Fan Tu Kuangge shot Duan Feng Buer a look, realizing that wealth could only ever be sought in perilous circumstances. The gap in strength between himself and the others was widening; if he didn't fight now, when would he? The opponent was an Element King bloodline Martial Mage whose battle soul had shattered into dust—if he didn't seize the moment now, when would he?

Chek climbed out of the towering earth, swaying his head left and right, raising a hand to rub his eyes. He had just used the Eye of Destruction repeatedly, and this eye, which wasn't truly his own, ached fiercely, as if it might seize shut.

"Good thing I dodged quickly…" Mu Ne Zhen Ce dusted himself off, then commanded the magic device on his person to blow gusts of cool air, swirling his dirt-laden long hair. "One must always maintain one's image."

"This…" Duan Feng Buer shook his head and sighed. "So utterly vain…"

Chek, who never got along with Duan Feng Buer, nodded repeatedly in agreement, validating Duan Feng Buer's assessment of Mu Ne Zhen Ce.

Lucifer Flowing Water clutched her lower abdomen, staggering toward Qian Jin. "Are you alright?"

Qian Jin was the most severely injured of them all; even twitching a finger now caused pain sharp enough to make him faint. He managed to part his lips slightly, and a mouthful of blood sprayed out.

Pain! It wasn't the scorching heat of fire, nor the icy chill of flame, but something that began to drill through Qian Jin’s body. They were like murderous bandits rampaging through his Battle Meridians, igniting those meridians—already nearly destroyed—wherever they passed, threatening to melt them away completely the next moment.

This is? Qian Jin opened his mouth and spat out another mouthful of purulent blood. It was no longer bright red! It was pitch black!

Poison! The Ice Flame Dou Qi was filled with cold, and Qiaoka's Hellfire was saturated with poisonous mist. This was unlike the previous flames; it was as if the entire fire contained the dying will of Qiaoka himself, intent on destroying Qian Jin’s body even without its wielder’s control.

"Poisonous?" Duan Feng Buer braced his hands on the ground and abruptly shot upright. The immense pressure squeezed streams of dazzling blood from several wounds on his body. He staggered toward Qian Jin. "I'll do it, I'll suck it out."

"You…" Qian Jin propped himself up and forcefully shook his head. Duan Feng Buer’s body had long since reached its limit. Even with the terrifying ability of Devour, there was a boundary.

When the battle soul had shattered and they were fighting to absorb the fragments, Duan Feng Buer had actually hit his limit. Yet, he had then recklessly helped further, even absorbing some of Qiaoka’s battle soul dust, effectively exceeding his boundary.

It was like a person who could only eat one jin of food, but someone forcibly stuffed three jin into them. If more was forced in, even one more bun could cause their stomach to burst violently.

Duan Feng Buer had reached such a genuine limit; absorbing even a tiny bit more poison could mean instant death for him.

"Don't worry…" Duan Feng Buer sat beside Qian Jin, panting heavily, looking as if he were digesting food. "I can eat a bit more. My stomach is big enough… we aren't afraid of getting too full…"

"I'll do it…" Fan Tu Kuangge found a surge of strength from somewhere. Although his bones hadn't shattered, his injuries were still serious. He managed to get up, but before he could take a step, he face-planted onto the ground. He propped himself up with his hands again, intending to walk toward Qian Jin.

"You should rest too." Mu Ne Zhen Ce promptly kicked Fan Tu Kuangge over. "Let me…"

Fan Tu Kuangge, sprawled on the ground, reached out and yanked Mu Ne Zhen Ce’s ankle. The Sixth Prince took a spectacular tumble onto his face, equally weakened and struggling just to get back on his feet.

That seemingly casual turnabout by the Spirit Mage had been incredibly costly. Only a warrior like Fan Tu Kuangge, who had witnessed all sorts of fighters, understood the sheer exhaustion Mu Ne Zhen Ce was suffering. If that prince were allowed to sleep now, he estimated the man could sleep for three days and nights straight without waking.

While the others argued, Qian Jin spat out another mouthful of black blood.

"I'll swallow it then…"

"You stop that right now." Chek planted a foot squarely on Duan Feng Buer's face, knocking him back down.

"Damn it! Who is it? Hell, Che Shuai, I'm the injured one…"

"If you're injured, don't show off." Chek looked down at Duan Feng Buer, who was struggling to rise from the ground, and unceremoniously stomped on his chest, pinning him down. "Stay put. In your current state, if you try to eat more, it'll kill you…"

"I like it…"

"I have no objection to you eating," Chek looked at Qian Jin. "But Qian Jin’s body is already on the verge of shattering. If you swallow it all, I don't care if you die. But you might suck Qian Jin's Battle Meridians and Orifices into dust, and all his Battle Qi will…"

Leak out!

