The moment Shi Feng saw the burning flames, his expression grew solemn. This wasn't the first time he had encountered Soul Fire. It was a flame capable of inflicting massive damage on players, and anyone killed by it faced penalties far more severe than a normal death—even worse than absorbing an Immortal Soul. For players, it was one of the most dangerous flames to encounter.
As the crystal ball disintegrated into nothingness, the silver-white flames instantly coalesced into a panther over two meters tall. Its entire body burned with a silver-white glow, and white mist rose wherever its paws touched the ground. The ground itself turned to bubbling magma, a sight that sent chills through one’s heart and urged them to flee.
But fleeing was not an option for Shi Feng. Setting aside the suppression of the quadruple magic arrays, this monster itself was extraordinary—a Tier 4, Level 200 Legendary Monster. In front of such a creature, any current player would be instantly killed. Even Shi Feng from his previous life would have had no choice but to run for his life.
Fortunately, the panther formed from Soul Fire wasn’t paying attention to him. Its dark eyes were locked on Xia Lian, who sat high on her book-chair. Then it turned into a streak of silver light and lunged directly at her.
Its speed was so fast that even Shi Feng couldn’t react before it had already arrived before Xia Lian.
«You feisty little kitten,» Xia Lian said, watching the silver panther pounce. To her, it looked like an adorable little animal. She sidestepped to the left, reached out with her fair hand, and grabbed the silver panther by the scruff of its neck.
Then something incredible happened.
The panther, originally over two meters tall, shrank at a speed visible to the naked eye until it was only the size of a small kitten. No matter how it struggled, it couldn’t escape Xia Lian’s control, only able to bare its fangs and cry out.
Next, Xia Lian produced a crimson crystal ball and softly chanted a spell. The silver panther turned into a silver glow and was absorbed into the crystal ball. Inside, no matter how it struggled, it couldn’t break free from the crimson crystal ball’s containment.
From a distance, Shi Feng watched in awe. A mere Level 200 Tier 4 Legendary Monster had been handled so effortlessly by Xia Lian. Her strength didn’t seem like that of a Tier 5 Cardinal; even a Tier 6 God wouldn’t be much different.
«You’re here,» Xia Lian said after dealing with the silver panther. Her golden eyes slowly shifted to Shi Feng, and she gave a slight smile. «It’s been a while, and you’ve gotten yourself into quite a bit of trouble. You haven’t dealt with the Fire Lord yet, and now you’ve been cursed. I can’t tell if you’re blessed by the Goddess of Fate or cursed by the Goddess of Misfortune.»
«Cursed?» Shi Feng was slightly startled. He then looked over his entire body and even checked the system status carefully, but he couldn’t find anything abnormal.
«There’s no need to search. Mortals cannot perceive it,» Xia Lian said softly, shaking her head. She walked slowly up to Shi Feng and extended her fair, flawless fingers, tracing a series of divine runes in the air before him.
The golden, majestic runes wrapped around Shi Feng like silk ribbons. As more runes appeared, the magical fluctuations around him began to weaken. In just a short while, the area around Shi Feng had become an absolute mana-dead zone, without a trace of magic.