Northern Extension Chapter 50: Crimson Flame Tiger

Even with the protection of the Ice-Flame Shield, Mo Hao found it somewhat difficult to sustain himself for even a single moment. The wall of fire was a mere three zhang away—just three zhang—yet every step felt agonizingly difficult.

"Hah!"

Mo Hao shouted deeply, immediately channeling his entire magical power to conjure a protective spiritual barrier directly through his Water Spiritual Vein. However, in the blink of an eye, the barrier was vaporized into steam amidst the towering waves of fire. He then hurriedly reinforced the Ice-Flame Shield with the Deriving Heart Sword Technique, which finally allowed him to catch his breath.

Having already covered one zhang and looking at the remaining two zhang, he knew he could not afford to be impatient or seek instant success. Instead, he had to wait until his magical power recovered to its peak before making the next dash. As long as he pushed through this first layer, the temperatures of the subsequent layers would not be as intense as this one, and thus they would not be to be feared.

Resting for only a short moment until his magical power was restored to its peak, Mo Hao directly used fifty percent of his power to drive the Deriving Heart Sword Technique, reinforcing the Ice-Flame Shield, and charged straight ahead for a distance of two zhang in one go. At this point, the flames seemed even more ferocious than before, causing him to struggle to hold on. He stopped to wipe away the sweat caused by the rolling heat waves, and then, following the same routine, prepared for another dash. Judging by his previous experience, it seemed he would be able to break into the second layer of the Profound Flame Abyss this time.

He was just a hair's breadth away. He wanted to use the Heavenly Origin Earth Sovereign Art to teleport directly across, but the space here felt as if it had been sealed, making it impossible to muster the strength to use it.

"Boom!"

Using the Tearing Ocean Technique, with the Ice-Flame Shield hovering above his head and stepping upon towering flames, Mo Hao rushed directly to the entrance of the second layer in one breath. However, something completely unexpected occurred: there were actually quite a few spiritual beasts guarding this place. Fortunately, their cultivation levels were not very high. Mo Hao glanced at these spiritual beasts born amidst the flames; their cultivation strength was likely around the early Foundation Establishment stage. For such spiritual beasts, Mo Hao would normally be able to slaughter them with ease, but under the current circumstances, this was undoubtedly adding frost to snow.

Now, he could neither advance nor retreat. Fortunately, the material of the Ice-Flame Shield was truly exceptional; otherwise, he would have already melted away within this first layer of the Profound Flame Abyss.

On the other hand, those spiritual beasts naturally spotted the intruder. Faced with the pressure of Mo Hao's late Foundation Establishment peak realm, those spiritual beasts did not show the slightest bit of retreat, slowly walking toward Mo Hao from within the flames.

Drawing his bow and panting heavily, Mo Hao aimed at those spiritual beasts. Striking first gains the advantage, while striking last suffers disaster; he must by no means passively receive the enemy at this moment. Although he could not use the Deriving Heart Sword Technique to reinforce the Extreme Archery Art, fortunately, after just a few arrows, those spiritual beasts were pinned and killed within the towering flames by the Extreme Archery Art. Seeing this, he let out a long sigh of relief.

However, before his joy could last even two breaths, he saw a massive horde of early Foundation Establishment spiritual beasts swarming over from the second layer.

"Good heavens! Why are there so many spiritual beasts?"

Instead of panicking, Mo Hao immediately began to brainstorm a solution on the spot. At this point, his only option was to take out a medium-grade spiritual stone, suspend it in front of his chest to absorb the spiritual energy within, and then steel his resolve. Even if it meant exhausting all his medium-grade spiritual stones today, he would force his way into this second layer of the Profound Flame Abyss.

"Humph!"

Arrow after arrow, he shot and killed these spiritual beasts, but what awaited him in the end was the spiritual beasts swarming over like an army of ants.

Just as he was beginning to run out of strength, Liu Yue's voice suddenly rang out in his mind:

"Use your Divine Imitation Art! Find the source. These are not spiritual beasts, but rather entities transformed from spiritual energy! Infuse the Divine Imitation Art into the Hantong Sword, and then use the Hantong Sword to scatter your divine sense far and wide!"

"You're awake?"

"Nonsense, only temporarily. If you die here, won't I have to die with you? Alright, I'm going back to sleep, make good use of your time!"

After saying these words, Liu Yue fell silent. Fortunately, Liu Yue's reminder came just in time. Mo Hao had no choice but to push himself and infuse the Divine Imitation Art into the Hantong Sword. Thanks to the recovery provided by the medium-grade spiritual stone, he even added a layer of the Deriving Heart Sword Technique onto the Hantong Sword.

The Hantong Sword flew out—its purpose was not to slaughter any of the spiritual beasts transformed from spiritual energy, but rather to control the Hantong Sword as it flew higher and higher. With a shudder of the sword body, the Divine Imitation Art scattered everywhere like falling cherry blossoms.

"Oh!"

Mo Hao opened his eyes and gazed toward a certain spot. At that specific location, he clearly sensed a faint fluctuation of divine soul. Activating his Heavenly Eye supernatural power, he observed that a certain spot was vibrating slightly, continuously spitting out these flame spiritual beasts from within.

