The Wu Tribe's Divine Bird Tribe.
Following years of great wars, what was supposed to be a grand invasion of the Imperial Dynasty had turned into a defensive war.
Because of this, the interior of the Wu Tribe was left hollowed out, with very few experts remaining.
The place where the Divine Bird Tribe's Nirvana Sage Elder once cultivated was known as Flaming Mountain.
The Great Dao of Heavenly Fire left the entire Flaming Mountain lingering with the most scorching flames in the world, making it the favorite cultivation spot for the Wu Tribe's Fire Dao cultivators and Fire-attribute demonic beasts.
At this moment, these Fire Dao cultivators and demonic beasts were all glaring furiously at a group of people at the peak of the mountain.
Array formations were laid out across Flaming Mountain, and translucent boxes were using the grand array to siphon the rule power of the entire mountain.
This had been happening for several months.
The Flaming Mountain of the past used to be much hotter than it was now.
If not for the group of people setting up an altar up there today, even the Wu tribesmen and demonic beasts within Flaming Mountain wouldn't have been able to figure out the cause.
"The wool still has to come from the sheep's back."
Li Tianqi looked at the array formation in Flaming Mountain with gratification.
"With over a hundred Heavenly Fire rules, if this still can't blast open the Dao Gate, then we'll be in trouble."
Li Yaozu sensed the prying auras coming from all directions.
He took a deep breath.
"Quickly make the sacrifice, and then... we fight our way out."
"Yes!"
...
Near the land, in a relatively shallow sea area, the seawater had evaporated, creating a massive void on the ocean's surface.
Seawater from all directions was rushing back in at an extremely fast speed.
On the dried seabed, the Nirvana Sage Elder lay in despair.
The powerful experts of the Li Clan stood all around him, looking down at him with gloomy expressions.
He stared at Huan Gui—who had half his body burned and was using Spiritual power to restore his scorched skin—and laughed uproariously,
"To think I would fall into the hands of you ants, hahaha!"
A single slip causes everlasting sorrow.
Back in Shadowfell Prefecture, even he hadn't expected the Li Clan to be prepared in advance.
He originally wanted to snatch away Fei Heng's corpse, but unexpectedly fell into the Li Clan's trap.
With everyone's Spiritual power coming at him, managing to escape was already not easy.
But he was unwilling to accept this.
This bunch of trash had chased him for a solid number of years, practically running across the entire world.
If he were still at his peak... no, as long as he had even ten percent of his Spiritual power left, these ants wouldn't be his match at all!
"What are you laughing at?" Li Dalong frowned.
He didn't see the slightest hint of fear on the Nirvana Sage Elder.
"Do you really think the Great Dao of Heavenly Fire can be controlled by just anyone?
My name is Nirvana.
Under the Heavenly Fire, I am like my Totem Divine Bird, capable of nirvanic rebirth.
This is a wisp of Dao rhythm lent to me by my Master. You want my Great Dao of Heavenly Fire? Good, very good."
The Nirvana Sage Elder sneered hideously, his smile carrying boundless hatred.
"I'll give it to you. But I will return, bringing an even stronger Dao!"
Huan Gui snorted coldly, truly disliking this sort of madness in a desperate situation. Death qi corroded the elder's final bit of soul.
The Nirvana Sage Elder was seen being burned by a profound flame.
A wisp of fire, which everyone wanted to stop but had no way to intercept, suddenly vanished into the horizon.
Li Dalong tried to use Corpse-Driving Arts to retain the corpse being burned by the flames, but found himself completely unable to do so.
The crowd was momentarily stunned.
"Can he truly achieve nirvanic rebirth?" Li Dalong's face was gloomy.
No one wanted to be secretly hated by an enemy.
"I don't know either, but that cluster of flames is a Mahayana method."
Huan Gui took a deep breath and smiled.
"Even if he is reborn, relying on his experience from this life, achieving his current strength and occupying a new Great Dao will take an unknown number of years and months."
...
"Boom!"
Above the cloudy sky of the rainy night, a rich and vast pillar of fire suddenly crashed down and then shot straight up into the heavens.
Even Uncle Rain's rain was evaporated into mist under the Heavenly Fire.
The rainy night in Azure Cloud Prefecture, apart from the continuous thunder in the sky, finally had a different kind of bright light.
"What is that?"
"Dao rhythm... In Azure Cloud Prefecture, someone is using Heavenly Fire to break open their Dao Gate!"
"Who is it?!!"
In Westfall Prefecture, everyone looked toward the firelight under the gloomy clouds.
Duanmu Qi, who was anxiously heading toward Clearpeak Prefecture, stood dumbfounded in place.
"The Great Dao of Heavenly Fire... this is the karmic opportunity of the Nirvana Sage Elder in the Western Frontier.
Rumor has it the Nirvana Sage Elder disappeared after the battle in the Western Frontier... Could it be... Impossible, absolutely impossible."
Inside the Eternal Immortal Sect.
Ancestor Lan, who was continuously making deductions because he was being targeted, was also slightly startled by this pillar of fire shooting into the sky.
"How did the Great Dao of Heavenly Fire become vacant? It's Li Yaotie of the Li Clan.
No wonder... no wonder the Myriad Dao Divine Bell Pagoda has always been there.
The Li Clan actually occupied this Dao path faster than me; the person already has one foot inside the Dao Gate."
Ancestor Lan stared with an ugly expression at one of the Dao Gates.
He saw a bare-chested, bald, burly man, behind whom floated translucent cubes containing Heavenly Fire rules.
At this moment, this person was biting and shattering one cube with a single mouthful, amplifying his Spiritual power.
Relying on the Spiritual power infused in his body, he pushed against the Dao Gate with his arm and forcefully shoved one leg through the crack he had pushed open.
It looked as though he was using every ounce of strength he had, gritting his teeth in exertion.
His leg stepped onto the Dao path, deeply afraid that someone else would step on it before him. And truth be told, he was faster than anyone else.
"..."
Ancestor Lan was speechless for a moment.
In his entire life, this was the first time he had seen someone ascend to the hall of the Great Dao in such an ungraceful posture.
He then let out a long breath.
"Breaking through on the spot... were they prepared in advance to deal with Uncle Rain?"
"No... that's not it."
Ancestor Lan's expression suddenly changed.
He could no longer be bothered to deduce his own future situation, exclaiming in a low voice,
"The Great Dao of Heavenly Fire is fundamentally no match for Uncle Rain.
Back then, the reason the Nirvana Sage Elder obtained the Great Dao of Heavenly Fire was precisely because Uncle Rain killed the Fire Dao's mighty merit figure.
The Li Clan should know this."
"Li Yaotie's breakthrough isn't meant to deal with Uncle Rain, but rather... as bait."
He peered through the void.
He looked at the black-mist figure standing calmly before the pillar of fire—this black-mist figure whom even he could not see through.
This person possessed the aura of Half-Step Body Integration.