Fusion of the Demon Flame

Xiao Yan smiled slightly, his hand gently brushing across his forehead. Relying on the things left behind by the Purifying Lotus Demon Saint and through repeated imitations, he had a huge advantage in dealing with the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame.

"You've spent a thousand years constructing this illusion. If not for this accident, you would have won a great victory. I reckon no one can unravel the secrets of this place..." Xiao Yan chuckled, his heart filled with relief.

The territory that the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame has cultivated for a thousand years is not so easily breached. If it weren't for the strange light cluster in the Ancient Map that helped him, probably none of those who entered the Demon Flame Space this time would have survived!

"What a pity..." The white-robed man's gaze was cold and piercing, like ice. Wisps of milky white flames slowly overflowed from his body. Instantly, a destructive high temperature surged in like a tidal wave, gradually engulfing this space.

Upon seeing this, Medusa and the others' expressions changed slightly, and they quickly huddled together, their eyes flashing with vigilance.

"If this is truly an illusion, how do we break free? This guy feels far too real," Xiao Chen murmured. Although he was gradually beginning to believe Xiao Yan's words, they were trapped in an illusion, and the flames surrounding the white-robed figure ahead were a reminder that if they died here, it would be true death.

"No matter how realistic it is, an illusion is still an illusion. As long as we believe it is powerful, it can never be defeated. Here, its strength or weakness depends entirely on our thoughts." Xiao Yan's voice was deep and firm.

"You're courting death!" Upon hearing this, the handsome face of the white-robed man twisted instantly. He roared angrily, and in a flash, he appeared above Xiao Yan and the others. He clenched his fist, and milky-white flames condensed into a huge flaming spear. With a swing of his arm, the spear tore through space, carrying a destructive aura, and shot fiercely towards Xiao Yan and the others.

Faced with this devastating blow, everyone turned pale.

"Don't use your Dou Qi to defend yourself! Treat him like a worthless stray dog! Otherwise, we'll all die!" Xiao Yan's thunderous voice boomed in everyone's ears.

The sudden shout startled everyone. Ignoring Xiao Yan's somewhat comical analogy, they hurriedly suppressed their fear and forcefully gathered all their Dou Qi into their bodies. At this moment, they could only trust Xiao Yan...

"Boom!" The enormous flaming spear fell like a meteor, carrying destructive power, and slammed into the group. However, just when they thought they were about to suffer a severe blow, the flaming spear suddenly vanished without a trace!

"Damn it!" In the sky, a look of anger appeared on the handsome face of the white-robed man, and his body became somewhat ethereal at this moment. He never expected that Xiao Yan could find a way to weaken his power so quickly.

"Nightmare Illusion Realm, break free!"

Xiao Flame God. He put his two fingers together and gently tapped them, causing a stream of essence blood to burst out from his fingertips.

The essence blood, like a serpent, danced on his fingertips, quickly outlining a strange blood symbol that shimmered with an eerie light.

"The Nightmare-Breaking Talisman? How could you possibly possess it?!"

Upon seeing the blood talisman, the white-robed man's expression changed drastically, turning ashen.

"Go!"

Xiao Yan didn't answer. With a flick of his finger, the blood talisman shot out like an arrow, finally sticking hard to the void in front of him.

Instantly, the space seemed to be overturned by a giant wave, and began to fluctuate violently.

Under the expectant gazes of Xiao Yan and the others, a loud "bang" was heard, and the space exploded!

The instant the space exploded, Xiao Yan and the others felt a wave of dizziness deep in their minds and quickly opened their eyes.

What came into view was a sea of lava.

Milky white flames occasionally burst forth from the magma, like angry dragons. This milky white magma stretched to the horizon, as if the entire space was filled with magma, becoming an endless Magma Sea.

Above the Magma Sea, some enormous rocks float.

Xiao Yan and the others were standing on these rocks. Not far behind them, a huge silver halo was slowly rotating, exuding a mysterious aura.

"We're out?"

Upon seeing this unfamiliar environment, Medusa and the others finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Could this be another illusion?" Xiao Chen looked around, still feeling uneasy.

"The Purifying Lotus Demon Flame doesn't have that ability yet." Xiao Yan smiled slightly, feeling a great weight lifted from his shoulders. Having escaped that terrifying illusion, he felt as if his soul had become much lighter. Nightmare Sky Mist, as expected of the Purifying Lotus Demon Saint's signature technique, was truly terrifying.

"Roar!"

Just then, Xiao Chen suddenly let out a low growl, a look of struggle appearing on his face. His voice was hoarse and urgent as he said, "The Purifying Lotus Demon Flame is controlling me again!"

