The Blazefiend’s Core

‘A Blazefiend?’ Luo Yingkong didn’t know what kind of monster it was, but it seemed formidable. Though unfamiliar with its name, she could sense its immense power radiating from afar.

“Senior Sister, be careful! The black flames on this creature are destructive; anything they touch will be incinerated!” the examiner warned, his voice urgent.

“Didn’t you say my bones couldn’t be burned away? Don’t worry about me,” Luo Yingkong replied calmly.

From a distance, the boy began to transform. His legs vanished, replaced by a ghostly lower body, while his arms morphed into monstrous claws. His eyes glowed a fiery red, like a demon emerging from the depths of hell.

“Hmph hmph~ I smell it now. Such a potent aura of destruction! Quickly, give me the dagger!” The boy’s voice distorted as he flew through the air towards her.

With Jiaofeng not by her side, Luo Yingkong drew a common pistol and fired a test shot. Yet, just as the bullet neared the creature, it was consumed by black flames, turning to ash.

“It’s useless! Don’t let it get close!” the examiner cried, supporting his body as he scrambled backward. Luo Yingkong, however, remained rooted to her spot.

The Blazefiend swiftly closed the distance, its two claws reaching out to seize her. Suddenly, Luo Yingkong’s body crackled with electricity, several arcs of lightning flickering around her. Seeing this, the monster immediately halted, pulling back with a wary twitch.

‘It’s afraid of lightning, isn’t it?’ Luo Yingkong thought, raising a hand. A thick bolt of lightning shot forth from her Lightning Guiding Art. The Blazefiend was struck in the stomach, and the black flames on its body visibly weakened.

A flicker of apprehension crossed its face. Luo Yingkong unleashed another lightning strike, but the Blazefiend’s form rapidly reverted to that of the boy, his eyes still blazing red. The lightning’s effect on his human form was not as potent as before. The boy then charged at her again, prompting Luo Yingkong to stop using the Lightning Guiding Art. Such a powerful strike was a technique meant for Foundation Establishment cultivators, and it drained far too much spiritual energy.

She began to pull the bone spikes from her back, one by one, launching them all at the boy. This time, however, the boy’s speed seemed greater than before. He swiftly dodged the trajectory of the bone spikes, finally catching one in his mouth and throwing it back at her. Luo Yingkong merely tilted her head, narrowly avoiding the incoming spike, and clenched her fist, charging forward to meet him.

With her Muscle Gate Art active, her strength was considerable. Coupled with the Jade Bone Heart Scripture enhancing her physique, even Jiaofeng’s power couldn’t match hers. She launched a punch at the boy, who met her with a flying knee. Their collision resonated with a dull thud in the air. Luo Yingkong transitioned her punch into a kick, only for the boy to block it with an open palm. The sheer force of their impact caused the ground to crack beneath them.

Their power was evenly matched, but then, a bone spike suddenly erupted from the ground beneath Luo Yingkong’s foot, piercing through the boy’s chest.

‘He’s not dead from that?’

She had expected at least a severe injury, but the boy merely descended into a frenzy, seemingly unfazed. He grabbed her ankle, spun her around, and violently hurled her into the jungle. Several trees snapped under the impact.

“Senior Sister!” The examiner nearby cried out in alarm. If Luo Yingkong were to fall, he too would be doomed.

Her divine sense briefly confirmed her aura was still present. Ignoring the examiner, the boy transformed back into the Blazefiend, gathering a dark cloud above his head. He then hurled it towards Luo Yingkong’s location. As the black cloud passed, the nearby trees and bushes turned to dust, revealing Luo Yingkong’s figure.

Her body was resilient; colliding with a few trees had caused her no real harm. Seeing the black cloud hurtling towards her, Luo Yingkong quickly formed hand seals and pressed her palms to the ground. A bone gate emerged from beneath the earth, standing firmly before her. This was the same defensive move used by the headless man, the highest-level defensive spell from the Jade Bone Heart Scripture: Rashomon!

