In contrast to its ancient age, the Yanyang Xuancang Flame's voice sounded relatively young: “After I completed the mission of burning the sea with my master, most of my origin was consumed, so I returned to this spiritual realm to nurture myself.”
It did not mention that mighty cultivator Xuancang again, and subtle nostalgia lingered in its words. Shi Yu surmised that the grand figure had likely fallen and wisely refrained from prying further.
“However... the Boundless Black Sea is a land of deathly quiet and filth.” The Yanyang Xuancang Flame's voice dropped a bit, its flickering flames dimming and brightening unpredictably. “Burning the sea over such a long time, it was inevitable that I became polluted by it, and a malicious thought to destroy the world arose uncontrollably within me.
“This malicious thought carefully lay dormant. By the time I noticed it, it had grown stronger day by day, while I was so weakened that I was about to enter a deep sleep.”
Powerless to stop it, the Yanyang Xuancang Flame could only sever the malice from itself, leaving it to survive on its own. Yet, fearful that it would grow even stronger, the flame separated another portion of its origin before falling asleep to keep a constant watch on it.
“Thus, as years rolled by, peace was maintained.”
Hearing this, Shi Yu was struck by realization. Recalling the scene she had witnessed earlier, she guessed, “Senior, are that malicious thought and portion of origin the two Fire Spirit Giants?”
“Fire Spirit Giants?” The Yanyang Xuancang Flame paused slightly, then chuckled. “That is a fitting way to address them.”
As it patiently explained further, Shi Yu learned that after the flame fell into slumber, the Yanyang Spiritual Realm plunged into this lower realm and was buried deep underground. It was only several hundred years ago, when it sensed that the malicious thought could no longer be suppressed, that it awoke from its deep sleep and drew upon fire Qi to cause the secret realm to emerge, seeking an opportunity to suppress the malice.
Only because of this did the Hengze Prefecture Alchemist Association seize the opportunity, leveraging the spiritual realm to hold the Alchemy Exchange Conference that lasted for centuries, causing their strength and status to grow increasingly formidable, far surpassing other prefecture cities.
The Yanyang Xuancang Flame explained helplessly, “That malicious thought originated from me, so I have no way to personally fight against it; I can only borrow the strength of others.
“Regrettably... after tens of thousands of years, this spiritual realm is already fragile and can hardly endure much more. Over these past few centuries, it could only allow a small number of Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators to enter. Yet among all who entered over these hundreds of years, none possessed the ability to contend with that malicious thought of mine.”
No wonder. So the alchemists coming in to observe the spiritual fire and comprehend the Intent of Fire had been done under the Yanyang Xuancang Flame's tacit permission all along; it was a test set by the fire. But after several centuries, no one had met its standards. Even Yin Wenzhou, despite his extraordinary talent and entering the spiritual realm multiple times to observe, had failed to earn its approval.
Dense, pure fire spiritual Qi—almost tangible in density—misty around the crimson flame in front of her. Looking at Shi Yu, it spoke slowly, “Only you barely possess the qualifications to assist me.”
These barely met qualifications were likely thanks to her unlocked bloodline and the Void Fissure Spiritual Flame.
Shi Yu fell silent for a moment, knowing this would not be easy and carried considerable risk. Yet risk always came hand in hand with opportunity.
Lifting her eyes, her long eyelashes fluttered as she asked, “How should I assist Senior?”
Floating in midair, the Yanyang Xuancang Flame paused briefly before speaking slowly under Shi Yu’s quiet, inquiring gaze, “If you can comprehend my origin, you can merge into it. That way, you can borrow my power to fight against that malicious thought.
“However, you must also endure the conflict between my origin and the malicious thought. With bad luck, you might suffer a backlash from the origin or be corrupted by the malice.”
Though spoken plainly in just a few sentences, careful thought revealed the hidden perils within.
Setting aside how powerful and terrifying the Fire Spirit Giant formed by the malicious thought was, merely the possibility of suffering backlash from the Yanyang Xuancang Flame’s origin was enough to daunt ordinary people.
