107: Burning Heaven Truth 2

Xiao Bing felt as if he had been struck by lightning, and last night's nightmare flashed through his mind—the unfinished warning Ice Soul's afterimage had given him while frozen...

"Where's the proof?" Xiao Yan demanded sharply, "Empty words are baseless!"

The Burning Sky Old Ancestor pushed the crystal orb on the table: "See for yourself. But..." He looked meaningfully at Xiao Bing, "I suggest only you and the little fellow, Spirit of the Plane, look at it. The Xuanming Ice Flame within a certain person's body... might trigger an unpleasant reaction."

Xiao Bing sneered: "Trying to sow discord?"

"Just stating the facts." The Burning Sky Old Ancestor stood up, "I'll give you three days to consider. If you want more answers, bring the crystal orb and find me at Burning Sky Valley." He turned to Xiao Yan, his right eye's Flame Lord's Fire suddenly flaring brightly, "Remember, the seed of chaos is growing within you. Time is running out..."

With a flick of his red robe, the Burning Sky Old Ancestor's figure dissolved into a sky full of sparks, leaving only the dark red crystal orb on the table and the hot, dry air in the courtyard.

Xiao Bing immediately used ice crystals to Seal the crystal orb: "It's clearly a trap."

"But if you don't enter the tiger's den..." Xiao Yan stared at the frozen crystal orb, the black threads in his right eye twitching incessantly, "He mentioned the seed of chaos... said I have it inside me..."

Ling Xiao suddenly squatted down, clutching his head, his silver hair flying wildly: "Space cracks! New cracks are appearing all over the Source World!" He painfully looked up, terrifying images reflected in his silver eyes, "Something is coming over... white robes... crystal orbs..."

Xiao Bing quickly helped Ling Xiao, inputting Xuanming Ice Flame into his body to stabilize his condition. But the moment the ice flame touched Ling Xiao, an anomaly suddenly occurred—the Spirit of the Plane's power within Ling Xiao's body suddenly went berserk, clashing violently with the ice flame!

"Let go!" Xiao Yan pulled Xiao Bing away, but it was too late. The collision of the two energies triggered a chain reaction, and the Xuanming Ice Flame within Xiao Bing's body erupted like a bursting dam!

Pale blue ice crystals instantly spread out from Xiao Bing as the center, freezing everything in their path. Xiao Yan only had time to protect himself and Ling Xiao with Flame Lord's Fire, and when he looked back, the entire Xiao Family residence had turned into a world of ice sculptures. Xiao Bing stood at the center of the ice explosion, his eyes completely pale blue, and the patterns beneath his skin covered his entire body like a spider web.

"Second Brother...?" Ling Xiao called out, trembling.

Xiao Bing slowly looked up, his expression strange and cold: "Puri...fy..." His voice became multi-layered, as if another person was speaking through him, "Must...puri...fy..."

"Ice Lord's consciousness!" Xiao Yan suddenly realized, "There's a remnant will of Ice Lord in the Xuanming Ice Flame!"

Xiao Bing—or rather, Xiao Bing influenced by Ice Lord's consciousness—raised his hand, and an extreme cold light shot towards Ling Xiao! Xiao Yan hastily intercepted, his Flame Lord's Fire colliding with the cold light, and the resulting shockwave sent all three flying.

"Ling Xiao! Take him and go!" Xiao Yan adjusted his posture in mid-air, the black threads in his right eye fully activated, and the Chaotic Black Flame surged forth again, "I'll hold him back!"

Ling Xiao, however, shook his head: "No! Your Chaotic Black Flame will stimulate Ice Lord's consciousness!" His silver eyes flickered, and he suddenly thought of something, "The Burning Sky Old Ancestor! He might have a way!"

Thinking of that strange red-robed old man, Xiao Yan instinctively resisted. But looking at Xiao Bing, who was completely out of control, he gritted his teeth: "You go after the Burning Sky Old Ancestor, I'll stay and control the situation!"

Ling Xiao looked worriedly at Xiao Yan's right eye—the black threads there had already spread to his temple: "But your seed of chaos..."

"No time!" Xiao Yan pushed Ling Xiao away and faced the approaching Xiao Bing, "Go!"

Ling Xiao turned with tears in his eyes, his Spirit of the Plane power fully unleashed, transforming into a silver light and disappearing into the sky.

Xiao Yan faced his brother, who was controlled by Ice Lord's consciousness, alone, the Chaotic Black Flame flickering in his palm: "Xiao Bing, can you hear me?"

His answer was an even more intense cold light, which this time directly hit Xiao Yan's chest! The Chaotic Black Flame automatically protected its master, neutralizing most of the damage, but the aftershock still made Xiao Yan spit out a mouthful of fresh blood—the blood froze into red ice crystals in mid-air.

"Puri...fication...begins..." Xiao Bing's voice sounded less and less like his own. As he spoke, the frozen area began to expand, and in an instant, the entire Utan City was enveloped in an extremely cold Domain!

The city residents remained in their last moments of action—vendors calling out, children playing, women washing clothes... all frozen in ice crystals. Only Xiao Yan struggled to hold on with the Chaotic Black Flame, but each use of the Chaotic Black Flame deepened the erosion in his right eye.

"Xiao Bing!" Xiao Yan tried to awaken his brother's memories, "Do you remember the swing behind the mountain? The one Old Yao made! Ling Xiao was always scared, and you would stand below..."

Xiao Bing's movements seemed to hesitate for a moment, but quickly returned to their icy state: "Emo...tion...is...weak...ness..."