Seeing this, Xiao Yan's expression changed slightly. It seemed that to erase its control over Xiao Chen, he would have to completely merge with the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame.

"This is..."

Upon receiving the fluctuation, Xiao Yan was slightly taken aback, then carefully sensed it, and a look of joy immediately appeared on his face.

A pillar of lava surged, and a handsome man dressed in white robes appeared before everyone.

Upon seeing the real figure, Xiao Yan and the others' expressions turned solemn. This was the true Purifying Lotus Demon Flame!

Faced with the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame, Xiao Yan changed his hand seals, causing the Purifying Lotus Demon Saint to appear.

"Heaven-Refining Ancient Array, peel it away!"

With a gentle wave of his illusory hand, the Purifying Lotus Demon Saint unleashed a dense barrage of fire lines from the curtain of flames. These fire lines intertwined to form a fire net, deeply imprinted within the Demonic Lotus. Then, the fire net slowly rose, forcing out wisps of crimson mist from the Demonic Lotus's core.

"Ah!"

As the crimson mist rose, the shrill screams of the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame emanated from within the Demonic Lotus. It spun wildly, yet no matter how much energy it released, it could not break free from the constraints of the fiery curtain.

"The Heaven-Refining Ancient Array has absorbed energy for thousands of years, and this time it has fully erupted. You cannot withstand it, little demon, come with me..."

The Purifying Lotus Demon Saint manipulated the fire line, slowly forcing the crimson mist, symbolizing the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame's memories and intelligence, out of its body, and a calm voice followed.

"Bullshit! Without memories, without intelligence, what kind of Purifying Lotus Demon Flame am I? What you're doing is no different from killing me! You keep saying you don't want to take my life, but your actions are all aimed at killing me, you hypocrite!"

As its mind gradually went blank, the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame felt a surge of terror. It roared, for once its memories and intelligence were completely drained, it would truly be "dead"...

"You are violent by nature, and now you have inherited my legacy. If you are allowed to break the seal, it will surely cause a great disaster. This disaster was caused by me, so naturally I must end it."

The illusory figure of the Purifying Lotus Demon Saint shook its head and said no more. With a change of hand seal, numerous fire lines within the fire curtain suddenly crossed through the body of the Demonic Lotus.

"Ah!"

Thick plumes of blood mist surged forth from the Demonic Lotus, quickly coalescing above it into a crimson Demonic Lotus —the humanoid form of the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame.

Forced to leave its body, the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame hurriedly submerged, attempting to merge back into its original form. However, the Purifying Lotus Demon Saint would not give it the chance. With a clench of its hand, the fire curtain rapidly contracted, eventually transforming into a fire prison about ten feet in size.

"Master, master, please forgive me this time! I promise I will turn over a new leaf in the future!"

The Purifying Lotus Demon Flame struggled frantically in the fire prison, but could not break through. He knew that once separated from his original body, his power would be reduced to less than one-tenth, making him no match for the Purifying Lotus Demon Saint. So he knelt down and begged the Purifying Lotus Demon Saint for mercy.

Looking at the begging Purifying Lotus Demon Flame, the illusory figure of the Purifying Lotus Demon Saint sighed softly, waved his sleeve, and the illusory figure floated out from Xiao Yan's body, slowly entered the fire prison, and landed in front of the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame.

"Xiao Yan..."

Seeing that the Purifying Lotus Demon Saint had finally left Xiao Yan's body, Medusa hurriedly flew over and grabbed Xiao Yan's hand.

Medusa was overjoyed to see that Xiao Yan was safe and sound. She held Xiao Yan's hand tightly and turned her gaze to the curtain of fire.

"Little demon, I don't hate you. Even though you turned against me back then, I never held a grudge. I have no disciples or children in my life, and from beginning to end, you have always been the person closest to me..." The Purifying Lotus Demon Saint gently stroked the head of the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame, a kind smile appearing on his somewhat illusory face.

"But I hate you!"

The Purifying Lotus Demon Flame suddenly raised its head, its blood-red eyes fixed on the Purifying Lotus Demon Saint. A burst of blood mist erupted from its body, enveloping the Purifying Lotus Demon Saint. Wisps of blood mist frantically eroded into its body.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Yan Medusa, and the others on the periphery were all shocked. This Purifying Lotus Demon Flame was truly too violent.

"This is exactly how it looks, just like that day..."

Faced with the corrosive power of the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame, a faint sorrow welled up on the Purifying Lotus Demon Saint's face. He sighed softly and slowly clenched his fist.

"Let us vanish together forever between heaven and earth..."

