Crossing Over: The Strongest Mage

"Hehe! Thank you for the reminder, Senior Brother. I'm confident about passing the Tribulation," Yan Huo replied with a smile. The *Three-Nine Heavenly Tribulation* involves three bolts of heavenly lightning descending, which tests not only the body of the cultivator but also the strength of their soul power. A moment's carelessness could result in the cultivator being struck into oblivion, their soul scattering. With the help of formation techniques and high-grade spirit tools, and considering that Yan Huo's soul power has reached the Golden Core stage, he believed passing the smaller Three-Nine Tribulation would not be a problem. The key question, however, was whether the heavenly tribulation would be so easily overcome. Would the heavens allow this rebellious child to pass the first hurdle of the heavenly cycle so easily? That was up to the will of the heavens.

As soon as he left the stone tower, Yan Huo said to Fox Bai, "Senior Brother! I want to try the *Confusion Formation* now. You should stand behind me."

Yan Huo had already tested it inside the stone tower, but the space there was limited. 

"I'll stay inside the stone tower. It's safer," Fox Bai muttered under his breath.

"Hehe! Senior Brother, I just remembered something I left behind in the stone tower. I'll be right back. You continue experimenting with your formation. Don't wait for me!" Fox Bai said, disappearing in a flash.

"Senior Brother's cultivation might not be as strong as mine, but his speed is much faster than mine." Yan Huo couldn't help but sigh.

Fox Bai practiced demon cultivation, refining himself; his body was his weapon, so of course, he was fast.

"This fox senior brother is still as cowardly as ever. But how did he know I was going to use him for my formation experiment? Hehe!" Yan Huo shook his head and chuckled. "Never mind, I'll try it myself."

Yan Huo began to focus his soul power and started to test the formation. Suddenly, a soft, feminine voice came from the entrance of the cave.

"Haha! I thought no one was here! I didn't expect to find such a beautiful companion here."

"Who!?" Yan Huo was startled. He never imagined there would be others in the cave. Given his current cultivation level, he could normally extend his soul power to cover the entire cave, sensing everything within. Unfortunately, he was focused on testing the formation and hadn't noticed someone had entered the cave. Now, without extending his soul power, he could see two figures walking toward him.

"Who are they?" Yan Huo thought, confused. He had never seen these two before.

The first figure was **Shui Jun Lin Feng**, appearing to be in his twenties. He had a pale face with clear brows and a sharp, handsome appearance. His attire consisted of a long green robe, but there was a sinister look in his eyes. He smiled as he fixed his gaze on Yan Huo.

The second figure was **Huo Jun Jiang Hu**, who appeared a few years older than Lin Feng. With a square face, tiger-like eyes, and a height of nearly two meters, he wore a red, tight-fitting outfit. His eyes glared at Yan Huo with a fierce, predatory expression. In the blink of an eye, the two of them stopped, just ten meters from Yan Huo.

"One is in the early stage of the *Transformation Pill*, the other is in the middle stage of *Transformation Pill*," Yan Huo thought to himself.

Yan Huo extended his soul power to check their cultivation levels. With his higher cultivation, he could observe the weaker of the two without being noticed. After sensing their power, Yan Huo inwardly drew a cold breath. He was glad he hadn't impulsively gone to Long Mountain back then and instead chose to hide and cultivate here. These two, regardless of who they were, were both more powerful than the Yan Huo from before. If he had gone to Long Mountain back then, he would have been killed without a trace.

"Oh! The one in the green robe is spying on my cultivation," Yan Huo suddenly noticed the other party's actions.

"Hehe! Even if your cultivation is higher than mine, you still won't be able to see through my cultivation," Yan Huo thought to himself with a smile. He didn't stop the other's soul power from probing him.

"Who are you!? What are you doing here!?" Yan Huo asked loudly. Although he could guess who they were, he still played dumb.

"Haha! So it's just a brat at the *Dao Gu* stage," Lin Feng muttered to himself. Realizing that Yan Huo's cultivation was lower than his, Lin Feng felt even more confident.

"Fourth Brother, what's his cultivation level?" Jiang Hu, the other figure, asked Lin Feng via sound transmission.

Although Jiang Hu had entered the path of cultivation earlier, his soul power was somewhat weaker than Lin Feng's.

"Third Brother, he's just a brat at the *Dao Gu* stage. I thought that Zhen Yangzi's disciple would be impressive, but now I see we brought out our master's two medium-grade spirit tools for nothing." Lin Feng replied through sound transmission.

"Ah! Just *Dao Gu* stage?" Jiang Hu gave Yan Huo a pitiful look. "Fourth Brother, stay here and watch. I'll go tear him apart, and then my spirit tool, the 'Flame Kill' gauntlets, can finally taste blood."

After speaking, Jiang Hu stepped forward.

"Third Brother, don't be hasty. Don't forget the restriction our master lifted from us before letting us leave the mountain. Let me ask him some questions first, and then you can kill him." Lin Feng stopped him.

"What are you saying!? Who are you!? If you don't answer me, I won't be polite!" Yan Huo asked again.

Though Yan Huo couldn't hear the private conversation between Lin Feng and Jiang Hu, he could still guess most of it from their expressions.

"Dare to look down on me!? Underestimating us will cost you your life!" Lin Feng sneered.

"Kid, stop wasting words. You're not even close to being our match. If you want to live, answer my questions honestly." Lin Feng looked at Yan Huo with disdain.

Yan Huo, while pretending to be extremely nervous, began to formulate a plan. *There are two of them. I'm not sure what spirit tools they're using, but I need to take my chance to kill them both simultaneously. I can't let either escape, or they'll go back and send word, and that would be a disaster.*

Yan Huo continued to pretend to be terrified. "I... I know your cultivation is much higher than mine, but... this is the place of my master, Zhen Yangzi. If he finds out you're here, you won't leave alive. If you... if you have questions, ask them quickly and leave as soon as you're done."

Yan Huo acted the part so convincingly that even Lin Feng had to admit that the kid was good at pretending.

Lin Feng laughed to himself. *Zhen Yangzi!? That old fool has been gone for centuries. Trying to use him to trick me? This kid's just a scaredy-cat.*

Not wanting to expose his suspicions, Lin Feng asked, "Is Zhen Yangzi's 'Escape Heaven Five Element Formation' manual still here?"

*So they've been after my master's formation manual all along,* Yan Huo thought, sneering inwardly. However, he still maintained a fearful expression and said, "It's not here. The formation manual is always with my master."

As he spoke, Yan Huo subtly glanced toward the wooden house beside the stone tower. It seemed his little trick had worked. Lin Feng, with his sharp eyes, caught the subtle movement immediately.

"Third Brother, kill him. I'll go retrieve the formation manual," Lin Feng said, his face changing as his eyes turned cold.

"But we haven't even found the manual yet!" Jiang Hu questioned through sound transmission, confused.