The Struggle for the Great Dao, Only One Path

The Struggle for the Great Dao, Only One Path

Most of those qualified to sense the emergence of the Emperor Flame, the Peach Blossom Emperor Flame, rejoiced at the strengthening of the world's fire-attribute origin. Every one of them had effectively gained a substantial increase in strength for free.

However, for some, the emergence of an Emperor Flame was the most infuriating and unacceptable thing imaginable.

Even if they could benefit from it and strengthen themselves, they did not want an Emperor Flame to appear under such baffling and unclear circumstances.

The ones most directly affected were the two flames originally ranked second and third on the Heavenly Flame Ranking: Void Devouring Flame and Purification Lotus Demon Flame.

Setting aside Tou She Ancient Emperor Fire, the flame that had ascended to the higher realm—the former Tou She Ancient God, who had originated as a Heavenly Flame and used the Burning Flame Mantra to devour the other twenty-two Heavenly Flames before merging them into one and becoming a Dou Di.

Excluding that number-one Emperor Flame, Void Devouring Flame and Purification Lotus Demon Flame were the strongest among all Heavenly Flames.

Even the Ancient Clan's Golden Emperor Burning Flame fell short of them.

For no other reason than that these two Heavenly Flames currently existed independently. Unlike the other Heavenly Flames, they had not yet been absorbed and controlled by anyone.

Heavenly Flames possessed intelligence. At the level of Void Devouring Flame and Purification Lotus Demon Flame, they could already cultivate on their own.

These two Heavenly Flames held the highest rankings in the world and possessed the greatest strength.

Even Hun Tiandi had to cooperate with Void Devouring Flame as an equal. In terms of cultivation, it was comparable to a human Nine-Star Dou Sheng. Both were beings just one step away from lacking sufficient source qi to elevate themselves and advance into Dou Di.

Purification Lotus Demon Flame was not inferior to Void Devouring Flame at all. After Purification Lotus Demon Saint fell, it absorbed the remnants left behind after his death and gradually cultivated to the strength of a Six- or Seven-Star Dou Sheng.

As long as the fire-attribute laws of the Doupo Plane remained unbroken and the origin of fire did not run dry, Heavenly Flames had limitless lifespans.

Although it was slightly weaker than Void Devouring Flame, Purification Lotus Demon Flame was also a strong contender to become the next Emperor Flame.

Given another ten million years or so, Purification Lotus Demon Flame's strength could rise further.

Void Devouring Flame, meanwhile, had already been just one step from the threshold. Yet now, it had been surpassed by some "wild flame" from who knew where. How could Void Devouring Flame not be furious?

There were only enough Nine-Star Dou Shengs in the entire Doupo Plane to count on one hand.

Hun Tiandi, Gu Yuan, the vanished old monster of the Void Ancient Dragon Clan, Void Devouring Flame, the Emperor Pill Embryo...

Only those few.

Void Devouring Flame's strength had suddenly increased by twenty percent. It had quietly surpassed everyone, including Hun Tiandi. It could even turn the tables and see whether it could get a grip on Hun Tiandi, then secretly control the Hun Clan.

Yet Void Devouring Flame could not feel happy at all.

Dark black flames churned violently in the depths of the Soul Clan Small World, devouring, incinerating, and refining everything around them. "Damn it! Blocking my path forward is no different from murdering my parents!"

The instant Peach Blossom Emperor Flame appeared, Void Devouring Flame sensed that its upper limit had been sealed. Even the deep color of its flames could not convey its ugly expression or mood.

An Emperor Flame was a manifestation of the world's origin of fire. It represented the highest possible rank among Heavenly Flames.

Likewise, this level was like a heavenly position—one radish for one hole.

Only one could exist in a world...

Unless Peach Blossom Emperor Flame dissipated, or ascended to the higher realm like Tou She Ancient Emperor Fire and left the Doupo Plane, vacating its position as the origin fire of the Doupo Plane, Void Devouring Flame would never have a chance to rise.

