# Chapter 1256: A Forest of Powerful Enemies
Black Li Prince's physique was not much weaker than Zhang Ruochen's, Devouring Demon Dragon's, Qi Sheng's, or Chi Wansui's. Moreover, he had become a saint several years earlier than them and had now reached the Middle Saint realm.
His combat power was extraordinary. Not only did he have no opponents at the same cultivation level, but even if he encountered saintly beings one or two levels higher, he could easily kill them.
Yet, despite his strength, he had failed to successfully collect a single mature Nuanling Dragon Flame and had instead suffered extremely severe injuries.
"The prince has emerged! Hurry, attack and disperse the Nuanling Dragon Flame chasing behind him!"
The sacred beasts of the Nine Li Palace, worried for Black Li Prince's safety, quickly took out ancestral artifacts and struck at the three-zhang-long blue fire dragon.
"Sizzle, sizzle."
Before those ancestral artifacts could even strike the blue fire dragon's body, they automatically melted, turning into metallic droplets that fell to the ground.
The Nuanling Dragon Flame was far too terrifying. Even ancestral artifacts, upon contact with it, would melt like wax.
After losing four ancestral artifacts in succession, the sacred beasts of the Nine Li Palace grew hesitant and dared not continue attacking. Each ancestral artifact was a priceless treasure, and every loss pained them deeply.
Although Black Li Prince had failed to collect a mature Nuanling Dragon Flame, Zhang Ruochen still showed a look of amazement and muttered to himself, "He failed to collect it yet still managed to survive. That black cat must have some extraordinary protective treasure inside its body."
Zhang Ruochen was considering whether to lend a hand, disperse the Nuanling Dragon Flame, and forge a good connection.
At that moment, however, another exceptionally powerful aura came from afar.
On the horizon, a blinding white light emerged, and a white figure walked out. It was a young man in his twenties with long white hair, tall and lean, handsome features, and a silver cat claw mark on his cheek.
This was the White Li Cat Clan's prince, considered the cream of the crop among the Nine Li Palace's young sacred beasts.
"The White Li Prince has arrived!"
"Since White Li Prince has come, he should be able to save Black Li Prince."
...
All the sacred beasts of the Nine Li Palace breathed a sigh of relief. Their gazes toward White Li Prince showed reverence, fear, and some even lowered their heads, not daring to meet his eyes.
White Li Prince's gaze was cold. He looked up toward the sky.
"Whoosh—"
He extended a slender arm. On his wrist, a white steel ring spun rapidly, emitting a pleasant sound like wind chimes.
The white steel ring flew out, producing a series of air-burst sounds as it struck the blue fire dragon's waist, cutting the three-zhang-long dragon in two.
White Li Prince stood straight on the ground, extended five fingers to retrieve the white steel ring, then placed his arm behind his back once more, resuming his cold expression.
"He was able to disperse a mature Nuanling Dragon Flame. His strength is truly terrifying."
All the saints present were shocked.
"With such a powerful being, why hasn't he gone to collect the Nuanling Dragon Flame?" someone asked in confusion.
A giant cat covered in dragon scales snorted coldly, "White Li Prince's physique is of the yin-cold attribute. How could he possibly collect the Nuanling Dragon Flame? Even if he were to collect something, it would be the Extreme Yin Heavenly Dragon Qi."
Black Li Prince landed on the ground, glanced at White Li Prince, said nothing, swallowed a sacred medicine leaf, and began healing.
From below the volcano, a long roar sounded.
Chi Wansui flew out from underground, soaring into the sky. A blue fire dragon coiled around his body, emitting light more intense than a blazing sun.
Half of Chi Wansui's body had been burned away, with much of his flesh charred off, revealing white bones. Only his head emitted a circle of cyan light, resisting the Nuanling Dragon Flame and remaining intact.
Chi Wansui's bones were somewhat special, etched with dragon patterns. Even the Nuanling Dragon Flame could not burn them.
"Boom."
Chi Wansui dove sharply from midair, crashing into the ground. With a thunderous sound, the earth beneath him collapsed, and the surrounding rocks melted into droplets.
Yet the blue fire dragon still coiled around him, unextinguished.
Chi Wansui struggled and roared as he charged recklessly, smashing mountain after mountain on Dragon Fire Island. Anyone could see he was enduring unimaginable pain.
"Has even Chi Wansui failed to collect it?"
"Chi Wansui is the most outstanding prodigy of the imperial clan since Empress Chi Yao. The entire imperial clan has placed great hopes on him, raising him with the best resources since childhood. The empress herself has even personally taught him some things."
"It's said the imperial clan used an ancient secret art to implant the bones of a Great Saint ancestor from the Chi family into Chi Wansui's body, helping him cultivate his physical body and comprehend the sacred path."
"Even the Nuanling Dragon Flame can't burn his bones. It might indeed be Great Saint bones."
...
In this world, no one was truly favored by heaven, but Chi Wansui could be considered the darling of the entire First Central Empire. The resources he had enjoyed since childhood were far superior to those of Zhang Ruochen and others. Even a pig raised with such resources would develop an exceptional physique.
Moreover, Chi Wansui himself possessed outstanding talent. Combined with the accumulation of resources, he had naturally become a top-tier prodigy.
