Chapter 57: Collecting the Nine Nether Soul Devouring Flame

The bottom of the Ten Thousand Burials Abyss!

Chen Chuan was shrouded in a faint white halo; the power of the Pure Karma Sacred Fire purified the miasma and resentment that tried to erode him into nothingness.

In this forbidden land, he forcibly carved out a piece of pure land.

He stepped on mountains of snow-white bones; with every step he took, the tooth-gritting sound of bones cracking echoed out.

In the dim light, some strange creatures twisted by dense resentment peered from a distance but did not dare to approach, intimidated by the aura of the sacred fire.

Deep in his eyes, an imperceptible glimmer flowed.

Under the insight of this Dharma Eye, everything within the Ten Thousand Burials Abyss had nowhere to hide.

"There it is!"

Chen Chuan’s gaze fixed on a direction deeper into the abyss.

There, an extremely pure yet aggressive core of freezing energy throbbed slowly like a heart, devouring all Soul fragments and negative emotions in the vicinity.

Without hesitation, his figure turned into a wisp of green smoke, avoiding several dangerous spots with violent energy and quickly approaching.

A moment later, a relatively open field of bones appeared before his eyes.

In the center of this area, there were no piled skeletons but a constantly rotating vortex made of pure dark energy.

At the center of the vortex, a cluster of dark and deep flames burned quietly.

This flame seemed capable of absorbing all light; its form was ever-changing, sometimes looking like a clawing demon shadow and other times like a wailing ghost face.

It had no scorching heat; instead, it emitted a Soul-freezing extreme cold.

Around the flame, space was slightly distorted, and the silent shrieks of countless resentful Souls being devoured and refined could be faintly heard.

It was exactly the Nine Nether Soul Devouring Flame!

Just by approaching, Chen Chuan felt a slight stinging pain in his Divine Sense, as if it were about to be sucked out by that flame.

If not for the protection of the Pure Karma Sacred Fire, this invisible devouring power alone would be enough to damage the Divine Soul of a Myriad Manifestations Realm Cultivator.

"What a domineering Spiritual Fire!"

Chen Chuan felt a chill in his heart.

With his current cultivation at the Peak of the Ninth Level of the Myriad Manifestations Realm, trying to forcibly collect this Heaven and Earth Spiritual Fire born in a place of extreme Yin and evil was undoubtedly a pipe dream.

He feared that upon contact, his Divine Soul would be severely injured or even devoured by it.

He didn’t hesitate; his consciousness instantly sinking into the pay-to-win System interface.

His gaze quickly swept through the dazzling array of goods, finally settling on an ancient Talisman emitting profound sealing fluctuations.

[Suppression Talisman]: Single-use consumable.

Can temporarily suppress the target’s energy fluctuations; duration: one stick of incense.

Price: Five million gold tickets.

"This is it!"

Although the price was steep, he couldn’t care about that now.

With a thought from Chen Chuan, five million gold tickets were deducted, and a Talisman glowing with yellow light appeared in his hand.

Without any hesitation, Chen Chuan circulated his Spiritual Qi and violently shot the Suppression Talisman in his hand toward the Nine Nether Soul Devouring Flame.

Buzz!

The moment the Talisman approached the dark flame, it suddenly erupted with brilliant golden light, turning into countless fine golden chains.

Like an inescapable net, they wrapped around and sealed the restless Nine Nether Soul Devouring Flame layer by layer.

The dark flame, which had been wantonly emitting devouring power, quickly saw its fluctuations stabilize under the suppression of the golden light.

The heart-palpitating devouring power also weakened significantly, as if it had fallen into a deep sleep.

No time to lose!

Chen Chuan’s figure flashed, appearing before the suppressed Nine Nether Soul Devouring Flame. His hands formed profound hand Seals, and the majestic Myriad Manifestations Realm Spiritual Qi within him surged out.

He carefully wrapped the Spiritual Fire, which had lost its power to resist, and slowly guided it into the Dantian Qi Sea within his body.

The whole process was perilous but without mishap.

After successfully collecting the Nine Nether Soul Devouring Flame, Chen Chuan did not leave immediately.

He found a relatively hidden spot behind a pile of bones and sat down cross-legged.

Next was the crucial step.

Fusion!

