Struggle for the Origin
At this moment, Lin Ming meticulously analyzed the situation, laying bare the advantages and disadvantages of both sides, his calm tone chilling.
"If we continue to wear each other down like this, with my stronger soul, higher-level Dragon Seal, and flames no less powerful than yours, your fate was sealed the moment I entered this Soul War Space! It's just a matter of time."
The First Revolution, Lin Ming's voice carrying a seductive undertone, pointing towards the crisis in the outside world.
"Besides, do you think the outside world is safe? The Soul Hall has already laid a trap. You should know better than anyone how evil and troublesome those four Lifebound Soul Lock are! Their goal is to capture you! Within the Soul Hall, there are countless experts, numerous Dou Venerate, and even some true Dou Sheng! Once you are captured and brought back to the Soul Hall Palace, falling into the hands of those Old Monsters, do you think you will have any chance to resist or escape? You will be completely refined and your intelligence will be extinguished!"
"Even if you are lucky enough not to be captured by the Soul Hall, the three giants of the Pill Tower will arrive soon if this continues. They may not refine you directly like the Soul Hall did, but what will the result be? They will simply seal you in this dark and sunless Star Domain again, just like those countless tedious and oppressive years in the past!"
"Having been sealed away for so many years, enduring this life of being neither alive nor dead, a prisoner forever without freedom, are you... truly content with this? Are you willing to continue this eternal cycle until the end of heaven and earth?"
A series of sharp questions, like thorns, pierced the proud heart of the Three Thousand Burning Flame.
Its purplish-black dragon body trembled slightly, revealing the intense struggle within its heart. The loneliness and humiliation of being sealed, the threat of death brought by the Soul Hall, and the various powers that Lin Ming displayed to suppress it... all of this made its instinctive arrogance and rebellious will begin to waver.
"So!"
Lin Ming's voice became incredibly alluring at this moment. He extended his palm, which was formed from his Soul Power, as if extending the most sincere invitation.
"I'm willing to give you a chance, a chance to break the deadlock, even... a chance to turn the tide! Lower your defenses and let your Origin Flame enter my body directly! This is my chance for you to turn the tide!"
"So, on the surface, it seems I can begin refining you. But!" Lin Ming's tone became more serious, his eyes flashing with a wise yet dangerous light.
"And haven't you also gained an unprecedented, perfect opportunity to directly devour my soul and my very essence?!"
"Just imagine, if you could successfully devour me... what enormous benefits you would gain?!"
Lin Ming's voice was highly inflammatory.
"Not only will you be able to completely absorb my immense Soul Power at the Spirit Realm Grand Perfection, causing a qualitative leap in your intelligence and Soul Strength! You will also be able to devour and fuse all four powerful Heavenly Flame Origin within me! At that time, to what terrifying extent will your flame rank rise? It might not even be a dream to break into the top five of the Heavenly Flame Ranking!"
"More importantly, the ordinary Dragon Seal within you that has troubled you for so long will also have the opportunity to devour and merge with my Elder Dragon Seal! Once successful, your Dragon Might will become incomparably pure and vast, and no one will be able to suppress you with their Dragon Seal!"
"At that time, you will be a completely new and more powerful version of yourself! Who, what force, in heaven or on earth, will be able to restrict your freedom again?!"
These words were like a key, precisely unlocking the deepest desires within the Three Thousand Burning Flame —the ultimate pursuit of power and the yearning for absolute freedom! Devouring, evolving, transcending! This is an instinctive temptation that no Heavenly Earth Spirit Items can resist!
Within the Soul War Space, Lin Ming's words, like a demonic whisper, profoundly influenced the Three Thousand Burning Flame's decision-making—
Outside, Xue Mo's figure appeared like a ghost beside the massive body of the Three Thousand Burning Flame, which was tightly bound by four Lifebound Soul Lock and resembled a solidified mountain range.
Gazing up close at the magnificent yet terrifying dragon body formed from the purest, purplish-black flames of destruction, and feeling the immense energy contained within that seemed capable of incinerating the world, the greed in Xue Mo's eyes almost materialized and burst forth.
He raised his withered hand, and Blood light frantically condensed and compressed on it, forming an extremely sharp energy spike. He aimed it at the Three Thousand Burning Flame, intending to stab it down fiercely and forcibly extract the Lifebound Flame he had been dreaming of!
However, just as his palm was about to strike, and the force of the wind had touched the dragon's scales—
A sudden change has occurred!
The Three Thousand Burning Flame, which had been struggling and rattling the chains, suddenly and strangely stopped all movement!
In those enormous dragon eyes, burning with cold flames, the previous violence and pain vanished abruptly, replaced by a chilling, fierce light that was a mixture of determination, madness, and a hint of cunning!
"Call out!"
The instant the Three Thousand Burning Flame ceased their struggle, Xue Mo felt an intense sense of unease and crisis, as if a venomous snake had its eyes on his throat!
However, before his ominous premonition could translate into concrete action—
A small, purplish-black dragon, condensed to its extreme and only a few feet long, suddenly shot out like lightning from the massive dragon scale on the forehead of the Three Thousand Burning Flame!
This little dragon is crystal clear, as if it were carved from the purest purplish-black crystal, but inside it contains the most core and primal flame power of the Three Thousand Burning Flame!
During the rampage as the little dragon broke free from its original form, the Purple-Black Flame on its body were visibly compressing and shrinking inward! With this near-self-destructive compression, the originally beautiful purplish-black color rapidly transformed into an extremely deep, soul-chilling pitch black that seemed capable of devouring all light!
