When Chen Guan opened his eyes, Medusa was standing beside him. Seeing a hint of worry on her face, Chen Guan took her hand and smiled faintly, assuring him that he was fine.
Glancing at Gu Xun'er, not far away, Chen Guan's smile faltered, and he turned away awkwardly.
Noticing his expression, Gu Xun'er became even more certain of what she had been thinking: this person had other plans for the Pure Lotus Demonic Fire.
This was undoubtedly a major undertaking. If successful, he would surely be reborn, his strength skyrocketing, and he would be far ahead of his peers.
Gu Xun'er believed that such a moment would be crucial for him.
Hence, her strange expression when she saw the possibility of her remaining.
In other words, at that point, she simply needed to stay out of the situation, and Chen Guan would be obliged to do her a favor.
Chen Guan had no idea of Gu Xun'er's thoughts; he simply felt that if this woman stayed, the situation might spiral out of control.
If that situation really came to pass, Gu Yuan would probably suffer a cerebral hemorrhage and come out of the ancient world to hunt him down for three days and three nights.
It would be a difficult situation!
His gaze wandered toward the distant sky. At this point, the Pure Lotus Demon Fire, its strength reduced to a mere tenth, had transformed into a humanoid form and knelt before the Pure Lotus Demon Saint, humbly begging for mercy.
The Pure Lotus Demon Saint gently stroked the Pure Lotus Demon Fire's head, a kind smile appearing on his somewhat ethereal face.
However, the determination in his eyes never wavered.
Seeing this, the Pure Lotus Demon Fire gave up.
He suddenly raised his head, his blood-red eyes fixed on the Pure Lotus Demon Saint, and a blood mist instantly erupted from his body.
The Pure Lotus Demon Saint's expression was gloomy, and he offered no resistance, allowing the blood mist to envelop him. Wisps of blood mist crazily eroded his body.
Chen Guan and Medusa, watching from the far periphery, saw this, their expressions changed slightly, and they quickly retreated tens of thousands of feet hand in hand.
Gu Xun'er felt the same way. They both saw that the Pure Lotus Demon Fire was determined to perish with the Pure Lotus Demon Saint.
"This is just like the day you attacked me..."
Facing the onslaught of the Pure Lotus Demonic Fire, a faint sadness crossed the Pure Lotus Demonic Saint's face. He sighed softly, then slowly clenched his hands.
Instantly, the vast fire array between heaven and earth collapsed, ultimately transforming into two beams of dazzling light that shot out.
Their target was the location of the Pure Lotus Demonic Fire and the Pure Lotus Demonic Saint.
"Boom!"
A devastating explosion echoed, and a storm engulfed the world. A massive crack, hundreds of thousands of feet long, appeared in the boundless sea of magma, making it impossible for the magma to fill it instantly. After
a long, long time...
as the raging energy storm gradually dissipated and the demonic fire space reached its end, Chen Guan and the other two finally appeared. They then simultaneously rushed towards the center of the explosion.
The Pure Lotus Demonic Saint was completely annihilated.
The Pure Lotus Demonic Fire vanished without a trace.
It was as if both had been completely reduced to nothingness in the previous, earth-shattering collision.
Chen Guan's face was fixed, and he channeled all his spiritual energy, enveloping the entire demonic fire space, searching every corner.
A moment later, his gaze suddenly flickered downward, toward the boundless sea of magma.
He saw a white lotus, covered in pink veins, slowly drifting. Its natural camouflage made it difficult to detect with the naked eye.
As the white lotus swam, the energy of the entire sea continuously flowed towards it, causing even the temperature within the demonic fire space to drop slightly.
"The source of the demonic fire!"
Chen Guan's figure flashed, bringing him several feet from the milky white and pink lotus. Even with his heart as if he had sailed through thousands of mountains, he couldn't contain his excitement.
From the northwest to Zhongzhou, from youth to young adulthood.
He had waited for this for so long.
Today, the time for the harvest had finally come.
The Pure Lotus Demonic Fire now manifested a stark contrast to its previous form. It was tranquil and peaceful, pure as a baby. It didn't attack Chen Guan and the others as they approached, instead revealing a naive curiosity.
Without personal experience, no one would have been able to connect it with its previous, violent image.
"How's it going? Can we take it out?"
Medusa asked after examining it for a moment.
She was thinking, if possible, to take the origin away from here and have Chen Guan refine it with Zi Yan's father. With such a powerful expert at hand, nothing could go wrong.
Unlike here, where he'd have to be wary of Gu Xun'er, even though the eldest daughter of the Gu clan seemed fine at the moment.
Chen Guan experimented and found the space incredibly solid; even with his strength, he couldn't tear it apart.
As expected.
Gu Xun'er was watching Medusa speak.
"You're the strongest of the three of us. If even you can't do it, we have no hope. This space was created by the Pure Lotus Demon Saint, and there are still remnants of seals within it. To escape, we'd have to wait for these remaining seals to slowly dissipate, or for a powerful being like the Pure Lotus Demon Saint to intervene."
Clearly, neither of these conditions existed at the moment.
Chen Guan didn't care. Was there a safer refining illusion?
Even if he could truly take it out, given the value of the Pure Lotus Demon Fire, even Soul Emperor and Void Devouring Flame would be tempted. That would be truly dangerous.
Pubfuture Ads
"I'll refine it here."
"I'll protect you." Medusa nodded earnestly, a hint of worry in her eyes.
Having spent so much time with Chen Guan, she knew a lot. Refining strange fires was never easy. Chen Guan's cultivation of the Burning Technique gave him a bit more confidence than most.
But even so, there were still significant risks.
