Word Count: 2,712 Words
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"The Hall Chief is fighting someone?!!" Deputy Hall Chief Hun Zhu stepped out of the void, staring in disbelief at the dark main hall ahead. Its vast interior was completely shrouded by a terrifying pressure.
Hun Mie Sheng's strength was so fearsome that even the Deputy Hall Chief did not dare draw a single step closer.
"Soul-Extinguishing Sorrow Handprint!"
Hand seals flew between Hun Mie Sheng's fingers at blinding speed. An energy palm print capable of obliterating the entire Earth Hall took shape in an instant and blasted toward Xiao Yan. An Intermediate Tian Class Dou Technique of this caliber could heavily injure even a 5-star Dou Saint like Xiao Chen.
A thunderous boom shook the deepest recesses of the Earth Hall as Hun Mie Sheng erupted into motion, launching his killing palm from midair.
This was his strongest strike. A single palm that could destroy the heavens and extinguish the earth.
It looked casual, almost offhand, as if he were merely swatting a fly from the sky. Yet the instant that seemingly careless palm shot forward, it crossed the surrounding space in a flash, shattering the void and crashing straight toward Xiao Yan, who stood not far away. He had given Xiao Yan no time to prepare whatsoever.
Xiao Yan only smiled faintly. Before entering the Demon Flame Space, he would have had no chance of defeating the current Hun Mie Sheng. That single palm would have left him grievously wounded; escaping at all would already have been his limit.
Now, however, things were different.
A low hum rose. After a gap of two full years, the Flame Mantra's Dou Qi once more circulated within Xiao Yan's body. A power that made both time and space fall silent and still began to boil within him.
His expression remained perfectly calm facing Hun Mie Sheng's heaven-destroying palm, almost indifferent. Before the infamously fearsome Hall Chief of the Hall of Souls, Xiao Yan said nothing. He merely extended a single finger.
A wisp of milky-white flame tinged faintly with pink blossomed at his fingertip.
He pointed lightly at the giant palm and murmured, "Purify."
For an instant, the world became clean. It felt as though the Dou Qi Continent had returned to its most primal state, as if all things under heaven could be purified and reduced back to their origin.
At that light tap, the massive, terrifying palm print rippled like the surface of a placid lake suddenly disturbed. The Purifying Lotus Demon Flame began to erase the power within it at a speed the naked eye could scarcely follow. Dou Qi, Spiritual Strength, the natural energy of the world—all of it was purified, scattered back into its most minute and primordial particles.
The enormous black palm print disintegrated rapidly, then drifted apart like a gentle breeze that brushed past Xiao Yan's Soul Robe and vanished.
The difference in strength was enormous.
They were simply not on the same level!
Hun Mie Sheng's hand still hung in its forward posture, but he no longer dared move so much as a fraction of an inch. Right before his palm was a single finger, its tip pointing like a spearhead. He could feel it with absolute clarity: the moment he so much as grazed Xiao Yan's finger, the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame would burn him until not even ashes remained.
"Peak 5-star Dou Saint… You… refined the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame in just two years!" For the first time in his life, Hun Mie Sheng felt genuine terror toward someone other than Hun Tiandi.
What pressed down on him was a feeling of something he could never, in this lifetime, surpass. It was a mountain whose peak could not be seen!
He was only fit to stand at its base and gaze upward like a mortal.
Hun Mie Sheng slowly drew back his hand. He understood that Xiao Yan was sparing his life solely on account of the contribution he had made back in the Demon Flame Space.
"The Clan Head once said that within three years, you would emerge from the Demon Flame Space with the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame. I didn't believe it at the time." Hun Mie Sheng shook his head. "Now it seems the Clan Head's foresight was superior still. Compared to him, I am still far too lacking."
He reached into his storage ring, produced a Soul Command Token, and set it down to one side. It was the command token of the Hall Chief of the Hall of Souls. "My mission has ended. The Hall of Souls has completed every task the Clan Head entrusted to it. From today onward, the Hall of Souls… can be considered gone."
He had not returned to the Hun Clan all this time because Hun Tiandi had given him one final assignment: wait for Xiao Yan to emerge from the Demon Flame Space. That palm just now had been a test of Xiao Yan's strength, and he had never imagined it would have reached such a level.
And it had only been two years!
The instant he set down the token, a weight lifted from Hun Mie Sheng's shoulders. He was originally a member of the Hun Clan. When he had first left, he had only just stepped into the Dou Saint realm, bearing Hun Tiandi's orders to establish the Hall of Souls, collect soul essence, and search for the Xiao Clan's descendants along with their piece of the Tou She Ancient God's Jade.
