Amidst a sea of fire, a flying sword broke through layers of flame, and countless sword energies tore open a passage.
Ji Yuan's figure followed closely behind, escaping the sea of fire in an instant.
But before he could steady himself, the scorching flames transformed into countless flying birds!
"Slash!"
With a thought, he shouted.
His natal flying sword spun in mid-air, returning to his side. With a slight shake of its blade, it differentiated into dozens of sword shadows.
Ji Yuan formed a sword seal with his hands, turned sharply, and pointed forward. Instantly, the flying sword, carrying heavy sword shadows, collided with the swarm of flying birds.
Almost simultaneously, he felt a pang of dread. Without a second thought, he released his spiritual power, ceasing to hover in mid-air, and controlled his power to descend.
His body plummeted towards the mountain forest below. In his peripheral vision, he saw a slash of saber energy cleaving through the air!
"Little thief! Die!"
The middle-aged Daoist roared, a long saber now in his hand.
In the next moment, the narrow saber blade chopped down, and saber energy shot out.
Ji Yuan immediately drew the long sword from his back and also slashed forward. A brilliant sword light appeared on the ancient sword.
Rumble!!!
A deafening roar echoed through the sky. The saber energy and sword light collided, and the powerful force unleashed caused the surrounding void to distort slightly!
In the aftermath that swept in all directions, Ji Yuan used the momentum to descend rapidly towards the ground. With a mere thought, his flying sword, which was entangled with the firebirds, returned to his side at full speed.
In just a few breaths, his figure plunged into the mountain forest, disappearing into the sea of fire.
Seeing this, the middle-aged Daoist sneered. White light appeared between his brows, followed by a powerful divine sense that instantly enveloped a vast expanse of the mountain forest.
However, he soon frowned. Within his divine sense, he could not find the opponent's figure, nor even a trace of their aura!
"Tricks of the trade!"
The middle-aged Daoist snorted and plummeted towards the mountain forest below.
Dozens of flaming birds followed him into the forest and immediately darted in all directions, expanding the fire.
In less than half an hour, several miles of mountain forest were engulfed in flames, with blazing infernos soaring into the sky, igniting countless trees.
Large numbers of wild beasts that inhabited the area darted frantically through the fire, but their fate was sealed.
"Still not showing yourself?"
The middle-aged Daoist scanned his surroundings and subtly changed the seal in his hand.
Patches of the sea of fire churned and transformed into birds. Countless wings flapped, stirring up gusts of wind.
Tornadoes formed by condensed flames appeared, and with the beating of the birds' wings, they spread in all directions. Countless burning trees were uprooted.
The sky was filled with surging flames, fierce winds, burning tree trunks, and vast amounts of soil and stones.
The middle-aged Daoist stood in place, his hands rapidly changing hand seals, and his spiritual power surged forth endlessly, seemingly unconcerned about its consumption.
In fact, as the flames enveloped the forest, countless fire elemental spiritual energies converged and entered his body, replenishing the consumed spiritual power.
Although the consumption far outweighed the replenishment, it did reduce the rate of depletion.
Given the total amount of spiritual power in his body, he could probably maintain this for a day and a night without any major issues.
Within the range of several miles of the sea of fire, his divine sense seemed to be augmented. It felt as if nothing could escape his perception.
"Found you!"
In less than half an hour, a smile suddenly appeared on the middle-aged Daoist's face.
The next moment, a dense Daoist charm surged out from his body, integrating into the surrounding sea of fire within a few breaths.
Then, he suddenly turned and pointed forward sharply. Instantly, rows of fiery tornadoes roared forth, accompanied by the long cries of birds.
Almost immediately, a figure appeared from the void, none other than Ji Yuan, who had lost track of earlier!
He looked at the tornadoes and birds roaring towards him, his expression turning solemn. Facing the techniques of a cultivator in the third realm, even he dared not be careless.
He rapidly formed hand seals, followed by a phantom image expanding from within him and then condensing above his head, transforming into a small pagoda several inches in size.
Layers of clear light descended, sweeping outwards. They immediately immobilized the birds in mid-air while absorbing their vast spiritual energy.
At the same time, Ji Yuan shifted his hand seals with one hand and pointed forward with the other. The white jade flying sword circling him immediately shot out.
The sword, no larger than his palm, traveled through the void at extreme speed. Each flicker brought it directly into a fiery tornado.
With countless tiny sword energies crisscrossing, the tornadoes were torn apart by the sharp aura, and the wind howled in all directions.
Just then, Ji Yuan's gaze sharpened. He immediately withdrew his hand seals, simultaneously recalling his flying sword with his divine sense and drawing the long sword on his back.
Clang!!!
Brilliant sword light shot up into the sky and then rapidly slashed down!
The sea of fire in front of him was cleaved open. Then, in his sight, he saw a fire dragon roaring towards him, and a soul-shattering dragon's roar suddenly sounded in his ears!
Under this dragon's roar, Ji Yuan felt his consciousness sink, his soul light dimming slightly, and his perception of his surroundings weakening considerably.
His heart sank, and he sharply bit his tongue. The stinging pain forced him to barely break free from this state.
At this moment, the fire dragon had already approached him, its scorching heat seeming to want to incinerate him.
Ji Yuan immediately spat a mouthful of his own blood onto the long sword in his hand, containing a trace of his natal true essence!
"Annihilate!"
He let out a great roar and thrust his sword forward.
In an instant, countless sword lights erupted from his body, and the long sword in his hand seemed to transform into a sun.
Innumerable sword lights crisscrossed, converging into a flood dragon, which pounced forward with bared teeth and claws.
Rumble!!!
The fire dragon and the sword light flood dragon collided, immediately sending waves of powerful air currents sweeping in all directions!
Wave after wave of residual power continuously spread outwards. The surging sun burned everything, only to be torn apart by the sharp sword light!
As the two forces reached their peak, a heaven-shattering roar suddenly resounded, as if the earth was shaking. The terrifying power erupted violently.
The mountain forest within a radius of one to two miles was instantly annihilated by this force. Even the earth developed countless cracks, and the destructive power carved out a desolate clearing!