90: Chapter 90 Seclusion! Eight-Star Dou Sheng!

Midnight, three days later, at the entrance to the Heavenly Tomb in the Ancient World.

The tomb door of the Heavenly Tomb was a cyan stone gate standing a hundred zhang tall, covered in prohibition runes left behind by ancient Dou Di, each one emitting a faint fluorescence under the moonlight.

Gu Dao, Elder Gu Jun, and Gu Yuan stood in a triangular formation before the tomb gate. As the three of them simultaneously injected their soul power into the three formation eyes on the gate, the entire stone gate trembled slowly, emitting a low, muffled groan like an ancient beast awakening.

A faint cyan light seeped from the cracks in the gate; it was the ancient energy that had accumulated in the Heavenly Tomb for ten thousand years, responding to the call of the Gu Clan bloodline.

Gu Xun'er stood before the tomb gate and looked back at Hun Feng behind her.

He stood not far away, his dark black robes flapping in the night wind, eight types of Heavenly Flames circulating silently within his sleeves.

She nodded slightly at him, said nothing more, and turned to be the first to step into the cyan light curtain.

Medusa followed closely behind, while Yao Yao swaggered after them, carrying her bone whip.

Xiao Yi Xian walked at the back. Before stepping into the tomb gate, she paused for a moment and turned her head. Her white hair fluttered gently in the wind blowing from the tomb gate. She looked at Hun Feng, opening her mouth as if to say something, but in the end, she only curled the corners of her lips before turning and disappearing into the cyan light curtain.

The tomb gate slowly closed, and the four figures were swallowed behind the ancient prohibitions.

Hun Feng stood before the tomb gate for a long while, until Gu Dao and Elder Gu Jun withdrew their soul power, and the runes on the tomb gate returned to silence.

Half a year in the outside world, three years in the tomb—this was the time he had fought for himself, and for them as well.

In three years, their cultivation would at least increase by one major rank, and by then, they would be fully confident in joining forces to destroy the remnant soul of Xiao Xuan.

It was already the early hours of the morning when he returned to the Soul Realm.

Hun Feng did not return to the East Courtyard, but went directly to the Hall of Hun Tiandi.

The candles in the hall were not lit. Hun Tiandi reclined on the main seat, flipping through that never-ending ancient scroll. Void Swallowing Flame, in human form, sat in the lower right seat, the black flames at his fingertips dancing listlessly.

Hun Qinger leaned in a corner, her icy blue eyes particularly striking in the darkness.

"The Nine Nether Golden Ancestor Flame is still sealed within the heaven swallowing mirror, and the fusion of the Red Lotus Karma Fire has not yet fully stabilized." Hun Feng stood still in the hall and spoke straight to the point, "I intend to enter seclusion to subdue the Nine Nether Golden Ancestor Flame and break through to Eight Star Dou Sheng. Cai Lin and the others have gone to the Heavenly Tomb, and I will arrange for Yao Ling to look after the East Courtyard."

Hun Tiandi put down the ancient scroll, a faint smile appearing on the corners of his lips: "Are you confident? Last time, seven Heavenly Flames nearly cost you your life. This time, with the Nine Nether Golden Ancestor Flame added to the Red Lotus Karma Fire, nine Heavenly Flames will be circulating within your body simultaneously—can the Burning Technique handle it?"

"The Burning Technique can evolve." Hun Feng took the Burning Technique jade slip from his sleeve. "The core of the Burning Technique is to feed on Heavenly Flames; the more Heavenly Flames devoured, and the higher their ranking, the more the technique itself will evolve. I now possess nine Heavenly Flames. If I can use their origins to catalyze it simultaneously, the Burning Technique should be able to evolve once more—Heaven Tier Advanced, that will suffice."

