Chapter 510: Dan Huo Lian Zhou Fa

Blue Star Blue Star→: xbiqugu

Above the horizon, dark clouds churned, and countless massive warships moored above this endless mountain range, drawing countless gazes.

A vast lake connected to an isolated space, where mountains encircled and mist swirled, and hundreds of millions of ancient clan descendants with weak bloodline power lived.

Today, the ancient realm—vast in territory and rich in celestial energy—opened its gates.

Here, the number of strong cultivators reached a terrifying figure; the experts living on these cloud peaks were all at least Star Dou Zong.

"Is it true, as you said, that Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan has already reached Star Dou Zong?"

On the deepest cloud peak, Gu Clan's "Strongest Dou Huang," Ling Ying, knelt on one knee outside a small pavilion, gazing at the man sipping tea.

The man appeared to be around forty, looking like an ordinary middle-aged man, clad in simple Jiude Mayi, his face bearing a faint smile that brought slight comfort.

He was none other than the Gu Clan patriarch, Gu Yuan.

"Indeed, though Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan used only one move, your servant can confirm with certainty that Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan has reached the Star Dou Zong realm." Ling Ying respectfully reported everything since receiving Gu Xun'er's order to protect Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan.

During this time, many abnormal things occurred—since Yunlan Sect, Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan's power had surged and plummeted with astonishing breadth and depth!

"Could it be that the Xiao Clan's bloodline power has not yet dried up, or has some anomaly emerged in Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan?" Gu Yuan was surprised, then smiled slightly: "My daughter not only has extraordinary talent, but her judgment of people is also uncommonly sharp."

The fact that Xun'er had secretly favored a Xiao Clan member was no secret in the Gu Clan—even high-ranking elders and many young talents knew of it, and they all wished to exterminate the "deceiver" who had swayed the Gu Clan's pearl.

"Whether through extraordinary fortune or bloodline talent, he has at least gained the qualification to stand beside Xun'er," said Gu Yuan.

He and Xiao Clan patriarch Xiao Xuan were close friends; had the Xiao Clan not declined, and had Xun'er's bloodline not been crucial to the entire Gu Clan, he never wished to be the villain who shattered this union and earned his daughter's resentment.

It was not that he looked down on Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan—Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan reaching Star Dou Zong at this age was truly promising for the future.

"But that is merely the future," Gu Yuan rose, gazing beyond the ancient realm toward the Gu Sheng City and the distant horizon: "Go tell Xun'er—let that little girl be happy."

Boy, if you wish to walk beside Xun'er, you must at least attain Star Sheng power.

"Don't let my daughter down."

Gu Yuan stood with his hands behind his back, his Jiude Mayi stirred by the mountain wind.

Suddenly, his eyes narrowed—terrible energies awakened within the ancient realm; all experts, including himself, sensed an extraordinarily terrifying force erupting.

In the heavens, a burst of myriad-colored flame suddenly appeared; tracing the perception, its source was none other than the heart of Zhongzhou!

Continuous sounds of tearing wind echoed as Gu Clan elders gathered, joining Gu Yuan to pierce through space and arrive thousands of li beyond Zhongzhou's core region.

Simultaneously, leaders of the Yao Clan, Lei Clan, and other ancient powers arrived, along with numerous unknown Star Shengs—all gazing solemnly at the sky-shrouding sea of fire and the death that severed space.

This deathly aura belonged to the Hun Clan—but who had summoned that terrifying flame?

"This one"

Space shattered into fragments; a solemn voice resonated, harmonizing with heaven and earth, as if answering their unspoken questions.

"Yan Di, Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan!"

His aura shook mountains and seas, still rising—even Gu Yuan, a late-stage Nine-Star Star Dou Zong, began to feel his heart tremble.

That expert called himself Yan Di, Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan.

Huh? Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan?!

"Sign here, stamp your handprint."

Swish-swish—

Su Lin tucked the scroll away, looked at the stunned crowd behind him, then shifted his gaze to the side.

What are you staring at?

At the crucial moment of his groupmates showing off, he handed the stranger the roadside-found "First Layer of Dan Huo Lian Zhou: The Fan Xu Lian Hun Chapter" as a prop, to spare them the embarrassment of awkward silence or retakes—wasn't that right?

It was clearly a noble act.

The proof? Today, the virtuous groupmate Mr. Su Lin received praise for his lofty morality.

Gellmann Sparrow pressed his revolver against Kleine's temple and coldly demanded of Su Lin: "Answer me—how dare you?"