Among human cultivators of the same generation, only Zhang Ruochen, Xue Wuye, and the Standing Monk slightly surpassed him. Of course, that was because all three had unimaginable opportunities and talents, coupled with their own relentless efforts, to achieve their current accomplishments.
The blue fire dragon coiled around Chi Wansui's body, making it impossible for outsiders to rescue him. To survive, he could only rely on his own abilities.
"Mature Nuanling Dragon Flame is too difficult to collect. Both Black Li Prince and Chi Wansui have failed. I wonder how Zhang Ruochen managed to succeed?"
"He is the Heir of Time and Space, blessed with great fortune. We cannot compare to him."
...
Just then, the dragon patterns on Chi Wansui's bones emitted golden light, flowing rapidly toward his arms.
"Bang."
Chi Wansui roared to the sky, and his arms erupted with terrifying power, tearing the blue fire dragon apart with sheer force.
Chi Wansui leaped up and threw ten consecutive punches, shattering the Nuanling Dragon Flame suspended in midair into dozens of fire wisps.
Strands of sacred dao rules pulled the dozens of fire wisps into his brow's Qi Sea.
Then, Chi Wansui sat cross-legged, forming a circle with his hands. A mass of cyan sacred qi emerged from his brow, forming a qi cocoon that enveloped his body.
"The power Chi Wansui unleashed when tearing apart the blue fire dragon far exceeds that of a Xuanhuang realm saint. That power must be stored within his bones."
Zhang Ruochen made a mental note. If he ever fought Chi Wansui in the future, he would need to be wary of this trump card, lest he be caught off guard.
Chi Wansui had failed to collect a mature Nuanling Dragon Flame but had obtained dozens of fire wisps, which was still a significant gain.
However, compared to Zhang Ruochen, no matter how many fire wisps he collected, they could only be used to temper himself and aid cultivation. He could not release the Nuanling Dragon Flame outside his body as an attack method.
Now, only Qi Sheng and the Devouring Demon Dragon still had a chance to collect a mature Nuanling Dragon Flame.
Relatively speaking, Zhang Ruochen favored the Devouring Demon Dragon. In ancient times, the Devouring Demon Dragon clan's physique was as powerful as the Divine Dragon clan's.
Moreover, as a dragon, collecting the Nuanling Dragon Flame would give it an advantage.
Zhang Ruochen jumped down the volcanic crater into the boiling magma to find Ao Xinyan.
Ao Xinyan was hiding in a relatively concealed spot. When Zhang Ruochen found her, she had just successfully collected a wisp of Nuanling Dragon Flame.
Zhang Ruochen was quite surprised.
Many sacred beasts with powerful physiques had failed and turned to ashes, yet Ao Xinyan, only a First Calamity Quasi-Saint, had succeeded. How could that not be astonishing?
Seeing Zhang Ruochen, Ao Xinyan was very excited. "Clan Leader, you've come just in time. Guard me while I undergo my second Quasi-Saint tribulation."
"Suppress your cultivation first. It's better to leave Dragon Fire Island before undergoing the tribulation. Now, follow me."
Zhang Ruochen was about to take Ao Xinyan away when a powerful sacred qi fluctuation came from deep underground, accompanied by a wave of heat ten times more intense than the magma.
"Zhang Ruochen, where do you think you're going?"
The Devouring Demon Dragon's roar sounded, followed by a surge of Nuanling Dragon Flame erupting from the magma, rushing toward Zhang Ruochen and Ao Xinyan.
"He has indeed successfully collected a mature Nuanling Dragon Flame."
Zhang Ruochen's expression changed slightly. He extended his right hand forward, opening the seven apertures in his palm, and unleashed a large wave of Nuanling Dragon Flame.
"Boom."
The two streams of Nuanling Dragon Flame collided, canceling each other out. However, the surrounding temperature rose even higher. With Ao Xinyan's cultivation, even with the Saint King Dragon Pearl protecting her, she could barely withstand it. Her body felt as if it were about to melt.
Seeing Ao Xinyan's dire situation, Zhang Ruochen mobilized space power, grabbed her wrist, and performed a Space Displacement, vanishing into the magma.
The next moment, Zhang Ruochen and Ao Xinyan appeared above the volcano.
Ao Xinyan clung tightly to Zhang Ruochen, still shaken. The danger had been extreme. Even the slightest mistake would have meant utter annihilation.
Huang Yanchen stood within a concealment formation, gazing toward the volcano from afar. She muttered to herself, "Their relationship... is indeed quite intimate."
Xiao Hei sighed. "Zhang Ruochen did do something to wrong her."
"What?"
Huang Yanchen glanced at it.
Xiao Hei realized it had let something slip and quickly shut its mouth, pretending not to have heard anything, continuing to control the Heavenly Dou Fire God Formation to suppress the five sacred beasts of the Ancestral Dragon Mountain.
"Zhang Ruochen, you can't escape."
The Devouring Demon Dragon burst out of the volcanic crater, reverting to its true form.
A demon dragon over twenty li long appeared in the sky, its pupils burning with blue flames, exuding a demonic aura that could swallow heaven and earth.
Another thunderous voice came from underground: "If we're killing Zhang Ruochen, count this prince in."
A figure shot out from the volcanic crater, with six wings on its back and Nuanling Dragon Flame flowing all over its body. It flew until it was above Zhang Ruochen before stopping. It was Qi Tian Prince, Qi Sheng.