The instant the black-and-white Fire Lotus erupted, more than half of the forest that had stood in the Chu Yun Empire for untold years was wiped out. Had Yao Lao been awake, even he would likely have been astonished by this terrifying strike. Of course, if Yao Lao had not fallen into slumber, Xiao Yan would not have used such a move against his enemy.
Xiao Yan hovered in the sky, his clothes in tatters and his face deathly pale. The Purple Cloud Wings behind him had grown so faint that they could barely keep him airborne. He hurriedly pulled a handful of Qi Recovery Pills from his Storage Ring and stuffed them into his mouth. Only then did some color return to his face.
Although he had mastered the Demon Fury Fire Lotus in his previous life, he had only begun using Heavenly Flames to unleash it after reaching Dou Sheng.
Before that, he had only used Beast Flames or flames such as the Life Transformation Fire as materials for the Demon Fury Fire Lotus, so the drain on him had not been enormous. This time, however, unleashing it had nearly left him utterly depleted.
Had his soul force not reached the peak of the sixth grade, and had he not taken Qi Recovery Pills beforehand, he probably would not have lasted long enough to complete the fusion.
Yet the power of this Demon Fury Fire Lotus had also far exceeded his expectations. With such might, challenging someone above his rank would be no trouble at all!
This was merely a combination of one Heavenly Flame and the Life Transformation Fire, yet its power was already so terrifying. What if he fused two Heavenly Flames? Even a Dou Emperor would probably be crushed to dust beneath that Fire Lotus, wouldn't they?
At that thought, Xiao Yan could not help feeling relieved. Fortunately, he had not used the Bone Spirit Cold Flame Yao Lao had left behind for the fusion. Otherwise, even if he had successfully fused them, he probably would not have escaped the Fire Lotus's blast radius. Even this time, had his Purple Cloud Wings not evolved, he would likely have struggled to escape the explosion alive.
Still, the stronger the Demon Fury Fire Lotus proved to be, the more excited Xiao Yan became. The Dou Technique he had created in his previous life had finally blossomed with its true power in this world.
Of course, this was not the only Dou Technique he had created in his previous life. He had merely set most of them aside for the time being because his cultivation was insufficient or because he lacked other necessary conditions. Once he reached Dou Wang, he would be able to employ some of his old methods.
After recovering somewhat, Xiao Yan finally descended from the sky and walked slowly toward the center of the explosion. Under the Demon Fury Fire Lotus's assault, that skeleton must have been crushed to dust-in the most literal sense. But Xiao Yan was not interested in those shattered scraps of bone. He was interested in what had been inhabiting the skeleton.
When the smoke dispersed, a massive crater appeared before Xiao Yan. Flecks of purple light seemed to glimmer at its bottom. Then a butterfly radiating a faint purple glow flew up from the depths. The purple butterfly looked dazzlingly beautiful, and as its wings fluttered, faint wisps of flame could be seen rising from them...
"It really is that flame." At the sight of the purple butterfly, Xiao Yan's heart could not help skipping a beat. Had he not been thoroughly familiar with the flames on the Heavenly Flame Ranking, he would likely have struggled to recognize this seemingly exquisite butterfly as the Netherworld Poison Flame, ranked twentieth.
Each flame on the Heavenly Flame Ranking had its own wondrous properties, as well as its strengths and weaknesses, and its ranking generally reflected its power. The Purifying Lotus Demon Flame Xiao Yan had obtained in his previous life, for instance, could be called a king even among all Heavenly Flames. The Netherworld Poison Flame ranked somewhat lower because nearly all Heavenly Flames were immune to poison, leaving its own ability almost entirely ineffective against them.
Precisely because of this, neither Xiao Yan nor Yao Lao had expected the Netherworld Poison Flame to be particularly powerful. Reality, however, had shown that this flame's might far exceeded their expectations. Only after seeing its current form did Xiao Yan understand why its power was so terrifying.
Ordinarily, the Netherworld Poison Flame was green. Yet the one before him was purple. Naturally, this was not an error in the records of the Heavenly Flame Ranking, but a sign that its age had reached a truly frightening extent.
This Heavenly Flame could only emerge in places where poisonous things gathered. It gained a spirit after a hundred years and took shape after a thousand. Of course, "shape" here referred to the shape of a flame, not any other form. Otherwise, Xiao Yan would not have been surprised by the butterfly-shaped Netherworld Poison Flame before him.
Determining the Netherworld Poison Flame's age was simple: one only needed to look at its color. The deeper its color, the older it was. A purple Netherworld Poison Flame like this had accumulated so much poison that even the surrounding air had become steeped in deadly toxins, giving it its purple appearance. By Xiao Yan's estimate, the Netherworld Poison Flame before him had probably existed for over ten thousand years...
The purple butterfly before him was the very core of the Netherworld Poison Flame. It had previously inhabited that skeleton and controlled everything. This alone showed that the Heavenly Flame possessed some intelligence. The earlier eruption of the Demon Fury Fire Lotus had destroyed the shell it inhabited, exposing its core.
The Heavenly Poison Swamp was shrouded in poisonous miasma all year round, and few people ever came here, so Xiao Yan planned to begin devouring the Netherworld Poison Flame right here. He did not rashly start devouring the Heavenly Flame immediately, however. Instead, he sat cross-legged and circulated the Flame Mantra within his body to recover his Dou Qi.
Devouring a Heavenly Flame was no child's play; dangers were certain to lurk at every turn. Although Xiao Yan had tamed Heavenly Flames among the top three on the Heavenly Flame Ranking in his previous life, those were experiences from a former lifetime. Besides, he no longer possessed his former heaven-shaking cultivation, so caution naturally had to come first.
Only after restoring himself to peak condition did Xiao Yan take out the pill Yao Lao had refined earlier.
Because the Netherworld Poison Flame itself contained deadly poison, devouring it was no different from swallowing a lethal toxin. Yao Lao had therefore refined a Hundred Solutions Pill for Xiao Yan in advance. This Sixth-Grade Pill was extraordinarily effective at counteracting deadly poisons, which was why Yao Lao had chosen to prepare it for him. As for shielding himself from the Heavenly Flame's heat, Xiao Yan would have to rely on his own Dou Qi.
Xiao Yan placed the Hundred Solutions Pill in his mouth and swallowed it. Its pure medicinal power dissolved in his mouth before spreading through his meridians, forming a thin membrane of energy. At the same time, Xiao Yan flicked a finger, and the small piece of Naling Yao Lao had placed in the ring turned into a streak of light, swiftly entering Xiao Yan's body and appearing at his Qi vortex.
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