Chapter 95: The Six-Headed Bone Phoenix

Deep within the cave, above the magma stone walls.

Hong Yun deftly evaded the recent attack, his mind sharpening slightly as he instinctively took two steps back.

His gaze fixed intently on the molten lava below, his pair of tribulation eyes already in motion.

Within the scorching magma, faint traces of tribulation energy flickered, barely discernible under his scrutiny.

Clack, clack, clack—

Yet, as with the mysterious snowy mountain cloud pool he had encountered before, he could only perceive the surface disturbances; what lay deeper within remained an enigma to him.

But he was in no rush.

He had sensed, albeit vaguely, that something had set its sights on him.

Patience was his ally; with enough waiting, the other party would surely take the bait.

When that moment came, who would be the hunter and who the prey was far from certain.

After all, he had already subdued one of them.

......

Clack, clack, clack—

At some unknown time beneath the magma, an absurd sound emerged.

It wasn’t the noise of a creature but rather the sound of collision.

Hong Yun, naturally, heard it too, but clarity eluded him.

Blindly probing might not yield true answers, so he remained cautious, retreating another two steps.

Frankly, in his current state, enduring the searing heat and perilous nature of the magma was already a formidable trial.

As moments ticked by, after the passing of a single incense stick’s time, a mass enveloped in magma was hurled upward toward Hong Yun.

This assault was denser than before, like a downpour of fiery rain.

Drawing his blade, Hong Yun sliced through one piece and flicked it aside.

Feeling the force, his expression unchanged, he stepped back several paces, slipping into the cave beyond the stone wall.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A tremendous roar resounded, smoke billowing as toxic gases from the magma volatilized and ignited upon contact with the air, erupting with explosive crackles.

---

The falling objects struck the stone wall, seemingly realizing they had not eliminated Hong Yun, and began to rattle violently.

Hong Yun stood at the perimeter, untouched by their tremors; even when rubble fell upon him, it was merely a trivial nuisance.

Holding his breath, his eyes fixed on the quivering masses, a tightness gripped his heart, a subtle unease flickering across his face.

Once the magma coating fell away, revealed beneath were chilling bone fragments.

No wonder the Phoenix clan had so readily agreed to his terms; this place had long been altered by some strange transformation.

Hong Yun glanced at a nearby bone and gently pried it loose with his blade, holding it in his hand.

He enveloped it with his own aura of killing intent, feeling intuitively that the bone resisted its influence, slowly eroding the aura.

Just then, as if summoned, the other skeletal fragments embedded in the stone wall trembled in unison and plunged back into the magma below.

The bone in Hong Yun’s hand followed suit; sensing the faint tribulation energy within it, he absorbed it into his body.

The bone crumbled into dust, drifting down to the ground.

In that moment, he felt something different.

The wisp of tribulation energy that entered his body instantly dissolved, transforming into a burning flame.

Hot.

Scorching.

Sensing the change, Hong Yun waited silently; he was not anxious.

The original tribulation energy within him seemed to detect the anomaly, autonomously gathering to disperse and absorb the foreign energy.

Suddenly, an unforeseen event occurred—the entire stone wall began to tremble.

Accompanied by the sound of flowing magma, a scorching current rose, emanating from the molten depths.

Peering into the magma, Hong Yun saw it swirling and sinking, as if something was about to emerge.

That thought flashed through his mind, and he tensed, focusing intently.

Whoosh—

With the rising heat, a dense wave of scalding air swept over him.

Through his protective barrier, Hong Yun glimpsed a massive bird-like beast emerging—a skeletal head.

Within its eye sockets, two spots of crimson magma flickered, as if serving as eyes.

Just as Hong Yun hesitated whether to strike, his expression froze slightly.

A second bird’s head appeared.

---

Then a third, a fourth...

Six heads in total?

Hong Yun watched as all six heads turned toward him, the creature gradually revealing its full form.

He exhaled in relief, his face returning to its usual calm.

For a moment, he had recalled an old acquaintance from the primordial era.

If he were to be precise, he would call it an ‘old demon.’

Though not intimately familiar, he was not ignorant of it:

This was the famed Ghost Chariot Nine Phoenix, a loyal great demon of the Eastern Emperor and Emperor Jun, and a fellow visitor to the Purple Cloud Palace.

Its sudden appearance startled Hong Yun; if others from the ancient past could reach this place, his situation would be precarious indeed.

But for now, it seemed his worries were premature—this creature had clearly undergone some aberration.

As Hong Yun pondered how to confront it, the creature fully emerged.

It howled from the magma, rising steadily, and upon striking the upper stone wall, it showed no sign of harm, instead scraping off a large swath of rock which tumbled back into the molten depths.

The creature’s vast body was coated in magma, causing it discomfort; a vigorous shake shed all the molten clinging to it.

With the magma gone, its enormous form was fully exposed.

Hong Yun’s eyes quickly assessed it and formed a deduction.

This was a fusion of six phoenix corpses, the dense network of bones covering its body proof enough.

As his gaze settled on the creature, his thoughts suddenly emptied, leaving only one sound in the world.

Thump—

Thump—

Thump—

Within the creature’s skeletal frame, a fiery red heart beat slowly but steadily.

He sensed immediately that this was what he sought.

As he studied the six-headed bone phoenix, the creature’s gaze fixed on him in return.

All six heads tilted slightly to one side, the magma in their eye sockets flickering intermittently.