After the pillar of light flickered and vanished in the void, the dozen or so fire lions that had been fleeing suddenly had crystalline light flash across their bodies, and one by one they transformed into massive blocks of ice.
A cold look flickered across the white-robed young man's face. The cicada wings behind his back shuddered, and he instantly became a phantom that materialized before one of the ice blocks, raising his hand to deliver a casual, almost negligent tap.
With a crack, a shocking sight appeared!
The fire lion inside the ice block shuddered violently, then shattered inch by inch, dissolving into a mist of blood.
Only a ball of red light — the transformation of its spiritual soul — darted frantically back and forth within the blood mist, yet it was unable to break free from the ice block.
Only then did the white-robed young man open his mouth once more, unhurriedly, and a beam of white radiance shot out, plunging directly into the ice block.
The radiant light swirled, sweeping up both the blood mist and the fire lion's spiritual soul together, and with a gulp, they were swallowed straight into his belly.
The white-robed young man's figure then flickered repeatedly as he used the same method to devour the flesh, blood, and spiritual souls of several more fire lions in succession. Only after that did a look of satisfaction cross his face, and he turned his head to address the silver-robed woman in the distance.
"Daoist Ice Phoenix, the taste of these blood offerings is rather delicious. Why not come and try a few yourself?"
The silver-robed woman in the distance was none other than the Ice Phoenix, who had left the human race many years ago.
But her aura was several times more powerful than before, seemingly only a single step away from the Body Integration stage.
"I never consume blood offerings. Fellow Daoist Six Wings, please help yourself," Ice Phoenix replied expressionlessly.
"What a pity. The flesh and blood of these ancient beasts contain a great deal of scorching solar power. After devouring them, the yang energy can complement our ice-attribute true essence through yin-yang interplay, and the refined power will be of no small benefit." The white-robed young man chuckled.
With that, he teleported around continuously, reducing all the remaining fire lions to blood mist and devouring them in the blink of an eye, before appearing right beside the Ice Phoenix with another teleportation.
"Fellow Daoist Ice Phoenix, let us continue on our way. I've heard that the nearest Yu clan has ties with some great clan on the Thunder Continent, and they've surely set up a cross-continental super teleportation array. We can make use of it!" The white-robed young man said something that gave Ice Phoenix a slight start.
"Fellow Daoist Six Wings, do you really intend to go to the Thunder Continent?" Ice Phoenix's expression shifted several times before she spoke gravely. "Need you even ask? If I hadn't learned not long ago from other alien races that my former master has also advanced to the Mahayana stage, I might well have returned to the human race first. But as things stand now, I absolutely must go to the Thunder Continent. With my current abilities, I have no confidence in suppressing my former master." The white-robed young man let out a cold laugh, and at the same time the gold and silver patterns on his face twisted momentarily, giving his expression a fifty or sixty percent resemblance to Han Li's.
"If I'm not mistaken, Brother Han never treated you poorly. If anything, were it not for the spirit medicines he repeatedly gave you, you would never have awakened spiritual intelligence, much less reached the step you're at today!" Ice Phoenix was silent for a moment before speaking with an odd look on her face.
"My reason for wanting to kill Han Li has absolutely nothing to do with how he treated me in the past. Back then, he used a blood sacrifice technique to plant a master-servant brand in my spiritual soul. Although I've used a secret art to erase most of its effect, as long as he lives, I am still bound by it to some degree. Heh heh. Now that I've awakened spiritual intelligence and cultivated a human body, I am destined to walk the ultimate path of the Great Dao. How could I leave such a weakness in another's hands? I am going to the Thunder Continent, and that is final." The white-robed young man said coldly.
"Even so, do you really believe you'll find what you're looking for on the Thunder Continent? That thing is nothing more than a rumor. The chances of you finding it, I'd say, are less than one in ten thousand!" Ice Phoenix narrowed her eyes and said slowly.
"That's none of your concern. Since I've already decided to go there, I naturally have a certain degree of certainty before doing so. And the Suyin Clan on the Thunder Continent is indeed something few people have ever laid eyes on. Rumor has it that this clan can directly commune with the Yin Star of the Dark Constellation and refine Suyin Star Qi. Heh heh. All I need to do is absorb this star qi using the Inverse Spirit Grand Art, and I'll be able to cultivate a True Spirit body directly, standing shoulder to shoulder with other powerful True Spirits. Once that's done, killing Han Li, my former master, will be as easy as flipping my hand." The white-robed young man replied dismissively without the slightest concern.
Upon hearing this, Ice Phoenix's expression turned a shade grimmer.
"Even if you intend to trouble Brother Han, or wish to travel to the Thunder Continent, why must you insist on bringing me along? If you truly wanted to kill me, you could have done so long ago." Ice Phoenix stared at the white-robed young man with her beautiful eyes, and after a long moment, spoke through gritted teeth.
"Kill you? Why would I do something like that? Spirits born of the world's utmost yin who cultivate human forms are already exceedingly rare to begin with. And you and I, one female and one male — we are a perfect pair ordained by the very workings of heaven and earth. Once I've slain that brat Han Li, you'll obediently become my dual cultivation companion." The white-robed young man threw his head back and laughed wildly, making this brazen declaration.
"Surely as a Grand Ascension-stage ancestor, you don't find it beneath your dignity to force another into being a dual cultivation partner?" Ice Phoenix's face went pale as she spoke.
"Hmph. Precisely because I am already a Grand Ascension-stage existence, a companion like Daoist Ice Phoenix — one who shares the same elemental affinity and possesses potential no less than my own — is extraordinarily difficult to come by. That is precisely why I have no intention of letting you go. As for dignity or whatnot — what use are such things in my eyes?" The white-robed young man said with undisguised contempt.
Hearing these words, a flash of extreme mortification and anger passed through Ice Phoenix's eyes. However, knowing full well that she was no match for him at all, and that there was absolutely no chance of escape before his eyes, she simply clamped her mouth shut and said nothing more.
The white-robed young man, for his part, had no desire to say anything further. He flicked his great sleeve with a sharp motion, and immediately a phantom projection of a snow-white, six-winged centipede materialized above his head. It then pounced downward in a sudden swoop, enveloping both of them within its form. The six wings beat once, and the figure transformed into a streak of crystalline light that shot off at blinding speed.
After only a few flickers, it had vanished beyond the far horizon.