Volume 1 Volume 5 Chapter 149

Volume 5 Chapter 149: Escaping Death, Before the Final Battle (Part 2)

The reason Dongfang Qingling instinctively reached out to the powerful "Karma Blaze" was that she suddenly had a strange feeling, as if Xu Qingfan was not dead. The swirling and jumping "Karma Blaze" seemed to be both Xu Qingfan’s body and soul, as if Xu Qingfan was still in the world, united with this "Karma Blaze."

So, without thinking, Dongfang Qingling reached out to the "Karma Blaze," completely forgetting its horror.

But just as Dongfang Qingling’s hand was about to touch the "Karma Blaze," it suddenly changed in a shocking way!

The "Karma Blaze," which was originally burning fiercely but still somewhat calm, suddenly shot up several meters high, burning more intensely, with cracks and pops that could be clearly heard.

Startled by the change and still in a daze from Xu Qingfan’s death, Dongfang Qingling suddenly woke up, realizing what she had just been doing. If the "Karma Blaze" hadn’t suddenly changed at that moment, she would have touched it and probably ended up joining Xu Qingfan in death.

Because of her fear, Dongfang Qingling’s heart beat violently for a long time, only slowly returning to normal.

After returning to normal, Dongfang Qingling finally remembered the strange change of "Karma Blaze" and looked at the mysterious and intense "Karma Blaze" before her with curiosity.

Gradually, a look of disbelief appeared on Dongfang Qingling’s face.

Because the "Karma Blaze" in front of her slowly turned into a human shape!

※※※※

Time rewinds back to three or four hours ago.

At that time, Xu Qingfan was trapped and could not move at all; his unique "Cycle of Life and Death" was easily broken by the nine-tailed demon fox. When the nine-tailed demon fox attacked him with "Karma Blaze" for the second time, he had lost all means of resistance.

He watched helplessly as "Karma Blaze" approached from afar, growing larger and clearer in his eyes. In that moment, death seemed inevitable.

But Xu Qingfan did not give up; he had seen such a scene before. During the battle before Feng Qingtian betrayed Jiuhua, wasn’t he almost burned to death too? Yet he was brought back to life thanks to the powerful resurrection ability of "Way of Life and Death."

His confidence in "Way of Life and Death" was also one of the reasons why Xu Qingfan dared to rush towards the nine-tailed demon fox without hesitation.

But when the "Karma Blaze" truly burned his body, Xu Qingfan realized he had miscalculated.

As the "Karma Blaze" burned his body, Xu Qingfan immediately began to perform the "Way of Life and Death" to reshape the parts of his body that were burned, but before the reshaping could start, Xu Qingfan was already filled with despair because he discovered that the nine-tailed demon fox was actually breathing out "Karma Blaze." Having never encountered the nine-tailed demon fox before, he never imagined it could spit out such a poisonous fire as "Karma Blaze."

The reason why "Karma Blaze" causes fear in the cultivation world is that it can not only burn a cultivator’s body but also their Original Soul! Once "Karma Blaze" touches you, there is no way to escape. As for the vile power contained within "Karma Blaze," it is not as terrifying.

Xu Qingfan’s "Way of Life and Death" can reshape his burned body, but if the Original Soul is also burned, how can it be reshaped? Reshaping the Original Soul is not a skill that should belong to humans.

When Xu Qingfan felt unbearable pain in his Original Soul from the burn of "Karma Blaze," when he realized the speed at which "Karma Blaze" was burning his body far exceeded the speed at which "Way of Life and Death" could reshape it, when he felt the tainted power from "Karma Blaze" constantly invading his body, Xu Qingfan truly felt despair.

Because he realized he had no means to defend himself.

It is said that before a person dies, their mind quickly reviews their whole life. Xu Qingfan was not sure about this idea before, but now, as he faced death, he finally knew this legend was true, because his mind was indeed involuntarily replaying his life.

Memories began to play from the moment he could remember, the confusion and loneliness he felt when he was still in Southern Wasteland Xu Family Village, the pain and uncertainty in his heart when Xu Family Village was destroyed, the determination and hope he felt when he became a disciple of Lu Huayan. Bits and pieces flashed in Xu Qingfan’s mind. Many things Xu Qingfan thought he had forgotten were suddenly very clear at this moment.