Now, the Xiao Clan's Tou She Ancient God's Jade was in their hands. The Ling Clan and Shi Clan had been destroyed. The Hall of Souls no longer needed to exist, and as its Hall Chief, the time had come for him to return to the Hun Clan.
He was a man who had accomplished his mission. Once back, he would receive an incomparably rich reward and take his rightful place among the true upper echelons of the Hun Clan!
A black vortex like a massive wormhole opened behind him with a low hum, unleashing a powerful suction. Hun Mie Sheng stepped one foot into the passage and turned his head slightly to glance back at Xiao Yan. "This Hall of Souls no longer has any value. What you want to do with it is entirely up to you."
"The Clan Head left one sentence for you. He said: 'The Medicinal Ceremony is a fine stage to showcase one's alchemy.'"
His figure vanished into the passage with a soft whoosh and disappeared.
From that moment on, the position of Hall Chief stood vacant.
The Hall of Souls—destroyed.
Xiao Yan naturally understood what Hun Tiandi's words meant.
The Hun Clan had already begun collecting the Tou She Ancient God's Jade. His own task was drawing near as well. He would need to display alchemy skills that were truly sufficient for the role.
He had to let the 'client' see his sincerity.
After all, breaking through to an Emperor State soul still required the Hun Clan's help.
He picked up the token Hun Mie Sheng had left behind. It was pitch-black, as if forged from mysterious iron, like a black hole that drew the gaze inward. A single glance gave the illusion that even one's soul might be pulled out. Hun Mie Sheng's Spiritual Strength still seeped faintly from within.
Five words were carved upon it, each stroke vigorous and powerful.
Hall of Souls. Hall Chief!
Xiao Yan formed a thought. In an instant, a Spiritual Strength even more formidable than Yao Ling's perfected Heavenly State exploded from his body. It surged like an unstoppable torrent and poured completely into the Soul Command Token.
His Spiritual Strength roared to the heavens. That boundless power felt inexhaustible as it flooded outward, drowning thousands of miles of land and enveloping the entire Earth Hall!
"This… this is—?!!"
"What happened? This Spiritual Strength doesn't belong to the Hall Chief!"
"No—this power is far stronger than the Hall Chief's!"
Cries of alarm rang through the Earth Hall. Of them all, only Hun Zhu, a 3-star Dou Saint and Deputy Hall Chief, had some inkling of what was unfolding. His face turned deathly pale as he stared at the Spiritual Strength soaring skyward from the depths of the great hall. His whole body trembled.
"Could it be him…? He's back!!"
Xiao Yan's Spiritual Strength was so abundant it seemed endless. As it rushed skyward like a flood bursting through a dam, that ceaseless torrent poured into the Soul Command Token and rolled back out, shaking the earth and leaving countless experts ashen-faced.
Buzz buzz buzz!!
The Hall Chief's token vibrated violently. Very soon, the soul imprint upon it was wiped clean and replaced entirely by Xiao Yan's own.
The Hall of Souls, destroyed—
Then reborn!
Hun Zhu's pupils dilated. In that moment, it was not only he, the Deputy Hall Chief. Every Venerate of the Hall of Souls, every Tianzun, even the Nine Great Tianzuns—anyone who possessed a Soul Command Token received the same soul message at once.
The second Hall Chief of the Hall of Souls had been born!
Hun Zhu dropped to one knee with a dull thud. Understanding fully dawned, and he lowered his head toward the main hall, his voice ringing out. "Your subordinate pays respects to the new Hall Chief!"
A metallic rustle swept through the Earth Hall like a crashing wave. In an instant, every Dou Venerate-level Honorable Elder of the Hall of Souls reacted. One after another they dropped to one knee in the direction of the great hall, their voices thundering in unison:
"Paying respects to the Hall Chief!!"
Xiao Yan turned the token over slowly between his fingers. It represented the authority of the ruler of the most powerful force on the Dou Qi Continent. He chuckled softly to himself. "This world really is interesting. I actually became the Hall Chief of the Hall of Souls."
Silence settled over the minor world of the Earth Hall. After a brief stillness, a deep voice rolled out from within the great hall. "Rise. Disperse. Carry on as you were."
A thunderous chorus answered in unison, "Understood, Hall Chief!"
Xiao Yan put away the Soul Command Token. He did not leave immediately but walked toward one end of the Earth Hall instead, stopping only when he reached the very end, where there was no path forward.
No light reached this place. It was not that there were no lamps or candles; rather, this corner seemed to be a blind spot for all illumination. Light from outside simply could not penetrate this pocket of space.
Xiao Yan knew a passageway lay concealed here, one that could only be opened by the Nihility Devouring Flame's Seed Flame. As for where it led, he already knew very well.
Meow!
