235: Lu Chen, you should die too.

Heaven Burning Lord was still shaken, his face as pale as paper, no longer daring to show the slightest contempt. In a hurry, he roared, and a simple, giant shield — the Nine Yang Leaving Fire Shield! — appeared in his palm.

The shield was entirely crimson gold, about a zhang in diameter, with nine true sun patterns engraved on its surface. Each sun seemed to contain a world of fire, with raging flames coiling like Dragons and Yang Qi steaming, actually condensing nine fiery rings in the Void Realm. These rings interlocked and rotated on their own, forming a Nine Yang Heaven Burning Array that could incinerate all evil!

The moment the shield formed, the temperature of the entire arena surged, the ground cracked, and blue bricks melted into crimson magma. Firelight illuminated all directions, as if the end of the world had arrived!

“That is… the Nine Yang Leaving Fire Shield!” Wan Yuan exclaimed in horror, his voice even carrying a hint of dread, “A hundred years ago, when I fought Heaven Burning Lord to the death, I unleashed my full power with the ‘Wan Yuan Splitting Claw,’ which could tear through even the Protective Aura of a Peak Middle Stage Golden Core Cultivator. But that strike hit this shield—and didn’t even leave a single crack! This shield is an ancient relic from the Fire God Temple, forged with the core of Nine Yang True Fire as the catalyst, fused with meteoritic divine iron and solar refined gold, and tempered for ten thousand years in a sea of subterranean fire. It is known as ‘Nine Yang Indestructible, Shield Body Unbreakable’! Heaven Burning Lord has always kept it hidden as his trump card, never easily showing it to others… Lu Chen is finished now!”

But before he finished speaking—

Lu Chen’s spear thrust did not stop!

The dragon fiend spear, like a meteor from outside the heavens, stabbed out with the force of ten thousand jin!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! …One spear broke through nine layers of fire shields!

Each layer of Yang Flame Protective Shield was like thin ice meeting fire before the Blood Fiend Golden Dragon, instantly disintegrating!

Wherever the spear tip passed, raging flames rolled back, fire rings exploded, and the nine illusory suns successively vanished. Even the Nine Yang Heaven Burning Array, reputed to be “invulnerable to all laws,” completely disintegrated under a single bite from the Dragon’s mouth!

The entire Nine Yang Leaving Fire Shield let out a mournful cry, spiderweb-like cracks appeared on its surface, and its light rapidly dimmed, almost collapsing from a single spear strike!

The entire venue fell silent, so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.

Wan Yuan stood with his mouth agape, unable to utter a single word—

Heaven Burning Lord was truly panicking now, no longer holding anything back. The Golden Core he Cultivated was—Five Elements Fire! eight gates Life! twelve zodiac signs Rooster!

His inner Golden Core burst into flames, and the power of his Grotto-Heaven surged wildly, a roar echoing through the arena: “Fire Phoenix Burning Heaven!!”

In an instant, the Five Elements Fire Qi transformed into nine Heaven Burning fire pillars, spiraling upwards;

The eight gates wondrous array opened with a rumble, the Life Gate’s halo suspended above his head, showering down wisps of vital energy;

And the crimson flame golden rooster of the twelve zodiac signs, which had originally crowed with its head held high, flapped its wings and let out a long cry amidst the raging sea of fire, sublimating through the flames!

Flames churned, wings spread, and it impressively transformed into a crimson Phoenix divine shadow!

This was his ultimate, life-threatening Divine Ability—Fire Phoenix Burning Heaven!

The three techniques merged into one, combining offense and defense. He had once used this move to retreat unscathed from the ultimate Divine Ability of a Late Golden Core Stage expert, making his name famous throughout Tianqi Continent!

He refused to believe that a mere Foundation Establishment junior could break through such a level of defense!

Interesting!

It seems I have to get serious too!!!

Lu Chen’s lips curled into a slight smile. With a thought, his Grotto-Heaven opened!

In an instant, Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi converged wildly, and the Void Realm trembled—

Within his Grotto-Heaven, nine great Dragon Islands floated in the Grotto-Heaven Sea. On each island, a giant Dragon with a distinct aura and terrifying might was coiled!

The Blazing Heaven Lord, burning the heavens and boiling the seas!

The Profound Ice Dragon Emperor, freezing all eternity!

…and leading them all—the Blood Fiend Golden Dragon, the ancestor of malevolence!

Nine Dragons, nine ultimate Dao Rhymes, nine powers to destroy the heavens and annihilate the earth!

At this moment, the nine Dragons roared in unison, their Dragon Might like a prison, all rushing out of the Grotto-Heaven and coiling around the dragon fiend spear!

“Nine Dragon Annihilation Spear!!”

With one spear thrust, the nine Dragons roared in unison, streaking across the sky!

