The Flames

Ji Tian sat on the Demonic Dragon's back, gazing at the hazy world. For a long time, he couldn't calm his mind.

This world was cruel. There was no right or wrong. If he didn't want to become someone else's meal, he had to kill everyone who raised a blade against him.

That was the world. That was survival.

The Demonic Dragon, however, couldn't conceal the fire in his eyes. He had once been a powerful innate being in the Primordial World, living among its upper echelons. Though he had died by accident before reaching the pinnacle and fallen into this strange world,

his powerful soul had still allowed him to swiftly rise among the ranks of the strong and become one of the Skeleton Emperors. But even then, he hadn't been satisfied. He had gone to explore the Skeleton Demonic Hall.

Though a roar had left him gravely injured, he had no regrets. He had tried. He had fought back.

Even if he died, he had to prove that he had existed. That was one way for life to endure—a conviction so powerful it could make heaven and earth pale.

Everything had changed because of his years as a puppet, but now he was back on the right track.

The Demonic Dragon looked at the busy skeletons and ghostly beings across the black earth and sighed with emotion. He, too, had once been busy fighting for survival, constantly battling.

Now his goal was to seek out the powerful beings of this world. Whether there were other skeletons at the Primordial Spirit Stage remained unknown, but beings at the Golden Flame Level usually had a strong desire to claim treasured lands. They might have Soul Stones. Seizing Soul Stones was also a way to survive—and to live better.

Black dominated the landscape, and black gases drifted through the air. The golden flames stood out starkly against it all.

"Oh!"

With a dragon's roar, the Demonic Dragon slapped an Emperor-level skeleton into pieces, then opened his mouth and swallowed a mass of golden Soul Flame.

"No Blood Pool." Ji Tian shook his head in disappointment.

They had reached a stretch of volcanoes, one range after another. Thick black smoke shrouded this world, which was already dark and sunless.

"There's the aura of a phoenix. It's a Fire Phoenix."

"I'll go down and see if there's anything special about this Earth Fire." Ji Tian punched the ground, splitting it open. Boundless lava surged out.

A clear Phoenix Cry rang through the air. The phoenix resting within the volcano sensed the arrival of a powerful enemy.

A phoenix wreathed in flames illuminated the entire dark world.

"Who are you? Why have you disturbed my cultivation grounds?"

"No reason. This place looked interesting, so we came to take a look," the Demonic Dragon said scornfully. What surprised him was that an Undead Clan member had actually cultivated to the Primordial Spirit Stage. The flames blazing around it seemed capable of refining all things.

Ji Tian didn't take the other at all seriously. His Primordial Spirit strode straight into the volcanic cave.

Warm. Such a gentle warmth. Was this fire?

The Fire Phoenix was furious. A massive fireball shot toward Ji Tian.

Heat—a cold, searing pain.

The Demonic Dragon flew into a rage. He swept the Demonic Cloud around himself toward his opponent and attacked.

Dragons and phoenixes were both powerful beings of the Primordial Continent, each with an arrogant heart.

The Demonic Dragon was surrounded by a Demonic Cloud swirling with Yin Energy, while the Fire Phoenix wielded blazing Earth Fire. Their attributes were opposites.

The Fire Phoenix drew in its flames, then gathered them in the air into a longbow. Each time the bowstring thrummed, fireballs appeared.

The Demonic Cloud condensed into a black spear. Against the fireballs hurtling toward him, the Demonic Dragon parried, deflected, and smashed them to pieces. Then he charged toward the Fire Phoenix. The spear darted like a serpent's tongue, vicious and deadly, every strike aimed to kill.

The Fire Phoenix wasn't to be outdone. Its flames brightened and dimmed as it launched one attack after another, sometimes summoning fire from the earth to engulf the Demonic Dragon. One had deep reserves of power; the other had the advantage of home ground.

A pillar of fire soared into the sky and took the shape of a phoenix. It wheeled above them, noble and majestic, displaying the full grandeur of the king of all flying creatures. Terrifying flames began to peel away from the apparition, turning into Fire Spirits that swarmed toward the Demonic Dragon.

The Demonic Dragon let out a roar and released all his Blood Qi. A Blood Dragon, winding for tens of thousands of miles, appeared. Killing Qi coiled around him, and his blood-red jaws could devour all things. A Dragon Breath infused with Killing Qi swept toward the Fire Spirits.

They shattered, again and again. The two were evenly matched.

Ji Tian walked deeper into the volcano, carefully sensing the power of the flames.

Heat. A searing pain!

It was as if endless flames had risen inside his soul and were burning without end. Ji Tian felt a scorching pain deep in his heart, and it kept growing worse.

