Chapter 786

"Jie jie jie, no choice then—if the spirit won't obey, we'll replace it with one that will. I wonder if Chen Yuan works on spirit vessels." Xiao Yan smiled, baring his teeth, a flash of cold light in his eyes.

Chen Yuan has the ability to drag living beings into illusions, effectively brainwashing or hypnotizing them. Xiao Yan had never tried pulling a spirit vessel into Chen Yuan—after all, spirit vessels didn't even exist on the Dou Qi Continent.

"Though I dislike forcing others, you're not human—a Sacred Artifact left rotting in this godforsaken place is a waste. I'd hate to see it go to waste." Xiao Yan immediately formed a hand seal, and an immensely terrifying Soul Power erupted from within him.

Instantly, a familiar power appeared.

Though physical strength and Soul Power can be used without Dou Qi, Dou Qi remains the foundation of cultivation on the Dou Qi Continent. Lose Dou Qi, and you lose your spine—like floating duckweed without roots, even Soul Power plummets drastically, requiring Dou Qi to fully manifest Soul Techniques.

Without Dou Qi or a physical body, even a Heavenly Realm Soul can only unleash the power of a Dou Zong—or at most, a Dou Huang. That's the absolute limit.

A low hum rang out—and in that black-and-white world, an indescribable black shadow surged like a tidal wave, slowly rising from the darkness beneath Xiao Yan's feet.

In the blink of an eye, a figure stood there—slender, blurred, almost spectral like a Soul, yet carved as sharply as a statue.

The moment this statue-figure appeared, a strange stench of blood flooded the air. At that instant, those outside Fire God Mountain inexplicably shuddered, a chilling dread spreading through their hearts, stirring primal fear.

"Why did I suddenly shiver?"

"You too?"

"Weird—this place is scorching hot! Just now I felt a chill!"

Suddenly, everyone on Fire God Mountain felt a coldness rising from their soles, crawling straight to the crown of their heads. Strangely, there was nothing around them.

"Could it be an illusion?" someone muttered to himself.

It wasn't surprising others doubted it—even Supremes using Spiritual Sense found nothing, for they couldn't penetrate Fire God Mountain. Without an Infernal Flame, their perception couldn't pierce the magma.

This made some wonder if it was merely their imagination—perhaps someone was battling, unleashing a Divine Art.

Inside Fire God Mountain, the three-headed, six-armed statue of the Asura Soul-Cutting Technique slowly materialized. A cackling sound echoed as its three heads slowly lifted—and with a sharp snap, six eyes opened.

Three heads lifted. Six eyes opened in unison!

When the six eyes of the Asura Soul-Cutting Technique opened, one felt as if their soul had been seized by those gazes. Each eye held a different expression, yet the moment their gaze touched you, it pierced straight into your heart.

That gaze was like a demonic god staring from the dark—no matter how powerful you were, your spirit trembled.

Even Xiao Yan, controlling the Asura Soul-Cutting Technique, now felt as if something was watching him from behind—a creeping unease.

Especially now, in the Great Thousand World, the feeling grew more real, more distinct.

The High-Rank Sacred Artifact, naturally, bore the brunt—the spirit vessel was terrified, its aura exploding instantly as it tried to flee!

Generally, inherited Sacred Artifacts contain a portion of their master's Spiritual Power. Like Ningzhu Array Master—his Wood Square Array Plate retained a fragment of his power; that Inheritance Spiritual Consciousness is a form of spirit vessel.

But this High-Rank Sacred Artifact was still a vessel blank—its power came from Fire God Mountain. Now severed by Xiao Yan, it could no longer unleash its full strength.

Gak gak gak—the three heads opened three mouths. The Asura statue's mouth widened, and a powerful Soul suction surged forth.

Hu hu hu—the mouth sucked violently, a mighty Soul Storm reversing, as if reaching across space to devour the artifact's spirit.

At this moment, the spirit vessel finally panicked—it was truly terrified!!!

