Cultivation Begins From The Desert-Chapter 705 - 689: Exterminate Charm!

Zhouyang was completely unable to understand what Zhao Yuanpu was thinking.

At least from the scene, it seemed that the "Fire Charm" had been forced by them to the point where it could only hide within the purple strange flower, barely hanging on. The choice to stay or leave was entirely in their hands.

Yet, in such a favorable situation, Zhao Yuanpu suddenly fled without a word, escaping from the battlefield. It was truly baffling.

It left a bitter taste in his mouth!

To be honest, Zhao Yuanpu's departure didn't necessarily cause much trouble for Zhouyang.

The "Fire Charm" had already been severely injured by the Celestial Tribulation Thunder. It was unlikely that it had enough strength to unleash such Divine Techniques attacking one's Divine Sense again after using it twice.

Therefore, the only remaining threat to Zhouyang was the mysterious red mist that could diminish one's cultivation.

However, Zhouyang had the Exorcism Treasure Robe on him and understood the true nature of the mysterious red mist, so he wasn't afraid of it being used against him.

In fact, with Zhao Yuanpu gone, he could finally use the Vermilion Bird Fan, which he had been holding back, without any worries.

"Well, it's fine. With him gone, all the benefits here belong solely to me!"

Shaking his head, Zhouyang decided not to dwell on why Zhao Yuanpu fled. Raising his hand, he directly brought forth the Vermilion Bird Fan.

Holding the vermilion feather fan in one hand and clutching a large piece of Spirit Marrow Stone in the other, he channeled Magical Power from his body like a flowing stream into the Magical Artifact.

As he continued to inject his Magical Power, a heart-stopping vermilion firelight began to emanate from the fan. The surrounding Fire Attribute Spiritual Qi swarmed towards the fan like moths to a flame, being devoured by it.

The commotion was so significant that not only did the "Fire Charm" hiding within the purple strange flower feel it, but even Zhao Yuanpu, who had breached the array outside the cave and escaped into the sea of lava, sensed it from afar.

He couldn't help but glance back at the now much-reduced pink fire sea, a flash of surprise crossing his eyes, with a hint of hesitation on his face.

But soon, as if recalling something, he looked down at the Storage Ring on his hand, shook his head, and left without looking back.

Zhouyang couldn't comprehend why Zhao Yuanpu ran away in such a favorable situation, but Zhao Yuanpu understood well himself.

Under the continuous assaults by the "Fire Charm," he had suffered severe internal injuries. Continuing to kill the "Fire Charm" with Zhouyang, even if successful, he didn't know how much more injury he'd incur.

By then, he wouldn't have the strength to contest the ownership of the purple strange flower with Zhouyang and would also have to worry about Zhouyang possibly using the opportunity to kill him and claim all the Treasures himself.

Now, escaping, although it gave him a reputation for deserting at the last minute, ensured the safety of his gains and his life from this adventure.

As someone who had lived for over 2,600 years, Zhao Yuanpu would not be burdened by such a trivial reputation loss.

Moreover, in his view, without his support, Zhouyang was unlikely to be a match for the "Fire Charm."

If Zhouyang could escape, that was one thing. If he couldn't, then no one would know about Zhao Yuanpu's desertion.

Even when he prepared a Treasure specifically to counter the "Fire Charm," he could invite a few cultivators to jointly kill the "Fire Charm" and seize the purple strange flower for himself.

And even in the worst case, where Zhouyang slayed the "Fire Charm" and broadcasted his desertion, it would only cost Zhao Yuanpu some reputation.

Such a minor reputation loss was insignificant compared to the gains he made during this adventure.

On Zhouyang's side, as he infused more and more Magical Power into the Vermilion Bird Fan, the dense vermilion firelight enveloped him entirely, and countless profound and mysterious Law Runes danced and wove within the firelight, attracting more Fire Attribute Spiritual Qi from the surroundings.

As Zhouyang had thought initially, the special environment of the underground lava sea indeed greatly enhanced the power of the Tier Seven Immortal Artifact, the Vermilion Bird Fan.

He completed the entire power accumulation process using only a third of the time it took before.

"Go!"

With a low shout, the vermilion feather fan in his hand flew out, transforming into a Vermilion Bird Firebird with a wingspan of over ten feet in mid-air.

The moment this Vermilion Bird Firebird appeared, it flapped its wings fiercely, swooping down to the fire pool beneath it.

Then, raising its neck, it let out a clear cry, opened its mouth, and the remaining Earth Core Purple Flame in the fire pool transformed into a torrent of flames, sucked into its belly.