"The Zhou fortune-teller said superstitious nonsense cannot be trusted, so I chose to believe in science."

Su Lin held up the scale in his hand and said to Kleine: "Hey, friend, why don't you welcome the new colleague with a salute of fireworks?"

Su Lin held up the scale in his hand and said to Kleine, "Hey, friend, why aren't you firing a salute for the new colleague's arrival?"

More and more Hun Dian cultivators spontaneously ignited; one after another, strange flames erupted from their bodies, their dazzling hues fleeting as the sky became a canvas, slowly unfurling a tragic yet magnificent grand painting.

"Stop!" Hun Shengtian screamed in terror—he suddenly felt burning in his bones and meridians, and the heat was steadily rising.

Even though he was a living corpse long devoid of body temperature, he now had warmth.

"We have no grudge against you! If there is some misunderstanding, the Hun Dian is willing to offer all we possess in apology!" Hun Miesheng hastily spoke, but found the other man glanced at him.

Black flames erupted from his body; as the violent force swept over him, it enveloped him—these were subflames of Xu Wu Tun Yan, yet now they could not withstand the inexplicable, terrifying heat within him—not to protect Hun Miesheng, but to flee from him.

Black flames erupted from his body, engulfing him as the violent force swept through him—it was a subflame of Void Devouring Flame, yet now it could not withstand the terrifying heat mysteriously arising within him, not to protect Hun Miesheng, but to escape from him.

Yet the flames igniting within Hun Miesheng's meridians and bones could not be escaped even by Xu Wu Tun Yan's subflames; after merely seconds of resistance, a colossal flame storm exploded across the sky.

Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan gripped a soul thick with Hun power; Hun Miesheng's face flickered within it, trembling alongside the nearly transparent Falling Heart Flame, emitting a piercing wail.

Until his final moment, he never believed this man was the Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan from the remote, backward town of Wutan, on the barbaric edge of the continent.

"This Emperor seeks to refine a grand medicine—your souls are the finest ingredients."

Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan smirked, and amid the terrified gazes of the Hun Dian members, tossed their souls into the strange-flame alchemical cauldron: "Your flesh, blood, and souls becoming my medicine is a form of cultivation—why are you terrified?!"

A pill, internally and externally harmonizing: externally, it gathers golden essence that never decays, refined by Dan Huo into transformation; internally, the body is the crucible, refining essence, qi, and spirit.

Soul as fire, body as furnace—all things melt!

This is Dan Huo Lian Zhou Fa.

First Layer: "Fan Xu Lian Hun Chapter" —附属丹方: Tai Xu Yu Shen Dan: Can refine one's own and others' Nascent Souls, extracting the final trace of essence left in Tai Xu, forming into pills.

Consuming it nourishes the soul, strengthens the spirit, enhances soul power without any side effects, and nurtures the dantian.

Combined with Dan Huo methods, it perfects the self, returns to origin, clarifies the mind, and sees one's true nature.

Combined with the technique of alchemical fire, it can illuminate the self, return to one's origin, and realize the true nature of the mind.

"All things possess spirit; life arises from the Grand Void, and death returns to the Grand Void!" Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan spread his arms, an exuberant joy surging through his entire body.

At this moment, he needed not worry about anything—his real cultivation was insufficient? Then in this dream, let his strongest self crush the enemies who harmed all living beings.

Soul-devouring and life-stealing, a scheme spanning ten thousand ages, secretly devouring the bloodlines of other races, capturing and refining alchemists to gather soul power; and then there were his master's vengeance, the fall of the Xiao Clan, the attacks on his family, and the suffering he would endure in the future—all these debts must be repaid in blood!

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

Those who devour souls shall be devoured in turn—this is the cycle of cause and effect.

"All come, enter my elixir cauldron!" Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan's soul power surged violently, accompanied by the intense heat of the Strange Fire, forming a violent swirling vortex above.

Faint sunlight painted the entire Central Continent with a hazy hue; countless souls spiraled through the sky along the vortex, their sorrowful, desolate aura coalescing into clouds of black.

Sparks of fire rained down, transforming the dark blue-black fog sealing the Soul Clan's space into warm orange-gold, returning vitality to the earth.

Under Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan's command, those souls were controlled by an eerily potent force, like a meteor shower converging into a river from the heavens, flowing into the elixir cauldron.

The number wasn't great, but the strength of these elites from the Soul Clan's main base was impressive.

Then, streams of pure soul energy slowly rose, finally forming brilliant light pillars that shot into the heavens, drowning out the sun's radiance and erupting into a mighty storm!