A backlash from the origin of a Heavenly Fire involved the power of laws. It wasn't simply a matter of getting injured or damaging one's Dao Foundation; a single misstep could burn away her spiritual soul, destroying her body and Dao, erasing her existence from heaven and earth forever.
This level of risk was immense.
Shi Yu’s expression turned solemn as she fell into deep thought. This was a gamble, and a high-stakes one at that.
The Yanyang Xuancang Flame quietly waited for her answer without rushing her, seemingly content with whatever decision she made.
After a long pause, Shi Yu took a deep breath. “Senior, I am willing to give it a try.”
Hearing her words, the Yanyang Xuancang Flame spoke gratifyingly, “Good, good!”
The moment its voice fell, brilliant mysterious light erupted from the flame at the center of the blessed paradise. Endless fire surged toward Shi Yu as if drawn by a powerful gravitational pull, and even the waterfall of flames seemed lifted by a pair of giant hands, building a tall wall of fire around her.
A wave of scalding energy instantly spread through her body. Shi Yu felt a unique connection form between herself and the spiritual fire, and a cluster of white light emerged from the flames, wrapping around her like a bubble.
With a soft pop,
a surge of chill rose from her chest, as if freezing her entire body solid. Before Shi Yu could react, she suddenly found herself unable to see anything. Her vision turned into a void of darkness, unpenetrated by even a sliver of light.
Alarmed, she then discovered her ears could hear no sound at all. Even when she tried her hardest to catch any noise, she couldn't even hear her own heartbeat. Her nose was the same—unable to smell any scent.
Pinching her fingers hard, she couldn't feel the slightest pain or tactile feedback.
—She had lost all five senses.
Shi Yu arrived at this conclusion.
“...” She attempted to project her spiritual sense, but it was no longer under her control either.
This meant she had completely lost all perception of the world.
In that moment, Shi Yu felt as though she were sinking into a dark abyss. Within the boundless silence, her body felt like a corpse, as if the moment the bubble encased her, she was severed from the rest of the world.
Though caught unprepared, Shi Yu remained relatively calm. This was the trial brought on by comprehending the Yanyang Xuancang Flame's origin; all she needed to do was think of a way to break through the predicament.
However...
“With all five senses gone and my spiritual sense unusable, how am I supposed to comprehend its origin?”
In a situation like this, she seemed completely unable to do anything.
Gradually, Shi Yu could not even sense her own presence, leaving only a lingering thread of consciousness.
She began to feel confused: Was she simply unable to perceive it, or did the world not exist at all? If everything was a complete void, what was there to perceive?
...
Three months had passed since the closure of the Yanyang Spiritual Realm.
At the grand tournament of the Alchemy Exchange Conference, the remarkably brilliant girl had been like a blossoming firework, radiating boundless brilliance that made countless people gaze in awe and wonder. Yet in just an instant, the firework fell silent, so fleeting that it caught everyone off guard.
The news of Shi Yu taking first place only to vanish alongside the Yanyang Spiritual Realm spread across the entire Changyuan Prefecture within a few short months. Widespread regrets echoed, lamenting how quickly a genius could fade away.
President Song and Master Ji found this hard to accept and refused to leave Hengze Prefecture. Day after day, they stood guard at the mountaintop where the Yanyang Spiritual Realm had closed, yearning for the day when the smiling girl would reappear, blink her eyes, and call out “President Song” and “Master Ji” once again.
Yet for three months straight, not a trace of the spiritual realm’s aura remained, as if it had never existed at all.
The anticipation and hope in President Song and Master Ji’s eyes dimmed day by day.
The Lingtai Prefecture Alchemist Association still had many matters to handle. Sighing, the others could only take the cloud boat back first. President Song and Master Ji remained behind in Hengze Prefecture, taking turns standing guard at the mountaintop to continue waiting for Shi Yu.
Time flowed on, day after day.
Rate on N.U.