But just as Xu Qingfan recalled a competition he attended in the sect, he suddenly froze, then quickly came back to his senses.

This was Feng Qingtian’s first match after the big competition inside the gate.

At that time, Feng Qingtian’s fame had just spread in Jiuhua, and because Xu Qingfan had seen his conflict and duel with Jin Qinghan, he decided to watch.

Feng Qingtian’s opponent was not weak; while most of the disciples at that time were only at the Inedia Stage, this person had already reached the peak of the Pigu stage. Unfortunately, his opponent was Feng Qingtian.

This person practiced a soil-based cultivation method, and with Feng Qingtian’s reputation as the "top talent of Jiuhua," at the beginning of the match, he used the "Stone Wall Technique" to create countless stone walls, surrounding himself completely. It seemed he wanted to block Feng Qingtian’s first attack before thinking of a way to counterattack.

Unfortunately, this person underestimated Feng Qingtian’s fire techniques. Feng Qingtian calmly formed hand seals, and countless flames surged from beneath his feet, attacking the Jiuhua Gate person who was heavily protected by the stone walls. Those sturdy stone walls, which should not have caught fire, were quickly burned up. When the flames reached him, the expression on the Jiuhua Gate person’s face was still one of disbelief.

Feng Qingtian’s comment on the failure of this Jiuhua Gate person’s "turtle strategy" was simply one sentence.

"In this world, there is nothing that cannot be burned by fire; if you must say there is, it is fire itself!"

And Xu Qingfan, through Feng Qingtian’s words, thought of the possibility of his own survival.

Fire cannot burn fire!

In that moment, Xu Qingfan immediately thought of the second secret technique of the Feng family – the "Body Transformation Thunder and Fire Technique"!

Xu Qingfan had all the cultivation methods of the Feng family in his mind, but he always thought he was stealing from Feng Qingtian. Therefore, he had never practiced the Feng family’s cultivation methods. However, at that moment, Xu Qingfan had to use the "Body Transformation Thunder and Fire Technique" to save himself, which was quite difficult.

Yet, no matter if it would be successful or not, Xu Qingfan had to take the risk.

Fortunately, Xu Qingfan had previously created a technique called "Transform into the Wind" based on the Feng family’s "Body Transformation Thunder and Fire Technique," giving him a lot of experience in blending his body with the Spirit Qi of Heaven and Earth. Otherwise, he truly wouldn’t know where to start at this moment.

From Xu Qingfan realizing the danger and feeling despair, to him recalling his entire life, and finally coming up with a solution, it seemed like a long time. But in reality, all of this happened in Xu Qingfan’s mind; his thoughts were racing, and in reality, it was only a split second, while Xu Qingfan’s body and Original Soul were still not saved from the burning of "Karma Blaze."

However, Xu Qingfan only had one chance to try this. If he couldn’t succeed on the first attempt, then with the speed of "Karma Blaze" burning his body and Original Soul, it would truly be irreversible.

Forcing himself to calm down, Xu Qingfan kept recalling his previous experiences with "Transform into the Wind," as well as the various methods and changes of the "Body Transformation Thunder and Fire Technique" he learned from Feng Qingtian. He began to activate the little "Phoenix Spirit Qi" inside him and started to move in a strange pattern.

Then, Xu Qingfan began to notice that, as the "Phoenix Spirit Qi" circulated within him, the fire Spirit Qi in the world around him became so clear and vibrant at that moment, and his body gradually started to dissolve and change in this sea of fire Spirit Qi!

He succeeded! Before "Karma Blaze" could completely destroy Xu Qingfan’s body and Original Soul, he finally managed to use the Feng family’s "Body Transformation Thunder and Fire Technique."

It was a stroke of luck that Xu Qingfan succeeded on his first try, but this good fortune saved his life.

After transforming into Phoenix Spirit Fire, the Phoenix Spirit Fire and "Karma Blaze" blended together, yet remained completely separate. Once Xu Qingfan’s Original Soul merged with the Phoenix Spirit Fire, "Karma Blaze" could no longer harm his Original Soul.

However, before Xu Qingfan could feel relieved, he soon smiled wryly again.

This was because he realized that his danger had not ended just because he could transform into fire; in some ways, it had become even more dangerous.