The black flame at Void Swallowing Flame's fingertip flickered, and his low voice sounded slow and powerful, like flames burning bone: "The Nine Nether Golden Ancestor Flame is ranked seventh, its properties lean towards liquid, and its penetrating power is extremely strong. Most of the Heavenly Flames you have subdued before were solid flames; the way liquid Heavenly Flames circulate in the meridians is completely different. Be careful, do not let it burn through your meridians."

"Many thanks for the reminder, Lord Void." Hun Feng bowed slightly to Void Swallowing Flame, then turned to Hun Tiandi, "During my seclusion, I ask the Clan Leader to send Hun You to continue keeping an eye on the Sky Mansion Alliance. After losing his arm, Xiao Yan will need time to recover, and he will not make any major moves within half a year—but just in case, please notify me immediately if he comes out of seclusion early or shows any unusual activity." Hun Tiandi nodded.

East Courtyard, side hall. It was not yet dawn when Hun Feng pushed open the door to the side hall, and Yao Ling was sitting at the table preparing medicine.

Spread out before her were dozens of medicinal herbs. The roller of a silver medicine grinder turned at a steady speed in her hands, and every herb was ground into an extremely fine powder, then portioned into jade bottles according to ratio.

She was a captive that Hun Feng had snatched back from the Medicine Clan, here to refine pills for him and clear his meridians, trading her alchemy skills for the lives of her clansmen.

"Young Master." Yao Ling put down the medicine grinder and stood up, her attitude respectful yet distant.

She never called him by his name, nor did she participate in the family banquets of the East Courtyard. Except for the brief contact when she cleared Hun Feng's meridians, she spent the rest of her time in the side hall grinding medicine, preparing prescriptions, and reading the surviving ancient books of the Medicine Clan.

"I am about to enter seclusion to break through to Eight Star Dou Sheng. It will take one month at the shortest, and three months at the longest." Hun Feng sat down opposite her, "During this time, I need you to put in more effort regarding the East Courtyard. My mother is in poor health, but she does not like others treating her as a patient. Just chat with her every day, and have the kitchen deliver the medicinal meals on time. That girl Mu Xiao is very mischievous, and since Yao Yao is not here, she will definitely run around everywhere. Do not let her sneak off to the back mountain alone."

Yao Ling nodded and picked up the medicine grinder again.

Hun Feng did not get up immediately. He sat where he was, looking at Yao Ling's youthful yet overly composed face, and suddenly asked, "Yao Ling, do you hate me?"

Yao Ling's hand paused. The silver roller stopped on the half-ground herbs, emitting a very faint friction sound. She lowered her head, and her falling hair obscured most of her face.

After a long silence, so long that Hun Feng thought she would not answer, she spoke, her voice light yet every word clear: "I do. You killed my grandfather, killed my brother, and wiped out my entire clan. Every night when I close my eyes, I can see those charred corpses on the Yao Emperor Platform. I stay here to refine pills for you and clear your meridians, not because I have forgotten, but because you promised to spare the lives of my clansmen. You used my life to exchange for theirs—I accept this debt. But hatred is a lifelong matter."

Hun Feng was silent for a few breaths, then slowly stood up. When he reached the door, he stopped but did not look back, merely saying indifferently: "When the time comes that you no longer need to save my life, you may leave whenever you wish. Return to the Starfall Pavilion to find your clansmen, or go anywhere on the continent you desire. This is what you deserve."

Yao Ling did not speak, simply lowering her head to continue grinding the medicine. The silver roller pressed back and forth on the herbs, emitting a muffled rustling sound.

The door to the cultivation room slowly closed behind him.

Hun Feng sat cross-legged in the center of the cold jade platform. He did not act immediately, but placed the heaven swallowing mirror on his lap and closed his eyes to regulate his breathing.

The eight Heavenly Flames within his body circulated slowly in his Dantian. The Purification Lotus Demon Flame held the center, the Sea Heart Flame occupied the north, the Eight Desolation Destruction Flame the south, the Nine Nether Wind Flame the west, the Turtle Spirit Earth Flame the east, the Red Lotus Karma Fire the northwest, the Golden Emperor Heaven Burning Flame Child Flame the northeast, and the Void Devouring Flame Sub-flame was at the deepest part of his Dantian, devouring all the scattered ripples.

