“Don’t worry, I, Long Chen, never disappoint my opponents.”

Seeing Qu Dajiang charging at him, Long Chen bent his knees and spread his feet ever so slightly. Like an arrow shooting out of a bow, he sprang forward.

BOOM!

The sea of lava exploded. Flames runes turned into bright lights that shot into the distance.

Dan Yanxue, Kan Dongze, and Jiang Zijun all coughed up blood from the shockwave despite defending all-out.

They didn’t have any ability to resist in front of that power. They were filled with shock.

“This is the difference between alchemists and flame cultivators?” Kan Dongze was envious.

“Don’t let your Dao-heart be rattled. The Pill Dao is the correct choice,” warned Dan Yanxue coldly.

Clearly, Kan Dongze had been amazed by Qu Dajiang’s immense power and wished he could possess such power too. His confidence had been rattled.

After all, he was a man, and he also wanted power. But alchemists required a calm heart.

If they switched professions to become a flame cultivator, that great power would make their hearts violent and warlike, and it would be very difficult for them to focus on alchemy. That was why the paths of flame cultivators and alchemists were conflicting.

When alchemists switched to become flame cultivators, their alchemy path came to an end. And as more time passed, their alchemy skill would regress. In the end, they wouldn’t even be able to refine pills.

That was why it was commonly accepted that dual martial-pill cultivation was a dead-end. Within Pill Valley, alchemists possessed grand statuses, while no matter how strong the flame cultivators were, they would be nothing more than fighters.

Furthermore, based on Pill Valley’s ideology, alchemists had a path that could lead to ascension, but flame cultivators essentially had no chance of that.

That was why in Pill Valley, alchemy was the correct path, while flame cultivators were all alchemists who had reached the end of their path and had had no choice but to switch.

At this time, Kan Dongze was envious of Qu Dajiang’s combat power, so Dan Yanxue gave Kan Dongze a reminder to avoid him giving up his alchemy due to his lust for power.

Long Chen and Qu Dajiang were fighting intensely. Wind and flames raged. Each collision of their fists caused space to wildly distort.

“Not bad. You have the qualifications to fight against rank nine Celestials…” bragged Qu Dajiang in the middle of their fighting.

At that moment where he split his attention to speak, a hand came from an incomprehensible angle and slapped across his face.

“What did you say?” asked Long Chen.

Although Long Chen’s slap had come from a crafty angle, it wasn’t very powerful and was not a killing blow. But despite that, Qu Dajiang felt a stinging pain on his face.

Compared to the pain on his face, the pain in his mind was much greater.

“Die!”

Qu Dajiang’s eyes turned scarlet and his hair stood on end. Like an enraged lion, he crazily attacked.

“Demolition Fist!”

Two transparent fist-images shot out of Qu Dajiang’s fists, smashing into Long Chen.

These fist-images possessed explosive power, and they shot out without any warning. Long Chen was immediately struck and coughed up blood.

As for Qu Dajiang, he also coughed up blood. That was because while he had attacked Long Chen, Long Chen had also landed a vicious kick to his lower abdomen.

Neither side had an advantage. Wiping off the blood from their mouths, they once more shot at each other.

Qu Dajiang formed hand seals, and a flame giant condensed behind him. “Spirit Merging Art!”

The flame giant was suddenly absorbed by Qu Dajiang, and flame runes appeared in his eyes. A terrifying pressure immediately descended.

“He’s actually able to use the Spirit Merging Art so quickly! How is that possible?!” Jiang Zijun was shocked.

Although he was an alchemist, he knew what the Spirit Merging Art was. In fact, the majority of alchemists knew it.

Alchemists didn’t necessarily lack combat power. They could raise their own Earth Flame Spirit Beasts. Even without personally fighting, their Earth Flame Spirit Beasts could dominate their opponents.

The main reason Jiang Zijun and the others wanted the Heaven Incinerating Flame was to nurture a terrifying Earth Flame Spirit Beast as a housepet. Whether it was for showing off or actual combat, it had countless uses.

However, alchemists had special constitutions, and so they were unable to merge with their Earth Flame Spirit Beasts. Only flame cultivators could do so. But even for them, merging with an Earth Flame Spirit Beast should take at least several breaths’ time. The greater the connection between the user and the Earth Flame Spirit Beast, the shorter the merging time.

Merging with an Earth Flame Spirit Beast would allow the flame cultivator to unleash several times their previous power.