"Such a ruthless technique..." Hun Yao, seeing even the late Seven-Star Dou Sheng Hun Tu begin screaming hysterically, his skin speckled with flickering flame, instinctively stepped back to create distance.

The Soul Clan's Dou Sheng, most skilled in soul arts, now fled to protect their own souls from being captured and refined.

Hun Shengtian's eyes bulged with rage; ignoring his fading vitality, he and four other Eight-Star Dou Sheng activated a secret technique to escape: "Go!"

A voice devoid of emotion echoed beside Hun Shengtian's ear: "A few lifeless logs—useless as fuel for medicine."

When did this happen?!

Hun Shengtian turned in utter shock, unleashing a palm strike with all his strength.

A magnificent flame-etched ancient ruler sliced through space, sweeping with infinite terrifying force, landing in the hands of the dark-robed Emperor—while Hun Shengtian was severed cleanly at the waist.

How is this possible?

He saw the Strange Fire erupt from his severed body, slowly yet relentlessly burning his withered flesh; before being consumed, he saw—the other four Eight-Star Dou Sheng elders met the same fate.

The weapon wielded by that towering figure was not physical—it was a creation forged from dozens of flames.

Such a technique could not possibly belong to a Dou Sheng.

"Yan Di—AAAAAHHHH!"

As the Soul Clan's elites' screams faded and the soul-driven winds stilled, heaven and earth fell into silence.

Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan stood in the sky; the bodies of the four Soul Clan elders burned silently beside him, leaving only the elixir cauldron standing firm between heaven and earth.

The furnace blazed fiercely; countless specks of light shrank within the ocean of flame, coalescing together.

The powerful figures of the Central Continent's core region had just rejoiced at the destruction of the dreadful death space; many factions long resentful of the Soul Clan had even applauded, praising Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan—until now, when a new voice echoed across the Central Continent.

"Not enough, not enough—these souls won't suffice to refine the Primordial Soul-Replenishing Pill." Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan's eyes were vacant; his murmured voice reverberated through heaven and earth: "Then let me use heaven and earth as the furnace, living beings as medicine, and sacrifice the origin of this Dou Qi Continent."

Everyone's thoughts froze for a long moment, then plunged into endless despair.

So he wasn't a savior—he was a demon more brutal and terrifying than the Soul Clan?!

"Hey!"

Su Lin swallowed hard, cupping his hands around his mouth to project his voice: "Brother Yan, sorry to interrupt, but the movie's already finished!"

"Movie ingredient—Hun Tian Di?" Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan's eyes flickered slightly. He gazed skyward in silence for several seconds, then seized a fragment of Hun Shengtian's lingering soul, paused, turned to Su Lin, and said: "Dora Su Meng, I need a soul-searching technique to capture Hun Tian Di as the medicine ingredient."

Dora your head, Su Meng—why don't you go find Su Meng?

I told you to imagine the Supreme Dominator Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan—why is your strongest self the movie version that devours all life?!

Brother, you're the righteous protagonist!

Before Su Lin could speak, his eyelids twitching violently, Kleine tossed a coin for divination, then turned to a direction and merged two spaces together.

Su Lin looked at Kleine—he was shouldering a camera, Merlin Hermes holding a light, and Xia Luoke holding a script.

"This is just filming the movie sequel, isn't it?" Kleine asked.

Su Lin: ""

You really are a clever little devil.

Su Lin's true body stepped out of history and arrived at Zhong Li's location—only to find the table gone.

He turned to the Divine King

Jiang Taixu and said: "Could I borrow your Hengyu Cauldron for my brother?"

Jiang Taixu held a bronze wine goblet, gazing skyward at Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan's maniacal laughter, and asked: "He's not seriously going to refine the beings of this world into medicine, is he?"

"No," Su Lin said.

The space was transplanted a thousand miles away, to the region where the Dou Shengs stood; as Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan appeared at point-blank range, they were all engulfed by an unimaginably terrifying heat.

This power was absurdly excessive—and still rising.

So much so that even the Dou Shengs trembled violently.

In shock, someone realized they could no longer break through space to flee—the space itself seemed frozen.

"My elixir still lacks one medicine ingredient," Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan scanned the crowd calmly, his gaze lingering on Gu Yuan, who felt strangely off.

Gu Yuan's skin prickled with goosebumps; the elders of the Gu Clan around him braced themselves for a desperate fight.

But Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan's gaze did not linger long. At Kleine's prompting, he turned to two Dou Shengs walking together.

