The twin longswords piercing his heart acted like the highest-powered rocket boosters, relentlessly shoving Zhan Lunhui backward, forcing his head and feet to stay parallel as he hurtled away at incredible speed! His momentum was like lightning! Truly, it was like a meteor plummeting from the heavens!
The distance to the crater was drawing ever closer! Gu Han poured every ounce of his Xuan power into his sword for propulsion, his robes already beginning to smoke! Yet his gaze remained fixed and resolute! His hatred remained!
Even if it meant mutual destruction with this blight upon the world, Gu Han held no regrets!
Zhan Lunhui clearly felt the extreme heat, capable of melting gold and fossilizing rock, closing in from behind, and he roared to the heavens in fury beyond measure! But he was powerless! Hidden in the shadows, Jun Moxie gritted his teeth, drawing the Yanhuang Blood, and savagely continued to push forward!
This damned old monster had endured at least a thousand of his sword strikes already, yet with his own cultivation incomplete, killing him was impossible! To end him now, this was truly the only way left!
Within the Hongjun Tower, Mei Xueyan constantly ran and sprang away before whipping back, slamming hard into Jun Moxie’s back. This cycle repeated again and again, and with every impact, Jun Moxie’s forward speed increased by another fraction!
Whoosh.
With a sharp whistle, another Saint Venerable from the Celestial Saints Palace transformed himself into a living projectile and flew in, slamming brutally onto Gu Han’s spine!
This kept Gu Han’s momentum from faltering and made his speed even more ferocious! But although their actions seemed similar to Mei Xueyan’s efforts, they were fundamentally different. Mei Xueyan understood Jun Moxie’s cultivation and attainments better than anyone alive—using impacts to amplify force, she had calculated precisely the load Jun Moxie could bear, ensuring no undue strain was placed upon him.
Furthermore, Young Master Jun had undergone several modifications within the Hongjun Tower; the resilience of his physical body was arguably unmatched in this era, and he was deeply versed in the art of using minimal force to deflect massive power (Sili Bo Qianjin). Despite multiple collisions, he sustained no injury! But Gu Han’s situation was different. Gu Han had already poured his entire life's cultivation into his sword, lowering his protective Xuan energy to its absolute minimum. The Celestial Saints Palace masters crashing into him from behind, fearing they weren't giving their all, struck with desperate force. While this successfully amplified the momentum of the attack, it also caused Gu Han to suffer injury upon injury, his burden growing heavier!
Gu Han suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood yet still gritted his teeth, his voice hoarse, roaring: “Again.”
Gu Han harbored an intense hatred for Zhan Lunhui, deeply feeling that this villain must be eliminated for the sake of the world, the nation, the people, and himself; he was already resolved to die with him. Despite his worsening injuries, he completely disregarded his own safety and urged them on relentlessly!
With the continuous double impact, Zhan Lunhui’s body was now less than two hundred zhang from the nearest volcanic crater! And for an erupting volcano, this distance was practically reaching its core!
The clothes on Gu Han’s body had already completely disintegrated into flying ash under the intense heat; his hair was starting to curl, emitting wisps of smoke before turning to ash and vanishing!
Zhan Lunhui roared wildly, spitting blood from his mouth continuously—clearly employing some kind of self-mutilating secret technique to constantly elevate his power, desperately resisting to escape the fatal predicament. Under the resistance of his peerless and mighty strength, although he was drawing closer to the crater, the forward momentum was slowing down inch by inch!
If this trend continued, it was possible that at the very last moment before entering the crater, Zhan Lunhui might manage to break free! While the temperature there was several thousand degrees, with Zhan Lunhui’s profound cultivation, escape might still be possible!
Closer and closer!
The face of Jun Moxie, hidden in the void, finally betrayed a flicker of anxiety! Gu Han’s face was etched with grief and indignation! All three—including Mei Xueyan in the Hongjun Tower—had exerted their utmost strength!
At this location, they had already entered a forbidden zone! Those behind them could no longer offer assistance! If anyone forced the issue, it was likely they would only meet their doom!
Because they were far too close to the crater!
To rashly intervene now would not be helping; it would only be suicide!
Ten zhang remaining! Just ten zhang! The fiery magma was right before their eyes, almost within arm’s reach! It continued to erupt furiously, shooting toward the high sky. At this very spot, countless red-hot stones were already rising and falling from the air, continuously striking both Gu Han and Zhan Lunhui!
The skin all over Gu Han’s body was beginning to wrinkle and smoke! But Zhan Lunhui’s backward retreat had been forcefully halted! He painstakingly, slowly raised his head… his lips cracked, forming an exceptionally ferocious smile!
Even though his back was also beginning to smoke! His entire musculature was nearly desiccated by the searing magma! But he had finally stopped the trend of retreating! Only ten zhang remained—a distance that normally even a Heavenly Profound or Earthly Profound master could cover in a single flash! But now, it had become an insurmountable gulf!
The experts from the Celestial Saints Palace, who had been desperately trailing behind, noticed this development. Several immediately jumped forward, their collective emotions inflamed; they desired Zhan Lunhui’s death just as much as Gu Han! For this goal, they were equally willing to pay any price!