A terrifying aura, far surpassing anything before and capable of destroying stars, surged forth from the miniature dragon, which had transformed into a jet-black color, like a tidal wave! Wherever it passed, space was no longer distorted, but instead cracked open with fine black fissures!
"This beast has gone mad! It actually dared to actively strip away and compress the Origin Flame; is it trying to take us all down with it?!"
Upon witnessing this sudden and completely unexpected scene, Xue Mo's expression changed drastically, and he was horrified and speechless!
He never expected that the Three Thousand Burning Flame would act so extremely and recklessly! The energy contained within this extremely compressed, pitch-black Origin Fire Dragon, once unleashed, would be enough to annihilate everything nearby!
Before he could even finish processing this horrified thought, the tiny, jet-black Little Fire Dragon had already appeared before him as if by Instantaneous Movement!
There was no earth-shattering roar, no fancy energy collision, it simply and unadornedly crashed into the blood-red Dou Qi defense that he had hastily gathered in front of his chest!
"Pfft--!"
What seemed like a casual collision unleashed unimaginable destructive power!
The crimson Dou Qi defense in front of Xue Mo collapsed instantly, as if made of paper! He was as if he had been violently struck by an ancient giant elephant, his face turning deathly pale, and a mouthful of bright red blood mixed with fragments of internal organs gushed out like a blood arrow!
Its body, like a kite with a broken string, was sent flying backward in a series of teeth-grinding cracking sounds, crashing heavily into a huge floating meteorite in the distance and shattering it to pieces!
"Grab it! Quickly! Grab that Origin Flame!!"
Even as he was violently thrown back and his consciousness was almost completely blurred, Xue Mo still managed to unleash a frantic and unwilling roar, driven by his unwavering commitment to the mission.
He knew that the Three Thousand Burning Flame had made a drastic sacrifice, deliberately abandoning most of its physical body and energy, condensing and escaping with its core essence and power! This was their last and best chance to seize the Heavenly Flames!
"A great opportunity!"
As soon as Xue Mo's roar filled with pain and urgency subsided, Xiao Yan, who had been closely watching the battle and whose internal Heavenly Flames was also violently agitated by the appearance of the Little Fire Dragon, instantly turned his eyes to the Little Fire Dragon that was slightly paused in the air. An uncontrollable joy and fervor flashed in his eyes!
His long-cherished dream, the goal he had painstakingly pursued to participate in the Pill Gathering and venture into the Star Domain — the Origin Flame of the Three Thousand Burning Flame —was now finally revealed clearly and without any protection! It was right before his eyes!
However, just as Xiao Yan's eyes lit up at the appearance of the Three Thousand Burning Flame' Origin Flame and his internal Dou Qi began to circulate, the Old Monster Qing Hua, who was closer to the Origin Flame and had been waiting for an opportunity, transformed into a blurry blue light and shadow.
The cyan light, like the ultimate speed, hurtled towards the Little Fire Dragon that had just completed its compression and whose aura seemed somewhat unstable!
Seeing that the Old Monster Qing Hua had reacted so quickly and had already approached the target in an instant, Xiao Yan frowned slightly. His eyes flashed rapidly, but he did not rush forward recklessly.
His mind raced, and he forcibly suppressed the urge to snatch it immediately.
Although the Origin Flame of the Three Thousand Burning Flame has now appeared and seems to be ownerless, there are still three Venerables from the Soul Hall nearby who, despite expending a great deal of energy maintaining their Lifebound Soul Lock, are still eyeing it covetously! Moreover, the strength of the Old Monster Qing Hua is unknown.
Making a hasty move at this point not only has a low success rate, but could also make you a target of everyone's attacks. To successfully seize something in such a chaotic situation requires not only strength, but also timing and wisdom!
"Laugh!"
The Old Monster Qing Hua was extremely fast; as Dou Zun expert, the space beneath his feet seemed to shrink.
In a flash, he appeared before the pitch-black Origin Fire Dragon, a flicker of undisguised fervor and excitement in his eyes.
On his palms, a vast expanse of pale Cyan Dou Qi surged forth like a volcano, then rapidly condensed before him, transforming into a massive, Dou Qi Energy hand with clearly defined patterns. It brought with it a sharp gust of wind and reached out to grab the seemingly bewildered, pitch-black fire dragon! If he could capture it, with his strength, he could instantly apply a seal!
"Hmph! You fool! How dare you lay a finger on the prey that my Soul Hall has set its sights on?!"
However, just as the Old Monster Qing Hua summoned his Energy Palm, which was imbued with immense Dou Qi, and before it could even truly touch the Origin Flame that was so close at hand, several cold shouts containing icy Killing Intent suddenly rang out like a chilling wind!
Immediately, a chilling clanging sound of iron chains came, and a dozen or so Black Chains, though thinner than the Lifebound Soul Lock, were still wrapped in thick Black Mist and eerie Soul Shadow. Like venomous snakes shooting out of the shadows, they carried a cold, soul-tearing wind and viciously aimed directly at the back, neck and other vital points of the Old Monster Qing Hua!
Sensing the swift and deadly aura approaching from behind, the Old Monster Qing Hua frowned, a hint of annoyance and resentment flashing across his face. If he insisted on capturing the Origin Flame, he would surely be severely injured or even killed by these chains.
In a flash, he had no choice but to twist his body and change his footwork to dodge to the side, narrowly avoiding the fatal attack. Then, he turned his cold gaze to the black-clad Soul Hall Venerable who had tried to stop him, his eyes surging with Killing Intent.