Warmth in a Nightmare

(4000 words)

"Bang!!"

The lid slammed down heavily, sealing the Hidden Dragon Ding completely.

The Hidden Dragon Ding Cauldron spun rapidly, burning in the Star Fire!

"With the ancestor's divine might, the divine medicine will surely be perfected, making him invincible under heaven!"

Cang Wu knelt down and said loudly.

Following this, many disciples and elders of Myriad Gods Ridge present also loudly echoed their agreement.

"With the ancestor's divine might, the divine medicine will surely be perfected, making him invincible under heaven!"

The Red-robed Boy laughed loudly, "Good! Very good! If I succeed in refining the medicine this time, you will all be richly rewarded!"

"Cang Wu, you will assist in presiding over the grand formation. The Dragon Emperor Sarira will take eighty-one days to refine. The Star Fire of this world alone is not enough; we need your support!"

As the Red-robed Boy spoke, the array patterns on the ground beneath his feet lit up one by one, finally revealing the array he had set up in this small world over many years.

"Each of you stand on one of the array's runes, pouring your power into the grand array to help me refine the Dragon Emperor Sarira!"

"Yes, Ancestor!"

The disciples of Myriad Gods Ridge had different thoughts, but at this moment they had no choice but to obey the orders of the Myriad Gods Ancestor. Otherwise, even if they succeeded in resisting, they would not be able to leave this sealed little world.

Everyone took their positions and, as instructed by the Myriad Gods Ancestor, poured their respective energies into the great formation.

In an instant, the power of the numerous disciples of Myriad Gods Ridge merged with the force of the Nine Dragons Arching for a Pearl, converging from the nine enormous fissures, unleashing a Star Fire!

The genuine Kanglong Ding, located at the heart of the formation, showed no reaction, but the Hidden Dragon Ding, Kanglong Ding above it, glowed slightly red from the heat.

One can imagine how high the temperature was inside the Hidden Dragon Ding!

Even the legendary steamer hell pales in comparison.

Extreme heat enveloped the nine people inside the Hidden Dragon Ding!

The interior of the Kanglong Ding is a self-contained space. It doesn't look big from the outside, but once you enter, it's like being inside the belly of a large mountain. The nine people are far apart from each other, with Feng Yunyang in the very center and the other eight people in eight directions.

Terrifying Star Fire filled this vast space, making it feel as if one had fallen into a scorching volcano.

"It's so hot... My grave is here, and my fate is to become someone else's elixir relic... Master, oh Master, what kind of <Old Snake God Technique> did you teach me? You boasted about it so much, but now it's completely useless."

The Snake Woman was so sad she wanted to cry, but her tears evaporated before they could even fall.

"Huh? Someone's already... dead?"

The Snake Woman discovered that of the several medicinal ingredients that had been thrown in with them, one was growing weaker and weaker, almost disappearing completely.

His cultivation was higher than the Snake Woman's, yet he died before Snake Woman.

Why is this happening?

The Snake Woman was puzzled. She carefully sensed it and found that although she felt extremely hot, the blood in her body was also activated by the scorching of the Star Fire, and her blood seemed to be boiling inside her body!

The boiling blood even evaporated from her pores, forming a layer of red mist that enveloped her body. The Star Fire encountered this blood mist as if it were a wall, unable to penetrate it. It was precisely because of this that she barely survived.

Despite the extreme pain, her skin and flesh were not burned, and even her clothes were not set on fire—although the Myriad Gods Ridge disciple robes were fire-resistant, they were absolutely no match for the Star Fire!

Is this the so-called Dragon Emperor Bloodline?

The Snake Woman suddenly realized that the Myriad Gods Ancestor had used a secret technique to steam out the Dragon Emperor's Blood while it was still alive!

Once the Dragon Emperor's Blood within her evaporates, that will be her death!

Thinking of this, the Snake Woman felt despair.

No wonder some people with higher cultivation levels die before you. It's because their vital energy is sealed, and they can't rely on their vital energy shield to resist the flames. So, the time they can survive in the flames has less to do with their cultivation level and more to do with their bloodline!

The purer the Dragon Emperor Bloodline, the longer it can last. Feng Yunyang, with the highest purity, was expected by the Myriad Gods Ancestor to last for three days and three nights.

"It's been 15 minutes, and the second person is dead too!"

The Snake Woman witnessed another person die; if this continued, everyone would soon be dead.

"Yi Yun! Wake up! Wake up!"

The Snake Woman called out to Yi Yun in her heart, but she could not speak and could not make a sound at all.

At this moment, the Snake Woman could barely make out Yi Yun through the distorted air and the leaping Star Fire.

Yi Yun was about ten feet away from her. His body was suspended in the flames, his skin was red, but he was not charred.

