The Heavenly Kingdom, in those moments, was drowning in what could only be called a disciplined chaos.Yes—chaos, yet orchestrated with unsettling precision, confined to specific corners of the realm.
At first glance, it all looked like a wild assault meant only to spread fear and deliver vengeance.But from another angle, the pattern became unmistakably clear:the attacks were striking two places whose importance differed as vastly as earth and sky.
The first strike was brutal, aimed straight at the Palace of the Council of Elders.That blow alone redirected almost all elite forces to defend it.
The second strike, however—silent, calculated, venomous—fell upon a place considered insignificant…a secluded area near the Sacred Tree of Life. But why attack such a place?
Wait... Had we not forgotten something—someone—far more critical than both targets?
Yes. We had...We forgot Huo Feng... the Furnace Girl.
What a cruel fate. After hundreds of years cocooned in her father's gentle care, she was abandoned—without warning, without explanation, without even a moment to cling to.
Worse still, she was left right beside the forbidden spell that was supposed to be destroyed that very day. When Jin Hai's two attendants heard of the sudden assault, panic gripped them—especially when they learned the enemy was moving directly toward their isolated sector.
They hesitated… then made their choice: the destruction order must be carried out immediately.
One seized the silver tray holding the spell. Beneath it lay the ring— or rather… Huo Feng.
When they reached the Furnace Elder, one handed over the decree while the other hurriedly flung everything into the Sacred Furnace and slammed the door shut.
The old man paid no heed to their rising panic, nor did the fear in their eyes stir even a flicker of hesitation in him. With a stillness that felt almost cruel, he lifted his hand and murmured the incantation, not to awaken the furnace… but to erase whatever lay trapped in its depths.
And with that single chant, he stirred the ancient hunger of the sacred flames.
Thus… silence died.
The Devouring Light surged inside, shaking the inner walls like a beast unchained. Deep within the darkness, Huo Feng stirred—confused, disoriented.
What is this place?Am I inside Father's storage room?No… that can't be. Maybe I'm in the pouch at his waist… maybe he's running…
So innocent. That was how her young mind interpreted the trembling around her.
Then she saw it— a distant spark. A small light… growing… and growing… and growing. She felt drawn to it—unaware that it was not salvation, but annihilation. The light consumed everything inside the furnace, artifact after artifact.
And something unfamiliar stirred inside her tiny soul for the very first time. Was it fear? Or… curiosity? Was she frightened of the devouring glow? Or fascinated by what might happen when it finally reached her?
The crystalline orb imprisoning her began to crack. Then, a sealed glass jar nearby glowed red—before exploding into a violent burst of light. Inside that jar had been the Forbidden Spell of Replication— a curse capable of copying any arcane power that existed.
Huo Feng did not tremble. She did not yet know what fear meant. She only watched the red streak whipping through the furnace like a blind beast. Then— it froze. As if it felt her presence.
Before the furnace could devour it, the streak lunged toward her. It circled her sphere… again and again… desperate to reach her, unable to pierce the crystal. When the cracks widened— It slipped inside. It coiled around her like a serpent… And then— It fused with her.
Huo Feng and the forbidden light became one...She did not understand it. She did not try to.All she saw was the Devouring Light finally reaching her. And then she screamed.
A soundless scream that shook the Furnace Elder's soul— and stirred the ancient sealed stars above the sacred chamber. After ages of silence, those stars had finally found their vessel. Just as the forbidden light had. The old keeper rose abruptly, eyes trembling.
"Has it come at last…?The moment I have waited for… across thousands of years?"
He rushed to open the furnace— It did not move. He chanted— Still sealed. He struck it with his staff— Not even a crack.
What could he do now? Save what was inside? Or…
Finally complete the last mission entrusted to him before his death?
"Need some help?"
A voice. Calm. Unfamiliar. The old man turned, suspicion burning through his exhaustion. And he knew—instantly— Something irreversible had begun.
In that moment… the Sacred Furnace did not devour a relic it awakened a calamity.