23: The dust settled and the images came out

Hearing Mu Wuchen's command, Nalan Yuruo quickly jogged to his side, and as soon as she arrived, she shivered.

Although the aura of the Heavenly Cold Nether Flame had been largely suppressed by Mu Wuchen, the escaping icy aura still made her feel a bone-chilling cold.

The Heavenly Cold Nether Flame's outer flame is extremely cold, while its inner flame is extremely hot; if not touched, it is no different from ten-thousand-year-old ice, but once touched, one truly feels its incredibly powerful burning force!

Yet, such a Heaven and Earth Divine Fire, which had just incinerated a Mystic Infant expert into ashes, was being roughly held by Mu Wuchen, struggling continuously in his hand, causing Nalan Yuruo's heart to pound.

In just the blink of an eye, the continuously struggling Heavenly Cold Nether Flame directly entered Mu Wuchen's body.

Mu Wuchen closed his eyes slightly, sensing carefully, and in just a few breaths, he reopened them.

Mu Wuchen opened his palm, and in his hand appeared a strange burning flame lotus, with twin stalks, one red and one white, shimmering with peculiar light; the red and white roots intertwined, releasing both icy cold and scorching hot auras.

This was the true form of the Heavenly Cold Nether Flame, but at this moment, although the Heavenly Cold Nether Flame's aura was still powerful, it no longer possessed its previous wildness, leaving only pure primordial power, and its aura seemed to be only one-third of its original strength.

Mu Wuchen casually handed the flame lotus to Nalan Yuruo, who carefully took it with both hands, her eyes slightly moving, her expression somewhat dazed.

Nalan Yuruo hadn't expected Mu Wuchen to be so generous; something that many Linghai and even Mystic Infant experts would fight to the death for, he simply gave to her...

Mu Wuchen came here only for the Son of Destiny; although this Heaven and Earth Divine Fire was strong, it was not of much use to Mu Wuchen at this time.

Moreover, he wanted to completely crush Xiao Feng's path of growth, and the future duel between Xiao Feng and Nalan Yuruo was clearly key, so Nalan Yuruo's strength improvement was naturally indispensable.

"Your body is too weak. While Xiao Feng has the chance to fully absorb and refine this Heaven and Earth Divine Fire, you cannot. This flame lotus contains one-third of the Heavenly Cold Nether Flame's power, and its violent energy has been refined by me, leaving only the purest power. Find some time to absorb it."

One-third of the power was just right for Nalan Yuruo's current state; it wouldn't be too easy, nor would it pose a life-threatening risk.

Listening to Mu Wuchen's words, Nalan Yuruo gently nodded.

Then, Mu Wuchen touched his Dantian in his lower abdomen and added:

"As for the remaining two-thirds of the divine fire's origin, it will temporarily reside here. How much you can retrieve in the future will depend on your own efforts."

Upon hearing Mu Wuchen's words, Nalan Yuruo was stunned, then seemed to react, shyly letting out a soft "mm," her face flushing.

"Let's go, let's take a look outside."

Mu Wuchen instructed, then took the two women back onto the Golden Winged Roc's back and flew high into the sky.

Outside.

As the Heavenly Cold Nether Flame was taken away by Mu Wuchen, the ice and snow that had lasted for many days began to melt at a visible speed, and the temperature also began to rise rapidly.

Even though the Great Zhou Emperor had sent people to fully blockade the news, more and more people became aware of the Heaven and Earth Divine Fire appearing here, and people from within the Great Zhou and many nearby dynasties and sects came to search for it.

At the same time, hundreds of thousands of troops from the Great Zhou Dynasty's northwest were all dispatched, their purpose being to carry out the Great Zhou Emperor's order—to fully prevent more people from entering this area.

Logically speaking, the Old Emperor's influence was no longer enough to mobilize so many soldiers, let alone for such a peculiar mission. If it had been in the past, even if the Old Emperor could mobilize so many troops, the many generals would certainly have been unwilling.

But now, it was an unusual situation; the hundreds of thousands of troops who arrived here, from generals to soldiers, were extremely solemn, their military discipline strict, without the slightest slack.

And all of this was because an astonishing coup had occurred in the Great Zhou imperial court a few days prior.

The Old Emperor's advanced age and impending death were facts well-known to the Great Zhou's high-ranking officials and generals. A few days ago, the Great Zhou Emperor, Zhou Long, even transferred most of his most elite guards, leaving the defenses extremely weak.

Thus, Zhou Wu, a powerful vassal king and a Linghai Realm peak expert who had long coveted the throne, conspired with several Linghai Realm experts in the court to launch a coup, attempting to assassinate Emperor Zhou Long and seize the throne.

But just as Zhou Wu broke into the imperial palace, the rebels were horrified to discover that the supposedly dying Old Emperor was now radiating immense power, his life force surging, and he had even reached the realm they had only dreamed of—Mystic Infant!

Moreover, the Old Emperor's Mystic Infant was not merely at Mystic Infant First Stage, but Mystic Infant Seventh Stage!

Facing the rebellion, Zhou Long acted decisively, using only a few moves to behead the rebellious Prince Wu and his followers, displaying their heads to the public, and personally issued an edict ordering all troops in the Great Zhou's northwest to immediately blockade the area where the Heavenly Cold Nether Flame had appeared.

And the many generals who received the news naturally dared not defy the imperial decree at this time, and they all led their troops here to guard strictly, not daring to show the slightest slack.

Because the Old Emperor was no longer the Old Emperor he once was!

With the Old Emperor's current strength, several nearby dynasties would likely have no match, and the Great Zhou might no longer be confined to one region, becoming an even more powerful dynasty!

However, even though the blockade was very strict, these soldiers had limited strength after all, and many powerful outsiders still forcibly entered or quietly infiltrated the snowy area.

At this moment, the many people who rushed to seize treasures and try their luck were in an uproar, discussing animatedly.

"Hey, do you feel the temperature rising?"

"You're right, the temperature isn't as low as it was just now!"

"Look, the ice and snow over there are melting!"

"The heaven and earth phenomenon has disappeared; this is a sign that the Heaven and Earth Divine Fire has been taken away!"

In an instant, more and more people discovered the unusual situation, and the scene began to stir, fearing that the Heaven and Earth Divine Fire that appeared this time had indeed been taken away.

Many people wanted to know who had obtained the Heaven and Earth Divine Fire; some were purely curious, while others harbored ulterior motives, their eyes revealing covetousness.

Just then, a fragment from a recording crystal suddenly spread wildly among the crowd. It was unknown who circulated this recording crystal, but it caused a huge stir among the crowd.

In the fragment displayed by the recording crystal, a young man with golden flames condensed a strange flame lotus on his chest, single-handedly confronting two Mystic Infants, powerfully killing a White-haired Old Man, a red-haired middle-aged man, and a group of Linghai Realm experts, and after achieving victory, he arrogantly approached the Heavenly Cold Nether Flame…