Hun Tiandi planned to refine an Emperor Pill and use its source qi to become an Emperor. Xiao Yan used the Burning Flame Mantra to gather the twenty-two Heavenly Flames and become an Emperor through Heavenly Flames.

One could say that Tou She Ancient God had left a backup plan among the twenty-two Heavenly Flames scattered throughout the world, leaving behind a portion of source qi.

Or one could say that Heavenly Flames themselves were manifestations of the Doupo Plane's origin of fire. They inherently contained origin power, and when the twenty-two were gathered into Tou She Ancient Emperor Fire, they represented an origin—the origin of fire.

Becoming an Emperor through the origin of this world.

And now that Feng Wu's Peach Blossom Fire had advanced into Peach Blossom Emperor Flame, Void Devouring Flame's feelings were obvious.

Feng Wu had directly seized the path Void Devouring Flame had always been walking. Although Feng Wu had not yet become an Emperor, he had already drawn away the matching origin from among the Heavenly Flames of the world.

Void Devouring Flame could clearly sense that its strength had greatly increased, yet it had also lost something intangible.

This was a struggle for the Great Dao.

A latecomer had directly kicked Void Devouring Flame and the others off the track, set up barriers, and completely blocked their way.

Then that latecomer strolled leisurely along, advancing step by step without any hurry. He might reach the finish line, or he might fail to raise his strength to that level and stop halfway—yet still occupy the spot without doing anything with it.

Void Devouring Flame now had only one thought: it had to find where this Emperor Flame was.

Then... devour it!

It was not as though whoever possessed the stronger origin was necessarily stronger, or that those below would not dare provoke them.

If it found Peach Blossom Emperor Flame and they fought, Void Devouring Flame would certainly be suppressed considerably. But the gap in foundational cultivation remained, and cultivation was what truly mattered most.

Once Void Devouring Flame devoured Peach Blossom Emperor Flame, everything would be easy to discuss.

At that point, Void Devouring Flame would become the next Emperor Flame. In any case, the source qi from the twenty-two Heavenly Flames that had previously remained in the world, representing the origin of fire, had been extracted by the laws and gathered into Peach Blossom Emperor Flame.

Feng Wu, who possessed Peach Blossom Emperor Flame, had effectively already grasped an unregistered ticket to advance into the Dou Di realm. However, Feng Wu's strength had not yet reached the point where he could use that ticket.

But now, if Void Devouring Flame seized that ticket, it could use it immediately.

Compared with having to gather and merge over twenty other Heavenly Flames in the past before extracting that special origin of laws, the emergence of an Emperor Flame had its own advantages. If it could be seized, it would be effortless gain.

Only by thinking this way did Void Devouring Flame feel a little better.

The various branch halls of the Hall of Souls were spread across the skies and lands. Void Devouring Flame felt that finding a single flame should not be too difficult. It did not matter if it took a little longer—it could wait.

Since Peach Blossom Emperor Flame lacked the strength to ascend and had blocked its path, then it would resolve the matter personally.

Void Devouring Flame was immensely ambitious. Its cooperation with Hun Tiandi was nothing more than seeking gains alongside a tiger.

Hun Tiandi had been collecting the eight fragments of Tou She Ancient God Jade, intending to open Tou She Ancient God's Cave Mansion and obtain that Emperor Pill Embryo. He wanted to refine it through blood sacrifices and blood refinement, complete its refinement, and use the Emperor Pill's power to enter the Emperor Realm.

Void Devouring Flame had been sent out of Tou She Ancient God's Cave Mansion with the assistance of that Emperor Pill Embryo.

That was the foundation for its cooperation with Hun Tiandi.

It was why Hun Tiandi had been willing to help it grow stronger, all the way until today.

However, both were wolves with wild ambitions. Hun Tiandi and Void Devouring Flame had never relaxed their vigilance against one another.

