Lost Tracks in the Emperor Trial

The Central Plains trembled, and the Gu Clan seethed with fury.

With a single flame, Xiao Yan had burned a thousand soldiers, shattered the Ancient Emperor Flame-Sealing Formation, slain the commander of the Ancient Emperor Guards, and seized a fragment of the Ancient Emperor Token. The fame of the Nine Nether Heaven-Burning Art spread across the continent like a wildfire sweeping the plains. The Gu Clan had lost all face. Enraged, its nine elders finally reached a decision—

Open the "Ancient Emperor Trial"!

"Since he dares defy our Gu Clan, let him enter our secret realm. We shall test his mettle with the blood of true prodigies!"

"If he emerges alive, we shall acknowledge his right to set foot on the Emperor Road. If not... let the nine nether wind flame return to our clan!"

The Ancient Emperor Trial was a secret realm left behind from antiquity. It opened once every thousand years, admitting only those below Dou Zong who possessed heavenly flames or the Gu Clan bloodline. Within lay nine stages of trials, Gu Clan inheritances, traces of heavenly flames, relics of Dou Di, and even the legendary Emperor Road Key.

Yet over countless centuries, scarcely anyone had passed five stages. Those who passed seven had all become Dou Sheng. As for those who passed nine—there had been only one: the Xiao Clan's ancestor, Xiao Xuan!

On the day the trial opened, mighty figures from across the Central Plains gathered. Gu Clan prodigies, secret disciples of the Hall of Souls, demonic scions of the Black-Corner Region, and powerful unaffiliated cultivators from every direction all sought to compete.

But the one who drew the most attention was the figure who arrived treading on flames—Xiao Yan.

He held the Nine Nether Windfire Token. Though he had yet to activate his windfire emperor body, he already struck dread into countless prodigies. The Gu Clan's younger generation all ground their teeth. "This brat will die in the trial!"

Ancient Emperor Trial, first realm: Heart-Burning Illusion Domain

Entering the secret realm, Xiao Yan walked alone through a crimson desert. No sun or moon hung overhead, only an illusory wheel of fire slowly revolving, radiating heat that scorched the soul.

"Testing resolve, burning away stray thoughts... laughable." Xiao Yan sneered. "I've had no path of retreat throughout my journey. Why should my heart need testing?"

He directly activated the Nine Nether Heaven-Burning Art. His windfire emperor body erupted, and the Nine Flames Emperor Seal shielded him as he endured the illusory flames burning his soul head-on. With a single step, he broke through the first realm!

"Boom!"

The second realm: Bone-Refining Fire Prison.

Black Karmic Fire erupted from underground, burning bones and meridians alone. Ten prodigies had barely entered before they collapsed with agonized screams, their bones burned away and their bodies reduced to ash.

Xiao Yan, however, sat cross-legged amid the flames, allowing the karmic fire to burn his body. His nine nether wind flame and fallen heart flame fragment circulated on their own, forming a windfire shield. He used the flames to temper his body, refining the karmic fire for his own use instead. His cultivation quietly broke through to Four-Star Dou Zong!

"Good! These flames are just what I need!" He rose with a hearty laugh, stepped forward, and broke through the second stage!

Third realm: Karmic Maze

This formation neither burned the body nor scorched the soul. It asked only—why do you fight?

Those who entered would face their deepest obsession. If they could not answer, they would remain trapped in a cycle of karma, unable to escape for all eternity.

Xiao Yan entered the formation, and the figure of his mother, Xiao Xuan, appeared before him. He gently stroked Xiao Yan's head. "Yan'er, why do you cultivate?"

"To grow stronger."

"To protect my family."

"To seek the day you return."

"If powerful enemies descend and your family is destroyed, what will you do?"

"Then I will—burn the Firmament to ashes and defy its will!"

"If even nine flames return to origin cannot overcome fate, will you still fight?"

"I will! Even if my soul is scattered into oblivion, I'll tear open a path and raise the Xiao Clan's name to the imperial throne once more!"

As his words fell, the Karmic Maze shattered with a thunderous crash!

"Boom!"

The third stage was broken!

An ancient voice rang out in the void. "Nine Nether Token Lord, bearer of the windfire emperor body, with a will like iron. Having broken through three stages, you may enter the 'Emperor Trial Core'—the Emperor Flame Abyss."

The Emperor Flame Abyss, in the deepest reaches of the Gu Clan's secret realm.

This place was crimson year-round. Countless flame runes floated in the air, while innumerable chasms split the ground. Ancient roars rose from their depths, as though heavenly flames slumbered within.

Xiao Yan had only just entered when he felt his nine nether wind flame tremble violently, as though it had sensed something.

"You've come..." A gentle voice drifted out of the fiery mist.

Xiao Yan grew wary. The Nine Flames Emperor Seal appeared in his palm as he stared ahead. "Who's there?"

The fiery mist parted, and a woman slowly emerged.

She wore crimson gauze robes, her long hair like fire, her eyes shimmering with faint golden flames. Not the slightest ripple of dou qi emanated from her, yet she made Xiao Yan feel an unprecedented pressure.

"You... aren't human," Xiao Yan said gravely.

The woman chuckled softly. "I am neither human nor soul... I am—the surviving will of the purifying lotus demon flame."

