Immortality and Cultivation: This old man seeks enlightenment through mere survival.

"You beast, you devoured my puppet! Show yourself and face your death!"

Lu Zaian gave a low shout, and in the blink of an eye, an extremely refined [Water Spirit Sword Blade] accurately shot into the place in the lava river where the demonic power was strongest.

"Roar—!!"

The lava river instantly erupted like a boiling pot!

Accompanied by several sharp, piercing, and furious screechs—

Three enormous, bucket-sized serpents covered in lava scales suddenly burst out of the magma, stirring up a shower of scorching liquid!

It is the Two-Headed Demon Flame Serpent!

They had two ferocious snake heads, and four vertical pupils like burning lava balls, fixedly locking onto everyone.

The scarlet tongue rapidly flickered in and out, and the dripping saliva corroded the rocks beneath its feet, creating pits and emitting hissing white smoke.

"Perfect timing to test my skills on you, and while I'm at it, I'll refine your materials into new guard puppets. That'll make the best use of you!"

Lu Zaian sneered, eager to test his newly mastered spell.

[The green vines strangle it!]

With a wave of his right hand, a surge of azure wood spirit power erupted, transforming into a dozen thick, poisonous vines covered in sharp wooden spikes, which swiftly coiled around one of the most volatile demonic flame serpents!

Seeing this, the demonic flame serpent neither dodged nor avoided, but instead a hint of anthropomorphic mockery flashed in its eyes.

It suddenly spewed out a large amount of scorching, viscous magma from the gaps between its scales!

"Chichichichi——!"

The vibrant vines collided violently with the scorching, fiery magma.

Smoke billowed out...

Burnt black and broken, it was difficult to truly restrain the opponent.

"Indeed, wood generates fire, and ordinary wood-based spells are indeed inherently countered by it."

Lu Zaian understood; this outcome was within his expectations.

"Shout!"

The Demon Flame Serpent let out a triumphant hiss, and its other head opened its blood-red maw, unleashing an even thicker stream of fiery magma, emitting a pungent sulfurous stench, which blasted towards Lu Zaian's waist like a high-pressure water cannon!

It was moving at an extremely high speed, and the scorching heat wave even made the faces of those behind it sting!

Lu Zaian remained still, but his thoughts stirred slightly.

【Camellia Wall!】

A massive, incredibly thick wooden barrier, formed by countless ancient Chinese toon tree branches intertwined and interwoven, materialized before him.

The surface of the rampart not only has wood grain patterns, but also a layer of clear, watery luster that flows endlessly like a living thing, exuding a calm and solid aura.

Boom!

The fiery magma slammed violently against the barrier, producing a deafening roar.

The scorching liquid and toxic fumes splashed everywhere, corroding the surrounding rock walls and leaving them riddled with holes!

However, when the light faded, the barrier, which was interwoven with blue and green, remained unmoved, with only a few scorch marks on its surface, and quickly recovered to its original state under the flow of rich vitality!

"Water nourishes the wood, and the wood strengthens its shape; this defense is indeed very solid!"

Lu Zaian was satisfied.

He no longer held back, his handprints changing one after another.

The spell of water and wood generating each other caused the three demonic flame snakes to roar repeatedly, rolling and dodging in the lava river, looking quite disheveled and unable to fight back at all.

The crowd behind them watched, mesmerized and amazed.

"The Mountain Lord is incredibly powerful!"

"With just a little skill, we can subdue this ferocious creature until it has no chance!"

Xu Yan'er's beautiful eyes sparkled with excitement. She had followed Lu Zai'an all the way and knew that he was unfathomable, but every time she witnessed him make a move, she was still incredibly shocked.

at this time.

The three demonic flame serpents, which had been suppressed and were now enraged, suddenly stopped hissing at the same time. They moved closer to each other, and their scales turned red and shiny, like red-hot irons!

The demonic power within his body was gathering at an unprecedented speed!

"Oh no! They're going to fight to the death!" Su Xuanhuo, with his extensive experience, immediately warned them.

Before the words were even finished, all six heads of the three demonic flame serpents simultaneously rose up and opened their blood-red maws!

No longer an ordinary flow of lava, but spewing out six extremely condensed [Innate Fire Poison] streams, almost dark red in color, exuding a destructive aura!

These six [Innate Fire Poison] rapidly merged and converged in mid-air, transforming into a boiling and churning waterfall of dark red lava!

The lava waterfall, carrying a terrifying force capable of incinerating and corroding everything, poured down upon Lu Zaian and the group behind him!

