Flame Hypothesis
Where exactly was the "Forsaken Prison Hated by Abominations"?
For any exploration of the Forsaken Prison King's divine skin—or the Calamity Authority—this was undoubtedly one of the most important questions.
Beyond that, Fu Qian was also eager to uncover more ancient secrets within it.
The information he had gleaned from the Tyrant's Fist undeniably proved the gruesome fate of the ancient Forsaken Prison King.
What had hated him so much that he had ultimately been subjected to the Ultimate Pollution and dismembered? It was certainly enough to set one's imagination running wild.
The golden flames that had appeared repeatedly were clearly a valuable lead in investigating this question.
So far, it seemed obvious that the flames' core effect targeted the mind, damaging one's sanity and ravaging one's consciousness.
During their visit to Ermu Mansion Palace, Old Master Li He, the former academy dean, had helped confirm a particular impression that Fu Qian had held for a long time: the flames' effect wasn't ordinary mental corruption, nor the madness brought on by gazing directly at a god. It was closer to the erasure of one's sense of self.
The difference, as Fu Qian understood it, was like the difference between stirring someone's brains into mush and scooping a spoonful of them out.
The former turned everything into a chaotic mess. The latter caused total collapse through sheer absence.
In terms of the end result, the two might not look very different at first glance. But Old Master Li He had also provided an important piece of information: someone else, inspired by him, could also distinguish between them to some extent—the Night Watcher's Second Order, Stos.
As a teammate on the Unseen Hill operation, Stos had indeed once displayed that Madness Fire in front of Fu Qian.
He had even