The sea of fire churned, with fiery waves surging like the tide.

The woman under Mr. Lv let out a piercing scream.

After Mr. Lv spoke these words, Nie Ruhai's face darkened like iron.

The strategy he and Mr. Lv had discussed relied entirely on the assumption that the opponent could break through the sea of fire.

To him, the sea of fire was fiercely raging, and the opponent might not even reach this place, perhaps perishing as soon as the fire started rising.

But now, according to Mr. Lv's words, the opponent was approaching.

Nie Ruhai clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white, knowing that a fierce battle was inevitable.

Mr. Lv released the woman, clawing the air, causing the flames to suddenly condense and form a picture.

In the picture, Qin An was approaching the fiery cave with his ice-attributed True Qi, drawing closer slowly.

Liu Qingzhou saw Qin An's calm face, clenched his fists tightly, his eyes turning red as boundless anger surged forth, "Qin An!"

He shouted subconsciously.

Nie Ruhai stepped forward and gave a backhand slap, scolding harshly, "Shut up!"

Liu Qingzhou covered his face, wanting to act out but realizing the current situation, lowered his head without saying a word, swallowing his resentment.

Nie Ruhai withdrew his hand, shaking his wrist lightly, saying, "Young master, we must find a way to kill them here."

Mr. Lv split open his sharp beak, giving a cold, sinister laugh, "This person's ice-attributed True Qi is indeed somewhat substantial, but it's just right for me to weigh his worth."

With that said, Mr. Lv gently waved his claw.

The next moment, twelve Fire Crows from the Jade Bone Realm raised their heads, looking fervently at Mr. Lv.

Mr. Lv picked up a wine cup, took a sip of the blood wine inside, and said in a cold voice, "This sea of fire is quite suitable for you all to launch an attack. Go bring me Qin An's head."

The twelve Fire Crows of the Jade Bone Realm cried out in unison and flew into the sea of fire.

Nie Ruhai saw this and promptly said, "Young master, we should go too, join forces to kill Qin An, and finish this quickly!"

At this moment, Qin An was in the sea of fire, which was the perfect time to make a move. Nie Ruhai did not want to waste this opportunity.

In this world, there are no walls that don't leak. During this trial, he had remained hidden, fearing suspicions had already been raised.

He had to ensure that everyone died because only the dead would not reveal the secrets of the Demon Hall.

Mr. Lv put down the wine cup and shook his head, "First, figure out his details."

Only then did Nie Ruhai understand, and his gaze at Mr. Lv carried a hint of complexity.

This demon, although speaking rashly just now, was not a fool.

Sending twelve Fire Crows of the Jade Bone Realm was merely to test Qin An's true strength, to know the opponent's details, and to predict and manage the enemy better.

"What a pity for these Fire Crows of the Jade Bone Realm," Nie Ruhai said.

Mr. Lv sneered at the words, "Pity?"

"The foundation of the top three in Lingzhou, how could you comprehend? Mere followers, if they die, they die."

"If it weren't for those troublesome patrollers, what kind of waves could those twelve Jinzhou Guards in Lingzhou stir up?"

"Heh, if you didn't want to become a spy for the patrollers, I wouldn't want to cooperate with the Demon Hall."

The demon was deceitful, particularly so for the demons of the Fire Crow Race.

The intimacy of calling each other brothers just vanished.

Nie Ruhai pursed his lips, not saying a word.

Enduring some humiliation was fine, as long as he completed the demon hall's mission.

The fiery cave fell silent once more.

...

Deep in the sea of fire, the heat was bone-eroding.

Qin An cut through with his True Qi, all the Jinzhou Guards behind him carefully following.

The sea of fire just parted then closed again.

The flames, like living beings, continually reformed, one step too slow, and it would be obliteration.

Ahead, the temperature of the flames grew ever higher.

Zheng Long wiped the sweat from his forehead and reminded, "Mr. Qin, be cautious. We're nearing the demon's lair."

Everyone here were Jinzhou Guards who lived on the edge, accustomed to tasks, and well aware of many dangers.

The hotter the sea of fire, the more perilous it was; the more perilous it was, the closer they were to the demon's lair.

