Pathway

Ju Feng was sprawling on the floor after being impacted by the deadly pulse of the fiery flame emitted from the molten lake of fire. The air grew hot around him and wisps of smoke began to appear from the slightly churned ground. As he groggily stood up, he tried to recollect what happened. Although he could only remember being hit by a massive energy blast which felt like a titan's hammer, he knew the intense fiery heat and shock waves must have hit the whole area like a cosmic comet.

The impact had hit him from the back as he was facing a fire snake that was approaching him from the front. It had sent him flying like a fickle straw, several yards backward.

He remembered hitting the ground with a bone cracking sound while the fire snake that was advancing towards him had been dispersed. And that was it. He couldn't remember much after that. How long was he out? He managed to stand up and hurriedly checked himself for any sort of injury. Fortunately, his body was still intact and his torn robe was holding up, also. That meant the fire seal was still working, if not, his robe would have turned to ashes by now. Probably his body too.

What could cause a blast like that, exactly?

He tried to remember what events led to the energy blast. He was meant to get the springster whike tge other cultivator guard against the snake, but the other cultivator went for the sprinster, so he decided to guard against the retreating snake. His back was to the lake, but he ocassionally looked back towards it, in order to monitor the event with the springster. It was during one of those moments of him glancing towards the lake, that he saw the other cultivator's hand closing in on the springster.

And he remembered that it was at this time that the waters of the lake, started gathering together in a lightning speed. But his attention had been drawn back towards the advancing fire snake. Yes, the cursed fire snake. He didn't want the fire snake to catch him off-guard. So he had faced the fire snake and turned his back to the lake.

He had prepared to engage the snake, but the next thing he felt, was a forceful blast to his back. It was as if the heavenly gods were in immortal disagreement with him.

It must be the lake or the guardian of the circle that caused the blast. Had to do with either of them.

No other reasonable explanation for what happened. While on this, Ju Feng's mind struck back to the springster, making him panicked. He couldn't recall seeing the springster sank into the lake or if it was claimed before the deadly pulse. Quickly, he looked around himself. A number of cultivators were also struggling to get up from the impact of the blast. But many others, who he knew could only be body cultivators, were already engaging a raging vortex of liquid fire.

As he regained his full body strength, Ju Feng staggered towards where the springster was. While walking forward, he saw something he felt familiar with. He slowly picked it and his nightmare was confirmed. 

A fireglade. 

Immediately, the raging vortex exploded outward in another deafening blast. A shape of orange and white burst into life out it. And a nightmarish and deadly creature of pure liquid-fire manifested. A gigantic ten-headed liquid-fire hydra!

With no need for further confirmation, Ju Feng knew he would be facing another pure liquid-fire Guardia,? As Jufeng gasped, he felt scorching heat run down his throat. He staggered back and held his left arm to protect his exposed eyes as swirling hot trails danced in the air. He could also felt a slight weight pressed in on him from the overwhelming auric presence of the guardian. At the level of a top-grade world artifact body and an ascendant soul. 

Titan's torso!

As if a pure liquid-fire hydra wasn't enough, they would be dealing with ten of its deadly heads. Already, one head would be difficult to deal with and now, they got ten to deal with. What had they gotten themselves into? Ju Feng quickly located his sword, just as the voice of the dual golden core ice cultivator, sounded in his mind.

"Heavenly dragon defensive formation!" 

The golden core cultivator threw a talisman in his hand towards the hydra. His voice continued to sound in their minds as he leapt into the air.

"Two single-heart formations. One with me, the other with Yi Zemin!"

Five body cultivators quickly moved to the front and aligned into a formation to the right as the golden core cultivator, landed in their midst. Another single-heart formation was formed to the left and led by Yi Zemin. The formation to the right was spear-headed by the ice affiliated golden core cultivator who wasted no time in moving the formation straight into attack.

They were moving like single giant but with many blade phantoms as they engaged the hydra. The soul cultivators inside the defensive formation were using elemental projectiles to attack the hydra and support the blade phantoms. The air was roiling with various elemental energies in essence blades, essence darts, elemental orbs and other forms.

But the battle was mainly being fought by the body cultivators as they drifted in and out of different attack formations. Despite the strain, their bodies were resisting the fiery flames of the hydra. Ju Feng wondered what could cause them to panick or even affect their undying bodies. They were only in their early stages, yet they were this strong?

He quickly located his sword and rejoined the battle. They were intensely, fighting the hydra, when the army of scavens and argonians, attacked. The attack came from the back. It put them, right at the middle of the assaults from the two sides. The hydra to the front while the scavens and argonians were to the back.

The first sight of the might of the argonians, had Jufeng's jaw hitting the floor. Really, they were terrible foes to have. Ju Feng had thought the human body cultivators had the ultimate impenetrable bodies, but the display by the argonians, was on a different level. Their bodies were like that of an ancient dragon's scales. It was almost impossible to injure them talkless of defeating them. The most disturbing thing about them, was their battle prowess. Despite the ones here being at the Jindan level at most, they could stand toe to toe with nascent soul cultivators from Jufeng's world.

The argonians didn't attack in formation but individually. They had so much trust in their individual might. Together with the scavens, they could have overwhelmed the human cavalry, if not for a golden-core dream and illusion cultivators. They used half of their life-force to power an ancient talisman and projected a dream into the minds of the argonians and scavens. They were locked in battle with their own inner demons as they remained frozen in place.

Ju Feng was already wary of dream and illusion cultivators, but now, was frightened of their powers. They were truly terrifying.

The cavalry quickly sneaked in-between the argonians and scavens and retreated to the other side, away from the fire hydra. This changed the battle scene. The argonians and the scavens were now inbetween the fire hydra and the human cavalry. But the dream only disrupted them for a moment before it was shattered. Fortunately, the respite was enough to allow the other group of the human cavalry, led by the golden core dual cultivator, to join them in battle.

The moment the dual cultivator arrived, hundreds of spears made from pure shadow essence, were already hitting the argonians and the scavens. The shadow spears were hitting their bodies and souls. Though, their bodies were on another level, their souls were affected by the shadow essence spears. Every time he moved his hand, tens of this spears would be manifested.

That drew the attention of the leader of the argonian army. He turned to face the incoming threat with a primal hatred. He was holding a lightning infused glaive which denoted a lightning affiliated cultivator. With a loud roar, he turned to a streak of lightning and collided with the golden core cultivator. 

The air shimmered with dangerous energies as the two faced each other in a deadly battle. The thunderous sound generated from the collision of their weapons was causing ripples in the spacetime fabric. In the space of a second, they had exchanged hundreds of weapons' strikes. At this time, the remaining cultivators on both sides, stepped away from the battle area.

"That's shadow-lance."

Uttered the tattered clothed boy who was now standing beside Jufeng. 

"Huh?"

Asked Jufeng absent mindedly as he kept his eyes on the battle going on.

"Name of the spear. It's a total-grade heavenly weapon."

The dual cultivator was moving like a shadow god. It was nearly impossible to follow his movement if not for the light coming off the fire hydra.