Xiao Ming had no idea what the others who had entered this Space Secret Realm Passage before him had felt.
But the first thing he felt upon stepping into the space was the stench!
It was not the smell of rotten rats in a sewer, nor was it like the corpse pool from when he had collected the Green Rock Profound Water last time. It was an overwhelmingly bloody stench.
The smell was difficult to describe with words. Amid the fishy foulness was a hint of sweetness, and it was the first time Xiao Ming had ever smelled it.
The second thing Xiao Ming felt was heat!
This heat was nowhere near as terrifying as the bloody stench.
It was still within Xiao Ming's tolerance.
That made Xiao Ming breathe a sigh of relief.
"Blech, what kind of hellhole is this? It stinks!"
"Ugh, why is it so dark here? It's dark and smelly—I can't see anything! Hey! Where are you guys?"
"Ah! What is this thing?! Get away from me!"
This place really was incomparably dark, so dark that one could not see their own hand before their face. Xiao Ming turned and looked toward the source of the voices.
What he saw made a cold sweat break out on his back.
In the distance, a human figure emitting a faint glow was rapidly approaching, accompanied by a sharp whistling through the air.
And as it drew nearer, Xiao Ming could feel the temperature around him rising.
"Run! It's a Blood Shadow like the red humanoid outside!" someone cried out in terror from the darkness.
Unfortunately, after a few seconds and several muffled groans, Xiao Ming could no longer sense anyone else's Aura.
Xiao Ming knew those people were dead!
And the culprit was the humanoid figure standing before him now, its head tilted as it radiated intense heat.
Was this another Blood Shadow?
Xiao Ming looked at the Blood Shadow standing before him, seeming to stare at him blankly, and thought to himself.
The Blood Shadow fighting Su Mei and the others could not possibly have returned so quickly. Though Blood Shadows were terrifying, the lineup fighting it was equally terrifying.
It would be absolutely impossible for it to defeat or kill them so quickly.
Besides, he was still standing not far from the passage.
If that Blood Shadow had returned, he would definitely have sensed it.
Therefore, this Blood Shadow had definitely just appeared.
Though he knew this was a newly appeared Blood Shadow, Xiao Ming was not particularly afraid. His tense body suddenly relaxed.
That was because the Blood Shadow before him was merely standing there blankly, with no intention of attacking him.
This was thanks to the refining method he had just learned, which had caused the Blood Red Mark within his body to disappear.
Once the mark was gone, the Blood Shadows would ignore him.
Even if Xiao Ming attacked one, the Blood Shadow would not retaliate. This was a mechanism established by the formation's creator to prevent his own disciples from accidentally running into a Blood Shadow and being mistakenly killed.
In the end, the Blood Shadows condensed through the Blood Qi Condensing Shadow Great Method possessed no intelligence. They merely carried out their commands coldly.
Although those commands were truly formidable and could make the Blood Shadows extremely powerful in battle, the formation's strength also imposed powerful restrictions upon them. This could be considered one of its flaws.
Of course, entering this place was already risky enough. Xiao Ming had no intention of taking further risks by attacking the Blood Shadow to see whether it would fight back.
He merely stared in astonishment at the Blood Shadow's chest.
Look what he had found.
Within the Blood Colored Figure's chest was a faint red flame.
The flame was obscured by the Blood Shadow's body, so Xiao Ming could not see it clearly.
Yet through the haze, he seemed to see all kinds of Magical Beasts appearing within the flame.
"Could this be a Heavenly Flame?" Xiao Ming jolted as realization struck him, and he exclaimed in wild delight.
In his memories, there really was a Heavenly Flame similar to this one.
It was the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame, ranked twenty-second on the Heavenly Flame Ranking.
The Myriad Beast Spirit Flame was a red flame that faintly manifested the forms of countless beasts.
It was formed from the souls and bloodlines of myriad beasts. The flame contained the violent, savage Aura of the Beast Race and could absorb and suppress most Beast Flames.
Thinking of this Heavenly Flame's characteristics, Xiao Ming summoned a pink flame.
It was his Peach Blossom Flame.
The moment the Peach Blossom Flame appeared, it illuminated the surrounding darkness, revealing skeleton after skeleton of Magical Beasts.
He controlled the Peach Blossom Flame in his hand and slowly tossed it toward the Blood Shadow's chest.
The Blood Shadow was completely unmoved by the Peach Blossom Flame, allowing it to come into contact with its body.
The Peach Blossom Flame interwove with the Blood Shadow's blood qi, producing a sizzling sound. Since the Blood Shadow had no awareness of resistance, the Peach Blossom Flame finally entered its body after weakening somewhat.
The moment the Peach Blossom Flame entered the Blood Shadow's body, before it could wreak havoc and destroy anything, the flame in the Blood Shadow's chest suddenly flared.
The Peach Blossom Flame was swept away by it, and the surroundings sank back into dimness. Only within two or three meters of the Blood Shadow was there a faint glow.
His flame had been swept away, and he could no longer sense it, yet Xiao Ming did not become angry. Instead, he laughed aloud.
"Hehehe, this should be the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame."
Xiao Ming was so certain not for any other reason, but because it had so easily absorbed the Peach Blossom Flame.
One had to know that what he had released was not a Peach Blossom Flame Clone condensed from Dou Qi, but the Peach Blossom Flame Origin Fire.
After Ling had devoured this flame, Xiao Ming had gained a firm grip over it.
Even when facing a higher-grade Masterless Beast Flame, it should not have been so easily swept away from his control and then effortlessly devoured.
Only Heavenly Flames could do that so easily.
"Still, isn't this Heavenly Flame a little too weak? Why does it look like nothing more than a tiny flame? Could it just be a seedling slightly stronger than a Heavenly Flame Seed? And why is this Heavenly Flame here?"
Xiao Ming pondered. He thought of the conditions required for the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame to take shape, then looked at the countless Magical Beast bones around him. At last, realization dawned on him.
"It must be because this sect used Magical Beasts to condense Blood Shadows and accidentally created the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame. This is a Man-made Heavenly Flame."
Xiao Ming's guess was correct.
The sect that had once occupied this Secret Realm had created the Sect Protecting Great Formation. Though it was not normally activated, to ensure it would work at critical moments, they had developed the habit of throwing Magical Beasts into it to offset its daily consumption.
The blood qi of Magical Beasts was far more abundant than that of humans, and capturing them came with no moral burden.
Furthermore, Magical Beasts could be raised. When young, they could be used as labor; when old, their useful parts could be stripped away. There was no need to bury the rest—they could simply be thrown directly into the great formation.
One could say that Magical Beasts were practically the best consumable for this formation. Over time, the formation accumulated the bloodlines and souls of many Magical Beasts. Then, after a long time and through countless coincidences, the Myriad Beast Soul and Essence Blood condensed in a strange fashion, and the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame Seed took shape.
The person who had originally created this formation had probably never imagined that his great formation could produce a Heavenly Flame.
After all, the conditions and time required to produce a Heavenly Flame were far too demanding.
Who knew how long this Heavenly Flame Seed had remained in the Dark Space before growing into a seedling?
Still, calling it a Man-made Heavenly Flame was not entirely accurate. It could only be said that the Blood Qi Condensing Shadow Formation had created the conditions for the Heavenly Flame to form. But having the conditions did not mean a Heavenly Flame would necessarily be born.
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