Chapter Thirty-Four: The Fiery Net of Heaven and Earth

With a single command from the Fire Shaman Commander, a hundred Fire Shaman guards surged forward, axes raised, roaring with murderous intent as they charged toward Qingxu. At the same time, the remaining guards braced themselves to meet the fury of the Giant Spirits.

Deploying over a hundred peak Taiyi True Immortals to deal with a mid-stage Earth Immortal was truly extraordinary. This was largely because the shaman race did not cultivate the primordial spirit, making their innate ability to discern the cultivation of other beings weaker. Moreover, Qingxu’s Three Pure Daoist arts were a seamless unity; beneath the level of a saint, no one could fathom his depths. In fact, besides the Three Pure Ones, even the likes of Reception, Jun Ti, and Nuwa might not be able to perceive his true power.

“These Fire Shaman guards are formidable in their cultivation, their defenses astonishing. With the Fire God Armor, they are even more powerful. Only the supreme might of the Jade Void Palace Lantern can be relied upon now!”

It was known that the Fire Shaman guards were only one step away from being great shamans themselves. With their innate defenses, even acquired spiritual treasures found it hard to harm them. The Fire God Armor, in particular, was exceptional—crafted from Scarlet Copper from First Mountain, Divine Steel from Sky Crow, and dozens of other celestial materials, imbued with shamanic curses to form a divine shaman weapon. Not even innate spiritual treasures could easily destroy it in an instant.

With a hundred Fire Shamans attacking together, even a peak Daluo Golden Immortal would find themselves overwhelmed. At first glance, Qingxu seemed doomed, yet his expression was calm, as if everything was within his grasp.

“If the Jade Void Palace Lantern hadn’t refined half its innate restrictions, I’d have to flee. Now? I’m simply about to wield my spiritual treasure!” With a cold smile, Qingxu flicked his sleeves, sending the Jade Void Palace Lantern soaring into the air, hovering hundreds of feet above, spinning ceaselessly. Its blazing purplish-red flames enveloped thousands of miles, forming a web like heaven’s net.

The Heavenly Fire Web!

At its greatest power, the Jade Void Palace Lantern could create the Heavenly Fire Web, encompassing the thirty-three heavens above and the eighteen layers of the netherworld below. The entire Great Desolate would be within its grasp, and even the mightiest divine arts and magical powers could not escape its incinerating doom. However, only half of its innate restrictions had been refined, and Qingxu’s cultivation was only mid-stage Earth Immortal. Covering thousands of miles was already his limit.

Exerting his full strength, Qingxu enveloped thousands of Fire Shaman guards within the Heavenly Fire Web. The purplish-red divine flames burned, making the void ripple in waves—not far from the power of the Ninefold Divine Fire.

“What is this?” Both the Fire Shaman Commander and Vice Commander were shaken.

“Booming thunder!…”

Under Qingxu’s control, the fire web began to contract, its purplish-red flames intensifying as the area shrank, increasing the pressure on the Fire Shamans.

“What kind of flame is this? Its power is terrifying! It almost rivals the Ninefold Divine Fire of the Ancestral Shaman!”

It was the Fire Shaman Commander’s ignorance; had Zhu Rong been present, he would have recognized the Jade Void Palace Lantern at a glance. This treasure had shone brilliantly since the era of the ancient dragon, phoenix, and qilin races, claiming the lives of countless divine dragons, phoenixes, and qilins beneath its flames.

Each of the Three Pure Daoists possessed a divine lamp: the Pure Palace Lantern of Taiqing, the Jade Void Palace Lantern of Yuqing, and the Mysterious Spirit Palace Lantern of Shangqing. Beyond those, there were the Western Sumeru Mountain Golden Glass Lamp, the Imperial Palace Lotus Treasure Lamp, the Spirit Vulture Mountain Lamp, and the yet-to-appear Yin-Yang Two Rites Lamp. Together, they were known as the Seven Great Divine Lamps of the Desolate Era. If united, they could restore the Chaos Spirit Lamp, once again displaying the might of the primal supreme treasure.