This was fire—not the gentle kind created from spiritual power. It was filled with violent force.

The red flames grew deeper in color, gradually shifting toward blue. A wisp of pale-blue fire appeared.

Ji Tian used the Yin Energy in his body to shield himself from the heat, then slowly reached toward the pale-blue flame.

A fierce, searing pain!

His entire right arm burst into flames. Ji Tian hurriedly drew on all the Yin power in his body to resist the destructive force.

His current abilities could only withstand the red flames. He couldn't even resist a wisp of blue flame.

To refine this flame and make it compatible with his Primordial Spirit Fire, Ji Tian formed hand seals, drawing on the powerful flames and guiding them into his body, bit by bit, to try to fuse them with his own Primordial Spirit Fire.

The wisp of flame was like a burning coal tossed into ice water. With a hiss, it went out.

Their attributes were opposites. Although they shared the same origin, they couldn't be fused.

Ji Tian swept his arm, sending out a ripple of Soul Power as he used the Heaven-Covering Divine Art.

A huge, illusory hand reached for the Fire Phoenix, who was locked in a fierce battle with the Demonic Dragon, and crushed all the flames around it.

The Fire Phoenix gave a mournful cry and poured out all its flames, setting the illusory hand ablaze.

The huge hand, condensed from spiritual power, caught fire under the flames' relentless scorching and roared as it burned.

The hand continued on without slowing and dragged the Fire Phoenix into the volcano.

Perhaps Ji Tian was far more powerful than the Fire Phoenix. Perhaps the battle with the Demonic Dragon had drained a great deal of its spiritual power.

Ji Tian pointed a finger. A stream of soul power flowed into the Fire Phoenix's Primordial Spirit, and he began to probe it carefully.

The Soul Searching Technique was a spell that acted directly on another's soul. Usually, it involved forcibly breaking through the target's sea of consciousness with powerful Spiritual Sense and reading the memories stored within. But using it by force could sometimes cause the target's Primordial Spirit to collapse outright.

Ji Tian possessed a spell inherited from the Soul Law. He cultivated the soul himself and had a deep understanding of it. Rather than forcing his way in, he slowly merged with the other's sea of consciousness.

Fire had Yin and Yang, as well as tangible and intangible forms. Yang Fire consisted mainly of the fires of heaven, earth, and man. Fire within wood was the fire mortals made by burning wood; it was the fire of man. Fire within stone was lava transformed into fire; it was Earth Fire. Fire in the sky was lightning striking the air and turning into fire; it was the fire of heaven. Yang Fire could burn all things.

Yin Fire mainly came from the flames within beings of the netherworld—that was Ghost Fire. Yin Fire could burn Primordial Spirits.

Earth Fire was Yang, while Ghost Fire was Yin. Generally, Yin and Yang couldn't coexist. Only those who cultivated to the highest depths could unite them, with Yin at its extreme giving birth to Yang.

Ji Tian murmured to himself, "So that's how it is. I'm still a long way from reaching that stage."

His Ghost Fire was strongest when it came from the fires of the netherworld, and it followed the number nine. It was black, with nine transformations, each producing an outer flame. After the ninth transformation, it might give birth to Yang Fire. Purple Fire was the strongest form of Yang Fire.

Could he only refine the Black Stone with Earth Fire? But he could withstand only low-grade Earth Fire. This was going to be difficult!

Ji Tian rose to his feet and put out the flames on his body, his spirits low.

The Purple Fire he had produced by chance had been so difficult to obtain. It had come from a fortuitous encounter!

Had it been produced by his Core Elixir, or by the Black Bone Relic in his body? Perhaps the Purple Fire wasn't something a cultivator at his lowly Core Elixir stage could produce at all.

Ji Tian was in a foul mood. He glanced at the somewhat battered Fire Phoenix and said, "Would you rather come with me, or keep cultivating here?"

The Fire Phoenix replied, "I... would rather keep cultivating."

Ji Tian nodded. "You have the Phoenix Clan's method of cultivating through Nirvana. You've now re-formed your body of flames. One day, you'll be reborn from the ashes."

"So be it. I won't force you. Since I've taken the memories from your soul, I'll share some insights with you. They should help you improve your cultivation."

Ji Tian pointed a finger, and a stream of black soul insights merged into the Fire Phoenix's soul.

Information flashed through the Fire Phoenix's mind. It was astonished as it watched Ji Tian ride away on the Demonic Dragon, its heart full of questions.

Who exactly was he? He seemed cold and ruthless, yet he didn't kill the innocent indiscriminately. He was indifferent to life, yet full of feeling.