Heart-Burning Hall

Central Plains, Gu Clan Forbidden Area—Heart-Burning Hall.

Buried a hundred thousand feet underground, this hall was held under nine layers of the Ancient Emperor Flame-Locking Formation. Legend held that it was where the first fragment of the "Pure Lotus Demon Flame" had been sealed in the Ancient Era. For centuries, only clan elders and those above them had been permitted to enter. Any outsider who set foot inside was reduced to ash.

That night, the moon hid and the stars sank, yet a crimson streak of fire suddenly tore open the sky above the Heart-Burning Hall.

A figure descended on flames, wind and fire swirling around him, the Nine Flames Emperor Seal hovering above his head like an emperor descending upon the world—Xiao Yan!

"Xiao Yan! You actually dared to trespass into our Gu Clan Forbidden Area!"

"Leave at once, or all nine layers of the flame-locking formation will strike together, and you'll die without a grave!"

Several Gu Clan guards roared in fury. They were just about to form their array when Xiao Yan merely raised a hand—

"Windfire Heaven-Burning!"

Waves of crimson-gold flame swept across them. Before the guards could even scream, they had vanished into nothingness.

"Those who stand in my way will burn." His voice was icy. With a single step, he entered the heart of the Heart-Burning Hall.

Inside the Heart-Burning Hall, nine rings of fire encircled a central dais.

Above the dais hovered a broken token, crimson-gold throughout, runes flowing across its surface. It was none other than the Pure Lotus Token Fragment!

Below the token, a line of bold, forceful letters had been carved in blood:

"Nine Flames Return to Origin, Emperor Flame Return."

Should a descendant of my son Xiao Xuan see this, know this—the Pure Lotus has not perished, and my soul lives on.

The bearer of this token may open the third seal of the Emperor Flame Abyss and seek the place where my remnant soul resides.

—Xiao Xuan, final testament."

As Xiao Yan stared at those words, his pupils contracted violently. It felt as though lightning had struck his heart.

"Father... you knew all along that I would come?"

He slowly reached out, about to take the token, when suddenly—

"Rumble—!"

All nine rings of fire erupted at once. Crimson, black, gold, purple, green, blue, white, gray, orange—nine-colored flames intertwined into a net, forming nine layers of the Ancient Emperor Flame-Locking Formation and sealing the entire hall!

"Xiao Yan! You came after all!" The chief elder's voice rang out from the void. "This formation is a relic of antiquity, designed specifically to suppress heavenly flames. Its Nine Flames counter one another, each ring interlocking with the next. Even with your Windfire Emperor Body, you can forget about breaking free!"

"Hand over the Nine Flames Emperor Seal and cripple your own cultivation, and I may leave your corpse intact!"

Xiao Yan sneered. "Your Gu Clan has suppressed my Xiao Clan's bloodline for generations and sealed off the Emperor Road. And now you still dream of making me submit?"

He abruptly unleashed the Nine Nether Heaven-Burning Art. The second stage of his windfire emperor body—the flame emperor body—fully awakened. The Nine Flames Emperor Seal expanded with a thunderous boom, colliding head-on with the nine-layer flame-locking formation!

"Boom—!!!"

Waves of flame churned. The entire Heart-Burning Hall shook violently, and magma erupted from underground. A fissure was forcibly torn through the nine rings of fire!

"What?! He can actually shake the Ancient Emperor Flame-Locking Formation?!" The chief elder was aghast.

"Nine Flames Return to Origin, Nine Flames return to their rightful places—break!"

Xiao Yan roared. The Nine Nether Wind Flame and Pure Lotus Remnant Flame fused completely, stirring the Emperor Flame Seed within him. The Nine Flames Emperor Seal blazed with light, shattering the nine rings of fire one after another!

"No—!" the chief elder screamed. "The flame-locking formation! Activate the ultimate seal, now!"

"Too late!"

Xiao Yan thrust out his palm, and the Nine Flames Emperor Seal crashed down—

"Burn the Firmament to ashes! Nine Nether Heaven-Burning!"

"Boom—!!!"

The Heart-Burning Hall collapsed. All nine rings of fire shattered, and the Pure Lotus Token Fragment soared into the air, flying into Xiao Yan's palm of its own accord.

