91: Burning Heaven Trial 2

As Ling Xiao approached, Flame Slave pressed his crimson hand against Ling Xiao's brow.

In an instant, Ling Xiao's entire body tensed, his silver hair fluttered without wind, and black threads furiously writhed beneath his skin!

Flame Slave grunted, a wisp of green smoke rising from his palm, but he did not let go; instead, he pressed harder.

"Indeed... the Chaos Devourer has evolved," Flame Slave retracted his hand, his palm scorched black.

"This time, the corruption will spread as the Spirit of the Plane's power increases, until it completely controls the host."

Xiao Yan's heart tightened: "Is there a way to purify it?"

Flame Slave looked at the crystal ball entwined with chains: "The answer is in the wrath seed.

But first..." He suddenly erupted, his crimson figure flashing like a ghost before Xiao Yan, his withered claw aiming straight for Xiao Yan's right eye!

"Let me see how much of Flame Lord's memory you have inherited!"

Xiao Yan reacted extremely quickly; Flame Lord's Fire automatically protected him, colliding with Flame Slave's crimson flames!

Space distorted where the two flames clashed, and the heat forced Xiao Bing to retreat several steps with Ling Xiao.

"What are you doing?" Xiao Yan roared, his azure-silver flames forming armor.

Flame Slave did not answer, his attacks becoming even more ferocious.

Strangely, although his flames could clearly harm Xiao Yan, they always avoided vital points, more like... testing something.

After ten moves, Flame Slave suddenly stopped, retreating to the center of the stone platform: "Enough.

You have indeed inherited Flame Lord's Fire seed, but you have not yet received the complete Legacy."

He pointed to the crystal ball, "The wrath seed is within it, but to obtain it, you must pass a trial."

"What trial?" Xiao Bing asked coldly.

"Everyone faces a different one," Flame Slave looked at the three of them.

"Only one of you can enter the flame cage and confront your deepest fears.

Failure means turning to ash; success means taking the seed."

Xiao Yan did not hesitate: "I'll go."

Xiao Bing wanted to object, but fell silent after seeing his brother's gaze.

Ling Xiao weakly grabbed Xiao Yan's wrist: "Be careful... the flames inside will... amplify all emotions..."

Flame Slave raised the crystal ball, reciting an ancient Talismanic Incantation.

The chains rattled, slowly loosening to reveal a tiny entrance on the surface of the orb: "Go in, Flame Lord's successor.

Remember, reality and illusion are separated by only a fine line."

Xiao Yan took a deep breath, nodded to his two younger brothers, then transformed into a streak of azure-silver fire and entered the crystal ball.

The moment he entered, the surrounding scenery spun wildly.

When Xiao Yan stood firm, he found himself in a pure white space, with no up, down, left, or right, and no scenery whatsoever.

There was only endless white, and a deathly silence.

"What is the trial?" Xiao Yan vigilantly scanned his surroundings, Flame Lord's Fire circulating on his body.

There was no response.

Time passed minute by minute, this white space seemed eternally unchanging.

Xiao Yan began to feel anxious, a familiar burning pain came from his right eye, and Flame Lord's memories surged uncontrollably—he saw more of Flame Lord and Ice Lord's past, saw how the two went from being inseparable to being at loggerheads...

"Is this the trial? Boring waiting?" Xiao Yan shouted into the Void Realm.

Suddenly, ripples appeared in the white space, and a figure slowly emerged—it was another Xiao Yan!

But this "Black Xiao Yan" had eyes as black as ink, and a cold smile on his lips.

"Finally impatient?" Black Xiao Yan sneered, "Is this all the patience Flame Lord's successor has?"

Xiao Yan immediately entered combat stance: "Who are you?"

"I am you," Black Xiao Yan said easily, "To be precise, I am what you could become."

He snapped his fingers, and the white space suddenly transformed into the scene of the Xiao Family mansion, "Do you remember this place?"

In the Xiao Family hall, young Xiao Yan and Xiao Bing huddled in a corner, outside were shouts of battle and screams.

Black Xiao Yan stood by, coldly watching it all: "You could have saved them, if you had enough power then."

"Nonsense! I was just a child then!" Xiao Yan roared.

Black Xiao Yan was unfazed, and changed the scene again—the image of Yao Lao being besieged by Xuanming: "What about this time?

You could have arrived in time, but because of your indecisiveness..."

"Shut up!" Xiao Yan punched at him, but was easily dodged.

"Angry? Very good," Black Xiao Yan grinned, "But anger won't change the facts.

Do you know why Flame Lord chose you? Because we are essentially the same—to achieve our goals, we stop at nothing, we can sacrifice everything, including our loved ones!"

