Chapter 685: Caught In The Mountain Fire

The moment he returned to the surface of the land, thunder rumbled in the sky as crackling lightning illuminated the heaven and earth!

Strike after strike of lightning streamed down from the sky almost incessantly.

Faced with the specter of the intimidating thunder and lightning, Ouyang Xiaoshe moved rapidly once again to avoid the attack. The method of how the thunderbolts were being thrown about was wholly different from how a cultivator would have attacked, however. Not only did it come from the air and was difficult to avoid, but it was also born of mystical forces. Rare was an ordinary cultivator who would dare to forcefully harness such power.

Therefore, Ouyang Xiaoshe was already in dire straits after only a brief moment.

At the same time that the thunder and lightning were running amok in the sky, the borderless ocean of fire was quickly weaving its way over. Flames licked over, like dragons fighting over a pearl. The interwoven thunder and flames were already an overwhelming threat but Yun Yang was barely contented.

Golden rays glimmered amidst the lightning and rained down like a storm. Yun Yang had released flying daggers, the signature move he had used to weed out the many impostors today.

Yun Yang loathed Ouyang Xiaoshe to the core of his being. He went all out in his strike, completely stubbing out any possibility of this old bastard avoiding his attack or escaping. The best solution to prevent additional issues was to try his best to eliminate any further chances of survival for the opponent.

Yun Yang was more aware than all the others regarding Ouyang Xiaoshe's ability. It would be the strangest mystery instead if the latter had not been equipped with a terrifying force.

Ouyang Xiaoshe stood on par with Old Dugu in terms of their reputation. Old Dugu was able to cause the Unrivaled Swordsman Jun Moyan to be indebted to him and received a Medallion of Gratitude. One could imagine how astounding Old Dugu's cultivation base must be. If so, how could Ouyang Xiaoshe be weak?

This was the reason Yun Yang had given his all the moment he struck.

No matter how Ouyang Xiaoshe evaded the attacks, the lightning strikes seemed to be concentrated too densely. A strike of lightning landed a solid strike on his head, causing him to shriek. A burnt smell rose from him as well. Stricken by lightning, Ouyang Xiaoshe could not help slowing down and a bolt of gold embedded itself deeply into his thigh.

Ouyang Xiaoshe cried out in agony, "Supreme Cloud, come out and fight this decisive battle with me if you have the guts for it!"

It was a pity that his invitation lacked a reply. The only thing he got as a response was a fiercer flurry of lightning strikes in the sky and even more ferocious flames.

Yun Yang knew fully well that it was impossible for Ouyang Xiaoshe's tyrannical combat power he had previously displayed to stop here. It was impossible that he had not managed to evade the two strikes; he must have let it happen intentionally.

The aim was none other than luring Yun Yang out to make his appearance. Once Ouyang Xiaoshe could locate where he was, he could figure out his subsequent plan of escape, making it even more effective.

How could Yun Yang be deceived then? 'Since you want to suffer, I'll let you have enough of it!'

Ouyang Xiaoshe looked incredibly pained after the two consecutive attacks, but he dared not let himself be struck anymore, seeing that Yun Yang refused to fall into this trap. By the look of things, if he were to continue this tactic of inflicting suffering upon himself, Supreme Cloud would turn him into charred remains.

The magnificence of the thunderbolt was beyond his expectations. The two strikes had already numbed Ouyang Xiaoshe sufficiently that his movements were considerably impeded. He was already regretting his execution of this particular tactic. Why would he accept the attacks for nothing if he had known that Supreme Cloud would not fall for it?

The fires soared high and grew even more intense. Yun Yang had burned all the forests and mountains for thousands of miles all around with the rampaging flames. Until later, something akin to oil began to flow across the ground.

All living creatures in the mountainous area, be it animals or plants, were all devoured by the ocean of flame. Other than the rare ace-ranked beasts that noticed the fire the earliest and had escaped due to luck, the rest had turned into ashes alongside the plants and trees of the forest, reduced to nothing.

In spite of this, the raging fires did not slow down. It rose continuously as it continued to burn.

The temperature within a thousand miles had already skyrocketed to an unimaginable extent. Even if one was a Dao realm cultivator, one would still suffocate in such a temperature.

Yes, Yun Yang had set the area ablaze for four full hours without a care that even the land itself was turning red in the heat!

There had been countless of times Ouyang Xiaoshe intended to flee outwards, but once he charged in that direction, the flames around him burned brighter and fiercer, reaching a temperature ten times hotter than any other place. In addition, the frequency of the thunderbolts increased as well.

As long as he stepped back, the attacks eased slightly. At least, it was enough for him to save himself and even catch his breath.

It was due to this atmosphere that Ouyang Xiaoshe obtained the opportunity to repeatedly change his direction in his attempt to break free. It was simply unfortunate for him that the outcome of each attempt only brought him right back to where he started.

Ouyang Xiaoshe understood that even if he had paid a huge sacrifice in charging out of such attacks of flame and thunder, he would still need to face Supreme Cloud himself in the end. By then, he would have to passively take what the latter hurled at him!

While his continuous retreats looked like futile struggles, giving the impression that he was being manipulated, he would always gain the room to breathe and wait for the next chance. He could still retain the last of his energy for a final battle. It might not be advantageous for him to prolong such a situation, but could Supreme Cloud actually maintain the effort of manipulating these natural elements?

How much energy must be needed for one to control and execute such natural phenomena? Was Supreme Cloud not playing with fire as well when he did something like this?

Ouyang Xiaoshe merely had to persevere until Supreme Cloud expended all his energy; that would be when the former's turning point came!

This was the reason Ouyang Xiaoshe repeated this cat-and-mouse game, despite knowing that Yun Yang was toying with him. Eventually, however, he realized that he was wrong.

It was no longer important whether he could hold out until Supreme Cloud ran out of energy because this game apparently had other considerations that were even more complex!

As the fire persisted, the heat increased. The entire mountain was slowly but surely turning into a huge melting pot. Every inch of land under Ouyang Xiaoshe's feet was gradually tinged dark scarlet, like a part of that melting pot.

It felt like his throat was stuffed with burning coal as well; each pant and breath of his felt like someone had stabbed his throat numerous times. He was under torture.

The longer he stayed there, the worse he felt, and the harder it was to go on. When he felt dizzy and was almost losing grasp of himself, Ouyang Xiaoshe belatedly realized in shock that more than seventy percent of the cultivation base he thought he had kept in reserve was already depleted!

This simply could not persist - he had to escape at once!

Otherwise, he would die from depletion and heat before he could anticipate Supreme Cloud's exhaustion.

Even as he thought about this, Ouyang Xiaoshe was struck with a sudden realization. Since the mountain fire had remained blazing until this point, Supreme Cloud had no need to intentionally maintain the incineration anymore. The entire mountain would have already become an accomplice.

Obviously, this was Supreme Cloud's idea since the very beginning. Yet, Ouyang Xiaoshe was foolish enough to follow suit and let himself be injured. His actions were incredibly stupid!

If he had mustered all his energy and tried to flee right from the start, Supreme Cloud might not have been able to hold him back. This was his highest chance of survival in this battle! What he was doing now was impossibly idiotic as it was the most passive and hopeless approach.

Regret engulfed Ouyang Xiaoshe even as he thought about it now.