Unlike the Snake Woman, who was surrounded by a layer of red blood mist that blocked the flames, Yi Yun seemed to be surrounded by no blood mist.

The energy of the flames was not blocked; instead, it seemed to flow into Yi Yun's body. What happened after that, the Snake Woman did not know.

"This is..."

The Snake Woman was taken aback; she didn't understand what was going on.

However, if Yi Yun were awake at this moment, he would definitely be extremely anxious upon seeing this scene.

If viewed through the Energy Vision, one could see that Yi Yun's entire body was enveloped in a hazy purple light; it was the Purple Crystal that was saving his life!

His consciousness had fallen into a deep sleep, Purple Crystal instinctively protected his physical body, absorbing the energy that had rushed into his body and damaged his meridians.

However, because Yi Yun's consciousness wasn't controlling it, everything the Purple Crystal did was purely instinctive. It wouldn't create a huge energy vortex, but it also wouldn't hide the absorption process. It wouldn't be a problem if it couldn't be refined in three to five hours, but if it couldn't be refined in three to five days, or even more than ten days, the Myriad Gods Ancestor would definitely notice something amiss. As soon as he investigated, he would find that something was wrong with Yi Yun, and might even cut open Yi Yun's body piece by piece, and then the secret of the Purple Crystal would be discovered!

Purple Crystal is a divine object of heaven and earth, but it has no consciousness or soul. It cannot save Yi Yun; everything it does is merely instinct.

Time flew by, and an hour passed in the blink of an eye!

Of the nine people, only four are still alive.

At this moment, the Snake Woman was in extreme pain, Yi Yun remained unchanged.

Yi Yun's consciousness seemed to have entered an endless dream.

A series of terrifying events occurred in Yi Yun's dream.

Back in Yunhuang, he suffered from hunger and illness. By chance, he managed to learn some martial arts, but was defeated and killed by Lian Chengyu. Even his sister was murdered.

Then came the Tai'a Divine City, where he was tortured by Shentu Nantian. Not only was his dantian destroyed, but his hands and feet were also severed, leaving him critically injured and on the verge of death.

Then came the Luo Clan. He was captured by You Feihua of the Demonic Ghost Sect. You Feihua hated him to the bone, extracted his soul, sealed it in Ghost Banner to torture him, and used his body as a vessel for Body Snatching to sell.

Finally, Purple Crystal's secret was exposed, and he was hunted to the ends of the earth, constantly on the run. He finally found Lin Xin Tong, who had been separated from him, but Lin Xin Tong died protecting him while trying to stop the pursuers...

Each time, Yi Yun woke up at the last moment of his nightmare, only to quickly fall into the next one, endlessly!

Yi Yun didn't know how long he had been trapped in this terrible cycle of life, seemingly enduring endless years of pain and sorrow, which almost made him lose all hope for life.

It seems that for him, having consciousness itself was a form of suffering, and only complete cessation of consciousness could bring ultimate relief.

Once consciousness completely fades away, that is what the Red-robed Boy meant by "eternal slumber"!

Having fallen into a permanent slumber from which he could not awaken, Yi Yun's ability to persist until now was due to the strength of his Divine Soul. Even so, he had reached his limit in the face of the power of the Myriad Gods Ancestor.

Just as Yi Yun's soul was on the verge of collapse from the pain, he suddenly heard a soft call in his ear—

"Brother Yi Yun, wake up!"

"Who? Who is calling me?"

Yi Yun had been mired in the painful cycle of life for too long, and seemed to have forgotten many things.

"I am Xie'er, don't you remember? Your soul sea was sealed. That seal was too powerful. It took me a full hour to enter your soul sea. Brother Yi Yun, open your eyes and look at me. I am Xie'er."

"Xie'er, Xie'er... it's you... what are you doing here?" Yi Yun had a terrible headache. He tried hard to remember, "Soul Sea? Sealed... what happened to me..."

"Brother Yi Yun, you've been sealed by an old child. You're currently trapped inside a cauldron, being burned by flames. Have you forgotten all that?"

Ling Xie'er's urgent voice rang out, and Yi Yun was taken aback.

Old child?

This somewhat comical title suddenly reminded Yi Yun of that terrifying Red-robed Boy, sending a chill down his spine.

"Divine Soul Sealing! Alchemy! The Myriad Gods Ancestor!!"

Yi Yun's heart stopped beating. The Red-robed Boy had lived for countless millennia; his Divine Soul was incredibly powerful!

After sealing Yi Yun's soul sea, he left behind a Divine Soul talisman, trapping Yi Yun in an endless illusion from which he could not escape.

"An illusion... that's it, an illusion!"

Yi Yun remembered that Feng Yunyang had once cast an illusion array on him. His Illusion Technique were also learned from the Myriad Gods Ancestor.