Although he had temporarily escaped the harm of "Karma Blaze" using the "Body Transformation Thunder and Fire Technique," he could not return to his original form until "Karma Blaze" vanished, or he would continue to be hurt by it.

More importantly, "Phoenix Spirit Fire" is characterized by strong yang, while "Karma Blaze" is characterized by toxic yin. Though both are flames, their natures are completely opposite, and the moment Xu Qingfan transformed into Phoenix Spirit Fire, "Karma Blaze" clashed fiercely with it.

In this conflict, Xu Qingfan found himself unable to move to evade. He could only control the Phoenix Spirit Fire and engage in a fierce battle with "Karma Blaze." To an outside observer, the struggle between these oppositely-natured flames merely looked like a single fire burning violently.

With "Karma Blaze" being so powerful, Xu Qingfan’s first time transforming into Phoenix Spirit Fire left him completely defenseless, and he could only retreat step by step. It seemed that in this "Karma Blaze," whether in his original form or as fire, Xu Qingfan could not escape death.

However, there was still a glimmer of hope. Before "Karma Blaze" could burn Xu Qingfan, it was intercepted by Mr. Liu and some cultivators, greatly weakening its power. After the nine-tailed spirit fox ceased to control it, its remaining strength fell far short of Xu Qingfan’s Phoenix Spirit Fire.

It was this thin thread of hope that kept Xu Qingfan holding on.

Even though he had turned into fire, Xu Qingfan could still clearly see what was happening around him. Through his Divine Sense, he saw eleven masters coming, he saw cultivators attacking the demon beast, he saw Jin Qinghan’s anger when he thought Xu Qingfan was dead, and he saw Immortal Zizhen speaking.

However, perhaps because the battle between Phoenix Spirit Fire and "Karma Blaze" made the energy around him too chaotic, no one noticed the situation within "Karma Blaze" that he held.

In the end, he could only watch helplessly as a group of cultivators rushed towards the demon beast at Ronghua Mountain, claiming to avenge him, leaving only Dongfang Qingling by his side.

※※※※

From beginning to end, Xu Qingfan was always at a disadvantage in the fight against "Karma Blaze," but because of the clash of attributes, he stubbornly kept from being destroyed by it.

It was uncertain how long this battle lasted, but Xu Qingfan finally felt fortunate to discover that "Karma Blaze" was gradually weakening without any further support.

The moment for Xu Qingfan to return to his true form had finally arrived.

So, Xu Qingfan began to control the Phoenix Spirit Fire to counterattack "Karma Blaze," trying to make it completely vanish as quickly as possible.

And this is also the reason why the burning of "Karma Blaze" suddenly became extremely intense in front of Dongfang Qingling.

When Xu Qingfan finally completely wiped out "Karma Blaze," he began to control the Phoenix Spirit Fire, slowly changing it back to its original form. In front of Dongfang Qingling, the "Karma Blaze" gradually transformed into a human figure.

Then, the flames suddenly withdrew, and Xu Qingfan’s figure and face suddenly appeared before her.

Xu Qingfan really didn’t die! Her senses were correct; Xu Qingfan was indeed hiding in that "Karma Blaze"!

Dongfang Qingling looked at the suddenly appearing Xu Qingfan in disbelief, her eyes filled with incredible joy, feeling as if she were in a dream.

Xu Qingfan is not dead!

The moment she confirmed this fact, Dongfang Qingling suddenly realized that her world became full again.

Earlier, upon hearing the news of Xu Qingfan’s death, though her eyes were sore, tears just wouldn’t come out. But now, seeing Xu Qingfan suddenly come back to life, tears flowed freely down her face.

According to an ancient tale, at this moment, Dongfang Qingling should have flown into Xu Qingfan’s arms, then, overwhelmed with emotion, she would reveal her true feelings. Xu Qingfan would be shocked at Dongfang Qingling’s feelings for him, then touched, and finally, a timeless story of a talented man and a beautiful woman would begin to unfold in the world.

However, sometimes the twists of fate are not always so cliché.

Seeing Xu Qingfan come back to life, Dongfang Qingling felt a sudden urge to jump into his arms and hug him, to make sure that everything in front of her was not a dream, to ensure that she wouldn’t lose her Xu Qingfan, and to release her emotions built up from the sudden turn of events.

