Chapter 278: The Burning Decision Evolves Again! [8000 Completed]

Slowly extending his long hand, Xiao Yan curled his lips, and roaring green flame completely enveloped his palm; after the flame wrapped it, he layered upon it a powerful soul force.

His hand formed a claw, slightly curled, and Xiao Yan gave a cold smile toward the direction where the flame serpent hid.

Seeing Xiao Yan's cold smile, the invisible flame serpent—unseen by the naked eye—seemed to sense danger and grew angry, spitting out its origin flame in a burst.

A cluster of origin heart flame shot toward Xiao Yan, instantly appearing inside his body, intent on burning him to ash from within!

Seeing the cluster of origin heart flame appear inside himself, Xiao Yan's eyes flickered with black flame as he smiled: "Mao Wu, swallow it!"

(>^ω^<) Miao!!!!!!

At this moment, Mao Wu's voice echoed in Xiao Yan's heart—a cluster of black flame appeared within him, flickering like a candle flame, seemingly ready to extinguish at any moment.

Yet this tiny bit of black flame, this flickering, seemingly extinguishable black flame, was the exact counter to the Heartfall Flame; as soon as the heart flame drew near, the black flame immediately burned away the invisible heart flame.

If it were the full origin heart flame, the Void Swallowing Flame—merely a sub-flame—might not have been able to devour it so quickly, but as just a fragment, even a sub-flame could be destroyed; after all, Void Swallowing Flame ranked second among the mighty spiritual flames.

The black flame hissed as it burned the heart flame, and the scorched origin heart flame dissolved into wisps of invisible energy, which Mao Wu swallowed in one gulp.

As Xiao Yan's body crackled with lightning, his qi flame wings surged forward, piercing deep into the body of the invisible fire serpent; no matter how much heart flame or how powerful, none could approach Xiao Yan, enveloped in Void Swallowing Flame—all were burned and devoured by the black flame.

At this moment, Xiao Yan had revealed all his trump cards—Mao Wu was his final resort, one he had never used until now, hiding it away to capture the Heartfall Flame at the critical moment, preventing it from escaping.

"Come here, you!"

Now completely wrapped in Void Swallowing Flame, every movement of the invisible, formless flame serpent became crystal clear; Xiao Yan gave a cold smile, and faint silver light, accompanied by a faint rumble of thunder, quietly emerged beneath his feet.

Suddenly, Xiao Yan's body trembled slightly—a solid afterimage remained in place, while his figure appeared like a ghost before a patch of flame; using the power of Void Swallowing Flame, his hand pierced through the black hole just like Zi Yan, emerging from the other side!

He lunged out fiercely and seized the Origin Flame Seed of the Heartfall Flame.

The saying "wealth comes from risk"—truly it was no lie!

The instant he seized the Origin Flame Seed of the Heartfall Flame, the invisible fire serpent let out a deafening roar, and the entire world shook violently.

"Xiao Yan!" The Grand Elder yanked hard on the ice chains, trying to trap the invisible fire serpent and prevent its explosion.

Yet even with the combined strength of every Elder in the Inner Court, they could not contain the invisible fire serpent—it shattered apart, becoming a volcano, a Sea of Fire.

Terrifying flames crashed down like Mount Tai crushing down, like an apocalyptic tidal wave, slamming onto Xiao Yan, intent on drowning him in magma.

This was the Heartfall Flame's final counterattack!

Just as Xiao Yan was about to be submerged and swallowed by the flames, a graceful figure suddenly appeared beside him; seven-colored divine light erupted from Mei Du Sha's body, illuminating the entire Earth Core World and dyeing it all in seven hues.

"Rise!"

The light pulsed and swelled, and after a moment, a roar—part lion's bellow, part tiger's howl, part dragon's cry—resounded powerfully from within the seven-colored radiance; soon after the roar, the blinding light surged violently.

Under this blinding brilliance, Xiao Yan reflexively closed his eyes; moments later, when he opened them again, he stared in utter shock—a seven-colored serpent, a hundred meters long, hovered before him.

The seven-colored serpent's body was long and powerful, exuding an elegant beauty; its seven-colored scales shimmered with an uncanny luster.

This was Mei Du Sha's soul—or rather, the Soul Body of the Seven-Colored Devouring Sky Serpent!

Mei Du Sha's physical body had not yet completed its evolution, but her soul had succeeded—it was truly, genuinely an ancient spiritual beast!

Thud! Mei Du Sha directly used the Soul Body of the Seven-Colored Devouring Sky Serpent to block the Heartfall Flame!

Soul Bodies are most vulnerable to spiritual flames, but because Mei Du Sha had evolved using spiritual flame, her Soul Body possessed strong resistance to them.