That powerful Soul Storm could absorb, devour—even the Soul, the Divine Spirit, or a spirit vessel! If the spirit vessel was absorbed, the Sacred Artifact's power would plummet. But since the material itself was a High-Rank Sacred Artifact, how could Xiao Yan let it go?

Soul later—first, secure the physical vessel!

Just as the spirit vessel was about to be ripped away, the High-Rank Sacred Artifact leapt up—snatching itself onto Xiao Yixian's hand.

A hum—and the orb shattered, forced into automatic submission to Xiao Yixian!

In the instant the orb exploded, a silver-white liquid emerged, beautiful as mercury. It slithered across Xiao Yixian's palm, then threads of silver began weaving—within moments, a delicate silver-silk glove settled onto her Jade Hand.

Xiao Yixian never used weapons. Even on the Dou Qi Continent, her techniques relied on claws, palms, and condensing Eternal Calamity Poison in her palms—so gloves were her perfect weapon.

The glove was exquisitely fine and resilient, woven from platinum threads. Though it looked soft and thin, no ordinary Divine Weapon or even Sacred Artifact could pierce it—it was a High-Rank Sacred Artifact, after all.

With the silver-silk Sacred Artifact gloves on, Xiao Yixian, clad in a plain white robe, looked ethereally beautiful, radiant beyond compare—like a character from Jin Yong's novels, embodying truth, goodness, and beauty.

Seeing the High-Rank Sacred Artifact submit to Xiao Yixian, Xiao Yan felt no resentment—in fact, he'd intended to give it to her. She needed a weapon combining offense and defense, so he took the role of the villain.

Xiao Yan had no complaints—but everyone else turned sour.

"No!!!" Someone screamed, howling like a wounded beast—this cry was more agonizing than being slashed by a blade.

"My god, is there any justice left?!!"

"How can a Seven-Star Sovereign get a High-Rank Sacred Artifact to submit?!"

Some geniuses, driven mad, pointed at the Sky and cursed: "Damned heavens, what joke is this?! I refuse to accept it!"

Others pondered: "Are the Sacred Artifacts on Fire God Mountain cowards? Do they only obey those who threaten?"

How could outsiders possibly know the truth?

In an instant, countless hearts churned with envy—Xiao Yixian's fortune seemed utterly unjust.

Naturally, others stirred with greed—eyes gleaming with desire. Someone who hadn't even reached Earth Supreme had just received a High-Rank Sacred Artifact's submission!

Though High-Rank Sacred Artifacts belonged to the realm of Perfect Earth Supremes—even Upper Earth Supremes struggled to possess one. To unleash their power required immense Spiritual Power—and Xiao Yixian clearly lacked it.

Even if the High-Rank Sacred Artifact had submitted, those who hadn't reached Earth Supreme couldn't forcibly claim it. But their envy wouldn't allow another to possess it—they couldn't bear to see someone else succeed.

Xiao Yan naturally sensed the greed outside. He prepared to retract his Infernal Flame and Soul Technique, ready to step out and see who dared steal it—when suddenly, in the magma ocean within Fire God Mountain, an eye opened!

!!!!!!

The instant the magma ocean revealed an eye, Xiao Yan's Soul Perception sensed it—he snapped his head down. There, impossibly, floated a human-head-sized orb, like a giant eyeball, appearing out of nowhere atop the magma.

From above, it looked as if the magma itself had grown an eye. Xiao Yan felt directly stared at—he couldn't even sense when it had appeared.

Xiao Yan's eyes narrowed, his heart jolted: "What is this?!"

The next second—BOOM! In that instant, Mao Wu's Infernal Flame Dou Technique lost control of Fire God Mountain's fire veins—all magma erupted violently, as if the entire volcano were about to explode.

A terrifying energy exploded from Fire God Mountain's depths, shattering Xiao Yan's Infernal Flame Sealing.

BOOM! All magma within Fire God Mountain erupted skyward in an unceasing torrent, as if the volcano were erupting—deep beneath, endless magma spewed forth uncontrollably.