“Children, follow me and fight our way out!” The Fire Shaman Commander shouted, taking the lead, swinging his axe at the fire web, trying to break an opening and escape the realm of death, with the other Fire Shamans following closely behind.

“Not good!” Qingxu was startled. These Fire Shamans were at least peak Taiyi True Immortals, and the Commander and Vice Commander were even early-stage Daluo Golden Immortals. With only mid-stage Earth Immortal cultivation, relying on the Heavenly Fire Web to trap them was nearly impossible!

Refining half of the innate restrictions merely allowed the use of the inferior-grade Heavenly Fire Web; only after refining all forty-two layers of restrictions could the superior-grade Heavenly Fire Web be unleashed.

“If I could wield the superior-grade Heavenly Fire Web, what would these Fire Shaman guards amount to? They’d be reduced to dust in an instant.”

Determined to use the Fire Shaman guards to establish his might before the Giant Spirits, Qingxu could not allow them to break through so easily.

“Time to risk it all!” With a fierce resolve, he directly merged the Jade Void Palace Lantern into the fire web. Instantly, the purplish-red divine flames surged a hundredfold, blazing into the sky, dyeing a hundred thousand miles of clouds in purplish-red.

Fearing unforeseen changes, Qingxu immediately exerted his full strength to envelop and refine the Fire Shamans.

Thunderous explosions, booming and crashing, firelight dazzling the heavens… Amidst it all, angry roars and anguished cries echoed!

Witnessing all this, the Giant Spirits halted in shock, wide-eyed and dumbfounded, with only one thought in their hearts: “Great Divine Power, Supreme Magic!”

To wield such divine arts single-handedly was truly world-shaking, awe-inspiring all the Giant Spirits.

Moments later, Qingxu’s magical power was exhausted. He presumed the Fire Shamans had perished, for not a single wail or cry could be heard. He withdrew the fire web and recalled the Jade Void Palace Lantern.

When all was calm and the scene revealed, Qingxu’s heart jolted. The thousands of Fire Shamans were battered and weakened, but not one had died. Their Fire God Armor was damaged in many places, bodies burned and blackened, flesh lacerated and blood streaming, a pitiful sight—but in truth, they were not seriously harmed.

“How is this possible?” Qingxu was astonished, but upon reflection, it was only natural. The Heavenly Fire Web was terrifying in power, capable of refining the heavens and earth, but his cultivation was ultimately too low. To injure thousands of Fire Shaman guards was already remarkable—they were peak Taiyi True Immortal shamans, after all!

“Children, follow me and kill these mongrels!” The Giant Spirit chieftain, Dafeng, seeing this scene, misunderstood. He believed Qingxu had done this deliberately to avenge his tribe, and was secretly grateful, resolving to repay him generously.

“Kill!” The Giant Spirits roared, charging at the Fire Shaman guards, tens of thousands forming a crushing torrent.

“Fight!” The Fire Shaman Commander raised his head and shouted.

“Fight! Fight!” The resounding cries from thousands of Fire Shamans shook the heavens and earth. The shaman race was proud, disdainful of fleeing; even when outmatched, they would fight to the death. Death, to them, was merely a return to the earth, back to the embrace of the Father God, a true battle against heaven, earth, and all beings!

Wounded by Qingxu’s Heavenly Fire Web and facing a hundredfold stronger foe, the Fire Shamans formed a battle array, unafraid, ready to face a fight of life and death, while also guarding against a sneak attack from Qingxu.

But their caution was unnecessary; Qingxu had nearly depleted all his magical power and immortal essence, and could no longer threaten them.

“The Giant Spirits suffered heavy losses earlier, but the Fire Shaman guards were badly wounded by the Heavenly Fire Web. Their battle now could go either way, though the Giant Spirits’ numbers give them a slight edge. For now, I’ll let them be and restore my magical power!” With ample spirit pills, recovery would not take long.

The outcome was largely decided. Even if the Fire Shaman guards overwhelmed the Giant Spirits, once Qingxu recovered, they would not escape the Heavenly Fire Web. It would only add a few more twists to the tale.