164: Chapter 164 The day spring blossoms, the day Starfall Pavilion is destroyed!

The bloody battle at Duanhun Cliff temporarily ceased amidst the last snowfall of early spring.

Both sides tacitly gathered their remaining troops; not out of exhaustion—though both sides were indeed utterly drained—but because everyone knew that the next battle would be the final all-out assault.

The Flame Emperor Alliance's remaining troops, numbering less than ten thousand, retreated to the main peak of Starfall Pavilion. The Burning Flame Valley's eight hundred Red Flame Army soldiers were reduced to fewer than a hundred, the Jia Nan Academy's student guard had less than one in ten remaining, and the Jia Ma Empire allied forces were almost completely wiped out.

Wind Idle had died in battle, Valley Master Tang Zhen was bedridden with severe injuries, and Yao Chen stood alone, holding up the tattered flag with the character "Flame" on it. His white hair was stained with blood, yet his back remained as straight as ever.

The Soul Clan Alliance also needed time to regroup.

After months of bloody warfare, nearly ten thousand of their forty-thousand-strong army had been lost. The Gu Clan's Black Annihilation Army and the elites of the Yan and Lei clans had all suffered casualties, and even the Void Ancient Dragon's Dragon Guards had lost several adult dragons.

These casualties were not enough to hurt the Soul Clan's foundations, yet Void Swallowing Flame still ordered a ceasefire—he wanted to completely crush the Flame Emperor Alliance in the next battle, leaving no room for any suspense.

The Hall of Hun Tiandi was brightly lit. A massive sand table was marked with the terrain and troop deployments of Starfall Pavilion, and four blood-colored command flags were planted around the main peak, surrounding that isolated mountain like an iron barrel.

Void Swallowing Flame stood before the sand table and planted the final command flag on the location of Starfall Pavilion's main hall. His voice was low and determined: "The day of spring blossoms shall be the moment of the Flame Emperor Alliance's destruction."

Everyone in the hall roared their agreement. No one asked why it wasn't happening now—because they all knew that the Soul Clan was not just waiting for the timing of the final assault, but also for another more important variable: Xiao Yan.

That man who had entered the Ancient Emperor Cave had not sent any news out to this day. The reason the Flame Emperor Alliance's remaining troops fought to the death without retreating was because they believed Xiao Yan was still alive and would return.

Void Swallowing Flame wanted to fight the final battle on the day of spring blossoms to tell the entire continent—the Soul Clan had given Xiao Yan enough time.

If he dared not come, the Soul Clan would uproot the Flame Emperor Alliance right under his nose; if he did dare come, they would simply finish him off as well.

Meanwhile, in the deepest part of the Ancient Emperor Cave, Xiao Yan was experiencing the most dangerous battle since he had entered the cave.

Defeating that nine-star peak guardian puppet had almost exhausted all of his trump cards.

Buddha's Fury Fire Lotus, Emperor Seal Art, Flame Splitting Tsunami Ruler—every method he could use had been deployed. When the puppet struck its final blow, Fire Spirit had used itself as a shield to block the fatal strike for him, and its tiny body, formed from six-colored flames, had been shaken to the point of near disintegration.

In the end, at the cost of burning thirty percent of his vital blood, he forcibly fused six types of Heavenly Flames into a six-colored fire lotus he had never attempted before, blasting a fatal hole in the puppet's chest.

As the puppet's massive body crashed down, Xiao Yan also knelt on one knee.

The xuan heavy ruler was thrust into the ground beside him, its surface covered in cracks, and blood from the web between his thumb and index finger dripped slowly down the hilt.

Fire Spirit curled up on his shoulder, its six-colored light so dim it was almost invisible, but it was still alive.

He had won; the price was heavy, but he had won.

The moment the puppet fell, the Emperor Qi of the entire cave began to surge in the same direction—that was the deepest part of the cave, where Tuoshe Ancient Emperor's true inheritance lay.

Xiao Yan did not stand up immediately. He sat cross-legged on the spot to regulate his breathing for an entire day, swallowing all the remaining healing pills he had, barely recovering to thirty percent of his peak state.

Then, he propped himself up with the xuan heavy ruler and walked toward the direction where the Emperor Qi was surging.

The deepest part of the cave was an extremely ancient altar.

Suspended in the center of the altar was a cluster of brilliant golden light. It was a wisp of remnant soul left behind when Tuoshe Ancient Emperor fell—not a remnant soul like Zhu Kun's, but the true Flame of Inheritance that contained the Ancient Emperor's lifelong cultivation insights, the Origin of the Emperor, and complete Emperor Qi.

