The instant lightning collided with flame, the entire palace shuddered violently, and loose stones rained from the ancient dome. Lin Wudao was hurled backward by the heat wave, his back slamming into a stone pillar. A sweet taste rose in his throat, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. The woman in red, however, advanced lightly over the waves of fire. Behind her, the Flame Demon's phantom raised its curved saber high, the flames dancing along its edge burning ripples of distortion into space itself.
"Hand over the black jade fragment, and I'll leave your corpse intact." A dark-red fireball condensed at the woman's fingertips, strange patterns flowing across its surface-unmistakably some kind of curse seal from High Antiquity. "This is Heaven-Burning Karmic Fire formed from the Flame Demon's remnant soul. It can burn even a True Immortal's body to nothing."
Lin Wudao wiped the blood from his mouth. The Chaos Sword hummed and trembled, the lightning patterns on its blade resonating with the black jade fragment and searing a scorching mark into his palm. He suddenly recalled a secret technique recorded in the advanced section of the Mystic Heaven Creation Instruction. Biting the tip of his tongue, he sprayed out essence blood and poured spiritual power into the sword like a raging torrent. "Lightning and fire in harmony, yin and yang reversed!"
The Chaos Sword erupted with unprecedented brilliance. Purple lightning and crimson flames intertwined and fused at its tip, forming a pillar of two-colored light. Wherever the pillar passed, the ground melted into red-hot lava, and stone pillars exploded with thunderous crashes. The woman in red's expression changed abruptly. The Flame Demon's phantom swung its curved saber down, only to let out a piercing scream the instant it touched the light pillar, dissolving into scattered sparks.
"Impossible! How could you break the Flame Demon's power?" Terror flashed through the woman's eyes, and she suddenly flung nine scarlet runes from her sleeve. The runes linked into an array diagram in midair, transforming into nine fiery pythons that lunged at Lin Wudao. He circulated his spiritual power, forming a lightning shield around himself. The shield collided with the fiery pythons, unleashing an unbroken series of explosions.
Seizing the opportunity, Lin Wudao darted forward, the Chaos Sword aimed straight between the woman's brows. Just as its tip was about to touch her skin, she vanished eerily from the spot. Lin Wudao's pupils contracted sharply. He instinctively rolled backward, and a blade of fire grazed his scalp, shearing off a lock of black hair.
"Looking for me?" The woman's voice came from overhead. Lin Wudao looked up and saw her hovering by a crack in the dome, a bronze mirror having appeared in her hand at some point. Its surface was covered in cracks, yet it exuded a presence that made his heart quail. "This is the Demon-Revealing Mirror the Flame Demon used in life. It can reveal all falsehood."
The bronze mirror blazed with light. A sharp pain tore through Lin Wudao's sea of consciousness, and countless illusions flooded his mind. He saw himself reduced to the Ancient Clan's newest sacrificial offering, nailed to an altar and wailing; he saw the Heavenly Mysteries Sect and the Netherworld Sect joining forces to encircle and annihilate him, the Chaos Sword shattering inch by inch; he even saw that mysterious person from the Jade Void Palace personally grinding the black jade fragment to dust.
"Die!" The woman seized the opening to attack. The Flame Demon's remnant soul condensed once more, its curved saber slashing down wreathed in Heaven-Burning Karmic Fire. At that hairbreadth moment, the black jade fragment against Lin Wudao's chest suddenly burst with dazzling light. Within the radiance appeared the complete mural from the Ancient Clan's sacrificial grounds.
"So that's how it is..." A flash of realization crossed Lin Wudao's eyes. He poured spiritual power into the black jade fragment and recited an ancient incantation. Every rune throughout the palace suddenly lit up, forming a golden net of light that enveloped the Flame Demon's remnant soul and the woman in red. The Flame Demon roared in defiance, struggling within the net as it dissipated. The woman also lost her power and fell into the dust.
"You... what exactly did you do to me?" The woman stared in terror at her gradually transparent body.
Lin Wudao put away the Chaos Sword. The black jade fragment hovered before him, reflecting the panic in the woman's eyes. "This Demon-Revealing Mirror never belonged to the Flame Demon. It's a magical artifact the Ancient Clan used to suppress evil spirits. The fiery presence around you is clearly the result of devouring the Flame Demon's remnant soul."
The woman's pupils contracted sharply, and all color drained from her face. She opened her mouth, but just as she was about to say something, her body dissolved into a wisp of smoke, leaving only the cracked bronze mirror behind. Lin Wudao picked it up and discovered three small characters engraved on its back: "Demon-Suppressing Bureau." This was an ancient sect that had long since been destroyed.
The system notification sounded at that moment:
"Ding! Defeated the host possessed by the Flame Demon's remnant soul. Obtained an incomplete scroll of the Heaven-Burning Instruction and a Demon-Suppressing Mirror fragment. A special connection has been detected between the Demon-Suppressing Mirror and the black jade fragment. An ancient secret realm can be unlocked once the complete set has been collected."
Lin Wudao placed the incomplete scroll and the fragment into his Storage Bag. Just as he was about to leave, the ground suddenly shook violently. The sounds of snapping chains rang out from deep within the palace, and a hoarse voice rose from underground. "Who... has disturbed my slumber..." The entire palace began to collapse, rubble falling like rain.
Lin Wudao tightened his grip on the Chaos Sword and sprinted toward the exit. The instant he rushed out of the palace, an earth-shaking roar erupted behind him, and an enormous black shadow burst out of the ground. It was a gigantic wolf, its entire body burning with black flames. A crystal resembling the black jade fragment was embedded in its forehead, and boundless killing intent shone in its blood-red, slit-pupiled eyes.
"It seems the secrets of these ancient ruins are far more dangerous than I imagined." Lin Wudao wiped the cold sweat from his brow and gazed at the ancient altar faintly visible behind the giant wolf, a powerful premonition rising within him. The black jade fragment grew hot against his chest, seemingly responding to something. Yet at that moment, he had not noticed the several pairs of greedy eyes fixed intently on his back from the shadows of the ruined palace...