Chapter 1049 - 473: Fireseed of the Tomb of the Void (2)

The elder’s words, like enlightenment, made Xu Qinghan’s understanding of the annihilation of fire more profound. She opened her eyes, the light of golden black chaos swirling within them, deep and mysterious.

"Senior, how should I use this power?" Xu Qinghan asked.

The elder looked at her with satisfaction and said slowly, "The annihilation of fire is not simply a means of attack. It is more of an understanding of the law, a mastery of the origin. You need time to comprehend and refine it. Although the Fire Sanctuary is severely damaged, it can still provide you with a relatively safe environment for cultivation. You should first stabilize your realm here and fully integrate the power of the two seeds. Meanwhile, we must find a way to quickly restore the Fire Network and contact the Fire Igniters scattered throughout the cosmos."

"The Fire Network is severely damaged and will not recover in a short time," the elder sighed lightly. "The Master of Nothingness also paid a significant price in the explosion of the Nucleus of Annihilation and the Tomb of the Void, and there won’t be any large-scale actions in the short term. But this is just a temporary calm. It will never allow a Fire Igniter like you to grow up."

Xu Qinghan nodded. She knew the real crisis had not yet arrived. The Master of Nothingness was the real shadow hanging over the heads of the cosmic beings.

In the days that followed, Xu Qinghan began her closed-door cultivation at the Fire Sanctuary.

She sat cross-legged beside the altar, feeling the weak yet resilient fluctuations of the altar’s fire, resonating with the Ancient God’s Fire within her. She immersed all her heart and spirit in the comprehension of the Seed of Annihilation Star Core and the Torch of the Void Tomb.

The Seed of Annihilation Star Core, carrying the chaos and annihilation from the birth of the cosmos, endowed Xu Qinghan’s fire with the attribute of "annihilation," capable of disintegrating the power of nothingness from the source and converting it into the nourishment of the fire. This conversion is not a simple energy conversion, but a reversal in the law, a "purification" of the Void Origin.

Meanwhile, the Torch of the Void Tomb contains the experiences of countless ancient fire sages battling nothingness and their deep understanding of the power of nothingness. It grants Xu Qinghan’s fire the ability of "Void Transformation," enabling her to decompose, harness, and even simulate the form of nothingness to a certain extent, using nothingness to confront nothingness.

She tried to transform a strand of the Power of Fire into a chaotic form of intertwining gold and black. The flame did not have a blazing temperature, but carried an annihilation and rebirth that could devour everything. She gently pushed it out, and that strand of flame silently dissipated in the void, as if merging into the void, or perhaps making the void her own.

She also tried to absorb a trace of the remaining void aura from the Tomb of the Void into her body. That void aura carried coldness and decay, but under the wrapping of the golden black fire, it was gradually purified as if it were decomposed matter, eventually transforming into the purest energy, nourishing her fire. Although the conversion rate was extremely low, this ability was undoubtedly an existence against the heavens when facing the Master of Nothingness’s army.

Her body continually transformed during this cultivation. The golden black fire flowed through her flesh, bones, and meridians, cleansing everything about her. Her physical body became more resilient, her divine soul more solid, and even the Ancient God’s Fire Mark on her brow deepened, like a golden black vortex containing endless mysteries.

Time flew by in cultivation. Months passed in the blink of an eye.

The Fire Sanctuary remained silent, but Xu Qinghan’s aura grew stronger by the day. She was no longer the novice Fire Igniter; an ancient and weathered aura surrounded her as if she had been baptized by billions of eons.

One day, Xu Qinghan awoke from her meditation. She slowly opened her eyes, a flash of golden black light flickering in them. She felt the surging Power of Fire within her, a force that had reached an unprecedented peak. She could even feel a closer connection between the fire and the Cosmic Origin, as if she herself was part of the cosmos’s vitality.

She rose and came to the altar. The elder still sat cross-legged, his aura weaker than before, as if it might dissipate at any moment.

"Senior," Xu Qinghan called softly.

The elder slowly opened his eyes, and a glimmer of amazement flashed in them when he saw Xu Qinghan.

"Qinghan... you have succeeded..." the elder’s voice carried a slight tremor. He could feel the powerful yet restrained force within Xu Qinghan, the golden black interwoven fire, that had reached a transcendent level.

"Thanks to your guidance, senior," Xu Qinghan respectfully replied.

The elder sighed lightly and gazed into the distance: "Though the Fire Network is severely damaged, under the nourishment of your fire, it has begun to slowly recover. I can sense that some Fire Igniters scattered across the cosmos have started trying to contact us."

"Really?!" Xu Qinghan was delighted. The Fire Network was the link between Fire Igniters and a significant force in resisting the Master of Nothingness.

"Yes," the elder nodded, "but the Fire Network is still fragile and cannot withstand large-scale fluctuations. Moreover, the Master of Nothingness will not give us much time."

He paused, his tone growing solemn, "Qinghan, you already possess enough power to protect yourself and even contend with entities at the Void Monarch Level. But the power of the Master of Nothingness far exceeds your imagination. What it controls is the true Void Origin, the ultimate force that can obliterate everything."

"What should we do?" Xu Qinghan asked.

The elder’s eyes grew deep, as if penetrating endless voids, "The hope of fire lies scattered across the cosmos. In ancient epochs, besides the Nucleus of Annihilation and the Tomb of the Void, there are other fire seeds suppressed by the Master of Nothingness, containing different fire origins. They represent the evolution of fire across different epochs and civilizations. Only by gathering them all can the fire truly reach the realm of ’eternity,’ and possess the power to confront the Master of Nothingness."

"Gather all the seeds..." Xu Qinghan was shocked, knowing this was a vast and arduous task.

"Indeed," the elder said slowly, "The Fire Network may not operate on a large scale, but some weak connections can guide you to find the whereabouts of those seeds. Your task now is to embark on your journey, to find those fire seeds suppressed by nothingness, reignite them, and let the hope of fire illuminate the cosmos once more."

"But senior, the Fire Sanctuary..." Xu Qinghan was a bit worried.

The elder waved his hand, a peaceful smile appearing on his face, "The mission of the Fire Sanctuary is to guard the fire seeds, to nurture Fire Igniters. Now that you have grown, the hope of fire lies within you. We, the old, have reached the time to return to our origins."

Xu Qinghan felt a pang of sorrow in her heart. She understood the meaning behind the elder’s words. The Guardians of the Fire, their lives were inherently linked to the fire, and they had burned too much of their origins to suppress the eruptions of the Nucleus of Annihilation and the Tomb of the Void.

"Senior..." Xu Qinghan’s voice choked slightly.

"No need for sadness," the elder said gently, "As long as the fire is not extinguished, hope endures. Our will shall always be with you. Go, fulfill the mission of the fire, turn its eternal hope into reality!"

The elder slowly closed his eyes, his body beginning to emit a faint golden light, like scattered stars, gradually dissipating into the air. His aura grew weaker and weaker, until finally, it completely merged with the altar’s fire.

"Senior!" Xu Qinghan let out a painful low cry, reaching out as if wanting to grasp something, but ultimately, she only caught hold of emptiness.

The fire on the altar, after the elder returned to his origin, suddenly brightened, though still weak, yet infused with a trace of resilience and ancient aura.