Chapter 788: Domain Beyond Demonic Clan, Xiao Yan!

After a cluster of flame appeared in Xiao Yan's palm, a sudden BOOM echoed across the Strange Fire Planet, and countless flames shot skyward from within it.

Freed from the planet's constraints, countless gray Strange Fire sparks surged with excitement, leaping wildly—this scene was like pouring oil on fire; the entire Strange Fire Planet's flames blazed fiercely, instantly roaring into the sky.

As all flames within the Strange Fire Planet grew ecstatic and countless fire pillars surged upward, a humming sound arose—threads of fiery light shot skyward, each gray flame carrying specks of dark matter: the very source of the Strange Fire.

Xiao Yan clasped the flame seed with both hands, slowly closing his eyes. This was also a trial for him—he had to absorb the Strange Fire energy while helping the Strange Fire complete its final step: fusing its source—and remain alert to the Demon Severing Soul Technique.

This was his first time!

Previously, the Strange Fire had always been fully formed and already fused; this was the first time Xiao Yan had to complete the final step himself.

At this moment, the cluster of flickering flame on Xiao Yan's palm also surged with excitement, as if summoning something.

With a WHIR, the countless threads of gray fire shooting skyward within the Strange Fire Planet instantly surged toward Xiao Yan's palm, plunging into the flickering cluster—every gray flame intertwined and coiled, forming a single flame of gray-black hue.

With a BOOM, as this flame took shape, it seemed to possess an immense gravitational pull—countless flames from the Strange Fire Planet instantly gushed forth, flooding endlessly into the gray-black flame.

As Xiao Yan's Burning Scripture continuously activated, he became like a man of fire, entirely enveloped in flames, his form obscured—his clothes long since burned away, a searing pain he knew all too well spreading through his entire body.

Pain! Too much pain! Yet this pain was so familiar! This was the taste of the Strange Fire!

Same old formula!

At this moment, Xiao Yan's Supreme Sea expanded relentlessly, more and more Strange Fire spiritual energy filling his body, his cultivation spiritual energy beginning to overflow.

The Demon Severing Soul Technique was absorbing Demon Qi, the Burning Scripture's evolution was absorbing Strange Fire energy and converting it into spiritual energy, and the Battle Formation could also transform Dou Qi! Even Xiao Yan himself probably couldn't tell which side he belonged to anymore.

Spy within spy within spy!

HOOOM! HOOOM! HOOOM!!! In that instant as Xiao Yan absorbed the Strange Fire, the entire Fire Realm trembled violently, growing increasingly fierce—as if the entire Fire Realm were about to collapse.

"What's happening?!"

At this moment, as the Fire Realm shook with the earth, countless people fell to the ground; many rivers and mountains shattered instantly, terrifying the countless cultivators within the Fire Realm who had been seeking opportunities.

The heavens rocked, the earth quaked—as if the entire Fire Realm had plunged into apocalypse. The sky and earth darkened, especially with a grayish gloom—as if countless threads of gray-dark flame were rising from beneath the vast, boundless land of the Fire Realm, coalescing as if something terrifying were about to emerge.

"What's going on?" In an instant, countless disciples and cultivators within the Fire Realm were filled with dread; whether cultivators or native beings of the Fire Realm, all felt uneasy within their hearts.

Every being's instinct screamed: danger was coming—and a terrifying danger. This instinct told everyone: flee.

"What's happening?" In the Ling Realm, the same violent tremors were felt; the ancestral elders of the Five Spirit Clans also paled, their eyes snapping open, their gazes like divine lanterns instantly scanning heaven and earth.

CRACK! CRACK! At this moment, a series of shattering sounds rang out—cracks appeared across the vast land of the Fire Realm, as if the entire earth were about to fracture.

HOOOM! HOOOM! HOOOM! The sounds of collapse never ceased; as more cracks opened across the earth, many mountains, rivers, and rivers across the Fire Realm's vast land began to collapse.

"My god!!"

"End of the world? Or has the Domain Beyond's demonic clan attacked?!"

In an instant, cries of alarm erupted; many beings fled their camps—but when they turned back, they saw their camps had collapsed, and the vast mountains and lands behind them had become monstrous craters, horrifying to behold.

