Chapter 615

"Is this the space where the Pure Lotus Demon Saint's flame is sealed? Hm? Where are Xun Er and the others?" Xiao Yan frowned, gazing at the empty surroundings—he should have entered this space together with Xun Er and the rest, so why was he alone here?

Xiao Yan furrowed his brows, his body hovering midair, every inch of the surrounding space filled with countless wisps of rising milky-white flame.

Having refined over a dozen Strange Fires and entered many Strange Fire spaces, Xiao Yan naturally knew these milky-white flames were not the Pure Lotus Demon Saint's flame, but merely the Strange Fire energy of this space.

Similar flames existed in the spaces of the Heartfall Flame and the Three Thousand Yan Flame; back then, Xiao Yan had greatly increased his cultivation by swallowing these Strange Fire energies while refining the Strange Fires.

Of course, if Xiao Yan now tried to absorb these Demon Fire energies without first refining the Pure Lotus Demon Saint's flame, the result would be suicide.

So even Xiao Yan dared not let a single strand of the milky-white flame touch him—even though these were not the Pure Lotus Demon Saint's true flame, they were still no trivial matter, especially here, where every corner radiated strangeness: seemingly calm, yet brimming with deadly traps. Caution was always wise.

"Let's leave this place first." Xiao Yan scanned the surroundings; even though his Soul Force had reached Heaven Realm Great Perfection, within this sea of Demon Fire, his Soul Force could not sense freely—it was constantly purified.

After a glance, Xiao Yan lightly tapped his toe against Space, his figure shooting forward—he felt uneasy here, and right now, he must find the others.

Xiao Yan's form darted through the Sea of Fire; the terrifying infernal heat from the surrounding flames forced him to slow down. Even with his twelve refined Strange Fires protecting him, he still felt sharp stings across his skin—here, even the air had been fully evaporated, leaving behind a desolation too profound to describe.

Hiss!

Xiao Yan flew forward for nearly ten minutes, but as he continued, his expression grew increasingly grim—throughout this ten-minute flight, the Sea of Fire showed no end, and he had seen no one else, as if this sea of flame stretched infinitely.

"How vast is this space? Did we get separated the moment we entered? But at the moment of entry, I didn't feel any teleportation…" Xiao Yan frowned deeply, his face filled with thought and confusion.

"There's someone talking ahead!"

As Xiao Yan pondered, faint voices suddenly drifted from nearby—he felt a flicker of relief and shot forward. But the moment he moved, he froze—right before him, YaoAo smiled calmly at Xiao Yan.

"Oh, I see." Xiao Yan rubbed his nose—the Pure Lotus Demon Saint's flame was truly absurdly powerful. Even with his Heaven Realm Great Perfection Soul Force and eleven Strange Fires guarding him, he'd been deceived without realizing it. This was terrifying.

"No wonder it's the only Strange Fire ranked third on the Heavenly Flame Ranking."

"Sorry, Master, I don't have time for small talk today." Xiao Yan nodded with a smile, ignoring the scorching ground as he slowly sat cross-legged. Instantly, endless milky-white Demon Fire surged toward him, producing a sizzling sound like frying meat.

Xiao Yan's mind shifted—the Fire Scripture activated, and his fused eleven Strange Fires flowed along the scripture's path throughout his body. A hum resonated—the milky-white Demon Fire that had secretly infiltrated his body sensed danger and tried to flee, but it was too late.

Xiao Yan sneered—the Fire Scripture was designed to refine Strange Fires. You chose to crawl into me? Want to refine me? Let's see who refines whom!

After an unknown duration, Xiao Yan slowly exhaled—the milky-white flames that had secretly entered him were the true Pure Lotus Demon Saint's flame, not the Origin Flame Seed, but born from it. For Xiao Yan, this was excellent energy.

After activating the Fire Scripture and absorbing all the Pure Lotus Demon Saint's flame, Xiao Yan stood, wiped sweat from his brow, and murmured: "No wonder it's the Pure Lotus Demon Saint's flame—this illusion is no weaker than the Hundred Lifetimes Reincarnation of the Bodhi Ancient Tree."

Soon after Xiao Yan regained his senses by refining a strand of the Pure Lotus Demon Saint's flame, a voice rang from afar: "Brother Xiao Yan!"

Xiao Yan turned—Xun Er stepped forward from a distance and appeared before him.

