Chapter 457: Flame Crystal Core
Standing in the void, Lin Feng and the other two could clearly see the endless slopes and desert below, where more and more flame demon beasts were emerging, devouring the humans.
Nona's eyes were slightly red. A disaster—for the desert outside the End of the World Pavilion city, this was absolutely a catastrophic disaster. The figures in the desert, I'm afraid, not many would survive.
Lin Feng, however, remained expressionless, only sighing inwardly. It wasn't that he was cold-blooded; it was just that on the Nine Heavens Continent, he had already witnessed too much slaughter, destruction, and cold indifference. In this merciless world, if you were overly compassionate, you would die a miserable death. Especially for martial artists pursuing the Dao, they needed an unshakable, indomitable heart.
On the ground, some of the flame demon wolves seemed to have spotted Lin Feng and the others in the void. A few of them even howled and roared at Lin Feng's group.
"Over there... a demon wolf has taken human form," Nona said, her heart jolting. She saw a powerful flame demon wolf on the ground transforming into a human shape. This sight made her heart skip a beat.
"It's over."
Nona's face suddenly turned pale. She had never experienced a demon wolf beast tide before, and she had overlooked something—something very terrifying.
"What's wrong?" Lin Feng asked Nona.
"Soon, this desert area will be overrun by flame demon wolves. Then they'll invade the End of the World Pavilion. Moreover, the demon wolves have the ability to take human form!" Nona said in a low voice. Though her voice was faint, Lin Feng heard it clearly, and his heart trembled slightly as he understood her meaning.
"Nona, are you saying that the people of the End of the World Pavilion won't let us into the city?"
Now that the demon wolves occupied the desert and could also take human form, would the people inside the End of the World Pavilion dare to let anyone in? Who knew if it was a human or a wolf in disguise?
"The people inside the End of the World Pavilion city have always been domineering and ruthless. Those with strength stay inside the city, while the weak are driven out to the desert. When a demon wolf beast tide occurs, the desert dwellers are the first to be attacked," Nona murmured. "The people inside the city have always looked down on those outside. Now, with the demon wolf beast tide, they'll be even less willing to let us in."
Lin Feng's expression tightened. Nona's words were all true. They might reach the End of the World Pavilion, only to be blocked from entering.
"Maybe I'm overthinking it," Nona said with a sudden smile, as if trying to comfort herself.
The three continued moving forward. In Lin Feng's hand, several Origin Stones appeared. While flying, he tried to divert a sliver of his mental energy to absorb the heaven and earth energy from the stones.
After a while, Lin Feng glanced at Meng Qing on his left and said, "Meng Qing, let's find a place to go down."
At this moment, Lin Feng felt his mental energy was quite depleted, and his head was somewhat fatigued. Meng Qing was probably feeling the same.
"Alright," Meng Qing nodded slightly. Lin Feng then spotted an area with fewer demon wolves and descended, landing on a stretch of yellow earth road.
Lin Feng spread out his terrifying perception and said, "The more time we waste, the more dangerous it gets. Let's hurry now. We'll figure things out when we reach the End of the World Pavilion."
Meng Qing and Nona naturally had no objections. Although they had landed on the ground, they still sprinted forward. Lin Feng led the way, while Meng Qing pulled Nona along as they ran.
Although running at full speed also consumed true essence energy, it wasn't as draining as flying through the air. By keeping their feet on the ground, they could use their legs and the ground's force, which didn't consume much energy and required little mental effort.
"Roar!"
A howl came from ahead. Two flame demon wolves lunged at Lin Feng. Though they were also wreathed in flames, the fire on these wolves wasn't as intense as that of the desert wolf king, and their bodies were smaller. These demon wolves were likely Spirit Demons.
"Scram!"
Lin Feng shouted, opening his mouth. A burst of true essence energy shot out directly, striking the two flame demon wolves. The wolves howled, their bodies dissolving into flames that merged with the ground and disappeared.
