Deep within the Soul Hall, daylight never reached.
A massive, pitch-black hall hung within the void. There were no guards outside, only countless soul chains glowing faintly as they descended into the abyss below. Whenever the chains swayed slightly, indistinct wails drifted from the darkness, as though the hall itself had been forged from the suffering of countless living beings.
At the center of the hall, a black jade slip floated silently.
Within the jade slip, the battle aboard the Space Airship replayed itself.
Azure, white, and blue Heavenly Flames intertwined as dark-golden dragon patterns lit up along Xiao Fan's arm. Immediately afterward, the Soul-Sealing Blood-Devouring Array was invaded in reverse by the Heavenly Flames. One Dou Zun turned to ash amid the fire, while another had his chest punched through by Xiao Fan.
The footage was incomplete.
Venerable Li Hun had been severely injured by the Flame Lotus while escaping, and the jade slip had also been struck by spatial turbulence, leaving much of the aura within blurred. Yet precisely because of that, the fleeting Devouring power appeared all the more bizarre.
Upon the raised platform, a figure sat in the darkness.
Hun Miesheng did not look old. He even appeared rather refined. Yet the moment he opened his eyes, every wandering soul in the hall fell silent.
He raised a hand, and the image froze at the instant Xiao Fan forcibly devoured the array's power.
"Not the Burning Mantra."
Hun Miesheng spoke slowly.
"Nor is it any ordinary bloodline secret art."
Below the platform, Old Man Mu Gu stood draped in gray robes, burn scars from the Heavenly Flames still visible on his pallid face. Whenever he recalled the sea of fire in the Black-Corner Region that had obscured all sight, deeply suppressed resentment surfaced in his eyes.