The space below had become an inferno. The already ruined earth was now submerged in rivers of fiery magma, and within a radius of several li, no living creature remained; it was a world entirely of fire.

The crimson glare reflected off the sky. Xuanyuan Ruoxing hovered suspended in the void, slowly toying with his opponent, while his divine sense probed downward into the sea of flames. When he discovered Ye Jingyu absorbing the power of the fire below, his expression changed drastically.

This fellow fears no lightning, no cold energy, and now, apparently, no flame either. What kind of cultivation technique is he practicing? How can it possibly accommodate so many elemental energies?

Xuanyuan Ruoxing pondered this, then recited another incantation. Immediately, he felt the air between heaven and earth begin to spin rapidly. A fierce wind erupted from the sky, its roar resembling a tiger's growl. Within this gale, massive ice shards were mixed in, and gradually, a colossal tornado formed high above, appearing from afar like a monstrous dragon. Above was a vortex of water-blue ice spikes, and below, the fire-red magma. These two most extreme forces began to rotate rapidly, encased by the hurricane.

Faced with this massive tornado, several kilometers in diameter, let alone a single person, even an aircraft carrier would be shredded to dust. Ye Jingyu’s body was naturally swept into the maelstrom. The magma could not harm him, the wind blades that could cleave metal and stone could not wound him, and even the accelerated ice spikes merely chipped off fragments of ice against his skin.

His physical body was simply that formidable: water and fire could not invade, wind and thunder could not injure.

Though caught within the hurricane, he remained entirely composed, letting the tempest howl around him. Simultaneously, the acupoints representing the element of Wind within him began rapidly absorbing this wind energy. A faint, yet growing, amount of green mist became visible around the Wind acupoint at the center of his left foot.

At this moment, Xuanyuan Ruoxing understood completely: for Ye Jingyu, almost all elemental powers of nature were rendered ineffective, and no matter how hard he tried, he could not inflict damage.

"If that is the case, let us see my Soul-Burning Art!" Xuanyuan Ruoxing sneered coldly, and instantly, silver light flickered in his eyes as he pointed a finger directly at Ye Jingyu.

In a flash, Ye Jingyu’s body was instantly enveloped in grey-white flames—this was the Death Nether Fire, specifically designed to attack the soul. It was an extremely strange technique cultivated by Fang Guyou. Once touched by this Death Nether Fire, forget a Martial Venerable; even an opponent at the Immortal Realm would find it hard to resist, as this flame attacked the very soul.

But Ye Jingyu was no ordinary Martial Venerable, nor was he an Immortal. His soul had long since fused intrinsically with his physical body: if the body did not shatter, the soul could not perish. This technique, which seemed utterly bizarre and malicious to others, was like attempting to burn a massive piece of thousand-year-old cold iron with a single lit matchstick against him—it had no effect whatsoever.

Seeing Ye Jingyu still tumbling and circulating within the hurricane with an expression of enjoyment, Xuanyuan Ruoxing broke out in a cold sweat. This person, this person truly wasn't normal. None of his spells had any effect on him. Did only physical attacks truly have the potential to hurt him? But even if he uprooted a mountain, it would only cause Ye Jingyu to spit up a few mouthfuls of blood. Attacks like these ice shards posed no threat whatsoever.

Uprooting a mountain was not difficult for Xuanyuan Ruoxing, but doing so like tossing baseballs, one after another, at Ye Jingyu required considerable effort. After all, he was merely an Immortal Realm cultivator—in the Primordial Era, he would only be an Immortal who had just stepped into the initial Celestial rank.

His Soul Power, or Celestial Power, was insufficient to allow him to uproot mountains this frequently.

With this realization, Xuanyuan Ruoxing could only summon forth the ancient sword radiating fierce malevolence that he had not yet completely refined.

With a single hand gesture, a flash of light occurred, and the black ancient sword vanished without a trace.

Ye Jingyu, who was absorbing the fire power, cold qi, and wind power within the hurricane, suddenly felt an icy dread crawl down his spine, a powerful sense of crisis striking his heart. Before he could react, he felt a piercing pain in his chest.

An ancient sword had pierced his heart, and a strange power surged into his body, actively preventing the wound from healing. Great gouts of vital blood sprayed out, dazzlingly conspicuous in the void.

Seeing the ancient sword strike with such ferocity, Xuanyuan Ruoxing was overjoyed. With such a treasure, did he still need to fear this man? He commanded the ancient sword to shoot toward Ye Jingyu once more...

Ye Jingyu’s spirit shook violently. Suppressing the pain in his chest, he summoned the Heavenly Sovereign Saber and swung it toward the ancient sword.

With a resounding clang, the Heavenly Sovereign Saber directly collided with the ancient sword. The upgraded Saber even suffered visible cracks; had Ye Jingyu not retracted his blade in time, it might have been shattered by the ancient sword.

What kind of treasure sword is this? How can it be so sharp? Ye Jingyu was greatly alarmed. The Heavenly Sovereign Saber could no longer be used and had to be drawn back into the Thunder Acupoint in his right palm.

Meanwhile, his chest continued to spew blood uncontrollably. Seeing the immense power of the ancient sword, Xuanyuan Ruoxing grew even more ecstatic and commanded the sword to shoot toward Ye Jingyu again...

This time, it aimed directly for Ye Jingyu's brow. Sharp sword energy ripped through the air, and before it even reached him, Ye Jingyu’s forehead throbbed with pain. He had no doubt that if this ancient sword struck him, he would likely be sliced into fragments. Even if he survived, the time required for recovery might span eons, by which time the world would have drastically changed. He was utterly unwilling to accept such a fate.

"Hah!" Ye Jingyu found himself unable to evade this incredibly fast strike, and even if he dodged this one, a second or third might follow. He did not want to be constantly forced into retreat by this ancient sword, so he directly manifested the Eastern Emperor Bell...

The ancient sword struck the Eastern Emperor Bell with a loud, resonant wummm. The tremendous rebound force made Ye Jingyu dizzy, and a trace of blood leaked from the corner of his mouth. However, neither the Eastern Emperor Bell nor the ancient sword showed any sign of shattering.

This proved that this was absolutely an ancient sword on the same level as the Eastern Emperor Bell. One must remember that even the Heaven-Flipping Seal was shattered by the Eastern Emperor Bell in the past and still had not fully recovered.

However, Xuanyuan Ruoxing, who controlled the ancient sword, was not entirely unscathed. Yet, since the sword was not fully refined by him, the recoil was not as immense as Ye Jingyu’s. But his control over the blade weakened slightly. Nevertheless, seeing Ye Jingyu once again vomit traces of fresh blood from the impact, Xuanyuan Ruoxing was overjoyed.