430: Chapter 430 Stealing the Fire Spirit Crystal

But what if... I temporarily replace it, or guide it?

A thought flashed through his mind like lightning.

Opposite him, Li Xuanxiao's sword was fully unsheathed, pointing directly at Ye Tian, his killing intent locked on.

“Li Xuanxiao,” Ye Tian suddenly spoke, “how about a wager?”

Li Xuanxiao's sword momentum paused slightly, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. “A wager?”

“A wager on which of us can take this source crystal without destroying this place or triggering a catastrophe.”

Ye Tian stared at him. “If you win, the source crystal is yours, and I leave immediately. If I win, the source crystal is mine, and you must not interfere further. As for our life-and-death battle, let’s save it for after we leave this Secret Realm. What do you say?”

Li Xuanxiao looked at Ye Tian in silence, then glanced at the source crystal and the magma lake below.

Though arrogant, he was not without insight.

He naturally saw the close connection between the source crystal and the environment.

He wasn't unaware of the risks of taking it by force; he was simply confident he could handle them.

But the wager Ye Tian proposed...

“How do you want to bet?” he asked.

“Give me ten breaths,” Ye Tian said. “Within ten breaths, if I can make this source crystal temporarily detach from the formation eye without causing a major upheaval and safely take it away, I win.

If I can't, or if it goes out of control, you win. I will immediately admit defeat and leave, and you can deal with the source crystal as you see fit. How about it?”

Ten breaths.

It was very short.

But in this environment, it was enough for many things to happen.

Light flickered in Li Xuanxiao's eyes.

He was rapidly weighing his options.

Ye Tian was heavily injured, and his condition was far worse than before.

In ten breaths, even if Ye Tian had some secret method to temporarily stabilize the source crystal, Li Xuanxiao could completely wait until the moment Ye Tian succeeded—his weakest moment—to strike, seize it, or even kill him.

This wager seemed fair, but in reality, the initiative remained in his hands.

Moreover, he also wanted to see what other tricks this opponent, who had surprised him repeatedly, had up his sleeve.

“Then let it be as you say.” Li Xuanxiao sheathed his sword, but his Sword Intent did not dissipate, still locked onto Ye Tian. “Ten breaths. You may begin.”

Ye Tian said no more.

He sheathed his own sword and, under the nervous gazes of Pei Tieshan and Dongfang Xinghe, walked step by step toward the square platform.

With every step, he felt the fire jade essence in his bosom grow warmer. That warm current circulated through his body, allowing his perception and control over the surrounding fire-element Spiritual Qi to reach an unprecedented level of clarity.

He stopped three feet in front of the platform.

He didn't touch the source crystal; instead, he extended both hands, palms down, pressing them into the air above the platform.

Chaos True Essence, mixed with a hint of aura drawn from the fire jade essence, slowly surged from his palms, gently wrapping around the platform, penetrating the formation runes, and spreading toward the fire spirit source crystal at the center.

What he was doing wasn't a forced disconnection or seizure, but using his own Chaos True Essence as a conduit to continue the source crystal's cyclical role within the formation runes!

At the same time, he used that sliver of aura obtained from Venerable Jiehuo's remnant soul as a buffer and mediator to soothe the violent fire spirits agitated by the source crystal's potential movement.

Li Xuanxiao's eyes narrowed slightly.

He didn't understand what Ye Tian was doing, and that hazy gray True Essence also made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

But he could feel that as Ye Tian's True Essence permeated the area, the flow of light from the formation runes around the platform didn't become chaotic; instead, it became somewhat more stable and smooth.

And the roar of the magma lake below also seemed to quiet down.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths...

Fine beads of sweat broke out on Ye Tian's forehead, and his face grew even paler.

Maintaining such delicate control while simultaneously resisting the high temperature and his injuries consumed an immense amount of energy.

But his eyes were focused, and his hands were steady as a rock.

Seven breaths, eight breaths...

The red-gold light surrounding the fire spirit source crystal began to flicker rhythmically, reaching a strange resonance with Ye Tian's hazy gray True Essence.

It vibrated slightly, as if wanting to leave the platform, yet held in place by a gentle force that maintained its connection to the formation runes.

