chsdbacks Chapter 249 Chen Duo's Outburst
Chapter 249 Chen Duo's Outburst
For a moment, a stalemate ensued! Blinding light, terrifying energy turbulence, and the soul-piercing aura of energy annihilation filled the central area of the cave, completely engulfing the figures of Nie Lingfeng, Chen Duo, and the ultimate monster!
"Impossible... How could a mere... mortal... possibly... possess... such... power..." For the first time, the ultimate monster's overlapping voice carried obvious shock, anger, and disbelief! It felt that the torrent of primal pollution it spewed out, enough to corrode a small mountain, had actually been blocked by that insignificant human with an unprecedented, more advanced power! It was even being purified in reverse! This was beyond its comprehension, and it also felt a trace of... long-lost fear?
No! It won't allow it! It is the ultimate being born from this polluted altar, an aggregate of countless resentments and evil! It wants to devour, to evolve, to completely corrupt this land, and to replace the former "Guardian"! How can it be stopped by two ant-like humans who suddenly intrude?
"roar--!!!"
The monster roared even more frantically and hysterically! Its massive body began to relentlessly squeeze out all the remaining polluted energy within it, even burning the countless imprisoned and twisted vengeful spirits and remnants of souls that constituted its body! A more concentrated, darker, and seemingly light-devouring foul energy surged from its body, pouring into the torrent in front of it, attempting to crush and devour that damned fiery furnace in one fell swoop!
The pressure instantly multiplied! The stalemate that had just formed began to break! The furnace began to creak under the strain, more cracks appeared in the furnace walls (dark gold power), and the furnace fire (crimson gold flames) began to flicker and dim! Nie Lingfeng trembled violently, coughing up blood, but his eyes remained frantic and determined as he desperately maintained the furnace's form and output, refusing to retreat an inch! He knew that once the furnace shattered, he and Chen Duo would be instantly swallowed by this terrifying torrent of filth, many times more powerful than before, with no chance of survival!
"Nie... Lingfeng..." Chen Duo, standing behind him, saw Nie Lingfeng cough up blood. Her face instantly drained of all color, and her emerald eyes filled with terror and heartache. She could feel the near-exhaustion of strength emanating from Nie Lingfeng, and she could sense the impending collapse of the furnace ahead. An unprecedented surge of emotion, a mixture of extreme fear, worry for Nie Lingfeng's safety, and a desperate, deep-seated indomitable spirit and rage, erupted within her like a volcano!
No! We can't let him die! We can't let him die protecting me! Her "fire"! Her power! We have to do something! We must do something!
At this critical moment, when the furnace was about to completely collapse and Nie Lingfeng was on the verge of collapse—
Within Chen Duo's body, the core of the Phoenix True Fire, which had been burning weakly and protected by Nie Lingfeng, seemed to sense its master's strong will to protect and the ultimate, filthy evil before it. Suddenly, it erupted with a golden flame that far surpassed her current realm, pure to the extreme, blazing to the extreme, and filled with an indomitable will like that of Nirvana rebirth!
This flame is no longer merely about warmth and purification; it carries an almost violent aggressiveness, burning away all obstacles and destroying all evil, solely to protect what is most important in one's heart!
"ah--!!!"
Chen Duo let out a clear yet mournful phoenix cry that was unlike any human voice! She suddenly rushed out from behind Nie Lingfeng, her small body standing between Nie Lingfeng and the collapsing furnace! She spread her arms, as if to use her frail body to stop the destructive torrent!
No! She wasn't trying to stop them! She was pouring the violent, pure golden flames erupting from within her, along with all her will and life force, without reservation, into the collapsing furnace of flames before her! She was pouring it into the new power system that Nie Lingfeng was maintaining, a system that had fused the blood of the Qilin and the Phoenix!
"boom--!!!"
It was as if the finest fuel and oxygen had been added to a campfire that was about to go out!
Empowered by Chen Duo's almost sacrificial, pure and violent Phoenix True Fire, the "Purifying Furnace," on the verge of collapse, suddenly erupted with unprecedented light and power! The cracks in the furnace walls were instantly repaired and reinforced, even becoming thicker and more majestic! The crimson flames inside the furnace surged dramatically, their color shifting from crimson to a deeper, more sacred dark crimson, seemingly imbued with the power of nirvana! The entire furnace also expanded dramatically!
The power of purification and incineration increased by several orders of magnitude in an instant!
"Hiss hiss hiss hiss hiss hiss hiss—!!!"
The filthy torrent, which was about to overwhelm the furnace and was being frantically pushed forward by the monsters, encountered its ultimate nemesis in the face of this suddenly erupting, new fusion flame. It let out an even more piercing scream, as if billions of insects were being instantly incinerated! The torrent was being devoured and purified by the furnace at a speed visible to the naked eye! And the speed was getting faster and faster!