It was plainly visible that after ingesting a large amount of Earth Core Purple Flame, not only did the Vermilion Bird Firebird suffer no discomfort, but its form solidified, and its aura grew even stronger.

This scene caught Zhouyang off-guard, he didn't expect the Vermilion Bird Firebird to possess such a capability.

It was indeed a delightful surprise!

A smile spread across his face as he looked at the almost dry fire pool, curious to see how the "Fire Charm" could continue to hide.

The "Fire Charm" clearly didn't anticipate that the enemy's methods would be so powerful.

Just before the Earth Core Purple Flame could be completely devoured by the Vermilion Bird Firebird, the "Fire Charm" could no longer hide and revealed itself.

The shadow of a flower flashed, and the purple strange flower hidden within the Earth Core Purple Flame suddenly shone with brilliant purple light, releasing incomparably intense purple firelight that formed an illusory giant flower, enveloping and swallowing the Vermilion Bird Firebird.

For a moment, the connection between Zhouyang and the Vermilion Bird Firebird was suddenly interrupted.

This nearly scared him witless.

Fortunately, the interruption didn't last long, and soon the connection was faintly restored.

By "faintly restored," it meant that he could still sense the Vermilion Bird Firebird wrapped within the illusory giant flower, but it was challenging to issue commands and control it as freely as before.

Even so, Zhouyang was greatly alarmed.

He had already spent seventy percent of his Magical Power to activate the Tier Seven Immortal Artifact Vermilion Bird Fan. With this crucial asset facing issues, the little remaining Magical Power was insufficient for him to do much else.

But sometimes, the more you worry, the more likely it is to happen.

As Zhouyang worried about his lack of sufficient Magical Power, the "Fire Charm" suddenly emerged from the purple strange flower and charged straight toward him.

At that moment, the "Fire Charm" seemed to have received some form of nourishment, appearing much better than when it was heavily injured by Zhouyang before.

Upon witnessing this, Zhouyang couldn't help but inwardly groan and hurriedly allocated most of his remaining Magical Power to activate the golden runes on the Exorcism Treasure Robe for protection.

It was clear that when the power of the golden runes was activated, a tinge of fear appeared on the "Fire Charm's" human face.

But it had already been pushed into a corner by Zhouyang, leaving it with no retreat. It could only make a desperate attempt to defeat Zhouyang before the Vermilion Bird Firebird could free itself.

Thus, the fear on its face was quickly replaced by a wild frenzy.

Suddenly, its original human form transformed into a mass of red human-shaped flame, striking hard against Zhouyang.

The impact wasn't particularly strong, Zhouyang didn't even step back a single pace, yet as the red flame hit the protective shield around him, it turned into a flowing flame that covered the entire shield.

In an instant, Zhouyang's already scarce Magical Power began to vanish like flowing water.

He looked pale as he stared at the red flames burning around him, and within the flames facing him, the terrifying and crazed face of the "Fire Charm" faintly appeared.

He knew exactly what the "Fire Charm" had in mind.

Now his magical power was greatly exhausted, and once possessed by the "Fire Charm," he would be unable to resist its devouring, eventually sharing the fate of the fallen [Master Fire Dragon], having his nascent soul directly consumed by the "Fire Charm."

It seems I have no choice but to use that trump card!

A sudden smile appeared on Zhouyang's snow-white face.

A flash of green light came from his chest, and out flew a man in green clothes.

This man in green had magical aura already reaching the Ninth-Layer Golden Core, about to breakthrough to Nascent Soul.

Upon his appearance, he pressed a hand on Zhouyang's back and continuously poured his magical power into Zhouyang's body.

If it were truly a separate individual, only someone like "Master Baiyang" of the Profound Sun Immortal Sect in the past, who did not hesitate to damage their own foundation and lifespan to perform a Dharma Transmission Secret Technique, would be able to make their magical power usable for another cultivator.

But the man in green was an incarnation of Zhouyang himself, and although the transfer would result in some loss due to different magical attributes, there wouldn't be any resistance by Zhouyang's own magical power.

Ten units of magical power were transferred to Zhouyang, and seven units could be used by him.

With the help of this External Incarnation infused magical power, Zhouyang not only stabilized the magical power supply to the [Exorcism Treasure Robe] but also managed to summon another magical artifact, the [Qianyang Golden Lamp].

A golden lotus treasure lamp slowly rose from above his head, and a golden flame ignited gradually from its wick.

Poof!

At the moment the flame ignited, Zhouyang suddenly punched his chest heavily and spat out a large mass of gold-flecked essence blood.

Once this life essence blood left his mouth, it seemed to have its own spirit, flying towards the golden lamp above his head, using it as fuel to unleash a powerful killing move from the artifact.