The eight Heavenly Flames each stayed in their positions, and the Burning Technique cultivation method operated steadily within his meridians, maintaining their energy at an extremely delicate balance point.

But balance does not equal stability. Last time, the backlash of seven Heavenly Flames simultaneously almost cost him his life, a lesson that left him with a deep impression—Heavenly Flames are not the more the better. Every time one is subdued, the existing balance is broken, and a new balance point must be found amidst the more complex interweaving of energy.

And the Nine Nether Golden Ancestor Flame, ranked seventh, has properties leaning towards liquid and extremely strong penetrating power, making it completely different from any Heavenly Flame he had subdued before.

Hun Feng opened his eyes and lightly tapped his fingertip on the seal of the heaven swallowing mirror.

The moment the seal was broken, a stream of dark blue liquid flame surged out from the mirror.

It did not transform into the shape of a fire lotus, nor did it carry destructive lightning arcs, nor did it emit any scorching sound.

It just flowed quietly in the void, like a dark blue water snake, swimming silently toward Hun Feng.

The temperature in the cultivation room did not rise significantly, but a strange smell of burnt metal permeated the air.

Hun Feng set up the first barrier in front of him using the Purification Lotus Demon Flame, the pink flames turning into layers upon layers of fire lotus petals that enveloped his entire person within.

When the Nine Nether Golden Ancestor Flame collided with the fire lotus, it did not make any sound.

It just slowly penetrated. The dark blue liquid flame seeped into the textures of the pink petals like mercury, eroding inward inch by inch along the veins of the flames.

The intense high temperature of the Purification Lotus Demon Flame had no effect on it—it was not being burned through by the flames, but was penetrating inward along the energy channels of the flames themselves.

Hun Feng's pupils constricted slightly. With a flip of his right hand, a deep blue pillar of Sea Heart Flame surged from his palm, forming a dual suppression alongside the Purification Lotus Demon Flame.

The deep blue and pink flames intertwined into an impenetrable wall of fire. The two diametrically opposed energies of extreme cold and extreme heat clashed within the wall, forcibly slowing the infiltration speed of the Nine Nether Golden Ancestor Flame several times over.

But it was only slowing it down, not stopping it.

The dark blue liquid flame advanced slowly and steadily through the dual fire wall. For every inch it penetrated, an extremely fine dark blue pattern appeared on the fire wall. These patterns grew more numerous and dense, and the entire fire wall began to disintegrate from within.

Hun Feng's expression finally changed.

The penetration power of the Nine Nether Golden Ancestor Flame far exceeded his expectations—it did not win by temperature, but by attribute suppression. It could merge itself into the energy structure of any flame, disintegrating the opponent's stability from the core.

This characteristic was terrifying in actual combat, but in the process of refining, the threat to the meridians was even more fatal.

He immediately abandoned defense, retracted all Heavenly Flames into his Dantian, and switched to an offensive strategy.

The dark gold lightning arcs of the Eight Desolation Destruction Flame struck first, condensing into dozens of extremely fine lightning spears within the meridians, stabbing at the infiltrating dark blue flame from all angles.

When the lightning spears pierced into the liquid flame, they exploded into countless fine dark gold electric arcs, splitting the dark blue fire serpent into dozens of tiny fire beads.

But these fire beads did not dissipate; instead, they fought independently, each one continuing to spread along the inner walls of the meridians towards the Dantian like an independent living creature.

One of the fire beads had the fastest penetration speed. When it touched a main meridian in Hun Feng's left arm, an extremely fine dark blue crack instantly appeared on the surface of his skin, and liquid flame could be faintly seen flowing slowly deep within the crack.

Intense pain surged from his left arm. Hun Feng let out a muffled groan and formed hand seals with both hands simultaneously.