One wore gray-white robes, appeared around thirty, tall and slender, with a handsome face—his eyes suffused with crimson; the other Dou Sheng's body was covered in strange black runes, leaving only his black-hole-like eyes exposed—he stared fixedly at the flame ruler in Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan's hand, uncertain yet denying his own thoughts.

It was Hun Tian Di and Xu Wu Tian Yan.

Hun Tian Di was meticulous and suspicious by nature; sensing something amiss, he concealed himself with Xu Wu Tian Yan and did not act.

Hun Tian Di's expression tightened as he stared in horror at the

Flame cauldron behind Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan, where familiar faces churned within, fading until they vanished.

Beneath the cauldron, four withered elders and a black coffin burned in Strange Fire, their Dou Qi and lingering souls nourishing the flames into greater strength.

Dominant, ruthless, cruel—this was Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan's first impression on him.

He confirmed again: it was not his own Spirit-Devouring Deadening Array, buried beneath Zhongzhou for thousands of years, that had been activated, nor was that cauldron the one he had prepared.

"Jie jie jie," Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan walked forward with the Flame Ruler in hand, smiling before Hun Tian Di: "At the peak of bloodline, your cultivation art shares the same origin—perfect as a medicinal catalyst. You belong in my Imperial Cauldron."

"Your Grace," Hun Tian Di spoke, "I possess information on an Emperor-grade Embryonic Pill. Why commit such atrocities? If we join forces, the Emperor's Throne is within reach!"

All these years—has the Xiao clan truly never declined?

And what puzzled Hun Tian Di most was that this man held intentions nearly identical to his own.

More ruthless than him? No—this man was a madman. His gaze fell upon all life on the Qi Continent.

Utterly, completely insane.

Hearing Hun Tian Di's words, Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan showed no reaction, only glancing at the bandaged Xu Wu Tun Yan and sneering: "Xu Wu Tun Yan, wait until I finish refining this Soul-Essence Great Medicine—then I'll claim you."

Hearing this, Xu Wu Tun Yan's pride ignited into fury, yet he looked at the Flame Ruler in Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan's hand and clearly sensed a fiercer flame forcibly contained within.

The last time he saw such a Flame Ruler was ten thousand eons ago, when the Ancient Emperor Tuo She wielded it.

He dared not refute him—only wished to flee this place, to escape this terrifying being.

"Your Grace, do you truly mean to stand against the entire Qi Continent?!" Hun Tian Di sensed the surrounding air growing searing hot, attempting to rally all factions.

After all, everyone had heard his words—those who survive the lips will suffer the teeth.

"The Qi Continent?"

In response came Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan's wild laughter, followed by the descending Heng Yu Cauldron—the heavens instantly turned crimson, an invisible, overwhelming pressure crushing down, enveloping heaven and earth.

Threads of flame spiraled out, drilling into his gaunt body, unrestrained, nearly flowing with power capable of annihilating heaven and earth!

A lotus of glazed-colored flame, ten thousand zhang wide, appeared in the sky; as it rotated and bloomed, it filled every Dou Sheng with the sense—

that it could—

ignite the entire Qi Continent!

Boom—

Hun Tian Di transformed into a streak of bloodlight, directly charging toward the very spot Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan had arrived from—the heart of Zhongzhou, where the Soul Hall had been obliterated.

In an instant, a black ring surfaced; black light writhed across the sky, spreading at an astonishing rate, engulfing all of Zhongzhou. A massive fissure suddenly erupted from within the city, tearing outward.

"You forced me."

This madman's gaze had never left him. Since he would strike regardless, he would not be a lamb awaiting slaughter—even if he died, he would—

Suddenly, a colossal rock spine erupted from the earth; golden tides surged from Zhongzhou, flooding in all directions.

Within seconds, the spreading fissure halted; the black light was suppressed, frozen in place.

As Hun Tian Di froze in shock, a colossal wave of magma flew from beyond the heavens, crimson lava and radiant flame threads entwining him, dragging him into a curtain of fire.

This ambitious warlord, face twisted in rage and disbelief, fell into the Flame Cauldron in a way he had never anticipated.

Pada.

The cauldron sealed; vast soul energy surged like churning water.

"Clan Chief," Hei Yan Wang Gu Lie stood beside Gu Yuan, gazing at the figure approaching them—wearing black robes, wreathed in flame clouds, holding the Ancient Flame Ruler—the Flame Emperor.

