Hu Gan flashed back in front of the Jia Nan Academy group. Earth-Yellow Dou Qi formed a heavy barrier, shielding everyone behind it.
His expression was graver than ever as his gaze remained fixed on the Myriad Fire Furnace, which was radiating an increasingly terrifying aura.
A figure in a loose gray robe silently squeezed through the crowd at the perimeter and stopped behind Jia Nan Academy's group. It was Xiao Yan.
Clearly, even this situation had exceeded Old Yao's expectations.
"Careful. There's something in the furnace... something powerful, waking up," Xiao Yan warned.
Before the battle, Wu Tianlang had already told Hu Gan what had happened at the Fire Pavilion. Thus, Jia Nan Academy's people generally bore Xiao Yan no ill will.
Besides, with a Dou Emperor joining forces in the current situation, their chances of escaping would be much greater.
Almost the instant Xiao Yan finished speaking—
Boom!
The lid of the Myriad Fire Furnace was violently blasted open by an immense force!
The lid, formed from pure Blood-colored Star Flame, exploded into streams of fire that filled the sky.
A figure slowly rose from within the surging blood-green light pillar.
At first, it was merely a twisting mass of crimson flame, its outline indistinct, yet exuding the pressure of a Dou Emperor.
Once it fully emerged from the furnace and hovered in midair, its aura began to soar at an astonishing rate!
Eight-Star, Nine-Star... it instantly broke through the barrier of the Dou Emperor realm and entered the Dou Zong realm!
One-Star Dou Zong, Two-Star Dou Zong, Three-Star Dou Zong!
In the end, that vast aura stabilized firmly at the peak of the Three-Star Dou Zong realm.
A tangible pressure weighed heavily upon the hearts of everyone in the plaza.
A Dou Zong!
In the Black Corner Region, that was already the combat power of a true titan.
Yet the hair-raising transformation was not over.
As its aura stabilized, the crimson flames and molten lava flowing around its body began to contract and condense inward.
The distorted phantom remnants of souls within the flames also gradually became clear and stable.
Where the flames receded, a human body was revealed.
It was the outline of an old man.
His white hair had been dyed crimson by the flames. His face still vaguely retained its former dignity, but it was now covered in twisted markings like burns left by fire.
One of his eyes was a normal, clouded old eye, while crimson flames danced within the other eye socket.
Half of his body had basically solidified into human form, clad in a tattered Dark Red Robe. Yet the left half was still composed of churning crimson flames and flowing lava.
A bizarre existence caught between man and a fire monster—a peak Three-Star Dou Zong!
"This is..."
Wu Tianlang felt his throat tighten, his voice dry as he said, "Could those Fire Spirit Bodies... all have been transformed from living people?!"
"More precisely," Hu Gan said, staring fixedly at the flaming old man's face as if confirming some terrifying truth, "they were transformed from members of the Fallen Fire Sect!"
Everyone's pupils abruptly contracted.
Although they had already vaguely guessed the answer, Qin Han still asked coldly, "Vice Dean, then this figure is...?"
Hu Gan paused before slowly speaking a name that sent chills through everyone present.
"The one before us... is Yun Qianhang!"
"What?!"
Wu Tianlang abruptly turned his head, while several Inner Academy elders revealed looks of shock.
"Yun Qianhang? The Sect Leader of the Fallen Fire Sect who died a hundred years ago? Wasn't he already dead?!"
"That's right. When all the various factions investigated back then, they said there wasn't a trace of life within the sect!"
Hu Gan shook his head slightly. "Before we entered, didn't we also sense no aura at all? These Red Spirit Bodies are far too strange, but I am certain that this man is Yun Qianhang!"
Hu Gan's gaze never left the flaming old man. "A hundred years ago, I was only an ordinary student in the academy's Inner Academy. Because of an exchange between the two sects, I saw Yun Qianhang from afar.
"That unique aura, that face... although he has become this ghostly thing, I will not mistake him."
Hu Gan's voice carried clearly through the deathly silent plaza to every person listening with bated breath.
