With a low hum, threads of black light rapidly unfurled from the Ink Sword, seeping into the surrounding crimson stone walls. In the blink of an eye, the wall opposite was covered in a dense network of black filaments, resembling a colossal spiderweb.

“It really is the key to this place!”

Mu Hongling clapped her hands excitedly, then turned her beautiful eyes toward Nie Kong with a look of deep suspicion. “Apprentice, how did you get the key to this place? We descended together, and I never saw you pick up any key on the way. Furthermore, I was always walking in front; if anyone was going to find a key, it should have been your Master first, followed by little sister Bai, and then you.”

“Indeed!”

Bai Yuqing nodded, cleanly spitting out the two words.

Nie Kong smiled, saying with only half-truth, “Little Master, little sister Bai, this key wasn't found in the Yuhuo Youquan (Prison Fire Dark Spring). I got it in Sunset City outside. It was probably picked up by a Spirit Master who entered before us and carried it out from somewhere outside the sinkhole.

Only then did Mu Hongling and Bai Yuqing realize the truth.

At this moment, the crimson stone wall opposite began to change eerily, cracking along the dense black threads before rapidly dissolving. Not even a minute had passed before the crimson wall vanished completely, as if it had never existed.

The instant the wall disappeared, a burst of fiery red light shot through the dense black threads from ahead. The black threads suspended in the passage instantly retracted back into the small, inky sword. As it fell, Nie Kong snatched the sword into his palm.

With that, the line of sight for the three of them was completely unobstructed, and their gazes locked forward.

For a moment, Nie Kong felt as if the world had suddenly opened up. At the end of the passage lay a wide, circular space. In the center of this space floated a sphere no larger than a fist, from which billions of fiery red light rays diffused, reflecting off the smooth, slick stone walls around them, causing them to shimmer with a magnificent and dazzling ethereal glow.

“Bang!” “Bang!” “Bang…”

The crimson sphere pulsed rapidly, like a heartbeat. With every beat, a small cluster of flames rose from the sphere, then expanded swiftly. By the time the rising flames disappeared into the stone ceiling above, they had expanded to cover an area dozens of meters wide.

“Wow!”

Seeing this bizarre spectacle, Mu Hongling’s beautiful eyes widened, and an involuntary gasp escaped her reddened lips. Beside her, although Bai Yuqing remained silent, a slight ripple disturbed her usually cold gaze.

Nie Kong was equally astonished.

The moment this scene entered his vision, Nie Kong understood that those clusters of flames, after passing through the overhead crimson stone, were continuously spewed forth from the large ‘bowl’ shape at the top of the column, eventually transforming into the towering waves of fire seen at the peak of Flame Mountain.

It was only that Nie Kong had never imagined that the source of the raging flames atop Flame Mountain was actually such a tiny sphere.

“Roar!”

Just then, an earth-shattering roar suddenly erupted.

Nie Kong, Bai Yuqing, and Mu Hongling snapped back to attention, their ears ringing from the abrupt, massive sound.

“There really is a Spirit Beast?”

Nie Kong was dumbfounded; he hadn’t expected his earlier casual remark to come true—this pillar truly hid a Spirit Beast! However, he, Bai Yuqing, and Mu Hongling reacted swiftly. Almost the instant the beast’s roar sounded, boundless spiritual energy erupted from their bodies, and their eyes rapidly scanned the space within.

The interior of the pillar was clearly visible: aside from the fiery red sphere hovering in the air, there was nothing else, certainly no Spirit Beast.

The three exchanged glances. Was it just an illusion?

“Roar!”

Another deafening roar exploded forth, instantly shattering the doubts in Nie Kong, Mu Hongling, and Bai Yuqing’s minds. Immediately, all six eyes fixed upon that small, scarlet sphere—both roars of the Spirit Beast had issued from within it…

“Roar!” “Roar!”

Two successive fierce roars pierced the depths of the chasm and shot straight toward the sky, startling the disciples of Lingyu City and Mo Xue Sect who were searching for medicinal herbs on Flame Mountain. By this time, every single one of them had gained some harvest or another.

Liu Heming frowned slightly, feeling quite surprised. “The sound seems to be coming from the mountaintop. Could there be a Spirit Beast up there too?”

“Bad news!”

Lan Shang suddenly exclaimed beside him. “Junior Brother Nie Kong, Junior Sister Yuqing, and Elder Sister Mu are still up there! Let’s go check it out!”

The words had barely left her mouth when Lan Shang was already several meters away. Liu Heming hesitated hardly at all, carelessly stuffing the herb he had just dug up into his bag, then circulated the spiritual energy in his body and followed Lan Shang toward the peak.

One after the other, the two pushed their speed to the absolute limit.

Around the same time, the Lingyu City and Mo Xue Sect disciples in other parts of Flame Mountain also rushed toward the summit, clearly realizing that Nie Kong, Bai Yuqing, and the others were at the top…

Could it only be the soul of a Spirit Beast?

