Flame Mantra astonishes the world

Deep within Heaven-Burning Valley, the Nine Nether Windfire Token hovered in the air, crimson-gold flames coiling around it like dragons and illuminating an ancient cultivation cave. Inside, Xiao Yan sat cross-legged at the heart of a fire vein. Nine Nether Wind Flame intertwined with fragments of Fallen Heart Flame around him, while the Nine Flames Mark between his brows pulsed faintly, as though resonating with heaven and earth.

He tightly gripped the crimson-gold ancient scroll in his hand—the "Burning Heaven Art."

"A Heaven-tier Dou Technique. Burn the heavens, burn the earth, burn all things to ashes... It can burn Heavenly Flames, but it can also fuse them..." Xiao Yan murmured, sinking his spiritual perception into the depths of the art. "But if that is all it can do, it still isn't what I seek."

He closed his eyes, overlaying the "Burning Heaven Art" and the incomplete "Nine Flames Return to Origin Art" in his sea of consciousness as he worked through their principles. Wind and fire surged backward through his meridians, and the Nine Nether Wind Flame and Fallen Heart Flame fragments collided, fused, and regenerated without cease.

"The key to Nine Flames Return to Origin lies in 'return to origin'—not incineration, but command; not devouring, but fusion."

"The Burning Heaven Art can burn, but it lacks a method of command... If I use Nine Flames Return to Origin as the foundation, and the power to burn the heavens as the blade..."

Suddenly, his eyes snapped open. Nine Nether Wind Flame shot skyward, instantly melting the cave's stone walls into glass!

"I've got it—!"

"Nine Nether Heaven-Burning Art—first level, Windfire Return to Origin, burn the firmament to ashes!"

He formed seals with both hands. Nine Nether Wind Flame and the Fallen Heart Flame fragments condensed into a spiraling flame seal in his palms. Within it, nine fiery patterns slowly emerged and intertwined, actually forming a Nine Flames Emperor Seal!

Boom!

The entire cave exploded. Crimson flames pierced the sky, and heaven and earth changed color!

Far away in Wutan City, Xiao Ze abruptly raised his head. Sensing that terrifying aura, he smiled. "He did it... The Nine Nether Heaven-Burning Art has finally appeared in the world. That brat actually created an ultimate art on par with an emperor's cultivation art while still a Dou Zong!"

Three days later, outside Heaven-Burning Valley.

The Gu Clan army descended upon the border. A thousand elite warriors stood in formation at the edge of the Fire Domain, banners snapping and killing intent soaring skyward. On the central war chariot, Gu Yue, commander of the remnants of the Ancient Emperor Guards, held the Ancient Emperor Token and proclaimed coldly:

"By order of the Gu Clan, activate the Ancient Emperor Flame-Sealing Formation—seal the Nine Nether Wind Flame, suppress the Xiao Clan bloodline, and execute the heretic!"

As his words fell, nine ancient talismans descended from the sky and plunged into the ground, forming an enormous formation. As it activated, the fire veins of heaven and earth were forcibly reversed. Countless Fire Essences wailed, and the Nine Nether Windfire Token's radiance abruptly dimmed, as though suppressed.

"This is bad!" cried a Dou Zong expert who had joined Xiao Yan. "That's the Elder Flame-Sealing Formation! It specifically counters the power of Heavenly Flames! If the Nine Nether Token Lord gets trapped, he'll certainly die!"

"Hahaha!" Gu Yue threw back his head and laughed. "Xiao Yan, no matter how strong you are, you're only a Dou Zong. What could you know of the Gu Clan's true reserves? Today, you'll be buried in the Fire Domain, and the Nine Nether Wind Flame will return to our clan!"

Just then—

Rumble!

From deep within Heaven-Burning Valley, a crimson-gold pillar of flame shot skyward, tearing through the flame-sealing formation's suppressive power. A figure stepped out of the pillar upon the flames, his black robes snapping, wind and fire swirling around him, his eyes like pupils that could burn the world.

It was Xiao Yan!

Holding the Nine Flames Emperor Seal, he stared coldly at Gu Yue. "The Gu Clan certainly throws its weight around. But you've forgotten—the Nine Nether Wind Flame isn't a flame you can seal!"

"Nine Nether Heaven-Burning Art—first move, Heaven-Burning Seal!"

