Chapter 625: The Appearance of the Demon Saint, Xiao Yan's Opportunity
"Sigh, I knew that the Soul Clan wouldn't follow the rules."
As the Soul Demon Elder's words fell, an ancient and weary voice quietly echoed in the air. As this voice spread, the space began to ripple violently. Moments later, a green ox appeared, slowly treading through the sky.
On the ox's back sat a small, unassuming figure dressed in simple, coarse robes—an innocent-looking boy. His eyes were clear, and his face was youthful, but everyone present knew that this was no ordinary child.
"Oh, it's the Elder from the Pill Tower. I've heard stories of this man who enjoys living through different lives by constantly reincarnating into new bodies. Seeing him now, it's true," Mo Yu murmured to himself, narrowing his eyes at the boy on the ox.
This Elder was one of the top powerhouses on the Dou Qi Continent. The most surprising part was that he wasn't even human—he was a transformed peak ninth-grade pill. He was only a step away from evolving into the legendary Gold Pill, much like the Bei King, who had transformed from the Divine Might Black Thunder Spear.
While Mo Yu pondered this, the tension between the Soul Demon Elder and the Pill Tower Elder over the origin of the Demon Lotus Flame escalated.
"The origin of the Demon Flame must be ours. Old monster, you better not meddle!" The Soul Demon Elder sneered.
"Whoosh!"
Before his words even finished, the Soul Demon Elder vanished, appearing instantly at the location of the black pillar of light. He reached out to grab it.
However, just as his hand was about to touch the pillar, the space around him distorted oddly. In a strange twist, he suddenly found himself standing where the Pill Tower Elder had been, while the Pill Tower Elder appeared where he had just stood. It was as if their positions had switched in an instant.
This unexpected event stunned everyone, and none had seen what caused the shift.
"Spatial displacement… A six-star Dou Saint?! You've broken through to six stars?!" The Soul Demon Elder stood there, dumbfounded for a moment before finally realizing what had happened. His shocked voice rang out.
Behind him, the Soul Palace Master, the Vice Palace Master, and Soul Feng looked at each other with grim faces. A six-star Dou Saint was incredibly rare, even in the Soul Clan. Only a select few elders possessed such strength.
No wonder the Soul Palace had always been cautioned against making moves on the Pill Tower—this Elder from the Pill Tower was far more terrifying than they had realized.
Ignoring the Soul Demon Elder's stunned reaction, the boy on the ox calmly grasped the black pillar, carefully inspecting the origin of the Demon Flame within it as Xiao Yan looked on anxiously.
"Old monster, do you really want to make an enemy of the Soul Clan?" The Soul Demon Elder's voice grew colder and louder.
"You fool." The boy glanced at him, shaking his head. Then, to everyone's surprise, he casually tossed the black pillar into the sky. The Soul Demon Elder's face lit up with joy as he moved to seize it, only to stop in his tracks at the boy's next words.
"The Demon Lotus Flame… Ranked third on the Heavenly Flame list, you've deliberately allowed yourself to be sealed, hoping to watch them tear each other apart while you wait to reap the benefits. You've hidden well, but you can't hide from me. Come out."
The boy's clear eyes locked onto the black pillar in the sky, his gaze fixed on the flame within. A soft smile appeared on his face.
"You meddling old monster! You've ruined my plans again—do you want to die?!"
As the Pill Tower Elder finished speaking, the milky white flames erupted into the sky, and a figure slowly took form within the sea of fire. It was the white-robed Demon Lotus Flame, his cold eyes glaring down at the Pill Tower Elder.
"He really did allow himself to be sealed on purpose," everyone thought, their faces growing grim as they realized the truth.
With his plan exposed, the Demon Lotus Flame sneered. His hands quickly shifted through a series of seals, causing the vast sea of milky white flames to rapidly condense, forming a massive flame giant that stood nearly ten thousand feet tall.
"The Flame Deity!"
The giant's feet sank into the sea of lava below. Its towering size made everyone's souls tremble in fear. A single punch from this flame giant could obliterate even a Dou Saint.
"Old ghost, die!"
The Demon Lotus Flame stood atop the head of the giant, looking down at everyone like they were ants. With a cold smile, the flame giant raised its mountain-like fist and slammed it toward the Pill Tower Elder.
Suspended in the sky, the Pill Tower Elder faced the incoming fist, which was like a meteor crashing down from the heavens. He opened his mouth, and a dazzling golden light shot out, transforming into a vast shield that covered the sky.
"Boom!"
The massive fist struck the golden shield, sending shockwaves through the area. The space within a ten-thousand-foot radius shattered, turning into a pitch-black void as the space itself crumbled under the clash of power.
"Dan Rong Tian!"
The Pill Tower Elder raised a finger, and a droplet of green blood seeped out from his body. Amid the rich green hue, faint traces of golden light could be seen.
The moment the droplet of blood left his body, it shot toward the Flame Deity at an incredible speed, growing larger with each passing moment. Within seconds, it had transformed into a massive green beam of light.
The beam streaked across the sky, leaving a fragrant scent in its wake before slamming into the chest of the flame giant. A brilliant green light spread out, and in the blink of an eye, half of the giant's body melted away.
"Damn old ghost!"
The Demon Lotus Flame roared in fury, his body surging upward as countless tendrils of milky white flame shot out in all directions. These tendrils quickly fused with the surrounding space.
"Ancient Refining Heaven Array, appear!"
As the flame tendrils shot into the depths of the space, a thunderous rumble echoed across the sky. To everyone's shock, a colossal flame array, stretching thousands of feet across, slowly emerged from the void above.
"Boom! Boom!"
At the same time, the sea of lava below began to churn violently, and soon enough, an equally massive flame array emerged from the depths of the sea.