Qin An squinted his eyes and said, "Indeed, we must be cautious."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Long and the Jinzhou Guards were slightly taken aback, and then they looked ahead.

Ahead, the flames suddenly twisted, and twelve crow shadows burst forth from the fire.

Zheng Long drew the weapon from his waist, gritting his teeth, "Everyone, prepare for battle. During combat, be sure to follow Mr. Qin."

The Jinzhou Guards quickly formed a formation, their blades pointing at the Fire Crows.

Now in the sea of fire, it was already an extremely terrifying environment for them.

Added to that, the sudden appearance of the Fire Crows not only required them to tightly follow Qin An but also to fight the Fire Crows, greatly increasing the difficulty.

The Fire Crows did not approach, seemingly aware of Qin An's close combat prowess, fanning their wings from afar.

The wind fueled the fire.

As the gusts appeared, the temperature of the flames soared once more, the terrifying flames surging like a tidal wave toward them.

Qin An squinted, and with a swipe of his right hand at his waist, the black blade suddenly unsheathed.

The flash of the blade appeared like a white line floating in the air.

The flames in front were split in two by Qin An, the horrific temperature making him momentarily hold his breath.

"Truly clever demons, but a pity..." Qin An squinted.

Duan Feng's paired rings struck through the air, but were blocked by the Fire Crows, asking knowingly, "Pity what?"

He understood what Qin An meant.

These Fire Crows, though timid, were indeed effective in their long-range attacks.

Qin An's lips curled up, eyes indifferent as water, "A pity... that they are demons."

As soon as he finished speaking, Qin An raised his left hand.

Now needing to stabilize the sea of fire with ice-attributed True Qi, unable to use the Shocking Dragon Wind and Cloud Step to pursue, there was only one move left.

Blood-Burning Heaven-Cutting Hand!

All the stored blood energy within was burned entirely.

Qin An's left hand formed a claw, dividing the ice-attributed True Qi of the Two Principles Bodhi Heart, tearing toward the front of the sea of fire.

The next moment, the terrifying power from burning blood energy made the ice-attributed True Qi expand rapidly.

The icy True Qi surged with the blood energy, instantly freezing the fire sea within several zhang.

Qin An said slowly, "Twenty breaths."

He had just burned all the stored blood energy, equivalent to the amount of eight Blood Marrows.

Today, if he didn't reclaim it, it would be a loss for Qin An.

These twelve Fire Crows before him, not a single one would escape.

Everyone, including Zheng Long, knew exactly what twenty breaths meant.

Afterward, the Jinzhou Guards charged toward the Fire Crows one by one.

The twelve Fire Crows saw this and screamed in alarm.

The nearest Fire Crow's cry abruptly stopped.

A black blade, with a sharp gust, pierced through the Fire Crow's mouth.

Blood splattered everywhere.

Qin An indifferently extracted the blade, harvesting the marrow with seamless grace.

The nearby fire crow prepared to flee, but Qin An lifted his left hand and pressed it on its wing.

A terrifying power emanated from his five fingers, and the sound of bones breaking echoed.

Qin An's expression remained calm as he slashed a second time.

Another head flew high into the air.

On the other side, led by Duan Feng and Zheng Long, the Yinzhou guards fought fiercely with the remaining ten fire crows.

The blade light was like a net, dense and intertwined.

The Yinzhou guards were already quite formidable; if it weren't for the Fire Crow Race having the advantage in numbers, they might have been taken down long ago.

At this moment, the fire crows had lost the will to fight, and were no match for the Yinzhou guards.

In just a few breaths, the ten fire crows were severely injured.

Qin An seized the time, performing the Shocking Dragon Wind and Cloud Step, becoming a series of afterimages.

With each pause, a head would fly up.

Qin An even casually dug out the blood marrow.

After ten breaths, under the restraint of the Yinzhou guards, the remaining ten fire crows were all killed.

Qin An showed no emotion as he absorbed the blood marrow; including the previous four, he now had eight that couldn't be absorbed.

He put the blood marrow into his chest and surveyed the surroundings.

The surrounding Yinzhou guards were calm, and not a single one spoke.

Although they were all people living on the edge of a knife, anyone daring enough to participate in the patrol guard trial was a tough person.

If it were not for Qin An, they would have been dead by now.