As the Purifying Lotus Demon Saint uttered this soft voice, the massive fire array between heaven and earth suddenly collapsed, transforming into two extremely dazzling beams of light that shot out and struck the fire curtain fiercely!

"Boom!"

Gazing at the earth-shattering explosion, Xiao Yan grabbed Medusa's slender waist, his bone wings instantly unfurling as he hastily retreated.

A storm swept across the heavens and earth, and a massive rift, hundreds of thousands of feet wide, split open in the boundless Magma Sea. Such a massive rift could not be filled even by lava in a short time.

At the edge of the sky, after the violent energy storm gradually dissipated, Xiao Yan Medusa finally appeared. They exchanged a glance, then suddenly rushed towards the center of the explosion.

In the sky, light flickered. Xiao Yan Medusa stopped and looked at the empty world. The Purifying Lotus Demon Saint and the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame had disappeared without a trace, as if they had been completely reduced to nothingness in the previous earth-shattering collision.

On that boundless Magma Sea, a white lotus flower covered with pink veins was slowly swimming. As it moved, it seemed as if the energy of the entire sea was flowing towards it.

"The Demon Flame Origin..."

Gazing at the milky-white lotus with a faint pink hue, Xiao Yan's body trembled uncontrollably with excitement. His gaze then turned to the large array above his head. The array was connected by faint lines of fire, and a faint chill emanated from it.

"This is the Flame-Cold Array. This cold air is not ordinary cold mist, but something that arises from the temperature being raised to a certain high level. In a way, it is a rather strange kind of flame and frost. Although this array is not as terrifying as the one set up by the Purifying Lotus Demon Saint, it can still suppress the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame to some extent." Xiao Yan pointed to the array above his head and explained to Medusa, whose Medusa eyes were somewhat puzzled.

Upon hearing this, Medusa nodded in understanding.

"I'm going to start refining the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame now, Medusa, keep an eye on it for me!" Xiao Yan smiled, then turned his gaze back to the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame and said with a solemn expression.

"Um."

Medusa's expression also became much more serious. She knew that refining the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame was no easy task, and if she wasn't careful, she might be Purifying Lotus Demon Flame.

Xiao Yan naturally understood the risks involved, but he had no time to consider them now. He changed his hand seals, and the great formation in the sky began to rotate rapidly. Immediately, an exceptionally dense chill surged down from the formation.

Under Xiao Yan's control, the chilling energy struck the area where the Demonic Fire Lotus was located. Under the influence of the chilling energy, the magma instantly solidified with crackling sounds. Only the Demonic Fire Lotus continued to rotate slowly, but its many petals were covered with a thin layer of frost.

Seeing that the formation was having some effect, Xiao Yan breathed a sigh of relief. He clenched his fist, and a pink jade bottle appeared in his hand. He tilted the bottle, and a ball of pale red liquid quickly spilled down, finally falling into the demonic Fire Lotus.

This pale red liquid is called Drunken Demon Saliva, and it has an extremely strong anesthetic effect. Of course, Xiao Yan didn't expect it to completely anesthetize the demonic fire; he just wanted to use its medicinal power to put the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame in a languid state. In this way, he could reduce the power of the demonic fire again and increase the success rate of refining it.

As the Drunken Demon Saliva fell into the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame, the Fire Lotus slowly unfurled. Even the petals seemed to take on a languid air.

Although the current Purifying Lotus Demon Flame still retains its spirituality, it does not possess true intelligence. It needs to interact with humans for a period of time before it becomes as Purifying Lotus Demon Flame as it once was. However, now is the best time for Xiao Yan to make his move.

"Go..."

After completing these two steps, Xiao Yan did not stop. He took out another pill from his Storage Ring. As soon as this pill appeared, a bone-chilling mist surged around him. This pill was naturally the Nine Netherworld Yellow Springs Pill that Xiao Yan had prepared in advance!

With a flick of his finger, the Nine Netherworld Yellow Springs Pill flew out. Upon contact with the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame, it quickly melted. Instantly, layers of ice began to appear on the surface of the demon flame.

However, these ice crystals were evaporated by the terrifying heat as soon as they appeared. Therefore, along with the coming and going of these ice crystals, wisps of white mist with hissing sounds rose continuously from the body of the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame.

"Call..."

In the sky, Xiao Yan exhaled deeply. He turned his head and nodded slightly to Medusa. Then he turned around abruptly, and in a flash, he appeared in front of the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame. At this moment, the lotus petals all over the latter's body had unfolded. At the center of the flower, a cluster of pink flames coiled and entwined like an infant.