Another Encounter

Zhang Tian had had enough fun. Seeing Qing Lin about to run into the waterfall, he hurriedly reached out to pull her back, only for the two of them to enter the waterfall together.

"Ugh, this water pressure is terrifying." The moment Zhang Tian entered the waterfall, he felt his Dou Qi shield sink. The larger the area taking the force, the more one could feel the majestic power of the waterfall. In truth, if he had not been protecting Qing Lin, Zhang Tian would not have needed a Dou Qi shield at all.

Once they passed through the waterfall, however, there was a whole other world inside. Beyond the strange rocks of the karst cave, the space suddenly opened up.

It was as if they had entered a new world. A fragrant scent filled their noses and refreshed the spirit; birds sang among blooming flowers, and a few wild rabbits darted about.

The place was a riot of purples and reds, with countless strange flowers of every color, and a spring flowed slowly through it.

"Huh? It seems like there's someone here." Qing Lin suddenly let out a soft sound of surprise, drawing Zhang Tian's attention.

At the bottom of where the spring water flowed down, in that small pool, there were faint traces of blood. Though inconspicuous, they still caught Zhang Tian's eye.

"What are you two talking about? Where is there anyone?" Yun Yun's voice rang out. At that moment, she was also supporting herself against the mountain wall beside the waterfall as she slowly walked over.

"Sister Yun Yun, there seems to be someone inside." Qing Lin bounced forward, preparing to run over to Yun Yun, but Zhang Tian grabbed her.

"You're not Yun Yun!" Zhang Tian pulled Qing Lin with him and slowly backed away.

"Oh, looks like you noticed." "Yun Yun's" body stiffened, then she shrugged indifferently. With a bitter laugh, her appearance quickly changed into that of a young man.

"You're Cang Er?!" Qing Lin suddenly remembered something. Wasn't this the young disciple from the Shang Qing Spring Sect? He was the one who had ambushed the First Elder, Nie Cang.

"You're Cang Er?" Zhang Tian looked at the gravely injured Cang Er and pondered for a moment.

"You can't be saved." After observing him for a while, Zhang Tian realized he could not save him.

"Cough, cough, cough." Cang Er, who had not dwelled much on his own name, choked because of Zhang Tian's blunt "you can't be saved."

"I know I can't be saved. But I didn't expect the ones who came in to be you. Fine, it's fate." Cang Er seemed to have seen through many things. In the battle at the Shang Qing Spring Sect, the entire Shang Qing Spring Mountain had been razed to the ground. The sect master and all the elders had died in battle, and the only one left, Nie Cang, had lost an arm. His blood feud could be considered avenged.

"Meeting like this can also be considered fate." He sensed the purple mark on Zhang Tian and was slightly delighted to discover that the mark was actually still there.

"What exactly do you want?" Zhang Tian frowned, looking at Cang Er, who seemed to have already resolved himself to death, and felt puzzled.

"That earlier was only an illusion formation. It can turn me into someone else you're familiar with."

"Senior, you can be considered to have helped me take revenge, and I have nothing with which to repay you. All I have left is this final wisp of the Nine Nether Wind Flame's Child Flame. Also, the Qingxu Dao Decree can only be learned by people with kind and steadfast hearts; otherwise, it's not even as good as a high-level Xuan class technique." As if giving his last words, Cang Er spoke a few times, then dug the final trace of Child Flame containing the power of the Nine Nether Wind Flame out from his own heart.

Once it left his body, the special protective measures disappeared, and the Nine Nether Wind Flame immediately burned away the flesh and blood he had dug out from his chest.

"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle." Cang Er held the Purple Flame, and his palm was burned black. The faint smell of roasted meat drifted over.

"It really is the Nine Nether Wind Flame!" Zhang Tian was somewhat shocked. He had actually subdued the Nine Nether Wind Flame, ranked tenth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking.

"It's only a portion of Child Flame. The battle at the Shang Qing Spring Sect already exhausted all the Child Flame I brought out from the Endless Abyss. It was also because I risked my life in earlier years and obtained a Heart-Hidden Flame Technique that I was able to bring it out." Cang Er gave a bitter laugh, yet his voice was not weak. It was as if this man, burdened with a blood feud, would never retreat, even if he had the most ridiculous fate and the most broken body, and would still fight for the most intense death.

Zhang Tian's heart stirred. How dangerous was the method of hiding fire in the heart? Although it could only store one kind of Heavenly Flame's Child Flame, it was, after all, hidden in the most vital part of the human body. If the Heavenly Flame erupted, it could burn the heart to nothing in an instant.

