A steady stream of dark energy forced the ancient emperor's cave to open, and Lucas walked in with curious Xiao Xuan and Zhu Kun.
Xiao Xuan looked at the huge square in the ancient emperor's cave and said with emotion: "Heavenly Flame Square? The Group Leader is right—the Ancient Emperor Tuo She is really the fusion of 22 Heavenly Flame."
Zhu Kun said, stunned: "You guys even know this?"
Xiao Xuan smiled and said: "Don't think that just because we didn't live in that era, we don't understand the events of that time. After the Ancient Emperor Tuo She swallowed up many different heavenly flames, he became the first-ranked Heavenly Flame, and that's where the ranking of Heavenly Flames comes from."
Zhu Kun stared at Xiao Xuan and suddenly asked, "Which family are you from? Don't tell me you're from an ordinary background."
Xiao Xuan smiled and said, "I'm a descendant of Dou Di—from the Xiao clan!"
Zhu Kun pondered: "Is it the Xiao clan? In the era of the Ancient Emperor Tuo She, although the Xiao clan was not a major clan, it did exist. It's not surprising that there are records of this in your clan."
Xiao Xuan smiled and didn't explain that Lucas had told him these things. He looked at the huge statue at the front of the square, where a steady stream of dark energy was engaging in a final confrontation with the statue.
An old man whose appearance was exactly the same as the statue was forcibly suppressed by a mass of powerful dark energy, and finally transformed into an elixir under the suppression of the dark energy—that is, the Emperor Grade Pill.
Boom!
After the Emperor Pill was suppressed, the huge statue was forcibly opened by the dark energy, and a huge space burst out from it, turning into a surging sea of flames.
An old man exactly like the statue appeared in the sea of fire. His hair was colorful, as if a gorgeous flame was burning in it.
"This is totally different from what I imagined!"
"How many years has it been? Is this still the Dou Qi Continent? It looks so different. No—I'm afraid this is not the Dou Qi Continent at all?"
The old man with long flaming hair stood in the sea of fire and smiled at the dark world around him. The endless sea of flames fought against the surrounding dark energy.
"The darkness is terrifying, but flame can illuminate the light."
Looking at the dark energy around him being driven back by his own sea of flames, Emperor Tuo She smiled and said to Lucas.
Lucas shook his head and said, "No—the flame is just a moment of splendor, while darkness is eternal!"
As Lucas's voice fell, the entire cave of Emperor Tuo She was swallowed up and disintegrated by dark energy. Emperor Tuo She and his flame ocean were exposed to the universe of the Dark Dimension, and monstrous dark energy surrounded them.
"This is my world!"
"Don't say that you are not a complete being now—even if you were a complete Dou Di now, you would not be my opponent."
Lucas looked at Emperor Tuo She and his sea of flames, and spoke in a proud tone.
Emperor Tuo She looked at the dark energy around him with a blank expression, and this powerful force made his scalp tingle.
He believed what Lucas said—even at his peak, he might not be able to fight against such a huge darkness.
If you can't beat it, then you don't need to fight hard. In any case, he was only a remnant of thoughts now, and there was no reason to fight to the end.
The sea of flames around Emperor Tuo She converged, and he asked kindly, "Can you tell me what's going on?"
Lucas thought about it for a while, and said very simply: "It's very simple—I want your power inheritance."
Ancient Emperor Tuo She said in surprise: "Your power is so powerful, why do you still need my inheritance?"
Lucas shook his head and said: "My powerful power is limited to this world, and these dark energies cannot be fully absorbed by me. Although they have improved my life form and strength, this improvement is limited."
Ancient Emperor Tuo She looked at the dark energy around him curiously and asked, "Is that so? Shouldn't this be the energy of the Dou Ki Continent? This kind of energy is magical and strange—I have never seen this kind of power before."
Lucas nodded and said, "Yes! The energy of Dou Ki Continent can be used for people to cultivate and improve their strength level and life form. The energy here does not have such an effect. Although it can also be used for combat and life maintenance, these energies are borrowed and cannot be completely integrated with my body and soul. When I obtained this Dark Dimension, I was empowered by dark energy, and my strength and life form were sublimated, but that's all."
Ancient Emperor Tuo She smiled and said, "So you want to absorb my energy, because after absorbing my energy, your strength will be permanently improved, instead of being used up like these dark energies."
Lucas smiled: "That's it! It doesn't matter if you don't agree. Here I can forcibly plunder your power. This is my world, and you should be able to perceive my connection with this world."
Emperor Tuo She smiled and said, "Of course! Is this a world that is independent of my own world? When I was alive, I discovered that there is a world outside my world, but I just didn't go out to explore it. I can give my strength to you, but you have to promise me one request."
Lucas laughed: "Let's hear it! If this request is too much for me, I won't agree."