But just before all this happened, Dongfang Qingling suddenly noticed that Xu Qingfan was completely naked, as his clothes had been burned away by "Karma Blaze"!

With a sharp scream, Dongfang Qingling quickly covered her face with her hands and turned away. Although she had her back to Xu Qingfan, he could still tell from the blush on her neck that she was feeling shy.

The battle with "Karma Blaze" was intense and couldn’t be easily described with words. At that moment, Xu Qingfan was extremely tired and had lost a lot of Spirit Qi. However, due to the embarrassment, he forgot all of that and hurriedly picked up a piece of cloth from the ground that hadn’t been completely burned, thanks to the "Sleeve Space Technique" and the heavy protective barrier, and put it on.

This was the second time Xu Qingfan had seen Dongfang Qingling while naked. The first time was after his fierce battle with Feng Qingtian, when all his clothes had also been destroyed, just like this time. It seemed that Xu Qingfan had no secrets left from Dongfang Qingling.

"Feng Qingtian often uses the ‘Body Transformation Thunder and Fire Technique.’ Why have I never seen his clothes burned? Is there some trick to it?"

Xu Qingfan thought irritably while putting on his clothes.

"Um… Junior Martial Sister Dongfang, I’m truly sorry for what just happened."

After checking to make sure he had no more secrets exposed, Xu Qingfan gave a wry smile and bowed to Dongfang Qingling to apologize.

Hearing Xu Qingfan’s words, Dongfang Qingling realized that Xu Qingfan had put on his clothes, so she slowly turned around, her head still bowed, not daring to look up.

"It’s okay."

Dongfang Qingling replied softly, as if she had lost all her strength.

After speaking, Dongfang Qingling quickly glanced at Xu Qingfan and then swiftly lowered her head again, her cheeks becoming more noticeably flushed.

In that brief glance, Dongfang Qingling suddenly noticed that Xu Qingfan, having survived a dangerous ordeal, had gained an odd charm; strangely, she felt no aversion to this oddity. Instead, she found his weathered gaze and peculiar appearance, along with the slight gray at his temples, created a very unique attraction.

Neither Xu Qingfan nor Dongfang Qingling knew that although Xu Qingfan had defeated "Karma Blaze," the dirty and dark power within it had remained in Xu Qingfan’s body. This impurity would greatly affect him in the future, but at that moment, the only change was that Xu Qingfan’s appearance had strangely taken on a more unusual quality.

Meanwhile, Xu Qingfan looked at Dongfang Qingling and felt increasingly awkward, not knowing what to say, creating a silence that felt uncomfortable.

Yet, for some unknown reason, as time passed in their silence, the atmosphere shifted from awkward to suggestive.

Xu Qingfan would rather be burned by "Karma Blaze" than face this awkward moment. At least when he was burned by "Karma Blaze," he knew how to deal with it.

Finally, Xu Qingfan couldn’t stand the atmosphere any longer. He steadied his mind and said, "Let’s hurry to ‘Ronghua Mountain’ and see what’s happening there."

"Okay."

Dongfang Qingling quickly replied. She felt lost in this atmosphere, but at the same time, she felt a strange sense of confusion when the mood was broken.

As Xu Qingfan flew slowly towards "Ronghua Mountain," Dongfang Qingling followed behind, secretly looking at Xu Qingfan’s back, and suddenly thought of something that made her chuckle.

"Junior Martial Sister Dongfang, what’s wrong?"

Hearing Dongfang Qingling’s laughter, Xu Qingfan quickly turned around and asked, thinking he was making another embarrassing mistake. Poor Xu Qingfan was starting to feel a bit on edge because of this situation.

"It’s nothing."

Dongfang Qingling quickly shook her head, but her cheeks were once again flushed with two bright spots of color.

It turned out that Dongfang Qingling had suddenly thought that in this era, women often had to marry a man just because he saw a part of their bodies. But what about Xu Qingfan, who had seen her body twice? Even though Xu Qingfan was a man, it seemed he should not follow such a custom.

However, when a thought popped into Dongfang Qingling’s mind saying, "You are mine now," she couldn’t help but laugh.

Poor Xu Qingfan, in Dongfang Qingling’s mind, turned into a woman forced to marry in the mortal world; how tragic was his fate.

