Chapter 1861: Who's Your Brother?

The fire spread rapidly, nearly consuming the entire space.

For a moment, wails filled the land.

Under such might, even true god experts could not escape death.

"Junior Sister Qiuling, follow me, I'll take you out."

Xu Xing smiled confidently at Leng Qiuling and reached for her hand.

Leng Qiuling's expression changed, and she quickly withdrew her hand.

Xu Xing's hand froze in midair, his face awkward as he forced a smile: "Stay close, don't get lost."

With that, Xu Xing moved, darting swiftly into the depths of the mountain range.

Fortunately, the Qianling Alliance members ran fast and soon fled the core area of the formation.

But danger was far from over.

Even at the edge, bursts of flame would occasionally erupt, reaping the lives of many experts.

Those true god experts, though powerful, were also held back by the fierce flames.

As for Xu Xing and the younger generation, they could only travel in groups.

Along the way, with Xu Xing leading the disciples to clear the path, things went smoothly.

However, he noticed a young man always staying close to Leng Qiuling, and his brow furrowed.

"Kid, you're not a disciple of Qianling Mansion, are you? Get lost—our team doesn't carry dead weight!" Xu Xing said displeasedly.

In his eyes, Ye Yuan, a mere Second Heaven Divine Lord, was just tagging along for protection because their team was strong.

How could he allow that?

Leng Qiuling spoke up: "Senior Brother Xu, Ye Yuan is my friend."

Xu Xing's face turned awkward, but he smiled: "So he's Junior Sister Leng's friend. That's fine. But let me be clear: those who don't contribute won't get a single benefit!"

Ye Yuan just smiled and said nothing.

"Heh, more than just a friend, I hear? I've heard City Lord Gu is trying to set up Junior Sister Leng with Ye Yuan! Congratulations, Junior Sister Leng!" Zhuo Han suddenly spoke up from the group.

At these words, everyone's expression changed.

Those present were all young elites, the weakest being at the peak of Fourth Heaven Divine Lord.

How could a mere Second Heaven Divine Lord be worthy of Leng Qiuling?

More importantly, Xu Xing was now in the picture!

Xu Xing was taken aback, and his gaze toward Ye Yuan turned intensely hostile.

Seeing this, Zhuo Han felt a surge of satisfaction.

He knew that one sentence was enough.

Leng Qiuling frowned, casting an icy glare at Zhuo Han.

Zhuo Han felt it, but he no longer cared.

Even without Ye Yuan, there was no place for him now.

Compete with Xu Xing?

That would be suicide!

"Oh? To be favored by City Lord Gu, Brother Ye must have some extraordinary qualities. I look forward to sparring with you sometime," Xu Xing said lightly, not wanting to lose face in front of Leng Qiuling.

But with that one sentence, the tension thickened.

Ye Yuan glanced at him and said flatly: "Who's your brother? Do you deserve it?"

Everyone was stunned, not expecting Ye Yuan to be so confrontational.

Xu Xing was also taken aback; he thought Ye Yuan would back down after hearing his words, but instead, he was so disrespectful.

Ye Yuan had no intention of showing him respect. He had no romantic interest in Leng Qiuling, yet these people insisted on treating him as a rival.

Most importantly, Xu Xing was clearly a sanctimonious hypocrite.

Seeing his low cultivation, he wanted to kick him out of the team.

In truth, if not for protecting Leng Qiuling, he wouldn't bother traveling with them.

And yet Xu Xing arrogantly assumed Ye Yuan was riding on his coattails.

Xu Xing's face darkened, and he said coldly: "Ungrateful wretch! Since that's the case, you don't need to stay with our team. After all, we're not acquainted."

Leng Qiuling frowned: "Ye Yuan is a guest of Qianling Imperial Capital. If he's not in this team, then I'll leave too."

Xu Xing's expression changed, jealousy flaring.

He hadn't expected Leng Qiuling to be so dismissive of him, leaving him in a dilemma.

"Hmph! For Junior Sister Leng's sake, I'll let this slide. But I'll remember this!" Xu Xing snorted.

Boom!

Suddenly, a violent wave of fire surged toward them, startling everyone.

"Xu Xing, this wave of fire is too strong. Take care of yourselves! And remember, don't separate!" Ji Kang's voice rang out.

"Understood, Elder Ji!" Xu Xing called back.

Then he turned to the group: "Everyone, let's combine our strength against this wave. Follow my lead! Junior Sister Leng, get behind me."

Xu Xing put on a righteous air, as if everything was under control.

Leng Qiuling didn't want to comply, but Ye Yuan gave her a signal, so she stepped back.

"Ahhh..." Another series of screams came as weaker cultivators were burned to death or severely injured.

"Ye Yuan, this is a matter of life and death. Are you going to hide like a woman?" Xu Xing sneered when he saw Ye Yuan also hanging back.

Ye Yuan just smiled: "You're all so strong. I'm just a rookie; it's safer to stay in the back."

His words drew many contemptuous looks.

These young elites all thought Ye Yuan was utterly shameless.

But they had no time to scorn him.

"Everyone, on my command! Use your strongest attacks to meet the fire wave! Now!" Xu Xing shouted, his sword flashing out.

The sword strike was like a rainbow piercing the sun, meeting the fire wave head-on.

Boom, boom, boom...

Multicolored divine energy rippled through the mountain range, converging on the flames.

Pfft, pfft, pfft...

Though they were the cream of the younger generation, the Immortal Phoenix Formation was too powerful. The massive shockwave sent them flying backward, blood spraying from their mouths.

Xu Xing looked disheveled, his clothes singed in many places.

But the flames only paused briefly before surging back.

Xu Xing's face changed, and he shouted behind him: "Everyone, run! The flames can't be stopped!"

With that, he abandoned Leng Qiuling and fled.

Boom!

The flames engulfed a large area, screams merging into one.

Many young elites couldn't escape in time and were swallowed by the fire.

Xu Xing and the other geniuses fled in panic, running for who knows how long before finally escaping the flames.

But when he looked back, Xu Xing found Leng Qiuling was nowhere to be seen, and his expression changed.

"Zhuo Han, have you seen Junior Sister Leng?" Xu Xing asked grimly, looking at the disheveled Zhuo Han.

Zhuo Han was still catching his breath. When Xu Xing asked, he shook his head: "N-no... I didn't see her. Everyone was fleeing for their lives; who had time to look after her?"

Xu Xing frowned and looked into the distance. The path they had come from was already engulfed in flames, a sea of fire.