Nine Dragon shadows tore through the Void Realm, carrying the momentum of destroying the heavens and annihilating the earth, crashing towards that crimson Phoenix divine shadow!

Everyone below the stage was instantly dumbfounded!

They had originally thought that Lu Chen’s ability to summon the Blood Fiend Golden Dragon relied on the malevolent power of the heart of the blood god, already a Heaven-Defying talent.

But now—

The heart of the blood god was only one of the nine Dragons?!

No! It wasn’t even the strongest one!

His inner Grotto-Heaven actually contained nine true Dragons comparable to Golden Core manifestations, and the aura of each one far surpassed that of an ordinary Golden Core!

Even more terrifying was—

Those Netherworld Dragon Demons, Illusionary Dragon Spirits… were ancient Dragon species that even Hui Ming, who had lived for over seven hundred years, had never heard of!

How was this the Grotto-Heaven of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator? This was clearly the burial Holy Land of the ancient Dragon Clan!

“This… is this still Foundation Establishment?!”

“How is his Grotto-Heaven so vast?! How can it accommodate nine Dragons?!”

“My heavens… is he really human?!”

Bai Qi’s face turned ashen, and he coldly uttered, “Nonsense! If this is Foundation Establishment, I’ll self-destruct my Dao Foundation on the spot! This is clearly the Grotto-Heaven scale of the Golden Core Realm, or even… more terrifying!”

Hui Ming stared blankly at the sight of the nine Dragons soaring across the sky, feeling a chill run down his spine: “Even if he is in the Golden Core Realm… it shouldn’t be like this! The Spiritual Qi in his Grotto-Heaven is so dense, it’s even more abundant than mine, a Late Golden Core Stage Cultivator! Without such a vast source of Spiritual Qi, it would be impossible to support the simultaneous manifestation of nine Dragons! This… this simply defies logic!”

And on the arena—

The nine Dragons crashed into the crimson Phoenix!

The Fire Phoenix was not a true Phoenix to begin with, but merely a chicken temporarily playing the role, and it shattered instantly.

That awe-inspiring crimson Phoenix, without even a single cry, was swallowed by the Dragon’s mouth! Not even an illusionary shadow remained!

The defense was completely broken!

Pfft—!

The dragon fiend spear effortlessly pierced through Heaven Burning Lord’s chest, the spear tip emerging from his back, bringing out a string of blood beads, suspended in mid-air.

The entire venue fell silent.

From Lu Chen’s spear thrust to Heaven Burning Lord being impaled—it took only three seconds.

The Blazing Heaven Lord, a Cultivator in the Early Golden Core Stage, possessing the two ultimate techniques of the “Nine Yang Leaving Fire Shield” and “Fire Phoenix Burning Heaven,” couldn’t even withstand a single move?!

It wasn’t a crushing defeat… it was a complete annihilation!

For the first time, Great Master Hui Ming felt fear in his eyes. He lowered his voice and said to Bai Qi: “This child must not be allowed to live, he is too terrifying. If there is a chance, all of us should act together to kill him, otherwise, in another hundred years, no, ten years, no one on Tianqi Continent will be his match!!”

Bai Qi nodded. He had already sensed Lu Chen’s immense threat to the Tianwu Dynasty.

The Blazing Heaven Lord, being a Cultivator in the Early Golden Core Stage, how could he die so easily?

The Blazing Heaven Lord looked at Madam Shuang with deep affection and shouted loudly: “Madam Shuang, a hundred years ago, I told you that I would only marry you in this life. Today, I still tell you, I will only marry you in this life!!”

As soon as his voice fell, the Blazing Heaven Lord actually spit out his Golden Core directly.

Madam Shuang’s face turned pale: “Blazing Heaven Lord, you’re mad, you’ll die!!”

Blazing Heaven Lord: “The victor is king, the loser is bandit. Today I was careless, I underestimated my opponent. I paid the price for my arrogance, and you, Lu Chen, will die with me!!”

Before he finished speaking, his inner Golden Core suddenly trembled—

Boom!!!

Shattered Core!

The Golden Core self-destructed, and terrifying spiritual energy, like a bursting volcano, instantly swept through his entire body!

But he did not perish. Instead, at the cost of burning his life Origin, he melted all his essence blood, bones, Meridians, and soul, transforming them into the purest Fire Origin!

“Burn my true body, refine my soul into fire—”

“With blood as the guide, with life as the sacrifice—”

“Nirvana! True Phoenix descends!!”

In an instant, his body disintegrated inch by inch, turning into billions of crimson, star-like fiery particles, madly rotating and reassembling in the air!

Every particle was a remnant of his life, an ash of his Dao Foundation!

A colossal fiery shadow that blotted out the sky slowly rose—

That was no longer a Golden Core manifestation!

That was no longer an illusory shadow!

But a—

True Fire Phoenix, condensed from real flesh, soul fire, and spiritual bones!