“One punch! With one punch, I will kill you!”

Qu Dajiang seemed to have reached the border of insanity after being slapped by Long Chen. When his fist slammed toward Long Chen, a whirlwind of flames followed.

“That’s a grand ambition, but you’ll never achieve it in your lifetime.” Long Chen snorted and also sent forth a punch. In that instant, green scales covered his entire body.

BOOM!

Qu Dajiang’s expression changed. He felt like he had been struck by a meteorite, and he was blown back.

“This is your punch that will kill me in one blow?” sneered Long Chen. He felt carefree inside. After advancing to the Jade Core realm and condensing the embryonic form of the Divine Gate Star, everything had changed. He no longer had to fight so sullenly. The feeling of being able to unleash his full power was addicting.

“Taste my one-shot kill as well!” Long Chen took seven steps, crossing thousands of meters with each step to appear beside Qu Dajiang. He sent out a single punch.

His 108,000 stars revolved. A starry image appeared on each of his scales.

Space exploded. His fist didn’t even touch Qu Dajiang. The explosion smashed Qu Dajiang into the lava below, his bones broken.

Lava surged out in every direction from the impact. Dan Yanxue, Kan Dongze, and Jiang Zijun’s expressions changed. They had never expected that the incredibly powerful Qu Dajiang would be unable to receive a single blow from Long Chen. This was their first time experiencing how terrifying Long Chen was.

“Heaven Rending Divine Slash!”

Suddenly, a furious roar rang out from the lava. The sea tore apart as a huge flame blade slashed toward Long Chen.

Long Chen’s heart shook. This flame blade was an incredibly powerful magical art. It had absorbed the energy within the sea of lava, and it possessed the power to kill him.

A saber appeared in Long Chen’s hand. The saber pointed towards the sky, and a huge saber-image pierced the clouds. It was like heaven and earth could not endure its existence.

A fierce will was present within the saber-image, one that would make even the gods run. Dan Yanxue, Kan Dongze, and Jiang Zijun felt like they were lambs for the slaughter in front of this blade. They couldn’t even form an urge to resist.

The will within the saber-image wasn’t one that aimed to kill humans, but one that intended to shatter the heavens. This was a saber at the peak of the heavens, at the peak of the earth, at the peak of all gods and devils.

“Split the Heavens 5!” Long Chen’s saber slashed down mercilessly.

BOOM!

The huge saber-image crashed against the flame blade. The flame blade was instantly blown apart, and without pausing, the saber-image continued down.

Qu Dajiang coughed up blood when his flame blade was destroyed. It had contained part of his soul and had been condensed with the energy of his Earth Flame Spirit Beast. Its destruction injured him.

“Not good!” Qu Dajiang was pale. This saber gave him a feeling of absolute death. He felt like not even a hundred lives would be enough to stop it.

“Sea of flames, form of the heavens… condense!”

The nine flowers behind Qu Dajiang shook. Chanting filled the air as he activated the Nirvana Scripture. Furthermore, this was the second volume.

The sea of lava seemed to obey Qu Dajiang’s orders and rapidly gathered in front of him, forming a barrier. At the same time, flame runes formed layers of barriers on top of the lava.

“Good reaction! His defensive power is something not even Life Star experts can break!” Jiang Zijun was impressed by Qu Dajiang’s quick reactions in the face of danger.

Even Dan Yanxue and Kan Dongze had to nod inside as well. Flame cultivators were the true warriors. Just this rapid reaction speed wasn’t something alchemists like them could compare to.

The saber-image crashed into Qu Dajiang’s defenses. Dan Yanxue, Kan Dongze, and Jiang Zijun could only stare dumbfoundedly as this defense, which not even Life Star experts would necessarily be able to break, was easily pierced as if it was tofu in front of the saber-image.

The sea of lava split in two. A huge gorge appeared at the bottom.

Suddenly, the lava in the air exploded, and a figure flew out.

“It’s Qu Dajiang! He’s not dead!” Dan Yanxue, Kan Dongze, and Jiang Zijun let out startled cries. At this time, Qu Dajiang was covered in blood, and his aura was falling. Although he wasn’t dead, he was clearly heavily injured.

As for Long Chen’s saber, despite being a King item, it shattered after he used the fifth form of Split the Heavens. Long Chen let go of it, and its hilt turned to dust before it could reach the ground.