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Word Count: 2,669 Words
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Within the vast hall, milky-white flames flooded every direction. Across a plaza that stretched tens of thousands of feet, countless flaming figures stood ramrod straight. They made not the slightest sound, yet an overwhelmingly fearsome aura saturated the space. That oppressive might seemed to fuse into a single entity, taking the shape of a colossal flame dragon that coiled murderously above their heads.
At one end of the hall, Xiao Yan and Xun Er studied the formation before them, their brows slowly tightening. This wasn't the first time they had encountered such a scene. Since stepping through that giant door, they had already forced their way through three nearly identical halls. The deeper they pressed, the stronger the Fire Slaves became!
By now, every one of the densely packed Fire Slaves before them had reached at least Nine-Change Dou Venerate.
To Xun Er and Xiao Yan, Nine-Change Dou Venerates were no more than ants, swept aside by the dozen with a single palm. The truly terrifying thing about these Fire Slaves was not their cultivation. It was the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame sealed inside their bodies!
Each wisp of that flame held an incomparably powerful purifying force, capable of scouring away every kind of negative energy. Even the annihilating aura of the Gu Clan's Great Silent Destruction Technique could be cleansed away, the technique's power blunted to a fraction of itself.
On top of that, the Fire Slaves' numbers were staggering. One could well imagine how many people had thrown their lives away in pursuit of the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame after the Purifying Lotus Demon Saint fell.
"Xun Er, if we keep charging through like this, our Dou Qi is going to run dry sooner or later." Xiao Yan frowned at the fresh batch of Fire Slaves appearing ahead.
Even with their formidable strength and the high-class Qi Methods they cultivated, an endless string of these halls would eventually drain them dry. The natural energy in this space was laced through with traces of Demon Flame, and even the Flame Mantra needed focused attention to refine it before he could absorb a single mote.
In their current situation, where would he find time to calmly refine energy? With expenditure constantly outpacing intake, even a Dou Saint could not keep fighting forever.
"I don't think it can be much farther." Xun Er shook her head, a hint of helplessness in her voice. "According to the records in my clan, during the last few times the Demon Flame surfaced, our ancestors were able to force their way into the region where the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame's Essence Flame resided. Unfortunately, every single time, for one reason or another, they failed to capture it."
After all, the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame was coveted by every Dou God Clan. Each time someone reached the Essence Flame Space, internal strife inevitably broke out.
Xiao Yan's frown only deepened at the answer, and a strange light flickered in his eyes. Each time they cleared a hall, the chamber behind them silently melted away, as though some invisible hand were quietly erasing their wake. They had no choice but to keep pressing forward.
"Right now, all we can do is continue ahead. If we can be the first to reach the Essence Flame Seed's region, we might have a chance to obtain the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame."
He drew the four map fragments from his ring, only to release a wry sigh. The lines etched on them clearly were not a map of the Demon Flame Space.
He had already tried every method he could think of, from soaking them in water to refining them with Dou Qi, dripping blood to claim ownership, even burning them with his Heavenly Flames. None of it had worked. Even here, within the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame's own space, the fragments still showed not the slightest response.
With his Spiritual Strength at perfected Heavenly State and his cultivation at 3-star Dou Saint, he could vaguely sense that something was indeed hidden within the fragments. Yet some obscure interference kept him from unlocking what they truly contained.
At last, with two of the era's most exceptional geniuses fighting shoulder to shoulder, Xiao Yan and Xun Er forced their way through two more halls. What appeared before them then was no longer a mass of Fire Slaves, but a single middle-aged man standing in their path.
A somewhat gaunt figure stood perfectly straight. Strangely, no milky-white flames coiled around his body. His eyes remained tightly shut, but from within him spread an aura as heavy and oppressive as a mountain pressing down.
"4-star Dou Saint!"
The bodies of Xiao Yan and Xun Er both gave a faint tremor, and grave expressions slowly surfaced on their faces. The two of them carried Divine Grade bloodlines and possessed extremely high cultivation. Xun Er, in particular, had inherited the highest-grade legacy of the Gu Clan.
Yet that gaunt figure gave Xiao Yan a feeling no weaker than the Hall Chief of the Hall of Souls. Stronger, even, than Gu Nanhai.
"This is a Fire Slave too?" Xiao Yan said, scarcely able to believe it. Just how terrifying had the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame become, to turn a 4-star Dou Saint into a Fire Slave?
"Barely a Fire Slave," Xun Er replied, her expression grave. "He still has his own intelligence. Compared to those Fire Slaves wholly controlled by the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame, he retains a great deal more autonomy."
