126: Chapter 126 The Long-Disappeared Xiao Yan

In the northwest of the Central Plains, thousands of miles away from the Starfall Pavilion, an unnamed barren mountain lay hidden within a continuous range of peaks.

The mountain was steep as if sliced by a blade, its summit covered in snow year-round.

The spiritual energy was so thin that even flying magical beasts were unwilling to linger here, and it was so desolate that it hadn't even been marked on any map.

The night was as dark as ink, with wind and snow filling the sky.

A faint cyan flame seeped out from the rock crevices at the summit, casting a cold, eerie halo upon the surrounding snow.

The flame was extremely faint, flickering in and out of existence, carried away into the night by the wind and snow; it would be impossible to detect unless observed from close range.

Inside the cave, Xiao Yan sat cross-legged on the cold stone floor.

The xuan heavy ruler was thrust diagonally beside him, and the light of five types of Heavenly Flames flowed slowly along the ruler's body like five swimming dragons, casting the entire cave into flickering light and shadow.

The emerald green of the Green Lotus Core Flame, the formlessness of the Fallen Heart Flame, the ghostly white of the Bone Chilling Flame, the deep blue of the Three Thousand Burning Flame, and the crimson red of the Nine Dragon Lightning Flame—these five flames intertwined around him, forming a brilliant and violent screen of light.

After leaving the Starfall Pavilion, he had spent a long time searching for the whereabouts of Heavenly Flames.

Without the intelligence network of the Sky Mansion Alliance, and without Yao Chen's guidance from the sidelines, he could only rely on the Burning Technique's natural sensing of Heavenly Flames, searching inch by inch across the vast continent.

During this time, he did not know how many times he had come up empty-handed, how many times he had accidentally entered dangerous situations, or how many times he had been driven to desperation by those perilous secret realms hidden deep within the mountain ranges.

But those Heavenly Flames he managed to find—the Yin Yang Twin Flames, the Fire Cloud Water Flame, the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Flame, the Volcanic Stone Flame—although not ranked highly, were refined and absorbed by him one by one.

The Burning Technique evolved steadily driven by these Heavenly Flames, and his cultivation also climbed all the way from the mid-stage of the seven-star to the peak of the seven-star, just one final step away from the eight-star.

At this moment, he sat cross-legged deep within the cave, a fist-sized deep blue flame floating before him.

This Heavenly Flame was named the "Deep Sea Demon Flame".

Although its ranking did not match the Green Lotus Core Flame, it contained an extremely vast amount of water-element energy, with an attribute that leaned towards coldness, which was completely different from the five masculine and overbearing Heavenly Flames within his body.

Refining this sixth Heavenly Flame into his body was no easy task—the six Heavenly Flames repelled each other in his dantian, and every collision caused his meridians severe pain.

The Burning Technique's mental cultivation method circulated frantically within his body, peeling away, refining, and absorbing that bone-chilling energy bit by bit.

Outside the cave, the wind and snow howled, but inside, heat waves surged; the two opposing currents of cold and heat met at the cave entrance, coalescing into an eerie white mist.

When the last trace of the deep blue flame was completely refined, the six Heavenly Flames suddenly resonated within his dantian, and an aura so majestic that it made the entire mountain tremble slightly erupted from his body.

The bottleneck between the peak of the seven-star and the early stage of the eight-star shattered under the impact of this power, and the aura of the early eight-star stage crushed outward in all directions like a tangible force, blasting away all the snow within several dozen zhang.

Xiao Yan slowly opened his eyes, a daunting brilliance flashing through those black eyes that had been tempered by countless battles.

Eight Star Dou Sheng, he had finally caught up.

But it was not enough.

He lowered his head to look at the six-colored flame dancing in his palm, recalling the scene at the Yao Clan Ceremony back then when Hun Feng had crushed the entire audience with eight types of Heavenly Flames, his eyes churning with an even more intense fighting spirit.

Eight-star was just the beginning; he needed more Heavenly Flames, he needed higher cultivation, and he needed enough power to open that cave dwelling.

Otherwise, he would forever only be able to look up at Hun Feng's back, and forever only be able to watch helplessly as those who once belonged to him drifted further and further away.

He clenched his fist, the six-colored flame leaping silently between his fingers, scorching the surrounding air into distorted ripples.

Then, he closed his eyes again, continuing to circulate the Burning Technique to refine the remaining medicinal power within his body.

This unnamed barren mountain would continue to be his hiding place for a long time to come.

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the Soul Burial Abyss.

Hun Feng sat cross-legged on that massive black rock that had been scorched countless times by the Heaven-Slaying Flame, the blood-colored flames circulating silently around his body.

Over the past half year, he had devoured countless vengeful spirits at the bottom of this abyss.

The bottleneck of the late eight-star stage was already covered in cracks, just one final step away from the nine-star.

The energy within his body was fully charged, and his soul power was about to touch the critical point of breakthrough; everything was proceeding according to plan.

But today, his mood was inexplicably restless.

This feeling was baseless, like a very thin needle pricking the deepest part of the back of his head; it did not hurt, but it made him unable to concentrate.

He opened his eyes and looked up towards the top of the abyss—it remained a thick, ink-like darkness, with no stars, no moonlight, and no reference points that could be used to judge time.

He had stayed in this darkness for over half a year and had long since grown accustomed to the loneliness of being accompanied by vengeful spirits, but at this moment, this loneliness was tainted with an indescribable irritability.

He tried to suppress this feeling, closing his eyes again to circulate the Burning Technique, but that irritability was like a fish bone stuck in his throat, unable to be swallowed or spat out.

He opened his eyes again, his fingertips tapping unconsciously on the black rock twice.

His Emperor Realm Soul spread out to sweep across the entire bottom of the abyss; the number of vengeful spirits had not increased, and the cycle of the vengeful tides had not changed.

Everything was perfectly normal.

Then where on earth was this unease coming from?

He suddenly remembered a passage he had seen in the original work a long time ago—every time Xiao Yan disappeared and reappeared, he would become stronger than before.

From the Jia Ma Empire to the Central Plains, from a Dou Practitioner to a Dou Sheng, that person was like an unkillable cockroach; every time he was driven to a desperate situation, he could stand up again in an even shorter time with an even stronger posture.

He had had this feeling before, but never as strongly as today.

Could that brat Xiao Yan have quietly made a breakthrough?

Or had he encountered a new opportunity?

He leaned against the black rock, the frequency of his fingers tapping on the stone surface becoming faster and faster.

A moment later, he stood up abruptly.

Regardless of where that unease came from, he did not want to wait any longer.

The late eight-star stage to nine-star was just one final step away; rather than letting his imagination run wild here, it was better to break through the bottleneck in one go.

He clenched his fist, the blood-colored light of the Heaven-Slaying Flame surging violently around his body, casting the entire bottom of the abyss into a deep blood red.

He raised his eyes to look at the thick darkness at the top of the abyss, took a deep breath, and his Emperor Realm Soul exploded outward, enveloping all the vengeful spirits within several hundred zhang.

He would devour them all at once and use this power to break through to the nine-star; he had the confidence to do so.