Duan Feng Buer broke out in a cold sweat lying there. Whether one was a Warrior, a Martial Mage, or a Warrior of the Barbarian Tribes, though the titles differed, one thing was common: they all used Battle Orifices and Battle Meridians to cultivate Battle Qi. If the Orifices and Meridians were damaged, Battle Qi couldn't advance. If they were lost entirely…

Then the Battle Qi would leak away! And a person's life would quickly draw to a close! This fate had befallen cultivators in the Demon Race, the Zhen Ce Dynasty, and the Barbarian Tribes countless times. Even a Saint-level expert met the same end if such a thing occurred.

For a moment, everyone stared blankly at each other, unsure what the correct course of action was.

Qian Jin tried to speak, but realized the burning flames had rendered him incapable of even opening his mouth, or rather… the poisonous fire had temporarily rendered him mute…

As for trying to reach into the Battle Realm to retrieve the hat leading to the Infinite World? Qian Jin could only fantasize about it now; his body couldn't manage any movement whatsoever.

The Hellfire, rampaging wildly, continued its destructive work while darting about. Eventually, it even split into three streams of power, surging towards three Battle Hearts situated in different locations…

Burn the Battle Hearts! Poison the Battle Hearts! The frenzied Hellfire roared toward the three cores.

Qian Jin felt this development, and a faint smile finally touched his lips. This was getting interesting… The Heart of Earthly Fire was known as the source of all fire; if the Hellfire charged in like that, wouldn't it…?

Swallow! The slumbering Heart of Earthly Fire, the moment it contacted the Hellfire, indeed became invigorated! It didn't need Qian Jin to urge it to spin; it began rotating at high speed on its own, sucking in the surrounding Hellfire. The streams of Hellfire attacking the other two Battle Hearts seemed to sense that one source of Hellfire was weaker and began diverting forces to provide support.

Qian Jin 'watched' this internal change with amusement. Not only had he survived this time, but he had made a huge profit. Some of the self-detonated Hellfire had blasted into his body; though some had vanished, a significant portion remained.

Boom boom boom…

The Heart of Earthly Fire evolved from passively absorbing energy from its surroundings to actively attacking and consuming. The others noticed Qian Jin's complexion gradually improving compared to before, and even the blood flowing from him began to turn bright red again.

In just half an hour, the Heart of Earthly Fire had swallowed everything it could reach. Some of the remaining Hellfire finally realized something was wrong and began to flee—some escaped Qian Jin’s body and vanished into the air, while others were less fortunate and were devoured.

The bright red Heart of Earthly Fire rotated gently, slowly emanating wisps of distinct light. This light bloomed outward from its absolute core…

Golden Battle Heart Realm! Qian Jin was overjoyed to discover that under these circumstances, he was actually beginning to refine his second Golden Battle Heart!

The searing flames were the first to surge out of the Heart of Earthly Fire. They moved through the damaged and dormant Battle Meridians and Orifices, and also poured into the active meridians and orifices. Those Battle Meridians, which had been damaged beyond recognition, immediately melted down under the fire burning from the Heart of Earthly Fire…

Subsequently, following the scorching flames of the Heart of Earthly Fire came the bone-chilling Ice Flame Dou Qi. Wherever they traveled, the melted remnants that had formed complete Orifices and Meridians—before they could melt into nothingness again—were instantly frozen over, becoming exceptionally robust!

Following that, the Hellfire traced the paths previously traveled by the other two types of flames through the Battle Meridians and Orifices, acting like a kiln, forcing these pathways to undergo another bizarre transformation.

Solid! Qian Jin could clearly feel that this change made the Battle Meridians and Orifices significantly sturdier, far more powerful!

Time flowed swiftly. Within a few hours, Qian Jin’s Battle Meridians were completely restored, and his body now housed two Hearts of Earthly Fire.

Battle Meridians could recover, Battle Orifices could mend, but this did not mean broken bones or torn muscle tissue could repair themselves quickly.

Self-detonation! Qian Jin looked back; surviving this ordeal was due partly to his desperate struggle, but also certainly due to luck.

If it hadn't been for Duan Feng Buer’s Devour ability, or Fan Tu Kuangge’s Great True Gold Dou Qi ability weakening Qiaoka beforehand, he wasn't sure he could have withstood Qiaoka’s attack, even if he had blocked it.

Qiaoka’s self-detonation at peak strength would surely have been far more potent than what he faced now.

"Thankfully, I lived," Qian Jin sighed with relief, seeing that not a single enemy demon remained alive around them. During the fight, everyone had shouted names, often their true names. If these demons had overheard…

"Listen," Duan Feng Buer snapped out of his meditation, his eyes blazing with piercing cold light. It was clear that the battle soul dust and qi he had absorbed had been tremendously nourishing. "Che Shuai, even though I haven't broken through to the Battle Soul realm, I guarantee I am incredibly strong right now. Moreover, I can feel the Nine-Headed Serpent gestating within my Golden Battle Heart. Before it's even born, it has been nourished by pure Battle Soul power; its future Battle Soul will be formidable."

Chek sneered coldly. While such nourishment was indeed beneficial for the future Battle Soul, it didn't account for everything.

If it were the only factor, then the strong figures from every family in the world, when their children were about to form a Battle Soul, would simply capture strong Battle Soul practitioners to offer nourishment, leading to even stronger future generations.