"Are these demon wolves' true bodies made of flame? Were they really born from fire?" Lin Feng wondered inwardly, finding it strange. When struck, the flame demon wolves sank into the ground and vanished.
"Next time, keep a closer watch."
Lin Feng continued forward. His powerful perception allowed him to clearly sense where the flame demon wolves were. This time, instead of avoiding them, he headed straight for one.
"Profound Demon!"
Feeling the flame energy emanating from the demon wolf, Lin Feng noted it was undoubtedly a Profound Demon, though only a one-tailed one.
A terrifying killing aura burst from Lin Feng. Without any hesitation, he made the one-tailed demon wolf let out a low growl and step back. The human before it radiated a very dangerous presence.
Lin Feng wouldn't let it retreat. With a flicker of his step, his wind-like figure instantly reached the demon wolf. A Slaughter Sword slashed out like a phantom, cleaving the wolf's body in two.
His terrifying perception spread out. Lin Feng stared at the severed demon wolf. Its body dissolved into flames again, but this time, Lin Feng's gaze sharpened. Within the flames, there was a slightly brighter cluster of firelight, like a flame crystal. When this crystal hit the ground, it vanished instantly, while the rest of the flames extinguished.
"Is this... a beast core?"
Lin Feng's gaze froze. That flame crystal seemed to contain a terrifying flame power, as if it were the demon wolf's foundation.
"If it really contains flame power..." A sharp glint flashed in Lin Feng's eyes. Seeing that Meng Qing had caught up with Nona, he moved forward again, this time seeking out another demon wolf.
It was another one-tailed Profound Demon. Again, it was slain with a single sword strike. But this time, Lin Feng learned from his previous mistake. After killing the wolf, his figure flickered like the wind, snatching the flame crystal containing the flame power. On Lin Feng's body, a dazzling burst of Yang Fire True Essence flared up, condensing into a small flame black lotus.
Lin Feng's hand trembled slightly, and he placed the flame crystal directly into the flame black lotus. Instantly, the crystal was devoured by the black lotus, and the flame power within merged into it.
Seeing this, a smile curled at the corner of Lin Feng's mouth. With a thought, the black lotus reverted to Yang Fire True Essence, flickering on his body, radiant and dazzling.
"The Yang Fire True Essence has indeed grown stronger," Lin Feng thought with joy. He hadn't been wrong. That crystal was indeed the core of the demon wolf, containing powerful flame energy. And Lin Feng remembered that his Netherworld Black Lotus could devour flames, merging them into his Yang Fire True Essence to enhance its power, while also gradually transforming the Great Sun Incinerating Heaven Scripture.
When his Yang Fire True Essence became strong enough, the Great Sun Incinerating Heaven Scripture would naturally evolve, eventually becoming the Sun Technique, making the Yang Fire True Essence even stronger. The two complemented each other in a virtuous cycle.
Lin Feng lifted his foot and stepped forward again. A thought even crossed his mind: stay in this desert and hunt demon wolves exclusively, absorbing their beast core crystals to strengthen his Yang Fire True Essence.
But with Meng Qing and Nona by his side, Lin Feng couldn't do that. It was too dangerous. He wouldn't let Meng Qing take risks with him.
They didn't stop moving forward. Lin Feng and the others didn't encounter any overly powerful flame demon wolves. For the weaker ones, Lin Feng needed only one sword strike. Below the two-tailed Profound Demon level, no demon wolf could withstand a single blow from Lin Feng. Sometimes, even when facing a pack of wolves, Lin Feng would kill them all with one sword.
As for the beast core crystals he obtained, Lin Feng naturally devoured them without hesitation.
Before long, Lin Feng had absorbed at least several dozen demon crystals. He could clearly feel his Yang Fire True Essence growing stronger, becoming more intense. A stronger Yang Fire True Essence meant his Sun Sword and the Annihilation Netherworld Black Lotus would both become more powerful. These were all things Lin Feng looked forward to.
PS: I haven't had the face to ask for flowers these past few days, but it doesn't have to be this tragic, right? I'm already down to single digits now.