Hun Tiandi had never abandoned his desire to fully control Void Devouring Flame. Void Devouring Flame was still useful for now; Hun Tiandi alone was not completely confident he could deal with Gu Yuan.

The Emperor Pill Embryo within Tou She Ancient God's Cave Mansion would also be a formidable enemy difficult to handle. A Nine-Star Dou Sheng-level Void Devouring Flame was extremely useful.

Therefore, although Hun Tiandi had such intentions and feared Void Devouring Flame growing ever stronger, the soul origins collected by the Hall of Souls were no longer supplied to Void Devouring Flame as quickly as before. Instead, he delayed them.

Otherwise, how could so many pure soul-origin clusters still be accumulated and stored in those low-level Hall of Souls branch halls?

Such precious things should have been sent to the Hun Clan's main world immediately.

Hun Tiandi had always harbored wariness toward Void Devouring Flame.

Cooperating with Void Devouring Flame was a matter of mutual need to grow stronger, but Hun Tiandi had long decided that once he advanced to Dou Di, he would immediately absorb and control Void Devouring Flame.

A Dou Di would surely ascend. He would take it away directly then, rather than leave the Hun Clan with a future problem.

Then he would destroy the other seven clans and the three magical beast clans. At that point, the Doupo Continent would belong solely to the Hun Clan.

Void Devouring Flame could guess seven or eight parts out of ten of Hun Tiandi's thoughts.

Furthermore, the world's fire-attribute origin had now increased greatly. Fire-attribute Martial Artists and all kinds of flames had become vastly stronger.

How much more so for Void Devouring Flame, the strongest Heavenly Flame beneath the Emperor Flame?

Heavenly Flames were already powerful, and a Nine-Star Dou Sheng was already at the absolute pinnacle. Now that it was another twenty percent stronger, Void Devouring Flame felt that it might not even need to continue putting on a false face with Hun Tiandi.

A twenty-percent increase in overall attributes, in the hands of Nine-Star Dou Shengs like them, could turn twelve parts of foundation into at least fifteen parts of power.

To put it simply, the Emperor Pill Embryo's overall attributes were not actually much stronger than those of a Nine-Star Dou Sheng. Its combat experience was even comparatively poor among those of the same rank.

Yet it could fight several Nine-Star Dou Shengs at once.

And now Void Devouring Flame's foundational attributes had increased by twenty percent...

If its advancement potential had not been sealed by the Emperor Flame, if the laws had not forcibly restricted it and cut off its path upward—

Void Devouring Flame felt that it could abandon Hun Tiandi, return to Tou She Ancient God's Cave Mansion, and devour the other Heavenly Flames still stored there to strengthen itself further.

Then it could forcefully wrestle with that Emperor Pill Embryo.

If it succeeded, it could keep the source qi all for itself.

However, it was probably still a little weaker than that old Emperor Pill Embryo.

Just as the Void Ancient Dragon ancestor had accidentally entered Tou She Ancient God's Cave Mansion, and just as the Emperor Pill Embryo could send Void Devouring Flame and Purification Lotus Demon Flame out, Tou She Ancient God's Cave Mansion did, in a sense, have loopholes to exploit.

Others might not be able to do it, but Void Devouring Flame had originally belonged to Tou She Ancient God's Cave Mansion. If it tricked the Emperor Pill Embryo into receiving it again, it might not be unable to return.

Unfortunately, in Void Devouring Flame's current state, even if it returned, defeated the Emperor Pill Embryo, devoured it, and obtained a portion of the source qi within the Emperor Pill, it would only advance another step in strength. It could not rise to the level of an Emperor Flame.

"Ah... I suppose it is still good news. I have become a fake number one in the world..." Void Devouring Flame thought to itself. None of the Nine-Star Dou Shengs were fire-attribute.

"Hun Tiandi's face must be extremely dark right now. He should come test my intentions soon. I wonder if he will turn against me outright."