"It's you!"

Pulling out the Nightmare Sound Bell of the elderly Xinghuang from his cosmos sack, he aimed the bell's mouth directly at that location. He gathered the magical power at the bell's opening so that the sound emitted by the Nightmare Sound Bell would not disperse, but instead condense into a single thin line. This transparent sonic wave followed the heat waves and struck that exact spot.

Immediately, a wail came echoing through, sounding just like an injured young deer. With his Heavenly Eye supernatural power, Mo Hao clearly saw a furry little beast knocked to the ground by the demonic sound of the Nightmare Sound Bell, wailing endlessly!

"A Fire Qilin! Truly, shoes worn out by iron shoes in a fruitless search, yet found without any effort at all! To actually encounter a Fire Qilin in a place like this!"

Mo Hao instantly recognized that little beast. Although its entire body was furry and shaped like a ball, Mo Hao knew it was an infant Fire Qilin!

By this time, there were no longer any spiritual beasts transformed from spiritual energy blocking Mo Hao's path. With a single stride, Mo Hao easily stepped into the second layer of the Profound Flame Abyss, instantly feeling as though he had stepped into cool water. Finally, it was no longer so scorching hot!

Still maintaining his vigilance, Mo Hao controlled the Nightmare Sound Bell to continuously strike the little beast, while step by step, he walked right up to it.

As luck would have it, after Xu Jian gave the cosmos sack of the Heavenly Star alien race to Mo Hao, the beast pouch containing the Sharp-Soul Worms was also handed over to him. At the time, he was still regretting that Xu Jian had cleaved both the worm and its master in two, but looking at it now, acquiring this cosmos sack was truly no loss.

Mo Hao first refined this beast pouch, then without daring to delay, quickly covered the little beast with the pouch's opening and shouted:

"Store!"

That furry, roly-poly little beast offered no resistance and was simply sucked straight into the cosmos sack by Mo Hao.

Although the temperature in the second layer of the Profound Flame Abyss was still exceptionally high, Mo Hao could endure it, though he was still sweating profusely even with the reliance on the Ice-Flame Shield. Mo Hao then proceeded to charge toward the inner layers.

Mo Hao quickly rushed past the flame wall of the second layer. Upon arriving at the third layer of the Profound Flame Abyss, Mo Hao hurriedly removed the medium-grade spiritual stone from his chest. These medium-grade spiritual stones were exceedingly rare, and he only had a few of them. Furthermore, the moment he stepped into the third layer of the Profound Flame Abyss, he discovered that although the second layer was not as searingly unbearable as the first, the span of this flame wall was a full three zhang longer, and the energy consumption was hardly any less than that of the first layer. As for the third layer, Mo Hao could maintain his forward progress simply by relying on his magical power to slightly activate the Ice-Flame Shield.

However, if he could maintain his balance against such heat purely through the Ice-Flame Shield, then there must definitely be some spiritual beasts surviving here—which was not necessarily a bad thing. Generally, the habitat of any spiritual beast was accompanied by a symbiotic spiritual plant. For instance, during Mo Hao and Feng Xing's previous trip to the Grudge Beast Mountain, the type of grudge beast they encountered possessed a symbiotic spiritual plant: the Awakening Spirit Flower!

Realizing this after arriving at the third layer, Mo Hao did not rush directly toward the fourth layer of the Profound Flame Abyss. Instead, he circled along the inner side of this flame wall to search for the traces of spiritual beasts. He was quite patient; although his search yielded no results after half an hour, he continued doggedly to look for the traces of spiritual beasts. He believed that it was impossible for this place to be completely devoid of life—even the second layer had ancient wonders like the Fire Qilin, so this place could not possibly have nothing.

As he pondered, the space ahead clearly transmitted a trace of difference in temperature. Mo Hao narrowed his eyes. If an ordinary mortal were to come here, they would only feel a searing, unbearable heat, but he was able to detect this minute change. He took out the Blood Star Disc in his hand to scan the surroundings for any spiritual beasts, but the Blood Star Disc flashed twice and then lapsed into a dim, lifeless state, seemingly losing its utility once they reached this place. Mo Hao felt somewhat helpless; this item had been overwhelmingly effective when used outside the Profound Flame Abyss, so why did it lose its effect the moment he arrived here?

Putting away the Blood Star Disc, he simultaneously used the Turtle Breathing Art to lower his aura and pressure to the absolute minimum. After just a short moment, Mo Hao felt the surrounding atmosphere become increasingly scorching hot. This sudden development made Mo Hao even more cautious.

After walking for another ten breaths of time, he saw right ahead a creature measuring eight chi in length, resembling a ferocious tiger in both shape and appearance, yet completely wreathed in blazing flames—just like a fiery tiger. Mo Hao saw it clearly; it was precisely a Scarlet Flame Tiger.

