His gaze lingered on Bai Yuqing for less than two seconds before shifting back to Nie Kong. The burly figure formed by the Prison Fire Soul Heavenly Dragon first knitted its brows tightly, but a moment later, the tension eased.

It adopted an expression as if it had discovered a priceless treasure, shouting ecstatically, "Good stuff! Excellent stuff! If I can devour this soul, this old master might actually condense my true form within ten years and escape this damn place!"

"Roar! Roar! Roar!" The burly man instantly transformed into a colossal, flame-red dragon spanning dozens of meters, roaring three times with teeth bared and claws brandished. An intense joy resonated through the roars. After roaring, the raspy buzzing sound echoed again: "This old master is in an excellent mood today. I'll only eat the male; I'll save the two females to enjoy in a few days! Aren't you thrilled?" The blood-red eyes turned toward Mu Hongling and Bai Yuqing, undisguised amusement flashing within them.

Before Mu Hongling or Bai Yuqing could speak, Nie Kong sneered first, "You clumsy boar, are you finished rambling?"

"Are you cursing me?" The Prison Fire Soul Heavenly Dragon looked at Nie Kong in disbelief, its eyes wide open like two crimson lanterns, seemingly astonished that its intended meal had dared to insult it!

"Isn't it perfectly obvious?"

Nie Kong said with a faint smile, "Have you been stuck here for two thousand years, letting your brain turn to mush? You can't even tell if I'm insulting you? Since that's the case, let me tell you again: you are, without a doubt, an absolute, brainless boar..." Wait, I forgot, you aren't a boar, you're a clumsy dragon." Pfft!

Mu Hongling couldn't help but giggle, instantly dissolving the tense atmosphere that had arisen from the sheer power of this "Prison Fire Soul Heavenly Dragon's" soul.

"You insignificant human, how dare you insult me! Unforgivable! Unforgivable! I've decided—I will eat you over several days, making your existence a fate worse than death!" The Prison Fire Soul Heavenly Dragon roared in fury, causing the surrounding void to tremble violently as searing auras continuously surged from its body.

"So what if I curse you? Not only will I curse you, but I'll eat you too!" Nie Kong sneered, spiritual power surging through his meridians, silently gathering toward his right palm.

"You... you want to eat me?" The Prison Fire Soul Heavenly Dragon was stunned for a moment, then it burst into laughter as if it had heard the greatest joke in history. It shook its entire body with mirth, its thick tail slamming forcefully against the ground, the slap-slap echoing thunderously throughout the space. Yet, no matter how much commotion it caused, the small, round sphere continued to spew out gouts of flame, entirely unaffected by the "Prison Fire Soul Heavenly Dragon."

"That's right!" Before the last word left his mouth, Nie Kong flipped his arm, bringing the hand hidden behind his back forward. The small vortex in his palm rapidly expanded—one meter, two meters, three meters...

Ten meters... Fifteen meters... By the time the "Prison Fire Soul Heavenly Dragon" recovered its senses, the vortex had already expanded to twenty meters!

"Hoo..."

Silken soul power separated from the "Prison Fire Soul Heavenly Dragon's" body and immediately plunged into the vortex.

The Prison Fire Soul Heavenly Dragon was utterly astonished. "Th-this is..."

Nie Kong had already displayed this technique when fighting the "Blood Soul Jade Belt Worm," so Bai Yuqing was accustomed to it. However, Mu Hongling was greatly surprised, realizing that in the year they hadn't seen each other, her disciple's cultivation had not only soared but he had also mastered such an uncanny spiritual skill!

"Hmph!"

Nie Kong had intentionally provoked the "Prison Fire Soul Heavenly Dragon" to seize the initiative while it was distracted! Now that his goal was achieved, Nie Kong saw no reason to delay further. With a snort, Nie Kong's brow trembled violently as the "Purple Luo Illusory Spirit Incense" surged out of his body again, adhering itself to the rapidly spinning vortex.

Immediately following this, Nie Kong's blood vessels vibrated, and strands of bloodline power poured out of his palm, merging into the center of the vortex. The spinning speed of the vortex instantly increased dramatically, and large swathes of soul essence began peeling away from the "Prison Fire Soul Heavenly Dragon's" body, ceaselessly absorbed by the vortex.

"Roar!"

The Prison Fire Soul Heavenly Dragon finally understood what was happening. It opened its monstrous maw and let out a heaven-shaking roar, "Damn it!" It completely ignored the soul power escaping its body. With a mere shift of its massive frame, a ferocious might surged out, pressing down overwhelmingly toward Nie Kong opposite him.

"Buzz!"

For a moment, the dark green vortex trembled slightly.

"It’s still not enough to fully contend with this dragon!" Nie Kong muttered inwardly.

According to Qing Yue's previous detection, the vast majority of the "Prison Fire Soul Great Dragon's" soul was tethered to that small, blood-red sphere. However, the soul power it could freely wield was still at the level of a Seventh Grade. This was only manageable because Nie Kong’s "Yin-Yang Soul Devouring Art" and the essence of his spiritual treasure could suppress the spiritual beasts in the "Prison Fire Underworld Spring"; otherwise, in the face of this dragon, Nie Kong wouldn't have stood a chance.

Unfortunately, the gap in cultivation realms between Nie Kong and the "Prison Fire Soul Heavenly Dragon" was too vast. Even with suppression, forcing a direct confrontation was extremely difficult. Qing Yue's soul power had only recovered to the peak of Sixth Grade, still a small step away from Seventh Grade, the Dan Spirit realm. While she could fight the "Prison Fire Soul Heavenly Dragon," the odds of winning were slim. He couldn't rely too heavily on her; he needed another plan.

