The Emperor Flame Descends upon the World

In the Central Plains, the Firmament tore open. Crimson-gold fire poured down like a celestial river, sweeping across ten thousand miles of sky from the Emperor Flame Abyss. Wind and clouds changed color, heaven and earth fell silent, all flames bowed, and the Heavenly Flames wailed.

A figure came striding through fire, a nine-petaled crimson-gold lotus beneath his feet. Wind and flame encircled him, and his eyes burned like the Emperor Flame. Wherever he passed, the void burned away and the laws of the world retreated.

Xiao Yan—had returned!

He emerged from the Emperor Flame Abyss, no longer the youth he had once been, but the one who bore the destiny of nine flames returning to origin, had fused with the purifying lotus origin, and had awakened the emperor fire body—the Nine Flames Emperor!

Behind him floated the Emperor Fire Seal, its nine flames revolving, its oceanic pressure shaking the eight directions.

Wherever he passed, the Gu Clan's experts fell to their knees, the remnants of the Hall of Souls burned to ash, and every mighty figure in the Central Plains trembled and bowed.

"That's... imperial might! True imperial might!"

"He... really reopened the Emperor Road!"

"Nine Flames Return to Origin, the Emperor Flame descends upon the world. The Central Plains... are about to change!"

At the summit of the Central Plains, Heaven-Burning Peak.

This had once been where the Gu Clan offered sacrifices to heaven, a symbol of supreme authority in the Central Plains. Today, Xiao Yan stood atop the peak. The Emperor Fire Seal slowly sank into a massive boulder at the summit, and nine flames revolved, carving out a stone stele that towered into the heavens—

The Emperor Fire Stele!

The moment the stele took shape, thunder rolled. Nine crimson-gold pillars of fire surged skyward from the earth's veins, resonating with the inscription and engraving nine characters:

"Nine Flames Return to Origin, the Emperor Flame descends upon the world!"

Beneath the inscription, Xiao Yan stood amid the firelight, his thunderous voice resounding across the continent:

"I, Xiao Yan, bear the mandate of the nine flames, have fused with the purifying lotus origin, and have reopened the Emperor Road!"

"Today, I erect the Emperor Fire Stele to proclaim to the world—"

"The Nine Flames Emperor Court is hereby established!"

"All who wish to stand with me against the Great Calamity and forge heaven and earth anew may join the court and share in the light of the Emperor Flame!"

"As for any who stand in my way—"

"Burn them!"

As his words fell, the Emperor Fire Seal spun with a thunderous roar. The imperial might of the nine flames swept across a hundred thousand miles. Every fire vein in the Central Plains resonated, the Heavenly Flames trembled, and Dou Qi boiled!

The mighty came to pay homage.

Yao Chen arrived with the elders of Starfall Pavilion and knelt before the stele. "I, Yao Chen, pledge to serve as the Emperor Court's supreme elder and safeguard the Emperor Flame for eternity!"

Medusa came with the experts of the Snake-People Tribe and dropped to one knee. "I, Medusa of the Snake-People Tribe, bring my people into your service and swear loyalty to the Emperor Court unto death!"

Thunder Venerable, Venerable Feng, the remnants of the Yan Clan, the mighty figures of the Black-Corner Region... all came to pledge themselves, kneeling below Heaven-Burning Peak, their voices shaking the clouds:

"We pledge our loyalty to the Nine Flames Emperor, to face the Great Calamity together and forge heaven and earth anew!"

Even within the Gu Clan, a young expert broke free of the clan's rules and arrived bearing a fragment of the Ancient Jade. "I, Gu Ling of the Gu Clan's younger generation, pledge to forsake my Old Clan and join the Emperor Court, seeking a sliver of opportunity on the Emperor Road!"

Xiao Yan stood before the stele, his gaze sweeping over the gathered people. Slowly, he raised a hand. "Rise!"

"From this day forward, the Nine Flames Emperor Court will judge neither origins nor bloodlines. Only talent will determine advancement, and righteousness alone will be upheld."

"I, Xiao Yan, do not proclaim myself emperor. I am merely a guide along the Emperor Road."

"With you all, I wish to invoke the Heaven-Burning Firmament together and defy destiny!"

"The Nine Flames Emperor Court—is established!"

"Boom—!"

