Qin Kunpeng's hands transformed into claws, faintly emitting a red glow. His blood-red true qi armor emitted bursts of black light. A sinister smile hung on his face as he slowly approached Qin Xin's direction.

"Go down there and be buried with my grandfather!"

He took another step, and instantly, the blood-red phantom of the Celestial Tiger appeared behind him. Red light shone from Qin Kunpeng's eyes, appearing extremely eerie. "Mystic-Rank Martial Art, Bloodthirsty Demon Tiger Claw!"

With a soft shout, and without holding back, Qin Kunpeng's figure transformed into a red streak of light. His hands, already stained crimson, exuded a terrifying aura as he reached out to grab Qin Xin's neck.

As Qin Kunpeng rushed forward, a smile appeared on Qin Xin's lips.

"Wildfire Hundred Slashes!" He slowly uttered a few words and swung the Nine Flames Battle Immortal Staff in his hand. The blazing orange flames flowed across its surface, and the surrounding spiritual energy seemed to be drawn in, pouring into the staff.

With a slash, a huge orange fire blade, almost tangible, cleaved straight towards Qin Kunpeng.

Wherever the orange fire blade passed, it stirred up earth and rocks, and the surrounding trees withered and turned into charcoal under the scorching heat of the flames.

"This is... a low-rank martial art, how is this possible...!"

In Qin Kunpeng's vision, the fire blade was extremely terrifying. A sense of shock flashed through his mind, and he immediately abandoned the attack. Instead, he used all his true energy and poured it into his true energy armor.

"boom!"

The enormous orange fire blade arrived in a flash. Before the supporting warriors could even discern its appearance, a thunderous explosion suddenly resounded through the withered leaf forest, startling a large number of monsters into scattering and fleeing, forming a small wave of beasts.

"not good!"

Ding Hao, who was watching from the sidelines, had just realized that Qin Xin's martial arts could draw upon the spiritual energy of the weather, and immediately rushed out to help Qin Kunpeng, but it was too late.

Charred mud and debris fell slowly from the sky, and Qin Kunpeng, pale-faced and with his hands completely charred, lay in a huge pit.

The massive explosion pierced through his true qi armor, leaving Qin Kunpeng with no strength left to fight.

All of this was because he underestimated his opponent, thinking that Qin Xin was just a martial artist in the Qi Opening Realm who he could easily manipulate. However, what he did not expect was that Qin Xin possessed the Heavenly Phoenix Martial Spirit Pattern and Earth-rank martial arts. With the blessing of the Heavenly Phoenix Martial Spirit Pattern, the strength that Qin Xin could display even exceeded his cultivation level of the first level of the Qi Sea Realm.

If he had been prepared, even with Qin Xin's martial spirit patterns and Earth-rank martial arts, he wouldn't have been defeated so quickly and in such a sorry state. But there are no "what ifs" in this world. Looking at Qin Xin, who had already raised the Nine Flames Battle Immortal Staff, his eyes were filled with nothing but resentment.

"stop!"

Amidst the angry shouts, a figure rushed out, attempting to save Qin Kunpeng.

"puff!"

"Young Master Haotian will definitely kill you! And you'll be buried with me! Hahaha..."

The roar abruptly stopped. Qin Xin, wielding the Nine Flames Battle Immortal Staff, directly shattered Qin Kunpeng's dantian. A trace of crimson blood flowed down the staff into Qin Xin's hand, and a long-lost feeling swept over his entire body.

The moment the ancient long staff was raised, it lifted Qin Kunpeng's corpse and flung it toward Ding Hao, who was charging toward him.

"You! You deserve to die!"

Ding Hao was enraged to the point of bursting with fury after his cousin was killed right under his nose, and his roar echoed all around.

Upon touching Qin Kunpeng's corpse, he thrust out a long halberd, and the corpse, which had only had its dantian severed and pierced, was instantly torn apart by flying flesh and blood.

"That's ruthless!"

After throwing away Qin Kunpeng's body, Qin Xin chose to retreat immediately and used his spiritual sense to find a place to escape. However, when he saw the body explode, he was surprised by Ding Hao's ruthlessness.

"when!"

Sensing the halberd pointing directly at him from behind, Qin Xin had no choice but to turn around and swing the Nine Flames Battle Immortal Staff to defend himself. A huge metallic clang accompanied by fluctuations of true energy swept outwards.

His strength at the third level of the Qi Sea Realm was fully displayed, a world of difference compared to Qin Kunpeng, who had just entered the Qi Sea Realm.

With a single blow, Qin Xin's tiger's mouth split open, and blood slowly dripped down the Nine Flames Battle Immortal Staff.

"Bang!"

Ding Hao once again pushed forward with his halberd. With the powerful true energy poured into him once more, he could no longer hold on with the Nine Flames Battle Immortal Staff and was sent flying backward.

After crashing down several sturdy trees along the way, it finally struck a huge bluestone and fell to the ground, leaving a deep mark on the stone, along with a lot of spilled blood.