The Ancient Emperor Tuo She said: "This request is not too much. I want to know the current situation of Dou Qi Continent. Since you can bring my cave here, you must know something about the Dou Qi Continent, right? I want to know about the Dou Qi Continent. Has there been another Dou Di in the world?"
Lucas said speechlessly, "You hid the last source of Origin Qi in the cave you created. How could there be another Dou Di in the Dou Qi Continent?"
Xiao Xuan couldn't help but ask: "Senior Emperor Tuo She, why did you hide the last source of Origin Qi in your cave? If others can't get the source of these, they can't be promoted to Dou Di."
The Ancient Emperor Tuo She said indifferently: "If I don't collect this energy, it will dissipate. There's only enough left for one person to advance. By refining it into a pill, whoever obtains it gains the chance to become a Dou Di, saving future generations from the painstaking collection process."
Zhu Kun snorted, "You may not be the most virtuous old man, but you're right. There's only a small amount of the original Emperor Qi remaining. If it's split between two people, neither would have enough to reach the Dou Di realm—meaning there would be no new Dou Dis in this world."
The Ancient Emperor Tuo She spoke calmly, "That's not necessarily the case. Didn't I leave behind my inheritance? It contains a portion of the Emperor's Origin Qi as well. If someone can absorb it, they too can ascend to the Dou Di realm. I left behind two chances in my cave for such an opportunity… but sadly, the grand clash between dragon and tiger that I had hoped for never came to pass."
Xiao Xuan looked at the Ancient Emperor Tuo She with curiosity, then asked, "Senior, by leaving your power behind, wasn't that essentially choosing to die within the world of Dou Qi?"
Zhu Kun rolled his eyes and snapped, "Obviously! The source of his power, including the last of the Origin Qi, is still here. Where else could he go? Of course he gave up everything after his death."
Xiao Xuan shook his head and said, "Then I don't understand, why didn't the senior leave the Dou Qi Continent to go to a higher world like other Dou Di powerhouses?"
Zhu Kun was surprised: "There are more advanced worlds?"
Ancient Emperor Tuo She nodded and said: "Yes! After you become Dou Di, you will be able to sense that there is a world outside this one, and you can also break the shackles of the world and leave here. However, this old man was not interested in the unknown world, so I did not leave."
Lucas suddenly asked, his expression a little odd, "Emperor Tuo She... were you pretty much unknown before becoming a Dou Di? Even after your breakthrough, you didn't seem to leave behind many legends in the Dou Qi Continent?"
Zhu Kun stroked his chin thoughtfully and replied, "That's actually true! Aside from that one big moment when he ascended to Dou Di, he was incredibly low-key. It's like he barely existed on the continent. Most people just assumed he was someone obsessed with seclusion and cultivation."
Lucas muttered helplessly, "Obsessed with seclusion? Sounds more like he just liked staying put. Before reaching Dou Di, he wandered underground. After that, he either holed up collecting Origin Qi or spent all his time nesting in the Different Flame World. No wonder he never stepped into the higher planes."
Emperor Tuo She: "..."
Emperor Tuo She thought silently in his heart, but he didn't say it aloud. As a Dou Di, he also needed to maintain his dignity.
"Okay, give me your power! In return, I can let your remnant consciousness live here forever."
Lucas stopped chatting and asked Emperor Tuo She to get down to business.
"To live here forever? That's torture!"
Emperor Tuo She glanced at the darkness around him and said speechlessly.
"Who said you'd be bored? There are plenty of people here who can keep you company."
With a snap of his fingers, Lucas caused the space belonging to the Hun Clan—previously swallowed by the Dark Dimension—to reappear. Along with it came the phantom forms of the Nihility Devouring Flame and Hun Tiandi soul, both of whom stood frozen, their eyes filled with confusion as they took in their surroundings.
The Ancient Emperor Tuo She's eyes narrowed slightly. "Nihility Devouring Flame?"
The spirit of the Void-Swallowing Flame jerked in shock, its gaze locking onto Tuo She with unmasked hatred. "Ancient Emperor Tuo She!"
Lucas watched the interaction with amusement, then turned to Tuo She with a smile. "Even though his consciousness has shifted, that hatred toward you runs so deep it's become instinct."
The Ancient Emperor Tuo She remained calm and indifferent. "It doesn't matter. I have no interest in mingling with them. Let this remnant of mine fade away."
Lucas shrugged and replied coolly, "As you wish."
The Ancient Emperor Tuo She said no more, and the Nihility Devouring Flame, which was condensed with the strength of his life, flew out from the sea of fire in front of him. One after another, dark energy fell on it, and the power of the phoenix rose to a boil.
The heavenly flames, which had been transformed and domesticated in various ways, was swallowed by Lucas.