He used the skill Flame Art, guiding the two Spiritual Fires of completely opposite attributes in his Dantian.

On one side was the extremely Yang and pure, all-purifying Pure Karma Sacred Fire, its white flames warm and holy.

On the other side was the extremely Yin and evil, Soul-devouring Nine Nether Soul Devouring Flame, its dark flames cold and eerie.

The two naturally opposing flames, under the mysterious harmonizing power of the Flame Art, began to slowly approach and blend.

At first, they repelled each other, bursting with intense energy ripples.

But under the domineering effect of the Flame Art, the repulsive force was gradually overcome.

After an unknown amount of time, a two-colored flame lotus about the size of a palm and perfect in form quietly emerged in Chen Chuan’s Dantian.

This flame lotus was extremely miraculous; its petals showed a chaotic color of blended black and white.

The white sacred flame and the black nether flame intertwined, balancing each other to form a perfect whole.

At the center of the lotus, a speck of Chaos light flickered slightly, emitting destructive fluctuations that made one’s Soul tremble.

Chen Chuan slowly opened his eyes, a trace of trepidation and wild joy flashing through them.

He could clearly feel what kind of terrifying power this Chaos Flame Lotus, fused from two Heaven and Earth Spiritual Fires, contained.

He had a strong premonition that even with his current Peak Ninth Level Myriad Manifestations Realm cultivation...

If he were to sacrifice this flame lotus at any cost, the power it erupted with would probably cause even a true True Domain Realm expert to change color and retreat.

"This trip has ended in Perfection."

Chen Chuan rose to his feet and stayed no longer.

He identified the direction, took to the air, and flew back up the way he had come.

With the Pure Karma Sacred Fire leading the way, the return journey was smooth.

...

One day later, at the edge of the Ten Thousand Burials Abyss.

A figure emerged like a ghost from the miasma mist of intertwined dark green and dark red, landing lightly on the ground; it was Chen Chuan.

The layer of pure white halo around him had not yet completely faded, and the aura of the Pure Karma Sacred Fire was faintly emanating.

However, just as he steadied himself, his brow furrowed.

Swish, swish, swish!

Over a dozen figures flashed out from behind the surrounding scattered rocks and dead trees, quickly surrounding him.

These people were dressed uniformly, with a Pill Furnace insignia embroidered on their chests. Most of them carried a faint scent of medicine and fire, clearly all Alchemists.

The leader was a young man with a haughty expression and luxurious clothing.

He stared intensely at Chen Chuan, or more accurately, at the white halo around Chen Chuan that was about to disappear completely, his eyes filled with undisguised greed.

This person was exactly the Young Lord of the Alchemy Sect, Lin Yan.

Lin Yan’s own cultivation wasn’t top-tier, but two people stood beside him with powerful auras.

One was a ruddy-faced old man whose cultivation was similar to his, at the Peak of the Ninth Level of the Myriad Manifestations Realm.

The other was a taciturn middle-aged man in black robes, whose body faintly triggered signs of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi; he was surprisingly a True Domain Realm expert.

Judging by his fluctuations, he was at least at the Third Level.

"Tsk tsk, I didn’t expect to meet a fellow daoist possessing a Spiritual Fire in this godforsaken place."

Lin Yan stepped forward, his lips curling into a smug smile, as if a hunter seeing prey fall into a trap:

"Kid, you have quite good luck."

"With a mere Myriad Manifestations Realm Ninth Level cultivation, you dared to go deep into the Ten Thousand Burials Abyss and even come out unscathed."

"That white Spiritual Fire on you has extraordinary properties; it can actually suppress the miasma and resentment here."

The greed in his eyes was almost overflowing.

As an Alchemist, a Spiritual Fire was a treasure he dreamed of; not only could it greatly increase the success rate and quality of Alchemy, but it was also a powerful aid against enemies.

To him, Chen Chuan’s appearance was no different from a windfall from heaven.

Chen Chuan’s gaze swept over the people surrounding him; his face was calm and rippleless, but he already understood the situation in his heart.

He spoke indifferently: "I am a stranger to you all. Why are you blocking my path?"

"Strangers?" Lin Yan sneered, looking at Chen Chuan as if he were a fool:

"This Young Lord has taken a fancy to your Spiritual Fire; that is the biggest reason."

