The Divine Mountain has been quite the hubbub lately! The legendary demon, ‘Arada,’ actually had a brief clash with the Divine Mountain’s foremost Divine General! They even set a date for a ‘Warrior’s Blood Duel’! This has set the host of Divine Generals, the Divine Envoys, and a large contingent of disciples, guards, and others from the Divine Mountain abuzz with excited anticipation! As for the black-robed Divine Envoy, ‘Wan Tianyang,’ he’s nothing more than a laughingstock behind closed doors among the Divine Mountain folk. The main focus of discussion is who will triumph between the demon ‘Arada’ and the First Divine General, ‘Bo Ri Lei Mu’! There is also much speculation about the nature of the relationship between the demon ‘Arada’ and the Divine Maiden Herself. Even those with keen ears are asserting that the Divine Maiden visited the ‘Divine Weapon Tower’ and retrieved the divine weapon, the ‘Black Flame Rod’! Apparently, someone witnessed the Divine Maiden personally delivering that very Black Flame Rod to the demon Arada’s residence!

** June the twenty-seventh, early morning. Above the grasslands. “Yooo~~~” A piercing cry from an eagle echoed across the vast sky. Two giant divine eagles, one black and one white, both crowned with fiery red plumage, sliced through the air with incredible speed. Upon the back of each eagle sat a figure: one, a slender girl draped in a white robe, her waist encircled by several loops of emerald green whip; the other, a young man in a dark green robe, his long hair loose, his face framed by a dark beard. In his hand, he held a dark crimson staff. The man and woman were seated on the backs of the divine eagles. "Little Jun, this girl." Teng Qingshan glanced towards the white-robed maiden on the other divine eagle, a sigh escaping him inwardly. "After tomorrow’s battle at the Death Cliff, I must leave immediately and set sail! Otherwise, if too much time passes, things between Jun and me…" Teng Qingshan had observed Little Jun scurrying about busily on his behalf these past few days, and he understood it all. Looking at Little Jun, Teng Qingshan couldn't help but be frequently reminded of his former wife, ‘Little Cat,’ leading to occasional lapses in his composure when looking at her. This created a rather ambiguous atmosphere between them. Coupled with the genuine affection Little Jun harbored for Teng Qingshan... she naturally became even more eager to assist him! "The Black Flame Rod!" Teng Qingshan lowered his gaze to the dark crimson staff in his hand. This divine weapon was acquired by Little Jun that very afternoon after he had mentioned needing a staff-type divine armament. "Is this Black Flame Rod a somewhat peculiar divine weapon? Just how special is it?" Teng Qingshan gripped the staff. "The Black Flame Rod is eight feet long, and it feels slightly warm in the hand! It bears some resemblance to touching ‘Ten Thousand Year Cold Iron.’ But this Black Flame Rod is certainly not forged from Ten Thousand Year Cold Iron." Teng Qingshan was intimately familiar with the Cold Iron and could tell instantly. "Moreover," Teng Qingshan ran a finger along the shaft, a puzzled look on his face, "the surface of the Black Flame Rod possesses streaks that look almost naturally formed!" The craftsmanship of a ‘staff’ weapon is not considered highly complex in weapon-making. Surface markings on a staff are not unusual, but streaks naturally dispersed across the shaft, resembling a web that has melted into the body—Teng Qingshan had never encountered anything like those marks on the Black Flame Rod. "Special? It must be the material," Teng Qingshan mused to himself. At the very least, the people of the Divine Mountain were ignorant of the Black Flame Rod's composition, and Teng Qingshan himself was equally unclear. Just as Teng Qingshan was lost in thought, suddenly— A series of clear calls rang out from Li Jun’s lips! “Yoo~~~” Following the high-pitched cry of the pure white female Swift Wind Divine Eagle, the male followed suit with an answering screech. The two great eagles immediately plunged downward. In mere moments, they landed on the grassland, the powerful downdraft forcing the green blades flat against the earth. Li Jun hopped down from the eagle’s back with excitement, turning to look at Teng Qingshan, and exclaimed cheerfully, "Brother Teng, hurry down and see! This is the sea of flowers I told you about! The grassland people call these blossoms the ‘Ice Blue Flowers.’” “They are truly beautiful,” Teng Qingshan observed from a distance. Before them, the vast expanse of the meadow was dotted with countless blue flowers, like sapphire speckles scattered across the green, creating a stunningly moving sight. “Mmm, Brother Teng, I won’t keep you from practicing your staff forms. I’ll wander over there for a bit. It’s very quiet here; because an extremely cold wind blows through every night, there are no tribes within a hundred miles, so you can cultivate in peace,” Li Jun winked at Teng Qingshan and then skipped happily forward. According to Teng Qingshan’s plan, he intended to dedicate the three days of preparation time before the battle at Death Cliff to diligently practicing his spear forms. Li Jun, thinking that Teng Qingshan found the intense practice at the Divine Mountain stifling, had brought him out to this great prairie. Watching Li Jun depart cheerfully, occasionally mimicking bird calls, Teng Qingshan couldn’t help but smile. "This little sprite! Well... at the Divine Mountain, with so many people around, I couldn't truly practice my 'Primordial One Qi' Spear Technique at full power. But here, it’s so open—no need to hold back!"

… Li Jun lay prone in the grass, watching the distant Teng Qingshan through the dense flowers. Teng Qingshan, clad in his dark green robe, wielded the Black Flame Rod, which seemed to possess the weight of ten thousand jin in his hands, moving it slowly. Yet, in the blink of an eye, the staff seemed to move with blinding speed! Li Jun was not surprised by this intense visual contradiction; instead, a serene smile graced her face as she watched quietly. “If I could just watch Brother Teng cultivate from afar every day, that would be enough,” Li Jun murmured softly.