The brown pressure of the Turtle Spirit Earth Flame in his left palm transformed into an invisible gravitational field, pressing all the dozens of fire beads toward the bottom of the meridians.

The ink-black wind blades of the Nine Nether Wind Flame in his right palm sliced through the air inside the meridian walls, cutting the fire beads into finer particles, with every wind blade striking precisely at the weakest nodes of the fire beads' energy.

At the same time, the Void Devouring Flame Sub-flame at the center of his brow transformed into countless black threads, drilling into the core of each fire bead and beginning to frantically devour that penetrative origin energy.

But his meridians were already injured.

Fine cracks appeared on the inner wall of the meridian in his left arm that had been penetrated by the fire beads. The Burning Technique heart method operated automatically, covering the surface of the cracks with the pink light of the Purification Lotus Demon Flame, forcibly cauterizing and healing them with extremely high heat.

The meridians were caught in a repetitive tug-of-war between tearing and healing, and every pull made the veins on Hun Feng's forehead throb violently.

For three whole days and nights, this offensive and defensive battle within the meridians did not stop for a moment.

Under the heavy suppression of the Burning Technique, the Nine Nether Golden Ancestor Flame finally showed signs of exhaustion—the dozens of fire beads slowly merged back into one under the pressure of the Turtle Spirit Earth Flame. Its volume had shrunk by nearly half, and its dark blue light was no longer as bright as it had been at the beginning.

But Hun Feng was not in a rush to subdue it—the lesson from last time told him that Heavenly Flames still had the ability to counterattack when exhausted. If he rashly brought it into his Dantian at this moment, once it recovered its strength, his entire Dantian could be pierced through by its penetration power.

He patiently waited for another day and night.

Not until the dark blue light of the Nine Nether Golden Ancestor Flame had completely dimmed, and it was struggling even to maintain its liquid form, did he slowly guide it into his Dantian using the Burning Technique.

The moment the Nine Nether Golden Ancestor Flame entered the Dantian, the eight Heavenly Flames that had been in a state of balance erupted simultaneously.

The Purification Lotus Demon Flame and the Sea Heart Flame were the first to attack, viewing the newcomer as an intruder and instinctively repelling any energy that did not belong to the original balance.

Following closely, the Eight Desolation Destruction Flame and the Nine Nether Wind Flame were also dragged in; dark gold lightning arcs and ink-black wind blades darted everywhere in the Dantian.

The Red Lotus Karma Fire and the Turtle Spirit Earth Flame fought for themselves; one wanted to burn through the inner wall of the Dantian, and the other wanted to crush all the Heavenly Flames into powder.

Hun Feng had been prepared for this.

At the exact moment the Heavenly Flames erupted, he activated the Burning Technique, transforming the Void Devouring Flame Sub-flame into a giant black flame net, enveloping all the Heavenly Flames within it.

The black flame net slowly tightened, devouring all the residual waves of the riotous energy of the nine Heavenly Flames.

At the same time, the Golden Emperor Heaven Burning Flame Child Flame laid down an extremely thin golden barrier on the periphery of the black flame net, bouncing back the residual energy that had not been completely devoured into the black flame net.

One devouring, one bouncing; with this dual filtration, the riotous energy was weakened layer by layer.

But this balancing process was extremely painful and lasted for five whole days.

The nine Heavenly Flames repeatedly collided, repelled, merged, and repelled again within the Dantian. Each collision caused fine cracks to appear on the inner wall of the Dantian, which were then forcibly healed by the Yin and Yang power of the Purification Lotus Demon Flame and the Sea Heart Flame.

Hun Feng's robes were already soaked with cold sweat, and faint bloodstains seeped from the surface of his skin. The energy of the nine Heavenly Flames circulating in his meridians formed an extremely complex but also extremely unstable balance within his body.

Just at the critical point where the Heavenly Flames were about to lose control again, the Burning Technique heart method suddenly began to accelerate on its own.

