Black Fire

However, something aroused his suspicion: the biting cold he had experienced earlier was unforgettable! And the fainting spell he had just suffered was definitely not a dream, but a real event.

Strange, it doesn't feel so cold anymore, just a slight chill. Something's fishy! As Yue Qianchou pondered this, he noticed he was unharmed despite not having the protective azure flames around him. Looking up at the black, cloud-like clouds above, he immediately understood. His gaze fell on the end of the cave, where the red light shone brightly. He cautiously approached, and upon reaching the cave entrance, he was immediately stunned by the scene before him...

He found himself at the entrance of a cave in the cliff face of a vast underground space, before him an endless, towering inferno of black flames! Below lay molten lava, which tinged the black flames with a reddish hue, though their true color was easily discernible. Throughout the lava grew enormous black lotuses, from which the towering flames spewed and intertwined, in the exact same manner as the blue lotuses spitting blue flames he had seen in the depths of Twilight Valley, though these black lotuses were far more numerous. In short, the entire scene was magnificent and awe-inspiring.

Having witnessed the azure flames nurtured by the azure lotus, Yue Qianchou immediately understood what the black lotus before him meant. Clearly, the black sea of fire before him was the Netherworld Sea of Fire that Yu Ji had spoken of, the Netherworld Ghost Fire of the Demon Ghost Domain legends, and the Black Fire, one of the Three Flavored True Fire that he longed to obtain.

After Yue Qianchou finally arrived here and became somewhat excited. However, his joy was short-lived, as the biting chill from before crept back into his body, and he couldn't help but shiver. The feeling of his blood freezing was very unpleasant.

"Damn it! Am I going to faint again? What the hell is going on here?" Feeling his consciousness becoming hazy again, Yue Qianchou was filled with doubt and anxiety. Just then, a burst of golden light suddenly erupted from the nascent Nascent Soul he was sitting cross-legged in his Dantian, transforming the entire Nascent Soul into a glittering little golden figure. A warm feeling surged from his Dantian throughout his body, instantly dispelling the chill, and the golden light on the Nascent Soul slowly faded. Yue Qianchou was slightly startled, then overjoyed; it seemed the golden bead had once again worked its magic.

Something strange is going on here; it's not safe to linger. Yue Qianchou poked his head out of the cave and quickly surveyed the scene. He saw that although the sea of fire before him was painted red, the tops of the flames were clearly black, with black smoke billowing from the raging inferno, gathering above the vast underground space like a dark cloud pressing down. Perhaps due to the airflow generated by the eye of the storm behind him, a wisp of the dark cloud above separated and was continuously drawn into the cave through the airflow above the entrance.

He immediately understood. The so-called black evil was actually the lingering smoke from the burning black fire, and it was this lingering smoke that formed the most difficult obstacle to enter the Nine Nether Cave. If the lingering smoke alone was so powerful, the black fire itself must be even more extraordinary.

Yue Qianchou licked his lips, his eyes fixed on the sea of fire with a greedy gaze. But upon closer inspection, he immediately noticed something amiss. This black fire was still fire, and there was molten lava beneath it. Logically, someone not too far away should have felt the intense heat, so why did it feel somewhat cool? This was far too abnormal.

He couldn't figure it out, so he simply stopped thinking about it and focused on getting the black fire element he needed. He immediately sat down cross-legged and began circulating the Star Flame Fire Art. With his eyes closed, Yue Qianchou immediately sensed the vast black fire element contained within the entire underground space. It was many times larger than the green fire element below the Twilight Valley, and it was probably related to the numerous black lotuses that produced the black fire below.

The abundance of fire element perfectly suited Yue Qianchou's intentions. The Star Flame Fire Art accelerated its operation, and swarms of tiny black sprites poured into his body through his pores, converging on his Dantian. Upon entering the Dantian, one of the two beads circulating around his Nascent Soul suddenly burst forth with a crimson light, immediately attracting the black sprites to rush towards it. This red bead, seemingly small, appeared to possess its own internal space, welcoming the visitors with open arms.

It was unclear how much black fire element the red bead had absorbed. Only after the dazzling red light faded did the black fire element cease its influx, instead dispersing from the Dantian to every cell in the body. The cells storing water and blue fire elements, seeing a guest arrive, immediately compressed themselves to make room for it...