Xiao Yan looked at Mei Du Sha beside him—her beautiful face pale, her gaze grave; he could imagine the immense pressure she was enduring.

Xiao Yan had never expected that, in the end, Mei Du Sha would risk her Soul Body to shield him from the Heartfall Flame's final counterattack.

"What are you standing there for?!" Mei Du Sha's triangular serpent eyes glared coldly at Xiao Yan and snapped.

Xiao Yan snapped back to his senses and softly said: "Thank you." Without further words, he pulled out an Earth Spirit Pill and swallowed it, then swallowed the Heartfall Flame, still wrapped in Void Swallowing Flame.

As the Heartfall Flame entered his body, Xiao Yan instantly stiffened!

The moment the Heartfall Flame entered his body, it erupted with terrifying infernal heat; even with the protection of spiritual flames and the Earth Spirit Pill inside him, his body gradually grew scalding hot, then searingly painful; though small in volume, the Origin Flame Seed of the Heartfall Flame had accumulated over countless years, and its temperature was naturally extraordinary.

Yet though the searing pain returned inside him, for Xiao Yan—who had endured the unspeakable agony of the Ten Thousand Beasts' Spiritual Flame and the Green Lotus Earth Core Flame—it was not unbearable.

Immediately, he steadied his mind, and four spiritual flames surged violently from every part of his body, forming a heavenly net from four directions, surrounding the Heartfall Flame as it ravaged within.

Four against one!

At this moment, though absorbed into Xiao Yan's body, the Heartfall Flame still retained its own consciousness; thus, it evaded Xiao Yan's encirclement with cunning, darting everywhere; though the infernal heat could no longer make Xiao Yan beg for death, prolonged exposure inevitably bred irritation.

With the loss of its Origin Flame Seed, the spiritual flame energy composing the invisible fire serpent instantly lost its command and exploded outward with a boom, scattering in all directions.

"Did he… succeed?!" The Fire Elder and other Elders stared in stunned silence at Xiao Yan at the center—they could sense he was now refining the Heartfall Flame.

Grand Elder Su Qian shook his head: "Not certain. He's refining it now, but success isn't guaranteed—only one in ten thousand succeed in refining a spiritual flame. Still, the Heartfall Flame's sentience should be destroyed now; the Inner Court's crisis is lifted."

Grand Elder sighed in relief; regardless, the accumulated spiritual flame energy of the Heartfall Flame had been utterly scattered, and the terrifying energy now filled the entire spiritual flame space.

After purification, this spiritual flame energy could serve as the heart fire to accelerate the Tian Fen Lian Qi Ta—but without the Origin Flame Seed, this energy would be exhausted once used and could not regenerate.

Grand Elder studied Xiao Yan, then glanced at Mei Du Sha beside him, recalling Xiao Yan's words, and slowly shook his head as he withdrew from this world.

"Seal the entrance for now—don't let this spiritual flame energy leak out." Grand Elder formed a hand seal, and an energy barrier appeared, blocking the entrance to prevent energy leakage.

"Grand Elder, what do we do about Xiao Yan and that mysterious Dou Zong?"

"Wait. Wait until Xiao Yan finishes refining the spiritual flame. As for that mysterious Dou Zong—don't provoke her."

Mei Du Sha sensed Grand Elder sealing the entrance and showed no alarm—she could shatter such an energy barrier with a single palm; this was merely to prevent energy leakage.

"He really succeeded…" Mei Du Sha stood in Space, her beautiful eyes studying Xiao Yan, who sat cross-legged refining the Heartfall Flame; a trace of admiration appeared in her gaze.

She had some experience refining spiritual flames herself—she understood the pain involved; it was not merely burning flesh and meridians—it constantly refined the Spiritual Soul, dangerous and agonizing.

She gently shook her head, then flashed to the spot where spiritual flame energy was densest; her Seven-Colored Devouring Sky Serpent Bloodline surged.

Spiritual beasts do not cultivate cultivation methods—their cultivation method is their bloodline power.

Mei Du Sha's red lips parted slightly; she simply opened her mouth and uttered "Swallow," greedily drawing the Heartfall Flame's spiritual flame energy into her body, rapidly condensing her flesh and elevating her physical form to Seven Rank!

At this moment, Xiao Yan's mind slowly sank into stillness; the four spiritual flames seeped from every corner of his body, eventually spreading to every inch of his being to hunt down the heart flame's origin.

Surrounded by the four spiritual flames, even if the Heartfall Flame were more cunning, it could no longer escape; Xiao Yan seized the opportunity and used Void Swallowing Flame to completely encircle it.

Inside his body, the Heartfall Flame, now tightly encircled by black flame, did not surrender—it struggled violently like a cornered beast, releasing terrifying infernal heat; as the heat intensified, Xiao Yan's previously calm expression slowly twisted with pain.