As the magma erupted wildly, a sizzling sound echoed—as if the infernal substance were melting space itself. Hidden deeper still lay something mysterious, its power even more terrifying—capable of dissolving all things.

"Could it be an Infernal Flame emerging?!" Xiao Yan's heart sank—he remembered that Infernal Flames could devour and trigger explosions among themselves.

Xiao Yan had just used his Infernal Flame Dou Technique to seal Fire God Mountain—could that have alerted the Great Thousand World Infernal Flame hidden in the fire veins? Had it awakened, intending to kill him and devour Di An's Black Flame?

"Retreat! Fire God Mountain is erupting!"

Lava erupted from the summit of Fire God Mountain, and witnessing this scene made many shudder in fear—should even a drop of this terrifying lava splash onto one's body, it would melt and burn it to ash in the shortest possible time!

Even a speck of Fire God Mountain's lava splashing onto oneself could instantly burn a massive hole through the body.

Although the lava flames of Fire God Mountain are not Strange Flames, their power is certainly not weak—they can melt Sacred Artifact ore!

When all the lava surged upward, it instantly engulfed Xiao Yan and Xiao Yixian, who stood within the crater, completely surrounding them with terrifying lava that immediately splashed onto their bodies, as if determined to utterly incinerate them.

Just as all the lava came crashing down, Xiao Yan pulled Xiao Yixian into his arms, and black flame erupted instantly from his body, enveloping both him and Xiao Yixian in an instant; when Mao Wu's black flame surrounded them, the Divine Fire of Fire God Mountain was consumed by Mao Wu and could not harm them in the slightest.

But at this moment, Xiao Yan paid no attention to the lava—his Strange Flame rendered Fire God Mountain's lava useless to him. His gaze burned like torchlight, his Soul Force piercing through the lava world and sinking deep into the world beneath, locking onto that strange thing just now.

The strange sphere suddenly shattered through space and vanished instantly within the lava world.

Xiao Yan frowned, then flipped his hand—the gray Strange Flame transformed into a compass, its needle pointing precisely downward beneath Fire God Mountain!

"Could the Strange Flame Compass be sensing that thing? Was that stone-like object just now a newly born Strange Flame in the Fire Realm?" Xiao Yixian's beautiful eyes widened in shock, her red lips slightly parted—how could that thing resemble a Strange Flame!

"No, that thing isn't a Strange Flame, but it's closely related to one. My Strange Flame Compass definitely sensed it. Perhaps the new Strange Flame was born upon that round object." Xiao Yan recalled that when the object appeared, his newly refined Strange Flame had reacted slightly—but that thing was certainly not a Strange Flame.

Yet traces of Strange Flame might still linger on it—perhaps a Strange Flame was once nurtured and born upon that object!

Xiao Yixian wrapped her arms around Xiao Yan's waist, her beautiful eyes fixed intently on his and said: "Let's go in together."

Xiao Yan opened his mouth as if to speak, but seeing Xiao Yixian's determined, stubborn gaze—willing to risk her life with him—he nodded.

"But you follow my lead."

"Mm." Xiao Yixian smiled faintly, nodded, then pressed her cheek against Xiao Yan's chest.

Xiao Yan's large hand cradled the back of Xiao Yixian's head, then his Supreme Form erupted—he smashed a single punch of Eight Extremes Collapse into the lava world, instantly punching through a Void Great Hole, then plunged into the lava world with Xiao Yixian.

With a splash, as Xiao Yan and Xiao Yixian crossed layer upon layer of Space and entered the world beneath Fire God Mountain, all the surging lava plummeted downward, cascading in torrents.

Fire God Mountain was submerged in lava; wisps of Divine Fire burned from within the molten flow. Seeing this, the floating weapons above once again plunged into the lava, absorbing the Divine Fire to temper themselves.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Yixian had vanished—as if nothing had happened.

"Where did they go?" A disciple from a noble family exclaimed in shock: "Could they have been burned to ashes?"