With one array in the sky and another on the ground, the faces of the Pill Tower Elder and the Soul Demon Elder turned grim.
"Haha, old ghost, did you expect this? The Ancient Refining Heaven Array, set up by the Demon Saint himself, is now mine to control. Over the past thousand years, I've unraveled its mysteries. In this space, who can stand against me?!" The Demon Lotus Flame laughed wildly as the ancient array spun above, covering the heavens.
"We're in big trouble now," someone muttered as they took in the terrifying sight.
The colossal array was far more powerful than the Celestial Demon-Sealing Formation the Soul Palace Master had used earlier. Everyone's hearts sank as they realized the gravity of the situation.
Even Zi Yan and the others looked on with solemn faces, their hearts pounding. They could feel that just a tiny leak of energy from the array would be enough to annihilate them.
Mo Yu's eyes flickered as he glanced at Xiao Yan. Sure enough, he noticed Xiao Yan clutching his head as if in pain. Inside Xiao Yan's mind, the mysterious light orb had started trembling violently, as if something within it was about to awaken.
Moments later, a faint light radiated from Xiao Yan's body. The light gathered around him and slowly coalesced into a faint, ghostly figure.
"The Demon Lotus Flame?!"
Everyone gasped in horror, instinctively backing away. The figure that had appeared looked exactly like the Demon Lotus Flame in the sky!
"No… It's not the Demon Lotus Flame—it's the Demon Lotus Saint!" the Pill Tower Elder suddenly exclaimed, his eyes wide with shock as he stared at the figure surrounding Xiao Yan.
"What?!" Everyone's hearts skipped a beat. How could this legendary figure, thought to have died thousands of years ago, suddenly appear through Xiao Yan?
As the crowd was paralyzed with shock, Xiao Yan's body trembled. His eyes slowly opened, but instead of their usual black hue, they glowed with a milky white light.
As 'Xiao Yan' swept his gaze across the battlefield, even the strongest among them, like the Soul Demon Elder, felt an uncontrollable urge to kneel, their souls trembling in awe.
"The Demon Lotus Saint? How can you still be alive?!" the Demon Lotus Flame in the sky screamed, his voice trembling with fear as he recognized the figure surrounding Xiao Yan.
"Even after thousands of years of sealing, it seems your violent nature hasn't faded," the Demon Lotus Saint murmured, his voice soft but carrying an overwhelming pressure that seemed to shake the heavens and earth.
"You ungrateful wretch! Without me, you'd have never achieved your strength! I helped you so much, and in return, you sealed me away! It serves you right that you were backstabbed and died!" the Demon Lotus Flame snarled, his face twisted with rage.
"I bear some responsibility for your violent tendencies, but if you were allowed to roam free, the destruction you'd cause would bring disaster to the world," the Demon Lotus Saint replied, shaking his head.
As he spoke, the Demon Lotus Saint raised a hand and pointed into the sky. "Freeze."
With that simple word, the massive flame array above and the one below suddenly froze in place.
"The Ancient Refining Heaven Array was my creation. No matter how much you've studied it, your understanding will never surpass mine," the Demon Lotus Saint said with a faint smile, his gaze locking onto the now-pale Demon Lotus Flame.
"Damn you!" the Demon Lotus Flame cursed, his face contorting in rage. To his horror, he realized that his control over the array was slipping away.
"Rumble!"
The two enormous flame arrays trembled violently. Layers of milky white flames shot out from the arrays and were absorbed into the Demon Lotus Flame's body. With every flame absorbed, his grip over the arrays weakened until it finally broke completely.
"I'll fight you to the death, Demon Lotus Saint!"
With his control over the arrays shattered, the Demon Lotus Flame's eyes turned blood-red. He knew the terrifying power of the arrays, and if the Demon Lotus Saint took control, he would be sealed away again—an unbearable fate after thousands of years of confinement.
"Flame Annihilation!"
The Demon Lotus Flame's body rapidly expanded until, with a deafening boom, it exploded into a sea of flames that filled the sky. The terrifying heat vaporized all the energy in the area.
"Ahhh!" A half-saint couldn't withstand the scorching temperature and let out a scream as his Dou Qi ignited, causing his veins to twist and burn within him.
With the Demon Lotus Flame unleashing his full power, even Zi Yan didn't feel confident in surviving the intense heat without using her Dou Qi. Everyone knew that if they wanted to survive, they had to escape.
"Whoosh!"
Just as panic swept through the crowd, the Demon Lotus Flame waved his hand, and the two massive arrays unleashed a brilliant light. The light twisted in the air and formed a spatial passage.
"Hurry and leave. If the Demon Lotus Flame explodes, none of you will survive," the Demon Lotus Saint said calmly.
Hearing this, everyone felt a wave of relief wash over them. Without hesitation, they rushed toward the spatial passage, desperate to escape.
Mo Yu cupped his hands in gratitude. If it hadn't been for the Demon Lotus Saint's intervention, their situation would have been far worse.
He turned to glance at Xiao Yan, admiration filling his heart. Xiao Yan had gotten incredibly lucky—without the Demon Lotus Saint's help, he would never have stood a chance of subduing the third-ranked flame.
Satisfied with his own gains from the journey, Mo Yu prepared to leave with Lei Fei'er and the others. But just as they were about to step into the passage, he noticed Xun'er standing firmly by Xiao Yan's side, showing no signs of leaving.
Startled, Mo Yu realized something. His silver eyes sparkled as he smiled gently at Xun'er.
"With cousin Xun'er here, it seems Xiao Yan is in good hands."
If Mo Yu remembered correctly, it was during this very process of refining the Demon Flame that Xiao Yan and Xun'er truly deepened their bond… (End of chapter)
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