Chapter 43 The Might of Autumn’s Chill

The fire-breathing bird’s wings flickered as its massive body darted swiftly through the air, rising and falling, veering left and right, deftly evading the dense barrage of spell attacks. For all its size, its movements were anything but sluggish; indeed, it was remarkably agile. Yet, the sheer volume of attack talismans Autumn Frost unleashed made it impossible for the bird to escape unscathed. Some spells inevitably struck its body, though they did not injure it—merely hindering its movement for a fleeting moment.

But even such a brief pause was enough for Autumn Frost to complete his preparations for battle. In his left hand, he gripped a palm-sized defensive spirit shield, swiftly channeling spiritual energy into it. The shield expanded rapidly, enveloping his entire form within its protective embrace.

By now, the barrage of attack talismans had dissipated, and the fire-breathing bird beat its wings, charging toward Autumn Frost. When it was ten paces away, it opened its beak and unleashed a dragon of fire, which hurtled toward Autumn Frost with unerring precision.

Autumn Frost’s figure flashed, vanishing from his previous spot and reappearing instantly ten paces to the left. Glancing back, he saw the fire dragon pursuing him relentlessly, its fierce aura palpable even from behind his defensive shield ten paces away. Waves of searing heat pressed against him.

“So you want to play with fire?” he murmured coldly, a glint flashing in his eyes. Raising his left hand, he quickly condensed a fireball the size of an egg in his palm.

“Go!” he shouted, flinging the fireball with his left hand. Guided by his spiritual sense, the fireball shot toward the pursuing fire dragon. Just as it was about to be swallowed by the dragon’s flames, Autumn Frost’s right hand swiftly formed a spell seal. With a thunderous “boom,” the fireball exploded, erupting into a larger blaze that clashed with the onrushing fire dragon.

As Autumn Frost’s right hand wove a new spell, the flames suddenly coalesced into the form of a fiery phoenix, which engaged the fire dragon in a fierce struggle. Clearly, Autumn Frost had unleashed an advanced fire control spell.

For a time, the fire phoenix under Autumn Frost’s command and the fire dragon spat by the bird were evenly matched, neither able to overcome the other. It seemed victory or defeat would not be decided quickly.

Yet after the span of an incense stick burning, Autumn Frost’s fire phoenix gradually began to lose ground, its flames devoured bit by bit by the fire dragon. It would not be long before Autumn Frost was defeated. This was only natural. Though his cultivation had advanced at a remarkable pace, rivaling that of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, in truth, he was still only at the peak of Qi Condensation. Owing to the uniqueness of his cultivation technique, his spiritual sense and energy reserves far surpassed those of his peers, but compared to a true Foundation Establishment cultivator, he remained somewhat inferior—let alone the fact that the fire-breathing bird before him was a peak-level, early second-tier beast.

Sure enough, another stick of incense later, the fire phoenix was entirely consumed by the fire dragon. Having absorbed Autumn Frost’s flames, the dragon’s fire became even more ferocious and powerful as it again surged toward him.

As the fire dragon devoured his flames, Autumn Frost realized things were amiss and retreated rapidly. As he fell back, his right hand formed a spell, unleashing a Wind Blade at the fire-breathing bird. The bird beat its wings and dodged, then swooped toward Lin Yang.

By now, the fire dragon was upon Autumn Frost. In this dire moment, he could only rely on his layered defenses to withstand the onslaught. One barrier shattered, then another—five layers in all were burned through before the fire dragon’s assault was finally spent. Without the bird’s guidance, the fire dragon dissipated.

Autumn Frost was left with only his own spiritual shield and his low-grade defensive artifact. He barely had time to catch his breath when the fire-breathing bird closed in again, halting ten paces before him and unleashing yet another fire dragon from its beak.

“Enough!” Autumn Frost’s pupils contracted. With no time for elaborate maneuvers, he flashed backward. But this time, not only did the fire dragon attack, the bird itself swooped at him, talons outstretched like an eagle striking a hare, moving at twice his speed.

In this perilous instant, Autumn Frost’s right hand formed another spell seal, his lips murmuring incantations. With a resounding shout—“Go!”—a Wind Blade materialized in midair, slashing toward the charging bird at a speed too swift for the eye to follow.

The fire-breathing bird, bearing down with unstoppable momentum, could not evade in time. It beat its wings desperately, but at such close range, it could not avoid the attack. The Wind Blade struck its abdomen, carving a long gash from which blood sprayed forth.

Howling in pain, the bird launched itself even more ferociously at Autumn Frost, intent on rending him with its sharp talons in a fit of rage. Meanwhile, the fire dragon’s assault reached him, flames engulfing Autumn Frost and battering his shield with surging waves of heat, which, for the moment, could not breach his defenses.

Autumn Frost was drenched in sweat, beads rolling down his brow. Even with his spirit shield, he could feel the overwhelming power of the surrounding flames. Fortunately, the artifact’s defensive power far surpassed ordinary spells; even as a low-grade defensive spirit tool, it remained nearly impenetrable. Despite the relentless burning, the flames could not break through.

The fire-breathing bird clawed fiercely at the shield, its hooked beak pecking at the barrier, but to no avail. At last, it retreated a few steps, gathered itself, and hurled its entire body against the shield.

Autumn Frost was sent flying more than ten paces, blood surging in his chest until he spat a mouthful of it out. The defensive aura was left with a gaping hole. As he replenished the shield with spiritual energy, his left hand reached for his storage pouch at his belt. With a flip of his palm, he retrieved his low-grade spirit weapon, the Ice Feather Ring.

Since the Wind Blade spell could not finish the bird, and the drawn-out battle was only growing more dangerous, Autumn Frost resolved to end it with the Ice Feather Ring.

As the fire-breathing bird charged him once more, Autumn Frost retreated rapidly, wielding the ring with his right hand. Just as the bird was about to strike, the Ice Feather Ring spun swiftly, unleashing a barrage of fine ice needles.

At such close range and with so many needles filling the air, the bird had no chance to dodge. In an instant, its body was pierced by countless icy darts, and it plummeted from the sky.

Blood rained down through the air. Autumn Frost wiped away the blood at the corner of his lips, satisfied, as he stowed the Ice Feather Ring and gasped for breath. The fierce battle had drained much of his spiritual energy and left him wounded. He needed to find a safe place to recover without delay.