Above a vast azure sky, a colossal gray-brown phoenix ascends and hovers in the heavens, waves of scorching heat radiating out from its body, distorting and making the surrounding air appear ethereal and warped. With every flutter of its wings—the so-called "Stellar Phoenix"—subtle ripples ripple through the space around it. A fierce, blazing wind howls across the sky, leaving the observers drenched in sweat, as though they were deep within a desert. When this massive gray-brown phoenix appears, Fangyan and his two companions visibly grow pale, their breaths growing weak—clearly, the effort to coalesce this powerful, destructive force has drained nearly half of their strength. Though their faces are pale, the intensity of Fangyan's determination grows even sharper. He chuckles, turning to the center, toward Xiao Yin, saying, "Master Xiao, how do you find our 'Stellar Phoenix'? Does it measure up to your unique fire?" Gazing at the weathered face etched with fury and satisfaction, Xiao Yan's lips merely curled slightly, speaking with calm ease, "Is this your masterstroke?" Hearing Xiao Yan's relaxed tone, the Senior Monastery Elder Fang's eyes trembled, and a sneer widened across his lips. "Perhaps, after experiencing the full power of my 'Stellar Fire Phoenix,' Master Xiao will reconsider your assessment..." As soon as he finished speaking, Fang's expression grew suddenly grim, and a sharp command issued from his mouth. At the same time, his hand seal subtly shifted. With this change, the massive gray-brown Fire Phoenix swirling in the sky suddenly raised its head and emitted a piercing cry. A wave of intense, tangible heat radiated outward, sweeping across the forest like a surging tide, causing the trees to ripple and sway violently. The phoenix with gray-brown wings roared, then powerfully扇ed its wings, causing a continuous stream of hissing sounds. Immediately, dense streams of gray fire feathers burst forth from the phoenix's body, sweeping across the sky and converging upon Xiao Yan. The sharp gusts of wind created by the feathers sliced through the air, emitting a constant whistling sound, while the intense heat carried the feathers like small stones ejected from a volcano—both scorching and possessing considerable destructive power. The waves of fire feathers rapidly expanded in Xiao Yan's dark pupils. Yet, as they approached within two zhang of him, a deep cyan flame suddenly flared within his dark gaze— "Shh! Shh!" Flames of fire rained down, yet as they reached within two zhang of Xiao Yan's body, a deep cyan flame aura suddenly emerged in an eerie fashion. Any fire feathers that entered this aura instantly cooled as if doused in ice water— their gray-brown flames swiftly extinguished. As the flames faded, the condensed qi that had transformed into feathers gradually dissolved, vanishing into nothingness. Outside the flame aura, the fire feathers cascaded down like a torrential rain. Inside, Xiao Yan slowly rested his hands behind him, his gaze calm and steady upon the massive gray-brown phoenix soaring above—the phoenix, formed from the accumulated qi of Fang, Yan, and Fang’s bodies, indeed radiated an astonishingly high temperature, approaching that of the Qinglian Earth Heart Fire. Yet—no matter how close it came, it remained no true hetero-fire. The strange fires mostly form between heaven and earth, gradually compressed, accumulated, and evolved over countless ages, eventually evolving into those possessing devastating power—fires of destruction and fury. This very nature of destruction and turbulence is the result of time itself. To create such power from nothing, as humans might, though perhaps not entirely impossible, is at least utterly beyond the reach of the three of Fangyan. Without that very essence of destruction and turbulence, no matter how powerful the flame, it can never truly become a strange fire—can a lion that has lost its ferocity still command the respect of the herd? For their entire lives, Fangyan's three have strived to elevate this so-called "emergent fire" to the level of a strange fire. Yet they remain unaware that the true terror of a strange fire lies not merely in its scorching heat or its capacity to consume everything—those are only its surface qualities. The very essence of it is its power of destruction and fury. Yet to use this counterfeit Heterogeneous Flame to defeat Xiao Yan, who possesses two genuine Heterogeneous Flames, would surely be a far-fetched and comical endeavor. ... Above the sky, the dense gray flame feathers gradually vanished. Yet when Fang Ya and the other two witnesses saw Xiao Yan standing unharmed within the flame enclosure, a wave of iron-blue color crept up their faces. "If your Heterogeneous Flame is only this weak... then I must say, I am truly disappointed," Xiao Yan said, his eyes lifting slightly and glancing at Fang Ya and the other two, his tone calm and composed. Fang Ya's face remained pale, then grew stern, refusing to respond to Xiao Yan directly. Instead, his gaze shifted to the other two