Hissing~~ The searing air rising from the lava lake could not dampen the excitement of the martial artists gathered around; every one of them yearned to witness the battle between Teng Qingshan and that monstrous beast!

"Hoo!"

A phantom figure shot from the edge of the lava lake, rocketing towards the black stone at its center. Teng Qingshan’s six senses sharpened: "Hmm? It’s that silver-haired elder! He actually dares to come again!" Of the five masters thrown back by the Chi Lin Beast, one was dead, and one was crippled. Even Elder Hei felt a tremor of fear. Only this silver-haired elder, named 'Wang Yun', dared to fly back in!

"A Houtian martial artist? Not worth worrying about!" As soon as Teng Qingshan landed, he lunged toward the Black Fire Spirit Fruit.

The Chi Lin Beast, its massive skull resting on the black stone, stared at Teng Qingshan with its crimson pupils. Suddenly, a flicker of mockery danced in those eyes. From between the beast's stark white teeth, a long, red phantom shot out, swift as lightning, instantly slicing toward that single Black Fire Spirit Fruit! In that single instant! The Black Fire Spirit Fruit vanished! Only the transparent Spirit Root remained, anchored in a fissure of the black stone.

"Vicious creature!!!" The silver-haired elder, 'Wang Yun', hanging mid-air, roared in sudden fury.

"You seek death!"

Teng Qingshan’s face darkened. With a sharp, low cry, the Reincarnation Spear in his hand instantly dissolved into a streak of lightning, stabbing directly toward the head of the Chi Lin Beast within the lava lake.

"Roar~~" The Chi Lin Beast let out a triumphant bellow, then swiftly submerged itself into the lava. Thwack! The Reincarnation Spear plunged into the lava flow, only to be withdrawn moments later.

"This Chi Lin Beast... it did that on purpose!" Teng Qingshan felt a thread of annoyance. "When it tossed us five earlier, it had ample time to devour the Black Fire Spirit Fruit. But it didn't! It deliberately waited for me to approach, let me feel the hope of obtaining the fruit, and then snatched it away!" The Chi Lin Beast's tongue was like a viper's darting flicker. A swift thrust, a quick coil. The Black Fire Spirit Fruit was gone. Teng Qingshan hadn't even had time to react.

"Everything about this was clearly under the Chi Lin Beast's control. Hmph! It seems it hasn't forgotten the injury I inflicted upon it last time." Teng Qingshan realized this beast possessed intelligence comparable to a human. "However, for me, the Black Fire Spirit Root... is far more important than that fruit!"

These thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant. Teng Qingshan immediately focused on the 'Black Fire Spirit Root' embedded in the black stone. The transparent root possessed a unique sheen, faintly coursing with mysterious energy. It was precisely this energy that could nurture a treasure like the 'Black Fire Spirit Fruit'. "The Black Fire Spirit Root harbors mysterious energy. Any ordinary person consuming it could instantly gain ten thousand Jin of strength. I wonder, if I consume it and fully unleash its energy, what level could I reach?" Just as Teng Qingshan reached out to pull the root— "Whoosh!" A flash of cold steel cleaved toward Teng Qingshan. It was the silver-haired elder, 'Wang Yun', who had landed!

"Hmph!" Teng Qingshan snorted coldly. Holding the Reincarnation Spear with one hand, he jabbed backward with the butt of the shaft, striking at the silver-haired elder 'Wang Yun', while his left hand continued the motion to rip out the Black Fire Spirit Root! "Bang!" The long saber and the shaft of Teng Qingshan's Reincarnation Spear collided violently. Boom! The powerful impact generated a deafening, terrifying burst of compressed air! The fracturing residual force created a gale that swept outwards, causing the surface of the entire lava lake to ripple. Teng Qingshan was shaken, forced to stumble forward three steps.

"A master! An absolute master, far stronger than Meng Tian." Teng Qingshan was greatly shocked, but this only spurred his excitement. Teng Qingshan laughed heartily, while simultaneously spinning like lightning. The Reincarnation Spear traced an arc, carrying a visible wave of energy, smashing directly toward the silver-haired elder’s head.

Clang! Teng Qingshan clearly felt a bizarre, vibrating force transmitting through the spear shaft: "What a formidable expert! Hiding his strength so well. He isn't even on the 'Earth Ranking'! Where did this man spring from? Likely someone who trained in seclusion for decades, a master of patience." Yet, Teng Qingshan's long spear was incredibly swift.

"Swish!" Teng Qingshan pulled back the shaft. A streak of silver light flashed as the spear tip stabbed forward abruptly. The air shrieked as the attack rushed out like a bolt of thunder.

"Clang!" As the silver-haired elder blocked this thrust, he immediately sensed the peculiar spiraling force contained within the strike, as if it sought to rip the battle saber from his grasp. The elder’s heart sank: "Hmph, I cannot waste time with this boy here! I must finish this quickly!" Then, a rapid succession of dazzling saber lights flared! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Nine saber lights appeared, matched instantly by lightning-fast spear shadows! Every spear shadow collided with a saber light!

"Humph." In the instant of the exchange, the silver-haired elder ducked low, darting forward like a fish right next to the Black Fire Spirit Root. The most bizarre part was his left hand; with an effortless wave—Teng Qingshan’s vision barely registered a phantom movement— The Black Fire Spirit Root was gone!

"Haha, Teng Qingshan, truly a master of the younger generation. This old man has cultivated for decades, and can only claim a slight advantage." With a great laugh, the silver-haired elder's figure was already speeding toward the center of the lava lake.

"Leave the Black Fire Spirit Root!"

