Evan Yang knew that Bai Xin's speed absolutely reached the Immortal Lord level—otherwise, how could he possibly move so fast? But actually, that wasn't the case; Bai Xin was simply using a sixth-tier speed-boosting artifact.
Even Bai Xin hadn't expected that, with the artifact, his speed should at least match an Immortal Lord's, yet he wasn't much faster than Evan. This made him find it hard to believe that a fifth-tier Heavenly-Immortal could be so formidable.
"He must have a powerful artifact? Looks like I'm in luck this time." Bai Xin thought. There was only one possibility: Evan must be carrying some incredible treasure, which explained his astonishing speed.
Evan hadn't expected Bai Xin to develop such greed. At this moment, Bai Xin had locked onto him, making it nearly impossible for Evan to escape—unless he used invisibility or his tower.
But invisibility and the tower were trump cards he would only use in dire emergencies. Those were his secret abilities—if others found out, it would spell trouble.
While Evan was pondering what to do, Bai Xin gradually caught up to him. From Bai Xin's aura, Evan had already judged that his opponent was not above Immortal Lord level, which put him at ease.
Still, Bai Xin wasn't above Immortal Lord, yet his speed was faster than Evan's—that was hard to believe. Evan thought it over and said, "He must be using some method to boost his speed? Let's stop and see."
So Evan suddenly stopped. Seeing this, Bai Xin also stopped and laughed, "Kid, not running anymore?"
"Are you also from Fire God Palace?" Evan asked.
"Of course. Why? Not running now? I saw you running pretty fast—must have some impressive treasure on you, right?" Bai Xin laughed.
"Artifact? You think everyone is like you, relying on artifacts?" Evan laughed.
"Alright, kid, let's see if your strength matches your speed." Bai Xin snorted. As he spoke, a surge of flame appeared—much stronger than Colin Green's.
Bai Xin looked extremely powerful, but Evan had a formidable attack as well. However, if he used it, he would have to kill Bai Xin outright; otherwise, he'd risk exposing his secrets and leaving future trouble.
But Evan held back. Flames appeared, and the two clusters clashed. By rights, Bai Xin's fire was larger and Evan's cultivation lower, so his flame should have been weaker. Yet Evan's small flame was fierce—it suddenly counterattacked and devoured Bai Xin's.
"You can use flame too? But your fire is really strong. What technique do you cultivate?" Bai Xin asked in surprise. "Technique? I haven't really learned any," Evan replied, thinking that aside from the Ninety-Ninefold Purefire he learned before, he rarely used anything else now.
"Not going to say, huh? Then let me show you!" Bai Xin snorted, and his eyes erupted with fire.
"Fire Eyes?" Evan was shocked—this was a move from Ninety-Ninefold Purefire.
"Scared, huh? I'll burn you!" Bai Xin laughed, and his flame surged forward. But the Fire Eyes launched two beams, piercing straight toward Evan.
Evan wasn't stupid; he dodged quickly and asked, "Are you using Ninety-Ninefold Purefire?"
"Ninety-Ninefold Purefire! How do you know my technique? Do you know Fire God Palace?" Bai Xin withdrew his flames and asked suspiciously.
"Ninety-Ninefold Purefire belongs to your Fire God Palace?" Evan asked curiously.
"Of course it does!" Bai Xin replied.
"I see. I learned a bit of it before," Evan said.
Bai Xin grew suspicious. "How did you learn it? Was it from our palace?"
"No, it was from a sect in another world-realm," Evan replied.
Bai Xin knew that many sects and clans had branches in various realms, and Fire God Palace often spread its techniques or founded new sects elsewhere. If that was the case, Evan did have some connection to Fire God Palace. Still, Bai Xin couldn't act rashly—Evan's strength was odd, and it was likely due to some artifact.
This made Bai Xin worry that Evan might back out or escape midway, making him hard to find again. So Bai Xin quickly changed his approach and smiled, "So we're fellow disciples! Sorry about earlier."
"Fellow disciples?" Evan was taken aback by the sudden change in attitude, but while staying alert, he also considered going to Fire God Palace to fully learn Ninety-Ninefold Purefire.
"Yeah, since you know Ninety-Ninefold Purefire, maybe you're from a sect left behind by one of our senior uncles or elders in another world-realm," Bai Xin said.
"A sect left behind in another world-realm?" Evan thought it was possible. After all, powerful cultivators often went to other realms, passing down their arts or founding new sects. Now he understood why his Ninety-Ninefold Purefire was incomplete—it must have been only a partial transmission.
"Yeah, maybe you'll even find your ancestral master!" Bai Xin smiled.
"Ancestral master?" Evan asked suspiciously.
"Right. Ninety-Ninefold Purefire comes in nine colors, and Fire God Palace has nine branches. Many people spread the arts to other realms. If you show your version, the appraisers from each branch can tell which one you're from," Bai Xin explained.