Including their own lives!
One person roared loudly: “Stop quarreling, all of you, stop! Let me do it!” Without waiting for a reply, he leaped upward, drawing his legs in tightly! He shouted fiercely: “Hurry!” The faces of all the Celestial Saints Palace experts were filled with grief and indignation—they wept collectively!
But now was not the time for sentimental weakness. Everyone present possessed at least a thousand years of experience; how could they not know that this moment was utterly critical? Any slight delay, in the blink of an eye, and the entire situation would be instantly reversed!
No time for sorrow, friends almost simultaneously roared with tears in their eyes, and all those still holding back their cultivated power converged and focused it, unleashing it simultaneously, striking hard upon this person’s feet at the same instant! Simultaneously, this Saint Venerable pushed off forcefully with his legs—
Drawing upon this immense, boundless power fueled by the collective will of everyone, the man shot out like a cannonball exiting its barrel! Almost in mid-air, during his trajectory, because of the temperature in this location and the air friction caused by his ultra-high-speed movement, his entire body erupted into flames!
He became a fireball!
In the instant before Zhan Lunhui’s finally victorious, savage smile could turn to horror, the man’s body, carrying a hurricane and trailing fire, struck him squarely with a deafening CRASH! This Saint Venerable expert then mustered all his strength, spreading his arms wide, and locked tightly onto Zhan Lunhui!
Entwining himself around him!
This irresistible, surging force, carrying the two bundled bodies, together with Zhan Lunhui’s unwilling, piercing shriek, crossed the final ten zhang space with a tremendous BOOM, plunging into the billowing smoke of the volcano!
“Fourth Brother…” Gu Han cried out, his heart tearing.
And until this very moment, both Jun and Gu continued to output the strongest power they could muster. As Zhan Lunhui vanished—Jun Moxie and Gu Han suddenly lost the massive resistance in front of them, and they too could not help but tumble toward the volcanic crater!
They were on the verge of being buried with him.
Gu Han closed his eyes, a smile of satisfied fulfillment on his face. To die this way, although still regrettable, was enough!
Behind them, everyone cried out in unison!
In the blinding light of the crater, a figure flashed, and Gu Han’s silhouette disappeared.
The space between heaven and earth instantly returned to profound silence!
Sorrow weighed heavily on everyone’s hearts!
Although Zhan Lunhui was dead, he had taken Gu Han with him, and it seemed… that the ‘Ninth Nether Fourteenth Young Master,’ who had never shown himself throughout, had also perished here!
Suddenly, a roar that seemed capable of shattering the heart erupted, and a figure, covered in glowing red magma, shot rapidly out of the volcano!
Accompanied by a soul-tearing, agonizing shriek, the entire body flipped, and he tumbled down the other side of the crater! Then his shadow vanished completely.
Zhan Lunhui!
He had clearly plunged into the volcano just moments ago, yet somehow still possessed the strength to leap out!
Zhan Lunhui, at the absolute brink of death, had burned his very soul, breaking the millennia-old seal on his spirit, instantly reaching the apex of his lifelong cultivation peak, finally managing to escape the fiery doom of the volcano!
But his physical body was utterly destroyed!
Although Zhan Kuang’s reincarnated soul had not dispersed, the current body of Zhan Lunhui could never be used again!
The seal on Zhan Lunhui’s soul had originally been placed out of fear that if it were broken, his current body would explode from being unable to withstand the sheer power of the soul it contained! But now, he had no other choice; not breaking it meant certain death! Choosing the lesser of two evils!
Therefore, he chose to break the seal, releasing the primal spirit belonging to the original Zhan Kuang! He had finally survived the volcano tribulation!
Even so, Zhan Lunhui’s losses in this battle were catastrophic; not only was his physical form destroyed, but his divine soul was also half-annihilated. Whether this life could ultimately be saved remained uncertain!
While everyone watched in horror, another figure flew out from the direction of the crater, heading straight toward their position. As it approached, everyone realized with pleasant surprise—this person was Gu Han!
Gu Han, who was supposed to be certainly dead, had not died, and his physical body showed hardly any damage!
Because Jun Moxie had never revealed his form, the temperature of the crater had no effect on him. Thus, at the final critical moment, Young Master Jun seized Gu Han and threw him into the Hongjun Tower! The Young Master still held a degree of mutual respect for Gu Han!
Gu Han had already resigned himself to certain death, closing his eyes to await it, feeling that his wish was fulfilled and harboring no great regret. He never expected that at the final instant the extreme heat enveloped him, the burning sensation completely vanished, and he found himself in a strange, marvelous space.
He was startled and was about to open his eyes to observe his surroundings when he was suddenly thrown out again.
When he managed to steady himself and open his eyes again, he realized he was surrounded by the gathered multitude of the Celestial Saints Palace, less than a thousand zhang from the volcanic crater.
A true escape from the jaws of death!
In fact, the moment Zhan Lunhui surged out of the crater, Jun Moxie had already executed his Yin-Yang Evasion and flown toward him!
This battle against Zhan Lunhui had offered Jun Moxie many crucial lessons!