After a brief silence, uncontrollable panic began to spread.
"Yun Qianhang?! He's still alive?!"
"What kind of joke is this?! How can a person turn into fire?!"
"What sort of evil art is this?!"
Mo Tianquan and the others looked terrible as well.
Such an eerie existence that overturned all common sense truly made their scalps crawl.
Now it seemed that the emergence of the Fallen Fire Sect Ruins was a complete conspiracy!
A conspiracy to revive Yun Qianhang, and perhaps even more members of the Fallen Fire Sect!
No one cared anymore about what had happened here all those years ago, or how Yun Qianhang and his sect members had become such monstrosities.
What everyone cared about was how to escape, not waiting to be refined by this damned blood formation!
Silver Elder looked at the flaming figure, whose aura was so oppressive it made breathing difficult. His Adam's apple bobbed as he braced himself and stepped forward a few paces. He clasped his hands in greeting from afar, lowering his stance as much as possible.
"Up ahead... might you be Yun Qianhang, former Sect Leader of the Fallen Fire Sect?"
The flaming figure gave no response.
That normal eye slowly turned, sweeping coldly over him before passing over the dense crowd behind him.
Cold sweat seeped from Silver Elder's forehead as he continued cautiously. "This junior and his elder brother have made our living in the Black Corner Region, where we are known as the Gold and Silver Elders. Today, we mistakenly entered your sect's ruins. It was truly a misunderstanding, and we have disturbed your cultivation. We are deeply sorry."
"Congratulations to former Sect Leader Yun... on being reborn, with strength surpassing even your former self. Since this was a misunderstanding, we shall leave at once and never intrude again.
"I hope you will be merciful, open the formation, and grant us this convenience..."
His words were humble enough.
In the Black Corner Region, the name of the Gold and Silver Elders was enough to make children stop crying. When had they ever needed to humble themselves so?
If both brothers had been here today, they would never have feared Yun Qianhang in the slightest.
But at present, he was alone. A Peak Dou Huang facing an abnormal Three-Star Dou Zong—any pride was meaningless.
Yun Qianhang remained silent.
Only after a long while did a voice filled with ancient weariness emerge. "Gold and Silver Elders... what are those?"
Silver Elder's smile froze on his face. Fury rose in his eyes, but he did not dare show it in the slightest.
Seeing this, Hu Gan also stepped forward.
"Senior Yun, this junior is Hu Gan, the current Vice Dean of Jia Nan Academy's Outer Academy.
"A hundred years ago, when this junior was still an academy student, I was fortunate enough to meet you once while accompanying the headmaster. When headmaster Mang Tianchi of our academy returned from his travels some years ago, he also mentioned you and spoke of old events with great emotion."
By invoking Mang Tianchi's name, he was both declaring his identity and subtly borrowing the man's prestige.
A headmaster at the Dou Zun level—even one who was missing—still possessed a reputation capable of intimidating all sides.
"Today's matter was truly an accident. Jia Nan Academy has absolutely no intention of offending you."
Hu Gan clasped his hands, his words sincere. "I ask that, for the sake of our small friendship from years past and for headmaster Mang's sake, you allow Jia Nan Academy's people to leave. The academy will surely repay this kindness generously."
Upon hearing the names "Jia Nan Academy" and "Mang Tianchi," a faint ripple finally appeared in Yun Qianhang's normal eye.
It was an expression mixed with distant memories, complicated emotions, and a trace of cold amusement.
His voice remained hoarse and dry. "Jia Nan Academy... Mang Tianchi..."
He repeated the two names.
"Truly ancient names..."
Hu Gan's heart stirred, thinking Yun Qianhang was about to relent. But then the other man's tone abruptly changed.
"Once I drain all your Qi and Blood, Dou Qi, and souls, then melt them into the furnace to help my sect's sons completely escape these neither-human-nor-ghost forms..."
"If a few bones remain, This Sect will naturally send someone to deliver them back."
Before you continue