Its defensive capabilities were extraordinary, yet it consumed an immense amount of spiritual energy. Luo Yingkong had only summoned a single gate, yet it had depleted most of her spiritual energy, leaving her with only about thirty percent.

The black cloud crashed into the bone gate, only to be completely devoured by the skull engraved on its surface. Upon seeing this bone gate, the Blazefiend recoiled, like a mouse seeing a cat, and turned to flee.

Luo Yingkong, of course, would not let him escape. Her hands once again formed seals with blinding speed. Then, with a forceful gesture, she pointed toward the Blazefiend. Several arm-thick bones suddenly erupted from the ground, trapping the Blazefiend tightly. Sharp bones pierced into its body, rendering it immobile. Luo Yingkong’s summoned bone spikes were not as massive as those conjured by the headless man, but they were effective.

The Blazefiend was not yet dead and struggled fiercely to escape. The destructive black flames could not reduce the bones to ash; the Jade Bone Heart Scripture was truly the Blazefiend’s bane.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Luo Yingkong hurled several more bone spikes, which embedded themselves into its vital points. Subsequently, a thick bolt of lightning struck, and the already severely injured Blazefiend completely lost its life force, its black flames extinguishing entirely.

“It’s over…”

‘If I hadn’t cultivated the Jade Bone Heart Scripture, I truly wouldn’t have been its match,’ Luo Yingkong mused as she walked over to inspect the corpse.

“Senior Sister, please be careful…” The examiner, having found a wooden stick somewhere, limped over to her.

“Could it possibly come back to life?” Luo Yingkong wondered, looking at the Blazefiend, which was impaled by numerous bones and unmistakably dead. Since it was a demonic beast, it should possess an inner core. Luo Yingkong took out her dagger and cut open the corpse.

Inside its body, she found a transparent pearl. Unlike the beast cores Luo Yingkong had seen before, a swirling mass of black flame was visible burning within this pearl.

“This inner core is truly strange…”

“Senior Sister, this is no ordinary demonic beast inner core. It cannot be consumed, used in medicine, or forged into magic artifacts. It’s called a Blazefiend Core.”

“Oh… so it’s useless for everything? What’s the point of it then?”

“If Senior Sister doesn’t want it, you can give it to me,” the young examiner said, seemingly aware of its purpose.

“Tell me its use, and I’ll consider it.”

“Uh…” The examiner hesitated, choosing not to speak. Seeing this, Luo Yingkong didn’t sell it to him. Something she had worked so hard to obtain must be extraordinary.

“The Blazefiend was able to disguise itself as a human. This matter should not be spread, lest it cause panic throughout the sect.” Luo Yingkong gave him a meaningful glance, a hint of killing intent in her eyes. The examiner shivered and quickly assented.

“The selection is still ongoing. Can you continue?”

The examiner forced a bitter smile. “How can I be an examiner in this state? Senior Sister, don’t worry about me. Senior Brother Li Yao will come to pick me up later.”

After helping him into the depths of the rainforest, the star compass returned to normal. Upon activating it, the marker turned red, and Li Yao piloted his spirit vessel to their location.

Luo Yingkong had only over-expended her spiritual energy. A brief recovery would allow her to continue. This was an excellent opportunity to earn spirit stones. The selection reached a fever pitch, and Luo Yingkong continued to use her star compass to seek out people and sell tokens. By the sixth day, she ensured she had fifteen tokens for herself, enough to exchange for the examiner’s reward.

****

A week passed, and the selection concluded. Li Yao arrived to take Luo Yingkong back to Hidden Forest Mountain, completely unsurprised that she hadn’t lost a single token. This time, she had earned fifty thousand spirit stones through her various transactions, bringing her total to sixty-five thousand!

The outer disciples were ferried back by the massive spirit vessel, while the twenty examiners gathered in the main peak’s hall. All of them, except Luo Yingkong, bore some injuries. They exchanged glances, many eyes sweeping over Luo Yingkong, wanting to approach and make connections. However, she simply closed her eyes, resting.

Before long, a middle-aged man entered. Everyone immediately rose and bowed. The newcomer was none other than the Sect Master, a powerful cultivator at the late Core Formation stage!