He clearly looked human, yet somehow seemed to be burning at every moment.
"This is..." Xiao Yan's pupils contracted.
"Young master, this is Lord Nihility Devouring Flame... ranked second on the Heavenly Flame Ranking."
"Nihility Devouring Flame!" Xiao Yan's pupils contracted. Unless something unexpected had happened, his strength should have been at the nine-star Dou Sheng level.
As though sensing the three of them watching him, the seated man in black suddenly turned, revealing a pale, handsome face. Yet the sinister markings covering it made him look rather terrifying.
More frightening still were those black-hole eyes. Just meeting his gaze once made Xiao Yan feel as though his soul were about to be devoured.
It was not just him. Elder Wen and Elder Wu beside him also turned pale.
For a nine-star Dou Sheng, killing a Half-Saint would hardly be more difficult than killing a Dou Emperor.
"Lord Nihility Devouring Flame, this is the Emperor's Son recently appointed by our clan ancestor. The ancestor ordered him to pay you a visit," Xiao Wen said slowly, forcing himself to withstand the pressure.
"Oh?" Nihility Devouring Flame's gaze shifted. His eyes grew even more sinister and unfathomable as he looked at Xiao Yan, as though he would devour his soul in the very next instant.
Fuck, this son of a bitch. Xiao Yan's face twitched and contorted, and even his eyes rolled back.
He felt as though his soul were about to be sucked out of his body. Beyond that suction was a scorching heat, as though his very soul would burst into flames.
"Heh." As the chuckle rang out, the sensation tormenting the three of them abruptly vanished.
"Since when could a mere Dou Emperor become your Xiao Clan's Emperor's Son? Is Xiao Xuan about to die?" Nihility Devouring Flame sneered.
During the war between the Xiao Clan and the Hun Clan a thousand years ago, Xiao Xuan had broken through to Dou Di at the critical moment. Not only had Hun Tiandi's thousand-year scheme collapsed, but he had lost his life as well.
As his chief accomplice, Nihility Devouring Flame had been the first to be captured and had been imprisoned in Heavenly Flames Valley.
Though he had preserved his life under the Xiao Clan's roof, he felt no gratitude whatsoever.
Xiao Xuan treated him as nothing more than forced labor, so Nihility Devouring Flame had little goodwill toward anyone from the Xiao Clan.
Still, he only dared to give them a sour face. If he killed the Emperor's Son personally appointed by Xiao Xuan, his own sentience would probably be erased.
"So what if I'm a mere Dou Emperor? Aren't you, the illustrious second-ranked Heavenly Flame, nothing but a prisoner now?" The youth's voice rang in Nihility Devouring Flame's ears, instantly twisting his disdainful face into a savage expression.
"What are you staring at? Do you dare kill me?" Xiao Yan sneered.
What Nihility Devouring Flame had just done to him had been agonizing, but it had also stirred his temper.
So what if he was a nine-star Dou Sheng? Xiao Yan could look even the Dou Di Xiao Xuan squarely in the eye.
Still, he was also probing Nihility Devouring Flame.
He wanted to see whether there was any chance of bringing this Heavenly Flame under his control.
"Keh keh, brat, you've got guts. Aside from Xiao Xuan, no one has dared speak to me like that in a thousand years." Nihility Devouring Flame gave a sinister laugh, and his invisible pressure swept toward them again.
"Stop fucking putting on an act. It's time to change shifts."
The flat voice came from somewhere unseen.
A man in white robes abruptly appeared inside the Flame Palace, and Nihility Devouring Flame's inscrutable smile suddenly froze.
The white-robed man was strikingly handsome, with an uncanny allure about him. His appearance alone was enough to drive countless women wild.
"This is... Lord Purifying Lotus Demon Flame!" Xiao Wen said solemnly.
"Purifying Lotus Demon Flame! Is that the Pure Lotus Demon Saint's appearance?" Xiao Yan's pupils contracted, yet his mind involuntarily drifted to the book he had read, Pure Lotus Demon Saint's Romantic Affairs.
He had never expected Xiao Xuan to have captured even the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame in this timeline. But did that mean he no longer needed to search so desperately for it?
