All around, from the ground to the sky, black flames burned deep and dark. A feeling of death and destruction filled the surroundings, and within all this stood Xiao. His face was pale, and the hand that held his sword was trembling. The fight, while not seeming hard, was in no way not dangerous.
If it was one-on-one, Xiao could easily beat up any of them at his level, even if they were above him. But fighting hundreds of them? It was definitely risking his life. Of course, Xiao would be able to fight hundreds of his enemies once his cultivation became greater, increasing his core and Qi. But at his current level, it was insanely difficult.
Xiao's mind had to be sharp and ready for battle, and a small mistake would have meant his doom. Xiao stood at the same spot for several minutes, catching his breath and regaining his Qi. For a moment, he had let the side of slaughter that loved death outside. It took him great strength to regain his calm.
Soon, he cut the supply of his Qi to the dark flame, causing the burning black flames in front of him to stop and disappear completely. The dark flame that surrounded him on his back and the surroundings faded into nothing. The deep black flame that burned with the other 10 inside his body also calmed down. Xiao's body stumbled as he fell forward, but he used his sword to support himself.
He stayed there for several more minutes before he started walking towards the cave Yun Yurou was in while keeping both his swords in his spatial ring. Reaching the cave, he removed all the restrictions within as he entered inside, and seeing Yun Yurou safe, Xiao sighed in relief.
Adding a tired sigh to the happy one, he walked towards Yun Yurou and gently picked her up, placing her close to him in a protective embrace. It didn't matter if she was burning up, nor did he care that he was tired and exhausted. He wouldn't let his body rest as he kept Yun Yurou close to him, unwilling for her to get hurt.
Xiao's soul churned as he tried to use his skill {Forgotten} in order to cover up Yun Yurou's aura. But for some reason, he was unable to access the skills within him. Something was blocking him from accessing them. And just as a minute had passed since he took rest, a huge, powerful aura descended from the skies. Xiao could feel his death in it.
Xiao flinched as his body trembled under the weight. Xiao's Qi churned at full throttle. It didn't matter that his Qi was almost dry; he did everything to make sure that Yun Yurou wasn't hurt or disturbed. With heavy steps, he stood up, Yun Yurou still lying in his arms, as he walked out of the cave, he sat in.
Coming out of the cave, Xiao's eyes traveled above, where a humongous creature floated. It was completely pitch black in color, with a humanoid body and just a single eye as huge as a mountain. The power being released from it was so immense that Xiao did not doubt that the creature would be able to kill him with a single gaze.
And the most intriguing part was that the beast, unlike its counterpart, had intelligence brimming deep within its eye. A sense of greed brimmed within it as it gazed greedily at Yun Yurou. It was as if it had seen a treat it could not refuse. And just as it was about to move, a power equal to it appeared as the cry of a phoenix was heard.
Soon, a beautiful phoenix appeared opposite the black creature. Its size rivaled the abomination, as deep dark red and yellow flames surrounded it. Just its beauty was mesmerizing to gaze at, causing one to be lost in it forever. Xiao's eyes looked at it with a hint of surprise, and he was sure that the phoenix focused its gaze on him, or more precisely, at Yun Yurou.
And soon, the pressure that seemed to drown him disappeared, and a soothing feeling started to surround him. Even his soul started to feel rejuvenated. He could even feel Yun Yurou, who was in his embrace, calming down. Her ragged and rapid breathing disappeared, and the heat from her body settled down.
"Humph, leave."
And just as it had happened, the one-eyed creature above snorted in annoyance as it ordered the phoenix to retreat. The phoenix remained unfazed as a wave of pleasing heat surrounded Xiao and Yun Yurou, protecting them. Seeing this, the annoyance within the eyes of the creature worsened. It waved its hand, bringing down a crushing strength to destroy the flame that protected Xiao and Yun Yurou.
"Give up now. Your kind, Scyllas, will never succeed. We will make sure that all your kind will fall into oblivion."
And just as the attack was about to hit, the phoenix moved to protect Xiao and spoke. Its voice was gentle and calm, leaning towards a female voice. The fire within its body burned with frenzy as the attack aimed to decimate both Xiao and Yun Yurou was destroyed. The words of the phoenix seemed to have triggered it, as the huge monster blasted forward, aiming a punch at the phoenix.
The phoenix let out a cry as it charged forward, ready to meet its opponent with the same vigor. But sadly, Xiao wasn't able to see the rest of the battle as the flame that surrounded and protected him consumed him, causing the space around him to split up as he was transported again. But just as it happened, he did hear the enraged shout of the creature who seemed to have only now understood that they were being transported.
Sadly, it wasn't able to stop the transport, as both Xiao and Yun Yurou disappeared from where they stood. Soon, Xiao again experienced the feeling of being ripped across space as he and Yurou were transported. Luckily, this time, it wasn't as severe as the first one. He held Yun Yurou close to him to keep her safe, and within seconds, the feeling disappeared as he appeared in a huge hallway.
As soon as he did, his body tripped, and he had to use his utmost control not to let Yun Yurou go. Xiao took control of his balance as he stood straight. The backlash from space travel was slowly disappearing. At the current state, his body was not fit for long space travel.
If it wasn't for the flame that was protecting him, he would have definitely ripped apart along with Yun Yurou.
And just as he stabilized himself, he was hit with a unique and powerful Qi. Xiao would feel that even though the Qi around him was still chaotic, it was at least a million times more pure and powerful! The Qi he was standing in was almost suffocating. Again, a flame-like barrier was protecting him and Yun Yurou, filtering the Qi for their use, or else the Qi would have crushed them!
This was the first time Xiao felt such a beautiful and powerful Qi, and he was someone who had stepped onto the third heaven, even though it was on the edges. He had only heard of such Mythical Qi, and that was in the fourth heaven. Again, he only heard of it, God knows if it might even feel like this.