※※※※

When Xu Qingfan and Dongfang Qingling arrived near "Ronghua Mountain," they discovered that the battle between the Righteous Alliance and the demon beasts had already ended. The ground was covered with the bodies of demon beasts, and it seemed that the Righteous Alliance had achieved a great victory.

However, Xu Qingfan felt some confusion. Even though the Righteous Alliance had the help of eleven masters, how could they defeat so many demon beasts in such a short time?

It turned out that when the nine-tailed demon fox discovered that the Righteous Alliance had twelve masters coming to help, it immediately thought about the possible future situations. It realized that its current strength was not a match for the Righteous Alliance, especially since half of the heavenly level demon beasts were leading countless Southern Wasteland demon beasts in a sweep through other parts of the Shenzhou Continent.

So, after retreating back to the demon beast army near "Ronghua Mountain," the nine-tailed demon fox decisively took six other heavenly level demon beasts and over a thousand Earth level demon beasts and fled into the distance, abandoning the other twenty to thirty thousand lower level demon beasts. The nine-tailed demon fox knew that if it took all the demon beasts with it, it would not be able to escape the Righteous Alliance’s pursuit.

Thus, when the twelve masters arrived with more than a thousand Righteous Alliance elites filled with killing intent and anger, they faced over twenty thousand demon beasts, but the strongest among them was only of Human Level high rank. In coordination with the cultivators inside "Ronghua Mountain," they easily surrounded and defeated the enemy.

When Xu Qingfan and Dongfang Qingling entered the area of "Ronghua Mountain," Immortal Zizhen was speaking, while all the cultivators from the Righteous Alliance stood before him, their faces filled with sorrow and admiration. They wore white scarves on their heads or arms, as if honoring the deceased.

"…So, Taoist Friend Xu truly is a role model for our Righteous Alliance, and his spirit…"

When Immortal Zizhen reached this point in his speech, he suddenly froze, for the hero Xu Qingfan, whom he spoke of as deceased, was flying here with a curious look on his face, seemingly wondering which great figure had died.

Seeing Immortal Zizhen suddenly fall silent, the cultivators of the Righteous Alliance, who were filled with sorrow and admiration for Xu Qingfan’s actions and death, were puzzled. Following Immortal Zizhen’s gaze, they turned to see Xu Qingfan flying towards them.

An eerie silence suddenly fell over the scene.

Just as Xu Qingfan felt even more puzzled by this strange silence, a thunderous cheer erupted from the crowd. Among the cheering, Jin Qinghan, Lv Qingshang, Li Yuhan, and all those who knew Xu Qingfan flew towards him, their eyes filled with disbelief and joy.

In the crowd, Zhang Hualing, upon seeing Xu Qingfan, first shifted from sorrow to disbelief and joy. Then, as if recalling something, a strange smile appeared on his lips, and he disregarded the cheering crowd and Xu Qingfan’s return, turning to walk towards his home with a lighter step.

Mr. Liu also wore a strange smile similar to Zhang Hualing’s.

While everyone else was ecstatic about Xu Qingfan’s survival, these two old foxes were thinking of more distant possibilities.

The immortal Zizhen truly admired Xu Qingfan, or perhaps he used Xu Qingfan’s death to inspire everyone, but both times he spoke to the cultivators, he described Xu Qingfan as a hero. Moreover, the reason the Righteous Alliance was able to defeat many demon beasts was because of Xu Qingfan’s organization, and later, Xu Qingfan saved over a thousand elite members and pillars of the Righteous Alliance. All of this brought Xu Qingfan unparalleled prestige within the Righteous Alliance.

After surviving a near-death experience, this prestige was undoubtedly very beneficial for Xu Qingfan. With his current reputation, no one in the Righteous Alliance dared to speak against him anymore. With this reputation, it was even possible for Xu Qingfan to officially join the decision-making group of the Righteous Alliance.

In short, even though Xu Qingfan narrowly escaped death and faced many dangers, the benefits he received were immense.

However, not everyone was happy about Xu Qingfan’s survival. For instance, the Supreme Protector Gongsun Huasa of Jiuhua Gate and the Master Fan Xiaoyao from Xingyin Sect had expressions that were the exact opposite of the others. Upon seeing Xu Qingfan alive, they first went from pride to disbelief, then to frustration. When they noticed that almost everyone was cheering for Xu Qingfan, their feelings turned to resentment.

