Lu Yu reached out and crushed the oncoming attack, as the spiritual light scattered from his palm. He turned his head to look at the Martial Cultivator in the eighth level of the Qi Condensation Realm.

Everyone was shocked and horrified, especially He Jialian, who was the only one aware of the true strength behind his own attack.

The attack just now appeared insignificant, without even a special effect, but in reality, it was highly concentrated Spiritual Power that could easily penetrate the protective Spirit Armor of a Martial Cultivator of the same level. It was a technique from a sixth-grade martial art.

The power amplification of the sixth-grade martial art, along with the quality to easily pierce protective Spirit Armor, meant that even a Martial Cultivator at the seventh level of the Qi Condensation Realm would suffer great damage from this strike.

However, such a powerful move was unexpectedly crushed by this cloaked person with a single hand.

This was completely beyond He Jialian's imagination.

"I deeply apologize for accidentally harming you, Senior. The He family is willing to compensate for your loss." He Jialian hurriedly said, bowing to express his apologies.

First, he admitted his mistake, then he pointed out that he was from the He family in Earth Fire City, hoping to make the other party wary, and then offered a bit of compensation to settle the matter, as Lu Yu wasn't injured, and it wasn't necessary to become enemies with the He family of Earth Fire City over a small matter.

Lu Yu chuckled softly and said, "If you can take one of my moves, then we'll call it even."

He Jialian's expression changed drastically; he had no confidence in being able to withstand one of Lu Yu's moves.

However, he thought that perhaps this was the senior giving him a way out, and he might just take a hit, endure one move from the senior, and then the matter would be resolved, with no harm done to either party.

Seriously, He Jialian responded, "Alright! Whether or not I can withstand one of your moves, the He family is willing to make amends with you."

Lu Yu raised his arm and threw a punch, with a massive amount of Spiritual Power surging from his arm, turning into a purple-black beam of light hitting He Jialian, within which faint golden lights flickered.

Upon witnessing this spectacle, He Jialian's complexion changed drastically, as he channeled all the Spiritual Power into the Spirit Armor on his body, desperately urging on the fourth-grade Spirit Armor to withstand Lu Yu's attack.

Before the purple-black beam of light, the Spirit Armor seemed like it was made of air; the Purple Flame Demon Fire penetrated straight through the Spirit Armor, burning He Jialian's soul. In an instant, the fierce Purple Flame Demon Fire incinerated He Jialian's soul completely.

With the loss of control, the Spiritual Power on the Spirit Armor rapidly dissipated, and the Celestial Falling Bright Flame hidden within the Purple Flame Demon Fire erupted out, its extremely high temperature melting his fourth-grade Spirit Armor, reducing him to a fireball, vanished without a trace.

In the eyes of others, He Jialian was turned into air by a punch from Lu Yu, disappearing in the Earth Fire Demon Cave, leaving no ashes.

Gazing at the spot where He Jialian vanished, Lu Yu was quite satisfied with the move he had devised; with his own Qi Condensation Realm seventh-tier Spiritual Power cultivation, he had outright killed a Qi Condensation Realm level eight Martial Cultivator, demonstrating the immense strength of the technique.

It was all thanks to Lu Yu's passive ability that enhanced fire Spiritual Power martial damage by 50%.

On the surface, the power boost only seemed applicable during martial arts usage, but that wasn't the case; any fire damage caused by using fire Spiritual Power would receive the power enhancement.

The Purple Flame Demon Fire, after receiving a 50% power boost, along with Lu Yu's willingness to expend a large amount of Spiritual Power, instantly incinerated the soul of He Jialian at the eighth level of the Qi Condensation Realm.

Without the infusion of Spiritual Power, the Spirit Armor was merely ornamental; under the empowered Celestial Falling Bright Flame attack, which gained yet another 50% power boost, both the fourth-grade Spirit Armor and He Jialian's body were turned to ashes.

