Saving the Beauty at the Pill Pavilion: The Truth of Dual Flame Soul-Burning and System Puppets

The basement of the Heaven Pill Pavilion reeked of rotten medicine. The stone walls were covered in Soul-Devouring Insect formations belonging to the Soul Clan. Xiao Yi Xian hung upside down from the System Modification Platform in the center, her limbs bound in chains of glowing blue code. Her Woeful Poison Body had been forcibly transformed into purple-blue System Venom. The mechanical blue light in her pupils was worlds apart from the lively green glow Xiao Yan remembered.

"Number 037, poison conversion rate: 92%. Template assimilation nearly complete." The Soul Clan alchemist turned the gears on the control panel, his voice tinged with sick excitement. "Once you become Venom 03, every alchemist in the Jia Ma Empire will become a puppet of the Soul Clan!"

"Let her go!" Xiao Yan's furious roar shook dust from the stone walls. Dual Flame Heart Fire transformed into a sword and cleaved open the stone door. The alchemist turned to flee, but Xiao Feng's Emperor Flame Chain caught him by the throat. Flames raced along the chain and burned through his System Robe in an instant, exposing a chest riddled with insect nests.

"Son of Xiao Zhan... You dare ruin the System's plans!" The alchemist sneered and bit down on the poison pouch hidden between his teeth. The System Badge on his chest exploded, releasing countless Soul-Devouring Insects that surged out like black smoke. Xiao Feng had been ready. His Emperor Flame Domain burst open, and orange-red fire swept over the swarm like a tide, refining them into nothingness. Only a jade slip engraved with the character "Soul" fell to the ground.

Xiao Yan leaped onto the platform and saw the System Core Seal at Xiao Yi Xian's throat. The rune emitted a piercing alarm with every beat of her heart. He reached out to touch it, but a barrier made of code repelled him. At the same time, a system notification rang out in his sea of consciousness:

Ding! Host Xiao Yan detected attempting to destroy a system puppet. Initiating "Soul Formatting" program!

Warning: Target's soul is about to shatter. Countdown: 00:03:00

"Third Brother, help me stabilize her soul!" Xiao Yan shouted, turning as he took three Truth-Breaking Pills from his Storage Ring. "They're secret medicine refined from Emperor Flame and Xiao Yan's heart's blood. I need three minutes to melt the seal!"

Xiao Feng nodded. The Emperor Flame dancing at his fingertips became a transparent shroud of fire around Xiao Yi Xian. He activated Soul Movement Three Thousand and forcibly entered her sea of consciousness. Layer upon layer of code barriers sealed it off. At its center floated a black cube: the Data Cage the System used to imprison souls.

"Xiao Yi Xian, do you remember our first battle in the Magical Beast Mountain Range?" Xiao Feng's soul power carried his voice into the cage. "You used your Woeful Poison Body to protect me and said, 'Brother Xiao Yan, run!' Now it's my turn to protect you."

Ripples stirred across the cage's surface, revealing a glimmer of green light—the remnant of Xiao Yi Xian's consciousness. Xiao Feng seized the chance and sent a seed of Emperor Flame into the cage. Like a key, the flame unlocked the first layer of code.

Meanwhile, Xiao Yan infused Dual Flame Heart Fire into Xiao Yi Xian's meridians, trying to soften the seal. But the seal suddenly split into countless tiny code insects, which burrowed into her heart. Xiao Yi Xian's eyes snapped open, blue light blazing in her pupils. She raised a hand and clamped it around Xiao Yan's throat, a mechanical voice spilling from her lips: "Threat detected. Initiating removal program."

"Xiao Yi Xian, it's me!" Xiao Yan gritted his teeth and endured her strength, pressing both palms against her chest. "Look closely! I'm the Xiao Yan who used to roast magical beast meat for you!"

Ding! Hidden "Emotional Resonance" mechanic triggered. System program vulnerability detected!

Xiao Yi Xian's fingers trembled slightly, and the blue light in her eyes dimmed. Xiao Yan seized the moment and condensed Dual Flame Heart Fire into the shape of a lotus, sending it into her chest. "Fire Lotus: Heart Purification!" The instant the flames erupted, the code insects shrieked one after another. They were refined into pills engraved with the words "Burn Away the False"—Clarity Pills that coursed through Xiao Yi Xian's meridians, purifying the remaining system code.

When the last insect had been burned away, Xiao Yi Xian abruptly coughed up black blood, and the seal at her throat turned to ash. She gazed at the green poison mist in her palm, now crystalline once more, tears welling in her eyes. "Brother Xiao Yan... Your flames are even warmer than I remember."

Xiao Yan smiled and wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. "That's because this time, I used Emperor Flame and the Flame Emperor's Dual Flame Heart Fire. I made those Clarity Pills just for you—and burned down the Soul Clan's insect nest while I was at it."

A violent tremor suddenly came from above. Hundreds of System Guards flooded into the basement, code sabers in hand. Xiao Feng swung his blade and unleashed "Emperor Flame: Space Splitter." Wherever the fiery blade aura passed, sabers melted into molten iron. The guards' system armor cracked open, revealing the faces of controlled ordinary people beneath. Xiao Yan took the opportunity to hand out Clarity Pills. They dissolved as soon as they entered the guards' mouths, and the crowd awoke as if from a dream, dropping to their knees to thank him.

"Thank you for saving our lives, Young Master Xiao! We... We actually helped the Soul Clan make puppets!" One guard stared at his arm, riddled with insect nests, his eyes full of remorse.

Xiao Feng nodded, his gaze settling on the System Terminal in the corner. The screen was scrolling through the Soul Clan's "mass production plan": "Assimilate every alchemist on the Douqi Continent with the System template, turning them into puppets capable of automatically refining pills containing Soul-Devouring Insects." Xiao Yan crushed the terminal and sneered. "The Soul Clan wants to turn the continent into a puppet factory? They can ask my flames if they'll allow it."

Xiao Yi Xian struggled to her feet. The poison mist at her fingertips automatically formed a flower. "I can feel it. Under the burning of Dual Flame Heart Fire, my Woeful Poison Body has actually evolved. Now the poison mist can identify system code directly." She turned to Xiao Feng. "Brother Xiao, your soul power..."

Xiao Feng shook his head, signaling that she needn't say more. When he had entered the System's sea of consciousness, the patterns of his Emperor Scale had been burned by the code, and they still ached faintly. But he was more concerned with the information in the jade slip. He unfurled it, revealing the Soul Clan's plan to infiltrate the Misty Cloud Sect: the arena for the Three-Year Agreement had already been converted into a "system killing array," and Nalan Yanran had been locked at the "Broken Engagement" plot point, made the key to triggering the Plot Kill.

"Xiao Yanzi, looks like we'll have to head to the Misty Cloud Sect early." Xiao Feng burned the jade slip to ash. "The Soul Clan wants to use its System template to carry out a Plot Kill against the Xiao Clan, but they forgot—"

Xiao Yan gripped the Heavy Xuan Ruler, Dual Flame dancing in his palm. "Our flames have always been meant to break the plot."