64: Soul Refining in the Furnace

Deep within the Ruins of the Fallen, at the bottom of a half-collapsed stone tower, Xiao Chen sat cross-legged. Outside the tower, the wind howled, and the roars of unknown creatures faintly echoed. Inside, however, it was exceptionally quiet, with only the dark red "fragment of the heaven burning furnace" in his hand emitting a warm glow.

The fragment felt warm to the touch, pulsating faintly as if alive. Xiao Chen closed his eyes and focused, his Spirit Realm Great Perfection soul power carefully probing into it. In an instant, he felt as if he was in an boundless sea of fire, with nothing but surging flames as far as the eye could see. They varied in color and form, from pure white Pure fire like the sun, to icy blue bone fire, and even blood-red demonic fire... The roars and howls of countless flames assailed his soul, and a violent will, seeking to incinerate all things and return them to chaos, filled the heavens and earth.

"What a terrifying will! This fragment actually seals so many origins of fire!" Xiao Chen's mind was greatly shaken. He quickly guarded his spiritual platform, activating both the Myriad Souls Returning Flow Art and the Soul Emperor Canon simultaneously. The clan mark on his brow glowed with golden light, barely resisting the impact of this will. He realized that this fragment was not an inanimate object, but a ferocious item with a damaged Fire Spirit, yearning for reunion and Devour.

To control it, he must first subdue the violent Fire Spirit contained within!

Xiao Chen took a deep breath, no longer passively defending. Instead, he actively transformed his own soul power into a condensed, sharp cone, carrying a faint trace of Origin Qi and the majesty of the Xiao Clan bloodline, and boldly pierced into the core of the sea of fire!

"Roar!"

In the center of the sea of fire, a blurry, gigantic beast phantom, formed by countless flames, let out an angry roar, opening its massive mouth to devour him. This was the manifestation of the fragment's Fire Spirit!

An intense battle on the soul level instantly unfolded. Xiao Chen's soul avatar moved freely within the sea of fire, sometimes dodging nimbly like a fish, other times enduring impacts stubbornly like a rock. He integrated his understanding of the Soul Heart Flame, the extreme cold properties of the Profound Ice Flame, and his subtle perception of the Power of Space into his soul attacks, battling the Fire Spirit beast. The process was extremely perilous; his soul body was scorched by the flames multiple times, becoming ethereal, but quickly recovered with his tenacious will and the nourishment of Origin Qi.

After an unknown duration, when Xiao Chen's soul power was almost exhausted, he finally found an opportunity. With a Soul Impact containing the artistic conception of "Eternal Instant," he momentarily froze the Fire Spirit beast, then used a soul imprint condensed by his bloodline power to forcefully brand its core!

"Buzz—!"

The Fire Spirit beast let out an unwilling wail. Its massive body gradually shrank and solidified, finally transforming into a docile, crimson little flame, hovering before Xiao Chen's soul body. A feeling of bloodline connection, as if he could command it with a mere thought, surged through his heart.

Success! He had initially refined this fragment of the heaven burning furnace!

Xiao Chen withdrew from his internal vision and slowly opened his eyes, a wisp of crimson firelight flashing in his pupils. With a slight thought, the fragment in his palm began to spin, emitting a soft and warm glow. He felt an immense affinity with the fire-attribute energy between heaven and earth, and a miniature "furnace" seemed to have appeared deep within his soul, capable of slowly refining and purifying soul power, and even... refining external objects!

He tried to throw a low-grade ore he had obtained from the ruins into the fragment's light. The light swirled, and the ore visibly melted, its impurities incinerated, leaving only a small pinch of pure metal powder.

"It really has a refining effect! Although it's far from the power of the complete heaven burning furnace, for me right now, it's a huge help!" Xiao Chen was delighted. This fragment could not only assist in soul cultivation but also purify medicinal herbs and ores, and even... refine the energy impurities in enemy attacks!

He rested for a moment. After his soul power had mostly recovered, he took out the charred beast skin scroll. As his soul power permeated it, the incomplete diagram of stars reappeared, pointing to an area deeper within the ruins called "Demon Burial Valley." The four characters "Ancient Emperor's Cave Mansion" still emitted an alluring yet dangerous aura.

"Ancient Emperor's Cave Mansion... could it be related to Origin Qi?" Xiao Chen mused. Origin Qi was the key to achieving the Dou Di (Battle Emperor) realm. If the cave mansion truly existed, its value would be inestimable. But even with a moment's thought, he knew it would undoubtedly be a den of dragons and a tiger's lair. Not only were there the dangers of the ruins themselves, but the Soul Hall and other top forces in the Central Plains had probably long been eyeing it.

