Chapter 29: Fire Snake

Facing Zuo Qingcang’s attack, the Old Man let out a light laugh. Ignoring the attack, he threw a palm strike straight toward Zuo Qingcang.

Just as the palm shot out, an extremely dry smell, along with something like a burning odor, hit him. A faint red glow appeared on that palm. Its temperature had reached an unprecedented high.

Seeing this, Zuo Qingcang’s eyes flashed. With a swift bridge-like bend, he dodged backward.

‘An unknown high-temperature Dao Arts attack.’

‘Too close. Continuing my attack would mean taking the hit first.’

‘He absorbs Spiritual Power faster than expected…’

A series of thoughts raced through his mind. Zuo Qingcang’s body temporarily gave up on its initial attack and instinctively dodged the palm strike. Just when Zuo Qingcang thought he had avoided it, a violent heat slammed right into his chest.

‘Did the high temperature distort the air visually…? Can’t judge distance by sight alone anymore.’

Seeing his palm strike land, the Old Man sneered. Spiritual Power surged from his Life Grove, causing the temperature of his palm to rise even higher.

His power alone, unless aimed at Zuo Qingcang’s head or groin, wasn’t enough to threaten Zuo Qingcang who had mastered the Innate Primordial Breath. But the intense heat from his palm could cause serious burns.

However, just as the heat in the Old Man’s palm climbed again, flames suddenly burst out on Zuo Qingcang’s body. In the blink of an eye, Zuo Qingcang’s whole body turned into a torch.

“Something’s wrong!”

But when faced with this situation, a glint of surprise flashed in the Old Man’s eyes. His earlier Fire Cloud Palm definitely couldn’t have caused that effect. After all, he only meant to subdue Zuo Qingcang, not kill him.

As he suspected, the ‘Zuo Qingcang’ that had turned into a ball of flame lunged wildly at the Old Man. The raging flames, like a fiery dragon, engulfed the Old Man’s body, trying to burn him to ashes.

Meanwhile, the real Zuo Qingcang leaped out from the flames as they surged forward. He rolled on the ground to extinguish the small sparks on himself.

It turned out that Zuo Qingcang’s robe had suddenly caught fire, and he had thrown it like a fireball at the Old Man.

But the Old Man, hit by the robe fireball, seemed unfazed. He didn’t move. The flames around him flowed like water, swirling into vortexes that rushed toward the palm of his hand.

The robe turned to ashes scattering in the air, but the Old Man stood like a demon among flames. Embers still glimmered on his chest, back, and hair. He appeared completely unharmed.

Not only that, but the wound on his back was also healed and sterilized by the intense heat.

“Did you coat your robe with Ignition Powder? No wonder it caught fire instantly.” He stared coldly at Zuo Qingcang. “There shouldn’t be any Dao Arts materials left in the Ancient Tomb. Where did you get it?”

Zuo Qingcang naturally wouldn’t foolishly tell him he found it on a Taoist Priest’s corpse from the shipwreck.

In fact, the Ignition Powder was the yellow powder from the small yellow bottle among the five bottles on the Taoist Priest’s body. This powder was a material used as a combustion aid for fire Dao Arts. That’s why the Fire Cloud Palm earlier triggered such a huge flame effect, allowing Zuo Qingcang to ambush the Old Man.

But what he didn’t expect was…

‘Even this kind of fire can be absorbed instantly…?’ With his robe burned away, Zuo Qingcang, now shirtless, tightened his grip on his Dagger. ‘Has he been hiding his true strength all along since we met?’

As if sensing Zuo Qingcang’s doubt, or perhaps to subdue him without further fighting, the Old Man sneered. “This body’s aptitude is poor, but fortunately it has a Life Grove called ‘Flame Cave’. If he were using it himself, with only the power of the Leakless Realm, he couldn’t possibly be as strong as I am now.”

“But with my Mental Force, it’s different. The stronger the Mental Force, the faster I absorb Spiritual Power, and the larger the scale at which I can wield it.” The Old Man opened his mouth, and streams of yellow powder spewed out like fog.

Seeing Zuo Qingcang’s pupils contract, the Old Man laughed. “Yes, I have Ignition Powder too.”

“Did you really think the Sacrificial Chamber of the grand Lord of the South Saint Sect’s tomb would have no Dao Arts materials at all? They were simply taken by me before you searched.”

“No matter how well-prepared you are, I will always be better prepared.”

The next moment, a spark appeared in the Old Man’s mouth. Like a tiny ember, it instantly spread through the Ignition Powder in the air. Guided by his Mental Force, the powder moved rapidly. Combined with the blazing flames, it looked like a fiery dragon swirling around him.

Martial Artists use the Innate Primordial Breath to exert power, and blood to transport nutrients and Spiritual Power. They use these means to adjust their bodies internally.

Taoist Priests use Spiritual Power as the fuel and Mental Force as the catalyst to create physical phenomena outside their bodies.

Mental Force, a power—or field, or wave—released by the human brain through intense, focused meditation, is a very weak force. It can usually only move very light substances. But when used as a catalyst or medium, combined with Spiritual Power and Dao Arts materials, it can unleash formidable power.

The fire dragon in the air, with heat intense enough to char a person instantly, surged fiercely toward Zuo Qingcang. Though its speed was incredibly fast, Zuo Qingcang, relying on his superhuman explosive power, managed to dodge it easily and charged toward the Old Man.

But just as he evaded the fire dragon, a loud boom echoed in the air. The fire dragon split into more than a dozen smaller snakes, encircling Zuo Qingcang from all directions. Though individually slower than Zuo Qingcang, their sheer numbers and ability to maneuver freely in the air left Zuo Qingcang temporarily unable to break through.

Watching Zuo Qingcang struggle and dodge awkwardly under the fire snakes he controlled, the Old Man laughed heartily.

“Zuo Qingcang, this old man’s body is merely under my control. Even if you kill him, you won’t kill me.”

“Besides, with your meager Qi Training stage Martial Arts, you’re no match for me.”

Yet even as the fire snakes repeatedly grazed Zuo Qingcang’s body in the air—with his shoulders and back already showing various degrees of burns—Zuo Qingcang’s face remained as calm as if by instinct.