Chapter 704: Seizing Origin Crystals
Xiang Shaoyun was someone who had been tempered by fire before. On top of that, he had Yun Flame within him, so he did not fear regular types of flame. Even some high-tier flames would not be able to harm him.
The flame spirit's decision to perish together with Xiang Shaoyun was a mistake. Before it could even set Xiang Shaoyun on fire, Yun Flame devoured a majority of the spirit's flame energy, causing its strength to plummet.
With a pull, Xiang Shaoyun plucked the origin crystal out of its body. With the departure of the origin crystal from its body, the flame spirit withered before dissipating into the air.
Ling Lin opened his eyes wide in shock after witnessing such a domineering method of harvesting the origin crystal. They had to painstakingly destroy a flame spirit before they could harvest an origin crystal, but Xiang Shaoyun merely plucked it out in such a coarse manner, shocking Ling Lin greatly. Ling Lin tried doing the same, but he ended up being burned badly by the flame spirit.
The overlord lives up to his reputation. He is truly a freak, Ling Lin thought to himself.
Before Xiang Shaoyun could stow the spirit crystal, numerous flame spirits surrounded him. They attacked unendingly, their attacks akin to a volcanic eruption. Their destructiveness was not something an ordinary person could withstand.
Xiang Shaoyun did not dare to hold back as he immediately escaped from a crack amid the incoming attacks. He then clawed at one of the flame spirits.
Seven Scorching Sun Claws!
The target of his violent attack was clear. After facing the first flame spirit, he now knew the flame spirits better. Thus, he held nothing back the moment he attacked. So long as he could pluck out the origin crystal quickly, the flame spirit would not be a threat.
Sure enough, the moment he plucked the origin crystal from the flame spirit he targeted, it started dissipating. More attacks were sent his way, but it was as if he had a pair of eyes on the back of his head. He quickly moved aside, dodged the attacks, and attacked with both hands, clawing at the origin crystals of two different flame spirits. Whether in movement or attack, Xiang Shaoyun moved like a specter. Each attack was accurate and effective, and the flame spirits had no way of guarding against him.
After a few seconds, he collected a total of six origin crystals. Just as he was about to seize his seventh origin crystal, the flame spirits did something surprising. They surrounded him then exploded together.
The flame spirits had low intelligence, yet they had extremely violent tempers due to the flame element. Hence, when encountering an opponent they couldn't defeat, they tended to do something extreme.
They were doing one such extreme action now. By exploding their origin crystals, they could create terrifying explosions that even fourth-stage Dragon Ascension Realm cultivators would have a hard time surviving.
Xiang Shaoyun was in the midst of them and was caught by a complete surprise. Intense pain assaulted his entire body, and his skin cracked apart, more flame energy invading him.
If it wasn't for Yun Flame constantly absorbing all the flame energy, he would have already been set ablaze and killed. One ought to admit that these flame spirits were extremely dangerous.
That was why the academy's genius disciples could perish easily while harvesting origin crystals. Xiang Shaoyun had a powerful flesh, and his reaction time was impressive as well. The moment they exploded, he had erected his defenses, protecting himself from the second wave of explosion.
"Overlord!" Ling Lin had retreated a distance away, and when he turned back, the sight that welcomed him was of several flame spirits exploding with Xiang Shaoyun in their midst. His face sank.
The other Overlord Legion members who were escaping from the peak saw it as well, and they were greatly alarmed, thinking that Xiang Shaoyun was either heavily injured or outright dead.
"Go and help the overlord!" Deng Lingtian roared.
Just as they were about to charge forward, the flame surrounding Xiang Shaoyun vanished rapidly, revealing him before them once again. Instead of retreating, Xiang Shaoyun charged the flame spirits again, plucking one origin crystal after another.
He pushed his speed to its limits, using both the power of wind and footwork intent, holding nothing back. In his current state, the flame spirits couldn't even sense him before they were killed. The others who saw Xiang Shaoyun come and go as he pleased amid the flame spirits were completely stunned. Only a while later did they gasp in shock.
"What kind of speed is this? It's terrifying. I can't see him at all!"
"You are not alone. I can't see anything either. The only thing I know is that the boss doesn't fear the flame spirits and can easily pluck the origin crystals from their bodies. What a direct and hoarse method of harvest."
"He is indeed our overlord. This strength is not something we can compare to."
"If I'm this fast as well, I will definitely be able to pluck the origin crystals as easy as reaching for it like him."
...
Suddenly, Xiang Shaoyun shouted at them, "What are you waiting for? Attack them together. Don't scatter and fight separately like before."
They no longer hesitated and worked together to attack the flame spirits. They had to grab this opportunity. It wasn't normal to easily encounter the flame spirits out here, as they would usually need to enter the volcanic crater to encounter them.
They started to work together and hunt the flame spirits, harvesting the origin crystals. As for Xiang Shaoyun, he became accustomed to the environment and could now deal with the flame spirits easily.
However, he had been using the power of wind to move, and he still needed to attack to get the origin crystals. Hence, he had exhausted a large amount of astral energy. Fortunately, his flame star was filling rapidly due to Yun Flame absorbing all the energy from the flame spirits.
If this continued, perhaps in about 10 days he would completely fill up the flame star. It was no wonder flame cultivators could advance so quickly at the Flame Mountains. It was heaven for them.
About half of the several hundred flame spirits were defeated by Xiang Shaoyun and his group, while the remaining retreated back to the volcanic crater. They weren't able to leave the crater for long, and each time they left, they had to borrow the power of the erupting volcano. Otherwise, with their high energy expenditure, they would exhaust all their energy before fighting for long.
Because of that, they all retreated when the heat in the area started dissipating. Xiang Shaoyun had the urge to rush straight to the volcanic crater. However, he noticed a massive flame spirit ahead of him, glaring at him furiously.
Behind him, someone exclaimed, "That is the flame spirit emperor! Overlord, retreat!"