Cold light fell like rain, and Xiao Yan struggled to cope, quickly accumulating several wounds on his body. The most dangerous blow grazed his right eye, nearly triggering a full-scale rampage of the black threads.

Just as Xiao Yan was about to lose his support, a crimson pillar of light suddenly descended from the sky! The Burning Sky Old Ancestor's voice came from within: "It seems you need help, Junior Nephew."

Two people emerged from the light pillar—the Burning Sky Old Ancestor and Ling Xiao, whose face was streaked with tears. The old man looked at the frozen Utan City and actually showed a satisfied smile: "Indeed. Ice Lord's absolute purification is still so... extreme."

"Save him!" Ling Xiao pleaded, "You promised!"

The Burning Sky Old Ancestor took out a small red jade bottle from his sleeve: "Crimson Refining Fire Seed, it can temporarily suppress Ice Lord's will within the Xuanming Ice Flame." He looked meaningfully at Xiao Yan, "However... there will be some side effects."

Xiao Yan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth: "What side effects?"

"The seed of chaos will accelerate its growth." The Burning Sky Old Ancestor shook the small bottle, "After all, flame and ice are inherently opposite; to suppress one, the other must be strengthened."

Ling Xiao looked at the old man in shock: "You didn't say that before!"

"It's not too late to say it now." The Burning Sky Old Ancestor didn't care at all, "Choose—let him continue to purify the entire Source World, or accept the accelerated erosion of the seed of chaos?"

Xiao Yan looked at Ling Xiao, whose silver eyes were filled with pain and struggle. This choice was too cruel—saving Xiao Bing meant accelerating Xiao Yan's blackening, while protecting Xiao Yan meant watching Xiao Bing be completely controlled by Ice Lord's consciousness...

"Give it to me." Xiao Yan suddenly reached out, "I'll use the Crimson Refining Fire Seed."

The Burning Sky Old Ancestor raised an eyebrow: "A wise choice." He tossed the small bottle to Xiao Yan, "Strike it directly into the heart area. It will be very painful, but effective."

Xiao Yan gripped the small bottle and walked towards the motionless Xiao Bing. As he approached, the cold Qi almost froze his blood, but the black threads in his right eye twisted excitedly.

"Xiao Bing..." Xiao Yan whispered, "Whether you can hear me or not... I want to say, we will definitely find all our memories... all three of us together..."

He suddenly slammed the Crimson Refining Fire Seed into Xiao Bing's chest!

In an instant, crimson flames erupted from within Xiao Bing's body, clashing fiercely with the pale blue ice flames! Xiao Bing let out an inhuman scream, his body convulsing violently. Xiao Yan tightly hugged his brother, letting the two extreme energies burn his arms.

"Hold on! Don't let Ice Lord gain the upper hand!" The Burning Sky Old Ancestor instructed from the side, his right eye's Flame Lord's Fire bright and dazzling.

The pain lasted for a full quarter of an hour, and finally, the crimson flames gradually suppressed the pale blue ice flames. Most of the patterns on Xiao Bing's skin faded, and the pale blue in his eyes returned to clarity.

"Brother...?" A weak voice sounded, "What... did I do...?"

Xiao Yan felt a sense of relief, but suddenly felt an unprecedented sharp pain in his right eye—the black threads were growing faster, just as the Burning Sky Old Ancestor had said! He knelt to the ground, his vision gradually being eroded by darkness...

"Big Brother!" Ling Xiao and the newly awakened Xiao Bing simultaneously supported him.

The Burning Sky Old Ancestor watched this scene with satisfaction: "Excellent. Now you understand, right? Flame and ice can never truly be balanced." He pointed to the dark red crystal orb on the table, "The answer is there. Three days from now, at Burning Sky Valley."

As his red robe fluttered, the old man's figure dissipated again. This time he left behind more sparks, forming a map in the air—the location of Burning Sky Valley.

Xiao Bing looked at the destruction he had caused, clutching his head in pain: "What have I done...?"

"It wasn't you." Ling Xiao comforted him, "It was Ice Lord's consciousness."

Xiao Yan barely suppressed the black threads in his right eye and asked weakly: "What else did the Burning Sky Old Ancestor say?"

Ling Xiao's face suddenly turned pale: "He said... people from the Purification Sect have already entered the Source World. They are a group of white-robed Cultivators who follow Ice Lord's ideals; they believe that everything contaminated by Chaos must be completely purified... including the three of us."

Xiao Bing clenched his fists: "So the Burning Sky Old Ancestor represents the Flame Lord's lineage, and the Purification Sect represents the Ice Lord's lineage?"

"More than that." Ling Xiao's voice trembled, "The Purification Sect holds white crystal orbs... They call us 'errors that shouldn't exist'... and are fully searching for us..."

Xiao Yan looked at the dark red crystal orb frozen on the table, the black threads in his right eye twitching wildly. The memory fragments inside might explain everything. But his intuition told him that once he touched it, some things would be irreversible...

"First, treat the injuries." Xiao Yan finally decided, "Tomorrow... we'll decide whether to examine the crystal orb."

Night fell, and in the barely cleared room, the three brothers rested. Xiao Bing fell into a coma due to the effects of the Crimson Refining Fire Seed; Ling Xiao remained in meditation, monitoring the surroundings through the Spirit of the Plane; Xiao Yan sat alone on the rooftop, his right eye occasionally flashing with black light.

On a distant mountain peak, a white-robed figure stood silently, a white crystal orb in his hand reflecting the frozen Utan City. The figure whispered: "Errors must be corrected. Absolute purification... is about to begin."