"You're spouting nonsense!" Xiao Yan erupted in rage, his azure-silver flames fully unleashed, but every attack was easily neutralized by the opponent.

Black Xiao Yan continued to provoke him: "Admit it, when you obtained Flame Lord's Fire, deep down you were joyful.

Because power is the most important thing; with power, you can protect those you want to protect... even if the price is becoming a monster!"

The scene changed again, this time to a future image—Xiao Yan stood on a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, stepping on the bodies of Xiao Bing and Ling Xiao, his right eye completely consumed by azure-silver flames...

"This is your future," Black Xiao Yan whispered in his ear, "Flame Lord went through the same choice back then; he chose power, sacrificing Ice Lord... Now it's your turn."

Xiao Yan's attack suddenly stopped.

He stood still, breathing heavily, his right eye burning with pain.

Yes, he craved power, to his very bones.

Every time he saw his loved ones injured and was powerless, that heartbreaking feeling of helplessness was more unbearable than any pain...

"You're right," Xiao Yan suddenly calmed down, "I crave power.

But not for domination or destruction, but for protection."

"What a grand reason," Black Xiao Yan sneered, "Flame Lord thought the same at first; look at what he became in the end?"

The pain in Xiao Yan's right eye suddenly reached its peak, and the azure-silver light flared!

A sealed ultimate memory unlocked—he saw Flame Lord and Ice Lord's last conversation, saw the truth...

"No, you're wrong," Xiao Yan's voice became firm, "Flame Lord did not betray Ice Lord.

They were putting on a show for the Chaos Devourer!

Actively corrupting half of the seed of the plane was a joint decision by the two of them, in order to detonate the pseudo-seed network at a critical moment and severely wound the Void Devourer!"

Black Xiao Yan's expression wavered for the first time: "You... how do you know this memory?"

"Because I am not only Flame Lord's successor, but also Xiao Yan!" Azure-silver flames formed a giant vortex, tearing apart the illusionary space.

"My choice will not be the same as Flame Lord's—I will find a third path, one that protects my loved ones and does not make me a slave to power!"

Black Xiao Yan let out an unwilling roar, his body beginning to disintegrate: "Foolish! Without power, you can't protect anything!

Just wait and watch them die before your eyes!"

As the last word fell, the illusion completely shattered.

Xiao Yan found himself standing in the center of the crystal ball, with a cluster of pure crimson-gold flames suspended before him—this was the true wrath seed, without a trace of corruption!

Flame Slave's voice came from all directions: "Congratulations, Flame Lord's successor.

You saw through the illusion and understood your own heart.

Now, take it, but remember—the greater the power, the stronger the will required to control it."

Xiao Yan cautiously extended his hand, and the crimson-gold flames automatically merged into his right eye.

There was no pain, only a strange warmth, as if he had found a long-lost other half.

When Xiao Yan emerged from the crystal ball, only a short quarter of an hour had passed in the outside world.

Xiao Bing and Ling Xiao anxiously rushed forward, sighing in relief when they saw him safe.

"Did you succeed?" Xiao Bing asked.

Xiao Yan nodded, a crimson-gold light flashing in his right eye: "Not only did I get the seed, but I also learned an important truth—Flame Lord and Ice Lord never truly turned against each other; they were putting on a show!"

Ling Xiao suddenly coughed violently, the black threads already spreading to his neck: "Brother... I feel... it's restless..."

Xiao Yan immediately pressed his hand on Ling Xiao's forehead, and crimson-gold flames and azure-silver flames simultaneously flowed in.

Surprisingly, the black threads began to recede when they encountered this new power!

"It's working!" Xiao Bing was delighted to see the black marks on his brother's face lighten.

Flame Slave wearily sat back on the stone platform: "The wrath seed can temporarily suppress the corruption, but it cannot eradicate it.

To completely purify it, you need to gather the power of at least four seeds of the plane."

Xiao Yan gratefully bowed to the old man: "Thank you for your guidance, Senior.

Where should we look for the fourth seed next?"

Flame Slave looked into the distance, complex emotions showing in his flame-formed eyes: "East... Thunder Mountain Range... But the guardian there is no longer human, but..."

His words abruptly stopped, his body suddenly rigid!

A black light shot from nowhere, directly piercing Flame Slave's chest!

"Senior Flame Slave!" The three were greatly alarmed.

Flame Slave painfully looked down at the black hole in his chest, giving a bitter smile: "After all... I was still discovered..." His body began to disintegrate, turning into crimson sparks.

"Hurry... the Chaos Devourer's minions are already..."

The ground suddenly vibrated violently, and huge cracks appeared on the surface of the stone platform!

In the distance, on the sand dunes, dozens of black figures were rapidly approaching—they were pseudo-seed creatures, but far more powerful than any group encountered before!