At this moment, all eyes on "Ronghua Mountain" were focused on Xu Qingfan, filled with admiration and joy. All the negative rumors about Xu Qingfan were instantly debunked. At that moment, Xu Qingfan was a hero in the Righteous Alliance, a living hero rarely seen in history! His prestige was already equal to that of the twelve masters.

Especially since Xu Qingfan had many legends about him in the Righteous Alliance over the years, he seemed like a legendary figure in the eyes of the crowd. Those who had always supported Xu Qingfan, like the Jiuhua cultivators or those whom Xu Qingfan had saved from "Ying," felt immense pride, as if they shared in Xu Qingfan’s glory. Those who had previously doubted or even harbored malice towards Xu Qingfan felt shame for their past hostility.

Humans, whether ordinary people or cultivators, always have a deep-seated hero complex, hoping that one day they could become heroes. And when a hero appears, even if it’s not oneself, there is an instinctive admiration and cheers for them.

At that moment, everyone hoped that Xu Qingfan would say something to them, like how he survived or how he fought against the nine-tailed demon fox.

But amidst everyone’s expectations, their hero Xu Qingfan suddenly changed his expression, showing panic and urgency. Ignoring the cheering crowd, he flew away quickly towards the distance!

After meeting Jin Qinghan and the others, Xu Qingfan finally understood what had happened. A faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth as he realized he had unwittingly become the hero everyone was talking about.

Just then, Zhang Ningmei hurriedly flew to Xu Qingfan’s side and shared shocking news with him.

Upon learning that Xu Qingfan was dead, Ting’er and Bai Yu decided to seek revenge on the nine-tailed demon fox. Zhang Ningmei was able to convince them to stay, but just before Xu Qingfan returned, she suddenly realized that Ting’er and Bai Yu were nowhere to be found!

※※※※

While Xu Qingfan was anxiously chasing after Ting’er and Bai Yu, the nine-tailed demon fox, the leader of the Southern Wasteland demon beasts, had already fled thousands of miles away to "Ronghua Mountain" with five heavenly level demon beasts and over a thousand Earth level demon beasts.

At this moment, the wounds the nine-tailed demon fox had suffered in its battle with Mr. Liu had completely healed. It moved gracefully with its demon beasts, quickly escaping far away, showing no signs of the panic or distress one might expect.

The nine-tailed demon fox realized its attack on the Righteous Alliance had failed, but it didn’t care. It had not expected so many powerful human cultivators to be present, which is why it agreed to the suggestion of splitting up with other demon beasts.

However, the nine-tailed demon fox felt confident. Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of human cultivators, it promised that such a failure would not happen again.

After escaping thousands of miles to "Ronghua Mountain" and confirming that the human cultivators would not catch up, the nine-tailed demon fox stopped, turned, and let out several calls to the demon beasts behind it. Following the nine-tailed demon fox’s command, more than a dozen of the strongest demon beasts detached from the group, heading back to the Southern Wasteland or dispersing to different places in Shenzhou Continent.

In the following months, the heavenly level demon beasts that had split from the nine-tailed demon fox, unable to find what they were searching for and after receiving orders from the nine-tailed demon fox, gathered together with many demon beasts, and the Southern Wasteland saw a large number of demon beasts appear to provide support.

In short, the battle between the Righteous Alliance and the Southern Wasteland demon beasts has just begun.

※※※※

Just as the nine-tailed demon fox began to deploy its forces, an old, thin man suddenly appeared in front of a cave on a very hidden mountain in the Shenzhou Continent. The old man looked very weak, as if he could die at any moment due to his old age, but he carried a great pressure that made others afraid to oppose him.

Not long after the old man appeared, a refined middle-aged scholar walked out of the cave, seeming completely unaware of the old man’s terrifying presence. He looked calm and smiled at the old man in front of him.

"Has that old man from ‘Heaven’ finally run out of patience with me? I thought he would deal with me personally, but I didn’t expect it to be you from ‘Earth’ who came in person."

The middle-aged scholar seemed to notice something amusing and said with a faint smile.