Xiao Yan stood still in front of the altar, looking up at the cluster of golden light. His black eyes, tempered countless times by the fires of war, reflected the brilliant golden radiance.

He did not hesitate, lifted his foot, and stepped onto the altar.

The golden light surged into his body like a tidal wave.

In that instant, Xiao Yan felt his soul being pulled out of his physical body by a force so vast it was indescribable, and his consciousness sank into a boundless ocean of gold.

The Ancient Emperor's cultivation insights exploded in his sea of consciousness like countless thunderbolts—from Dou Practitioner to Dou Emperor, thousands of years of cultivation memories and combat experience poured into his consciousness without reservation. Every breakthrough in realm, every comprehension of a Dou Technique, every decision made in life-or-death battles, all were as clear as if he had experienced them himself.

The Origin of the Emperor followed closely behind.

That origin power was far purer than the Emperor Qi he had absorbed before. It slowly circulated along the meridian routes of the Burning Technique, tempering his bones, flesh, and soul layer by layer. The bottleneck of the eight-star peak shattered under the impact of this power, and he crossed the threshold of the nine-star realm in one step.

But this was only the beginning.

The complete Emperor Qi, like a golden dragon, roared as it charged into his dantian, colliding violently with the original Dou Qi within his body.

The two forces repelled and merged with each other; every collision caused his meridians to ache as if they were being torn apart.

Fire Spirit desperately released six-colored flames from his shoulder to help him bear the impact of the Emperor Qi, its six-colored light flickering uncertainly within the golden ocean.

Xiao Yan gritted his teeth, his hands pressing firmly onto the altar. His fingertips dug into the cracks in the stone, his nails cracked, and blood flowed slowly along the stone patterns.

He felt as if he were enduring a thousand cuts and being burned by raging fire at the same time, his consciousness blurring in the pain, only to be pulled back again and again by the Ancient Emperor's remnant soul.

This was the final step.

If he endured it, he would reach the Emperor Realm.

If he could not endure it, his body and soul would be destroyed.

He closed his eyes, immersing all his focus into that golden ocean, and began to charge at the chasm that lay between the nine-star peak and the Emperor Realm.

The spring chill was biting; the accumulated snow on the peak of Starfall Pavilion began to melt, and the snowmelt trickled down the mountainside, merging into the stream at the foot of the mountain.

There were only a few days left until the day of the final assault set by the Soul Clan.

Yao Chen stood on the stone steps in front of the main hall, looking at the wasteland below the mountain, which had been ravaged beyond recognition by the fires of war.

Behind him were the last of the Flame Emperor Alliance's remaining troops, numbering less than ten thousand. These people were the last lifeblood of the Flame Emperor Alliance, and the bottom line he had to hold until Xiao Yan returned.

Valley Master Tang Zhen stood by his side, leaning on a battle axe. His crimson beard was blown wildly by the mountain wind, and the bandages on his chest were still seeping blood.

Tang Huo'er supported her father, her heroic face stained with dust and blood.

Yao Chen looked up at the gray clouds in the sky, his aged voice blurred by the mountain wind: "Little Yanzi, your master can still hold on for a few more days, you must return quickly."

No one answered him; only the sound of the wind echoed in the valley.

Meanwhile, in the East Courtyard of the Soul Realm, Yun Yun and Cao Ying stood side by side under the corridor, looking toward the direction of the Hall of Hun Tiandi in the distance.

Yao Yao, Medusa, Gu Xun'er, and Xiao Yi Xian had all gone to war with the army; only the two of them and seven children remained in the East Courtyard.

Hun Muxiao had been ordered to stay behind. She was currently squatting by the stone table, drawing circles on the bluestone floor with the blood abyss sword, her peach-blossom eyes filled with unwillingness.

Yun Yun held the newly awakened Hun Muqing in her arms, and the little one was waving her small hands, babbling.

Yun Yun gently patted her back, her moon-white dress fluttering slightly in the morning breeze. No expression could be seen on her elegant, otherworldly face, but in her gaze toward the direction where Hun Feng was in seclusion, there was a hidden trace of concern that only Cao Ying could understand.

Cao Ying walked to her side, her phoenix eyes also filled with longing and worry.

The spring chill was biting, and another year had passed.

They were all waiting—the women of the East Courtyard were waiting for Hun Feng to walk out of the Myriad Soul Origin Pool, and the remaining troops of the Flame Emperor Alliance were waiting for Xiao Yan to return from the Ancient Emperor Cave.

The fate of this continent hung on which of these two men would be the first to step into that legendary realm.