373: Old Potato's Strange Fire

Boundless flames assailed from the west, beautiful like crimson flowers, exploding into dazzling fiery clouds.

The scorching heat covered the entire valley, and every descending ember continuously spread, each blooming into new crimson.

In just a moment, True Lord Feng Chuan was completely engulfed by the flames. His figure could no longer be seen from afar, and his current situation was unknown.

Li Changfeng and the others immediately left the valley and fled for some distance before slowly stopping.

Before them was still a fiery red, and they could even palpably feel the high temperature.

"Is this an Exotic Flame?"

"Damn, Old Potato really hit the jackpot."

"He wouldn't actually kill an enemy across Realms, would he?"

"This kid is relying entirely on the Exotic Flame, not his own cultivation, right?"

"That's the only way to cross Realms!"

The Golden Core Players discussed animatedly, their faces showing disbelief and shock.

Old Potato was truly good at hiding; he hadn't revealed any information about the Exotic Flame to anyone.

He used the transaction points he saved through frugality, following the experience left by Yan Xiao, to purchase enough resources and make as many preparations as possible over several months.

Then, while other players were still entangled with the Qingling Sect and the Yuyao Kingdom, he quietly subdued the Exotic Flame alone in the Western Great Desert.

Looking at the sky full of fire at this moment, many people showed envious expressions.

"Once this Feng Chuan matter is over, I'm going out to explore too."

"I already said the new version is about exploration. Why bother fighting the Qingling Sect? Isn't that delaying things?"

"But the Qingling Sect really does have the Nascent Soul Method. It's not a loss to take it down."

"Never mind, after this operation, I'm going solo."

"Exactly. Don't always stare at the north. The Qingling Sect is fine, but the Yuyao Kingdom is too tricky. I think other directions offer more room for development."

"Damn, I'm still envious of Old Potato!"

The crimson in the sky resembled magnificent flowers, their petals blooming and continuously spiraling towards the center, causing bursts of explosions.

Before this, no one except Yan Xiao knew how powerful the Exotic Flame truly was.

But Old Potato's ability to attack a Nascent Soul with a Golden Core cultivation, aided by the Exotic Flame, truly shocked everyone.

"A natural treasure..."

Li Changfeng also exclaimed, "Such a treasure must be extremely rare. Old Potato actually managed to subdue it; he's truly lucky."

Autumn Mountain thought for a moment and said, "Old Potato was with Yan Xiao before, so Yan Xiao must have given him the method to subdue the Exotic Flame."

The other players also looked thoughtful.

"In that case, we players are still suffering from a lack of information."

"Dao Lineages, Legacies, various secret methods and Divine Abilities, or generally speaking, foundations—we have none of them."

"Individual Dao cultivation is insufficient, and overall foundation is non-existent, so I think... we still need to find ways to cling to more powerful figures."

"It's a pity this Feng Chuan isn't cooperative. Otherwise, if he just gave us the Nascent Soul Method, we would venerate him."

Boom!

At this moment, an unprecedented roar erupted.

Countless crimson flowers gathered, overlapping and spinning, seemingly merging, then concentrating into a single point and exploding.

The terrifying Impact force almost distorted the entire area.

Everyone stared intently at the battlefield, wanting to know Feng Chuan's situation.

Then... "As expected of an Exotic Flame, it is indeed powerful."

Feng Chuan floated safely in mid-air. The surrounding firelight slowly receded; Old Potato's Qi must have been exhausted.

"Unfortunately, you don't seem to understand the gap between Golden Core and Nascent Soul."

Not even Feng Chuan's clothes were ignited by the flames. His long sleeves fluttered in the wind, making him appear incredibly graceful.

He was about to explain when he heard Old Potato's voice transmission:

"No, we understand very well."

"Once one cultivates to Nascent Soul, the Soul becomes unimaginably powerful, no longer merely regenerating severed limbs, but terrifying 'Regeneration from a Drop of Blood,' and even if the Physical Body perishes, there are backup methods for Rebirth."

"Ordinary methods are basically ineffective against Nascent Soul powerhouses; a Golden Core's full-power strike cannot harm a Nascent Soul."

"But an Exotic Flame is different. A powerful Exotic Flame is enough to destroy the Soul along with the Physical Body, and it can threaten a Nascent Soul."

Old Potato paused, as if to make his next words more precise, and added:

"Not just Exotic Flames, but sufficiently powerful Formations, Talismans, artifacts, and even Divine Abilities can threaten a Nascent Soul."

"It's just that currently, the only thing we can find is an Exotic Flame, which is why I am the one dealing with you."

Feng Chuan's expression had changed by this point, not because he had suffered any harm, but because after his confusion faded, his Spiritual Sense once again covered the surrounding area.

He discovered an anomaly.

Old Potato's voice continued to ring out:

"But we also know that you are a Nascent Soul. You can traverse the void and also use the void for defense."

"Although the Exotic Flame is strong, my cultivation is limited, and I cannot use the Exotic Flame to attack a Nascent Soul hiding in the void."

"Therefore, all my methods ultimately cannot work against you; you are invincible before us."

"Hence, from the very beginning, I never intended to fight you head-on. I merely used the long-prepared Exotic Flame to stall you, using the surging flames to blind your perception, and then..."

Roar—!

A furious roar sounded.

The enormous whale stirred the surrounding Qi, extinguishing all the lingering firelight, then transformed into streaks of flowing clouds, accelerating continuously, like a thick, heavy cloud, slamming into Feng Chuan.

"As long as we unleash the Cloud-Swallowing Whale and let this Nascent Soul-level Spirit Beast fight you, then we win."

Old Potato finished, a smirk on his lips: "Li Changfeng and the others observed clearly earlier that you deliberately delayed time while operating your Magic Treasure."

"Not only were you guarding against the mastermind behind us, but you were also trying to control the Cloud-Swallowing Whale."

"You were using Yuyao Kingdom methods, weren't you? Although I don't know the specifics, you definitely used some method, that much should be correct."

"Otherwise, it wouldn't be that you had no scruples after your Breakthrough, so you wasted time here, would it?"

"In short, your methods are ineffective against the Cloud-Swallowing Whale, and its strength also exceeds your imagination."

"Having just broken through and not yet stabilized your cultivation, under the pressure of the Cloud-Swallowing Whale, you wouldn't dare to use Nascent Soul-level methods against us, such as Soul-targeting killing moves. You're afraid this giant whale would suddenly erupt."

"So, when it breaks free, how will you handle yourself?"

Spirit Beasts, though foolish, would not fall for the same trick twice.

Coupled with the accumulated anger after being trapped, the Cloud-Swallowing Whale unleashed combat power beyond Feng Chuan's imagination.

Caught off guard, his right arm was actually violently broken, and he cried out in pain.

He clutched his wound with his left hand, wanting to quickly regenerate the severed limb, but he was sealed by a strange current of Qi, temporarily unable to heal.

"Old Potato, retreat. This will be a battle between Nascent Souls. We just need to wait for the settlement."