… Having arrived at dawn, Teng Qingshan practiced his staff forms for a full hour! Whoosh! The blur of the staff halted, and Teng Qingshan stood still, the weapon held vertically. "Using the Black Flame Rod doesn't feel much different from using the Reincarnation Spear!" Teng Qingshan regarded the weapon with satisfaction. The surrounding grassland turf had been completely torn up, exposing the yellowish earth beneath, which was now scarred by an unfathomably deep pit. During that hour of practice, there were moments—perhaps a dozen breaths worth—where Teng Qingshan unleashed all his power in a burst. "This Black Flame Rod clearly withstands all my explosive force with ease!" Teng Qingshan's greatest worry was that his weapon might shatter under immense pressure during the life-or-death battle—that would be disastrous. "And just as I suspected, using the 'Primordial One Qi' feels much the same whether wielding a staff or a spear." The power generated when using 'Primordial One Qi' felt nearly identical whether he held the Black Flame Rod or the Reincarnation Spear! "Brother Teng! Brother Teng!" A crisp call, like that of a yellow oriole, drifted from the distance. Teng Qingshan looked far across the plains. He saw the slender girl in the white robe, resembling an elf amidst the flowers, running joyfully through the vast sea of blooms. Seeing this sight brought Teng Qingshan a moment of true refreshment. "Brother Teng! Brother Teng!" Her features, so similar to Little Cat’s, and the sight of her running happily towards him, momentarily blurred his thoughts. It felt as if he had returned to his previous life! “Whoosh!” A gust of wind blew past. Millions of Blue Ice Flowers bowed their heads in the breeze! The wind swept across Teng Qingshan’s face, causing him to tremble slightly, and his eyes suddenly lit up, as brilliant as a sun! “Wind, flower sea, grassland…” Teng Qingshan closed his eyes, letting go of the Black Flame Rod. As if beyond his own control, he began to enact the Fist of Earth Movement. Every stance, every movement, unfolded. The Fist of Earth Movement was only in its first stage, which Teng Qingshan had newly created, but now, after completing the first stage, he unexpectedly continued into the next. Stance by stance, the movements themselves began to shift as he practiced. “What’s happening to Brother Teng?” Li Jun, who had been excited to run over after seeing Teng Qingshan stop his staff work, was momentarily stunned by this display. Li Jun, being an expert in Inner Force, sensed something. “Has Brother Teng achieved some kind of enlightenment?” A look of surprised delight immediately spread across her face. “Brother Teng himself said he only had a ten percent chance of winning. If he breaks through now, he will surely become much stronger!” Li Jun dared not interrupt Teng Qingshan and stood nearby, keeping silent guard.

… Time drifted slowly by, from morning into noon, and then into the evening. Teng Qingshan had been practicing his fist forms with his eyes closed the entire time. Deep into the night, within the grassland. “Whoosh!” “Whoosh!” Cold winds whistled past. Li Jun huddled close to the white Swift Wind Divine Eagle, silently watching Teng Qingshan. At this moment, Teng Qingshan’s entire body was coursing with a pale yellow, shimmering light. Each movement was agonizingly slow, comparable to a snail’s crawl! Yet, bizarrely, streaks of indistinct, yellowish afterimages flickered around him—these were afterimages of Teng Qingshan’s arms! Slow as a snail! But with afterimages galore! “Rumble~~~” With every gesture, a terrifying power was unleashed! The air cracked repeatedly, emitting booming sounds. The surrounding grass rolled over, and even the delicate Ice Blue Flowers were shattered into fragments by the shockwaves. But Teng Qingshan, eyes still closed, continued his practice.

… June the twenty-eighth—today is the day the duel was scheduled! However, Teng Qingshan was still out on the plains. The sun had risen, bathing the land in light, yet Teng Qingshan continued practicing his fist forms. Every punch caused the earth and air around him to tremble, the atmosphere exploding with concussive force. Li Jun, now standing far away, could only glimpse the faint outline of the figure in dark green through the turbulent air! “Today is the day of the contest! But Brother Teng seems completely immersed in this sudden epiphany. What is to be done?” Li Jun grew anxious. If he fails to appear for the Warrior’s Blood Duel, he will be disgraced. “But Brother Teng is cultivating with his eyes closed for no apparent reason—it must be an epiphany! Such an opportunity is incredibly rare! I absolutely cannot disturb it.” Li Jun gritted her teeth. “I can only hope Brother Teng wakes up soon. Otherwise, I will have to forfeit this fight!” Li Jun understood: an opportunity for sudden enlightenment was infinitely more precious than a mere competition! “Forfeit this battle!” Li Jun sighed helplessly. To achieve enlightenment, one requires a convergence of strength, opportunity, and inspiration. While an epiphany is cause for celebration, this sudden breakthrough meant Teng Qingshan was likely to miss the Warrior’s Blood Duel!

The Divine Mountain, Death Cliff! The Death Cliff was situated on the mountainside of the Divine Mountain, an open, flat arena near the precipice. Standing at the edge, one could see the fathomless abyss of the cliff below! A drop exceeding a thousand zhang meant instant death even for a Xiantian expert! Thus, it earned the name Death Cliff, symbolizing a fight where life itself was thrown to the winds.

… A large assembly of experts from the Divine Mountain had gathered around the Death Cliff. The other Divine Generals had all arrived. The First Divine General, ‘Bo Ri Lei Mu,’ sat cross-legged in the center of the open arena, eyes closed, patiently awaiting his opponent’s arrival!