The First Venerable of All Paths

"Such pure fire element."

As soon as he entered the cave, Fang Xuan felt an extremely rich energy entering his body, making his spiritual power even more active.

This energy is the unique fire elemental vein of the Blazing Canyon.

"If we bring it into the Desolate Realm, our future cultivation will be much more efficient."

For Fang Xuan, who possesses the Desolate Realm, as long as he can collect more spiritual veins and seal them within the Desolate Realm, he will become a mobile source of spiritual veins.

Not only can you practice anytime, anywhere, but you can also save a lot of time and resources.

Filled with excitement, Fang Xuan hurried toward the location of the spiritual vein.

As they ventured deeper, Fang Xuan soon arrived at a huge cavern.

Before me lay a world of flowing, crimson lava.

The air was scorching hot and faintly shrouded in black mist.

These black mists are the fiery poison unique to the magma world.

If too much is absorbed, it will leave a huge hidden danger and damage the foundation of martial arts.

However, for Fang Xuan, who was protected by the Heavenly Fire, these fire poisons could not even get close to his body.

Fang Xuan's attention, however, was focused on a floating island in the center of the magma.

There, two crimson orbs of light, one large and one small, were flowing with scalding liquid into the lava lake below.

Those juices were filled with pure and rich fire-attribute spiritual energy.

"This is the Fire Spirit Vein?"

This was the first time Fang Xuan had ever seen a fire spirit vein, and he never expected it to look like this.

The smaller fire spirit vein is about the size of a human head.

But the larger one is four or five times larger than the former.

At first glance, it looks like a bright, blazing sun, radiating an intense heat.

"Medium-sized spiritual vein!"

Fang Xuan licked his lips, feeling unusually excited.

The value of a medium-sized spiritual vein is greater than that of ten small spiritual veins.

With these two spiritual veins, the environment in the desolate realm can be greatly improved.

"However, before we collect the spiritual veins, let's deal with some minor troubles first."

Fang Xuan turned to look at the exit and saw that Huo Zheng and the others had arrived and were rapidly approaching him.

"Kid, get out of here right now."

Huo Zheng looked at Fang Xuan warily and said coldly, "My Mad Lion's spiritual vein is not something you can lay a finger on."

Fang Xuan laughed upon hearing this.

"What, you think you can stop me?"

Huo Zheng was only at the half-step Divine Intent Realm, while the rest were at the Condensation Realm.

Let alone Fang Xuan now, even before he broke through to the Divine Intent Realm, these people wouldn't last long against him.

"Of course I know that my brothers and I are no match for you."

Huo Zheng, however, was quite self-aware, yet showed no fear whatsoever, saying, "But we can still manage to buy some time, even at the cost of our lives."

"Then why are you doing this?"

Fang Xuan said, "If you leave now, I can pretend nothing happened."

"I am bound by duty and cannot comply."

Huo Zheng stepped forward, his internal energy flowing.

"Having received the Lion's favor, we should fight to the death for the Lion."

Huo Zheng roared and shouted, "Brothers, lend me a hand!"

"yes!"

The twelve martial artists at the Condensation Realm roared in unison.

Then they stood in a special position, forming a formation, and continuously poured the power within their bodies into Huo Zheng's body.

"Boom!"

Huo Zheng's aura suddenly surged, instantly breaking through from the half-step divine intent realm to the true divine intent realm.

"Fang Xuan, take this!"

After Huo Zheng finished speaking, he raised the heavy hammer in his hand and slammed it down hard on Fang Xuan.

This strike was swift and ruthless, showing no mercy whatsoever.

"A technique that can solidify an array? That's quite ingenious."

Fang Xuan nodded inwardly and said, "Since you are all determined to die, I, Fang, will grant your wish today."

As soon as he finished speaking, Fang Xuan thrust his God-Slaying Spear forward with a sudden movement.

"Ding!"

The spear tip struck the heavy hammer, producing a metallic clang.

Amidst the flying sparks, the heavy hammer shattered on the spot.

"puff!"

The violent force emanating from the hammer handle caused Huo Zheng to spit out a mouthful of blood, his aura immediately weakening considerably.

Several members of the Blazing Fire Squad were also affected by the backlash from the formation, suffering injuries of varying degrees.

Fang Xuan's casual strike was already the limit for the Blazing Fire Squad.

"Hold on, all of you!"

Huo Zheng roared, his eyes bloodshot, "Brothers, help me one more time!"

"Brother, I'm going first!"

The most seriously injured player suddenly slapped his chest.

"Bang!"

His body shuddered, and he spat out a large amount of blood essence, which merged into Huo Zheng's body.

The aura of fire surged once again.

But the team member fell backward and died completely.

"not enough!"

Huo Zheng's eyes were filled with tears of blood as he said in a trembling voice, "Again!"

"Bang bang bang!"

Three more team members, at the cost of consuming their own essence and blood, forcibly helped Huo Zheng improve his cultivation.

"kill!"

Huo Zheng roared and punched Fang Xuan.

The flames transformed into a fist-like aura, roaring away.

Huo Zheng, who had reached the second level of the Divine Intent Realm, unleashed an extremely domineering punch.

"Commendable courage, but it couldn't change the outcome."

Fang Xuan admired their courage, so he did not intend to hold back.

"King's Fist Shakes the World!"

Fang Xuan abandoned his spear and threw a punch instead.

"Thump!"

The two fists collided, unleashing a domineering and violent force that caused the entire cavern to tremble violently.

Amidst the flames, a figure tumbled out, rolled twice on the ground, and then came to a stop.

Huo Zheng's face was covered in blood, and his arms hung limply at his sides.

But he struggled to his feet and roared with all his might, "Where is the Blazing Fire Squad?!"