Nie Kong rotated his spiritual power and bloodline power to maintain the vortex while his mind worked furiously.

"Little Brother, I’ll help you!" Seeing Nie Kong already locked in struggle with the "Prison Fire Soul Heavenly Dragon," Mu Hongling cried out charmingly, her figure flashing as she lunged toward the beast. Beside her, Bai Yuqing also swung her broadsword, its azure sword light slicing through the void, aiming directly at the enormous spiritual beast.

"Come back!"

Sensing the two new energies spreading nearby, Nie Kong's heart stirred, and an incredibly audacious idea surfaced: "Get over here and transfer all your spiritual power to me!" Nie Kong could suppress the spiritual beasts here, but they couldn't. Given the overwhelming disparity in strength, not only would they pose no threat to the "Prison Fire Soul Heavenly Dragon," but they might also endanger themselves. Rather than that...

"Huh?"

Mu Hongling and Bai Yuqing both froze in surprise.

Immediately following, Bai Yuqing dragged her broadsword and swiftly retreated, landing lightly beside Nie Kong. Seeing this, Mu Hongling, though puzzled, followed Bai Yuqing’s lead, moving with the utmost speed to Nie Kong’s right side.

A moment later, two delicate, fair hands rested on Nie Kong's shoulders. Two completely opposing energies—icy cold and scorching heat—poured into Nie Kong’s body almost simultaneously.

The sensation of half frigid and half burning was profoundly uncomfortable. The instant the two streams of spiritual power surged in, the dark green vortex extending from Nie Kong’s right palm nearly collapsed entirely. Gritting his teeth fiercely to endure the initial discomfort, Nie Kong moved his consciousness, guiding the cold and hot energies into his Spiritual Spirit Acupoint.

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Four successive explosions resonated. The four pairs of minor acupoints on the third layer of the Spiritual Spirit Acupoint suddenly burst open and connected. At this point, fifteen pairs among Nie Kong’s twenty pairs of minor acupoints were now connected from top to bottom. However, Nie Kong had absolutely no time to savor these changes.

The fifteen pairs of minor acupoints spun rapidly, pulling the cold and hot spiritual powers in an endless torrent. Soon, a peculiar "Yin-Yang Diagram" condensed within the Spiritual Seed Acupoint, and then, enveloped by the essence of his spiritual treasure, it surged toward his right palm.

"Buzz!"

The dark green vortex trembled violently; after the infusion of the cold and hot spiritual powers, its rotation speed increased yet again. Meanwhile, within Nie Kong’s "Spiritual Spirit Acupoint," an icy stream and a scorching stream of spiritual power penetrated outward, extending respectively toward Bai Yuqing's and Mu Hongling's palms.

Sensing a stream of spiritual power returning, both Bai Yuqing and Mu Hongling instinctively guided it inward, then exchanged slightly astonished glances. However, since Nie Kong hadn't called for them to stop, they continued to pour their own spiritual power into Nie Kong’s body.

The cold and hot energies, sent into Nie Kong by Bai Yuqing and Mu Hongling, were processed by Nie Kong’s "Yin-Yang Soul Devouring Art." A portion of the energy, shielded by the spiritual treasure essence, was injected into the vortex, while an equal portion of energy returned to their respective bodies... A marvelous cycle began to form among the three of them...

The deduction in his mind had become reality; Nie Kong's confidence soared! This cycle, once established, meant the combined might of the three was focused in one place. The spiritual treasure essence, the Extreme Ice Spirit Water, the Extreme Fire Spiritual Energy that had fused with the "Blazing Flame Spirit Fire"... the power unleashed by these three elements together was far from a simple addition.

However, this cycle was not easily formed. First, Bai Yuqing's and Mu Hongling's spiritual powers had to be completely opposing Extreme Energies. Second, there needed to be a method to prevent the two energies from clashing violently... If either of these conditions was missing, the cycle would be difficult, if not impossible, to construct successfully.

"Roar!" The Prison Fire Soul Heavenly Dragon roared, "Hee hee... You think you can escape this old master's maw just like that?" Before the words finished, its massive tail swept toward the vortex. Instantly, the space seemed to churn with a dragon tornado, and Mu Hongling's energy struck like a tide.

"Boom!"

Amidst the fierce impact, the giant vortex before the three of them merely paused momentarily before resuming its rapid spin.

Seeing that the vortex remained completely undamaged while it had lost a significant amount of soul power, the "Prison Fire Soul Heavenly Dragon" was somewhat incredulous. In no time, its tail swept toward the vortex again.

"Boom!" "Boom!" Explosions erupted one after another.

After nearly ten furious attacks proved futile, coupled with the realization that the suction emanating from the vortex was growing stronger, the "Prison Fire Soul Heavenly Dragon" became enraged. It swung its huge head slightly and began thrusting its razor-sharp foreclaws directly into the depths of the vortex.

"Boom!"

Another earth-shattering blast sounded, and the dark green vortex instantly became distorted—provided by the Shushu Net manual typing group. Nie Kong, standing behind the vortex, shuddered violently. Fortunately, the vortex soon returned to its original shape, but the "Prison Fire Soul Heavenly Dragon" deep within it let out a piercing shriek, sounding extremely pained.

Its body shook violently. After more than ten seconds, the "Prison Fire Soul Heavenly Dragon" finally struggled free from the vortex's grasp, but the soul power lost in that brief moment caused its heart to clench. With an exasperated roar, it suddenly resisted the vortex's pull while simultaneously trying to circle around to the side...