Fire Devours the Dark Abyss

Deep within chaos, there was neither heaven nor earth, only a gray abyss of nothingness named the Dark Abyss. This was a fissure in the laws of heaven and earth, a place where Dou Di had fallen, and a forbidden ground where the Order Keeper buried remnant souls.

Now, at the center of the Dark Abyss, an altar built from the skeletons of nine Dou Di slowly rose. Gray-robed figures knelt around it, chanting in unison: "The Emperor Embryo returns to its place! The New Order shall rise! The old flames must perish! The Dark Flame shall burn forever!"

Above the altar, the "Emperor Embryo" formed from Dark Flame slowly opened his eyes. Within those eyes appeared Xiao Yan's face, yet there was not a trace of emotion, only cold order and absolute control.

"I am the new emperor." The Emperor Embryo spoke, his voice like the Heavenly Dao. "The old world was chaotic because everyone could contend for the throne of emperor. A New Era shall rise because emperor flame shall become one. From this day onward, only I may command the Emperor Road."

Just then, the heavens abruptly split.

A streak of crimson-gold fire pierced through chaos from the Central Plains, like a spear breaking through the night, aimed straight at the altar. Amid the firelight, Xiao Yan strode through the air. The phantom of the Nine Flames Emperor Stele appeared behind him, nine layers of emperor flame revolving ceaselessly, their radiance illuminating the ages.

"You are no emperor." Xiao Yan's thunderous voice resounded through the Dark Abyss. "You are merely a remnant soul warped by order, a puppet corroded by ambition. You do not even know who 'I' is, yet you dare call yourself emperor?"

"Xiao Yan." The Emperor Embryo watched him coldly. "You shattered the old order, yet established new chaos. You opened the Emperor Road, yet allowed ants to dream of ascending to heaven. I have come to end chaos and redefine the laws of heaven."

"The laws of heaven?" Xiao Yan sneered as emperor flame surged. "The true laws of heaven allow everyone to raise their heads and gaze at the sky, not kneel and beg for grace!"

Boom—!

Before his words had faded, Xiao Yan formed seals with both hands. Emperor flame soared into the sky, drawing the Nine Flames Emperor Stele into resonance. In an instant, across the Central Plains, the Western Region, the Northern Desert, the Southern Wasteland... the gates to nine Emperor Fire Trials opened simultaneously. Nine mighty rivers of emperor flame surged from the earth, pierced heaven and earth, converged into chaos, and charged straight toward the Dark Abyss!

"Nine Flames Return to Origin—activate the grand formation!"

The nine flames coiled toward him like dragons, gathering above Xiao Yan's head into a Crimson Gold Flame Cauldron. It was the very Emperor Flame Medicine Cauldron Yao Lao had once used, now reforged by Xiao Yan with dou di power into an instrument to subdue the world.

"With my emperor flame as the catalyst, I call upon all flames to resonate—" Xiao Yan stood atop the flame cauldron, his voice shaking the universe. "All Heirs of Emperor Flame, heed my command: ignite your flames! Burn away the darkness! Break the order!"

In an instant, heirs of the nine flames sat cross-legged throughout the continent, drawing upon the emperor flame within them. Countless streams of firelight poured into chaos like a river of stars cascading backward!

"No—!" the Emperor Embryo roared, Dark Flame churning as he tried to resist. Yet however powerful that Dark Flame was, it was ultimately stolen flames, imitation flames, rootless flames. How could it rival this true emperor flame, which gathered the will of the people and carried their hopes for the New Order?

"Your flames come from fear and control." Xiao Yan took a step forward, the flame cauldron bearing down overhead. "But my flames—come from defiance, freedom, and hope!"

Boom—!

The flame cauldron descended. Emperor flame poured forth like the river of heaven cascading down, instantly swallowing the Emperor Embryo and burning the gray-robed figures' altar to ashes. The nine Dou Di skeletons disintegrated in the inferno, their remnant souls wailing before finally returning to nothingness.

"No... I am order... I am the Heavenly Dao..." The Emperor Embryo writhed in the flames, unleashing one final scream. "Without me, heaven and earth will descend into chaos!"

Xiao Yan stood amid the flames, his imperial might towering like a mountain. "Heaven and earth have never needed an 'emperor' to maintain order—what they need are millions of people who dare to ignite the flames within their own hearts."

"That is—the true meaning of emperor flame burning forever."

As his words fell, the Emperor Embryo was utterly incinerated, the Dark Flame died out, and the fissure in chaos slowly closed.

The nine flames returned to their origin, and myriad flames burned as one.

The Central Plains, the Nine Flames Emperor Court.

Yao Lao's remnant soul sighed softly within the Medicine Cauldron. "At last... it is over."

Gu Ling frowned instead. "But I keep feeling that the Emperor Embryo's final look... wasn't despair. It was more like... release?"

Xiao Yan returned from chaos, his expression grave. "Because—he was not the true Order Keeper. He was merely a 'vessel' controlled by obsession and remnant souls. The true Order Keeper never appeared."

"Then the true Order Keeper..." Xiao Yi Xian asked softly.

"Is waiting." Xiao Yan looked beyond the heavens. "Waiting for an enemy more terrifying than 'order' to appear."

"And we—" He raised his hand, reigniting emperor flame. "Must make the New Order truly take root before then."

He turned toward the Nine Flames Emperor Stele, his voice carrying throughout the continent:

"From this day onward, the Emperor Fire Trials will be fully open. Anyone with the resolve may enter. The nine tribulations will have no barrier to entry. Heirs of the nine flames will not be restricted by bloodline."

"I will ensure that, from this day forward, the sparks of this Dou Qi Continent never die, and its flames are passed on without end!"

Several months later, the Western Region.

Before a newly built Emperor Flame Hall, the first decree of the New Order was carved upon a stone stele:

A youth reached out and gently touched the stele, asking softly, "Senior, can I really become an emperor too?"

The old man guarding the hall nodded with a smile. "If you dare to ignite your flame, the Emperor Road will open before you."

The youth broke into a smile. A faint wisp of fire slowly rose from his palm. Though it was no heavenly flame, it was unwavering.

On the distant horizon, crimson-gold fire flashed and vanished. An emperor's silhouette seemed to gaze from afar and give a slight nod.

The sparks had already set the plains ablaze.

The New Order was taking root.

Emperor flame—would burn forever, never extinguished.

End of chapter

Next chapter preview: "The Will of a Spark"

To save a village controlled by remnants of the Dark Flame, the young Lin Yan risked his life to enter the first stage of the Emperor Fire Trial. Emperor flame sensed his resolve. The nine flames resonated, the Heart Flame ignited on its own, and his mortal body actually stirred a manifestation of emperor flame. Xiao Yan sensed the disturbance. "This child... is the true spark of the New Order."