"What's happening?" Seeing the sudden transformation of the Fire Realm, the earth cracking open, countless cultivators were stunned, their hair standing on end.

No one knew where this sudden change originated—even the five upper Earth Supremes of the Five Spirit Clans could not determine its cause.

HOOOM! HOOOM! But soon, after shaking for only a short while, the Fire Realm ceased its violent tremors—the ground beneath seemed to have halted something trying to burst forth.

"What happened to the Fire Realm?!" The Ice Spirit Clan's upper Earth Supreme ancestral elder sharply turned toward the Fire Realm's direction and asked in a deep voice.

The other three Spirit Clan ancestral elders also turned toward the Fire Spirit Clan's elder, since the Fire Realm had once been the Fire Spirit Clan's territory.

Before the Fire Spirit Clan's upper Earth Supreme could speak, Fire God Mountain erupted—endless flames burst from its crater, like fireworks shooting skyward before turning into meteorites that fell back down.

"Flee!"

HOOOM! HOOOM! HOOOM! Massive lava meteorites rained from the sky, striking the ground and spraying sparks, carving out giant craters—but Fire God Mountain's eruption lasted only briefly, then ceased.

The Fire Spirit Clan elder's eyes flashed with delight as he exclaimed: "It's the Strange Fire! The Strange Fire is about to emerge!!"

"The Strange Fire?" The Wind Spirit Clan elder's expression turned strange as he muttered: "This much commotion for a Strange Fire? That's excessive."

It wasn't strange for the Fire Realm to give birth to a Strange Fire—just like the Dou Qi Continent, the Fire Realm could produce Strange Fire, though only once every several thousand or even ten thousand years.

Since the Five Elements Spirit Soil had been destroyed and banished, the Fire Realm hadn't heard of a Strange Fire emerging for a long time—yet this time, its emergence caused such a massive disturbance!

The Thunder Spirit Clan elder nodded and said: "Beneath Fire God Mountain lies the fire vein—there's indeed a chance a Strange Fire could form. Judging by this commotion, this Strange Fire is likely at the Divine Technique level."

"Hehe, congratulations. If you obtain this Strange Fire, the Fire Spirit Clan may soon produce another Great Perfection Earth Supreme—perhaps even have a chance to become a Heaven Supreme." The Wood Spirit Clan elder bowed slightly; since the Fire Spirit Clan was currently dominant, everyone was happy to offer praise.

As for Heaven Supreme—that was just talk; it wasn't that easy.

The Fire Spirit Clan elder nodded, stroking his beard with a smile: "This Strange Fire has merely stirred in its womb—it hasn't fully emerged yet; otherwise, the disturbance wouldn't have been so brief."

"No rush—the Strange Fire's emergence still has time."

The Fire Spirit Clan elder leading the group spoke these words for the benefit of his own disciples, preparing those eager to compete for the Strange Fire.

For example, Zhu Luo, who once had disputes with Xiao Yan—but he wasn't the only one here seeking the Strange Fire; many powerful figures within the Fire Spirit Clan had their eyes on it.

"Young master, this Strange Fire is no ordinary minor Divine Technique-level Strange Fire—this commotion suggests it's reached Great Divine Ability level," whispered the elder beside Zhu Luo.

Zhu Luo's eyes flashed with coldness as he glanced at several other young men dressed in Fire Spirit Clan brocade robes: "Hmph. Zhu Gang and Zhu He are insignificant. Even with Elder support, they're far behind me. The only wildcard is Elder Zhu Ku—he's the team leader this time and our Fire Spirit Clan's sole upper Earth Supreme. If we gain his support, victory is certain."

As he spoke, for some reason, a shadow clad in black robes suddenly surfaced in Zhu Luo's mind—but he quickly erased it. After all, the Fire Realm was their Fire Spirit Clan's territory; even now, they still had a Heaven Supreme ancestral elder—the strongest among the Five Spirit Clans.

No one had ever imagined anyone would dare compete with the Fire Spirit Clan for the Fire Realm's Strange Fire.

Since the Strange Fire was rumored to emerge in the Fire Realm, time passed second by second—but the Strange Fire never emerged. From the initial flood of people rushing into the Fire Realm, everyone gradually calmed down and resumed seeking opportunities.

