Xia Yi smiled and said, “Yes, the Flame Dragon Armor.
“Several hundred years ago, someone showed up with the Flame Dragon Armor on a dead star that was close to the Realm of Dark Underworld. Back then, Brother Zhang from the Poison Sect, Brother Lu from the Spirit God Sect, and I were all at the early Soul realm, and were searching for spiritual materials on that dead star when we encountered that person.”
Both Zhang Zhongchi and Lu Minghuang nodded, admitting that Xia Yi was telling the truth.
Xia Yi went on to explain, “The three of us exerted ourselves and won the close battle, then we prepared to kill him and take his valuables. However, just before he died, he cast the Blood Core of the Flame Dragon Armor through the atmosphere into space.
“The Blood Core held the Flame Dragon Armor’s soul and a considerable amount of flame power. The three of us could only watch it disappear into the starry river.
“We had teleported to that dead star through an ancient teleportation portal, and didn’t have the ability to travel through space to chase after the Blood Core.
“After that, the Blood Core vanished. I only had the incomplete Flame Dragon Armor to myself.
“With the residual power within it, the Blood Core must have traveled very far, but somehow it ended up in the Realm of Flame Heaven and fell into Nie Tian’s hands.
“According to the agreement that Brother Zhang, Brother Lu, and I had, I’d get to keep this Spirit Channeling grade spiritual tool. After a laborious search, I learned that the Blood Core had appeared in the Realm of Flame Heaven...
Xia Yi brought out his history with the Flame Dragon Armor in detail to show his desire for the Flame Dragon Armor, as well as his rightful claim over it.
Hua Mu interrupted him by saying, “The Flame Dragon Armor you got was only an empty shell! The Blood Core is its most important part. Since Nie Tian got it, the Flame Dragon Armor should belong to Nie Tian! Back when Nie Tian first got the Blood Core, it had used up its flame power and become a wonderless bone. It was Nie Tian who nourished it back to its original state and awakened its soul.
“Since you did none of that, you have no right to claim the Flame Dragon Armor!”
Xia Yi let out a cold harrumph. “If we didn’t kill that person, the Blood Core wouldn’t have ended up in the Realm of Flame Heaven in the first place!”
The two of them entered a heated argument over the ownership of the Flame Dragon Armor.
Nie Tian, however, stood off to the side and didn’t say a word. He only looked up at Nie Donghai, Nie Qian, and Dong Li, who were standing in the air-transportation spiritual tool that looked like a blazing bird.
He felt somewhat relieved after seeing their calm expressions.
However, he felt somewhat confused by the strange looks the three of them were giving him.
From the look of it, they didn’t seem very concerned with their safety or Nie Tian’s, as if they knew that someone would protect them from harm.
Yue Yanxi from the Divine Flame Sect nodded slightly. “I see. So you’re saying that you teamed up and killed the person who had the Flame Dragon Armor, right?”
Lu Minhuang from the Spirit God Sect chuckled and said, “Exactly. Also, both my sect and the Poison Sect have made our stance clear to the Lei Clan. We’re willing to become subordinate sects of your honorable sect. Brother Xia’s Flame God Sect will do the same as long as you promise him the Flame Dragon Armor, which belonged to him in the first place.”
“Did you know who the person you killed was?” Yue Yanxi asked with a grim face.
“No, we didn’t.” Lu Minhuang shook his head. “But we knew that he wasn’t from the Domain of the Falling Stars because none of us had ever seen him before.”
Yue Yanxi took a deep breath, strong killing intent appearing in his eyes. “You’re right. He wasn’t from the Domain of the Falling Stars. He was from the Domain of Heaven’s Boundaries and... he was our sectmaster’s son!”
Upon hearing these words, all of the powerful experts that were gathered in this place gasped in shock.
The Lei brothers’ faces were also filled with disbelief. Apparently, even they didn’t know that the Flame Dragon Armor had originally belonged to the son of the Divine Flame Sect’s sectmaster.
Xia Yi, Lu Minhuang, and Zhang Zhongchi’s faces turned pale with fright as soon as they learned that the person they had killed together was actually the son of the Divine Flame Sect’s sectmaster.
After exchanging a glance, they bolted towards the inter-realm teleportation portal, as if they were scared soulless.
A brutal look appeared on Yue Yanxi’s eyes as he said, “Thank you for solving this long-standing mystery. I can’t believe it was you three who killed our sectmaster’s son! Today is the day when the Flame God Sect, the Spirit God Sect, and the Poison Sect are eliminated from the Domain of the Falling Stars.
WHOOSH!
With these words, a fiery spark flew out from between his eyebrows.
In the next moment, the lava in the depths of the earth throughout the entire Realm of Unbounded Desolation started to seethe violently.
Even a few extinct volcanoes erupted, spewing torrential flames straight up into the heavens.
