Chapter 349 I No Longer Need a Different Flame

"His primary wife, Cao Ying, controls the Green Lotus Core Flame. His concubine, Xiao Yi Xian, controls the Netherworld Poison Flame. He himself possesses the Fallen Heart Flame.

Furthermore, it seems Tang Huo'er of the Burning Flame Valley only managed to master the Nine Dragon Lightning Flame because of him."

Huo Zhi paused, her tone carrying a hint of curiosity. "A single household harboring four types of Heavenly Flames—don't you find that interesting?"

Huo Xuan smiled. "The Yan Clan also possesses more than one type of Heavenly Flame."

"That's different."

Huo Zhi shook her head. "For the Yan Clan, it is a result of our Bloodline and the accumulation of generations that we have our current foundation.

He is someone without the Bloodline of an Emperor Clan; by what right can he make so many Heavenly Flames willingly acknowledge him as their master?"

She withdrew the flame from her palm and leaned back against the chair, her gaze drifting toward the distant horizon. "I've heard that his control over fire has already reached a very profound Realm.

It isn't that kind of overbearing suppression, but rather... making the flames cooperate of their own accord."

Huo Xuan held his teacup, remaining silent.

Huo Zhi continued, "That concubine of his, Xiao Yi Xian, originally possessed the Calamity Poison Body, and the Netherworld Poison Flame within her could have spiraled out of control at any moment.

Yet he used some sort of method to bridge the poison flame and the poison body together. Not only did nothing go wrong, but that woman's cultivation also surged significantly."

She turned her head to look at Huo Xuan. "If it were you, could you achieve such a feat?"

Huo Xuan was silent for a moment before shaking his head. "I could not."

Huo Zhi smiled. "Exactly."

She stood up and brushed off non-existent dust from her skirt, her tone casual. "Anyway, there are still a few days until the Pill Gathering, and we have nothing better to do.

How about... we go and see this Shen Wen?"

Huo Xuan looked up at her. "To the Shen Residence?"

Huo Zhi nodded. "To the Shen Residence."

Huo Xuan pondered for a moment, set down his teacup, and stood up. "That is fine as well."

...

Shen Wen had just sat down cross-legged in the Quiet Room, preparing to continue refining that Soul Origin, when a servant came to report: Huo Zhi and Huo Xuan of the Yan Clan had come to visit.

He stood up, straightened his robes, and had the two of them invited into the Flower Hall.

When Huo Zhi entered the room, her gaze swept over Shen Wen's body.

She sensed for a moment, her brow furrowing slightly.

This person did not have the slightest aura of a Heavenly Flame on him.

"Grandmaster Shen," she said, sitting in the guest seat and getting straight to the point, "I heard you refined the Fallen Heart Flame?"

Shen Wen nodded. "I did indeed refine it."

Huo Zhi raised an eyebrow. "Then why can I not sense it now?"

"I gave it to Dan Chen." Shen Wen's tone was casual. "She is currently pushing for the eighth tier. Having a Heavenly Flame by her side will save her a lot of effort."

Huo Zhi and Huo Xuan exchanged a glance, both seeing the surprise in each other's eyes.

Huo Xuan spoke, his tone carrying a hint of confusion. "Grandmaster Shen is about to participate in the Pill Gathering. Without a Heavenly Flame by your side, wouldn't you be Innately weaker than others? Those from the Medicine Clan and our clan will not show any mercy."

Shen Wen leaned back against the chair and smiled.

"I already have no need for Heavenly Flames."

Huo Xuan and Huo Zhi exchanged another look, both seeing the same thought in the other's eyes.

Is this man too arrogant?

The Yan Clan Legacy has lasted for thousands of years, and they are unrivaled in the world with their fire control techniques. Which of the clan's experts didn't rely on Heavenly Flames to reach that stage?

Even those few Old Ancestors in the clan wouldn't dare say something like 'I already have no need for Heavenly Flames'.

Huo Zhi spoke cautiously, "Grandmaster Shen, aren't those words... a bit too boastful?"

She tried to keep her tone polite, but the doubt in her eyes could not be hidden.

Shen Wen did not explain.

He simply raised his hand.

In his palm, a wisp of flame silently emerged.

The form of that flame was very strange.

At first glance, it looked like ordinary Dou Qi fire, crimson with a hint of orange-yellow, no different from the flames produced by an ordinary fire-attribute Dou Practitioner.

