Liam shivered. The moment he reappeared in a hidden volcanic ravine far from the pagoda, he dropped to one knee, his body trembling. The afterimage of a thousand draconic eyes, glowing with murderous fury, still burned in his mind. However, he was still not out of danger. He needed to reach the portal and get out of here and then get the hell out of the Green Mountain sect. Liam calmed down and activated Stealth. He then summoned his dao clone. The guy couldn't exactly activate Stealth but his mana sense was a lot more powerful than Liam's. The Fire clone instantly sniffed out a couple of enemies who were pretty close to him. And they were not ordinary enemies either. "Two draluras." Liam exhaled. He had no idea how strong they were. They were most probably at least Transcendents or maybe even Dao Experts. But there was simply no way to go around them. He had to face them or at least stall them. Liam silently summoned a few of his clones and sent them in all directions. He then rushed to the two draluras along with the fire dao clone. The ravine's searing heat gave his Fire Dao clone a natural boost, cloaking it in an aura of hot molten lava. That would give them maybe half a second of surprise. No more. But when Liam got a good look at both the draluras, it was immediately clear that even that small upper hand was gone. The first dralura turned, a towering brute with molten crimson scales and a halberd that hissed with lava. The other, sleeker and leaner one had lava balls spinning around him. Whatever slim advantage the environment granted his Fire Dao clone was meaningless now. Both enemies radiated the same affinity, only far deeper and more refined. They had most likely taken half a step into the Dao Expert realm. This was going to be a tough fight. The two draluras charged towards the dao clone at the same time as soon as they saw it. A wave of scorching pressure rolled out from the heavier dralura, his halberd swinging in a wide arc. Lava surged from the ground with the motion, erupting in pillars of heat that tried to cage the Dao clone. The sleeker one moved like liquid flame, vanishing from sight and reappearing behind the dao clone. His claws sliced through the air, and the lava orbs around him pulsed with explosive force. The Dao clone reacted instantly. Rather than retreating or dodging, it exploded forward with reckless momentum, slamming into the heavy dralura's halberd swing. A deafening crash echoed through the volcanic ravine as molten sparks and shockwaves burst outward. Shockingly, the two draluras were pushed back. While the draluras had refined fire affinity and combat experience, they lacked one thing Liam's clone possessed, raw destructive Dao authority. His clone didn't just wield flame. It was flame, forged through enlightenment. The dao clone's fire authority was simply purer than the two draluras'. As the bulky dralura lunged forward with his lava-infused halberd, the Dao clone didn't dodge. Instead, it caught the weapon barehanded. The weapon hissed and sparked against its molten skin, but the clone held firm, eyes burning with unearthly calm. In the next instant, a shockwave burst outward. The crimson-scaled brute howled in agony as his own weapon exploded in his grasp, lava shards ripping through his arm and chest. The clone followed up instantly, extending its palm and placing it on the dralura's chest. With a low, thunderous hum, a blossom of white-hot fire burst from the dralura's core, bypassing his scales and incinerating him from the inside out. The leaner dralura recoiled in horror, but it was already too late. The Fire Dao clone blurred forward, leaving behind trails of cinders. It split into seven afterimages and all seven struck at once. The lava orbs around the dralura detonated prematurely in a panic-triggered defense, but the clone's strike tunneled through the defense, piercing straight through the dralura's chest. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂 There was no time for a scream. Only a sudden silence as both enemies dropped, completely dominated in their own domain. The clone stood amidst the scorched battlefield, its molten skin dripping, breath steady. Liam, watching from afar, exhaled sharply. Thanks to the solid foundation he had laid, it looked like his fire clone had the ability to even fight with someone of the next rank. Liam did not waste this chance. He immediately grasped the souls of the two draluras, powerful dense souls and started processing them. He absorbed the dao clone back into him and focused as he went through the memories of the two high-level draluras. It looked like he was mistaken about one thing. These two were still in the transcendent rank. Their extra edge had come from their innate physical superiority. Unfortunately, the two corpses were damaged so much that none of this innate physical strength probably remained but still the two corpses were quite valuable nonetheless. Liam placed the two corpses in his storage space and then summoned his newly forged draluras. The souls of the two draluras, though battered and cracked, still retained a dense reservoir of memories and instinct. It took him a few good minutes to do this but these minutes were well spent because it looked like these two draluras were quite knowledgeable about this world. More importantly, they knew the ins and outs of this place and how exactly to get to the portal without attracting further attention. They remembered the terrain, the patterns of patrols, and the fastest, least-monitored paths to the portal. Liam followed the two and quickly arrived at the main portal without any further trouble. He immediately dismissed all of his soul minions in this world and then stepped into the portal without hesitation. On the other side, the chaotic but relatively peaceful central plaza of the Green Mountain sect buzzed with activity. Many heads turned towards him and recognized him as one of the participants of the treasure lands.