"It's not that simple," muttered a senior patriarch of a sect, his expression grave, his cultivation deep and experience vast: "Someone who can force a High-Rank Sacred Artifact to submit, and who possesses a Strange Flame—how could he be burned to death? There's something strange here!"

"They probably discovered some opportunity and entered Fire God Mountain."

"A great opportunity inside Fire God Mountain?!"

Among those present were members of major factions who had long investigated Fire God Mountain and knew that beneath it lay the main vein of the Fire Realm—a vein that ran through the entire Fire Realm.

"Quick! Notify our sect—there's a great opportunity inside Fire God Mountain!"

In an instant, news of what happened at Fire God Mountain spread widely.

The Fire Realm had more than just Fire God Mountain as a Secret Realm; the Fire Spirit Clan disciples did not come to Fire God Mountain to obtain weapons, but instead went to other Secret Realms to enhance their strength and acquire resources from fifty thousand years ago.

Of course, some Fire Spirit Clan youths came seeking Strange Flames—but how could they possibly enter the underground fire veins through Fire God Mountain's crater? The Fire Spirit Clan had specialized Sealing Arrays to access the Earth Veins, far safer than Xiao Yan's method.

As for what secrets lay within Fire God Mountain, no one else present could say—indeed, the Fire Realm concealed too many secrets unknown to them; otherwise, the Domain Beyond's demonic clans would never have conquered the Five Elements Spirit Soil.

At the same moment Fire God Mountain underwent its anomaly, in the center of the Five Elements Spirit Soil's five realms lay a Spiritual Territory—this land connected all five realms and was the Holy Land of the Five Elements Spirit Soil.

The Ling Realm, known to the world as the core of the Five Elements Spirit Soil, could be seen from the peak at its entrance as a vast basin shrouded in mist.

Around the Ling Realm stretched endless Shen Yuan; above these chasms floated five narrow paths, each connecting to one of the Five Elements Spirit Soil's five realms—only these five paths allowed entry into the Ling Realm.

The Ling Realm was once the Holy Land of the Five Elements Spirit Soil, where in the heavens stood a colossal Altar, containing a separate dimension—legend said this massive Altar was used to gather the power of the Five Elements Spirit Soil's Plane!

The Plane Embryo—a phenomenon only a powerful Lower Plane could produce—is also called the Plane Spirit of that realm, the most powerful lifeform within it, devoid of thought; whoever controls it becomes the Plane Lord, wielding the entire realm's power. An Earth Supreme Perfect who refines the Plane Embryo can cross the threshold into Heaven Supreme.

Yet for a Supreme Continent, vastly stronger than a Lower Plane, the formation of Plane Power occurs not once.

A Supreme Continent is called so not merely because of its vastness and scale, but because it holds cosmic power, capable of birthing sufficiently potent resources.

However, forming Plane Power requires immense time—differences among Supreme Continents lie only in the quality of their Plane Power.

Once, to become a Supreme Divine Beast on the Shen Shou Continent, one needed the blessing of the Shen Shou Continent's Plane Power; likewise, the Five Elements Spirit Soil had once been a Supreme Continent and possessed such Plane Power, enabling Earth Supreme Perfects to transcend into Heaven Supreme.

And this blessing occurred within the Ling Realm.

The Ling Realm lay at the heart of the Five Elements Spirit Soil, at the convergence point of the five elemental Earth Veins, imbued with the continent's power.

But fifty thousand years ago, the Ling Realm was shattered; when the Domain Beyond's demonic clans departed, they destroyed it further—the Shen Yuan surrounding the Ling Realm were carved by the demonic emperor's Demon Qi, and anyone falling into them would be shredded by banishment forces—even an Earth Supreme.

Yet this opening of the Five Elements Spirit Soil was destined to be different: floating above the Ling Realm was a colossal island, so immense it seemed to blot out the entire Ling Realm.

"You say that island just now trembled?" asked a Fire Spirit Clan patriarch clad in red robes, his cultivation at Upper Earth Supreme, frowning.