"exist!"

"exist!"

"exist!"

Huo Zheng raised his left hand and shouted, "Help me!"

"Bang bang bang!"

The remaining team members simultaneously consumed their essence and blood, pouring it into Huo Zheng's body.

But they were completely devoid of life.

"The flame will never be extinguished!"

With tears in his eyes and a death wish, Huo Zheng charged toward Fang Xuan.

Fang Xuan sighed inwardly, and the God of Slaughter Spear pierced out like thunder.

"Pfft!"

The spear pierced through his chest, taking away Huo Zheng's life force.

He gazed at Fang Xuan, his vision gradually blurring, his lips moving almost imperceptibly.

"The Blazing Flame...will never die."

Having said that, Huo Zheng fell backward to the ground, dying a worthy death.

Looking at the corpses scattered on the ground, Fang Xuan shook his head inwardly.

He truly admired their courage and respected their loyalty to the Lion.

But given their differing stances, Fang Xuan naturally wouldn't show any mercy.

All he could do was ensure that the fire demon died without pain.

"May you rest in peace."

With a wave of his hand, Fang Xuan threw all thirteen corpses, including Huo Zheng, into the lava and buried them together with him.

"I hope you can still be good brothers in your next life."

After doing all this, Fang Xuan leaped up and stepped onto the floating island in the center of the lava.

The closer Fang Xuan got to the two fire spirit veins, the faster the spiritual energy within his body circulated.

Even the Undying Phoenix Flame and the Azure Lotus Karmic Flame became somewhat excited, wanting to refine and devour the two fire spirit veins.

"I can't give this to you."

After calming down the two great heavenly flames, Fang Xuan reached out and grabbed the smallest ball of spiritual vein light.

Just then, an unexpected change occurred.

Suddenly, two slender figures appeared in the void, one on the left and one on the right, attacking Fang Xuan.

"Pfft!"

The sound of flesh being pierced rang out, but just as the two were about to retreat, Fang Xuan raised his hand and threw out two punches.

"Slap! Slap!"

Two muffled thuds were heard, and two figures were instantly blasted into pieces, turning into minced meat that fell to the ground.

But Fang Xuan now had two daggers on him.

It looks like it's already been inserted into the body.

"poison?"

Fang Xuan's body suddenly went limp, his breath rapidly catching in his throat, and he said, his face pale, "Who? Show yourself!"

"Heh heh, Fang Xuan, you've finally met your match?"

With a cold laugh, a gaunt, sunken-eyed middle-aged man emerged from the darkness.

His face was full of a sinister smile, as if his evil scheme had succeeded.

Let me give you a formal introduction.

The middle-aged man's features contorted with barely suppressed excitement as he said, "I am Shu Heng, leader of the Shu Ying Gang, and Shu Chang is my younger brother."

"It's you!"

Fang Xuan's face grew increasingly pale, and he looked as if he was having great difficulty even speaking.

"You're so despicable! You actually poisoned me!"

Upon hearing this, Shuheng burst into loud laughter.

"mean?"

Shuheng said, "Boy, don't you know the principle of 'the victor is king, the loser is villain'? Besides, it's your good fortune to die from my datura poison."

"The deadly poison of datura, one of the ten most potent poisons?"

Upon hearing this, Fang Xuan looked even more desperate.

"No wonder, no wonder even spiritual power can't suppress this poison."

Fang Xuan looked defeated and gritted his teeth, saying, "Commander Shu Heng is really good at scheming. He actually hid here in advance, waiting for the opportunity to poison me, and I didn't even notice."

"Since you're already dead, I'm not afraid to tell you."

Shu Heng said smugly, "The technique I cultivate is called the Rat Shadow Concealing Breath Technique. It can perfectly conceal one's aura. Unless your divine soul reaches the fourth rank, you won't be able to detect me."

"Unfortunately, you're more troublesome than I imagined."

Shu Heng said with a pained expression, "Those two subordinates possessed a special bloodline that allowed them to temporarily disappear into the void. I didn't expect that you would kill them with your dying blow."

"But as long as I can kill you, it's all worth it."

Shu Heng rubbed his hands excitedly and said in an excited voice, "Your treasured inheritance is going to be mine today."

"In that case, I really didn't die unjustly."

Fang Xuan sighed and said, "Commander Shuheng, I, Fang Xuan, have been defeated by you today. It is because my skills are inferior. Do with me as you please."

"Heh, kid, you're about to die, so don't try to play these tricks on me."

Shu Heng sneered, "Don't think I don't know you're thinking of dragging me down with you even in death. I won't let you have your way."

"Since you've already been poisoned by datura, you'll die within half a cup of tea's time. Why should I do it myself?"

The rat remained remarkably calm, not letting its success cloud its judgment.

"Wow, Commander Rat Heng is really shrewd."

Fang Xuan sighed, slowly stood up, and said calmly, "In that case, Guanlan, let's send Commander Shuheng on his way first."

As soon as Fang Xuan finished speaking, a divine soul barrier suddenly descended, directly sealing Shu Heng within it.

"What?"

Shu Heng's pupils contracted, and he stared at Fang Xuan in disbelief, exclaiming, "How could you not be poisoned? This is impossible!"

"You mean this datura is highly poisonous?"

Fang Xuan toyed with the two daggers in his hand, and said with a smile, "I am indeed poisoned, but I am immune to all poisons. Your poison has no effect on me."

After saying that, Fang Xuan used his hands to crush the two daggers into powder, showing no signs of injury or poisoning whatsoever.

Everything that just happened was a deliberate act by him to lure the rat out.

"Immune to all poisons?"

Upon hearing this, Shuheng nearly coughed up blood in anger.

Damn it... I was careless!