Xiao Yan's expression turned wary, but after scanning with his Soul Force and confirming the Heartfall Flame within Xun Er, he relaxed—he knew this Xun Er was real.

"Xun Er, you got out of this Strange Fire illusion faster than I did—your cultivation is far ahead of mine." Xiao Yan looked at Xun Er with a touch of frustration; because of her Divine Grade Bloodline and Strange Fire protection, he couldn't perceive her true strength.

Ever since, Xun Er's power had always been a mystery—even Xiao Yan didn't know how far she'd advanced. After all, she came from the mighty Gu Clan, possessed a heaven-born Divine Grade Bloodline, and for the Gu Clan, the Bodhi Heart was merely a precious treasure at best.

Xun Er smiled, pointing to her forehead—a faint seven-colored shimmer glowed there, surrounded by a thread of gold, resembling an eight-colored Clan Mark.

Xun Er said: "I only broke through the Nightmare Mist faster than Brother Xiao Yan thanks to my Divine Grade Bloodline and the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame."

"Nightmare Mist? Is this the Pure Lotus Demon Saint's strongest Dou Technique?" Xiao Yan blinked, staring at the milky-white Demon Fire—because of these flames, a faint milky-white mist clung to the air.

So this was the Nightmare Mist!

Xiao Yan had read about the Nightmare Mist in the Soul Sovereign's records—it could plunge millions in an entire City into a dream without their awareness. Controlling the minds of millions required unimaginable Soul Force; even the Soul Sovereign's Abyss of the Demon-Slicing Art couldn't pull millions into a single Soul Illusion.

Xun Er nodded gravely: "According to our clan's records from a thousand years ago, when the Pure Lotus Demon Saint's flame first appeared, it couldn't yet use Nightmare Mist."

"This space belongs entirely to the Pure Lotus Demon Saint's flame. The moment we entered, we fell into its grasp—where it sends each of us is entirely up to its will," Xun Er said.

Xiao Yan opened his right palm—the Heartfall Flame emerged. Within the Pure Lotus Demon Saint's space, the small serpent formed by the Heartfall Flame shrank its head, brimming with deep fear.

"The others are fine—they must be elsewhere." Xiao Yan sensed the continued presence of other Heartfall Flames through his own, confirming the others were at least safe.

Xun Er smiled gently, taking Xiao Yan's hand in hers—warmth instantly flowed into his palm: "Brother Xiao Yan, let's go together. Once you refine the Pure Lotus Demon Saint's flame, Sister Cai Lin and the others will be safe."

Xiao Yan nodded. With Cai Lin's strength, this minor illusion couldn't stop them. The priority now was finding the Pure Lotus Demon Saint's Origin Flame Seed—once refined, the entire Strange Fire Space would be under his control.

Soon, the two walked hand in hand, darting forward. Along the way, they spotted many people engulfed in milky-white flame—all were Dou Zun. Xiao Yan said nothing to these greedy fools chasing luck.

Hadn't he himself, when weak, fought YaoAo and the entire Snake Empire for Strange Fires? One general's glory is built on ten thousand corpses.

Now that they knew it was Nightmare Mist, Xiao Yan and Xun Er moved without obstruction. Together, they used Strange Fire protection—even the Pure Lotus Demon Saint's flame dared not approach them.

Xun Er's Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame was itself the fourth-ranked Strange Fire, just below the Pure Lotus Demon Saint's flame, capable of burning all things in the world—even Dou Techniques, Soul Techniques, and the Dao itself.

Xiao Yan was no weaker. Though ten of his eleven Strange Fires ranked below tenth, and only the Three Thousand Yan Flame ranked ninth, their fusion allowed the Fire Scripture to reach Heavenly Rank Advanced Grade. Most importantly, he possessed Xu Wu Tong Yan Tian Zi Huo—these leftover fragments of the Pure Lotus Demon Saint's flame meant nothing to him.

Soon, Xiao Yan and Xun Er arrived together before a massive gate.

Seeing the giant gate at the end, Xun Er said: "According to our ancestors' records, last time this happened, following the path beyond the giant gate led directly to the Pure Lotus Demon Saint's flame. But beyond that gate lie countless obstacles—you must break through to reach it."

"This is the Pure Lotus Demon Saint's doing. Forcing our way through won't be easy," Xiao Yan frowned.

