Fire Poison Emerges, Yun Qianhang's Conspiracy

Everyone's heart sank to the bottom of the abyss in an instant.

A strange silence gripped the plaza for several seconds, until it was shattered by Hu Gan's thunderous roar.

"Attack!"

He was the first to soar into the sky, his earth-yellow Dou Qi condensing into the shape of a mountain as he threw a punch.

Almost simultaneously, Mo Tianquan, Fan Lao, the Silver Elder, and Xiao Yan followed suit without the slightest hesitation.

Everyone knew clearly that this was now a life-or-death situation.

Facing the siege, there was only a trace of mockery in Yun Qianhang's one normal eye.

"It has been quite a while since I last stretched my limbs."

He casually raised his left arm, which had transformed into flame and molten rock.

The flames surged against the wind, manifesting into a crimson giant palm, which he then pressed gently forward.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM—!

Explosions as dense as thunder rang out in mid-air.

The Dou Techniques collided with the crimson flame giant palm, erupting into a turbulent storm of energy.

After one exchange, the giant palm remained intact.

Instead, the scorching force that rebounded caused the Qi and blood within Hu Gan and the others to churn, forcing them to retreat several steps in the void.

Yun Qianhang did not move an inch, shaking his head slightly.

"Is that all? It seems the Black Corner Region has made less and less progress over these past hundred years."

As if having lost interest, Yun Qianhang raised his right hand and made a grasping motion toward the Myriad Fire Furnace in the center of the plaza below.

RUMBLE—!

The Myriad Fire Furnace was forcibly shifted several feet by him.

Under everyone's horrified gaze, a massive, bottomless black hole with a diameter of over ten feet was revealed beneath the furnace!

From within the opening, dark red mist, as if suppressed for a long time, erupted violently.

The moment the mist touched the air, it emitted a "hissing" sound of scorching.

"That is... Fire Poison?!"

Qin Han's expression changed drastically. He sensed a familiar scent and seemed to realize exactly what it was.

"Defend with everything you've got!"

Qin Han roared a warning.

But it was already too late.

Centered at the cave entrance, the Poisonous Fire Mist instantly spread across the entire plaza!

It moved at an astonishing speed, engulfing everyone within a few breaths.

A pungent, acrid smell—a mixture of sulfur and the sickening stench of charred flesh—drilled into their nostrils.

Everyone hurriedly circulated their Dou Qi, forming protective barriers of various colors around their bodies in an attempt to resist.

However, this Poisonous Fire Mist was a hundred times purer than the miasmic poison gas that had permeated the air earlier. Like maggots on rotting bones, it clung to their Dou Qi barriers, crazily eroding and dissolving them.

"Grab onto me!"

Qin Han grabbed Zi Yan's arm.

With two types of Heavenly Flames protecting his body, no matter how potent the fire poison was, it would have to behave once it entered his system.

Wu Tianlang and the others, who were struggling to defend themselves, immediately understood Qin Han's intent. Those from Jia Nan Academy knew the fire poison best and were well aware of how to deal with it.

Without hesitation, they each placed a hand on Qin Han's shoulder.

"Don't resist! Let the Heart Flame flow through your meridians!"

Surging Heart Flames transformed into streams of Fire Pythons within Qin Han's body, pouring into Zi Yan and the elders.

As the Heart Flame entered their bodies, it brought a faint, burning pain, and even their Dou Qi became slightly unstable. However, compared to the erosion of the fire poison, this price was entirely acceptable.

But for the other factions, there was no such luxury.

"Ah—!"

A shrill, blood-curdling scream rang out. At the edge of the plaza, a Mercenary Leader with the strength of a Seven-Star Dou Spirit saw his Dou Qi barrier pierced through by the fire poison first. A wisp of dark red mist slipped inside and touched his skin.

The next moment, a terrifying scene unfolded.

The Mercenary Leader's skin turned crimson in an instant, and thick, dark red liquid began to flow from his seven orifices!