This thought simultaneously surfaced in the minds of the three, as it seemed to be the only explanation for why the sound originated from that small sphere. If it were a truly living Spirit Beast, it was impossible that they wouldn't have seen its true form after the passage opened.

“Roar!”

A moment later, a third roar exploded in the ears of the three like a clap of thunder, immediately followed by a hoarse human voice: “Heh heh, heh heh. How many years has it been? Nearly two thousand years, has it? That old relic is finally willing to send a few more humans down to give this old fellow something to feast on? Roar, roar, roar…”

At the end, the voice reverted to a roar.

“Who are you?”

Nie Kong shouted loudly, his eyes darting left and right, signaling Bai Yuqing and Mu Hongling to draw closer to him.

The Spirit Beast had spoken only a short sentence, but the amount of information revealed was enough to trigger Nie Kong’s highest level of alertness.

From the Spirit Beast’s words, they could ascertain that it had been trapped inside this circular cavern for at least two thousand years!

A thousand years ago, the being suspected to be the original owner of the Yuhuo Youquan had indeed sent humans for it to feast on. Though the practice stopped for unknown reasons later, the inherent brutality of the Spirit Beast was confirmed.

“You insignificant human, daring to ask this Great One who I am? Roar, roar, roar… However, seeing as you are about to become my meal, I shall allow you to die enlightened. This Great One is a Ninth-Rank Spirit Beast, the Yuhuo Huntian Long (Prison Fire Soul Heaven Dragon)! It is your honor as three humans to become my snack! Roar, roar, roar…”

“Yuhuo Huntian Long?”

Nie Kong murmured the words, subtly giving a meaningful glance to Bai Yuqing and Mu Hongling beside him. Seeing that they both understood his meaning, Nie Kong suddenly laughed, “Esteemed… Old Sir? Hm, did you perhaps forget to add the word ‘soul’ after Yuhuo Huntian Long?”

“Even if it’s only a soul, this Great One can still devour you!”

As soon as the boast was issued, the three figures of Nie Kong, Bai Yuqing, and Mu Hongling suddenly retreated rapidly. The Yuhuo Huntian Long’s enraged voice instantly erupted from the small crimson sphere: “Trying to run?”

“Roar!” A blast of fiery red aura suddenly surged out of the sphere, surging wildly toward the entrance.

“Hmph!”

The three had just retreated to the edge of the steps when that fiery red aura, moving faster than them, swept over their bodies, sealing off the exit tightly. Immediately afterward, a tremendous force pressed in from behind, actually shoving Nie Kong, Bai Yuqing, and Mu Hongling forward!

“Stop!”

Nie Kong roared, and the Ziluo Huanling Xiang (Purple Luo Illusionary Spirit Incense) flashed into existence, spreading out like spilled mercury and clinging tightly to the ground. Under the clinging grip of the Ziluo Huanling Xiang’s stems and leaves, Nie Kong’s forward momentum slowed increasingly, and after a few meters, his feet were forcibly anchored to the ground.

“Hiss!”

Bai Yuqing abruptly twisted her arm, resting the tip of her sword on the ground. With a sound of violent friction, bone-chilling ice crystals continuously condensed from the sword tip, then rapidly shattered in the fierce scraping, but her forward speed, like Nie Kong’s, gradually decelerated until it completely halted.

Compared to Nie Kong and Bai Yuqing, Mu Hongling’s method of resisting the force behind her was different. Her tall, delicate frame floated lightly, wisps of fire spiritual energy swirling out with the sweep of her sleeve. Then, with a few leisurely, casual steps, she stopped her forward motion.

A grave expression settled on the faces of all three.

Their sudden retreat just now had been a probe. If this so-called Yuhuo Huntian Long had failed to stop them, it would have meant it was merely bluffing and not worth worrying about.

If it had attacked, they could roughly gauge its strength, giving them a better understanding for resistance.

Based on the preceding events, even if the Yuhuo Huntian Long was only a soul, its power already far exceeded Nie Kong’s expectations.

Escaping from this place today was likely not going to be easy!

Realizing this, Nie Kong and Bai Yuqing were relatively composed, but Mu Hongling pouted, extremely frustrated. She had expected that after opening the passage with the key, they would find one or two treasures inside. Instead, they hadn’t found any treasure, and had instead encountered a menace!

“Interesting!”

A slightly surprised voice drifted from the sphere, which immediately expelled a wave of crimson aura. This aura then condensed into a human figure—his face rugged and ferocious, his body strong and imposing, with bulging muscles on his arms, looking every bit the savage fiend, his fierce presence spreading out.

His two bell-like eyes first fell upon Mu Hongling. After only a brief appraisal, his eyes lit up: “Such dense fire spiritual energy! A great tonic! A great tonic indeed… A soul like this must be extremely delicious to consume! Tsk, tsk, I never thought I’d run into such a fine specimen.”

As he spoke, two stark white fangs emerged from the brute’s mouth, and saliva dripped continuously as his eyes shifted to Bai Yuqing…