Teng Qingshan roared, pushing off the black stone and lunging toward the lake edge, though deep down, he was utterly stunned: "That old fellow—each of those strikes contained at least a hundred thousand Jin of impact force! And under those circumstances, he could still employ such an extremely strange movement technique. I didn't even have time to react!" Bizarre! Yes, bizarre! Teng Qingshan even suspected that purely in terms of agility and movement, even if he unleashed his full power, he might not match his opponent. "This old man must rank among the top few on the 'Earth Ranking.' He is an opponent I cannot afford to let go!" Teng Qingshan was absolutely determined not to let his opponent escape, not only for the fight itself, but most importantly, for the Black Fire Spirit Root. Teng Qingshan was determined to secure it!

... The direction the silver-haired elder fled was strangely toward the side of Qinghu Island.

"Stop him!" The Young Island Master of Qinghu Island, 'Gu Shiyou', roared, and the many experts behind him moved in perfect unison. Some simultaneously drew long spears, dozens of spear shadows enveloping the silver-haired elder like a fishing net. The elder flashed away with supreme agility the moment he touched the lakeshore. Whoosh! Like a fish, he darted straight into the crowd of Qinghu Island experts. "Ah!" "Ah!" "Ah!"... A string of miserable cries erupted, blood splattering. The silver-haired elder effortlessly broke through the blockade of Qinghu Island's forces.

"Kill him, seize the Black Fire Spirit Root! It's just him alone, he can't fight all of us." Someone shouted, but clearly, most of the martial artists watching from the sidelines had no desire to covet the Black Fire Spirit Root. Although this root could easily elevate an ordinary person into a first-rate martial artist and improve their physique, ordinary cultivators who obtained it could not keep it safe. After slipping past Qinghu Island’s obstruction, the silver-haired elder shot away like a fish entering the sea—swift and nimble.

"Don't you dare flee!"

Teng Qingshan roared, his speed instantly surging by thirty to forty percent, and he gave chase rapidly.

... One master fleeing and one in pursuit, the two vanished from the sight of the onlookers in the blink of an eye. Now, the scorching center of the lava lake held neither the Black Fire Spirit Root nor the Black Fire Spirit Fruit. Of course, the Chi Lin Beast might still be lurking somewhere at the bottom of the lava flow, but no one dared provoke it.

"I didn't expect so many masters would die. This whole event was truly spectacular." "Indeed. Elder Bai of the Carefree Palace is dead, and Qi Yan of the Good Water Sect was eaten by the Chi Lin Beast! Old Mr. Li from our Xuyang Commandery also fell into the lava lake and died. And 'Life-and-Death Blade' Du Jiu of Qinghu Island... also perished... The number of top-tier experts who died is too high to count on one hand."

The onlookers marveled amongst themselves. The death of masters only served to satisfy the spectators' desire to watch drama unfold. Man dies for wealth, birds die for food! However, the truly powerful, top-tier experts, disdained mere 'wealth.' What drove them mad were the Spirit Fruits and herbs born from heaven and earth, or the rare materials needed to forge divine weapons.

"That Wang Yun is truly strong; he actually managed to seize the Black Fire Spirit Root! Teng Qingshan seems a shade weaker than him." "Teng Qingshan isn't weak. It’s just that Wang Yun’s movement technique is incredibly bizarre and agile. In a real fight, it's hard to say who would win or lose. Didn't you see that Teng Qingshan couldn't be suppressed even when the two Elders, Black and White, teamed up against him? That skill, tsk tsk... I heard Teng Qingshan is only seventeen." "Seventeen and that strong? Unbelievable!"

... In the end, the Black Fire Spirit Fruit, sought after by so many, was snatched away by the Chi Lin Beast. In truth, it was sheer luck for the Chi Lin Beast that the fruit had grown precisely in the center of the lava lake, allowing it to lie in wait. Otherwise, surrounded by so many martial artists, perhaps dozens of first-rate experts joining forces could have suppressed the beast. After all, it hadn't fully transformed yet. This contest for the Black Fire Spirit Fruit had no ultimate victor.

Ji Hong’s forehead beaded with sweat the size of soybeans. Enduring the pain of his severed arm, he ordered, "Enough. The Black Fire Spirit Fruit has been eaten by that Chi Lin Beast. Let's return first. As for the scales shed by the Chi Lin Beast... we’ll look for them slowly when luck allows."

"Commander, what about Qingshan..." Teng Quhu asked anxiously.

Ji Hong glanced at him, forcing a smile: "Qingshan’s spear technique is extremely strong in defense. That Wang Yun, despite hiding his depth, won't defeat Qingshan easily. Moreover, none of us here can match Wang Yun."

At this time, the various factions also began to depart, with a few pausing to greet Ji Hong.

"Martial Ancestor!" Guan Lü suddenly called out.

"Hmm?" Ji Hong looked at him.

"I will take thirty elites from the Black Armored Army to aid Teng Qingshan," Guan Lü stated.

Ji Hong pondered for a moment. Guan Lü’s strength was decent, and the Black Armored Army excelled at coordinated attacks; thirty elites working together could indeed threaten Wang Yun. He nodded: "Very well! But Guan Lü, you must be careful. Keep those thirty Black Armored Army elites together; do not let them scatter."

Guan Lü nodded.

"If you're going, go quickly," Ji Hong urged.

"Follow me!" Guan Lü commanded, immediately leading the thirty elites toward the passage leading to the deep pool.

Ji Hong looked at his severed arm, then gazed at the boiling, scorching lava lake. If not for Teng Qingshan, he would have died today. Ji Hong sighed inwardly: "Losing my right arm has severely damaged my foundation. At my age, my strength is bound to regress! Alas, I should step down from this Commander position! Hmm... who will succeed as the new Commander? Teng Qingshan? He saved my life, but his seniority is too shallow, and he hasn't been in my Black Armored Army long! I fear the elders in my Gui Yuan Sect will find it hard to trust Teng Qingshan."