Xiao Yan's pupils contracted. "The purifying lotus demon flame?!"

"Indeed." The woman raised a hand, and a wisp of crimson-gold flame appeared, resonating with the nine nether wind flame. "The nine nether wind flame within you was formed from my essence. The Nine Flames Return to Origin Art was also something I created long ago to resist fate."

"Who... exactly are you?" Xiao Yan's voice trembled slightly.

"I was once the master of the purifying lotus demon flame, and also... Xiao Xuan's beloved." The woman gazed at him. "My name is—Pure Lotus."

Xiao Yan was stunned. "You... are still alive?"

"I fell long ago. Only a wisp of obsession remains, hidden in the Emperor Flame Abyss, waiting for someone who can gather all nine flames." She looked at Xiao Yan. "Waiting for you."

"Why me?"

"Because you carry Xiao Xuan's blood and are the master of the Nine Nether. More importantly, you are—the only person who can bear the complete essence of the purifying lotus demon flame."

She raised her hand, and a screen of light appeared. Within it, Xiao Xuan held the Nine Flames Emperor Seal and stood shoulder to shoulder with Pure Lotus, resisting nine heavenly tribulations. In the end, he perished, his cultivation extinguished. The purifying lotus demon flame split apart, and the nine flames scattered across the continent.

"Nine flames return to origin is not meant to make someone an emperor... it is meant to—resist the approaching 'Great Calamity'," Pure Lotus whispered. "And you, Xiao Yan, are the last hope."

"The Great Calamity?" Xiao Yan frowned.

"Behind the Hall of Souls lurks an even more terrifying existence... What they want is not merely heavenly flames, but to—burn the world to ashes and forge a new heaven," Pure Lotus said. "If you cannot gather all nine flames and activate 'Emperor Flame Return,' the continent will perish."

Xiao Yan remained silent for a long time before finally clenching his fists. "I, Xiao Yan, seek not to become an emperor, but only to protect those I love. If heaven stands in my way, I will burn heaven!"

Pure Lotus watched him, the corners of her lips lifting slightly. "Very good... As a reward, I will tell you—"

"The complete purifying lotus demon flame lies deep within the 'Demon Flame Hall' in the Central Plains. But only by gathering three 'Pure Lotus Tokens' can you open it."

"You already have one—the Nine Nether Windfire Token. Of the remaining two, one is held by a Hall of Souls Venerable Elder, and the other lies in the Gu Clan Forbidden Area."

"Go, young man. The Emperor Road has yet to end, and the storm is coming."

As her words fell, Pure Lotus's figure gradually faded. Only a wisp of crimson-gold flame seed remained, drifting into Xiao Yan's brow. "This is a remnant flame of my essence. It can help you suppress other heavenly flames, and also—sense the true body of the purifying lotus demon flame in advance."

Xiao Yan closed his eyes. His nine nether wind flame fused with the remnant flame, and his windfire emperor body actually began to transform, showing faint signs of its second stage—the flame emperor body!

Outside the secret realm, in the Gu Clan's main camp.

Gu Yue's remnant soul was sealed within a crystal. A Hall of Souls Venerable Elder arrived in person and said coldly, "Xiao Yan has entered the Emperor Flame Abyss. The Nine Nether Heaven-Burning Art has appeared in the world. He cannot be allowed to live!"

"Send the order—activate the 'Soulfire Killing Plot.' Join forces with the Gu Clan traitors and lay an ambush in the trial's fifth stage. Use the 'Flame-Devouring Formation' to seize his nine nether wind flame!"

"Also, notify the Black-Corner Region and spread the news—a 'Pure Lotus Token' has appeared. Draw the contenders into a struggle for it!"

Wutan City, Xiao Clan Ancestral Shrine.

Xiao Ze's eyes snapped open as the eighth ring of the Nine Nether Chain Formation trembled violently. "Yan'er... have you touched upon the secret of the pure lotus?"

He formed seals with both hands and whispered, "Ninth ring of the Nine Nether Token, activate."

"From this day forth, the struggle for the Emperor Road officially begins."

He looked toward the Central Plains, battle intent blazing in his eyes. "Hall of Souls, Gu Clan... Back then, you joined forces to destroy my Xiao Clan. Today, my son and I will use nine flames return to origin to burn your dominions to ashes!"

Outside the Emperor Flame Abyss, crimson clouds churned.

Xiao Yan emerged treading on flames. The second stage of his windfire emperor body began to manifest, and the Nine Flames Emperor Seal shone brilliantly. His nine nether wind flame resonated with the pure lotus remnant flame, stirring strange phenomena throughout heaven and earth.

"The purifying lotus demon flame... I, Xiao Yan, will claim it!"

He lifted his head and gazed toward the heart of the Central Plains, his voice like thunder:

"The next stage—I will break through it!"

Next chapter preview: "Flame-Devouring Death Trap"

Xiao Yan charged into the fifth stage, only to be surrounded by Gu Clan traitors and the Hall of Souls working together to kill him. The Flame-Devouring Formation activated—would his nine nether wind flame be seized? At the critical instant, his windfire emperor body transformed, and the third move of the Nine Nether Heaven-Burning Art—Emperor Flame Return—defied heaven and turned the slaughter back upon his enemies!