In a daze, Li Yan felt as if the two pull-rings below the doors were a pair of eyes, watching him with a hint of mockery.
In an instant, Li Yan figured it out. If a cultivator, after braving life and death, finally arrived here, they would likely inspect the area and then immediately try to push open the grand doors.
The two pull-rings were so conspicuous that one would subconsciously reach for them.
The position of the two pull-rings on the doors felt wrong to Li Yan. They were situated exactly at his chest level, the most natural position for him to push.
It was worth noting that Li Yan was already quite tall, not of an ordinary man's stature. A sense of caution immediately rose in his heart, and the outcome was exactly as he had anticipated.
"Your Excellency has truly calculated well. Had I used my hands to push the doors, I would have walked right into your trap, wouldn't I?" Li Yan said coldly.
"Hehe, what are you talking about, Fellow Daoist? I am merely a Soul Beast tasked with guarding the Flame Palace. All who come here are Great Cultivators, and I let them all pass," the fire-treading Qilin said with a couple of dry laughs, glancing at the red flame not far away. "I was merely excited, not having seen a cultivator enter through my post for a long time, so I decided to play a little joke on you, Fellow Daoist. Hehehe!"
'It really is a Soul Beast,' Li Yan mused. He could now feel the powerful soul fluctuations emanating from the creature.
"Oh? Then you must be the 'Bright Fire Qilin' of this place?" Li Yan asked suddenly.
"Oh, yes. It seems this isn't your first time here, Fellow Daoist. You must have entered through the other 'Fire Eyes' before. In fact, it was you who was toying with me just now."
Though the Bright Fire Qilin said this, a trace of doubt remained deep in its eyes. Li Yan's earlier actions were clearly those of someone entering for the first time, yet he had attacked it without a moment's hesitation.
Thinking about it, the Qilin grew annoyed. This cultivator was truly tiresome. Other cultivators would either expose its presence and fight it—a loss meaning death and its Bodily Essence becoming the Qilin's prize—or fall into its trap, saving it the effort of a direct kill. But this man had pretended it was his first time, only to launch a sneak attack.
'Could it be that this cultivator suffered a loss at the hands of another 'Bright Fire Qilin' before and is now taking his anger out on me for sport?'
The Bright Fire Qilin fumed internally. However, its personality was far from the righteous and upright nature of an orthodox Qilin; it was cautious and suspicious. So, despite its displeasure, it showed no hint of it on its face.
What it now dreaded was the red flame nearby. The red flame carried a hint of sinister charm.
It believed it could swallow any flame with a single gulp. Yet, when it had swallowed the first wisp of red flame earlier, its very soul had nearly dissipated. Fortunately, the flame contained very little of that sinister charm, and the Qilin managed to suppress it in the end.
Moreover, the Bright Fire Qilin felt that if it could fuse with the red flame now suppressed on its forehead, it would bring about some unknown, immense benefits.
'Could this be an Ancient Exotic Fire?' At the thought of the various legends surrounding Ancient Exotic Fires, the Bright Fire Qilin's heart burned with even greater fervor.
It glanced again at the red flame a short distance away but dared not rush forward to devour it. If it angered the other party, causing them to unleash more of the red flame, its only fate would be the complete annihilation of its soul.
However, this Bright Fire Qilin didn't know that its worries were the very same ones troubling Li Yan. The Li Fire Profound Yellow Fan could only be used at full power twice a day. The flame currently floating outside was the last one. Once used, he would have to wait until the next day.
If the Bright Fire Qilin knew this, it would surely devour this last flame at all costs, even if its soul were temporarily damaged. It would then find a way to kill Li Yan, obtain the Li Fire Profound Yellow Fan, and take its time to slowly fuse with it in the future.
In truth, the current power of the Li Fire Profound Yellow Fan was insufficient to heavily injure this Bright Fire Qilin. This was also why the Bloodhand Flying Sickle could only use the fan as a last resort; the Blood River within the fan was too small to be used extravagantly.
Li Yan just watched the Bright Fire Qilin quietly, not answering its question. In truth, he didn't know what to do next either.
He saw that the Bright Fire Qilin was afraid of the wisp of Li Fire , but he still didn't know whether he should just push open the crimson doors.
Seeing that Li Yan neither retracted the red flame nor made a move to advance, the Bright Fire Qilin grew secretly furious. If not for its fear of the red flame, it would have slapped this petty Mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator to death with a single paw.
"Fellow Daoist, if you are not entering the palace, do you truly intend to kill me and take my Essence Soul ?" the Bright Fire Qilin asked, suppressing its anger.
Upon hearing this, Li Yan chuckled lightly. With a beckoning gesture of his hand, the wisp of Li Fire that had been hovering nearby flickered and, with a whoosh, disappeared back into the Li Fire Profound Yellow Fan. He then strode toward the crimson doors.
The Bright Fire Qilin let Li Yan walk up to the crimson doors, watching his back silently. A flicker of struggle crossed its eyes several times as it stared at the pale yellow fan in Li Yan's hand.
In the end, seeing that Li Yan remained vigilant, ready to strike at any moment, it could only give up resentfully. It decided that once this man was inside, it would first try to fuse with that wisp of red flame and see what the final result would be.
