103: Before the Furnace 2

The mirror vibrated violently, and the three energy light clusters began to flicker unstably.

Xiao Bing suddenly grabbed the sleeves of his two brothers: "Now... pour your energy... into the Furnace..."

"But you will..." Xiao Yan stopped mid-sentence.

He understood Xiao Bing's meaning—it wasn't about sacrificing someone, but about jointly injecting the emotions and power of all three!

Ling Xiao also understood the intention, a hint of sadness but determination flashing in his silver eyes: "Together..."

The three held hands and formed a circle.

Xiao Yan guided the Flame Lord's Fire, Ling Xiao released the Spirit of the Plane's power, and Xiao Bing extracted the last of the Xuanming Ice Flame from his body.

Three streams of energy merged in the center, forming a three-colored beam of light that shot towards the mirror!

Dark Lingxiao let out a piercing shriek, his shadow forced back by the light beam.

A vortex appeared on the mirror's surface, beginning to absorb the three's energy... and memories!

Xiao Yan suddenly had a splitting headache, countless fragments being pulled from his mind—the first time he saw Old Yao, gathering herbs with Xiao Bing in the mountains, the day Ling Xiao joined them...

These memories turned into points of light flowing into the mirror.

"No!" Ling Xiao exclaimed, "It's absorbing our memories!"

Xiao Bing was too weak to speak, but his eyes conveyed a clear message—continue!

This was the price!

The black threads in Xiao Yan's right eye resisted frantically, the voice of the Chaos Devourer echoing in his mind: "Stop! You will lose everything!"

But louder still were his father's dying words: "The fusion of the three spirits is not the end..."

"For the Source World..." Xiao Yan gritted his teeth and persisted, allowing his memories to continuously drain away.

After the mirror absorbed enough energy, it suddenly reversed!

Pure white light burst forth from it, instantly filling the entire space.

Dark Lingxiao's black shadow melted like ice in fire, letting out an unwilling wail.

The white light flowed through Xiao Yan's right eye, and the black threads were forcibly peeled away, transforming into a twisted black snake that landed in his palm.

"This is... the true purification..." Ling Xiao's face was covered in tears, yet he smiled.

Xiao Bing had already closed his eyes, the crystallization spreading to his chest, but a satisfied arc graced his lips.

The white light continued to spread, penetrating the Furnace and illuminating the entire Void Realm.

The fragments of Xingyun Pavilion reassembled in the white light, and the ethereal figures of Flame Lord and Ice Lord appeared one last time.

"We succeeded..." The Flame Lord's fiery phantom trembled slightly, "We... overlooked the key back then..."

The Ice Lord's ice crystal phantom also nodded: "Emotion... is the ultimate power... against Chaos..."

The two ethereal figures transformed into red and blue light points, merging into the white light.

Before completely dissipating, they said in unison:

"This time... you must be happy..."

Dark Lingxiao's black shadow had been compressed to its limit, yet he still struggled: "No! I haven't..." His voice suddenly cut off, because the peeled-off black snake suddenly leaped up and drilled into his glabella!

Dark Lingxiao's body instantly solidified, becoming an existence identical to Ling Xiao, only completely black.

He looked at his hands in shock: "I... materialized?"

Ling Xiao vigilantly stood in front of his two brothers: "What do you want to do?"

Dark Lingxiao did not answer, but looked at the Chaos Furnace, which was still operating.

The white light had begun to weaken, and the purification process was nearing completion, but one last step remained—all the stripped Chaos energy needed a destination.

"So that's it..." Dark Lingxiao suddenly laughed, "This is the true sacrifice."

He walked towards the Furnace, and under the shocked gaze of the three, reached out and touched the stripped Chaos energy: "I always thought I was Ling Xiao's dark side... but in fact, I was just a wisp of the Chaos Devourer's consciousness, taking shape through the black threads..."

"Dark Lingxiao..." Ling Xiao wanted to step forward, but Xiao Yan held him back.

"Let him finish."

Dark Lingxiao turned to look at the three, a hint of humanity actually appearing in his black eyes: "Your memories... I saw them.

Very... warm." He pressed his hand on the Furnace, "This feeling... I want to experience more..."

After speaking, he leaped into the Furnace!

Chaos energy surged in like a tide, clashing fiercely with the white light.

Dark Lingxiao's body began to disintegrate, but his face held an unprecedented calm: "So... this is... how it feels..."

The last of the Chaos energy was purified, and the white light instantly intensified to its extreme!

Xiao Yan only felt a blinding white before losing consciousness...

When Xiao Yan woke up again, he found himself lying on the grass of the Ancient Clan Sacred Mountain.

The sky was clear blue, as if the previous disaster had never happened.

He sat up abruptly and looked around: "Xiao Bing! Ling Xiao!"

"Brother!" A familiar voice came from behind him.

Xiao Yan turned and saw Xiao Bing and Ling Xiao standing there, perfectly fine.

Xiao Bing's crystallization had completely disappeared, and Ling Xiao's silver hair had regained its pure luster.

Even more surprisingly, the dark vortex in Xiao Yan's right eye was gone, restored to its original deep black.

"We... succeeded?" Xiao Yan asked in disbelief.

Ling Xiao nodded, tears glistening in his eyes: "The Chaos Devourer has been resealed, and all the Void Claws have disappeared."

Xiao Bing moved his left hand, which had once been completely crystallized: "And all our injuries are healed... It's just..."

"Just what?"

Xiao Bing and Ling Xiao exchanged glances, the latter softly saying: "Do you remember how we won?"

Xiao Yan frowned in thought, but to his horror, he found that his last memory stopped at the moment they rushed into Xingyun Pavilion... everything after that was blurry!

"Our memories..." Xiao Bing gave a bitter smile, "They were the price to activate the Furnace.

The more important the memory... the more thoroughly it was forgotten..."

Xiao Yan hurriedly checked his memories—Old Yao, his father, Ice Soul... he still remembered these people, but many details of his time with his two younger brothers had disappeared.

The most terrifying thing was that he looked at Xiao Bing and Ling Xiao, knowing clearly they were his closest family, yet he couldn't recall the circumstances of their first meeting...

"It's okay." Ling Xiao wiped away his tears, forcing a smile, "As long as we're still by each other's side, we can create new memories."

Xiao Bing nodded, extending his left hand: "Brothers united..."

Xiao Yan and Ling Xiao placed their hands on top: "Their strength can cut through metal!"

The three's hands were tightly clasped, sunlight filtering through their fingers, casting intertwined shadows on the grass.

Although they had lost some memories, the feeling of Bloodline connection remained strong.

In the distance, the Ancient Clan people began to gather, looking with awe at these three heroes who had saved the Source World.

The Grand Elder walked forward tremblingly, wanting to express the gratitude of the entire clan.

But Xiao Yan merely waved his hand, put his arms around his two brothers' shoulders, and turned to leave: "Let's go, home."

"Where is home?" Ling Xiao asked innocently.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Bing exchanged smiles, saying in unison: "Where we are together is home."

In the ruins of Xingyun Pavilion, the Chaos Furnace had stopped operating, its surface covered in cracks.

A crystal-clear bead rolled out from a crack, containing three tiny points of light—azure-silver, deep blue, and silver-white, slowly rotating as if alive...