The Myriad Gods Ancestor possessed unparalleled Illusion Technique, and the Divine Soul imprint he left in his own soul sea was terrifying. Even though Yi Yun's Spiritual Sense was powerful, he was completely unable to resist it.

"Brother Yi Yun, you finally remembered."

Ling Xie'er said happily.

Yi Yun struggled to open his eyes, and his Divine Soul vision gradually cleared. He found himself seemingly standing in an endless maze.

This labyrinth of the Divine Soul is composed of only monotonous lines, while Ling Xie'er is the only color in it. She is dressed in red, barefoot, with jade rings on her feet, and her rosy little face is full of joyful smiles.

She walked straight into the labyrinth of the Divine Soul, leaving behind a faintly glowing passage that stretched to the horizon, with a ray of dawn shining at its exit.

"Xie'er, you awakened me? You broke through the many restrictions left by the Myriad Gods Ancestor?"

Yi Yun was still in shock when he realized he was just a hair's breadth away from losing his life!

If it weren't for Xie'er, he would have certainly died.

"Yes, it took me a long time to get into your soul sea, Brother Yi Yun, please think of something!"

"Xie'er said urgently."

Looking at Xie'er's anxious little face, Yi Yun was suddenly moved. He gently hugged Ling Xie'er. It was his good fortune to meet Ling Xie'er in the Sun Burial Sand Sea.

He remembered that, in terms of Divine Soul strength, Xie'er was simply monstrous!

Previously, when Yi Yun was refining the Great Evolution Spirit Boat and was helpless against the Divine Soul imprint left by Song Guangyan, it was Ling Xie'er who took action and erased the Divine Soul imprint in just over ten breaths.

The Myriad Gods Ancestor probably lived for tens of millions of years, but Ling Xie'er existed in the Heaven and Earth Grand Array for five hundred million years!

What does 500 million years mean? In addition, Ling Xie'er herself is Divine Soul body, and her Divine Soul is indestructible. This is without the support of any cultivation techniques for the Divine Soul. If this is added, Ling Xie'er will be even more powerful.

The Myriad Gods Ancestor had sealed his own Divine Soul, which was already foolproof. He never expected that there was a Ling Xie'er by his side whose Divine Soul was so powerful that she could break through his seal.

Look at the path Ling Xie'er carved out in the Divine Soul Maze, it's incredibly powerful.

"Myriad Gods Ancestor, you've taken my Illusion Snow Sword and Space Ring, but I still have the God Descending Tower."

Because of the Song Family, Yi Yun's God Descending Tower was not placed in his Space Ring.

Song Zhanchen had previously wanted to inspect Yi Yun's Space Ring, Yi Yun had embezzled the Great Evolution Spirit Boat, which meant there was evidence of his crime in his Space Ring.

Although Yi Yun did not give the Space Ring to the Song Family, in order to avoid giving them any leverage, he hid the Great Evolution Spirit Boat Yi Yun the God Descending Tower and then stored the God Descending Tower inside his body.

Ling Xie'er was asleep in the God Descending Tower, which allowed her to discover the terrible ordeal Yi Yun was experiencing. This led her to delve into Yi Yun's soul and awaken Yi Yun.

"Xie'er, where's the Snake Woman?!"

Ling Xie'er said that an hour had passed. Yi Yun suddenly thought of the Snake Woman. Although the little girl was a bit silly, she was, after all, the old snake's apprentice. If she were burned to ashes, it would be a heartbreaking thing.

"Is that the girl who was with you? She's okay, but she won't be able to hold on for much longer."

Ling Xie'er spoke up.

Yi Yun breathed a sigh of relief, but the weight on his heart still lingered. Time was of the essence, and he had to come up with a solution.

Outside this Medicine Cauldron were the experts of the Myriad Gods Ridge, including the strongest, the Myriad Gods Ancestor! Not to mention the Myriad Gods Ancestor, even the Myriad Gods Sect Leader alone was no match for Yi Yun!

Even if Yi Yun were to suddenly increase his strength and break through to the Venerable realm in one go, he still wouldn't be able to handle the situation outside, let alone in his current state.

Moreover, he is only at the Dao Palace Fifth Layer, and there is still Half-step Venerable between him and the fourth level of the Dao Palace Realm. It is simply impossible for him to break through to the Venerable realm in one go.

Trying to force your way out is certain death!

Staying in the Medicine Cauldron also means death!

Although he won't be Star Fire now, the Myriad Gods Ancestor said that even Feng Yunyang, with the purest bloodline, could only last for about three days and three nights. If he persisted for too long, the Myriad Gods Ancestor would definitely notice something was wrong.

The Myriad Gods Ancestor, whose eyes can see the back of one's head, is extremely difficult to deal with.

Time was running out for Yi Yun.

Having fallen into such a desperate situation, Yi Yun had no choice but to fight to the death!