The Emperor Fire Stele erupted with light that soared ten thousand feet. Nine flames revolved, transforming into nine fire tokens that flew toward every corner of the continent:

Eastern Region · Flame Token—bestowed upon Yao Chen, overseeing alchemy and legacies;

Western Region · Burning Token—bestowed upon Medusa, overseeing Heavenly Flames and suppression;

Southern Region · Wind Token—bestowed upon Thunder Venerable, overseeing wind-and-fire patrols of the skies;

Northern Region · Soul Token—bestowed upon Venerable Feng, overseeing soul fire and formations;

Central Plains · Emperor Token—held by Xiao Yan himself, commanding the nine flames and governing the Emperor Fire Stele!

With the nine tokens in place and the Emperor Court newly established, the balance of power in the Central Plains was utterly rewritten.

The Gu Clan's ancestral grounds, Netherworld Hall.

The remnant soul of the Ancestor of the Gu Clan lurked upon a Black Flame Altar, fury blazing in his eyes. "Xiao Yan! You dare establish a court, proclaim yourself emperor, and steal my Gu Clan's fortune!"

"Pass down my command—activate the Heavenly Dao Backlash Formation! Summon the ninefold lightning tribulation and borrow heaven's power to destroy this rebel!"

"My Gu Clan would sooner destroy its own fortune than allow this brat to remain alive!"

The remnants of the Soul Clan also gathered in the shadows. The High Priest sneered. "Nine Flames Return to Origin? Ridiculous! Once the Heavenly Dao's lightning tribulation burns him to nothing, the origin of the Pure Lotus Demon Flame will ultimately belong to our Soul Clan!"

Heaven-Burning Peak, before the Emperor Fire Stele.

Xiao Yan suddenly raised his head and looked toward the horizon.

Dark clouds gathered, lightning flickering within them. Nine purple-black thunderclouds surged in from every direction, bearing the wrath of the Heavenly Dao. This was the Heavenly Dao Backlash Tribulation!

"Trying to use heaven to kill me?" Xiao Yan sneered as the Emperor Fire Seal slowly rose. "But you forgot..."

"I am no longer someone heaven can control!"

He stepped forward and stood above the nine heavens, fully unleashing the fourth stage of his windfire emperor body, the "emperor fire body." The Nine Flames Emperor Seal transformed into a shield of fire, protecting the lands of the Central Plains.

"Nine Flames Return to Origin, the Emperor Flame burns the heavens—"

"Shatter—for me!"

"Boom—!!!"

A crimson-gold pillar of fire shot into the sky, meeting the ninefold lightning tribulation head-on. Fire and lightning intertwined, heaven and earth fractured, and ten thousand miles of mountains and rivers became scorched earth. Yet the Emperor Fire Stele remained unshaken, and the light of the Nine Flames Tokens never faded.

After that single strike, the thunderclouds collapsed. A crimson-gold fissure opened in the sky, and an ancient will seemed to whisper:

"...The Emperor Flame... has reappeared... the Great Calamity approaches..."

"...Those who defy destiny... must be slain..."

Xiao Yan stood amid the flames, his robes snapping in the wind, his voice sharp as a blade:

"I, Xiao Yan, seek neither heaven's pity nor destiny's protection."

"If heaven seeks to crush me, I will burn heaven!"

"If the Dao seeks to destroy me, I will rewrite the Dao!"

"The Nine Flames Emperor Court will never fall—not until I reach the end of the Emperor Road!"

Next chapter preview: "The Wrath of the Heavenly Dao"

The Heavenly Dao flew into a rage and sent down the "Nine Nether Thunder Emperor Tribulation," designed specifically to overcome the Emperor Flame Body. The Gu Clan and Soul Clan joined forces to activate the Ancient Seal, intending to borrow the Heavenly Dao's power to erase Xiao Yan completely. Xiao Yan met the lightning tribulation head-on with the Emperor Fire Seal. In the Nine Flames Emperor Court's first battle, Windfire Heaven-Burning set the heavens ablaze, and blood stained the Central Plains. Xiao Ze's remnant soul awakened in Wutan City and reignited the Nine Nether Chain Formation through a blood sacrifice. Father and son resonated across the distance, resisting heaven's might together. The Emperor Road had yet to end, the Great Calamity approached, and the true storm had only just begun!