To think that Xiao Xuan had already captured the world's two strongest Heavenly Flames and brought them back to the Xiao Realm.
Xiao Yan suddenly wondered whether he could persuade Xiao Xuan to capture Tou She Ancient God in the future, too.
"Not going. I don't want to stand guard anymore. I don't want to stand guard for the rest of my fucking life."
With the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame's arrival, the previously imposing Nihility Devouring Flame began sounding more and more like a street thug.
"You don't want to stand guard? Fine! Go tell Xiao Xuan, if you've got the guts. You think I want this shitty guard duty?"
Seeing Nihility Devouring Flame act like such a thug, the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame's fair face flushed pink. He unleashed a torrent of abuse. "This isn't the first or second time you've dragged out the shift change, you son of a bitch. I've had enough of you.
"You're the one who's late every time. If you've really got guts, then refuse to stand guard! At worst, we'll both have our sentience erased. Even if I die, I'm dragging you down with me."
"You've got the nerve to talk about being late? You fucking hypocrite." Nihility Devouring Flame's pitch-black eyes widened. "I haven't knocked you into shape for a few days, and now you're itching for a beating again."
"Bring it on! Who's afraid of you?" Under the dumbfounded gazes of Xiao Yan and the two elders, the world's two strongest Heavenly Flames began wrestling inside the Flame Palace.
Two handsome men, one in black and one in white, grappled on the floor. If a girl with certain tastes saw them, she would probably be bursting with delight inside.
Just then, day was giving way to night in the sky, and the milky-white sun collided violently with the ink-jade moon.
Could it be...! Watching the sun and moon clash overhead and the two Heavenly Flames pummel each other, Xiao Yan had an absurd thought.
Bang! Bang! The sun and moon collided fiercely, and several clumps of flame even fell from the sky.
Where those flames struck the ground, seas of fire spread.
"Hmph!" A cold snort resounded throughout the Xiao Realm, instantly extinguishing the fires on the ground and making both Nihility Devouring Flame and the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame shudder.
"Do you two want your sentience erased?" The icy voice echoed through Heavenly Flames Valley. Xiao Yan recognized Xiao Xuan's voice.
"Fine, I'll take over. I'll take over." Nihility Devouring Flame paused, then finally shook his head helplessly. His figure flickered, and he vanished from Heavenly Flames Valley.
The milky-white sun abruptly dispersed overhead, and the black full moon took over the night shift.
"Ah, off duty at last." The Purifying Lotus Demon Flame stretched smugly. With a light tap of his right hand, a stream of lava shot out of the ground and poured into the flame cup in his hand.
The Purifying Lotus Demon Flame took a small sip of lava, an indescribably contented look on his face.
Only after swallowing the lava did he turn to look at Xiao Yan.
"I hear you're the Emperor's Son Xiao Xuan just appointed?"
Xiao Yan nodded rather blankly. Two Heavenly Flames fighting over guard duty was something even his Earthling imagination could never have dreamed up.
"Oh, since this is our first meeting, I have a little gift for you." The Purifying Lotus Demon Flame smiled faintly and waved his hand. A ball of light shot from his palm into Xiao Yan's hands.
This Purifying Lotus Demon Flame certainly knows how to handle things. Xiao Yan's opinion of him rose a few notches. But when he looked at the object inside the mysterious ball of light, the smile on his face abruptly froze.
What he held was none other than a copy of Pure Lotus Demon Saint's Romantic Affairs...
So... the author was standing right before him...
"Now that you've received your gift, hurry along. Xiao Xuan told me that although there are plenty of Heavenly Flames in this valley, you won't be getting a single one.
"He said he wanted you to temper yourself properly on the road to finding Heavenly Flames." Smiling, the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame drank another cup of Lava Tea.
"Thank you for your guidance, senior." Xiao Yan put the gift away. As the saying went, you did not raise a hand against a smiling face.
The gift might not have been anything worthwhile, but his attitude was decent-clearly much better than Nihility Devouring Flame's.
Besides... the book was pretty well written.
Before you continue