Gao Wu: Oh no! Young Master Zhen is a cultivator!

The two chased and fled, quickly flying out of the city.

Sun Kaiyuan plunged into the depths of the dense forest on the eastern outskirts of the city, his figure flashing through the thick canopy of trees and quickly disappearing into the darkness.

He moved swiftly along the forest floor, keeping his breathing as low as possible.

Lin Ran paused for a moment at the edge of the dense forest, a sneer on his lips: "They certainly know how to choose a place. It's secluded and easy to bury someone."

He then flew into the dense forest on his sword and followed the winding forest path.

At the foot of the cliff, a thin stream seeps out from a crevice and gathers into a shallow pool in a low-lying area.

The cliff face was covered with vines, and the ground was littered with withered branches and leaves.

Sun Kaiyuan stood at the edge of the shallow pool, his beard and hair disheveled, and his brocade robe charred in many places.

He adjusted his breathing to suppress his injuries, his eyes fixed on the forest path.

The flying sword emerged from the dense forest and hovered in mid-air above the open space.

Lin Ran stood on his sword, looking down at Sun Kaiyuan by the shallow pool: "Why aren't you running anymore?"

"The feng shui here is quite good." Sun Kaiyuan grinned. "Using this place as your burial ground wouldn't be an insult to you."

As he spoke, he lit a flame in each of his hands, one crimson and the other deep purple.

Two flames danced in his palm, emanating completely different auras.

He slowly brought his hands together, trying to merge the two flames into one.

The moment the two-colored flames came into contact, a piercing hiss erupted, and the surrounding air trembled violently, as if even space itself was repelling this force.

Sun Kaiyuan's forehead veins bulged, his arm muscles bulged, and while he exerted all his strength, a cold smile appeared on his lips.

"drink!"

With a loud shout, he slammed his palms together.

The two flames merged completely, transforming into a dark, purplish-gold flame that floated quietly in his palm.

The flames were no longer raging or hissing; instead, they resembled a quietly blooming purple-gold lotus, even their light becoming more subdued.

But Lin Ran could sense that the power contained within that flame was more than twice as strong as any of the moves Sun Kaiyuan had shown before.

Sun Kaiyuan's flames suddenly surged, and a powerful aura erupted from him, causing the rubble below the cliff to tremble and tumble.

"The ultimate secret of my Sun family's 'Flame Devouring Technique' is to use different types of flames to unleash even more violent energy, elevating combat power to another level!"

His voice carried a hint of arrogance.

The flames spread slowly outwards from him, not fast, but with an unstoppable force.

The vines on the cliff face had not even touched the flames themselves when they were hit by the overflowing heat wave and instantly withered and turned into ashes.

The withered branches and fallen leaves on the ground spontaneously combusted without fire, and even the trickle of water seeping from the crevice in the cliff was evaporated into a white mist within a few breaths.

The entire cliff transformed into a living hell in the blink of an eye.

Sun Kaiyuan pushed with both hands, and the ball of purple-gold flames transformed into a torrent that swept towards Lin Ran.

Where the flames passed, a scorched furrow was carved into the ground, and the air was filled with suffocating heat.

Lin Ran remained standing on the flying sword, his expression calm, silently reciting a phrase in his mind.

"Illusion."

The Lord of Xuan Chen immediately responded, "Understood!"

A faint spiritual energy fluctuation spread out from the Nine Heavens Pendant.

The image reflected in Sun Kaiyuan's pupils was slightly distorted. He saw that the figure with long crimson hair was still standing on the flying sword, and was soon engulfed by the purple-gold flames.

The figure twisted a few times in the flames before dissipating like mist.

Sun Kaiyuan's pupils contracted sharply, and a sense of alarm rose in his heart, but it was too late to stop his attack.

The real Lin Ran had already moved several feet to the side and appeared behind him.

The Jinghong Sword separated from his feet, transforming into a dazzling golden light that drew a straight line in the night, piercing straight into Sun Kaiyuan's chest.

Pfft!

Sun Kaiyuan only had time to turn half an inch to the side in his haste. The golden light grazed the edge of his ribs, bringing with it a cloud of blood mist.

"Um!"

Sun Kaiyuan grunted, and the purple-gold flames around him suddenly dimmed. He was forced back several steps by the force, and the pebbles under his feet were crushed to pieces.