Having absorbed the black fire element to his heart's content, Yue Qianchou withdrew the Star Flame Fire Art. When he opened his eyes, two black flame phantoms shone within his already pitch-black pupils. Coupled with the satisfied, crooked smile on his lips, he gave off Evil Qi and eerie feeling.

The moment the black fire element entered his body, he immediately felt a connection with it, and he instantly understood why this place felt so cold. It turned out that this black fire wasn't like the scorching, high-temperature green fire, but rather an ice fire, the opposite extreme of the green fire. Its specific effects remained to be tested, but since it ranked ahead of the green fire, its power was likely considerable.

Yue Qianchou stood up. The icy chill was gone; he had subdued the black fire, so why would he fear its low temperature? His gaze fell upon the raging flames, wondering if behind them lay the legendary 'Nine Nether Gates' leading to the underworld.

With a flick of his wrist, a burst of black flames erupted from his palm, a color so dark it was almost unsettling. The fire quickly condensed into a black flying sword, which drifted toward the void outside the cave. Just as Yue Qianchou stepped onto it, intending to cross the Netherworld Sea of Fire, he seemed to catch a glimpse of the three characters "Bi Changchun" on the wall of the Netherworld Iron Cave.

He had already flown out of the cave on his sword, but the three characters he caught out of the corner of his eye made him think he was seeing things. He still turned around and flew back. Upon closer inspection at the cave entrance, he discovered that there really were three characters, "Bi Changchun," on the cave wall, and more than just those three. Because the characters matched the color of the cave wall, and he hadn't looked closely before, he hadn't noticed them. It was only the moment he stepped onto his flying sword, due to the light and angle, that he discovered them.

The handwriting was vigorous and powerful, as if it had been engraved with some sharp weapon, perhaps even a sword. Yue Qianchou carefully deciphered it; it read, "Lonely and invincible in the mortal realm, yet destined to never ascend to heaven. I have long heard of the Netherworld's connection to the Immortal Realm, and wished to seek a stronger opponent. The Netherworld Sea of Fire severed the two realms; my foolish ambition ends here." A line followed, particularly prominent. "Bi Changchun returned with deep resentment!"

These were clearly words left by Bi Changchun himself. Yue Qianchou's eyebrows twitched as he read them. The literal meaning was easy to understand. It roughly meant that Bi Changchun was lonely being invincible in the mortal world. He wanted to find an opponent in the immortal realm but couldn't. He heard that the underworld was as famous as the immortal realm, so he thought of finding an opponent there. Unfortunately, he encountered the Netherworld Sea of Fire and couldn't get through it, so he returned home unhappy.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it..." Yue Qianchou said "damn it" several times in First Company, shaking his head and smiling bitterly, "The old guy is too strong for his own good. He has nothing better to do than to set his sights on people from the Immortal Realm and the Underworld. I was wondering why Yu Ji said that the old guy had been here. It turns out he wanted to go to the Underworld to fight ghosts. He's really just bored and has nothing better to do. Speechless!"

Shaking his head helplessly, he turned around but then stopped, staring at the Netherworld Sea of Fire and exclaiming, "Could this Netherworld Sea of Fire really be that powerful? Even with my cultivation level, I can't get through it? If I do, wouldn't I be even more powerful than him? Damn it! Such a cool thing shouldn't be publicized. I have to leave some traces here, so that future generations will know that there is such a person as Yue Qianchou."

Without further ado, the black flying sword made a series of clanging sounds against the cave wall, but left no trace. Yue Qianchou slapped his forehead. This Nether Iron could restrain the Black Fiend Wind Blade, so it was normal for it to restrain the Black Fire. It seemed he would have to use the Azure Fire.

A finger ignited with a blue light. After Yue Qianchou's thought, Yue Qianchou slowly and solemnly wrote a few lines on the cave wall, "I heard that Master has been here, so I came to join in the fun. If Master can't get through here, I'll give it a try. The waves of the sea push the front waves, and each generation is stronger than the last." Finally, he also left a very conspicuous line. "Yue Qianchou was here."

The words were written right after Bi Changchun's. After finishing, he carefully examined them. Comparing the two, regardless of whether his writing was neat or not, the structure was indeed something he himself felt ashamed of. Where was the spirit of each generation surpassing the last? Unable to bear it any longer, without a word, he shamefully mounted his flying sword and plunged into the Netherworld Sea of Fire, seemingly seeking death...

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