Mo Hao could not help but feel a sense of gratitude toward Meng Xin. Although the most dangerous things within the Misty Fog Secret Realm were merely other cultivators, the spiritual beasts in these perilous areas were also not to be underestimated. Senior Sister Meng Xin had truly been diligent and responsible, informing Mo Hao of all the spiritual beasts, spiritual flowers, spiritual grasses, and perilous zones within the Misty Fog Secret Realm, and Mo Hao naturally memorized every single one of them.

Upon seeing this Scarlet Flame Tiger spiritual beast, Mo Hao grew excited. It was not because this fierce beast was particularly easy to deal with, but rather because whenever such a spiritual beast was discovered, its symbiotic flower—the Luo Ping Flower—must exist within a radius of half a li!

Speaking of the Luo Ping Flower, it was the primary medicinal ingredient for refining the Ningyang Pill, and for this current mission, it would undoubtedly be of immense value.

As for the Ningyang Pill, it was a type of medicinal pill that offered considerable enhancement even for Foundation Establishment cultivators, directly and defying the heavens to boost a massive amount of magical power for a cultivator. As for the supplementary ingredients of the Ningyang Pill, according to what Meng Xin had said, they were all located right here within the Misty Fog Secret Realm! Mo Hao instantly figured out where his subsequent destinations would be!

However, that was just a thought for the future. To refine this pill, he first had to deal with this Scarlet Flame Tiger; otherwise, it would definitely hunt down intruders everywhere to protect its symbiotic spiritual plant.

Observing the tiger's pressure, its cultivation strength was at the first tier of the late Foundation Establishment stage. However, Mo Hao was not foolish enough to charge straight up to slay it simply based on his own cultivation peak of the late realm.

This was not the outside world where the spiritual Qi of the Five Elements heaven and earth was abundant. It was thanks to possessing the Water Spiritual Vein that he could recover his magical power here; otherwise, even having hundreds of medium-grade spiritual stones would not be enough for him to squander. Yet the environment here was rather unfavorable for combat, while for this Scarlet Flame Tiger, which had grown up since childhood in the fiery world of the Profound Flame Abyss, it was truly like a fish in water. With the advantages and disadvantages thus shifted, Mo Hao did not believe he was all that much stronger than a first-tier late Foundation Establishment Scarlet Flame Tiger.

To play it safe, he first hid to the side and probed the true strength of the Scarlet Flame Tiger with the Divine Imitation Art. Hopefully, it wasn't another demonic beast transformed from spiritual energy. If it were a beast transformed from spiritual energy, Mo Hao would turn around and leave without a second word; any entity capable of manifesting a late Foundation Establishment Scarlet Flame Tiger through spiritual energy must have a source that was certainly no pushover.

Fortunately, after casting the Divine Imitation Art outward, Mo Hao clearly sensed the divine soul fluctuations of that Scarlet Flame Tiger, and he instantly felt relieved. He did not want to suffer the same loss he had with the Fire Qilin again!

Once he confirmed that the Scarlet Flame Tiger was not transformed from spiritual energy, Mo Hao quietly took out the Extreme Bow, preparing to use the Extreme Archery Art to launch a sneak attack on the beast. Since the Scarlet Flame Tiger was currently fast asleep, he certainly did not want to miss such a golden opportunity.

Pulling the bowstring with one hand and gripping the bow body with the other, he pulled the Extreme Bow straight to its limit.

"Whoosh!"

An arrow of light shot straight toward the sleeping Scarlet Flame Tiger. At the very instant Mo Hao's face broke into a smile, that smile froze right there on his spot as if prohibited by space and time: an invisible transparent protective barrier had unexpectedly materialized in front of the Scarlet Flame Tiger, directly blocking this most powerful arrow. That ray of light arrow scattered in all directions like fireworks, while looking at the barrier itself, it suffered not a single bit of damage, not even leaving a scratch.

The Scarlet Flame Tiger woke up dazedly from its sleep, seemingly harboring a bit of dissatisfaction at being disturbed. Its tiger roar shook the heavens, and from behind the Scarlet Flame Tiger, an even more unusually massive Scarlet Flame Tiger walked out, its forehead actually bearing traces of white flames. At the very moment that massive Scarlet Flame Tiger walked out, Mo Hao also caught sight of the symbiotic spiritual plant—the Luo Ping Flower—located less than ten zhang away from the Scarlet Flame Tiger.

After that massive Scarlet Flame Tiger walked out, it looked down at the little Scarlet Flame Tiger, gently stroking its head with its front paw. Only then did the infant Scarlet Flame Tiger quiet down.

Seeing that the little Scarlet Flame Tiger had quieted, the white-flamed Scarlet Flame Tiger raised its head and scanned its surroundings vigilantly. With just a single glance, its eyes locked directly onto Mo Hao's hiding spot, and it immediately unleashed wave after wave of furious tiger roars toward this direction.

Mo Hao let out a cry of bad luck. With a single look, he knew this was a half-step Foundation Establishment peak spiritual beast—one whose foot might already have crossed into the Foundation Establishment stage.

Right at that moment, the white-flamed Scarlet Flame Tiger had already shattered its protective barrier and charged straight toward him.