Void Devouring Flame drifted through the depths of the sky above the Soul Clan Small World, looking down at where the Soul Clan members lived, as well as the places that formed the core of the Soul Clan's power and authority. It thought to itself:

"I hope he does not turn against me. Otherwise, finding a tool to search for traces of that Emperor Flame will not be easy..."

Void Devouring Flame's strength had expanded drastically, and its ambitions and attitude had changed as well.

Hun Tiandi no longer seemed quite so formidable in Void Devouring Flame's eyes.

"The Hun Clan probably will not turn against me. Even if they do, it should not be here..." Void Devouring Flame judged.

"Although the Soul Clan's strength is greatest within the Soul Clan Small World, where they have the most methods, the most manpower, and the best chance to suppress and kill me—

"The losses would likely be more than they could bear.

"For them, the best course would actually be to drive me out, relocate the Small World's nodes as much as possible, and then keep out of each other's way until death, never seeing each other again."

Void Devouring Flame was very confident. It understood that the stronger someone was, the more clearly they understood what a twenty-percent increase in a Nine-Star Dou Sheng's foundation represented.

With half a percent more strength at the same level, Void Devouring Flame could gain the advantage. With ten percent more, it could suppress Hun Tiandi in battle.

With twenty percent more, Void Devouring Flame would have a chance to kill Hun Tiandi, or, like the Emperor Pill Embryo, take on multiple Dou Shengs alone.

It did not fear the Hun Clan.

However, though Void Devouring Flame had secretly prepared itself to fall out with the Hun Clan and fight at any time, it still hoped Hun Tiandi would fear it more and maintain their superficial cooperation.

Although Void Devouring Flame had become stronger, it still feared these ancient clans that had once produced Dou Di.

Who knew which clan might have some especially terrifying method or devastating weapon hidden away? Moreover, this was the Hun Clan's home ground.

It could very well suffer a serious loss.

"As long as Hun Tiandi agrees to help me find the Emperor Flame." Void Devouring Flame did not intend to pressure the Hun Clan too hard and had already set its bottom line.

Peach Blossom Emperor Flame had to be its. If it could also demand the soul power that the Hall of Souls had accumulated and deliberately delayed giving it, that would be even better.

How could Void Devouring Flame have failed to consider what would happen if Hun Tiandi became a Dou Di and then turned against it?

Void Devouring Flame had confidence that it could become a Dou Di itself and contend with Hun Tiandi.

Void Devouring Flame had originally been left behind by Tou She Ancient God, so it naturally knew why Tou She Ancient Emperor Fire could become a Dou Di.

It also knew that the other Heavenly Flames contained the origin of fire. Gather twenty-two Heavenly Flames and become an Emperor—it was not impossible for it, and it possessed the necessary conditions.

Other Heavenly Flames might encounter difficulties cultivating and devouring one another, and they did not have the Burning Flame Mantra.

But Void Devouring Flame itself possessed a devouring attribute. It could follow the old path of devouring Heavenly Flames to become an Emperor Flame, then ascend to the peak as a Dou Di.

There was a chance it could succeed.

When cooperating with Hun Tiandi, Void Devouring Flame had told him that Tou She Ancient God's Cave Mansion contained an Emperor Pill Embryo, but it had not told him that gathering Heavenly Flames could also produce an origin capable of making one an Emperor.

Void Devouring Flame's original plan was for Hun Tiandi to take the Emperor Pill Embryo while it took all the Heavenly Flames in Tou She Ancient God's Cave Mansion. It also roughly knew where the other Heavenly Flames in the world were, and some types of Heavenly Flames existed in more than one place.

It could gather them up, use several extra flames to replace any missing ones, and become an Emperor as well.

The two had their own ambitions.

However, if Hun Tiandi became a Dou Di first, Void Devouring Flame would still be somewhat unsafe.

But now, Void Devouring Flame saw hope of becoming a Dou Di before Hun Tiandi.

"Hun Tiandi, I hope you know what is good for you..." Void Devouring Flame looked toward the Soul Clan's main hall in the distance, where an argument seemed to have already broken out, and thought to itself.