A nearby Ice Spirit Clan patriarch in blue robes nodded: "Mm."

"What could it be? There was no such thing during previous openings of the Five Elements Spirit Soil," sighed the Wind Spirit Clan patriarch.

Besides the five Spirit Clan patriarchs, many sect elders and sect leaders came and went at the entrance to this basin.

All of them were drawn by the sudden appearance of the colossal island—some came merely to gawk, others heard of its anomalies and rushed here to witness it, even hoping to enter and find opportunities for breakthrough.

Once, a Heaven Supreme faction's Earth Supreme patriarch attempted to forcibly ascend the Sky Island, for rumors claimed he had seen divine flowers, Shen Shu, and even scripture phenomena upon it—many firmly believed the Sky Island held legendary Secret Treasures.

But the Sky Island was shrouded in Demon Qi, utterly inaccessible; some who tried forcing entry were corrupted by the Demon Qi and transformed into monsters.

Even though the Five Spirit Clans denied it, claiming the Five Elements Spirit Soil had never held such an island before, and that it was likely a trap left by the Domain Beyond's demonic clans, greed still drove people onward.

"That Demon Qi is probably a sealing array laid by a demonic emperor—why would even a demonic emperor seal it? What could possibly be on that Sky Island?" murmured the Thunder Spirit Clan patriarch.

If this were a Secret Realm originally belonging to the Five Elements Spirit Soil, sealed by the Domain Beyond's demonic emperor, they would find it normal—after all, the Domain Beyond would never let the Great Thousand World grow stronger.

But this Sky Island clearly wasn't native to the Five Elements Spirit Soil—yet it was sealed anyway, proving something within was what the Domain Beyond feared, and somehow escaped.

"Regardless, we must first purify the Demon Qi. Since the Domain Beyond didn't want it to appear, perhaps something dangerous to them lies inside!" said the Wood Spirit Tribe patriarch.

"Mm. Fortunately, the Altar of the Ling Realm has been fully restored. With the five main Earth Veins' Five Elements Spiritual Energy, we can purify the Demon Qi with time," said the Ice Spirit Clan patriarch, gazing toward the center of the Ling Realm.

At the center of the Ling Realm, a five-colored Spiritual Energy slowly rose from below, and the moment it touched the Demon Qi, it emitted a hissing sound—mutually annihilating and neutralizing each other.

Demon Qi could corrupt Spiritual Energy and pollute the land of the Great Thousand World; conversely, Spiritual Energy could purify the land and eliminate Demon Qi. Spiritual Energy and Demon Qi were equally matched forces.

At this moment, the view returned to Fire God Mountain. After Xiao Yan and Xiao Yixian sank into the lava world for an unknown length of time, they finally reached a world of lava—countless torrents surged and roared like flood beasts; as far as the eye could see, this was a world of lava, a vast ocean of molten rock, boundless and roaring like ocean waves.

When these surging lava waves were flung high, they seemed to crash against the Sky—terrifying lava, once hurled upward, burned through Space with temperatures capable of incinerating the cosmos, then vanished.

It seemed this was the true world of Fire God Mountain's lava—the birthplace of the flames that tempered weapons; the lava and Divine Fire spewed from Fire God Mountain's surface were merely leaks from this place after the lava pierced through space.

Beneath the black flame, even if magma rained down like a storm, splashing against Xiao Yan and Xiao Yixian's bodies, Mao Wu blocked it all outside, not harming them in the slightest, nor causing them any injury.

"Is this the core world of the Fire Realm?" Xiao Yixian had been to the core world of the Dou Qi Continent; this place bore some resemblance to it.

You have to understand that the Five Elements Spirit Earth is a supercontinent, countless times larger than the Dou Qi Continent; even the Fire Realm, which is only one-fifth its size, is already far more massive than the Dou Qi Continent, so it would be perfectly normal for it to contain an underground world.