"I see. Thanks." Evan smiled, though inwardly he laughed—how could Bai Xin be so helpful?
"No problem. Who knows, maybe we're from the same branch. But just having flame isn't enough—you need to know how to use it, especially Ninety-Ninefold Purefire. Used properly, it can multiply your power many times over," Bai Xin said.
"That makes sense," Evan agreed.
Seeing Evan was hooked, Bai Xin continued, "How about this? You probably don't know your sect's connection to Fire God Palace. We regularly accept disciples from other realms. Let me take you to Fire God Palace; then you'll know your branch and can learn the true essence of Ninety-Ninefold Purefire, reaching its peak."
"Oh? Essence? I thought Ninety-Ninefold Purefire was divided into nine layers?" Evan asked curiously.
"Who says it's nine layers? That's ignorance. Ninety-Ninefold Purefire isn't divided by layers, but by low, middle, and high tiers. What people learn in other realms is usually the low-tier version, which is weak. The middle-tier is when real power bursts forth and can amplify your abilities. As for high-tier, that's truly strong. But the so-called nine layers you mentioned can be understood as subdivisions within the low-tier," Bai Xin said.
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Evan hadn't even mastered the full low-tier version. If Bai Xin was telling the truth, then once he learned it, his fire could be greatly amplified. Thinking about boosting his fire attribute, Evan was secretly delighted. Since Bai Xin wouldn't try to kill him, he figured it was worth visiting Fire God Palace.
Evan laughed, "Fire God Palace? I'd like to go, but I have some things to handle first. How about you wait for me in the nearby city? Once I'm done, I'll come find you."
"Alright, I'll wait for you in the city just ahead. Hope to see you within a day," Bai Xin said after a brief pause.
Evan nodded. "Okay."
As Evan turned to leave, Bai Xin deliberately called out, "You have to come! I'll take you to Fire God Palace to learn powerful techniques."
That was pure temptation—Bai Xin watched Evan leave, secretly sneering, "Once I've tricked you into Fire God Palace, I'll slowly play you to death!"
A while later, Colin Green caught up. Seeing only Bai Xin, he asked curiously, "Senior Brother, where is he?"
"He left," Bai Xin replied.
"Left? You didn't stop him?" Colin grumbled, frustrated that someone had caused trouble in his home and his own strength wasn't even as good as a Heavenly-Immortal.
"His speed is too fast, and more importantly, he uses flame. Not only that, he seems to know the low-tier Ninety-Ninefold Purefire," Bai Xin said.
"Low-tier Ninety-Ninefold Purefire? How does he know that?" Colin Green couldn't believe it.
"Probably learned it in another world-realm," Bai Xin replied.
"Is he really that strong? How could he know these things? Damn it," Colin said.
"You know what rules Fire God Palace has, right?" Bai Xin didn't want to reveal Evan's artifact secret to Colin, lest someone get greedy and act first.
"Fire God Palace rules: anyone from the palace must not fight among themselves. If caught, they're sent straight to the enforcement team," Colin said, fuming.
"Exactly. Even though he hasn't officially joined us, learning Ninety-Ninefold Purefire already gives him entry-level status," Bai Xin said.
"Senior Brother, you're the only one who knows. If you'd just taken him down earlier, it would be over," Colin said, frustrated.
"You know Fire God Palace disciples are everywhere. How could I act recklessly? If a fellow saw me, I'd have to explain myself. Might even lose all my cultivation," Bai Xin sighed, though inwardly he muttered, "If I could have taken him down, I would have. It's that strange artifact of his. I'll lure him into Fire God Palace and deal with him there."
"So what now? He's gone again. Damn it, it's really infuriating," Colin said angrily.
"Don't worry. I've already told him to meet us in the city ahead and go to Fire God Palace," Bai Xin said.
"Go to Fire God Palace? Senior Brother, what do you mean? Are you really planning to lure him there?" Colin was even more upset, feeling restless.
"Think about it. If I bring him into Fire God Palace, he'll be cultivating there, so it'll be easy to find him later. Don't you agree?" Bai Xin said.
"So you mean, you want to teach him a lesson over time?" Colin thought it made sense. Killing someone was easy, but teaching them a lesson was harder. Better to bring him into the palace and deal with him slowly—especially since many allies were there. Handling a Heavenly-Immortal would be simple.
"Exactly. Letting him die would be too easy. If I lure him to Fire God Palace, with all our friends and connections, it'll be simple to deal with him," Bai Xin laughed.
"You're right, Senior Brother. Smart move not to kill him right away," Colin said with a smile.
"That's right. Come on, let's go wait for him in the city ahead. Then you can tell me why you became enemies and why you want to hunt him down," Bai Xin said.
Colin nodded, and on the way, he explained the whole story to Bai Xin.