She paused, then added, "Xiao Yan ge-ge, be careful. This should be the final gate. If we break through, we'll reach the place where the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame resides."
"That won't be easy." Xiao Yan's voice sank. If it were merely a question of defeating an early 4-star Dou Saint like Yao Wangui, joining hands with Xun Er would pose little problem.
But the man before them stood at the intermediate level, only one minor stage above Yao Wangui, yet the aura he released was far, far stronger. His combat power had almost certainly reached the absolute peak of the 4-star stage.
Even Xiao Yan felt heavy pressure pressing down on him now.
'This man must be a top-tier expert who entered the Demon Flame Space the last time it opened, only to be seized by the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame. Even the Demon Flame couldn't refine him into a true Fire Slave. It could only rely on the Nightmare Heavenly Fog to control him.' Xiao Yan's Spiritual Strength swept across the man, and the truth confirmed itself. The figure before them wasn't a Fire Slave. His body remained completely intact, still very much alive. Only his mind had been shackled by the Nightmare Heavenly Fog.
"Xiao Yan ge-ge…"
"Mm. If we join hands, we might still have a chance."
They exchanged a glance. A faint smile suddenly tugged at Xiao Yan's lips. "I think this is only the second time Xun Er and I have joined hands against an enemy."
A strange light flickered through Xun Er's eyes, and her cheeks colored with a soft, bashful flush. The first time, of course, had been that 'bad deed.' Back at the auction in the Black-Corner Region, he had dragged her along to play 'bad children' and rob someone right out in the open.
The precious young lady of the Gu Clan, going out masked to rob people. If word of that had ever made it back to the clan, Xun Er truly wouldn't have known where to put her face.
Even so, that incident had left her with a memory she would never forget.
BOOM! BOOM!!
Two vast torrents of Dou Qi exploded from their bodies. Twin pillars of seven-colored divine light tore into the sky as Xiao Yan and Xun Er simultaneously activated their Divine Grade Clan Marks. Almost in an instant, Xiao Yan's cultivation rocketed from early 3-star Dou Saint up to late 3-star, with a faint hint of pressing toward 4-star.
At the 3-star Dou Saint stage, even the Xiao Clan's Divine Grade bloodline could no longer boost him a full star in one breath.
What surprised him even more was that Xun Er's aura had also climbed to late 3-star Dou Saint. Slightly weaker than his, perhaps, but the Gu Clan's Dou God Bloodline focused not on raising Dou Qi cultivation, but on amplifying the power of Dou Techniques.
In other words, Xun Er's base cultivation was actually a little higher than his own.
Catching his stunned look, Xun Er smiled playfully. "Xun Er can't compare to Xiao Yan ge-ge. Xun Er only benefited from the clan, inheriting the legacies left by our seniors."
She gave a small shake of her head. "Besides, that's already all of it. There's no way for me to raise my cultivation this quickly again."
Reaching 3-star or 4-star Dou Saint was the limit of any inheritance. Even the highest-grade legacies of the Ancient Void Dragon Tribe, the Heaven Swallowing Python Tribe, or the Gu Clan could push someone only that far. Beyond that, one could rely only on oneself. A Divine Grade bloodline could no longer provide such rapid gains.
But no matter how she downplayed it, Xiao Yan still felt a pang of envy. His Xiao Clan's inheritance hadn't even reached the Dou Saint realm!
As the two of them erupted with Dou Qi, the gaunt figure's tightly closed eyes slowly opened. A pair of pitch-black pupils stared out, cold and emotionless. Compared with the Fire Slaves they had encountered before, those eyes clearly held a sliver more awareness. That sliver, however, was buried beneath an icy chill.
The instant his gaze landed on the Clan Mark glowing across Xiao Yan's forehead, a strange light flickered through those black pupils. Yet that light was almost immediately drowned beneath a wash of milky-white flame.
BANG!
As if provoked by their surging Dou Qi, the tranquil hall shuddered violently. The gaunt figure lightly clenched the empty air before him, and a blood-red giant axe materialized out of nothing, a grotesque thing more than thirty feet long. Set against that colossal weapon, his gaunt frame looked almost comical. Yet everyone present could clearly sense the fearsome power hidden within that skinny body.
"This person is terrifyingly strong."
Xiao Yan's expression turned grave. It was truly hard to imagine that someone of this caliber could also be brought under the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame's control.
Xun Er's brows drew together as she studied the bloody giant axe, as though trying to recall something.
Neither side wasted another word once that crimson weapon appeared. Their gazes met across the hall, fierce gales howled into being, and three figures shot forward, ramming into one another with savage force.