He received the flame with both hands. The flame dancing on Cang Er's fingertips was extremely weak; it could even be said to be nothing more than an insignificant little spark, as if a gust of wind could extinguish it.

"As expected, Senior truly is no ordinary person." Seeing that the Nine Nether Wind Flame showed no resistance at all once it reached Zhang Tian's hands, and instead seemed like a young swallow returning to its nest, with the flame gradually growing larger, Cang Er's gaze burned brightly, and he was incomparably satisfied.

"All right, I really can't hold on anymore. I remember seeing that you had the Azure Lotus Core Flame, right?"

"Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough." Cang Er coughed violently. His life aura was already nearly imperceptible. Even though he had avoided being burned by the Heavenly Flame through a false-death escape method, Cang Er was indeed utterly spent.

"Please, Senior, use the Azure Lotus Core Flame to burn me. We are born of heaven and earth, and should return to heaven, earth, and nature." Cang Er spoke with a trace of pleading. To die beneath the Azure Lotus Core Flame, which represented the power of nature, was his final wish.

"Sigh. Heaven nourishes man with all things, yet man has nothing with which to repay heaven." At this moment, Zhang Tian could not help feeling somewhat sorrowful. Cang Er, on the other hand, was utterly calm in the face of unknown death.

This man had never spoken of how tragic his family background was, yet he was a rare, true man—composed, open, and upright.

"Good. Let me see you off." Zhang Tian nodded. The source flame of the Azure Lotus Core Flame transformed into a lotus so exquisite and lifelike it was almost real. The blue lotus merely swept over Cang Er's head, and his body instantly caught fire. The blue flames burned away his clothes and flesh in an instant.

"So this is the Azure Lotus Core Flame." Cang Er's voice came from within the flames. There was no unease, no scream. It was as if he had died while holding hope and vitality.

As the Azure Lotus Core Flame burned, it did not take long before only a pile of ashes remained.

"Senior truly keeps your promises. Then I will also hand over to Senior the sword sheath hidden inside my body. I hope Senior will take care."

Faintly, Cang Er's calm voice echoed through the cave entrance. Zhang Tian focused his eyes and indeed discovered that among the ashes and traces of flame on the ground, there was a small purple-black object.

Under the burning of the Azure Lotus Core Flame, this object showed no sign of melting at all. Instead, it grew even deeper in color, almost emitting a purple-black light.

"This is..." After Zhang Tian picked up the purple-black object, he discovered that the Nine Nether Wind Flame, which had originally settled beside the Azure Lotus Core Flame inside his body, seemed to have found something delicious and directly wrapped around it.

After a while, Zhang Tian finally learned the origin of the object in his hand.

"The Nine Nether Wind Flame is actually in the Demonic Sky Swamp outside the Endless Abyss in the Land of the Far North? And this is the key to opening the Heavenly Flame cave dwelling..."

Holding the small purple-black object that resembled a tiny scabbard, Zhang Tian thought for a moment.

"Our current location... So that means we still have to pass through the Endless Abyss to reach the Demonic Sky Swamp..." After putting away the small purple-black scabbard, Zhang Tian brought Qing Lin with him to meet up with Yun Yun.

"If you hadn't used the Azure Lotus Core Flame to send him off on his final journey, you wouldn't have been able to obtain this key, would you?" After hearing Zhang Tian's account, Yun Yun also felt somewhat wistful.

"Indeed. But there aren't that many what-ifs. I did it. That's how it is, and that's how it should be." Zhang Tian smiled and said nothing more. It was so, because it was so.

If Cang Er had not had that kind of character, Zhang Tian would not have properly spoken with him either. Instead, he would have directly interrogated and threatened him.

"Let's go. We only need to pass through the Endless Abyss. In that case, it's much safer."

Zhang Tian nodded, agreeing with Yun Yun's view.

A month and a half later, Zhang Tian turned into a streak of light and shot out of the Endless Abyss, looking utterly wretched.

Yet there was a faint trace of excitement in his eyes.

The Phoenix Cry Sword transformed into a stream of light and hovered at his side. After achieving Man-Sword Unity, his speed was far faster than using Dou Qi wings, and at close range, it was even faster than a Dou Zun tearing through space to teleport.

However, high-level Dou Zong could use Space Lock, so a Dou Zun's ability to tear through space was still more useful.

He stretched out both hands, and the Azure Lotus Core Flame rose from his palms, specks of azure fire burning the void.

A brand-new purple-black flame suddenly appeared in his right hand. Unlike the weakness of the Child Flame, this Nine Nether Wind Flame was deep and restrained, like a dormant black dragon gnawing at space.

Nine Nether Wind Flame!