Chapter 215: The True Power of the Fire Spirit

After the light sword appeared, the ghost cultivator in white transformed his claws into fingers and pointed toward Zhou Qing. The green blade then shot straight at him. Seeing this, Zhou Qing shifted his feet, nimbly dodging the incoming weapon. However, as soon as he sidestepped, the flying sword pivoted under the guidance of the ghost cultivator’s fingers and continued its pursuit.

"Let’s see if your sword formed of spiritual energy is stronger, or if my Wuqing is," Zhou Qing muttered. As the green blade turned back to strike, he drew his blade, Wuqing, from his waist and swung it directly at the incoming projectile. The physical blade collided with the energy-wrought sword, shattering it into two pieces.

The ghost cultivator looked on in astonishment, unable to fathom how a physical weapon in Zhou Qing’s hand could sever a sword forged from pure spiritual power. Despite his surprise, he did not relent. After his sword shadow was destroyed, he pressed his palms together in front of him and chanted silently. As he drew his hands apart, a spectral black dagger manifested between them. With a flick of his wrist, the black blade darted toward Zhou Qing.

As the dagger lunged, Zhou Qing met it with Wuqing. *Clang!* The two blades collided with a sound as solid as metal hitting metal, but this time, the black dagger remained intact. Instead of engaging in a stalemate, the blade swerved around Zhou Qing at the ghost cultivator’s command, looping back to strike again. The dagger was blindingly fast; though Zhou Qing tried to turn his body, the blade grazed him, ignoring his protective barriers and leaving a deep gash in his sleeve.

Realizing that Wuqing could not cut this weapon, Zhou Qing sheathed it and prepared to cast a spell. The dagger struck again, but Zhou Qing moved, dodging the initial thrust. Unexpectedly, the blade made a sharp, sudden turn at the flick of the ghost cultivator’s finger, aiming straight for his back. From the whip used by the previous black-clad ghost to the dagger now wielded by this one, it was clear that their artifacts shared a common, deadly trait: they completely bypassed standard defensive arts.

The sudden maneuver of the dagger left Zhou Qing unable to evade it in time. A sharp, stinging pain flared across his back. Feeling a dull ache, he breathed a sigh of relief; he could sense the dagger frantically drilling into his back, yet it failed to pierce his skin. His physical resilience was sufficient to withstand the force of the strike.

The ghost cultivator in the distance struggled, his fingers twitching as he exerted his full strength. He had expected the blade to pierce through Zhou Qing’s chest, but the result defied his expectations. After several moments of desperate drilling, the ghost cultivator, having exhausted his efforts, gave up; the dagger retreated to his side.

"You are no simpleton," the ghost cultivator remarked while recalling the blade. "To possess such a profound technique of Vajra-like invulnerability."

He was unaware, however, that the hardness of Zhou Qing’s body was not the result of any technique, but rather his Earth spiritual root. In this world, most cultivators used their Earth roots to draw upon the power of the land; some, having mastered it, could even travel through the earth. But Zhou Qing’s root was different. It did not merely aid him in absorbing the earth’s energy; it had fundamentally mutated his physical constitution.

"You said you didn't want to waste words with me," Zhou Qing scoffed, a cold glint in his eyes. "What is this now? A mutual appreciation society?"

With a thought, the creature Huo’er perched on his shoulder let out a strange cry, dissolving into a burst of flame that surged into Zhou Qing’s body. The moment the fire entered him, his black irises transformed into blazing embers, and a phantom aura of flame flickered around his form. Due to the limitations of the world's laws, Zhou Qing could not yet directly command fire, which was why Tian Yizi had left Huo’er with him. Having bonded with the ancient fire beast—a remnant soul that now shared his existence—Zhou Qing had discovered a way to wield its power: by combining the fire with his Earth root, using his own body as the conduit and his spiritual energy as a supplement to simulate the control of fire.

As flames ignited in his eyes, Zhou Qing swept his wide sleeves back and stomped his foot. Under his will, a strange, grayish fire erupted from the ground beneath the ghost cultivator. This flame was not a common fire, nor was it the fire of karma, or any known spiritual flame; it was a unique, hybrid force born of Huo’er’s heat, the power of his Earth root, and his own spiritual essence. Such a technique was possible only for Zhou Qing; his mutated Five Elements roots allowed for a fusion that other cultivators, even those with both fire and earth affinities, could never achieve.

The gray flames rose to consume the ghost cultivator, who shrieked in agony and darted aside. Yet, wherever he moved, the fire followed, wrapping around him like a persistent shadow. With a final, desperate howl of frustration, the ghost cultivator’s physical manifestation faded until his spirit dissipated into the void.

After the foe was vanquished, Zhou Qing staggered, his strength waning. He had exhausted nearly all his spiritual energy; because he could not draw power from the earth while maintaining such a complex spell, the technique was inherently unsustainable. Had the battle lasted a moment longer, he would have been left defenseless. Fortunately, he had managed to strike down the ghost cultivator just as his reserves ran dry.