One month, two months, three months passed—the land around Fire God Mountain collapsed most severely; threads of flame surged like morning breath, as if something beneath the earth were awakening.

But strangely, the Strange Fire never emerged—three full months had passed, yet no Strange Fire appeared from Fire God Mountain.

This was especially hard on the Fire Spirit Clan disciples, especially prodigies like Zhu Luo who had come solely to claim the Strange Fire.

"Damn it! Where is that Strange Fire?!" Zhu Gang, a Fire Spirit Clan disciple, glared in fury—he'd searched this dangerous fire vein for three months!

He'd nearly died in the fire vein countless times—and yet, not even a trace of the Strange Fire!

As if the eruption three months ago had been fake!

"This is strange. Three months ago, the Strange Fire erupted so violently—how could there be no trace at all? Not even the Strange Fire space could be found—what's going on?" Zhu He frowned tightly; his lineage's elders and disciples had all entered beneath Fire God Mountain searching for traces of the Strange Fire—many disciples had died, yet nothing was found.

It wasn't just these two—virtually every Fire Spirit Clan member, and every other family seeking the Strange Fire, had returned empty-handed.

"Young master, I think we should give up. The Sky Island in the Ling Realm is nearly purified of all Demon Qi; most Fire Spirit Clan elders have gone to the Ling Realm. Even Elder Zhu Ku entered the fire vein searching—and found nothing. The eruption three months ago was likely caused by something else," said the elder who always accompanied Zhu Luo, shaking his head.

Zhu Luo clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and stared at the distant Fire God Mountain, his face filled with resentment. Almost everyone had already rushed toward the Ling Realm; only the Fire Spirit Clan remained at Fire God Mountain, for the Different Flame was of vital importance to them.

Yet, just as the Fire Spirit Clan members were lamenting and preparing to leave, none of them noticed that the volcano's mouth of Fire God Mountain was slowly dimming—the once scorching Fire God Mountain was losing its infernal heat!

Hum! As the temperature of Fire God Mountain dropped, the earth beneath suddenly trembled slightly—a subtle vibration, barely noticeable, yet still detected by Zhu Luo's acute senses.

"Young Master, what's wrong?"

Zhu Luo furrowed his brow, then burst into wild joy, his gaze snapping toward Fire God Mountain!

The next instant, the Different Flame disturbance from three months ago reappeared!!!

Amidst a series of booming roars, the ground atop Fire God Mountain suddenly bulged upward, and magma erupted from beneath.

At first, it resembled a grave mound rising, then like a mountain peak thrusting from the soil—the entire mountain range surged as if a earth dragon had rolled over!!

Finally, a thunderous boom rang out as soil and rock exploded from Fire God Mountain's crater—as if something had been blasted out from within!

Hum~~~~ A blinding gray orb slowly rose from Fire God Mountain, its light as piercing as the sun, radiating an extremely terrifying infernal heat.

"Different Flame!!" Seeing the orb rise like a sun, someone screamed.

"The Different Flame has emerged!" Hearing this, many hearts tightened. After waiting three months, the Different Flame had suddenly appeared!

Without any warning, it had simply appeared out of nowhere!

Instantly, everyone held their breath, staring at the gray Different Flame sun. Even Zhu Luo and others stared in stunned silence—they had searched for three months and found nothing, yet now it had simply appeared!

"Wait—there are people near the Different Flame!"

Someone with sharp eyes spotted two figures within the Different Flame: the two of them had dragged the Different Flame out of Fire God Mountain. One was a man in a black robe, carrying a massive black ruler, smiling as he cradled the Different Flame, floating in midair.

The other, a woman in a plain dress, stood silently beside him.

"Who are they?"

"That black-robed man—I remember! He's the Soul Sect's Flame Sovereign who beat up Xue Tong three months ago!" That incident had been no small matter; after all, Xiao Yan had brutally beaten a disciple of the Heavenly Saint Sect, so many knew of it.

"I remember—wasn't that Flame Sovereign the one who jumped into Fire God Mountain back then!"

"Kuang! I heard that Flame Sovereign entered Fire God Mountain because he discovered some kind of opportunity—could it be!"

