The Sacred Flame of Burning Karma

"The Crimson Origin!?"

Before Xu Yunxin could even be surprised, the [Skill: Wild Transformation] time limit had expired.

The towering and magnificent "Crimson Gold Buddha Tree" dissipated, and Xu Yunxin transformed back into human form.

The gigantic barbarian shrine, which had been nestled among the branches and leaves, was now revealed once more.

In less than half a breath, the shrine that Cangjing Niu Er had painstakingly worshipped had been burned to a grayish-white color.

Without the support of the giant "Red Gold Buddha Tree", the shrine had no support in the air and immediately crumbled into dust.

The statues of Aoi Niu Er, which were covered by the shrine, and the "Toad God" that he had devoted himself to worshiping, all turned to ashes, leaving not a trace behind.

Xu Yunxin didn't bother to check it carefully, since he had already absorbed a piece of crimson essence.

After Aoi Niu Er and his shikigami were killed, the remaining "archer foot soldiers" were no longer a threat.

In this battle, Xu Yunxin suffered unprecedented losses; not only was all the spiritual energy in his body exhausted.

He was also extremely tired, and even the World Tree in his mind was dim, as if something very important was missing.

Xu Yunxin organized his thoughts.

It seems that this toad-headed shikigami is a shikigami with the strength of Foundation Establishment.

Oh wait, these Tier 1 barbarians are actually summoning shikigami with Foundation Establishment level strength.

But this time he truly killed this Foundation Establishment stage shikigami.

After killing so many people with great effort, this is the first time!

This feels so good!

Xu Yunxin cheered himself up, thinking that as long as it was about killing barbarians, it was all worth it no matter how tired he was!

In just a short while, Yue Yinping had killed all the remaining "bow-step foot soldiers".

She is cleaning up the battlefield right now.

Xu Yunxin was too tired to move and didn't offer any help.

Taking advantage of this brief moment of free time, he opened the system to see what was wrong with him.

[World Tree Buds: Xu Yunxin]

[Class: Druid LV5 (6.64/1000)]

【Lifespan: 16/109】

[Cultivation Level: Qi Refining Level 6]

[Destiny: Harmony with nature, drawing from nature, and companionship with animals.]

[World Tree Sprout: Golden Buddha Tree (Red), Growth Rate 0%, (Awakened the Sacred Flame of Burning Karma).]

[Spell: Whispers of the Forest, Manipulation of Wood and Earth. (Cannot be upgraded)]

[Skill: Wild Transformation LV0 (35/100)]

[Skill: Animal Spirit Contract LV2 (Available), already contracted with a second-tier mid-grade spirit beast, the Crimson-Tailed Green Serpent (mutant species, bloodline evolution level: 13.8‰), number of spirit contracts (1).]

[Skill: Mist Breathing Clouds LV0 (1/100)]

【技能：世界树赐福LV0（40/500）消耗本源使用（10颗/1次）】

[Original Source: 1 (Red); 115.72 (White)]

[Nature's Blessing: 1‰]

"Huh, another new ability?"

Xu Yunxin glanced at it briefly and noticed that there was an extra piece of information after "World Tree Sprout".

He immersed himself in it and immediately learned even more information.

The blazing sacred fire consumes my remaining body; what joy is there in living, what sorrow in dying?

[To eradicate evil and do good, for the sake of enlightenment, to burn away karmic debts and cleanse sins, and for Heaven and Earth to bear the consequences.]

"???"

Xu Yunxin almost thought he was seeing things.

Are you too tired?

That's it?

What's going on here? Why did they give him eight short sentences?

Reciting poetry?

Besides sounding familiar, what's the point?

Xu Yunxin really wanted to drag the system out and kick its ass hard!

Seeing that it was yet another riddle, Xu Yunxin could only try to figure it out himself.

This incinerating holy flame is the same crimson flame that burned on the giant hand of the "Crimson Gold Buddha Tree" during the battle just now.

This crimson flame seems to be able to use blood and filth as fuel, specifically countering the bizarre and filthy secret techniques devised by barbarians.

Ah yes, it's "灼业荡孽" from those few short phrases.

And then that was it. What's the point of living or dying?

And they even want to burn my remains?!

Xu Yunxin suddenly realized something.

Whose will be burned? It won't be mine, will it?

He quickly looked up.

This glance sent a chill down his spine.

How come his lifespan was reduced by a year when he was perfectly fine!

A whole year! Good heavens!

Is it true that emotions "burn my broken body" or "burn my life"?

He lost a year of his lifespan in just half a breath of time. That's too much of a loss!

If you burn it freely, each transformation will increase your lifespan by six years.

His lifespan of over a hundred years is not even enough to unleash 20 Musou attacks!

No wonder they say, "What joy is there in living, what sorrow in dying!"

He was a peaceful and nature-loving druid who enjoyed planting trees and fighting barbarians, but in the end, he had to sacrifice his own life.

Xu Yunxin only wants to say one thing: Ma Maipi.

If we continue analyzing in this way...

Could the "retribution of heaven and earth" refer to the red origin?

The more I think about it, the more likely it seems.

Xu Yunxin's face darkened as he cursed inwardly.

Damn system, you're trading my life for the crimson essence that I obtained through my own abilities!

In the end, you didn't give me a single penny, not even a sip of soup!

Despite the criticism, this "Holy Flame of Burning Karma" is quite fragrant.

Whether it's the Matsushita pants in the bamboo forest, or Aoi Niu Er and Ozawa Mali, the shikigami they create are all incredibly bloody.

After finally defeating them, they could escape by using their shikigami, making them impossible to kill or catch.

Now the system has thoughtfully provided the "Burning Sacred Flame" gift pack, which perfectly solves the problem of not being able to kill the shikigami.

It can be described as a perfect closed loop.

The only downside is that it takes your life.

Xu Yunxin calmed down after cursing for a while.

If he really had to choose, he would kill even if it cost him his life.

After resting for a while, I feel better.

Xu Yunxin ate another Qingling Pill, and then helped Yue Yinping clean up the battlefield.

This battlefield was easier to clean up; there were only four bows and a few pieces of leather armor.

Including the bows, arrows, and leather armor captured in previous raids, the total number of townspeople has been enough to arm them all.

After collecting what they could use, the two assessed the situation and felt that the danger of continuing to camp out with the barbarians had increased dramatically.

But if we stop here, we won't have really hurt the barbarians.

After these two matches, Xu Yunxin truly realized the strength of these barbarians.

Almost every team can summon a shikigami with Foundation Establishment level strength.

They killed two, leaving at least eight, one of whom was already at the Foundation Establishment stage.

At least eight Foundation Establishment cultivators—that number alone is chilling.

Even if Qingxi Town had a first-order magic array, it could only withstand a full-force attack from a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

What about the remaining seven?

What can we use to block it?

After much thought, Xu Yunxin came up with a plan: mobile warfare.

He planned to send Yue Shaohua back to Qingxi Town to help defend the city, while he and Xiaoqing continued to search in the southeast sector, hoping to wipe out two more groups of barbarians!

Only in this way can we gain a glimmer of hope in the final battle to defend the city.

Surprisingly, Yue Yinping did not refute Xu Yunxin this time. She followed his instructions, packed her spoils, and headed towards Qingxi Town.

Once they were some distance away, Yue Yinping turned her back to Xu Yunxin and shouted loudly, "Town Lord, take care!"

Xu Yunxin watched Yue Yinping's departing figure, gently exhaled a breath of stale air, and when he turned around, all he could hear was the rustling of the wind blowing through the sand.