Zhang Wulang's team searched through the ruined walls with torches in hand. The flames swayed violently in the night wind, stretching and shrinking their shadows.
The flagstone road beneath their feet was soaked in black blood, making sticky sounds with every step. The stench of blood and rot filling the air was almost suffocating.
Xiao Yan followed at the rear of the group, the icy sensation of the Soul Absorption Technique still lingering in his fingertips. With every step, he could feel the conflict between his Dou Qi and that newly born wisp of Demon Essence.
"Captain! There's something strange over here!"
A team member's urgent cry came from the east. Torchlight converged there, illuminating the mostly collapsed altar at the center of the village. The rim of the ancient well in its center was covered in spiderweb cracks. A faint golden glow flowed through them, sizzling as it collided with the black mist drifting through the air. Whenever the mist approached, the golden light scorched it, drawing piercing shrieks.
Zhang Wulang staggered over to the well and pressed his rough palm against the burning-hot runes. His fingertips could clearly feel the paths along which their energy flowed:
"It's an Ancient Sealing Formation! These patterns... they're Demon-Suppressing Runes!"
He abruptly looked up at the well's opening, his clouded eyes filled with shock. "No wonder Black Wind Village enjoyed a hundred years of peace. Something enormous was sealed beneath it!"
Xiao Yan crouched down to examine it closely. The rune lines were ancient and bold, faintly forming the shape of flames. The Soul Hall Steward's voice leaped excitedly through his mind:
"Kekeke! What pure yang energy! This is a Heavenly Flames Sealing Formation. There's definitely a heavenly flame hidden below!"
"A heavenly flame?"
Zhang Wulang's team cried out in unison, their weapon-bearing hands beginning to tremble.
On the Dou Qi Continent, heavenly flames were the stuff of legend-divine fires formed from the laws of heaven and earth. Every one possessed the power to burn mountains and boil seas, enough to drive even a Dou Wang expert mad with desire.
"That's right."
Xiao Yan lightly touched a rune with his fingertip, sensing a warm yet domineering power. "Heavenly flames are the purest sources of fire in the world. There are twenty-three kinds, and every one has the power to destroy heaven and earth."
He stared at the heat rising from the well, his voice unconsciously dropping. "Judging by these energy fluctuations, it's very likely the twenty-third-ranked Mysterious Yellow Flame."
"The Mysterious Yellow Flame!"
Zhang Wulang sucked in a cold breath, his dark face flushing red.
"The Mysterious Yellow Flame that legends say was formed from the world's Mysterious Yellow Qi and can purify all evil?"
He rubbed his palms together excitedly, then suddenly frowned. "But aren't heavenly flames supposed to be incomparably violent? Why would one willingly remain sealed here?"
Before his words had faded, the ancient well suddenly shook violently, and the massive stone at its mouth exploded with a thunderous crash.
A wave of scorching heat shot into the sky, burning the dark clouds into a scattering retreat and revealing the bright moon.
Everyone backed away in horror. Deep at the bottom of the well, a dark yellow flame the size of a human head flickered slowly. Three layers of golden halos enveloped it, making it resemble the primordial flame of chaos when heaven and earth first opened. Every flicker sent ripples through space.
Even more shocking were the countless black threads suspended around the flame. They were the Otherworldly Demon Origin being scorched by the Mysterious Yellow Flame. They writhed frantically but could not escape the halos' restraints, eventually being devoured by the flame and reduced to specks of golden light. Glassy crystals covered the rocky walls at the bottom of the well, clearly formed by years of intense heat.
"So this is the Mysterious Yellow Flame..." Xiao Yan murmured. He could feel his Dou Qi resonating wildly, and even the Soul Seed trembled with excitement.
Within the Mysterious Yellow Flame's seemingly gentle fire lay a domineering power capable of burning all things to ash. Those golden halos were its origin fire, which naturally suppressed evil.
"No wonder the Demonic Qi was leaking so slowly."
Zhang Wulang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "This Mysterious Yellow Flame has been burning away the Demonic Qi all along, but the sealing formation is cracked so badly..."
His face suddenly went deathly pale. "If the heavenly flame goes out, everything within a hundred li of Wutan City will be drowned in Demonic Qi!"
The team members exchanged glances. They all knew how terrifying heavenly flames were. Even ordinary Dou Ling experts were like paper before them.
A young team member said in a trembling voice, "Captain, we... we should report this to Jia Lie City and ask the esteemed Dou Wang to handle it..."
"There's no time!"
Zhang Wulang abruptly turned to Xiao Yan, determination in his eyes. "Young brother, you can absorb Demonic Qi. Perhaps... you're the only one who can approach it!"
Xiao Yan's heart pounded wildly as the Soul Hall Steward urged him frantically in his mind:
"Agree, quickly! The Mysterious Yellow Flame may rank last, but it excels at purifying evil. It's the perfect counter to the backlash from your Demon Essence! Subdue it, and your Soul Absorption Technique can finally reach true mastery!"
He took a deep breath, feeling the scorching heat against his palm:
"The Mysterious Yellow Flame has suppressed Otherworldly Demons here for a thousand years. Now that the seal is broken, its power is nearly exhausted too."