"If you know what’s good for you, hand over the Spiritual Fire voluntarily. Perhaps if this Young Lord is in a good mood, I might leave you an intact corpse. Otherwise..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the surrounding Alchemy Sect Disciples had already grinned and stepped closer, Killing Intent permeating the air.

Chen Chuan looked at Lin Yan’s arrogant face, which seemed certain of victory: "You want my Spiritual Fire? Just with you lot?"

"Hmph, still acting tough when death is near!" Lin Yan’s face darkened, and he gestured to the Elder Li at the Peak of the Ninth Level of the Myriad Manifestations Realm beside him. "Elder Li, take him down."

"Yes, Young Lord!" Li Xiuchang stepped forward in response.

The Spiritual Qi of his Peak Ninth Level Myriad Manifestations Realm cultivation erupted. His figure was like lightning, his withered palm carrying scorching fire-attribute Spiritual Qi as it went straight for Chen Chuan’s face.

Facing this fierce strike, a cold light flashed in Chen Chuan’s eyes. Without dodging, he also struck out with a palm.

This palm strike of his seemed simple and unadorned, but its power was by no means weak.

Chen Chuan’s palm arrived later but struck first, precisely meeting Li Xiuchang’s palm.

Bang!

First move: the palms collided, airwaves rolled, and Li Xiuchang’s body shook violently, a trace of horror flashing across his face.

Without waiting for him to change his move, Chen Chuan took a second step, pointing his fingers like a sword. A highly condensed finger wind of Spiritual Qi tore through the air, stabbing straight toward Li Xiuchang’s Dantian.

Li Xiuchang hurriedly condensed a Spiritual Qi shield to block.

Crack!

Second move: the shield shattered instantly. Li Xiuchang groaned and retreated several steps.

Chen Chuan pressed his advantage, his figure following like a shadow. For the third move, a seemingly light palm-blade struck Li Xiuchang’s shoulder blade.

Pfft!

Li Xiuchang was hit as if by a heavy blow, spitting out a mouthful of blood. He flew backward like a broken kite, falling heavily to the ground and struggling for a moment, unable to get up.

Three moves!

Both being at the Peak of the Ninth Level of the Myriad Manifestations Realm, Alchemy Sect Elder Li Xiuchang was heavily injured and defeated.

This scene caused the surrounding Alchemy Sect Disciples to gasp in shock.

Lin Yan’s eyes narrowed slightly, his arrogance receding a bit, replaced by a trace of surprise and gloom.

He truly hadn’t expected this kid, who didn’t look very old, to have such formidable combat strength that Elder Li, at the same level, couldn’t even last three moves against him.

However, this bit of surprise was quickly replaced by even deeper greed and haughtiness.

He clapped his hands, his tone carrying a condescending mockery: "Not bad, not bad! This Young Lord indeed underestimated you."

He changed the subject, that smug smile of being in control appearing on his face again: "However, in this Young Lord’s eyes, your struggle is still futile."

He slowly took a step back and bowed slightly to the silent middle-aged man in black robes beside him, his tone respectful: "Elder Wei, it seems I must trouble you to take action."

The middle-aged man in black robes, called Wei Xuan, slowly raised his head.

The powerful aura of the Third Level of the True Domain Realm was released without reservation, like a heavy mountain, instantly enveloping the area.

The Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi solidified, and the pressure increased sharply.

He took a step forward, looking at Chen Chuan with indifferent eyes, as if looking at a dead man.

Seeing Wei Xuan step forward, Chen Chuan’s expression instantly became extremely solemn. The Spiritual Qi in his body circulated at high speed, and the Chaos Flame Lotus in his Dantian also trembled slightly, ready to be unleashed.

Seeing this, Lin Yan was even more jubilant. He pointed at Chen Chuan and ranted arrogantly:

"Kid, do you see? This is the might of a True Domain Realm expert."

"No matter how gifted you are or how extraordinary your combat strength is, before an absolute gap in strength and Realm, everything is an illusion."

"The Myriad Manifestations Realm and the True Domain Realm are as different as clouds and mud. This Young Lord wants to see what kind of waves you can still make now?"

Wei Xuan did not say much; he merely raised his hand slowly. The surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi began to converge frantically toward his palm, and a powerful force was brewing.

The battle was on the verge of breaking out!