Mao Wu hopped out of the Acceptance Soul at his thought. The little cat stared at the wall before them, and for once, that usually unrestrained, fearless Heaven Seed Flame wore a solemn expression.
"Open it."
Mao Wu nodded and spat out the Nihility Devouring Flame. The black devouring fire could consume everything, yet this time, strangely, it did not burn through the wall.
A moment later, black flames identical to Mao Wu's surged out from within the stone itself—though these were clearly far stronger than the ones Mao Wu had released.
The true flame!
Xiao Yan wrapped his entire body in the black fire and stepped into the passage. The moment he entered, the black flames faded and the passage collapsed behind him, disappearing completely, as if it had never existed.
Beyond lay a dim, sunless space. Black mist blanketed the sky, and a cold, gloomy power seeped into every corner, saturating the realm entirely.
In the depths of this space, a figure sat cross-legged in the void. Pitch-black flames seeped unceasingly from his body. From afar, he resembled a black hole, endlessly devouring everything around him.
Densely packed clusters of light floated below, filling the space. They were almost transparent, nearly colorless, yet within each one pulsed an astonishingly pure energy, a power that would shock anyone who sensed it. Xiao Yan took one glance and recognized them immediately.
Every last one of these light clusters was soul essence collected by the Hall of Souls!
Back then, refining just a single cluster had pushed his Spiritual Strength all the way to the perfected Heavenly State. The clusters here numbered in the dozens—if not the hundreds!
A roar like a gale suddenly burst from within the cross-legged silhouette. Oceanic black flames erupted outward, and as the suction force surged, it hauled the entire forest of soul essence light clusters into the air.
The moment the soul essences touched those black flames, they were devoured whole. As more and more soul essence was forcibly swallowed by that figure, a terrifying spiritual fluctuation gradually spread from his body, growing stronger with each passing instant.
Within those soul light clusters, Xiao Yan faintly sensed traces of the Shi Clan's Dou God Bloodline.
If his guess was correct, all of the Shi Clan's clansmen and common descendants along with the Ling Clan's clansmen and common descendants had had their soul essences extracted and transformed into these light clusters.
From this day forward, the Ling Clan and the Shi Clan were thoroughly erased from the Dou Qi Continent.
That black silhouette's Spiritual Strength had already reached the half-step Emperor State. Once he absorbed every last soul light cluster here, he would step into the Emperor State!!
The silhouette sensed Xiao Yan's arrival and slowly lifted his head. Xiao Yan let a wisp of Purifying Lotus Demon Flame well up in his eyes, and only then could he see the figure clearly.
Black flames coiled around the man's entire body. Strange black runes crawled across every inch of his skin. His pupils were like twin black holes, emanating a terrifying devouring force. His features remained blurred beneath the shroud of flame, but the instant he revealed himself, an ancient and bizarre aura slowly emerged, filling the surrounding space.
The Nihility Devouring Flame—true body!
Whoosh whoosh!!
The moment the Nihility Devouring Flame's true body looked his way, milky-white fire automatically surged from Xiao Yan's body, wrapping him from head to toe. A pure white fire infant stepped out from the void, its tiny face tense as it fixed its gaze on its 'fated enemy'!
The Purifying Lotus Demon Flame's appearance added a faint touch of white to this darkness, but black still held absolute dominance.
"Purifying Lotus Demon Flame… You really did obtain the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame." The Nihility Devouring Flame looked at Xiao Yan and slowly rose to its feet. Even it found Xiao Yan's success difficult to believe.
In theory, it should have been impossible. Then again, the mere fact that Xiao Yan possessed so many Heavenly Flames had already shattered the so-called iron rules.
"So, do I have the qualifications now?" Xiao Yan had not come here for the sake of avenging the Shi Clan or the Ling Clan. To be blunt, he did not care in the slightest what became of those two Dou God Clans.
He had come to see the Nihility Devouring Flame.
Back at Jia Nan Academy, the voice he had heard belonged to none other than the true body of the Nihility Devouring Flame. Mao Wu was its Seed Flame; a link naturally existed between the two.
From the very moment Xiao Yan had met Hun Lao Gui, passed the test, and refined Mao Wu, he had already received certain fragments of information.
Thinking back now, how could it have been mere coincidence that he walked into the Treasure Hall just as the Seed Flame was born? And when he refined it, there had been no pain, no obstruction whatsoever, as if it had been destined to belong to him from the very beginning.
There was no doubt. From that moment onward, the Nihility Devouring Flame's true body had already been watching Xiao Yan.
Back at Jia Nan Academy, it had spoken to him, telling him he did not yet have the qualifications to cooperate. The reason was simple: they had discovered that the Tou She Ancient God Mansion lay buried in the depths beneath Jia Nan Academy's Inner Academy!