With Lu Yu's immense power and the propulsion of Qi Blood, the speed of the fiery column he sent out was extremely fast, leaving He Jialian with no opportunity to dodge, a key factor.

Lu Yu's only dissatisfaction was that He Jialian's storage bag was also destroyed in the fire, with everything inside incinerated by the Celestial Falling Bright Flame, leaving nothing behind.

Including plenty of Spirit Stones, which was truly a pity.

"I still lack control," Lu Yu thought. "If I could make the fire burn only what I intend to burn without harming any unintended items, I could save the storage bag."

"Perhaps I should find some time to train the flame control ability of the Fire Demon Eyes."

Gulp~ Everyone swallowed nervously, some turned and ran without any hesitation. Since Lu Yu had already killed the strongest among them, it wasn't impossible for him to strike the rest down too.

No, it seemed likely, after He Jialian had already mentioned that they were people from the He family, the cloaked figure probably didn't want word of this to reach the He family and would definitely silence them.

The first person to flee suddenly fell down and couldn't get up, his body emitting purple-black flames, slowly burning his corpse.

Within 200 meters was Lu Yu's attack range, and he could at any moment attack anyone within 200 meters. If focusing on a single target, his attack distance could increase to 1200 meters, or even 2000 meters.

"Damn it! Let's just fight him," someone shouted, controlling a spiritual weapon shooting towards Lu Yu.

Lu Yu caught the spiritual weapon by hand, forcibly seized it from the opponent, and after burning them to death, the spiritual weapon became an unowned object and was collected into Lu Yu's backpack. The rest had no chance to escape, and all were killed by Lu Yu.

Only Zhou Tong remained. Zhou Tong, ashen-faced, watched Lu Yu fly over.

Overpowering the Qi Condensation Realm, killing a level eight Martial Cultivator in seconds, in Zhou Tong's eyes, Lu Yu was already a Qi Sea Realm-level powerhouse, leaving him with no chance to escape.

From Zhou Tong, Lu Yu felt a faint sense of threat, making it clear that the other party had some kind of hidden power capable of harming him.

Looking at Zhou Tong, Lu Yu said, "I am not someone who kills indiscriminately. As long as you help me with one thing, I will pretend you never saw anything here…"

An hour later, Zhou Tong arrived in the corner of the third level of the Earth Fire Demon Cave. The third level was filled with demon beasts at the Demon Might Realm, dangerous for Zhou Tong who just became a Martial Cultivator at the Qi Condensation Realm.

But he had no choice, as a more dangerous existence loomed behind him.

Upon seeing the area burning with the purple-black flames as described by the cloaked person, Zhou Tong quickened his pace, as Lu Yu had promised him that he only needed to carry the purple-black flames to the second level entrance to the third level, and he'd be let go.

Although I don't know why someone at the Qi Sea Realm like the cloaked man would handle the purple-black flames personally, Zhou Tong had no choice but to comply.

Zhou Tong recognized this purple-black flame; it's known to most Martial Cultivators who've been to the third layer of the Earth Fire Demon Cave. This flame can burn the soul and spiritual power. Just a touch is incredibly painful.

Some Martial Cultivators have tried to refine this flame, but most were defeated by the soul-burning pain. The lucky ones suffered minor injuries, while the unlucky had their souls incinerated, leaving only their shells, dying on the third layer.

You can't touch the purple-black flame with your body; this is a widely spread caution in the third layer of the Earth Fire Demon Cave.

"Someone's coming—not Lu Yu," someone noticed Zhou Tong approaching and said.

"Then ignore him; don't startle the snake."

"No, wait. What's he doing? Why is he taking the flames with clothes?" someone asked, puzzled.

"Maybe he's dealing with the third layer's monsters. When you're no match for a monster, throw this soul-burning fire into the monster's lair, and the monster will flee, then you can seize the treasure from its lair," explained the guide He Jia found in Earth Fire City.

"I didn't know it could be used that way; thanks for the insight."

