With a loud sound, the Fire Dragon's Soul flew out from the depths of Qingfeng Li's mind-s.p.a.ce. Upon its appearance, it became several tens of thousands of feet long. Its body filled the sky, seeming to exert a suppressive force on the s.p.a.ce around it, locking everything in place.

Since it had taken the spiritual elixir Qingfeng Li had given it, the Fire Dragon Soul's power had increased at an astonis.h.i.+ng rate. It was now at an all-time high.

The Fire Dragon's Soul opened its mouth, releasing a jet of G.o.dly dragon flames. These contained the power of heaven and earth, as well as the Greater Dao Laws. The fire instantly enveloped all of the sonic-wave demon heads. There was a series of crackles as the demon heads were reduced to nothing by the flames.

Xie Ming's expression changed. There was a hint of awe in his eyes as he felt the power of the G.o.dly dragon flames. It was no doubt the natural counter to his sonic-wave demon heads.

At this moment, a hint of fear appeared within Xie Ming's eyes. Even when Qingfeng Li had forced him back before, he hadn't been afraid. However, having seen Qingfeng Li use the G.o.dly dragon flames, he truly felt fear.

Xie Ming knew that only saints were able to control G.o.dly dragon flames. This meant that, at Qingfeng Li's side, there was a master of the saint level or above. 

The Fire Dragon Soul opened its mouth once more, releasing another jet of G.o.dly dragon flame. With terrifying heat that seared the void, it appeared around Xie Ming in an instant and flew toward him.

Color drained from Xie Ming's face. He hurriedly swung his Scepter of Death before him, trying to beat the G.o.dly dragon flames away. However, upon touching the flames, a series of crackling sounds came from the scepter in his hand.

Astonis.h.i.+ngly, cracks begun to appear on the surface of the black scepter. Like spider webs, more and more cracks appeared. They radiated outward in a series of crackles and, finally, with a loud boom, it exploded. Countless shards of the Scepter of Death flew in all directions, disappearing from sight.

Xie Ming opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood. His face was pale as death and there was terror in his eyes. He would never have thought that his half-step saint level weapon would be destroyed. This was his beloved Dharma Treasure, the greatest a.s.surance of his survival.

Xie Ming knew that he must run. If he wasted even a second, he would die here. This was the kind of danger he sensed.

"Essence Blood Ignition, Underworld Escape Technique!"

Without hesitation, Xie Ming ignited his essence blood. His entire body morphed into black light as he dove down into the ground, preparing to escape through the earth.

Qingfeng Li's expression changed. "Trying to run?" he said. "But can you get away?"

Qingfeng Li stabbed his Sky Breaking Halberd down into the earth. It pierced Xie Ming's leg and, with a heavy swipe, it severed the limb.

However, having ignited his essence blood, Xie Ming became incredibly fast. Leaving the severed leg behind, he dove down with a loud boom and disappeared. Even Qingfeng Li could no longer sense his energy.

Qingfeng Li sneered. "Sure, you got away," he said. "But you also left a leg behind. You're never going to live this down."

Around them, self-cultivators watched this scene, slack-jawed. Their eyes were filled with awe as they muttered amongst themselves.

"Qingfeng Li is unbelievably powerful. I can't believe he severed one of Xie Ming's legs. This is such a surprise. I have a feeling that Qingfeng Li is definitely one of the ten most powerful people here."

"That's for sure. Not even the King of a Supreme Dynasty could match him. You can definitely count the people who can oppose him in all of this world on one hand."

At this moment, all the remaining self-cultivators in the woods looked at Qingfeng Li with awe. But there was also admiration among the fear. It was a complex mix of emotions.

Qingfeng Li's strength had shocked them. Around him, self-cultivators hastily made their retreat, not daring to stay any longer. They were afraid of incurring Qingfeng Li's wrath and being attacked.

Seeing that Qingfeng Li was alright, Xue Lin's pretty face lit up with joy. She rushed to his side and dove into his arms.

"Honey, you're alright! I'm so glad. I was so scared just now," Xue Lin said. Her voice was filled with concern.

Qingfeng Li smiled as he reached out with his right hand to pat Xue Lin's forehead. "Don't worry," he said, "your husband is the strongest."