She had personally experienced the tormenting pain of the Azure Lotus Earth Core Fire, but that was only at the bottom of the list of strange fires. The one Chen Guan needed to refine now ranked third!
The difficulty, the pain, was a hundred times greater.
Thinking of this, Medusa was thankful it was she who stayed behind. If it had been Zi Yan...
she'd probably be fretting.
"Not for now. Without the influence of the Pure Lotus Demonic Fire, the energy of heaven and earth is slowly recovering. You should calm down first. I also need to prepare some things."
Medusa nodded. Turning, she saw Gu Xun'er, her eyes fixed on the source of the demonic fire, motionless.
For a moment, a dangerous aura emanated from Medusa, its meaning clear as day.
Gu Xun'er regained consciousness, her gaze flickering between Chen Guan and Medusa before she sighed softly.
"Brother Chen, you and I are considered friends. We should take this opportunity to talk things over. Before I left, my father gave me the same instructions as for the other clans: seize the Pure Lotus Demonic Fire if we can, but never let it fall into the hands of the Soul Clan."
"Now, that mission is accomplished, but Xun'er has considered it again and again, and is certain that if this Demonic Fire falls into Brother Chen's hands... it wouldn't be a good thing."
"The Soul Clan's ambitions are clear. When their fangs are fully exposed, my Ancient Clan will undoubtedly bear the brunt of the impact. Meanwhile
, Brother Chen's Danta and Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan will be able to steadily build strength within the cracks. In five, ten years, at Brother Chen's rate of growth, I'm afraid they'll be even more formidable than the Soul Clan." Gu Xun'er felt this was her last chance to check Chen Guan, and she had to ascertain his stance.
To this end, Gu Xun'er spoke candidly and offered her utmost sincerity.
Chen Guan's expression remained normal, a faint smile on his face, though a sharp gleam flickered in his eyes.
"So, Xun'er, are you planning on stopping me?"
Gu Xun'er didn't answer directly. Instead, she looked Chen Guan in the eye with unprecedented seriousness, a gaze that seemed to penetrate his heart.
"I want to know, if one day, the Ancient Clan and the Soul Clan were both defeated, what would you do, Brother Chen?"
"That day won't happen." Chen Guan shook his head.
"Why?"
Seeing Gu Xun'er's earnest expression, Chen Guan pondered for a moment and decided to tell her something, so as to avoid being forced to express his opinion.
"A thousand years ago, the battle between the Soul Clan and the Xiao Clan ended with the Soul Clan severely weakened and annihilated. Since then, the Soul Clan has recuperated for a thousand years, and its accumulated strength has far surpassed that of that time. And your Ancient Clan, even now, is still no match for the Xiao Clan. If an all-out war truly erupted, the outcome would be self-evident."
"Don't doubt what I say. I know both your Ancient and Soul Clans just as well as you do. Just to give you one thing: the Soul Clan now possesses two Nine-Star Dou Shengs. Do you still think the Ancient Clan has a chance of victory?"
Gu Xun'er's face drastically changed. "How do you prove it?"
Chen Guan shook his head. "I'm just telling you the truth. Believe it or not, so there's no need to consider my stance right now."
Ultimately, Gu Xun'er's wild assumptions stemmed from a lack of information.
She overestimated the Ancient Clan, imagining a future war where both sides would suffer losses and Chen Guan would take advantage.
Chen Guan's job was simple: he simply needed to shatter her perceptions, making her realize that even if she grew up, the best she could hope for would be a three-way balance of power. Then she would naturally understand what to do.
Gu Xun'er was quite shocked. She could feel that Chen Guan did not seem to be lying.
If that was the case, all the plans of the clan to deal with the Soul Clan would have to be scrapped and reconsidered.
Seeing her fall silent, Chen Guan did not care. He
moved his body and pulled Medusa away.
With a flip of his palm, one after another Sky-Frost Crystals shot out and landed in a specific direction.
Being in it, one could suddenly feel the surrounding temperature drop sharply, even becoming a little cold and eerie, like a world of ice and fire compared to the outside world.
"Is this the Sky-Frost Array that Elder Yao helped you to build? It seems to be quite mysterious."
Medusa said in surprise. She knew that this was the masterpiece of the Sky-Fire Venerable.
Chen Guan nodded. "I've always felt that Elder Yao's greatest strength wasn't his Dou Qi cultivation. Back when he was only a three- or four-star Dou Zun, he already created the Five-Whirl Separation Fire Method. Later, he created the Five-Whirl Formation to Cross the Evil Realm, and now the Heavenly Frost Formation—all formations that surpass his own realm. When it comes to formations, none of us can match Elder Yao. It's this world that's limiting him."
Chen Guan truly believed that if it were in the Great Thousand World, with a Heavenly Fire Venerable's talent in this area, he would likely be more respected by major factions than even a Dou Sheng like himself, a Dou Qi Continent leader.
Refining the Pure Lotus Demon Fire required no carelessness.
To this end, Chen Guan had made extensive preparations:
Yellow Spring Blood Crystal, Heavenly Frost Crystal, Drunken Demon Saliva, Nine Ghost Spirit Fluid, and so on—all extremely yin and cold substances.
He hadn't refined the Nine Yin Yellow Spring Pill because he had so many Yellow Spring Blood Crystals, and could easily have achieved the same effect through more extravagant methods.
"I need to refine the Yellow Spring Blood Crystal a little. Don't worry about Gu Xun'er these few days. As long as she is not stupid, she will not do anything rash. You should adjust your state. When I refine the Pure Lotus Demon Fire, I may... need your help."
Medusa didn't ask what she could do to help. She nodded and stepped back to leave him enough space.