"Cough cough...!"

Qin Xin knelt on one knee, his Nine Flames Battle Immortal Staff supporting him on the ground, and he coughed softly.

"It seems it's time to fight tooth and nail!"

Raising his head, Qin Xin stared intently at Ding Hao, who was charging towards him like a god of death, his eyes revealing a belief in living even in the face of death.

The fusion of the Crimson Flame Blade, combined with the infusion of spiritual power, would generate a massive explosion. This was Qin Xin's last resort, but he was not confident in ensuring his own safety by using this method. Moreover, now that he had refined the Yang Fire, the power of the Crimson Flame Blade was even more uncertain.

In this crisis, art cannot awaken anything; the only option is to risk everything.

Just as Qin Xin was preparing to condense the fire blades and fuse them together, a soft, leisurely sigh suddenly rang out.

Then, in a dense forest, a beautiful figure slowly walked over. With each light step, ripples of true energy spread out, directly knocking back the Ding Dynasty warriors who had already formed an encirclement.

"Who goes there! How dare you obstruct the affairs of my Ding Dynasty!"

Ding Hao looked at the woman with graceful steps, his eyes filled with apprehension, and he stopped in his tracks as he was walking towards Qin Xin.

"I don't want to fight the people of the Ding Dynasty. Let's retreat."

The woman's voice was very calm, showing no sign of backing down.

“Luo…Luo Lingyan…”

As the beautiful figure gradually approached, Qin Xin immediately confirmed the woman's identity by her voice. However, to his surprise, Luo Lingyan would actually lend a helping hand.

"The Hundred Flowers Pavilion?" A flicker of apprehension crossed Ding Hao's eyes as he looked at the insignia on the woman's white dress. "As a member of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, why are you interfering in the affairs of my Ding Dynasty?"

As one of the four major powers in the Eastern Wilderness, the Hundred Flowers Pavilion does not interfere in worldly affairs. This is largely due to an agreement signed long ago by all martial arts sects on the Tianxuan Continent.

"This person has a significant connection with me, and I am not representing the Hundred Flowers Pavilion."

Luo Lingyan's voice was very calm. She stopped about three zhang away from Qin Xin, and two five-colored lotus patterns flashed in her eyes.

Seeing Luo Lingyan like this, Qin Xin was also somewhat surprised. Compared to the Luo Shen Sect ruins, Luo Lingyan now not only had an air of purity, but also a sense of majesty.

Moreover, powerful true qi flowed around Luo Lingyan's body from her dantian as if it were a tangible substance, and true qi armor that shone with five-colored light appeared outside her white dress, fully demonstrating her strength at the fifth level of the Qi Sea Realm.

"It seems that the hibiscus flower has brought her many benefits."

Looking at the even more powerful Luo Lingyan before him, a hint of disappointment flashed in Qin Xin's eyes, as he felt that the gap between them seemed to be widening.

"This matter will not end well!"

Knowing he was no match for the woman before him, and even more so because of her identity as a member of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, Ding Hao was extremely wary. With a wave of his hand, the warriors of the Ding Dynasty around him immediately retreated.

After seeing the other party back down, Luo Lingyan gently lifted Qin Xin's body with her palm and, under Ding Hao's gaze, turned and left the place.

~~~~~~

In the underground palace of the Ding Dynasty.

The previously peaceful blood pool suddenly became violent, and the black-robed old man in the blood pool suddenly opened his blood-red eyes.

"Who dared to kill my furnace cauldron?!"

Some angry voices echoed.

Ding Sheng, who was lying prostrate on the ground, was so frightened by the sound that he trembled uncontrollably. He hurriedly took out a communication talisman and said the message that Ding Hao had sent him, "Ancestor... Ancestor, Qin Kunpeng, who was sent from Zhongzhou to be your furnace, has probably gone with Ding Hao to kill Qin Xin..."

"waste!"

The black-robed elder in the blood pool glared angrily, and Ding Sheng, who was prostrate on the ground, was sent flying, crashing into the wall of the underground palace. Bright red blood flowed from his mouth and was directly absorbed by the blood pool.

"Ancestor, I know I was wrong..."

Feeling the blood in his body decreasing, Ding Sheng was so frightened that he knelt on the ground and kept kowtowing, the sound of his kowtowing echoing throughout the palace.

"To find this suitable furnace, do you know how much I gave Qin Haotian... In three more years, my body will be unusable!"

The black-robed elder in the blood pool severed the absorption of blood, his words revealing a chilling coldness, "Having destroyed my cauldron, I naturally won't let you leave."

“Ancestor, that Luo Lingyan…”

"This woman cannot be touched for the time being. The background behind her is not something our Ding Dynasty can easily provoke."

After speaking, the black-robed old man in the blood pool vanished from the underground palace.

Some clan leaders in Dading City also sensed the powerful aura that had disappeared from the Dingwang Palace. Some were curious, and a few of them secretly followed it.