204: Chapter 204 I can't hold on any longer!

"Holy crap! Lord Pang has caused a huge disaster!"

Fatty's face turned white with fear as he frantically pulled the trigger while shouting in despair.

Bullets shot into that sea of wriggling mycelium, but it was like a clay ox entering the sea—not even a single ripple was stirred.

Those mycelia seemed endless, and in an instant, they had already crept up to their ankles. A cold, slimy sensation came over them, binding them tightly as if to drag them into this eerie blue hell!

"Physical attacks are useless! The mycelium's regeneration speed is too fast!"

Lin Tianyi roared. He tried to use his combat knife to slash at them, but wherever the blade passed, the severed mycelium immediately reconnected and grew at an even faster speed!

Wang Shan's face was also solemn. She didn't say a word, only continuously swinging her weapon, but it only served to delay the speed at which she was being swallowed.

On the other side.

Beneath Wang Xianzhi's feet, a circle of invisible sword qi rippled out, shredding all the approaching mycelium.

But she was also trapped in place, her brow furrowed deeply.

The scope of this sea of mycelium was too large. Although her sword qi was sharp, it couldn't cover the entire space.

She looked at Song Yiqing with a hint of inquiry in her eyes.

"Aren't you going to do something?"

Song Yiqing's expression hadn't changed even a bit from beginning to end.

He just quietly watched that frantically spreading sea of blue mycelium and the thousands of rotating eyeballs beneath those giant fungal caps.

"What's the rush?"

He faintly spat out those three words.

The next second.

He slowly raised his right hand.

No hand seals.

No incantations.

He just casually spread his palm open.

Buzz—

A faint, candle-like wisp of crimson-gold flame quietly ignited in his palm.

This wisp of flame was very small, and compared to the surrounding sea of eerie blue light, it was so tiny it looked like it could go out at any moment.

But the moment it appeared...

The temperature of the entire cave seemed to rise by dozens of degrees out of thin air!

The cloyingly sweet fragrance in the air was instantly dispersed by a surge of scorching masculine energy, replaced by a domineering aura that seemed capable of incinerating all things!

"Go."

Song Yiqing spoke a single word softly.

The wisp of crimson-gold flame in his palm suddenly shot out from his hand!

Boom!!!!

The moment the flame hit the ground, it was no longer a tiny wisp!

Instead, it transformed into a towering sea of fire!

The crimson-gold blaze, like a living dragon of wrath, swept out frantically in all directions with Song Yiqing as the center!

The moment that sea of eerie blue mycelium touched this crimson-gold flame, it was like boiling oil meeting ice and snow!

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—

The ear-piercing sound of flesh being scorched echoed throughout the cave!

The mycelium, which had been incredibly tough and regenerating frantically just moments ago, was as fragile as dry straw before this flame, instantly ignited and turned to ash!

The speed at which the fire spread was ten times, a hundred times faster than the growth of the mycelium!

"Greeeeeeee!!!"

Shrill shrieks, sounding unlike anything a human could produce, came from those giant fungal plants!

Reflected in the flames, the countless eyeballs under their caps revealed expressions of extreme pain and fear; one by one, the eyeballs burst, splashing foul-smelling blue juice!

In just a few breaths...

A circle of crimson-gold fire had formed a safe zone with a diameter of over ten meters beneath everyone's feet!

Outside the fire circle, the blue sea of mycelium surged frantically, but it could no longer get even an inch closer!

"This... this is..."

Fatty was dumbfounded, forgetting to fire the gun in his hand, his mouth hanging open wide enough to fit an egg.

Lin Tianyi's hand holding his glasses was trembling slightly; his brain had almost crashed at this moment.

"Qi... transforming into fire?"

"No... ordinary Qi could never have such extremely Yang and firm destructive power... this is more like... the legendary Samadhi True Fire..."

Wang Xianzhi's pupils suddenly contracted into the most dangerous pinpricks!

She stared fixedly at Song Yiqing, or rather, at the domineering and peerless aura of flame that had not yet dissipated from his body.

The sword in her hand hummed even more violently.

That was no longer just excitement.

It was excitement mixed with a hint of... fear!

...

