"We must not fail at the last moment!" he roared in his heart, his hands rapidly changing hand seals, each movement precise to the extreme.
The surrounding air seemed to be drawn by this force, and began to fluctuate violently, forming visible ripples.
"You think you can stop me like this? How naive!" Crimson Flame roared, the flames around him surging even more fiercely, as if to devour the entire world.
The two people inside the formation were also affected by this violent energy wave, their clothes fluttering and their hair dancing wildly in the air.
Hongying's formation had reached a critical moment. She closed her eyes and concentrated, and the ancient totem spun around her, releasing a dazzling yet gentle light that contrasted sharply with the raging flames of Chiyan.
A tense atmosphere, like the impending storm, filled the air. Two forces collided fiercely in silence, as if the heavens and earth trembled.
"Break!" Chi Yan roared, his flames coalescing into a giant fire phoenix, carrying the momentum to incinerate everything, and charged straight at Hong Ying's formation.
Wherever the flames passed, space seemed to be distorted, and the sweltering heat was suffocating.
The two men, both nearing sixty, were giving it their all and refusing to back down.
"Heaven and earth bear witness, all things return to their origin, with my heart's blood, I offer this great formation!" Hongying suddenly opened her eyes, her pupils flashing with a determination and light completely different from usual.
She formed a complex hand seal with her hands, her fingertips gently touching her forehead. A warm trickle of blood slid down and merged into the array beneath her feet.
In an instant, the originally gentle light burst forth with unprecedented brilliance, as if the totems on the array diagram had been activated.
The clan chief had repeatedly warned against using this forbidden technique unless a crisis threatened the entire human world. It was their clan's last line of defense for protecting the world, and now they had no choice but to use it.
The moment the fire phoenix collided with the array diagram, a distant roar seemed to resound throughout the heavens and earth. Two completely different forces clashed fiercely in the air, unleashing an extremely dazzling light that illuminated everything around them as if it were daytime.
Although the fiery phoenix of Crimson Flame was fierce, the moment it touched the array diagram, it seemed to encounter an invisible barrier. The flames began to tremble violently, as if suppressed by an ancient and powerful force.
Chi Yan's face was flushed from exerting all his strength, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. He gritted his teeth, trying to break through this seemingly insurmountable obstacle.
He never expected that such magic existed in the mortal realm.
At this moment, "Li Xi" had been trying to break through Qin Xiaolin's defensive barrier since entering the dream, but found that her spiritual power was like a mud ox sinking into the sea, never to return, without any response.
A serious expression gradually gathered between her brows. The defenses in Qin Xiaolin's dream were even more solid than she had expected.
"It seems I underestimated you, Qin Xiaolin," Li Xi thought to himself.
He then adjusted his breathing, and a flash of light appeared around him, transforming him into an ice-blue crane, flapping his wings as if to take flight, attempting to find a breakthrough in another form.
"Brother Lingye".
"Lingxi...is that you?" Qin Xiaolin's voice rang out.
This time, he slowly emerged from the depths of his dream and arrived in this illusionary realm created by Li Xi's spiritual power.
"Brother Lingye, it is me, but not entirely me." Li Xi spoke in a clear yet slightly sorrowful voice, in the form of a crane.
Her voice echoed in the dream, carrying a hint of barely perceptible sorrow.
She flapped her wings and slowly landed not far from Qin Xiaolin. Her ice-blue wings folded gently, turning into gentle ripples that surrounded the two of them.
Qin Xiaolin slowly stepped forward, reaching out his hand as if wanting to touch the illusory crane, yet fearing that it was all just a mirage, shattering at the slightest touch.
"Lingxi, are you back? I've missed you so much all these years." His voice was full of affection.
It turns out he really was an incarnation of Yinglong; what Xiaoxi encountered in her dream last time was all real.
After his tribulation ended, he waited a long time for Lingxi to return, but she did not. Only after much searching did he learn that she had been trapped in the mortal realm all along…
“It’s good that you’re back,” he stepped forward. “Once we settle our karmic ties in the mortal realm, we can return to the spirit world to stay together.”
However, what was unexpected was...
When he stretched out his hands, eager to touch Lingxi, he suddenly felt a powerful and invisible force gently push him away.
"What... what exactly is going on? Lingxi, you..." Qin Xiaolin stared in disbelief at the slightly illusory figure before him, his face full of astonishment, his heart filled with doubt and unease.
A trace of sorrow appeared on Li Xi's face as she slowly spoke, "Brother Lingye, in my past life, I sacrificed my inner core to use the technique of time reversal. Once my mortal lifespan comes to an end, I fear I will completely dissipate into the world, turning to ashes and ceasing to exist."
Qin Xiaolin felt as if he had been struck by a heavy hammer. He staggered back a few steps, his eyes filled with shock and despair.
He muttered to himself, "No, no, there must be another way, there must be."
He desperately searched his memory for every detail, trying to find a way to save Lingxi.
"Don't waste your time. That Chi Yan tricked you and me into coming here just to take your inner core. He's a vicious person, we can't let him get away with it."
Li Xi glanced at the person in front of her casually.
He was lost in thought.
Inner alchemy? He seemed to have thought of something.
“Inner core…” Qin Xiaolin murmured softly, as if he had suddenly grasped at a lifeline, “That’s right, inner core! My inner core!”
He looked at 'Li Xi' excitedly, "Lingxi, as long as you give me my inner core, you will be able to recover completely."
"Brother Lingye, are you crazy?" Upon hearing this, Li Xi's expression changed drastically.
She hurriedly stepped forward, trying to stop Qin Xiaolin's crazy idea, "The inner core is the foundation of your cultivation. If you lose the inner core, you will lose all your power, and it may even endanger your life!"
Qin Xiaolin seemed not to hear her words. "Lingxi, only my inner core can save you. I cannot watch you disappear from this world. I would give you my inner core even if it means losing everything!"
"No, Brother Lingye, you can't do this!" Li Xi's eyes glistened with tears.
She gripped Qin Xiaolin's hand tightly, her voice trembling with tears, "Your inner core is too important to you, I can't let you lose it because of me."
"Lingxi, believe me, as long as there is a glimmer of hope, I will not give up. I am willing to give everything to save your life, even if it is only a tiny possibility." Qin Xiaolin's voice was filled with an undeniable determination.
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