As Xiao Yan was about to speak, the surrounding space suddenly rippled violently—a terrifying infernal heat slowly spread from all sides.

"Watch out!"

Of course, Xun Er didn't need to warn him—Xiao Yan had already been alert. Back-to-back with Xun Er, they stared at the increasingly distorted space. This Demon Fire Space was too strange—they had to be extremely cautious.

Boom—Boom!

As the space twisted further, cracks suddenly appeared. From each crack, waves of milky-white flame surged forth, followed by countless figures drenched in milky-white flame, flooding out like a tide. In an instant, the entire sky was filled with these flame-enshrouded figures.

These figures were wreathed in flame, gripping flame-tipped spears, their emotionless eyes fixed on Xiao Yan and the others.

Xiao Yan stared in surprise—these flame figures had solid, tangible bodies, and each radiated formidable energy.

"Brother Xiao Yan, be careful—these are Fire Slaves, warriors refined by the Pure Lotus Demon Saint's flame, akin to a different kind of puppet!" Xun Er said gravely.

Xiao Yan frowned, gazing at the distant warriors trapped by Nightmare Mist. It seemed those who failed to break free from the illusion eventually became Fire Slaves—these countless figures before him were likely the accumulated warriors who had entered this space over countless ages.

Roar!

No sooner had Xun Er spoken than thousands upon thousands of flame figures roared in unison, launching themselves toward Xiao Yan and the others in a sky-covering assault—their momentum was earth-shattering.

Though these Fire Slaves had once been merely Dou Zun, after countless years of refinement by the Pure Lotus Demon Saint's flame, their weakest were now Nine-Star Dou Zun, the strongest bordering on Demon Saint—and Xiao Yan even sensed several who were full Dou Saints!

Seeing this overwhelming tide of attackers, Xiao Yan frowned, clenching his fist—terrible Dou Energy erupted outward as he roared: "Great Heaven Creation Palm!"

Hum—the air trembled as a massive black sphere materialized. The black hole of the Great Heaven Creation Palm expanded instantly, shattering every Fire Slave that touched it.

"Hm?"

Xiao Yan's eyes narrowed; as these Fire Slaves were shattered by the Great Heaven Creation Palm, streams of Pure Lotus Demonic Fire exploded from within them—demonic fires capable of purifying even the Great Heaven Creation Palm.

Merely eliminating a dozen Fire Slaves had already purged the black hole's annihilation force of the Great Heaven Creation Palm!

Even Xun Er's Great Dà Jìmìe Shù suffered the same fate—these Fire Slaves were weak in cultivation, yet each was like a bomb, containing a thread of Pure Lotus Demonic Fire that erupted upon destruction, purifying everything!

After instantly eliminating a hundred flame figures, Xiao Yan and Xun Er both frowned deeper; even they, with fierce assaults and cultivation realms far surpassing the Fire Slaves, faced an endless tide of them surging forth—as if they could never be wiped out!

"Killing them like this is useless—let's go inside!" Xiao Yan said grimly.

Xun Er nodded; the two exchanged a glance and each unleashed a palm strike. Instantly, a sky-covering sea of strange flames drowned the entire space. While the strange flames held back the enemy, they tapped the ground with their toes and shot forward like lightning. Finally, they both roared in unison, slamming their palms together with full force against the massive gate.

"Boom!"

Xiao Yan and Xun Er simultaneously unleashed their Clan Mark Power; the seven-colored radiance of their Divine-Class Clan Marks illuminated the entire space, and the massive gate shattered explosively. In the instant the gate exploded, the endless horde of Fire Slaves behind it halted their pursuit, hovering densely in midair.

"Brother Xiao Yan, according to our ancestors, the very end of this Demonic Fire Hall is where the Demonic Fire's true form resides!" Xun Er reminded him.

"Right, stay close and don't let go," Xiao Yan said, gripping Xun Er's Jade Hand—before them lay the lair of the Pure Lotus Demonic Fire.

"I understand, Brother Xiao Yan."

Xun Er smiled softly, nodded, clutched Xiao Yan's Jade Hand tightly, and followed behind him as they both shot through the massive gate.

Yet, for some reason, Xiao Yan felt a persistent unease deep within his heart.

At this moment, Xiao Yan did not yet know he had long been watched.

(End of Chapter)