Li Yan stood before the great doors. The two ox-nose pull-rings had already vanished.
He infused Spirit Power into his left sleeve and swept it forward. With a deafening rumble, the crimson doors slowly swung inward to the heavy groan of turning axles. However, the scene inside the doors left Li Yan stunned.
What appeared before his eyes was not a palace, nor another dimension, but two corridors, one on the left and one on the right.
The left corridor was blackish-red, with faint black smoke continuously wafting out from its pitch-black depths. The right corridor, on the other hand, was golden and brightly lit as if by countless lamps, its end out of sight.
For a moment, Li Yan didn't know which path to take.
When the Bright Fire Qilin saw that Li Yan had opened the crimson doors but did not enter immediately, instead standing there hesitantly, it made a decision in an instant, even though it couldn't see his expression from behind. Its eyes rolled.
"Fellow Daoist, are you not here for a breakthrough? Could it be that you intend to choose the golden corridor on the right?"
"You want me to take the black corridor?" Li Yan turned his head slightly to the side, his tone laced with displeasure.
He had been hesitating, but upon hearing the Bright Fire Qilin's words, he immediately made a judgment. The black corridor on the left must be exceptionally dangerous, a path for those seeking breakthroughs. But what was the purpose of the golden corridor? Could it be that different corridors here served different purposes?
Seeing the displeasure on Li Yan's face, the Bright Fire Qilin shook its head, a flicker of imperceptible disappointment in its eyes, which it quickly concealed.
It then turned and walked towards a corner as if unwilling to bother with Li Yan any longer, saying at the same time, "Oh, I was just asking casually. Hehehe, please, help yourself, Fellow Daoist."
Seeing that the Bright Fire Qilin didn't answer his question, Li Yan couldn't help but mutter to himself. Yet, he had keenly noticed the fleeting look of disappointment in the creature's eyes. An idea struck him.
It had been said before that Li Yan was a suspicious person. His mind raced as he recalled Bu Luo's words about the Bright Fire Qilin being cunning and fickle.
'That trace of disappointment must have been deliberately shown to me, so I would choose the golden corridor,' Li Yan sneered inwardly.
He then took a step through the doorway. But in the instant he entered, his body veered toward the black corridor on the left.
However, a bone-chilling laugh echoed from behind him. 'Not good!' Li Yan cried out in his mind. It was too late to retract his foot; his entire body was sucked in by an immense force.
Watching Li Yan's disappearing figure, the Bright Fire Qilin lifted its head, its eyes flashing with excitement.
"Brat, you think you're clever, but you still fell for my trick. Hahaha, with your cultivation, you'll probably last half a day in there before turning into nothingness. That magical treasure will be mine!"
Li Yan felt his vision go black as the space around him tightened. He hastily circulated his Spirit Power to protect his body, but the anticipated attack never came. Instead, he found himself imprisoned, unable to move a muscle. His heart seized with terror.
Li Yan took a deep breath. He was facing the second greatest life-and-death crisis since he began his training. The first time was when he was hunted by Ancestor Redfire ; if he hadn't met Shuang Qingqing , he would have perished. This time, he didn't know what kind of peril he was in, but being immobilized was fatal for any cultivator.
The space was pitch-black, and Li Yan's vision couldn't adapt immediately. Since he didn't feel any attack, he was at least safe for now. Li Yan spread his Divine Sense out into the surroundings. After a long while, he remained 'frozen' on the spot with a look of utter astonishment.
To be precise, Li Yan was 'lying' on the spot. This was a peculiar space. It was peculiar because it was a long, narrow tube.
There was only a sliver of space on either side of his body for him to move. To put it bluntly, Li Yan could only move forward or backward. He couldn't even bend his elbows or stretch his arms. Whenever he tried, the pitch-black walls of the passage would press down, pinning him in place.
Li Yan tried to use his cultivation method to shrink his body. The Qiongqi Purgatory Art allowed his body to contort into all sorts of bizarre angles and perform movements impossible for ordinary people.
However, when he did so, he found that as soon as he created some space, the passage walls would rapidly press in, leaving him with less than three inches of room to move.
After trying twice, Li Yan was too scared to continue. The space on his left and right had shrunk even further, and he seemed completely unable to push it open.
With Li Yan's physical strength, even if he were embedded in a great mountain, he could have punched a tunnel out.
But here, no matter how hard he pushed against the sides, the passage was like an unbreakable cage, holding him firmly within.
If one could see from the outside, it would look as though Li Yan were lying in a long, narrow coffin.
Because he had been caught off guard when he entered, one of his hands was down while the other was raised in front of him for protection. Now, pressed by the passage, he was stuck in this posture.
One arm was raised high above his head, the other hung straight down along his leg—a very awkward position. Normally, such a posture wouldn't be a problem, but it became unbearable after a long time.
Li Yan cursed himself for being too suspicious. The hunter had become the hunted. That Bright Fire Qilin was even more cunning than he was, its entire performance designed to arouse his deep-seated suspicion. Li Yan had carelessly fallen for its scheme.