The energy of the nine Heavenly Flames was simultaneously drawn into the meridian circulation of the Burning Technique, running frantically along an unprecedentedly complex route.

With every cycle completed, the aura of the Burning Technique surged by a fraction. The bottleneck that had been stuck at the Heaven Tier Primary level developed its first crack under the continuous impact of the nine-colored flames, followed by a second, and a third.

When the cracks spread across the entire surface of the bottleneck, the barrier that had trapped the Burning Technique for so long finally shattered with a loud crash.

The Burning Technique officially evolved into the Heaven Tier Advanced level.

The moment the technique broke through, an extremely majestic suction force erupted from the depths of his Dantian, drawing all nine Heavenly Flames into the meridian circulation of the Burning Technique simultaneously.

Under the influence of this suction, the Heavenly Flames, which had previously been attacking each other, were forced into an extremely delicate balance—the Purification Lotus Demon Flame sat in the center, the Sea Heart Flame resided in the north, the Eight Desolation Destruction Flame in the south, the Nine Nether Wind Flame in the west, the Turtle Spirit Earth Flame in the east, the Red Lotus Karma Fire in the northwest, the Nine Nether Golden Ancestor Flame in the southeast, the Golden Emperor Heaven Burning Flame Child Flame in the northeast, and the Void Devouring Flame Sub-flame in the deepest part of the Dantian, devouring all escaping residual waves.

The nine Heavenly Flames slowly circulated along the route of the Burning Technique. With every cycle, their mutual repulsion weakened by a fraction, and their fusion deepened by a fraction.

When the final cycle was completed, the nine Heavenly Flames simultaneously quieted down.

They no longer attacked each other or erupted; instead, they quietly hovered in various parts of the Dantian like nine stars of different colors, using the meridian circulation of the Burning Technique as a link to form an unprecedentedly stable balance.

Hun Feng opened his eyes abruptly, and a terrifying aura, so majestic that it made the entire cultivation room tremble violently, erupted from his body.

The nine Heavenly Flames unfurled behind him into nine flame wings that blotted out the sky—pink, deep blue, dark gold, ink-black, brownish-red, crimson, dark blue, gold, and pitch black.

The nine-colored light intertwined, reflecting him into a blinding nine-colored sun.

Eight Star Dou Sheng.

That majestic aura penetrated the walls of the cultivation room and spread in all directions.

The dark-leaf osmanthus trees in the East Courtyard trembled at this aura, and the dewdrops on their leaves instantly evaporated into a faint white mist.

All the experts in the entire Soul Realm sensed this aura—it was the pressure of an Eight Star Dou Sheng, mixed with the unique scorching energy of the nine Heavenly Flame origins, more majestic and domineering than the breakthrough of an ordinary Eight Star Dou Sheng.

Hun Feng looked down at his palm. The nine-colored flames danced silently at his fingertips, each flame as docile as a lamb, completely different from the violent, mutually attacking state of a few days ago.

He took a deep breath, slowly retracted the nine Heavenly Flames into his body, and then stood up to push open the door of the cultivation room.

Outside the door, Hun Qian had been waiting for a long time.

He bowed and saluted, an uncharacteristic, unconcealable joy appearing on his old face: "Congratulations, Young Master, on breaking through to Eight Star."

"There is no unusual movement from the Sky Mansion Alliance for the time being. Xiao Yan is still recovering from his injuries; his severed arm has been reattached, but his meridians have not yet fully recovered."

"The four mistresses have not yet come out of seclusion, and the energy fluctuations in the Heavenly Tomb are completely normal."

He paused, then added, "Additionally, Cao Ying and Yun Yun have requested an audience, saying they wish to speak with you, Young Master—they have been waiting for three days."

Hun Feng took the urgent report and glanced at it, a hint of a smile appearing on the corner of his mouth.

He straightened his cuffs and walked toward the side courtyard.