"MOOO!"
Seeing the target who had struck and killed its child, the mutated White Jade Rhinoceros charged forward ferociously.
It wanted to trample Yang Xiao into paste.
But just as it pounced, a cluster of orange flames suddenly erupted from Yang Xiao's body.
The moment the flames appeared, the air sizzled and crackled.
They were somehow even more scorching than the Lifebound True Flame of an Earth Fire Qilin Beast.
The White Jade Rhinoceros's advance halted instantly.
"MOOO!"
It was originally a Tier Four Ice Attribute Barbaric Beast, but it had accidentally swallowed a Ninth-Grade Spirit Medicine, a Wind Spirit Grass, which caused it to mutate.
It now possessed dual Ice and Wind attributes.
After several more centuries of cultivation, it had finally reached the level of a Tier Five Barbaric Beast.
Although the orange flames before it sparked a deep, instinctual fear, they weren't powerful enough to truly intimidate it.
More importantly, the master of these flames had killed its child—its only child.
How could the White Jade Rhinoceros possibly let him go?!
"MOOO!"
With another furious roar, the White Jade Rhinoceros's eyes turned bloodshot.
'Damn it, even letting the Heaven and Earth Origin Flame leave my body isn't enough to scare it off! Do I really have to use the Nine Revolutions Concentration Spirit Technique again?'
Yang Xiao was stunned.
A moment ago, while still in mid-air, he had been struck by the terrifying cyan-blue stream of air spat by the Barbaric Beast. His entire body had gone rigid. If not for the Heaven and Earth Origin Flame instinctively protecting its master...
...he would have likely met a grim end.
And now that he had entered the Orange Flame Realm, his Heaven and Earth Origin Flame was no longer bound to his body as it had been before. So, on a whim, Yang Xiao had summoned it forth.
One must understand, this flame was born from the Heaven and Earth Origin itself.
It could be considered the progenitor of all flames, containing the Power of Heaven and Earth Origin, making it unbelievably noble.
Any living creature, even one that didn't cultivate Fire Elemental Power, would feel an instinctual fear towards it.
Furthermore, its destructive power was a full tier higher than ordinary flames. A full tier! This meant that if Yang Xiao attacked with his Heaven and Earth Origin Flame, his current strength at the Peak of Innate Realm Fifth Layer could unleash the destructive power of a Martial Arts Grandmaster at the Fifth Layer Peak.
Its might was amplified by roughly a thousand times.
And this was the truly terrifying aspect of the Heaven and Earth Origin Flame.
In his first life, relying on this very point, Yang Xiao had fought against a Great Emperor who had successfully attained their title and had not been at a disadvantage.
It was precisely because of this that he was able to stand above all other gods, earning the title of Supreme Divine King.
Of course, this was purely an increase in destructive power, not an overall enhancement. Especially now, with many of his techniques unusable, if he were to rely solely on his externalized Heaven and Earth Origin Flame against an expert at the Martial Arts Grandmaster Fifth Layer Peak...
...death would be an absolute certainty.
Against such an expert, Yang Xiao would have to use every trick up his sleeve to have even a sliver of a chance at victory.
That was why when Xuan Tianzhan proposed they fight again at the Sect competition a year from now, Yang Xiao had actually agreed.
Otherwise, even if he had killed Xuan Tianzhan, he likely wouldn't have come out unscathed. It would have been a near-fatal gamble.
But the situation at hand was different.
The White Jade Rhinoceros was a Barbaric Beast, not a human.
Logically speaking, he had already released his Heaven and Earth Origin Flame. Even if this White Jade Rhinoceros was a Tier Five Barbaric Beast, and even if it could easily defeat him...
...the aura containing the Power of Heaven and Earth Origin should have terrified it and made it flee.
But from the looks of it now...
...he seemed to have overestimated his Heaven and Earth Origin Flame.
Or perhaps, underestimated the hatred this White Jade Rhinoceros held for him.
Although it was instinctually afraid, it didn't flee heedlessly.
The plan had failed!
'Do I really have to use the Nine Revolutions Concentration Spirit Technique again?'
If he were facing a mere Tier Four Upper Grade, or even a hegemon among Tier Four Barbaric Beasts, Yang Xiao wouldn't hesitate to use the Nine Revolutions Concentration Spirit Technique.
But this was a Tier Five Barbaric Beast.
The difference in strength was a bit too large.
Once he used it, given his current condition, he would probably need to push it to at least the Fifth Revolution or higher to have a chance of victory.