【123】 Know that the Five Elements Spirit Soil is a supercontinent, countless times larger than the Dou Qi Continent; even the Fire Realm, at only one-fifth its size, dwarfs the Dou Qi Continent—so having a core world is only natural.

"No, this should be an artificial space. If not for that strange sphere suddenly appearing and being locked by my Soul Force, I wouldn't have discovered this hidden space." Xiao Yan's Soul Force swept the surroundings—he was certain this was not naturally formed, resembling the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Cave Mansion beneath the underground magma world of Jia Nan Academy; it was a hidden dimension within the Fire Realm's Fire Vein.

He had a feeling that the strange sphere had deliberately lured him in.

As Xiao Yan and Xiao Yixian surveyed the surroundings, a deep, rumbling roar suddenly erupted—the magma before them surged and churned, and a massive crack split the magma sea, as if a colossal entity were rising from beneath the ocean.

Splashing sounds rang out—then, slowly rising from the magma, a gigantic stone bridge appeared, forged from crimson rock, and that crimson rock was a material used to forge Divine Weapons!

Once erected, the stone bridge stretched straight to the deepest depths of the magma world, as if piercing into the boundless universe.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Yixian exchanged glances—was there living matter here? Or was it because of the sphere?! Or was the Black Flame inviting them? A trap?

For a moment, even Xiao Yan couldn't fathom what was happening.

"Let's go."

Xiao Yixian nodded, and the two slowly descended onto the bridge, moving with perfect ease, letting Xiao Yan hold her hand.

Their goal was the Black Flame—if they dared not enter the Black Flame's domain, what use was Xiao Yan's ambition to seize it?

Every Black Flame domain was fraught with peril; only the courageous could ever claim it.

When Xiao Yan's rough hand clasped her delicate one, a sense of safety spread through Xiao Yixian's heart—no words needed; in that instant, Xiao Yan was utterly worthy of her trust, utterly worthy of her reliance.

Even now, standing in the most perilous place on earth, as long as Xiao Yan held her hand, she felt safe—she need not fear even if the heavens collapsed.

Xiao Yan led Xiao Yixian onto the stone bridge; the bridge wound endlessly toward the heavens, seemingly without end. Though they appeared to walk slowly, in truth they manipulated space—each step bridged heaven and earth, each stride shifting space, moving at incredible speed.

Guided by the Black Flame's compass in his hand, Xiao Yan led Xiao Yixian forward, unaware of how long they walked, until finally reaching the end—by Xiao Yan's power, they had just crossed a distance measured in light-years!

When the two stood at the bridge's end, even Xiao Yan was stunned by the awe-inspiring sight before him; Xiao Yixian, upon seeing it, was instantly awestruck, her beautiful eyes wide, her Red Lips slightly parted.

At the bridge's end, in the endless Space, burned a sun—a star wrapped in gray flame!

Drip. A single drop of liquid fell from the burning gray-flame planet; as it fell, it transformed into a vast pool of magma, then flowed away through Space.

At that moment, Xiao Yan and Xiao Yixian understood—the magma world they had seen was formed by this planet's melting droplets, accumulated over fifty thousand years.

This was a colossal celestial body, like a sun, yet far more magnificent than the unchanging suns of millions of years.

The giant planet spewed flames identical to the strand Xiao Yan had obtained from the meteorite at the entrance—both gray, unmistakably of the same origin.

This was no sun—it was the birthplace of the Black Flame!

In that instant, Xiao Yan understood: fifty thousand years ago, the Five Elements Spirit Soil had been seized by the Domain Beyond's demonic clans; during the thousand years of occupation, the Fire God Mountain had been altered by the Domain Beyond's Demon Emperor, who diverted the Fire Realm's Earth Vein into this space, seeking to forge something using the Fire Realm's veins.

This planet was the very round stone that had suddenly appeared moments ago!!

"Kuang—this… this is a Secret Treasure forged by the Domain Beyond's demonic clans fifty thousand years ago!!"

Seven thousand six hundred characters—this much for now; a long debt, paid over a long life.

(End of Chapter)