"Go!"

A commanding shout came from Zhouyang, as he formed a sealing spell with his hands, and the chopstick-thick flame from the golden lotus treasure lamp flew straight from the wick, landing into the fiercely burning red flame.

Compared to the red flame that enveloped Zhouyang entirely, the golden flame seemed so tiny.

Yet its power was extraordinarily immense.

When it entered the red flame, the "Fire Charm" embodied by the flames acted like a sizzling knife piercing its body, letting out a horribly agonizing scream.

It finally experienced the pain of its soul being scorched!

Amidst the screams, the "Fire Charm," like those affected by its divine techniques such as Zhouyang, desperately mobilized its strength to extinguish the golden flame.

But it wasn't that easy.

The golden flame, though minuscule, was incredibly resilient, stubbornly refusing to extinguish no matter how hard it struggled.

Instead, as the golden flame continued to scorch it, the "Charm's" soul power drastically depleted, with its cultivation level rapidly declining.

What goes around comes around, a taste of its own medicine.

Previously it used its divine technique to diminish Zhouyang's cultivation for several years, and now Zhouyang was returning the favor doubly.

By the time the "Fire Charm" exhausted its strength to finally extinguish the golden flame within its body, nearly twenty percent of its soul power had been burned away, equating to a reduction in its cultivation level by two-tenths.

If its original cultivation level was comparable to Ninth-Layer Nascent Soul "Half-step True Immortal," now it had immediately plummeted to Seventh-Layer Nascent Soul like Zhao Yuanpu, shedding two whole layers of cultivation.

This depleted cultivation is permanently lost, akin to hundreds or thousands of years of hard work down the drain for a late-stage nascent soul cultivator!

Such a great loss drove the "Fire Charm" nearly insane.

Its figure reassembled not far from Zhouyang, glaring at Zhouyang with venomous anger, its face twisted and ghastly like a terrible ghost.

Ever since its confrontation with this cursed human, it had not gained any advantage, always suffering losses.

Despite the opponent's cultivation not being high, it was indeed the lowest cultivation human it had encountered since its inception.

However, the setbacks it suffered from the opponent far exceeded those from any human cultivator.

This feeling filled the "Fire Charm" with rage and dread.

It instinctively felt that if it didn't kill this human quickly, it would ultimately be the one to die.

Woo~~ Woo!

The sound, akin to the howl of a malicious spirit, suddenly came from the "Fire Charm's" mouth—remarkably, this was the first time Zhouyang heard an actual sound from it since encountering it.

And within these howls, the "Fire Charm" rapidly began to transform.

Its originally semi-real, semi-ethereal body suddenly produced substantial scales and flesh, and in the blink of an eye, a humanoid monster covered with fiery red scales formed before Zhouyang's eyes.

This monster stood ten feet tall, covered entirely in fiery red scales, with hands bearing curved claws over a foot long, and curved horns on its head.

It exuded a frenzy aura, and upon forming, it let out a furious roar, pouncing towards Zhouyang.

Crack!

A crisp cracking sound echoed by Zhouyang's ears, with the protective shield that had withstood the "Fire Charm's" attacks for so long now shattered with a single strike of the beast's claw.

This was entirely unexpected for Zhouyang.

He had never heard before that the "Charm" creature could also condense a flesh body and unleash a power rivaling that of a same-tier demon beast.

Though, to him, this fleshy embodiment "Fire Charm" seemed much easier to deal with than the previous semi-real, semi-ethereal state.

Seeing him form a spell with his hands, golden light flashed beneath him, and he instantaneously put away the incarnation behind him to leave the spot using the [Vertical Earth Golden Light] divine technique, avoiding the second assault from the monster.

Not waiting for the monster to launch a third attack towards his new location, a clear phoenix cry rang out from behind him.

The Vermilion Bird Firebird finally broke free from the confinement of the giant purple flower.

This spiritually endowed firebird, once freed, didn't need Zhouyang's command, and immediately charged towards the "Fire Charm" enveloped in blazing flames, as if to unleash its pent-up fury upon the culprit.

The "Fire Charm" dared not confront the Vermilion Bird Firebird, transformed from a Tier Seven Immortal Artifact, fleeing as a firelight towards the giant purple flower, attempting once more to leverage this precious treasure to evade the calamity.

But this time it miscalculated!

Just as it was about to flee into the purple flower, a golden flame shield suddenly enveloped the flower.

Then, in the moment it was repelled by the golden flame shield, the Vermilion Bird Firebird, similarly pursuing as a firelight, transformed into a deluge of flames, engulfing the "Fire Charm."