"No—!!!" The ultimate monster roared in despair and madness! It sensed the threat of death! The flames could not only purify its energy, but also scorch its indestructible soul essence composed of countless resentments! It wanted to withdraw its attack, to escape, but it was too late! The expanded "Purification Furnace" seemed to possess its own life and will, and suddenly charged forward, swallowing most of the monster's body, along with the source of the spewing torrent of filth, into the furnace!
"Aaaaaaahh ...
A more piercing, more desperate scream erupted from the furnace! The monster's massive, twisted body struggled, contorted, burned, and purified madly within the new "Purification Furnace," infused with Chen Duo's violent true fire! Dark red scales peeled away, rotting tumors burst open, its wailing "mouth" was burned away, and the vengeful spirits that made up its body, as if encountering the light of salvation, let out a final, liberating whimper in the flames before vanishing completely…
It only took a dozen seconds.
The screams gradually weakened and eventually disappeared.
The expanding "Purifying Furnace," burning with dark gold and crimson flames, slowly stopped rotating, and its light gradually receded and dissipated.
When the last flame died down and the furnace's phantom vanished completely, all that remained was an even larger, blacker, and bottomless crater, and a faint, lingering scent in the air—a mixture of burnt and strangely fresh aromas, like that of a forest after a storm. The ultimate monster, the terrifying entity that embodied all the corruption and resentment of the altar, had been utterly reduced to ashes, leaving not even a trace.
Also vanished were the enormous, nauseating pool of blood in the center of the cave, and the remaining filthy blood vessels connecting the corpse puppets on the ground. It was as if, with the annihilation of the ultimate monster, the main source of pollution for this altar had been uprooted and completely purified.
The cave fell into a deathly silence.
The only sounds were the occasional dripping of water from the cave ceiling and the faint sounds of fighting that seemed to have subsided coming from the northern passage in the distance.
Nie Lingfeng knelt on one knee, panting heavily. His face was deathly pale, and blood stained his lips and chest. His clothes were torn in several places by the energy impact, revealing skin covered in burns and bloodstains. That attack had almost drained all his strength, even depleting his very essence. Yet, his eyes held a hint of relief at surviving, and... an indescribable, complex light. He slowly turned his head to look behind him.
Chen Duo sat limply on the ground, her face even paler than Nie Lingfeng's, almost translucent. Her once bright emerald eyes were now dull and lifeless, filled with extreme exhaustion and weakness. Her small body trembled slightly, as if she might faint at any moment. That burst of energy had almost exhausted all her true fire and life force. But when she saw Nie Lingfeng looking over, she still tried to force a smile, but she was too weak to even do this simple action. She could only mouth the words, silently, "It's... okay..."
Then, she closed her eyes, her body went limp, and she was about to fall backward.
"Duoduo!" Nie Lingfeng cried out in alarm. Ignoring his own weakness and pain, he mustered his strength and lunged forward, catching her tightly in his arms before she collapsed. He could feel that Chen Duo's breath was extremely weak, and the Phoenix True Fire within her body had almost completely extinguished. Only a faint, warm spark, seemingly on the verge of being extinguished at any moment, stubbornly beat within her heart.
It was that near-sacrifice-like outburst just now that damaged her very essence! It was far more serious than the overexertion she suffered in the "Namu Cave"!
Immediate treatment is necessary! Otherwise...
Nie Lingfeng felt as if his heart was being torn apart. He hurriedly rummaged through his backpack and pulled out the few doses of health-strengthening powder that Azan Ki had given him. He didn't even care about the dosage and poured it all out, intending to feed it to Chen Duo. But Chen Duo had already fallen into a coma, her teeth clenched, and he couldn't get it in at all.
"Damn it!" Nie Lingfeng's eyes turned red with anxiety. He tried to transfer the last of his gentlest Qilin life force into Chen Duo's body, but it was like a drop in the ocean. He could only barely keep the spark of life in her heart alive, but he couldn't restore her.
Just when he was almost in despair—
"Waaah—waaah—"
A faint yet remarkably clear and familiar wooden whistle sounded rapidly approaching from the direction of the main passage they had come from!
Immediately following were several light, agile footsteps that landed almost silently.
Nie Lingfeng abruptly looked up, warily eyeing the entrance to the main passage. He mustered the last ounce of strength within him, preparing for a desperate fight. He was in dire straits, Chen Duo was in imminent danger, and if it were the enemy…
In the dim light, several figures darted out from the shadows of the main passage and arrived at the cave, which was in ruins after the battle between gods and demons.