A gaunt man slowly emerged from the milky-white flames!
His eyes, which had been tightly shut, snapped open!
They were still filled with milky-white flames.
Only now, his aura was even more terrifying!
He wore plain clothes, his expression indifferent, and a sky-high killing aura clung to him!
He looked like an emissary who had crawled out of hell.
He reached out and grabbed!
The blood-colored great axe flew straight into his hand!
"Intruder, die!"
His voice was icy, utterly devoid of emotion!
"Big Brother Xiao Xuan, how can there be a Four-Star Dou Sheng here?"
Zi Yan sounded curious.
With Xiao Xuan here, she wasn't afraid.
Xiao Xuan looked at the figure, his feelings somewhat complicated. "He's Xiao Chen of the Xiao Family."
"Oh."
Zi Yan nodded, only half understanding.
Just then, Xiao Chen gripped the great axe, flashed forward, and swung it at them!
The several-zhang-long axe looked as light as wood in his hands, seemingly weightless.
The great axe came crashing down!
A pungent stench of blood swept toward them.
Xiao Xuan simply raised his hand and stopped it with one finger!
Then he backhanded the axe away.
Following through, he tapped Xiao Chen between the brows.
An immense soul force poured into Xiao Chen's body!
In an instant, the violent Xiao Chen fell quiet!
Streams of white flame fled from his body as though they had encountered their natural enemy!
As the white flames left,
Xiao Chen collapsed to the ground.
"You can actually drive out the remnants of my flame from his body. You have some skill!"
At the far end of the plaza, a white-robed figure sat smiling on the roof of the great hall.
Wisps of milky-white flame circled around him, constantly shifting into different shapes.
"You have two choices. First, let me devour you willingly. Second, I'll subdue you myself."
Xiao Xuan spoke calmly, as though discussing something trivial.
"Boy, you certainly have a big mouth! Very well. This Saint will give you a chance. If you can defeat me, you may have the source of the Demon Flame. Otherwise, you'll end up like him, becoming my Fire Slave once more."
The white-robed figure spoke softly, but there was something uncanny about his smile.
Clap, clap!
The white-robed figure clapped his hands!
White flames burst from his body, sweeping over the plaza like a tidal wave. In an instant, they engulfed the entire place.
"Boy, I'll leave you to fend for yourself in this illusion!"
The white-robed figure murmured with a cold smile.
He was so smug, so confident.
Yet the next second, his expression froze.
With a thunderous boom,
a terrifying soul force, like that of the ruler of heaven and earth, surged out from Xiao Xuan!
In the blink of an eye, every white flame in the plaza was swept away!
"You... why aren't you afraid of my flame illusion?!"
The white-robed figure stared at Xiao Xuan, his voice icy. The air around him seemed to tremble!
Xiao Xuan replied calmly, "Want to know? Once I devour you, you'll find out."
"You think you can?"
The handsome face of the white-robed figure twisted. He clenched his hand, and the sea of milky-white flames in his palm became a milky-white spear of fire.
Then he flicked his hand, and the spear shot toward Xiao Xuan with a destructive force!
"Big Brother Xiao Xuan, watch out!"
Zi Yan hurriedly warned him.
Xiao Xuan smiled faintly. "A mere parlor trick, and you dare show it off before a master!"
He reached out and caught the spear of fire in his hand.
Then he hurled it back at the white-robed figure!
"You... you're not afraid of being burned by my flames!"
The white-robed figure looked as though he'd seen a ghost, his face stricken with shock!
He rapidly formed hand seals, drawing the spear of fire back into his body.
Xiao Xuan offered no explanation. He merely stamped his foot, and soul force rippled outward like water!
Immediately after...
Xiao Xuan flipped his hand, and a colossal palm, thousands of zhang wide, appeared above the great hall.
It descended from above,
bearing a destructive force as it slammed down on the white-robed figure!
"Subdue!"
The white-robed figure cried out in terror. "Damn it! Why... why can't I move?!"
"Stop! Stop at once!"
Under the white-robed figure's horrified gaze, the palm print blasted the body he had painstakingly condensed into countless sparks!
Xiao Xuan opened his mouth and immediately activated the Devouring Method.
Whoosh!
The milky-white flames scattered across the ground were sucked into his mouth!
"Zi Yan, I need some time to refine the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame. If Xiao Chen wakes up, ask him to wait. I'll explain everything to him."
"All right, Big Brother Xiao Xuan."
Xiao Xuan quickly formed a soul barrier around himself.
[Ding, detected that the host has absorbed the third-ranked Heavenly Flame, the Pure Lotus Demon Flame. The system is assisting with its refinement...] [Refinement progress: 0.1%] [Refinement progress: 0.2%]
Perhaps because the flame ranked so high, the refining process was incredibly slow.
Zi Yan sat beside Xiao Xuan, keeping watch.
Her gaze remained fixed on Xiao Chen.
She couldn't be sure whether this gaunt man had truly returned to normal!
Just then, the unconscious Xiao Chen suddenly opened his eyes.
He stood up ramrod straight.
"Just now... I think I heard the clan leader's voice!"
Xiao Chen looked around and spotted a figure above and to the side.
But it wasn't Xiao Xuan. It was a bewitching purple-haired woman in a violet-and-gold dress!
"Who are you?"
Zi Yan didn't answer. Instead, she said, "Big Brother Xiao Xuan is refining the Demon Flame. He told you to wait for him. He'll explain everything when he's done."
It really was Brother Xuan!
Xiao Chen's expression turned excited!
Suddenly,
his face stiffened.
"What did you just say? Brother Xuan... is refining the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame?!"
Zi Yan nodded.
Xiao Chen's pupils contracted!
How was that possible!
He knew Xiao Xuan had used his own formidable strength to forcibly subdue three Heavenly Flames for his own use.
But they had all been ranked much lower.
The Purifying Lotus Demon Flame ranked third!
Back then, unwilling to accept defeat, he had also sneaked into the Demonic Flame Space when it appeared, hoping to subdue it.
But after just a few rounds, the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame had beaten him, turning him into its Fire Slave.
He couldn't even remember how long he'd been imprisoned!
Now this girl was telling him
that Xiao Xuan was refining the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame. How could he not be stunned?
Since Xiao Xuan had told him to wait,
Xiao Chen sat down nearby and waited.
And so, half a month passed.
[Ding, congratulations to the host for refining the third-ranked Heavenly Flame, the Pure Lotus Demon Flame. Physical recovery progress +9.99%; 49.21% remaining.]
Finally, he was past halfway!
Xiao Xuan let out a long breath.
Suddenly, he sensed a faint but familiar aura.
"That's... Hun Tiandi? I can't believe even this small disturbance caught his attention! The other, weaker aura must be Nihility Devouring Flame."
"Are they waiting to catch me off guard?"
Before you continue