The instant he touched the token fragment—

"Hum—"

The fragment blazed with light, resonating with the Nine Flames Mark between his brows. An ancient memory flooded his mind:

In that vision, Xiao Xuan stood beneath the Ninefold Heavenly Tribulation, holding the Nine Flames Emperor Seal, shoulder to shoulder with Pure Lotus. Behind him stood countless members of the Xiao Clan, all burning their bloodlines, sacrificing their lives to the flames...

"Nine Flames Return to Origin, not to become an emperor, but to—defy heaven and rewrite fate!"

"If one day the Nine Flames reunite and the Emperor Flame Return, the descendants of my Xiao Clan must swear an oath by fire, burn all injustice to ashes, and reopen the Emperor Road!"

The memory faded. Xiao Yan's eyes were blood-red as he murmured, "Father... I will not fail the charge you left me."

Just then, the void tore open.

A Hall of Souls Venerable Elder descended with three Peak Dou Zun experts and sneered, "Xiao Yan, hand over the Pure Lotus Token Fragment and the Nine Flames Emperor Seal, and His Lordship may spare your life."

"Spare me?" Xiao Yan raised his eyes, the Nine Flames Emperor Seal hovering overhead, wind and fire swirling around him. "You aren't worthy of saying that."

"Nine Nether Heaven-Burning Art—third form, Emperor Flame Return!"

He formed seals with both hands. The Nine Flames Emperor Seal spun violently, drawing upon the flame veins of heaven and earth. It extracted every last trace of the ten-thousand-year-old fire source beneath the Heart-Burning Hall, transforming it into a crimson-gold pillar of flame that shot straight into the clouds!

"This is bad! He's going to detonate the underground flame veins!" the Hall of Souls Venerable Elder cried in horror.

"Too late—burn—for me!"

"Rumble—!!!"

A pillar of flame a hundred thousand feet tall surged into the sky, swallowing all four members of the Hall of Souls. The three Dou Zun were burned to nothing on the spot. The Hall of Souls Venerable Elder desperately protected his body with Soul Armor, but half of him was still burned away. He fled, screaming in agony.

"Xiao Yan... the Hall of Souls will avenge this!"

Xiao Yan stood atop the pillar of flame. The second stage of his Windfire Emperor Body had reached perfection, his Eight-Star Dou Zong cultivation had stabilized, and the Nine Nether Wind Flame and Pure Lotus Remnant Flame had fused completely. He was only one step away from the third stage!

He lowered his head and stared at the Pure Lotus Token Fragment. A new line of words appeared upon it:

"Nine Flames Return to Origin. When three tokens unite, the Emperor Flame Abyss opens, and Pure Lotus returns to its rightful place."

"So that's how it is..." Xiao Yan put away the token fragment. "One more remains, and the Hall of Souls Venerable Elder has it."

Wutan City, Xiao Clan Ancestral Shrine.

Xiao Ze abruptly opened his eyes. The ninth ring of the Nine Nether Chain Formation—had fully activated!

"Yan'er, you've obtained the second Pure Lotus Token... good."

He formed seals with both hands. Nine rings of fire rose from underground, encircling the ancestral shrine. The final seal of the Emperor-Banishing Lock began to loosen.

"The Xiao Clan's Emperor Blood will burn anew at last."

"Nine flames return to origin. All that remains is the final flame—the purifying lotus origin!"

He gazed toward the Central Plains and murmured, "Son, your father awaits your return, so we may tread the Emperor Road together."

Above the ruins of the Heart-Burning Hall, crimson clouds churned.

Xiao Yan stood upon flames, the Nine Flames Emperor Seal hovering above his head, wind and fire swirling around him like an emperor descending upon the world.

He gazed toward the Hall of Souls, his voice like thunder:

"The next trial—the Hall of Souls. Here I come!"

"The Pure Lotus Token will be mine!"

Next chapter preview: "Flame of the Hall of Souls"

Xiao Yan stormed the Hall of Souls alone and encountered the "Ten Thousand Souls Flame-Devouring Formation" laid by the Hall of Souls Venerable Elder, which suppressed his Nine Nether Wind Flame. At the critical moment, Xiao Ze activated the ninth ring of the Nine Nether Chain Formation. Father and son joined forces across the distance, unleashing Windfire Heaven-Burning to break the array and seize the token! The third Pure Lotus Token appeared, Nine Flames Return to Origin, and only the final fusion remained!