[Inside the Livestream]

[What just happened?! Are my eyes playing tricks on me?! Was that fire?! Was that a special effect?!]

[A Taoist descending the mountain?! This must be the true inheritance of Mount Mao! Even Palm Thunder isn't this fierce!]

[SR-rank reward... is this the power of an SR-rank reward?! Burning Heaven Flame! Holy crap, this name is too perfect!]

[Fatty is still chip-damaging, while God Song just used his ultimate to clear the screen! The difference in game experience is way too big!]

[I seriously doubt Song Yiqing's true identity now. Is he some true disciple from an immortal cultivation sect out for worldly experience?!]

[Stop arguing! Everyone get on your knees! Shout "Flame Emperor"!]

[The person above, you're mixing up stories! But... the Flame Emperor is awesome!!!]

...

Dawn Squad

Wei Fengzhao and Liu Tao stood side by side, the expressions on their faces having changed from solemnity to complete shock.

"Old Wei..." Liu Tao's voice was incredibly dry, "In our database... are there any records of this kind of ability?"

Wei Fengzhao slowly shook his head, his gaze vacant.

"No."

"In our understanding, 'Qi' is a life energy that can strengthen the body, be released to form energy blasts, and top experts can even briefly influence a small area of the environment."

He took a deep breath, as if trying to suppress all the shock in his heart.

"But like this... directly transforming 'Qi' into a pure, destructive elemental form of power... this has already exceeded our definition of a 'practitioner'."

"He isn't solving the anomalies in the forbidden zone."

Wei Fengzhao said word by word.

"He himself... is a type of 'anomaly' that we cannot understand."

"Miss Wen..."

Yin Yan's voice rang out again. This time, she was so excited her cheeks were flushed red, and she couldn't even speak clearly.

"He... he can even use fire... so... so cool..."

Wen Xiuya remained expressionless, but deep in her eyes, an unprecedented light flashed.

For the first time, her heart truly felt a ripple.

'This Song Yiqing is like a bottomless black hole; you never know what he'll pull out the next second.'

...

On the livestream screen.

The crimson-gold fire circle provided temporary shelter for everyone.

However, Song Yiqing's face was slightly pale.

Although the Burning Heaven Flame was powerful, its consumption of Qi was also staggering.

With his current amount of Qi, he couldn't maintain it for long at all.

He glanced at the culprit, Fatty.

"Next time you can't keep your hands to yourself, you can stay behind and be fertilizer."

His voice didn't carry a hint of warmth.

Fatty shuddered, looking miserable as if he were about to kneel down.

"Lord Song, I was wrong! I won't do it again! Should I just chop this hand off?!"

"Stop talking nonsense."

Song Yiqing's gaze swept outside the fire circle.

Although those giant fungal plants were intimidated by the flames, they hadn't died.

The burst eyeballs under the caps were rapidly regenerating, and countless blood-red eyes, filled with deep-seated hatred, stared fixedly at the people inside the fire circle.

"This fire won't last too long."

Song Yiqing analyzed calmly.

"We must find the core of these things before the flames go out."

"Core?"

Lin Tianyi reacted immediately, "The Fungal Mother? Like a queen bee in a hive?"

"Something like that."

Song Yiqing's gaze turned toward the deepest part of the cave.

At the end of that sea of blue fungal forest, one could vaguely see the most massive fungal plant; its light was brighter than all the other fungi combined.

"The target is that."

"Everyone, stay close to me!"

Song Yiqing shouted lowly, no longer maintaining the circular defense.

With a thought, the sea of fire surrounding everyone instantly contracted and condensed, transforming into a violent fire dragon that roared as it charged toward the giant Fungal Mother deep in the cave!

Rumble!

Wherever the fire dragon passed, all mycelium was turned to charcoal, forcefully carving out a crimson-gold path to death in the blue sea of fungi!

"Go!"

Song Yiqing was the first to charge out.

The others didn't dare to delay in the slightest, following closely behind and stepping onto this road paved with fire.

On both sides were the frantic shrieks of countless fungal plants and the venomous stares of countless eyeballs.

Their life and death depended entirely on how much longer this path of fire could burn.