He pointed at the faint wisp of gray mist in the heart of the flame.
"If we don't find a solution soon, it will go out on its own."
With that, he circulated his Dou Ling-level Dou Qi, a pale blue-green glow rising around him. "I'll try to subdue it. Perhaps I can use it to purify the remaining Demonic Qi."
"We'll stand guard for you!"
Zhang Wulang drew his broadsword and held it across his body. His team swiftly formed a defensive formation, surrounding the well.
Xiao Yan leaped into the well. The instant he began to fall, waves of heat engulfed him, and white smoke immediately steamed from his clothes.
When he was still three zhang from the Mysterious Yellow Flame, its three golden halos suddenly swelled, transforming into fire dragons that roared as they charged at him. The air ignited in their wake with sharp, crackling explosions.
"Such powerful Purification Power!"
Xiao Yan crossed his arms to block. The protective barrier formed by his Dou Ling-level Dou Qi instantly sizzled under the scorching flames, and needle-like pain stabbed through his skin. Gritting his teeth, he activated the Soul Seed. A wisp of black mist shot from his fingertip. The instant it touched a fire dragon, it burned violently like boiling oil meeting fire, letting out an agonized shriek.
"Kekeke! Wrap your mind in the Soul Absorption Technique! Let the Soul Seed communicate with it!"
The Soul Hall Steward's voice was urgent.
Xiao Yan immediately changed methods. Pitch-black soul markings spread from between his brows across his entire body, forming an eerie protective barrier.
When he approached again, the Mysterious Yellow Flame's golden fire indeed stopped attacking. Instead, it transformed into countless motes of light that seeped through the soul markings and entered his meridians. Every mote was like scorching lava. Wherever they passed, the black demonic stains clinging to his meridian walls burned away completely. Along with the intense pain, his Dou Qi began flowing more smoothly.
That's it!
Delight surged through Xiao Yan. He formed profound hand seals, guiding the Mysterious Yellow Flame's essence toward his dantian.
But the instant it made contact, an irresistible Purification Power suddenly erupted, as though intent on burning away all the Demon Essence in his body along with the Soul Seed!
"Aaargh!"
Xiao Yan roared in agony. His skin instantly turned red as heated iron, and the Soul Seed in his sea of consciousness shook violently, as though it might shatter at any moment.
Above the well, Zhang Wulang and the others heard his screams and burned with anxiety, yet none dared rashly descend and disturb him.
"Idiot! Use your Demon Essence to balance it!"
The Soul Hall Steward's furious roar exploded in his mind. "The Mysterious Yellow Flame is pure yang. You need gentle yin Demon Essence to harmonize it!"
Enduring the excruciating pain, Xiao Yan forcibly mobilized the Demon Essence in his dantian and wrapped it around the Mysterious Yellow Flame's essence.
The two forces, one yin and one yang, collided wildly inside him. Golden flames scorched the Demon Essence while black Demon Essence corroded the flames. The pain made his vision darken, and he nearly fainted several times. After an unknown length of time, the two powers gradually reached a wondrous balance. The Mysterious Yellow Flame's glow softened, and it began meekly merging into his Dou Qi.
When Xiao Yan leaped back out of the well, everyone was too stunned to speak.
Faint golden flames surrounded him. His once pitch-black eyes were now clear as though freshly washed, and even his hair had acquired a golden sheen along its edges. Whenever he raised his hand, an inch-long Mysterious Yellow Flame ignited at his fingertips, instantly purifying the lingering black mist in the air.
"Did... did it work?"
Zhang Wulang stammered. Watching the flame dancing in Xiao Yan's palm, he felt his mouth go dry. That seemingly feeble flame made even him, a peak Da Dou Shi, tremble deep in his soul.
Xiao Yan nodded lightly. The Mysterious Yellow Flame turned into a streak of golden light in his palm and slipped into his body. "It's expended too much energy. It needs time to recover."
He looked at the dead villagers and raised his hand, releasing golden flames. When the fire landed on the corpses, it did not burn them. Instead, it became a rain of light that seeped into them, completely purifying the remaining black mist. "The Mysterious Yellow Flame can purify evil, but it also... needs its host to supply energy."
Only then did Zhang Wulang notice that the skin on Xiao Yan's left hand, which had touched the Mysterious Yellow Flame, had become half glasslike. Flowing golden lines were faintly visible beneath it. He opened his mouth to say something, but in the end, he merely clapped Xiao Yan hard on the shoulder:
"Well done, lad... this opportunity is enough to change your destiny."
The night wind swept through the village again, carrying the warmth left by the Mysterious Yellow Flame. Xiao Yan gazed at the golden patterns lingering on his palm and felt the newborn Purification Power within him, yet his heart was a tangle of conflicting emotions.
This unexpected windfall was indeed powerful, but he also knew that the coexistence of the Mysterious Yellow Flame and the Soul Seed was pushing him onto a road no one had ever walked-a divergent path where light and darkness intertwined.
Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a black shadow flashing behind a tree deep in the western mountain forest. Its greedy eyes were fixed intently on his left hand.
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