Gu Yuan drew a deep breath, raised his hand in salute: "Gu Clan's Gu Yuan, bows before the Flame Emperor."

Without doubt, this man had reached the legendary realm.

Remembering that the Emperor Realm was no mere myth, the present cultivators felt hope—but remembering the Flame Emperor's words and deeds, their hope turned into unspeakable anguish.

"Gu Yuan," Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan's cold face flickered with confusion, "I had intended to visit the Gu Clan."

Hearing Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan's words, Gu Lie and Gu Dao instantly prepared to self-destruct; they stared at Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan, pushing their Qi to its peak, ready to grant their Clan Chief even a sliver of escape.

Gu Yuan did the same—he activated a secret technique, prepared to sacrifice everything to buy time, so the Gu Clan could receive word—at least—

"Xun'er"

Yes—at least he must take Xun'er away.

"…" Gu Yuan stared at Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan, eyes wide, his mind like a system crash.

What had the Flame Emperor Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan just said?

Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan's eyes brightened slightly; his expression softened: "Xun'er—I came to the Gu Clan to find Xun'er."

Could it be?!?!?!

Thunder roared as the modified Three-Thousand Thunder Steps shattered space at an unimaginable speed, hurtling toward Gu Sheng City—but halfway, Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan used his Illusion Body Technique, splitting into several copies, each racing toward a different direction.

Gu Yuan's mouth gaped open; after a single second of stunned silence, he bellowed: "Return to the Gu Realm!!!"

At the peak of Qianshan.

Xiao Xun'er, clad in a green robe, having heard Ling Ying's account, her eyes shimmered as she paced restlessly before the pavilion atop the peak, unable to settle.

"Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan Brother…"

She gazed beyond the heavens, at the snow-capped peaks, her eyes filled with hope.

"Xun'er waits for you in the Gu Clan."

The smile blooming on her lips was like an epiphyllum—radiating astonishing allure.

In the instant she turned, a violent explosion erupted from the direction of Gu Sheng City, shaking the entire space violently.

General Gu Qingyang of the Hei Yan Army and his troops floated helplessly in midair, limbs and weapons flailing in unnatural, uncoordinated motion.

"Who dares invade the Gu Clan?!"

The aura of a Dou Sheng erupted, followed by a thunderous boom.

From afar, Xiao Xun'er saw only—

In the east, the residences of the three Grand Elders had exploded; an overwhelming force made breathing impossible.

An invader now in the Gu Realm?

As Xun'er felt shock and surprise, Gu Yuan appeared beside her in an instant, gripping her shoulder, fear still in his eyes: "That Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan you know—"

Zong—the ambient primordial energy suddenly contracted into a single point; the exquisite Flame Lotus slowly bloomed, rotating above the Grand Elders' residences, followed by a scorching gale sweeping through the Gu Realm.

The snowflakes drifting across the sky suddenly paused, then rapidly melted away.

A dark-robed tyrant with long black hair stepped out of the sea of fire, holding an old man in one hand; he glanced around and was immediately surrounded by the Black Hei Yan Army, yet Hei Yan Wang Gu lie halted them all, fearfully holding the Grand Commander back at a distance.

Even though Xiao Xun'er's figure in the sea of fire had changed slightly in appearance and stood taller, no longer resembling the boy she once knew, she recognized him at once.

Her beautiful eyes filled with disbelief, she whispered: "Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan brother?"

Yet his face bore an unaccustomed arrogance, and his cold gaze swept over those around him like a sovereign emperor surveying his ministers and subjects, radiating an immense, distant detachment.

"Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan?! How is he here?!" Ling Ying cried out in shock.

Gu Yuan, standing beside him, twitched his facial muscles twice, staring blankly at the "Star Dou Zong" Ling Ying had named.

As if sensing the gazes of several people—or because Gu Yuan was the strongest presence here—Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan turned toward them.

In the instant Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan blinked, his entire demeanor shifted instantly; his lips curled upward in a grin, his gaze softening with joy.

"Xun'er."

Overwhelmed by emotion, he stepped forward and, before anyone could react, reached the girl as beautiful as a city's splendor and pulled her tightly into his arms:

"I missed you."

His voice carried boundless longing, tenderly voicing the boy's yearning.

Too fast for her to react, Xiao Xun'er let out a startled cry, but a blush instantly flooded her cheeks; she made no resistance, instead trying to wrap her arms around the boy whose body carried a strong scent of alcohol.

Gu Yuan had been tense with worry, but upon seeing this scene, for some reason—

He could not suppress the upward curl of his lips.