Maybe even the Sixth Revolution, or the Seventh Revolution...
Even with the Divine Communication Grass, his body might not be able to withstand it.
Hesitation crept into Yang Xiao's heart.
"MOOO!"
While Yang Xiao hesitated, the White Jade Rhinoceros made its decision, charging toward him with heavy steps.
Its speed wasn't fast,
but it exerted immense pressure on Yang Xiao.
Just as he grit his teeth, about to recklessly use the Nine Revolutions Concentration Spirit Technique again, a cluster of purplish-red flame inside him suddenly stirred.
It caught Yang Xiao's attention.
'The Qilin True Body? But what use is an entry-level Qilin True Body? Its power is equivalent to the Innate Realm First Layer at most. Unless I'm willing to spend my Heaven and Earth Origin Flame to feed it... Huh? What would happen if I really did feed it my Heaven and Earth Origin Flame?'
Yang Xiao's eyes suddenly lit up.
Originally, he had only cultivated the Qilin True Body to help the Earth Fire Qilin Beast reconstruct its physical body in the future.
In his heart, he didn't actually place too much importance on it.
Although he let it absorb some of the Heaven and Earth Origin Flame's aura within his body, he had never considered actively feeding it the flame.
To Yang Xiao, that would be putting the cart before the horse.
But now, in this desperate situation, using the Heaven and Earth Origin Flame to strengthen the Qilin True Body and truly manifest it...
...was not a bad idea at all.
After all, the Heaven and Earth Origin Flame could be replenished as long as he had enough Inner Cores and Spirit Medicine.
He could even spend a year or two absorbing Fire Elemental Power from the world to recover it.
As long as he didn't let it drop a realm. If it dropped a realm, things would get tricky.
Just like before, when Yang Xiao broke through to the Orange Flame Realm, he had used the Inner Core of a Tier Four Middle Grade Fire Attribute Barbaric Beast.
'I hope this works. Qilin True Body, don't let me down!'
With a single thought from Yang Xiao,
the Heaven and Earth Origin Flame within his body was instantly retracted.
It surged toward the cultivated Qilin True Body.
Gradually, what had been just a small, purplish-red ball of flame began to swell rapidly under the influence of Yang Xiao's Heaven and Earth Origin Flame.
It grew larger and larger.
Its aura, too, grew more and more powerful.
The Heaven and Earth Origin Flame, which had an aura equivalent to the Peak of Innate Realm Fifth Layer inside Yang Xiao, caused the Qilin True Body's aura to continuously expand after surging into it.
It leaped directly from the Innate Realm First Layer to the Ninth Layer of Innate Realm.
And at this point, Yang Xiao's Heaven and Earth Origin Flame had only dropped from the Mid-Orange Flame Peak to the Middle Stage Orange Flame.
'Continue! It's not enough.'
Yang Xiao immediately poured more of his Heaven and Earth Origin Flame into the Qilin True Body.
BANG!
The Middle Stage Orange Flame dropped to the Early-Orange Flame Peak.
Meanwhile, the Qilin True Body transformed, reaching the Martial Grandmaster First Layer, or a level equivalent to a Tier Four Low Grade Barbaric Beast.
This was still not enough.
Yang Xiao continued to channel his power.
Tier Four Middle-grade Barbaric Beast.
When the Heaven and Earth Origin Flame in his body was barely clinging to the Early-stage Orange Flame, and any further channeling would cause it to drop a realm, Yang Xiao stopped.
At this moment, the aura within his body was only equivalent to the Innate Realm First Layer.
But his Qilin True Body had reached the level of a Tier Four Middle-grade Barbaric Beast.
Moreover, having absorbed the aura of the Heaven and Earth Origin Flame, the Qilin True Body was far more powerful than an ordinary Tier Four Middle-grade Barbaric Beast.
If compared to a human Martial Cultivator...
Yang Xiao believed that this Qilin True Body alone was enough to easily kill a Martial Arts Grandmaster at the Sixth Layer.
'As long as my Spiritual Level enters the Divinity Communication Realm, I can form a Divine Split and refine this Qilin True Body into a Clone. From that perspective, this was worth it! Even now, my overall strength has seen a significant boost.'
A smile touched Yang Xiao's lips.
However, when he saw the White Jade Rhinoceros so close, he couldn't quite bring himself to smile.
Could a Tier Four Middle Grade Qilin True Body be a match for a Tier Five Low Grade White Jade Rhinoceros?
Yang Xiao wasn't sure...