"No movement?" Lu Yu stood in the shadows, watching the place where the Purple Flame Demon Fire burned. He didn't sense any other presence, making him even more suspicious.

Such a large area, yet aside from Zhou Tong, there's no hint of any other life presence—isn't that strange?

At the very least, there should be a few monster auras, but there are none here, not one.

On his journey, Lu Yu could always sense monsters hidden underground, either lying in ambush or in slumber.

But here, there was no monster aura to be sensed.

Perhaps it's the Purple Flame Demon Fire burning here that repelled those monsters, preventing them from appearing.

But Lu Yu already had his suspicions, leaning more towards believing a strong force was hiding here, scaring off the monsters.

Once suspicion is planted, it only needs a little nourishment to grow.

Zhou Tong made his way back to the entrance between the second and third layers, feeling anxious as he was surrounded by monsters stronger than himself. If not for his excellent stealth techniques, he wouldn't have completed the challenge given by Lu Yu.

The Purple Flame Demon Fire burned on the clothes, and Zhou Tong threw them far on the ground. To carry this bit of the Purple Flame Demon Fire here, he almost used up all his spare clothes in his storage bag.

Fortunately, the Purple Flame Demon Fire wasn't overly combustible; otherwise, it wouldn't have lasted this far.

Lu Yu picked up the garment on the ground, and seeing this, Zhou Tong was startled; he wanted to speak but then thought better of it and closed his mouth.

What shocked Zhou Tong was that the purple-black flame didn't harm the cloaked man at all. Remarkably, the cloaked man dared to touch the purple-black flame with his hand, and then the flame on the clothes diminished and was absorbed by the cloaked man.

The spiritual power on Lu Yu's hand vibrated, shattering the garment burnt to a crisp. He confirmed that the purple-black flame was indeed the Purple Flame Demon Fire, and the information provided by the Divine Weapon Pavilion disciple was accurate.

Glancing at Zhou Tong, he casually said, "You can leave now."

Zhou Tong hesitated for a moment, then bit the bullet and asked, "Senior, are you intending to refine this fire? I know of a place where the fire is stronger than what's on the third layer."

Lu Yu halted and looked at him, "Oh? Tell me, what do you want in return?"

He didn't believe in free favors since Zhou Tong was willing to speak up; he must want something in return.

Zhou Tong said seriously, "I want Senior to take me to the fourth layer; I know a place there with more potent Purple Flame Demon Fire."

He knew this fire was called the Purple Flame Demon Fire, and not only that, but he also knew where it originated.

"The fourth layer?" Lu Yu pondered for a moment, then agreed to Zhou Tong's request.

The fourth layer hosts many monsters at the Demon Spirit Realm, and even Demon Core Realm monsters appear. People have spotted millennium-old Spirit Medicine there.

Going to the fourth layer posed some risk for Lu Yu, let alone bringing a burden, but it was better than being ambushed by unknown powers on the third layer.

For Lu Yu, the third layer was less safe than the fourth layer.

After all, the dangers on the fourth layer were apparent: numerous Demon Majesty Realm monsters and plenty of Demon Spirit Realm monsters, perhaps even encountering a Demon Core Realm monster.

But on the third layer, who knows how many people are hidden in the place where the Purple Flame Demon Fire burns. Even if ten or more Qi Sea Realm, or even Core Formation Realm, appeared, Lu Yu wouldn't be surprised.

After all, those hunting him had that kind of strength.

"Let me tell you in advance, once we're down to the fourth layer, I can't guarantee your safety. If we encounter unavoidable danger, I might escape alone, not necessarily taking you along," Lu Yu warned Zhou Tong.

Zhou Tong nodded, "I understand. It suffices that Senior takes me to the fourth layer; the place I need to go is close to where Senior wants to go."

"Let's move!"

Seeing Zhou Tong had this understanding, Lu Yu led the way towards the entrance to the fourth layer.

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