Nine breaths!

A sharp light flashed in Ye Tian's eyes, and he gave a low shout: “Rise!”

He lifted his hands into the air.

That red-gold fire spirit source crystal actually began to float slowly up from the platform!

And beneath it, Ye Tian's hazy gray Chaos True Essence, mixed with the warm aura, had already condensed into a constantly circulating temporary 'formation eye,' temporarily replacing the source crystal's function and preventing the fire-element cycle from collapsing!

Ten breaths reached!

The source crystal was about a foot off the platform, suspended in mid-air and rotating slowly.

The magma lake below was calm, and the cave remained stable.

Just as Ye Tian reached out to grab the source crystal, his guard relaxing for a split second—

“Impressive skills.”

Li Xuanxiao's voice rang out.

Immediately after, a white sword light tore through the air, stabbing straight for the fire spirit source crystal that had just left the platform!

At the same time, his left hand formed a claw, lunging through the air toward the temporary 'formation eye' Ye Tian had condensed with Chaos True Essence!

He had no intention of honoring the wager at all!

Or rather, the only part he honored was 'not killing Ye Tian' himself.

His goal had always been the source crystal and... destroying Ye Tian's arrangement, forcing him to reap what he sowed and perish in the magma!

“Despicable!” On the shore, Pei Tieshan's eyes nearly split from rage.

Ye Tian's pupils constricted.

He had expected Li Xuanxiao might go back on his word, but he hadn't expected the other party's strike to be so ruthless and cunning!

At this moment, most of his focus and True Essence were being used to maintain the temporary formation eye and retrieve the source crystal; he was at his most vulnerable!

In a flash, a fierce look crossed Ye Tian's eyes. The right hand that was reaching for the source crystal suddenly changed direction, and sword was unsheathed in an instant, slashing toward the base where the metal chain connected to the platform!

Simultaneously, he used his left hand to exert a pulling and pushing force on the fire spirit source crystal from a distance!

“Get down there!”

Ye Tian roared, and the fire spirit source crystal that had just left the platform plummeted diagonally toward the churning magma lake below!

This sudden turn of events was completely beyond Li Xuanxiao's expectations.

He thought Ye Tian would either block it head-on, dodge, or desperately try to protect the source crystal.

He never expected Ye Tian to play so outside the rules, choosing to destroy the platform's escape route and throw the source crystal into the magma!

“You're courting death!” Li Xuanxiao's eyes turned cold. The sword light stabbing toward the source crystal had to change course mid-way, turning into a soft force to wrap around the falling red-gold crystal.

At the same time, his left hand reaching for the temporary formation eye also slowed for a moment.

If the formation eye were destroyed and the magma erupted, he would be in danger as well.

In that brief hesitation, Ye Tian delivered a full-power strike, slashing heavily against the metal buckle connecting the chain to the platform!

The buckle was made of an unknown, exceptionally hard material, but under the Chaos Sword Qi and the edge of the jingji sword, a crack was still sliced open. The entire platform shook violently!

Although Li Xuanxiao's sword light had wrapped around the falling fire spirit source crystal, it failed to pull it back immediately.

The source crystal seemed to still have a lingering connection with Ye Tian; its descent only slowed slightly as it continued to fall toward the surface of the lake.

More troublesome was that Ye Tian's strike on the chain hadn't just damaged the structure; it had caused the energy balance of the entire platform and the magma lake below to become disordered.

The magma below churned violently, and an even larger pillar of fire shot into the sky, heading straight for the platform!

“Go!”

Taking advantage of the moment Li Xuanxiao was distracted, Ye Tian forced out a breath of True Essence, kicked off hard, and retreated rapidly. However, he didn't head for the shore, but lunged toward another unused chain at the edge of the platform!

That was a third path leading to an unknown direction.

“Thinking of leaving?” Li Xuanxiao was furious; how could he let Ye Tian escape so easily?

He pointed his left fingers, sending a sharp finger wind whistling through the air toward the center of Ye Tian's back. Simultaneously, he shook the long sword in his right hand, forcibly pinning the fire spirit source crystal in mid-air to stop its descent, pulling it back bit by bit.