Now, it's just some blood marrow.

Let alone blood marrow, even if Qin An asked them to walk through fire and sword, they wouldn't bat an eye.

The sea of fire around them began to cover again.

Without wasting words, Qin An used ice-attribute True Qi to open the path, rushing towards the destination.

...

At the location of the flame cave.

Mr. Lv tilted the wine cup in his hand, the blood water dripping without him realizing.

Liu Qingzhou tightly clenched his fists, palms sweating, a hint of fear flashing in his eyes.

Nie Ruhai swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing as he said, "Sir, this won't be easy."

Mr. Lv snapped back to reality, lifted his claw, drank the blood water in the cup, and his sharp beak quivered, "No fear."

"Proceed as planned."

At this moment, Mr. Lv's voice no longer carried its previous arrogance, but had a hint of gravity.

"His martial arts must be out of the ordinary."

"If it's a secret technique, it must come at a great cost."

"No fear."

Unconsciously, Mr. Lv used "no fear" twice.

Nie Ruhai was about to continue speaking.

Just then, the sea of fire suddenly surged.

Mr. Lv jumped up, "They have arrived, let's begin."

In the depths of the fiery sea ahead, dozens of figures gradually became clear.

Mr. Lv approached the woman from before, extended his claw and pressed on her head.

Meanwhile, Nie Ruhai and Liu Qingzhou drew their long swords, standing opposite Mr. Lv.

The woman struggled hard, but to no avail.

At this time, Qin An used True Qi to break through the sea of fire, bringing the Yinzhou guards to land steadily.

As soon as they landed, Qin An took in everything before him.

Before he could speak, Nie Ruhai shouted out loud.

"Great! You're finally here!"

"If you hadn't come, the two of us wouldn't have been able to hold on!"

Liu Qingzhou, now left with only one arm, put on a pained expression, "The monsters are fierce, be careful, colleagues!"

According to the plan, they pretended to have encountered Mr. Lv.

They even made their clothes messy and torn, appearing extremely distressed.

Zheng Long and the Yinzhou guards exchanged glances.

Qin An had previously told them about Nie Ruhai.

Yet now, the situation was difficult to discern.

Seeing this, Qin An raised an eyebrow, "Thank you both."

Nie Ruhai sensed Qin An's tone and felt slight ripples in his heart.

This implied some level of belief.

Thinking of this, Nie Ruhai was about to continue speaking when he noticed something unusual.

Qin An and the Yinzhou guards, though silent, stayed notably far from them.

Nie Ruhai moved forward two steps.

Yet before he could take those steps, he saw Qin An shake his finger.

"A half step closer, and your head will roll."

Nie Ruhai coldly replied, "What do you mean?"

Qin An wore an amused smile, "I don't trust you."

Nie Ruhai pretended to be angry, "We risked our lives fighting monsters, and you actually..."

At that moment, Qin An interrupted again.

"Stay back and let's slay this demon together, or get lost."

With these words, the surrounding Yinzhou guards silently agreed with Qin An, clearly taking sides.

No one was foolish, and no one opposed at this time.

Of course, they preferred to believe in Qin An, who saved them.

Seeing this, Nie Ruhai's face gradually turned grim.

Then, Mr. Lv, who hadn't spoken yet, slowly opened his mouth.

"Enough."

Mr. Lv brushed his hand over the woman's head, his sharp beak lifting with a cold edge, "Since we're discovered, there's no need anymore."

Nie Ruhai and Liu Qingzhou exchanged glances, then sighed and quietly moved to Mr. Lv's side.

Suffice it to say, everyone already understood that Qin An's suspicions were correct.

Mr. Lv glanced at Qin An with interest and said, "Let me introduce myself, my surname is Lv."

"Your strength is impressive, and I'm quite interested, but unfortunately..."

Before finishing the sentence, a gust of wind sounded.

Mr. Lv saw the black blade enlarging before him, his heart was shocked.

This man showed no martial ethics!

In the face of the crisis, he shielded the woman in the middle.

The black blade abruptly stopped at the woman's neck.

Mr. Lv peeked out from behind the woman, tauntingly, "The Evil Extermination Bureau's weakness is always these ants, do you dare to slay them with this blade?"

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