He gritted his teeth to steady himself, glanced down at the bleeding wound under his ribs, a ferocious glint flashed in his eyes, and he was about to unleash his flames to attack again.

The golden light traced a semi-circle in the air, then turned back and passed through his arm at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye.

Pfft!

This process repeated itself, eventually ruining all four of his limb joints.

"Ugh!"

Sun Kaiyuan let out a cry of pain, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Lin Ran, his single eye filled with resentment and unwillingness.

"Old clan chief!"

With a loud shout, two figures shot out from the dense forest.

Two elders from the Sun family, both at the Transcendent Realm, arrived and landed on either side of the shallow pool.

The one on the left is burly, with crimson fire patterns covering his arms, and a blazing white chain of fire stretching out between his palms.

The one on the right is a gaunt old man with a dark red fire bead the size of a walnut hanging from each of his ten fingertips, spinning in the air.

Flames surged around the two, casting flickering light on the entire cliff face.

They immediately spotted Sun Kaiyuan lying on the ground, their expressions changed drastically, and without saying a word, they rushed towards Lin Ran.

"How dare you, you brat!"

The one holding the fire chain was the first to attack. With a flick of his arms, the fire chain coiled around Lin Ran's neck like a serpent, sparks flying as the chain links collided.

Ten fireballs followed closely behind, drawing ten arcs in the air and blocking all of Lin Ran's escape routes from different angles.

Lin Ran flipped his right hand, and a bolt of lightning struck down from above, hitting the gaunt old man who was controlling the fire bead.

boom!

Lightning pierced through the fire shield he had hastily conjured, blasting the ten fire orbs into a shower of sparks.

The old man was sent flying backward by the blow, his back slamming into the cliff wall. His clothes were charred black, and his protective aura was shattered.

Before he could slide down the cliff, Lin Ran made a hand seal with his left hand, and several rock ridges suddenly emerged from the ground.

*Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!*

The crisscrossing rock ridges pinned his still-unlanding body to the cliff face.

The old man struggled twice, spat out a mouthful of blood, and then fell completely silent.

"Damn it! Give me back my brother's life!"

Taking advantage of the gap, the priest holding the fire chain circled behind Lin Ran, swung the chain horizontally, and the blazing white chain bent at an eerie angle in the air, wrapping around Lin Ran's ankle.

"How noisy!"

Lin Ran didn't even turn his head. The flying sword beneath his feet suddenly lifted him half a foot higher, and the fire chains grazed past his feet, entangled in nothing.

With a backhand flick, three ice spikes shot out, piercing through the protective flames of the Fire Chain and embedding themselves in his right shoulder.

Bang bang bang!

Ice and fire clashed fiercely at the wound, hissing and crackling, and large wisps of white mist gushed out from it.

The offering grunted, pulled the ice spike from his shoulder with his left hand, and the flames reformed into chains.

Before he could make another move, Lin Ran's palm lightning struck again, with three bolts of lightning hitting him in succession.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

His protective inner energy only lasted for two strikes before the third lightning bolt pierced through him, sending him and his chain crashing into the shallow pool.

Pfft!

A burst of blue-gold lightning exploded on the water's surface, the arc of electricity leaping across the water for several breaths before dissipating.

Lin Ran then activated earth-based magic, causing several boulders to fall from the cliff top and crash into the shallow pool, completely burying the worshipper who was floating on the water's surface.

He turned around and walked towards Sun Kaiyuan, who was slumped by the shallow pool. Arcs of electricity crackled at his fingertips, and blue-gold lightning illuminated his face, making it appear and disappear.

"You're not a Metal Awakener at all! What the hell are you?!" Sun Kaiyuan's face was full of disbelief.

Lin Ran sneered, "I just have a few more superpowers, is that a problem?"

Just then, several powerful auras rapidly approached from the direction of the dense forest.

The leader had gray hair and beard, a slender build, and his true energy was condensed and not released; he was clearly a martial artist at the Profound Realm.

Behind him followed a young man in his early twenties, dressed in a Secret Service uniform. He was handsome, tall, and had a sharp look in his eyes.

Further behind were seven or eight fully armed Secret Service investigators, armed with standard weapons, who quickly spread out at the foot of the cliff to form an encirclement.