Xiao Yan and Xun Er moved together. The Ancient Phoenix Wings on his back beat once and burst into extreme speed. Xun Er's footwork was ethereal and elusive. Their speed climbed higher and higher, and in the blink of an eye, her figure simply vanished.
Clang! Clang!
Twin metallic booms rang through the vast hall. Xiao Yan gripped the Heavy Xuan Ruler as it crashed against the blood-colored battleaxe. His fused Heavenly Flame wreathed the ruler, but milky-white Purifying Lotus Demon Flames surged from the giant axe and blocked the assault.
A slender silhouette flickered into being behind the middle-aged man. Xun Er's right hand gathered the Gold Emperor Incinerating Heavenly Flame, and she thrust out her palm. The golden flames instantly transformed into a surging torrent of fire that blasted forward.
The middle-aged man was in no way inferior. He had long since sensed her approach. His right hand kept its grip on the axe while his left clenched into a fist and swung back in a vicious counterblow.
Terrifying Dou Qi condensed around his knuckles, and the full might of an intermediate 4-star Dou Saint erupted as fist met palm.
His punch crashed toward Xun Er like countless mountains pressing down from the sky. Under that single blow, the Heavenly Flame space seemed to cave inward, and even the Gold Emperor Incinerating Heavenly Flame quivered violently.
A single punch capable of annihilating all in its path. Under that fist, all things could be suppressed, all things shattered. One could well imagine how frightening this middle-aged man's strength truly was. He far surpassed ordinary Dou Saints of the same rank.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!
The three figures flashed at a speed that made the eyes ache, leaving only blurring afterimages in their wake. With every clash, sparks burst across the hall. That unusually solid structure finally began to crumble inch by inch, countless fissures spider-webbing outward.
Clang!
Xiao Yan let out a long roar and thrust the Heavy Xuan Ruler straight forward. It shot skyward like a true dragon leaping into the sky, its howl splitting the air. The weighty ruler carried momentum enough to shatter all before it, and its trajectory was elusive, tracing a path where none should exist.
The middle-aged man's eyes narrowed. The giant axe in his grasp reversed with a thunderous impact, and in that instant, man and weapon seemed to merge into one.
The collision sent Xiao Yan staggering back, his feet thudding heavily against the cracked floor. In the heartbeat he was knocked away, Xun Er's right hand pointed lightly through the air.
"Great Silent Destruction Finger!"
BOOM!
A gigantic finger carrying the power to extinguish all life materialized out of nothing. Almost in the same breath, Xiao Yan's hands formed a seal and a low shout echoed in his heart.
"Yellow Spring Finger!"
BOOM BOOM BOOM!!
Two Dou Qi fingers, each as vast as a mountain range, appeared front and back, closing on the middle-aged man in a pincer attack.
Even he could not help but let a grave expression settle over his face when confronted by their seamless coordination. Dou Qi erupted from within him, and the giant axe in his hands whirled like a hurricane. A thick reek of blood spread through the hall.
A low growl rumbled from his throat. A blood-colored halo slashed out from the axe and split into twin arcs of crimson light that roared toward the Great Silent Destruction Finger and the Yellow Spring Finger.
Even Tian Class Dou Techniques could not withstand those two lights. The gigantic fingers were sundered the instant they made contact. The twin axe lights soared upward, tearing through the Dou Qi constructs like a blade through bamboo, then shot straight at Xiao Yan and Xun Er.
But the two were far from easy prey. With two sharp whooshes, they exploded into motion, their bodies flickering aside as the blood-red arcs howled past.
"Xiao Yan ge-ge, this person really is very strong." Xun Er reappeared beside him, her expression growing ever more grave. Even working together, they were on the back foot.
"It seems we can't keep holding back to conserve Dou Qi. If this continues, he can draw on the energy of the world within this space to sustain himself, and it'll only grow more and more unfavorable for us." A savage light flickered through Xiao Yan's eyes.
They exchanged a look and gave the faintest of nods. The next moment, two torrents of Dou Qi, unmatched and overwhelming, erupted from their bodies.
The might of High Tian Class Dou Techniques caused the entire Heavenly Flame space to crack and shatter around them.
High Tian Class Dou Techniques. And two at once!
A low hum rang out. Two special seals appeared simultaneously in Xiao Yan and Xun Er's palms. At first glance the two techniques looked similar, but in their finer details they differed in countless ways.
Flame God Seal!
Ancient God Seal!
Xun Er bit the tip of her finger. A drop of essence blood, glowing with seven-colored divine light, flew into the Ancient God Seal in her hand, and an overwhelming imperial might swept out in all directions.
This was the true Ancient God Seal! A peerless Dou Technique personally created by the Gu Clan's Dou God!