Chapter 274: Nirvana Through Fire

Chapter 274: Chapter 274: Nirvana Through Fire

The Netherworld Cave. A place even Yuan Chou didn’t dare set foot in, it was Yi Xiaoyao’s only means of escape.

This was the last-ditch survival plan Yi Xiaoyao had devised at the final moment.

Previously, when Yi Xiaoyao had seen the map, he had memorized the location of the Netherworld Cave at first glance.

Yuan Chou could never have imagined Yi Xiaoyao would flee to such a place, and even if he had guessed Yi Xiaoyao’s intentions, he likely wouldn’t have tried to stop him.

Because entering the Netherworld Cave was a death sentence!

Just as expected, amidst the crowd’s gasps and under countless watchful eyes, the very instant Yi Xiaoyao’s body entered the cave, it was reduced to a stark white skeleton before vanishing into the darkness within.

"Hmph! You’re just courting death!" Yuan Chou muttered. He knew with absolute certainty that a terrifying power resided within the Netherworld Cave, one that could devour all vitality.

With that, Yuan Chou raised his left arm. From his hand all the way to his forearm, there was not a shred of flesh—only ghastly white bone.

This was the price Yuan Chou had paid for attempting to enter the Netherworld Cave.

’The Netherworld Cave... even I would perish if I charged inside.’

’And you think you can survive?’

’You think you’ll return one day for revenge?’

’How laughable!’

Yuan Chou stared coldly at the cave entrance, utterly dismissive of Yi Xiaoyao’s parting words.

Though Yi Xiaoyao was dead, Yuan Chou’s rage was insatiable; he hated that he hadn’t been able to personally slay his son’s killer.

After Yuan Chou departed, an uproar erupted among the members of the Primordial Evil Alliance who had witnessed the entire ordeal.

They now recalled that the one who had slain the Protector—a master at the fourth level of the Nascent Soul Transformation Realm—was a youth whose Cultivation was only at the Nascent Soul Realm!

For such a monstrous genius to meet such a fate.

It was both tragic and lamentable.

And though Yi Xiaoyao had died, the battle he fought today had inspired admiration and awe in countless experts, ensuring that the memory of this young man would be forever etched in their hearts.

Moreover, the last words Yi Xiaoyao had left behind still echoed in everyone’s minds.

"The day of my comeback will be the day the Primordial Evil crumbles to dust!"

Everyone fell silent, holding their breath.

"Can he... really come back?"

"Impossible. Anyone who enters the Netherworld Cave is doomed."

"What a shame..."

...

「Several days later.」 Leng Yan was crouching by a stream in a valley, cleaning Little Hei’s wounds and applying fresh medicine.

"Next, I’m going to find my father. Maybe he’ll know a way to rescue Yi Xiaoyao."

Leng Yan said quietly as she applied medicine to Little Hei.

Seeing Little Hei’s gloomy expression, Leng Yan sighed softly. "Little Hei, I believe he isn’t dead. He’ll be back, sooner or later!"

Upon hearing this, Little Hei’s large, shimmering black eyes immediately met Leng Yan’s. Her beautiful eyes were filled with an earnest expression.

And it was true; in that moment, Leng Yan believed with all her heart that Yi Xiaoyao was not dead.

’This means Yi Xiaoyao wanted the map of the Main Pillar specifically to enter the Netherworld Cave.’

’And if that was his goal, he must have made preparations. He couldn’t possibly have died in there so easily.’

However, Leng Yan’s thoughts were only half-correct.

Yi Xiaoyao had indeed been completely unprepared when he charged into the Netherworld Cave that day; it was an act of pure desperation, a last-ditch gamble for survival.

This was the part Leng Yan had gotten wrong.

But she had been right about one thing: Yi Xiaoyao was, in fact, not dead.

This was proven by the very fact that Little Hei, who shared a Soul Contract with Yi Xiaoyao, was still alive before her.

Of course, neither Little Hei nor Leng Yan had any inkling of this.

And they certainly couldn’t imagine the situation Yi Xiaoyao was currently in.

Or perhaps, a more accurate description would be that Yi Xiaoyao was undergoing a metamorphosis.

The Netherworld Cave led deep underground. Its floor was littered with white bones, weathered by the passage of countless years.