senior elders of Mo Yan Valley, and in a low, ominous roar, he declared, "Let the Sacred Flame burn!" Hearing the elder’s low roar, the two elders’ faces slightly paled. Immediately, they bit down hard on their tongue, and a rich crimson stream of blood erupted—instead of dispersing, it coalesced into several droplets that spun continuously in front of them. With this outburst, the already frail energy of the two elders further waned. Clearly, this blood was no ordinary blood—it was their most refined, pure qi essence, their very body’s core blood. "Pfft!" Seeing this, the elder also bit his tongue, spitting out a stream of blood. Then, with a flick of his finger, two more streams of blood surged forth, eventually merging into a single, solid mass of deep brown blood, the size of a clenched fist. "Go!" With a sweep of his robe, the blood mass shot forward and directly plunged into the massive phoenix flame. With the blood entering the body, the starry sky phoenix with outstretched wings instantly froze, and a strange deep crimson hue seeped out from within its body, transforming the phoenix's original gray-brown color into an eerie, unusual crimson within moments. As the phoenix's hue shifted, a rich, blood-like aroma gradually diffused from within, eventually tinting the entire sky a slightly crimson hue. Moreover, the current phoenix's aura had grown several times stronger than before—perhaps due to the essence of Fangyan's three companions—now appearing as though it possessed a faint, rudimentary intelligence. As the dialect chant settled, the blood-red celestial phoenix, with its hollow eyes, suddenly surged with a deep crimson hue. Its sharp, piercing eagle cries resonated loudly across the sky. Then, its wings snapped shut abruptly, and its massive body spun like a colossal spear, rapidly rotating before finally shooting forth with a sharp whoosh—flying through the air with astonishing speed. The celestial phoenix moved so swiftly that it seemed to tear through space itself. In a single flash, it appeared two zhang away from Xiao Yan, its pointed beak glistening with thick, rich crimson flames—appearing strangely eerie. The Stellar Phoenix, only moments after being restrained, surged into violent struggle, its blood-red flames erupting rapidly and continuously searing the jade-green fire net. Moreover, due to the immense force of the prior impact, even with the fire net in place, the phoenix’s sharp, sword-like beak still pierced directly toward Xiao Yan’s head. "Stop!" The black pupils of Xiao Yan’s eyes widened sharply, his gaze instantly sharpening as he roared. With the command, the jade-green fire net flared once more, emitting a brilliant glow, and with a series of creaking sounds, it encased the phoenix completely, trapping it alive. Taking a few deep breaths, Xiao Yan gazed at the sharp beak now mere inches from his forehead, wiping a bead of cold sweat from his brow. Then, with a cold laugh directed toward Fangyan’s direction, he swiftly altered his hand seal and murmured, "Converge!" As the character 'Ning' was just settled, the jade-colored fire net suddenly erupted like a fire hose, continuously spewing out deep jade flames. When these jade flames touched the Fire Phoenix's body, the latter violently convulsed as though suffering intense pain—the seemingly strange blood-colored flames, encountering a powerful counterforce, began to fade and weaken under the relentless assault. Observing the diminishing blood flames on the Phoenix's body, Xiao Yan gently exhaled, then with a mere thought, fully summoned the Qinglian Earth-Heart Fire within him and directed it all toward the Fire Phoenix. "Crick! Crick!" Under the intense erosion of the Qinglian Earth-Heart Fire, the Fire Phoenix writhed like an injured hen, emitting sharp, piercing cries that grew increasingly desperate. "Big brother, quickly secure the Fire Phoenix! That boy's unique fire is terrifying—she can't hold out!" "Seeing the transformation of the Fire Phoenix, one elder from Mo Yan Valley urgently shouted. As they had a direct connection with the Phoenix, they naturally sensed that the latter was now in a most critical condition. Fangyan's stern face had gradually turned pale, and by now, he finally realized that using fire to combat Xiao Yan had been a fundamental mistake—the strength of the unique fire far exceeded his expectations. "Receive!" With this thought, Fangyan could no longer hesitate. He swiftly adjusted his hand seals and shouted. As soon as his voice fell, the blood-red Fire Phoenix within the fire net gradually ceased its struggles, finally fragmenting into countless flame points, like bees emerging from their hive, pouring densely through the gaps in the net. "The same technique again? You wish to perform it a second time? Today, I claim your Hua Sheng Fire!" At this sight, Xiao Yan let out a cold laugh, curled his fingers and snapped them—where the fire net had gaps, the space rippled, and an invisible stream of flame surged forth, driving the fleeing crimson flames back entirely.