Han Yu ducked further behind the rocks, peering at the flickering beasts.
"I need the ashes of one. Just one."
But how? He didn’t even know what realm they were in. His spiritual sense couldn’t latch onto them properly—they were too volatile, more energy than matter. And his glaive... it had cleaved through bone and beast alike, but could it slice through fla itself?
It probably could, but it was questionable whether it would even injure them.
"This is insane," he muttered, sweat stinging his eyes. "How the hell do I kill a creature made entirely of fire?"
A bead of lava dripped from a nearby ledge and hissed into the stone below, the sound like a serpent’s breath.
Han Yu remained still, mind racing.
He had co too far to retreat now. But brute force wasn’t the answer. Not yet.
"Think, Han Yu. Think."
He glanced at the remaining talismans in his pouch—four left.
Then back at the beasts.
Sowhere within the flas danced his next step.
And to claim it, he’d have to survive the firestorm.
Han Yu crouched behind the jagged obsidian, eyes locked on the srizing dance of the Fireborn beasts swirling around the lava pools. The question that nagged him most was clear: how could he kill creatures made of living fla?
At first, the answer seed simple—brute force.
"Maybe a strong physical attack first, then unleash a Qi skill to finish them off." He toyed with the idea, fingers twitching around the haft of his glaive.
But then, as he watched for several minutes, a new scene unfolded.
A massive Magma Back Lizard, its obsidian scales shimring with heat, lumbered close to the flas. It was annoyed by a fox-shaped Fireborn beast—delicate, flickering flas forming its lithe body, with eyes gleaming mischievously.
The fox teased the lizard, darting just out of reach.
The lizard lunged and clawed, but the fox dissolved into pure fla and flickered aside with ease, unscathed and mocking.
Han Yu’s brow furrowed.
"They’re intelligent. Cunning."
The lizard then unleashed a breath of elental fire Qi toward the fox, a roaring gout of fla. Han Yu expected it to scorch the fox.
Instead, the fox simply absorbed the fiery breath, its body glowing even brighter afterward—as if it was feeding.
Then, with a sudden flick of its fiery tail, the fox released a small ball of blue fire, no larger than a candle fla.
It hit the lizard.
In an instant, the lizard was transford into a terrifying crisp, its flesh and scales charred to blackened ash.
Han Yu’s heart sank.
"These Fireborn beasts... they’re stronger than even the Magma Back Lizards. They don’t just shrug off fire—they thrive on it. And they fight fire with fire."
He abandoned his initial plan of physical and Qi attacks. They would be useless.
He stepped back, head spinning, then suddenly rembered:
"I’m not just a normal cultivator... I’m a Soul Cultivator. I have the tools to fight this."
He refocused his senses and felt it—the souls within the Fireborn beasts. Though made of pure fla, they had souls. Energies that could be targeted.
Watching carefully, Han Yu waited for the perfect mont.
A small firebird—no larger than a sparrow—fluttered near the lava’s edge, its ember feathers flickering with iridescent light.
Han Yu silently extended his hand and created a Soul Needle. The slender black needle ford out of soul energy humd faintly with soul energy.
He threw it with practiced precision. His ti playing darts back in his hotown was certainly coming in handy.
The needle struck the firebird directly.
The beast let out a high-pitched chirp—a desperate, shuddering sound—and then burst into glowing red ashes, which drifted lazily down to the ground, forming a small pile.
Han Yu’s eyes glead.
"It works."
Encouraged, he unleashed a flurry of Soul Needles, each piercing the fiery forms of the Fireborn beasts.
The flas shrieked and collapsed, turning into glowing ashes that Han Yu carefully gathered onto a scrap of oilskin paper.
One by one, the Fireborn beasts fell under the barrage.
Fifteen in total.
He was ruthless but precise.
He knew the Soul Needle could only stun normal cultivators, but for Fireborn beasts—creatures with no physical body to shield their souls—the needles were an absolute bane.
After the final beast was felled, Han Yu paused to catch his breath, heart hamring.
The glowing ashes rested on the oilskin paper, evidence of his dangerous victory.
His talisman count was dwindling—he had used six already—but the mission’s goal was within his grasp.
"This is the way."
Han Yu smiled grimly.
"Soul needles are the key. Now... how many more will I have to kill before I get what I need?"
Han Yu’s heart pounded like a war drum, every beat urging him onward as the final talisman’s faint glow flickered precariously, wavering on the edge of destruction.
He knew it couldn’t hold much longer—only one talisman stood between him and the searing inferno of the caldera’s heart. The oppressive heat pressed in on him like a living beast, relentless and unforgiving, threatening to consu him whole.
For hours he had fought through this burning wasteland, fighting off the Fireborn beasts that danced on the edge of fla and shadow. They were elusive, intelligent, and cunning—more than re beasts. Each step forward was a battle against both these fiery predators and the volcanic furnace that tried to burn him alive.
Ahead, five more of the flickering, fla-shaped creatures erged from the molten pools, their forms shifting between flickers of fla and solid shapes. Their eyes glowed with a malevolent light as they advanced toward him, sensing a new threat in their territory. Han Yu gritted his teeth, steadied his breathing, and prepared to face them.
With swift precision, he unleashed his soul needles, feeling them pulse with energy as they pierced the intangible forms of the beasts. The creatures shuddered and let out anguished cries—sounds like the crackling of burning wood—before collapsing into glowing, ember-like ashes.
One by one, he felled all five, each victory bringing a surge of adrenaline and a grim reminder that he had no ti to linger.
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