章 55: Impermanent Fire Against Inexhaustible Strength
The human shaped fire ice-cold expression looked at the approaching ape, then flew in the air in a straight line with unprecedented speed, appearing in front of the beast in the bat of an eye.
An eerie blue fire punch was thrown out connecting with its chest.
Howl!
The wrathful black ape growled in pain as he retreated three steps, two more than Tian He's previous battle skill combination with a single punch!
The ape grunted from the strike then sweeped the ground before him threatening to smash his opponent with his hand.
Before it could reach him, Tian He jumped high in the air. The enormous strength from the ape's hand created a huge gash in the earth, sending grass and soil flying.
Following his sweep, the wrathful black ape formed a fist and punched in Tian He's direction still in the air as the wind howled.
Swoosh!
Sparks of dark blue flames flashed below Tian He's feets as he narrowly evaded then flew at the beast side and threw a torrent of fire through his flame like hand.
The wrathful black ape growled wretchedly as nearly a third of his body was on fire. He threw himself on the ground and rolled multiple times before the intense flames receded but the burning pain and the melting flesh of his arm remained.
On top of a small hill not too far away, a muscular young boy looked at the clash between Tian He and the beast with rapt attention.
"So this is what a battle at this level of power looks like...." Ye Mo was very interested.
He felt he could die just going a bit too close to the nest where the bout ensued.
Tian He's movements under this amplification battle skill looked like teleportation from his perspective and the limbs of this heavy, monstrous ape seemingly disappear in a flash when it attacks.
Before going back to the city after slowly recovering from his injuries, Ye Mo went to the location where the ape emerged to pursue him.
Searching the nest where it was resting he was finally able to pinpoint its location after 2 hours. It wasn't that far and at least half of the time was due to Ye Mo being extremely careful to not get too close and anger the beast.
When Liu Guan Tao's defensive battle skill wore off, he decapitated him and used his demonic art on the body leaving only the head displayed near the entrance of the jungle.
He dragged the corpses of his other fallen comrades and used them to lead Tian He towards the ape nest with the shortest route.
He put a good distance between the corpses to lead him the furthest possible while still making sure they weren't too far from each other so there were no risks Tian He would lose himself or take another path, spoiling his plan.
Ye Mo knew of the spiritual sense so he couldn't get too close to him and if he showed himself from the start, Tian He could easily catch him with his speed.
That's why he appeared on the pine tree only when they were already close to the nest and chose to use purposefully left traces he made previously to attract him to the wrathful black ape while he went into hiding.
Actually, even with this much preparation, a proper Foundation Establishment cultivator would still have been able to catch him when he showed up on the tree.
At this level, Foundation Establishment cultivators from sects and great clans from the central lands know several peak-tier Yellow class techniques and would already have started dabbling in Star rank battle skills and cultivation arts.
Most of them could catch up to him in a split second and take him into custody, kill him from the distance or restrict his movements with a battle skill.
This plan could only work because the Liu clan was a small clan from a mid-sized city of the Mountain Breeze province.
They had many low and mid-tier Yellow class batlle skills but no peak-tier at all and the number of high-tier ones they had could be counted on the fingers of one hand.
Using a mid or high-tier battle skill as a Foundation Establishment cultivator was the same as a battle hardened warrior going to war with a small pocket knife, it couldn't exhibit their true strength.
Ye Mo used this weakness to assure himself of the success of his plan.
"Now the only thing i can hope for is for Tian He to have enough battle strengh for them to kill each other."
The ape stood up furious with a gleam of craftiness in his eyes. He used a backhand strike to attack but Tian He avoided once again using the propulsion of his flames to move away.
However a powerful wind wave was created following the backhand and Tian He's flying abilities were disrupted.
Simultaneously, a giant palm covered the sky, enshrouding Tian He in darkness as it slammed his body on the ground in a thunderous sound.
A cloud of dust was raised and when it settled down, Ye Mo could see the ape's hand embedded on the ground, the earth filled with innumerable cracks.
The power was such that even a mountain boulder would be reduced to smithereens much less Tian He.
Ye Mo was left disappointed and perplexed, "This ape is very smart just Tian He alone wasn't enough, with their elder death the Liu clan might close this case and forget about this matter fearful to throw themselves in a suicide mission and increase the death count when they are already in a pressing situation."
"At worst i will have to reveal my identity, giving out my concealment ability, to draw them out. Their hatred for me should be such that they won't pass the chance to kill me no matter what."
Giving out these informations was very detrimental for Ye Mo. Letting the Liu clan learn about his doings and Shadow Walk would give a lead which would turn into many as it was bound to propagate among their members until even outsiders could know of this matter if they tried to investigate him.
