilized, and even his aura began to settle deeply. The ray of cold energy emanating from Bina seemed to possess a marvelous power for him.

"Xiao Han, are you alright?" Reaching Xiao Han, Ji Changkong grabbed her and let a thread of 'Flame Thunder Sacred Fire' spiral around her body. All residual binding power from the Ice Clan was instantly dispelled from Xiao Han.

"I just saved your life!" The Three-Eyed Clan expert, imprisoned by another Ice Clan member, had his third eye turned a blood-red color. A crimson halo enveloped the Ice Clan member holding him. The captor’s eyes clearly showed an extreme struggle; at times he regained clarity, wanting to strike the Three-Eyed expert, and at other times he became confused and loosened his grip.

"Hmph," Xiao Han grunted. "I owe you one for this favor!"

Xiao Han leaped forward and stood before the Three-Eyed expert. While the expert kept his captor confused, Xiao Han tossed her Ice Prism Sword, launching a sharp beam of sword light that blasted the Ice Clan expert aside. "May fortune favor you," she uttered, then immediately turned and rejoined Ji Changkong.

The rescued Three-Eyed Clan expert, before he could celebrate, suddenly saw several Ice Clan members charging toward him from a distance. Each of them was cold as a glacier, their eyes radiating a chill that made one’s bones freeze.

Startled, the Three-Eyed expert did not spare Xiao Han a glance. He activated every last bit of residual power in his body and fled desperately into the distance.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Before he could escape, three massive plumes of intense flames suddenly erupted in the surging water current. The three masses of fire struck his body squarely, engulfing him entirely. Amidst a piercing scream, his body turned to charcoal, and his life force rapidly vanished.

Figures wreathed in blazing flames emerged from behind the violent water current—these were experts from the Flame Demon Clan. "Yen Meng and the other two are dead, killed by the people ahead!" A Flame Demon Clan expert pointed toward Ji Changkong and Xiao Han. "It was them!" It seemed these newcomers were preparing to seek revenge against Ji Changkong and Huofeng.

A vortex the size of five mu suddenly materialized behind Huofeng. Within that vast vortex, thick black liquid swirled, and a thread of evil aura escaped, seeming poised to devour everyone nearby.

Within that large vortex were the three Great Elders of the Blood Clan, their expressions oddly distorted, followed by numerous Blood Clan members. At this moment, the faces of these Blood Clan members were flushed with a strange crimson, as if overly excited, or perhaps terrified of something. "Huofeng, watch your back!" When Ji Changkong saw the black vortex approaching, his heart gave a sudden lurch; instinctively, he sensed extreme danger emanating from it. "Ji Changkong, have you broken through to the Nirvana Realm?" Xiao Han suddenly looked at him, her face filled with astonishment.

"I don't know, but my body and soul have indeed changed. I think I must have entered that realm, but I'm still unaware of what wonders that realm holds," Ji Changkong replied hesitantly, somewhat uncertainly.

From that fiery vortex, he had indeed gained some marvelous power. Under that power, the ocean of his soul underwent subtle changes, and his body seemed to have advanced further.

However, it all happened in a haze. Upon regaining consciousness, the first thing he noticed was holding a naked Huofeng. Before he could even process the situation, he was met with Huofeng's frenzied pursuit, and he hadn't had time yet to confirm whether he had truly broken through to the Nirvana Realm. Did I really break through to the Nirvana Realm?

Ji Changkong’s expression grew strange as this thought surfaced in his mind.