"Go!" Xiao Yan quickly carried the weakened Ling Xiao on his back, Xiao Bing covered their retreat, and the three ran frantically towards the edge of the desert.

Behind them came an earth-shattering explosion—Flame Slave used his last strength to detonate the stone platform, forming a wall of fire to temporarily block the pursuers.

In the firelight, his voice came one last time:

"Remember... the Xiao Family Bloodline... are the descendants of the Dual Lords... you bear... not just the fate of the Source World..."

After rushing out of the Burning Sky Desert, the three dared not stop, continuing their journey eastward.

As night fell, they rested in a cave.

Ling Xiao's condition had stabilized somewhat, but the black threads were only suppressed, not eliminated.

Xiao Bing checked the warning Talismanic Incantation placed at the cave entrance before returning inside, seeing Xiao Yan staring blankly at the bonfire.

"Brother, what did Flame Slave mean by his last words... that the Xiao Family are descendants of the Dual Lords?"

Xiao Yan looked up, crimson-gold and azure-silver flames intertwined in his right eye: "I saw more memories... Flame Lord and Ice Lord were originally one body with two souls, who voluntarily split to fight against the Chaos Devourer.

Later, they each left behind their Bloodline, and the Xiao Family... is one of them."

Ling Xiao weakly interjected: "Then the Spirit of the Plane in my body..."

"It's very likely the Reincarnation of that Spirit of the Plane from back then," Xiao Yan nodded, "The three spirits sharing a host is not a coincidence, but an arrangement of fate."

Xiao Bing was silent for a moment, then suddenly said: "If that's true, then the Chaos Devourer targeting the Xiao Family is no accident... they want to sever the Dual Lords' Bloodline!"

Xiao Yan was about to answer when Ling Xiao suddenly curled up in pain!

Black threads writhed wildly within him, and terrifying bulges appeared under his skin!

"I can't suppress it!" Xiao Bing immediately activated Xuanming Ice Flame, but this time, the black threads actually began to devour the Extreme Ice Power!

Xiao Yan also joined in, crimson-gold and azure-silver flames simultaneously flowing into Ling Xiao's body.

The three forces fiercely clashed within Ling Xiao's body, and the youth let out a heartbreaking scream!

Just at this critical moment, an anomaly occurred—the three people's energy unintentionally formed a cycle, condensing into a translucent cocoon around them!

Even more miraculously, time within the cocoon significantly slowed down, and the flames of the bonfire outside were almost motionless!

"This is... a time barrier?" Xiao Bing watched in shock as his Xuanming Ice Flame uncontrollably merged into the cocoon wall.

Xiao Yan also felt Flame Lord's Fire being drawn out: "No, it's a special space formed by the trinity!

Time inside the cocoon is slower than outside... We have more time to help Ling Xiao heal!"

Three days passed inside the cocoon, while only three hours passed outside.

When the cocoon finally broke, the three collapsed to the ground exhausted, but the black threads within Ling Xiao's body were temporarily suppressed back to his brow, forming a peculiar rune.

"We succeeded... for now..." Xiao Yan gasped, the flames in his right eye much dimmer.

Xiao Bing's condition was the worst; excessive consumption of Xuanming Ice Flame led to backlash, and his left arm was covered in ghostly blue ice crystals.

Although Ling Xiao was weak, his consciousness was clear, and his silver eyes were filled with guilt: "I'm sorry... it's all because of me..."

"Nonsense," Xiao Bing struggled to sit up, "We are brothers."

Xiao Yan took out a map, pointing to a mountain range in the east: "Next stop, Thunder Mountain Range.

Flame Slave said the guardian there 'is no longer human'... Whatever that means, we have to go."

Ling Xiao suddenly frowned: "Wait... I feel... something's happening with Uncle Xiao Zhan!"

"Father? What's wrong?" Xiao Yan immediately became tense.

Ling Xiao closed his eyes and sensed: "Someone is healing him... using... the power of the Life Spring?

But the spring water clearly already..."

Xiao Bing suddenly thought of something: "The ancient clan! Grand Elder said they preserved a small amount of Life Spring water!"

Xiao Yan's face, however, was grim: "It could also be a trap.

Don't forget Mystic Light—or rather, Xuanming—is still at large, and there might still be traitors within the ancient clan."

The three decided to travel through the night, heading to the Thunder Mountain Range as quickly as possible.

As they left the cave, Xiao Yan looked back to the west—the direction of the Burning Sky Desert was still illuminated by crimson firelight, as if it would never extinguish.

And in a place they could not see, a black shadow rose from the edge of the desert, speeding eastward.

Within the black shadow, Mystic Light's distorted face flickered in and out of view, and the black crystal on his chest had been repaired, and was even larger than before...