Mystic Eyes: My Eyes Steal the Laws of Cultivation Chapter 357: Five-Horned Lava Lizard (3)

The Five-Horned Lava Lizard charged forward.

With an absurd speed for its massive size, its colossal body lunged. The volcanic ground fractured with every stride, each step leaving behind a crater. Molten rocks and lava erupted into the air like shrapnel from a constant detonation, and its draconic essence saturated the entire domain, akin to a living tempest.

Kyrian remained motionless for a moment.

He simply watched, his snowflake-shaped eyes slowly rotating, their luminescence intensifying as immense amounts of Qi were drawn from his two cores. The essence of ice coursed through his eyes like a frozen river, poised for the impending onslaught.

Focus.

Kyrian’s concentration was absolute, directed entirely toward the confrontation.

The surrounding world seemed to decelerate even further.

This was not a learned technique but a natural state of heightened awareness Kyrian achieved to maintain focus during his battles. The thermal currents in the atmosphere, visible as shimmers like heat haze. The subterranean flow of magma, pulsing like the arteries of a slumbering behemoth. The twitching of the lizard’s muscles, every fiber tensing in preparation for movement.

Everything sharpened to an almost impossible clarity before his gaze.

At that moment, his eyes served not only as a conduit for his icy power but also as the origin of the already recognized, astonishing innate perception they possessed.

Then...

The earth detonated beneath Kyrian.

A gargantuan claw, wreathed in fire and molten rock, struck where he had stood mere moments before. The impact sent a shockwave that pulverized rocks for dozens of meters.

Kyrian evaded, a phantom of blue ice.

His form glided backward for dozens of meters in a single, seamless motion.

Countless layers of ice spontaneously materialized before him, not as a defense, but as a tactic to disorient, crafting visual obstructions that disrupted the beast’s targeting.

Concurrently, the ice crystals he had pre-positioned launched themselves towards the lizard.

Dozens of projectiles, sharp as blades, impacted the creature’s hide. The scales radiated a fierce crimson light. The flames instinctively emanating from its form vaporized the ice shards before they could even scratch its natural armor.

The ice barriers Kyrian had erected between them shattered sequentially as the beast tore through them with sheer physical might. They disintegrated as if made of glass, not Qi-infused ice.

The shock of each shattered barrier sent reverberations through the very air.

Kyrian’s eyes narrowed.

’Such monstrous physical strength…’

Kyrian had faced adversaries superior to him numerous times before; he was accustomed to it.

Yet, there was something distinct about this lizard. It wasn’t merely brute force but the palpable sensation of confronting a power that defied its current cultivation level.

That was the legacy of dragon blood, even a trace of it.

The lizard let out a roar.

The sound reverberated through the nearby mountains, echoing across the Intermediate Area like incessant thunder. Loose rocks cascaded down the surrounding slopes.

Then, the creature charged once more.

This time, Kyrian raised both his hands.

A colossal ice wall ascended before him, far sturdier than the prior ephemeral barriers, thick as the ramparts of an ancient fortress. Kyrian funneled an astounding volume of ice Qi into it, layer upon layer solidifying in mere seconds.

The lizard’s head slammed into the wall.

Fractures instantly spiderwebbed across the ice’s surface. The collision produced a deafening crack.

The ice held for less than a single second.

Then it detonated into a thousand gleaming fragments, scattering like shrapnel from an explosion.

But that fleeting second was sufficient.

Kyrian seized the opportunity.

The ground around the lizard’s paws froze with violent intensity. Thick ice, penetrating the surface and extending beneath, spread like frozen manacles across the beast, attempting to immobilize its every movement.

Vast plumes of white vapor billowed upwards, coalescing into dense clouds that partially obscured visibility.

In the subsequent instant, the lizard’s scales blazed with a brilliant, searing crimson.

The ice vanished instantly. Not gradually, not layer by layer, but simply ceased to exist, converted to vapor by the wave of heat radiating from the beast’s body. The overwhelming internal heat rendered even Kyrian’s carefully crafted ice brittle.

Kyrian’s eyes shone with even greater intensity.

His Qi circulated with ferocious speed through the two cores nestled deep within his eyes.

An immense reservoir of ice energy began to coalesce around him.

The temperature plummeted precipitously.

Crystals of frost materialized in the volcano's crimson sky, as if winter itself were being conjured within the inferno.

The lizard seemed to sense the encroaching peril. Its magma-like eyes fixed upon Kyrian, and a subtle shift occurred in its stance. The demeanor that had been that of a predator toying with its prey transformed into that of a serious combatant.

The beast opened its maw.

Magma erupted forth.

A blazing torrent surged across the battlefield like a river of ruin, obliterating all in its path. The infernal heat was so potent that Kyrian felt a prickling sensation on his skin, even from a considerable distance.

Kyrian stamped his foot firmly upon the earth.

One. Five. Ten. Twenty.

Twenty ice barriers materialized concurrently before him, each boasting greater thickness than the last, each arrayed at a distinct angle to diffuse the impending impact.

The initial barriers vanished instantaneously, transmuted into vapor before the molten rock could fully make contact.

The subsequent ones detonated, shattering into crystalline fragments that melded with the fiery onslaught.

The final set of barriers groaned under immense strain before succumbing to the colossal pressure of the magma.

Kyrian executed a seamless retreat, employing the most economical movements to sidestep the destructive efflux. Each step was meticulously measured and exact.

Despite his precautions, the searing heat found its mark.

A portion of his azure robe's sleeve ignited, the fabric's edges curling and charring to a somber gray, even as Kyrian shielded himself from the inferno with the frigid essence emanating from his eyes.

Kyrian sensed the heat against his flesh—not yet enough to inflict a burn, but sufficient to signal its imminent danger.