He struck with his palm. The Nine Flames Emperor Seal transformed into a flame seal a thousand zhang across, carrying the power of wind and fire as it smashed straight into the formation's core!

Boom—!!!

Heaven and earth exploded, and waves of flame churned. The nine ancient talismans shattered on the spot, and the flame-sealing formation crumbled inch by inch! A thousand Gu Clan warriors were swept up in the fiery waves and instantly reduced to ashes, their wails filling the land.

"This... is impossible!" Gu Yue was utterly horrified. He hurriedly activated the Ancient Emperor Token. "Quick! Form up! Everyone, burn your blood essence and suppress this flame!"

"Too late." Xiao Yan took a single step and appeared above his head. Nine Nether Wind Flame spread into fiery wings, as though an emperor had descended upon the world. "Nine Nether Heaven-Burning Art—second move, wind and fire incinerate a thousand troops!"

Boom—!!!

A crimson-gold windfire tornado swept outward. Wherever it passed, Gu Clan warriors were burned into nothingness before they could even scream. Gu Yue desperately unleashed his Peak Dou Zong power and brought forth the Gu Clan's secret treasure, the Flame Emperor Shield, only for it to shatter like flimsy paper in the windfire tornado!

"No—!"

Gu Yue was swept into the fiery waves, his body burned away until only a fragment of the Ancient Emperor Token fell.

Xiao Yan reached out and caught the fragment in his palm, saying coldly, "From this day forward, if the Gu Clan dares attack my Xiao Clan again, I will show no more mercy—Nine Flames Return to Origin, burn the Gu Clan to ashes!"

Dead silence fell over the battlefield.

The surviving Gu Clan warriors knelt, trembling. Not one dared lift his head.

The experts from the various factions watching from all sides were horrified. "He... incinerated a thousand troops single-handedly?!"

"What cultivation art was that? It actually possessed an emperor's might!"

"The Nine Nether Heaven-Burning Art... Could an ancient emperor's cultivation art have appeared again?!"

Xiao Yan stood above the sea of fire, his Windfire Emperor Body fully unleashed. Nine Nether Wind Flame resonated with the Fallen Heart Flame fragments, and the Nine Flames Emperor Seal hovered above his head like an imperial crown.

He looked toward the Central Plains and murmured, "The path to Dou Sheng is open. The Gu Clan, the Hall of Souls, the Black-Corner Region... Whoever stands in my way, I'll burn them!"

The Nine Nether Windfire Token blazed with light, as though answering his vow.

A secret chamber in the Hall of Souls.

The Venerable Elder held Gu Yue's remnant soul. Sensing that heaven-burning might, his face darkened like still water. "The Nine Nether Heaven-Burning Art... Can the Xiao Clan truly recreate an emperor's cultivation art?!"

"Pass down my order—activate the Soulfire Plan. Seize the Nine Nether Wind Flame at any cost!"

The Gu Clan Imperial Hall.

Nine clan elders gathered, watching the image of Xiao Yan incinerating a thousand troops in a crystal mirror. For a long time, none spoke.

"He is no longer the ant he once was..."

"Activate the Ancient Emperor Trial and let the true prodigies enter the field. If he cannot be brought to heel, then—kill him!"

Wutan City, the Xiao Clan Ancestral Shrine.

Xiao Ze gazed at the crimson-gold flames on the horizon and sighed softly. "Yan'er, you can finally... stand on your own."

He formed seals with both hands and murmured, "Nine Nether Chain Formation, eighth ring, activate."

"The Emperor-Banishing Lock is about to loosen... Our Xiao Clan's Emperor Road has returned."

Above Heaven-Burning Valley, nine fiery silhouettes slowly emerged, answering one another like stars returning to their places.

Within the wind and fire, an ancient whisper seemed to rise:

"Nine Flames Return to Origin, burn the firmament to ashes; the Emperor Road opens anew, for our Xiao Clan alone!"

Next chapter preview: "The Emperor Trial begins"

The Central Plains trembled as the Gu Clan opened the Ancient Emperor Trial. Every prodigy of the younger generation emerged to compete for opportunities on the Emperor Road. Xiao Yan entered the trial grounds with his Nine Nether Heaven-Burning Art and encountered a mysterious woman who actually knew the whereabouts of the purifying lotus demon flame. The Hall of Souls secretly laid a deadly trap, and the Nine Nether Token faced another encirclement. A storm was coming!