But after looking a few more times, it felt wrong.

That flame was too pure.

It lacked the unique spiritual fluctuations of a Heavenly Flame, the overbearing nature that incinerates all things, and the gentle warmth that nourishes life.

It was simply fire—the most original, the purest fire.

It was as if the first wisp of flame born from Chaos at the beginning of the world should look exactly like this.

Huo Zhi stared at that wisp of flame for a moment, and her expression suddenly changed.

The deep red flame in her palm jumped uncontrollably.

It wasn't responding; it was... recoiling.

Huo Xuan also noticed it.

The wisp of Heavenly Flame within him, bestowed by the clan, was currently curled up deep within his Dantian, trembling slightly like a subject seeing a king.

The expressions of both people changed simultaneously.

In all their years of living, they had never encountered such a situation.

Heavenly Flames are born of heaven and earth and are extremely proud; even when facing a higher-ranked Heavenly Flame, they would only resist, never recoil.

But at this moment, they were clearly in fear.

Fearing a flame produced by Dou Qi?

Huo Zhi opened her mouth, wanting to ask something, but found she didn't even know where to begin.

Shen Wen had no intention of explaining; he simply tapped the tabletop.

A soft "ding" sounded.

The wisp of flame in his palm suddenly moved.

It slid from Shen Wen's palm, flowing onto the tabletop like water. The tongues of fire spread out, yet they didn't burn anything; they simply laid flat and then began to condense and take shape.

First came the ground, a path paved with bluestone slabs with several spirit trees planted on either side. Then came the courtyard walls, the gatehouse, and the two characters for "Shen Residence" on the plaque emerged stroke by stroke.

Huo Zhi and Huo Xuan's gazes were firmly captured by that scene.

Because that scene was alive.

In front of the Shen Residence formed by flames, two small figures were approaching.

One wore a fiery red dress, bright and dazzling;

The other wore a brocade robe, his face handsome.

The two stopped in front of the gate, seemingly saying something, and then a servant came out to greet them and led them inside.

It was themselves.

Huo Zhi's breathing became slightly hurried.

The scene formed by the flames continued.

Those two small figures passed through the front courtyard, crossed the threshold of the Flower Hall, and took their seats beside the main chair. A person sat in the main chair, wearing a black robe and a jade crown, his face youthful.

That person looked up within the flames, looking at them.

No, not looking at them, but looking at those two small figures who were taking their seats.

The Shen Wen within the flames raised his hand, and a wisp of flame lit up in his palm.

Then he tapped the tabletop.

The flame slid from his palm, flowed onto the tabletop, and began to condense and take shape—

The ground, the courtyard walls, the gatehouse, the plaque—

Two figures approached—

A servant came out to greet them—

Passed through the front courtyard—

Crossed the threshold—

Took their seats—

The person in the main chair looked up, a flame lighting in his palm—

Tapped the tabletop—

The flame slid down—

The ground, the courtyard walls, the gatehouse—

Layer after layer.

Every layer was the same scene, the same actions, the same dialogue.

Those small figures formed by flames were lifelike, with even the folds of their robes and the curve of their brows being exactly the same.

Huo Zhi stared at that layered world of flames, a slight "gulp" sound coming from her throat.

She swallowed hard.

Huo Xuan was not doing much better. He sat there, his back ramrod straight, not daring to move an inch.

His eyes stared fixedly at that infinitely nesting flame illusion on the tabletop, his pupils contracting slightly.

The world of flames on the tabletop continued.

One layer, two layers, three layers... countless layers, each one exactly the same, every small figure repeating the same actions, as if there were no such thing as a "beginning" or an "end" in this world.

Only an eternal, endless loop.

Huo Zhi suddenly felt a bit dizzy.

She hurriedly looked away, only to find Shen Wen looking at them with a faint smile on his lips.

"Pardon my meager display."

His voice was very soft, yet it was like a stone being thrown into a calm surface of water.

The world of flames on the tabletop shattered at the sound, turning into countless tiny points of light that drifted away into the air.

The Flower Hall was incredibly quiet.

Huo Xuan picked up his teacup and took a sip; the tea was already cold, but he was completely oblivious.

When he set the teacup down, his fingers were trembling slightly.

Huo Zhi was more composed than him, but those eyes that were usually so spirited now also carried a hint of daze.