The intense heat instantly sucked away the surrounding air.

The rock face began to melt.

The entire mine seemed about to collapse!

"Mountain Lord, be careful! Retreat quickly!"

Su Xuanhuo and the others turned pale and exclaimed in unison. The terrifying pressure made it almost impossible for them to breathe, and they instinctively wanted to retreat!

Lu Zaian remained calm, only slightly raising his eyes.

The [Camellia Barrier] in front of him shone brightly, becoming thicker and more solid, and its range expanded significantly, protecting everyone behind him.

however.

At the crucial moment when this devastating lava waterfall captured everyone's attention!

The lava river below, which had been temporarily calm due to the snake demon's full power, suddenly exploded without warning!

boom! !

A black shadow, even larger and more terrifyingly violent than the three demonic flame serpents combined—

Like a venomous dragon that has been lying in wait for a long time, it suddenly burst out with the force of thunder!

This was actually a demonic flame serpent with a dark gold body and three extremely ferocious snake heads, and the demonic power it emitted had reached the second-tier high-grade level!

It had been lurking in the deepest, hottest part of the river, waiting for this perfect opportunity to deliver a fatal blow!

Three gaping maws opened simultaneously!

They were spitting out:

Blazing white lava!

Dark green poisonous fog!

And a silent yet space-distorting, soul-scorching ray!

From three extremely tricky angles that sealed off all dodging space, it bit at Lu Zaian, who seemed to be focusing all his attention on resisting the waterfall above!

Watch out behind you!

"There's one more!!"

"It has three heads!!"

The gasps of surprise instantly turned into desperate screams of horror!

This sudden attack was insidious, vicious, and deadly!

Faced with this seemingly hopeless situation of being attacked from both sides, Lu Zaian narrowed his eyes, a cold glint of something he had anticipated flashing across his face.

"Do you really think my powerful divine sense is just for show, that I can't sense that you, you beast, have been hiding down there all along?"

I've been patiently waiting for you for a long time! The game has come to an end.

With a thought, he instantly activated the scheme he had secretly prepared!

【Water and Wood in Harmony, Azure Waves Reaching the Heavens!】

The water vapor that had been silently filling the entire mine suddenly condensed!

Countless thick, emerald-green vines, rising from the air, bloom in profusion, growing wildly from the moisture!

They spontaneously wove together a net that blots out the sky and is indestructible!

Within the network cable, the remaining moisture condensed into [Water Spirit Thousand Blades], spreading throughout the air, their sharp edges chilling!

In just a moment, the terrifying spell that combined trapping and killing was formed!

The three-headed demonic flame serpent king, which had just leaped out of the magma and was at the height of its power, now seemed like a clown, willingly walking into the trap!

Along with three other second-tier mid-grade creatures, they were all caught in a net and forcibly pulled out of the magma river that was their source of power!

"When did the mountain lord cast this spell?!"

"Such a powerful trapping and killing technique was created in an instant?"

"It happened without any warning at all, it's too powerful."

"Everything was within the mountain lord's calculations!"

The crowd gasped again, stunned by Lu Zaian's incredible methods.

Little did they know, Lu Zaian had only just grasped this during the battle.

When an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator casts a one-time spell, the residual magical power quickly dissipates into the world and returns as spiritual energy.

This is also why low-level cultivators' mana depletes rapidly during battle; they can only draw upon the mana stored in their dantian, and each use diminishes it.

Even with the support of spirit stones and pills, it couldn't cover the enormous consumption during wartime, resulting in a deficit...

Only those who have reached the Core Formation stage possess profound Golden Core power and can draw upon a portion of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth—they can easily engage in battles that last for three days and three nights!

Lu Zaian also fought against the snake demon and used his magic repeatedly before discovering a slight surprise.

His own water and wood elemental powers were vast and boundless, and vibrant and full of life.

When the two combine, the residual magical power can linger in the world for a long time!

As long as magical power does not dissipate back into the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, it can remain subtly connected with the cultivator and be used again.

Lu Zaian took advantage of this.

During the previous battle, he continuously spread his condensed and undissipated magical power around him, filling the void!

It's like laying mines while fighting.

Then, at the right moment, with a single thought, all of it is activated, and the spell is completed instantly!

This process is much faster than him simply drawing his magical power from his dantian, letting it flow through his meridians, and then performing hand seals!

In a battle between masters, a difference of just a breath or two can create a huge advantage.

Enough to determine the winner...