His eyes were rapidly consumed by a deep red, and his consciousness vanished at a speed visible to the naked eye, replaced by madness and agony.

Within a dozen breaths, his struggles ceased.

His body hunched over, and lava-like patterns began to flow across the surface of his skin. He let out unconscious "ho-ho" sounds, having transformed into the exact likeness of the Fire Spirit Bodies surrounding them!

"Hiss--!"

Witnessing a living person transformed into a monster right before their eyes, the chill in everyone's hearts reached its peak instantly.

Hair-raising.

"Hold on! Do not let your Dou Qi falter! Do not let this thing invade your bodies!"

The leaders of the various factions roared frantically, each of them pushing their Dou Qi to the limit to reinforce their defenses.

They could clearly feel that it wasn't just their Dou Qi being consumed at a frantic rate; the strange power within the Poisonous Fire Mist was also attempting to seep in, eroding their flesh and blood, and faintly tugging at their souls.

"Hahaha... Feel it!"

Yun Qianhang hovered above the Poisonous Fire Mist, laughing wildly. "This is the taste that everyone in my Fallen Fire Sect endured day and night back then! Being eroded by the Earthfire Poisonous Fiend, having our flesh and blood scorched and our souls burned, turning into these neither-human-nor-ghost things bit by bit!

Now, it is your turn!"

His laughter cut off abruptly, and his hands formed a Seal Gesture.

"Myriad Stars Flame, Refine Blood and Return to Origin!"

Hum--!

The Myriad Stars Flame permeating the plaza suddenly stopped its aimless drifting.

It rapidly condensed and wove together, forming a massive net of light flickering with blood-green radiance!

The net of light lowered countless Starflame Silk Threads, precisely entangling every living person below who was still struggling to hold on!

"I can't move!"

"My Dou Qi... my Dou Qi is being drained!"

Those entangled by the Starflame Silk Threads discovered in horror that not only was their body locked by a powerful binding force, making it difficult to move, but the Dou Qi within them was also being slowly drawn out of their bodies along those threads!

What was even more terrifying was that they could feel their life force, Blood Qi, and even their Soul Power beginning to grow hazy and weak, as if something more essential was being quietly plundered.

And all the energy extracted by the Starflame Silk Threads transformed into streams of multicolored light, surging frantically toward the Myriad Fire Furnace that had been moved aside!

Yun Qianhang changed his hand seal again, pointing from afar at the Fire Spirit Body Army.

"With their blood, reshape my body! Disciples... return!"

Following his command, the massive amount of energy gathered in the Myriad Fire Furnace, after undergoing some form of transformation through the Runes on the furnace body, shot toward the stronger Fire Spirit Bodies in the plaza in streaks of dark red Flowing Light full of vitality.

The flames on the Fire Spirit Bodies surged violently, emitting hisses of both relief and agony.

Their bodies, composed of pure flame and lava, began to undergo changes visible to the naked eye.

The flames contracted inward, the molten rock solidified and took shape... though the process was agonizingly slow.

Vague outlines of limbs and faint facial features were emerging bit by bit.

Their auras also lost some of their ferocity, gaining a hint of the vitality that belonged to living people.

As the situation developed to this point, everyone finally understood the truth behind the trip to the Fallen Fire Sect.

A hundred years ago, for reasons unknown, the Fallen Fire Sect was struck by this terrifying fire poison. The entire sect had been eroded and refined, reduced to this ghostly state, and the sect had been sealed for a century.

The Fallen Fire Sect and the Earthflame Gate had used some unknown secret technique to establish contact, using the inheritance and secret treasures of the Fallen Fire Sect as bait to lure everyone from the Black Corner Region inside together.

Their goal was to use the strength of others to resurrect the people of the Fallen Fire Sect.

The hundred-odd strong experts on the Myriad Fire Plaza had now all become nutrients for the resurrection of the Fallen Fire Sect!