At the same time, the fiery spark rapidly expanded and morphed into a fiery realm in the blink of an eye. Countless streaks of fiery light could be seen flashing across the inside of the realm, which was filled with clusters of blazing light.
The fiery realm released so much heat that everyone around it was soon covered in sweat.
Simultaneously, raging flame power converged from all directions.
Everyone gasped as they saw crimson clouds swarming into Desolate City.
Many cultivators with low cultivation bases felt as if Desolate City had become a blazing purgatory. One after another, they madly summoned their spiritual power, forming numerous glowing wards around them, hoping to ward off the unbearable heat.
However, their wards couldn’t withstand the heat, and exploded one after another.
Within merely a few seconds, some of them already had their skin burned by the overly intense flame power.
Upon seeing this, many Soul realm experts formed hand seals to cover Desolate City with all sorts of energy wards to prevent their clan or sect members from being charred.
WHOOSH!
The floating fiery realm created by Yue Yanxi started to spin at an alarming rate, unleashing blazing auras that could turn heaven and earth to ashes.
Xia Yi and the other two, who had already charged into the inter-realm teleportation portal, were busy undoing the seal that prevented anyone from leaving, which Lei Zhenyu had established, when the blazing auras whooshed down and engulfed them. Therefore, they had to summon their spiritual tools, struggling to stay alive with their help.
However, Yue Yanxi’s fiery realm gradually descended from midair, while raining torrential flame auras on them like an erupting volcano.
In a flash, Xia Yi, Zhang Zhongchi, and Lu Minhuang were enveloped by the fiery realm and swallowed by a sea of flames.
The three of them seemed to scream miserably inside, yet not the slightest sound came out.
“Come back!” Yue Yanxi said.
With a casual flick of his sleeve, the fiery realm started to shrink rapidly.
Three seconds later, it shrank to the size of a grain of sand and flew back into Yue Yanxi’s forehead between his eyebrows.
The moment the fiery spot disappeared, the raging flame power that was pouring into Desolate City scattered and dissipated into the air.
The anomaly with the seething lava at the heart of the earth also gradually vanished.
Dong Baijie, who had just survived death, fixed the muscular short elder with a disbelieving gaze as he muttered, “Is this the mighty power of a Void domain expert?! With a thought, he can cause upheavals to heaven and earth, and create a realm of his own, with which he can burn all lives away.”
“That was close...” Cao Qiushui said while wiping sweat off his face. “If it weren’t for our patriarchs, we would have been burned to ashes.”
Experts from different sects also fixed Yue Yanxi with disbelieving and fearful gazes.
Xia Yi, Lu Minhuang, and Zhang Zhongchi were all late Soul realm experts, and yet they were annihilated by that fiery realm in barely a couple of seconds.
Not just that, but every Qi warrior under the Profound realm felt as if they had been plunged into a sea of flames, and almost died from the repercussions.
The only ones that remained completely unaffected the whole time were Nie Donghai, Nie Qian, Nie Tian, and Dong Li.
The air-transportation spiritual tool Nie Donghai, Nie Qian, and Dong Li were standing in seemed to have absorbed all of the flame power in that small space, preventing the three of them from experiencing any discomfort.
Nie Tian, however, stood close to Yue Yanxi.
The moment Yue Yanxi had launched his attack, he seemed to have formed a ward of soul power around Nie Tian, warding off the furious flame power for him.
Nie Tian had been surprised to find himself protected by the mysterious force, yet he didn’t know where that force came from.
He spent some time organizing his speech before saying with a stutter, “Well... I’ve got nothing to do with the death of your sectmaster’s son. I just happened to obtain the Blood Core.”
With these words, he summoned the Flame Dragon Armor from within his ring of holding. With a depressed look in his eyes, he added, “Since it belonged to your sect, I now return it to you.”
Many people had nervous expressions as they fixed their eyes on Nie Tian, suspecting that Nie Tian would suffer the same fate as Xia Yi, Lu Minhuang, and Zhang Zhongchi, and the reason why Yue Yanxi hadn’t killed him yet was because he needed to strip the fragmentary star marks from him first.
Yue Yanxi sighed. “It’s hard to believe that you have the Flame Dragon Armor. Perhaps this is fate. We don’t want the Flame Dragon Armor back. Since you have it, it’s yours.”
A shocked expression filled Nie Tian’s face. “Huh?!”
Yue Yanxi’s expression grew serious as he said, “Our sect only instructed the Lei Clan to find you, but didn’t tell them to use such despicable methods. This was our fault. For this, I offer you our sincerest apologies. Also, we’ll make amends for what’s been done to you and your family.”
“W-what’s happening?” Nie Tian was flabbergasted.
The Qi warriors from all over the Domain of the Falling Stars also stood aghast, staring unblinkingly at Yue Yanxi, confusion and shock filled their eyes.