Enduring the searing pain, Xiao Yan stirred his mind, and the other spiritual flames joined the pursuit and blockade, howling within him, then rapidly converging into a four-colored Fire Lotus, its four petals closing together.

Inside the lotus, the Falling Heart Flame struggled desperately to escape.

Once enveloped, the core of the Falling Heart Flame could no longer stir up trouble; Xiao Yan smirked coldly, his Soul Force piercing through the Fire Lotus like a divine sword, stabbing into the small serpent-like Falling Heart Flame.

"I'll give you two choices: first, I erase your consciousness outright with Soul Force. Second, I preserve your consciousness—you submit to me and willingly follow the Burning Decree into the Naling."

Xiao Yan had previously refined the Subflame of Void Swallowing Flame, a sentient Spiritual Flame, and thus knew that Spiritual Flames could retain their consciousness during refinement.

But to preserve consciousness, the Flame must submit willingly; otherwise, if forced assimilation triggers resistance, and the Falling Heart Flame explodes, he will be the first to suffer.

Xiao Yan, who created the Buddha Fury Lotus, knew better than anyone what would happen when Spiritual Flames collided.

But Spiritual Flames are hard to birth; possessing one is a tremendous advantage, especially in Fire Control Power—even as a Divine-Rank Alchemist, Xiao Yan's Fire Control Power could never match that of a Spiritual Flame, for the Falling Heart Flame controlling the Falling Heart Flame is like controlling one's own arm.

The Falling Heart Flame understood Xiao Yan's intent, so it fought with all its might—but by now, it had become fish on a chopping block, its fate entirely in Xiao Yan's hands.

After a moment, the Falling Heart Flame ceased resisting. Having consciousness had one advantage: fear of death.

It did not wish to have its consciousness erased outright; though servitude wounded its pride, faced with death, the Falling Heart Flame lacked such grand courage.

Sensing the Falling Heart Flame's core had abandoned resistance, Xiao Yan smiled faintly, manipulating the four Spiritual Flames as the lotus slowly unraveled, the invisible serpent slowly lifting its head.

It flicked its tongue, no longer showing aggression.

Xiao Yan nodded inwardly, deeply satisfied with this outcome—retaining consciousness was certainly best.

With a thought, he activated the Burning Decree, guiding the Falling Heart Flame through his Meridians; after one full cycle, it slowly merged into the Naling, marking Xiao Yan's successful refinement of the Falling Heart Flame!

Huh—Xiao Yan exhaled, unaware of the passage of time; refining and chasing the Falling Heart Flame had taken him a full month.

"The Burning Decree has evolved."

The Burning Decree's evolution matched Xiao Yan's expectations: after refining the Yin-Yang Life and Death Flame at the Life and Death Gate, it had nearly reached Earth-Class Mid-Level—but the Yin-Yang Life and Death Flame was only ranked twenty-one, while the Falling Heart Flame was ranked fourteen, instantly elevating the Burning Decree to Earth Rank Advanced Grade!

"Earth Rank Advanced Grade?"

His gaze shifted to the seductive beauty within the flames—the Medusa Queen, with her human torso and serpent tail; Xiao Yan recalled how, a month ago, Medusa Queen had risked her Spiritual Soul's damage to shield him from the Falling Heart Flame's final counterattack, enabling his smooth success.

"It seems Medusa has progressed well too—her body reaching Seven Rank is merely a matter of time."

Xiao Yan withdrew his gaze and looked toward the exit; the Grand Elder had arrived upon hearing the news and wore a pleased smile upon learning Xiao Yan had succeeded.

Just as the Grand Elder prepared to open the energy barrier and release Xiao Yan, a Soul Voice echoed: "Grand Elder, I intend to cultivate here a while longer."

The Grand Elder paused, then nodded inwardly; for others, that Spiritual Flame space was filled with flame toxins—prolonged exposure would mean certain death—but for Xiao Yan, it was an ideal place.

Yet the Grand Elder misunderstood Xiao Yan; Xiao Yan's greater purpose in staying was not merely cultivation—he still needed to fuse the Spiritual Flames before concluding.

And most importantly, Xiao Yan still needed to refine a second Spiritual Flame!

Hum! Xiao Yan opened his palm, and a pale-green flame flew out from the Mysterious Ring!

Looking at this flame—the very first Spiritual Flame he had ever possessed, and the most advanced, fully matured Spiritual Flame he currently held—he resolved to refine it!

"Earth-Class Cultivation Methods are insufficient—against the Gu Clan and the Soul Sovereign, Earth-Class is far too weak!"

Heavenly Rank! Burning Decree, evolve again!

(End of Chapter)