``` For a moment, wind blades crashed into the rain of fire, flickering and fluctuating wildly. Spiritual power surged everywhere. Most of the fire rain was neutralized by Gu Changhuai's wind blades. The few fire raindrops that spilled over onto the cultivators spread like scattered kindling – flames suddenly soared as the compressed evil power was released, and the fiery blaze enveloped with evil qi devoured those cultivators. Those scorched by the meteor fire writhed on the ground. Wails of agony rose and fell in succession. It was then that the demon cultivators within the bronze maze also arrived. They had killed quite a few Dao Court Canons, but Gu Changhuai had also killed many of them, now only less than a hundred remained. The three leading them were familiar to Mo Hua. Indeed, it was the trio who had once chased after him – Blood Woodcutter, Yin Thunder Child, and Ghost Face Sha. "Big brother! We've come to help you!" "Let's slaughter these curs of the Taoist Court!" A group of demon cultivators joined the battlefield with ferocious laughter. Gu Changhuai instructed the enforcement leader, "Leave Fire Buddha to me, stay back to avoid the evil qi!" With that, Gu Changhuai leaped forward alone to meet the Fire Buddha in battle. The other enforcement leaders dispersed in terror from the Fire Buddha's vicinity and engaged in a desperate melee with the group of demon cultivators led by Blood Woodcutter. The scene turned even bloodier and more chaotic. Spells shone brightly as flesh and blood clashed. Spiritual artifacts collided with evil artifacts; spiritual power entwined with evil power. The demon cultivators bore wounds, blood in their eyes; the Taoist Court's cultivators also fought with bloodshot eyes. At this moment, none of them dared to flee. Fighting desperately on their last breath, they could survive; but if they even thought of retreating, they would likely fall under the demon cultivators' blades as soon as they turned their backs... Mo Hua could only watch from the sidelines, unable to make a move... His cultivation was only at the initial stage of Foundation Establishment, and his spiritual power was limited. Meanwhile, these cultivators and demon cultivators from the Taoist Court were all at least at the middle phase of Foundation Building, with many at the later stages. His fireball technique posed little threat. Especially since some demon cultivators either wore armor or used strange "Blood Armor Skill" and "Poison Armor Skill" for protection. His fireball technique would only "tickle" them. As for controlling... In this sort of multi-person melee, where real swords and spears clashed, they actually didn't lack his minor control abilities. Mo Hua still had some "self-awareness"; it was best to conceal himself and quietly hide on the side, not to come out and "draw hatred." If he rashly made a move and accidentally attracted the Fire Buddha's attention or was caught by a demon cultivator, it would cause significant trouble for Uncle Gu... And moreover... Mo Hua snuck another glance at the center of the great hall, at Fire Buddha, who was engaged in a spell duel with Uncle Gu, surrounded by surging meteor fire, appearing like a "Flame Demon" from purgatory, and he couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement. This Fire Buddha... was too strong, much stronger than he had previously thought. Evil qi, Fire Kasaya, and the Meteor Fire Forbidden Art... Evil qi could intimidate and control the enemy. Once stricken with the "fear" of evil qi, those with an unsettled Taoist heart and a weak will could instantly lose their resistance and become fish on the chopping board, allowing Fire Buddha to butcher at will. In that case, a surrounding attack would be meaningless. With just a release of evil qi, if all the enemies were stricken by fear, then Fire Buddha could start using forbidden arts to wreak havoc. It was somewhat preposterous... 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞 Unless one's Taoist heart was steadfast, righteous energy resolute, or they were prepared with a spirit-defying spiritual artifact, otherwise cultivators of the same rank stood no chance against Fire Buddha. But the spirit-defying spiritual artifact must be rare, and probably very expensive to make. It was not feasible for the Taoist Court to equip everyone with one... That kasaya was likely not a common spiritual artifact either. Then there was the Meteor Fire Skill... Fire Buddha engaged in combat with Uncle Gu with all his might, without any reservation. This also gave Mo Hua a chance to observe and study. After secretly observing for a long time, Mo Hua realized that there were many differences between this Meteor Fire Skill and what he had previously conjectured. Firstly, although it was a forbidden technique, probably stronger than a superior skill, it was still a "conventional" principle spell. It was a "Skill Pattern" based spell, not a "Spiritual Pattern" based spell. This Meteor Fire Skill employed a positive spell structure, where spiritual power formed a spell through a skill pattern. Rather than the inverse, where a spell causes the collapse of a skill pattern, changing the structure of the spiritual power. It was merely that the spiritual power concentration of this spell was too strong, and the power too great, and it was easy to lose control. It also likely made it easy for someone to lose their nature, wreaking mindless killing, hence it was classified as a "Forbidden Technique." Mo Hua sighed. He probably wouldn't be able to learn the original Meteor Fire Skill. Because the spiritual power needed to form the spell was indeed too much. The present Fire Buddha's evil power surged like an unfathomable ocean, the entire person resembled a Fire Demon Beast, with seemingly endless power in his Qi Sea. In comparison, his own spiritual power was like a small stream... Though not as exaggerated, it was pretty close. Without a top-grade spiritual root and not cultivating a top-grade method, lacking a vast amount of spiritual power in the Qi Sea, one couldn't cultivate such a powerful forbidden technique... And it wasn't just that. Based on observations of the flow of spiritual power on Fire Buddha's body, Mo Hua discovered that it was as if he had two Qi Seas. They were those two "flame hearts." The two flame hearts, burning with intense flames, not only accumulated spiritual power but also fueled the spells. Together, they made Fire Buddha's fire spells even more terrifying... But the principle behind it, Mo Hua was still completely puzzled. He couldn't understand how exactly this spell was formed. After all, although his eyes were sharp, some things were hard to comprehend just by looking... "Meteor Fire Skill..." A sense of envy grew in Mo Hua. If only he had such good spiritual roots, such profound spiritual power, to be able to learn such superior skills or forbidden techniques with enormous consumption of spiritual power and also great might... ```