A few days ago, a new skeleton had appeared at the bottom of the cave, lying quietly atop a pile of other bones.

This skeleton was devoid of all flesh, but a faint, ghostly flame flickered from where its Dantian would have been.

After several days, this flicker of light gradually grew into a burning flame, which then blazed ever brighter.

Eventually, the entire cave was bathed in the crimson glow of a dazzling fire. Within the flames, flesh and blood began to grow upon the white bone, meridians formed and spread, and a complete body seemed on the verge of re-forming.

Several more days passed. Then, from within the flames, a pair of bright eyes suddenly shone forth.

’I... I’m not dead?’

A hint of confusion appeared in those eyes, as if pondering how he could still be alive.

Then, within the brightly lit cave, a naked body rose from the flames and stepped out.

"Rebirth through fire... It was the Nirvana Holy Fruit!"

The naked figure murmured in astonishment as he looked at the flames bathing his body.

This figure was, of course, none other than Yi Xiaoyao, who had plunged into the Netherworld Cave.

The moment he had first entered this cave, he had felt a terrifying power instantly suck away every last shred of his vitality.

In that moment, Yi Xiaoyao had realized his gamble had failed. ’A place where even an expert like Yuan Chou can’t set foot... How could I possibly survive here?’

Then, Yi Xiaoyao had lost all consciousness, as if he were truly dead.

But now, waking to find himself actually alive, he realized his gamble had paid off after all.

Except, what allowed him to win this gamble wasn’t the Netherworld Cave he had put his hopes in, but the Nirvana Holy Fruit he had long since overlooked!

’So the Nirvana Holy Fruit I ate back then really did possess the power of Nirvana Rebirth!’

Yi Xiaoyao felt a surge of elation and relief. Then, his expression grew incredibly excited.

He had discovered that after his fiery Nirvana, not only had all his injuries completely healed, but his physical body was also countless times stronger than before!

Not only that, but Yi Xiaoyao was no longer at the sixth level of the Nascent Soul Realm. He had astonishingly broken through to the Nascent Soul Transformation Realm!

"So the legends were true!"

Yi Xiaoyao exclaimed in excitement.

These changes were, after all, the legendary effects of the Nirvana Holy Fruit.

Thinking of this, Yi Xiaoyao suppressed his excitement and joy, closed his eyes, and focused his senses inward on his Dantian.

There, within his Dantian, sat two cross-legged Nascent Souls that bore a striking resemblance to Yi Xiaoyao himself.

But compared to their appearance in the Nascent Soul Realm, the Nascent Souls, having advanced to the Nascent Soul Transformation Realm, were no longer infants but had matured into the form of children.

The Nascent Soul Transformation Realm, just as the name implies, is the period of metamorphosis for the Nascent Soul.

Upon reaching the peak of the Nascent Soul Transformation Realm, the Nascent Soul will mature into its adult form, containing a power far beyond what its infant state in the Nascent Soul Realm could ever compare to.

This was also the reason why Yi Xiaoyao had been utterly powerless against Yuan Chou.

After confirming the transformations to both his physical body and his Cultivation, he finally opened his eyes.

Then, Yi Xiaoyao discovered something else: the Flame he controlled seemed to have changed.

With a wave of his hand, a crimson blaze appeared in his palm. Not only had its color changed, but its power was also immensely greater than before.

Even Yi Xiaoyao himself, now at the Nascent Soul Transformation Realm, could sense a dangerous aura emanating from this Flame.

This Flame was remarkably similar to the one that had granted him his fiery Nirvana.

’Is this another benefit from the Nirvana Holy Fruit?’

Yi Xiaoyao murmured, his eyes shining. This was a truly pleasant surprise.

He couldn’t help but recall that the Nirvana Holy Fruit was born from the ashes of a Divine Phoenix’s rebirth. ’So,’ he wondered, ’could this crimson flame I’ve obtained through the Holy Fruit have some connection to the fire of the phoenix?’

"If that’s the case, then I’ll name this flame that has been transformed along with me... the Nirvana Phoenix Fire!"

Yi Xiaoyao grinned. The benefits brought to him by the Nirvana Holy Fruit—the one he had once dismissed as a fake—were simply astounding.

At this thought, Yi Xiaoyao’s gaze shifted. He used the light from his flame to peer intently into the surrounding darkness.

...