Just as he was pondering, a faint tremor suddenly came from the clan mark on his brow. His soul perception caught a fierce energy collision fluctuation from an extreme distance. One of the auras was cold and deathly silent, clearly belonging to someone from the Soul Hall! The other aura was filled with sharp sword intent and was struggling to hold on.

"The Soul Hall is fighting someone?" Xiao Chen's gaze sharpened. He concealed all his aura and stealthily moved like a ghost towards the direction from which the fluctuations came.

In a broken canyon several miles away, the scene was tragic. Three Venerables wearing Soul Hall robes (one Five-Star Dou Zong, two Three-Star Dou Zong) were siege a Woman in White Robes. The Woman in White Robes had a cold demeanor, holding an Autumn Water longsword. Her swordsmanship was exquisite, and sword qi surged around her. Her cultivation was also at the Five-Star Dou Zong level, but under the siege of the three, she was already struggling, her white clothes stained with blood, a trace of fresh red oozing from the corner of her mouth.

"Remnant of the Sword Pavilion, hand over that half of the Ancient Emperor's incomplete diagram, and we can leave you a whole corpse!" The leading Five-Star Dou Zong from the Soul Hall said with a sinister laugh, his attacks becoming even more fierce.

"Never!" The Woman in White Robes gritted her teeth, her sword stance changing, transforming into a sky full of sword lotuses protecting her body, but it was clear she was at the end of her rope.

In the shadows, Xiao Chen's eyes flickered. Sword Pavilion? He seemed to recall seeing records of it in the Pill Tower's ancient texts; it was a sword cultivation sect that had long declined but had an ancient heritage. Ancient Emperor's incomplete diagram? Could it be related to the star map in his hand?

Seeing a Nether Ghost Claw about to tear through the sword lotuses and grab the woman's throat, Xiao Chen acted. He did not reveal himself directly but communicated with the fragment of the heaven burning furnace with his mind, locking onto the attacking Three-Star Dou Zong from the Soul Hall, and with a gentle "refine" from a distance!

Silently, that Soul Hall Dou Zong only felt that the energy of his condensed Nether Ghost Claw seemed to have been thrown into an invisible furnace, instantly dissipating by almost half, its power greatly reduced!

"What's going on?" He was astonished.

Although the Woman in White Robes didn't understand why, she seized this fleeting opportunity. Her sword light surged, instantly breaking through the weakened ghost claw and leaving a deep, bone-visible sword mark on the Dou Zong's chest!

"Who? Hiding your head and showing your tail!" The Soul Hall Five-Star Dou Zong was both surprised and enraged, his soul power frantically sweeping the surroundings.

Xiao Chen repeated the process, once again activating the fragment, his target directly a Soul Impact emitted by the Five-Star Dou Zong. That invisible shockwave, as it approached the Woman in White Robes, similarly dissipated partially for no apparent reason.

Two consecutive strange occurrences caused the Soul Hall members to feel apprehensive, and their offensive involuntarily slowed.

The Woman in White Robes's pressure suddenly decreased. Although she didn't know who was helping her, she couldn't miss the opportunity. She let out a soft cry, her sword stance like a long rainbow piercing the sun, forcing the three back. Her figure transformed into a sword light and instantly fled into the distance.

"Chase!" The Soul Hall Five-Star Dou Zong roared, just about to pursue, but suddenly felt a subtle killing intent that made his soul tremble lock onto him, as if a pair of cold eyes were watching from the darkness, sending chills down his spine. He paused, and in his hesitation, the Woman in White Robes had already disappeared into the depths of the ruins.

"Damn it! Who on earth ruined my plans!" He was furious but dared not easily disperse his power to track down the hidden enemy.

In the distance, Xiao Chen silently withdrew his gaze. He acted, firstly out of an instinctive hostility towards the Soul Hall, secondly because the "Ancient Emperor's incomplete diagram" had piqued his interest, and thirdly because the woman's sword intent made him feel something unusual. He had no intention of clashing with the Soul Hall head-on right now; saving the woman and disrupting the situation was enough.

"Ancient Emperor's Cave Mansion... incomplete diagram... it's getting more and more interesting." Xiao Chen glanced in the direction the Woman in White Robes had disappeared, then looked towards the Demon Burial Valley deeper within the ruins, his figure slowly merging into the shadows. The path ahead would likely not be peaceful. The Soul Hall's frantic search, the appearance of the mysterious Sword Pavilion woman, and the enticing mystery of the Ancient Emperor's Cave Mansion all foreshadowed an even greater storm about to arrive.