"Sss! He obtained the Different Flame!" Now everyone clearly saw their faces, and gasped in shock, murmuring: "No wonder the Fire Spirit Clan couldn't find any reason—they were robbed!"

"It's you!" Zhu Luo's face turned pitch black, his teeth grinding as if about to shatter. Seeing Xiao Yan's black robe, Zhu Luo didn't need to see his face—he knew: Xiao Yan was the black-robed man who had clashed with him at the entrance!

When the Fire Spirit Clan Elder beside Zhu Luo saw the gray Different Flame in Xiao Yan's hand, his face filled with astonishment. Even though the Different Flame in Xiao Yan's grasp was now countless times stronger than before, the Fire Spirit Clan were masters of fire—they could tell at a glance.

Xiao Yan had found the true Different Flame through that sliver of gray flame and refined it!

Just as everyone stood stunned, a calm, leisurely voice spoke: "Why so many people come to welcome me out of seclusion? I don't think we're acquainted."

Beside him, Xiao Yixian covered her mouth and laughed, giving Xiao Yan a sideways glance. She knew he was pretending ignorance—most of these people were disciples of the Fire Spirit Clan; how could they not know what they were searching for?

But Xiao Yixian also knew these people could never obtain the Different Flame—even without Xiao Yan, they could never find it, for the Different Flame existed within a space left behind by the Domain Beyond's demonic clan.

Not even an Earth Supreme could find the space built by the Demon Emperor; fifty thousand years ago, those Domain Beyond demons who seized the Five Elements Spirit Soil had laid down immense measures.

"Xiao Yixian, the Sky Island should be unsealing now." Xiao Yan's gaze burned like fire, his Soul Force piercing billions of miles to gaze into the Ling Realm.

Xiao Yan's emergence now was no accident.

After obtaining the Domain Beyond demonic clan's inheritance and evolving the Asura Soul-Cutting Art to Seven Eyes, Xiao Yan had learned many things—including the true origin of the floating island in the Ling Realm, and that the Other Shore Flower indeed rested upon it.

"Yes, let's go," Xiao Yixian nodded. The Other Shore Flower was why she had come here.

"Stop!" Seeing Xiao Yan and Xiao Yixian prepare to leave, Zhu Luo panicked. His Spiritual Energy surged, and rings of flame erupted around him, ready to strike at the slightest provocation.

"What? You really think a Half-Step Sovereign child like you is my opponent? Want to fight?" Zhu Luo braced to attack, but Xiao Yan smirked.

Instantly, Xiao Yan's eyes flickered with strange light; the Burning Scripture activated. A crushing, world-subduing Spiritual Energy fluctuation surged from his body.

The New Different Flame in Xiao Yan's hand was the origin of the Different Flame. After refining it, the Burning Scripture had evolved into a Great Thousand World Cultivation Method capable of absorbing Spiritual Energy; Xiao Yan had devoured all the Different Flame energy across the entire planet.

"Upper-Stage Earth Supreme!!" Zhu Luo's Elder, Zhu Feng, turned pale with terror. He had sensed Xiao Yan's power was Earth Supreme when they fought before—but only Lower-Stage Earth Supreme. Now he had reached Upper-Stage Earth Supreme!

The gap between Lower-Stage and Upper-Stage Earth Supreme was immense. Zhu Feng had been stuck at Lower-Stage Earth Supreme for a hundred years and still hadn't broken through.

His purpose in entering the Five Elements Spirit Soil was to find the Different Flame, absorb some of its energy, and use it to break through to Upper-Stage!

Feeling the overwhelming strength of Xiao Yan's Spiritual Energy, Zhu Luo felt suffocated.

"It must be the Different Flame! He refined it and broke through!" Zhu Luo clenched his fists. If he'd known this, he should've killed Xiao Yan at the entrance and seized that sliver of Different Flame origin!!

"Hey, I don't know what grudge you have with Zhu Luo, but listen well!" Another Fire Spirit Clan disciple, Zhu Gang, spoke coldly: "This is the Fire Realm—our Fire Spirit Clan's territory. Any Different Flame born here belongs to us. Hand over the Different Flame. Refuse, and you declare war on the Fire Spirit Clan!"

(End of Chapter)