No one but yourself should be trusted with a secret and if it wasn't the case then it should be considered as public knowledge.
Ye Mo needed to go to the cave of pure iridescent iron but the ape blocked his way and was too dangerous. Although it was currently injured, what if it healed on the way back? What if it suddenly decided to attack nonetheless? Wild beasts were unpredictable after all.
That's why the best scenario for him was to kill the ape.
Yet, if he was successful in his endeavor, the benefits would outweight the risks by far and would propel his cultivation by leaps and bounds.
For strength, what couldn't he sacrifice? If it was necessary, he would even hand over Nine Revolutions Fiend Body without hesitation!
All these were only tools, what was truly important was the finality, the process didn't matter.
As he was contemplating, Ye Mo's train of thoughts was cut off by the commotion in the distance.
In the gap between the wrathful black ape fingers, four trails of flames flew off and converged above the hand, forming Tian He's mass of flame.
Without waiting, a ball of concentrated dark blue fire took shape on Tian He's hand and was thrown out, engulfing the ape in flames.
Roar!!!
The beast cried out as it was sent frenetically rolling on the ground a second time.
In the air Tian He's scarlet pupils looked at the beast imposingly as it put all its efforts trying to extinguish the fire.
The Human Starfire battle skill was his ace, his very own trump card!
It was an exceptional amplification technique that would turn the user's body into a wild dark fire giving him boundless, untamed power once activated but in return would eat at your lifeforce.
Under this skill, the cultivator was like a shooting star, shining dazzingly for a short time before dying away.
Tian He wasn't originally from Azure Water City, but came from a small village in another province. This village couldn't provide him with the ressources needed to progress in his cultivation so when he was a young peak Qi Gathering realm cultivator, he left and roamed the central lands, going from region to region and taking a step in other provinces.
He seeked lucky chances and encounters in the wild that would help him grow stronger throughout his journeys which rarely came, instead he fell in dangerous situations and risked his life many times.
The greatest was precisely chancing upon this Human Starfire battle skill on the corpse of an unfortunate cultivator.
Nevertheless, the breath of death stimulated him and with sufficient talent he was able to breakthrough the barrier separating the Qi Gathering realm from the Foundation Establishment.
Still, after decades he grew aged and tired, his old dream of becoming a self made powerful cultivator who would leave the Blazing Sun Continent in awe turned into fading grey smoke as he progressively looked for peace and stability, contented with the post of an external elder.
He tried several clans in multiple cities before arriving to Azure Water City but they all rejected him, either his cultivation was insufficient or they didn't want an outsider but in fact many wanted him to let them learn the Human Starfire technique which was out of question.
Actually, when he came to Azure Water City, the Liu clan was far from his first choice but in the end it was the only one that didn't require him to hand over his battle skill.
Human Starfire was his lifework, his best achievement from a life spent outside vying for occasions to develop himself, how could he give it to anyone.
Moreover, this battle skill gave a seamless pressure to others as he could still use it to get out of dire situations if it was ever required making those having thoughts of harming him reluctant to put them in action.
However if everyone could use it as well, what advantage would remain for him?
It was the only thing that kept the other elders and even Liu Hao at bay, the view of a peak tier Yellow class battle skill enough to drive them mad with greed.
It was simply a life saving skill to use as a last resort when nothing else worked.
The explosive surge in strength Tian He experienced was exhilarating and made him confident he could fight even a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator right now but at the same time he gradually felt a sense of weakness like he was a frail old man maneuvering an invincible killing machine.
He knew it was probably due to his lifespan continually reducing at an alarming rate but he had no way to see the changes with his body covered in blue golden flames.
He seldom used this battle skill in the past and it ended with the ennemy being killed in a flash so the reduction of his lifeforce was negligible. Never before did he deploy its strenght so extensively.
Tian He was about to attack once again when the ape looked at him under the flames and quickly reacted, ignoring the pain. Spreading his arms wide, he clapped his hands together in one swift movement, blasting the air and sending his opponent uncontrollably flying away.
When he was able to stop himself and charge back, the ape had just finished putting the flames away.
His appearance was gruesome but its vitality was extraordinary and although its imposing aura cleary diminished, it was still ready to fight. Unfortunately, the blood loss from the cutting injury the beast originally had was cut short as Tian He's fire cauterized its wounds.
The wrathful black ape roared furiously, the cry resounding in the jungle.
The remaining fur he had on his body was all stiff and upraised showing its murderous mood.
In the distance, Ye Mo could feel this battle was coming to an end.
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