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"Kid, don't get too cocky!" Black flames surged from within the Void Swallowing Flame, instantly flooding the entire Black Ravine. His finge
"Kid, don't get too cocky!"
Black flames surged from within the Void Swallowing Flame, instantly flooding the entire Black Ravine. His finger, covered in black runes, pointed directly at Qian Renhan.
"Boom!"
The entire underground world quaked violently. Amid the sky-filling black flames, a colossal finger made of black fire—large enough to obscure half a mountain—descended from the sky. The underground space shattered instantly upon impact, and the terrifying heat even evaporated a portion of the Nine Nether Yellow Spring Lake, causing the water level to drop by several meters.
Blood light flickered in Qian Renhan's hand as the Asura Sword appeared. A blood-red sword domain erupted, but when confronted by the giant black flame finger, it shattered effortlessly. The sword domain's power was directly tied to one's cultivation and mastery of the killing path, and Qian Renhan's cultivation was still a limiting factor.
Even so, the Asura Sword's toughness grew alongside Qian Renhan's physical strength. While his swordsmanship lagged behind due to his cultivation, that didn't make the Asura Sword a mere decoration.
Gripping the Asura Sword's hilt tightly, Qian Renhan channeled his battle energy into his fingers like sharp claws. He pierced through his own palm, allowing fresh blood to flow down his hand and into the sword.
"Buzz!"
The sword let out a resonant hum as the blood-red eye at its hilt opened wide. A flash of crimson light erupted, and a towering blood-colored giant hundreds of meters tall appeared. The giant held a massive crimson sword and swung it, clashing head-on with the descending black flame finger.
"Pffft!"
The terrifying hum reverberated throughout the underground world, instantly killing every Nine Nether Earth Serpent that hadn't fled. Weaker ones spat blood on the spot, and the truly unfortunate had their eardrums burst, blood flowing endlessly from both ears—an utterly miserable sight.
"He can bleed? That means... he really is human. Could he be some rare race like the ancient Devour Spirit Clan? Or perhaps a descendant who has undergone evolution?"
While continuously channeling flames into the giant finger, the Void Swallowing Flame pondered. Across heaven and earth, mysterious beings were bound to emerge—like the ancient Devour Spirit Clan. They possessed a terrifying ability: they could devour the bloodlines of other ancient races to delay the decline of their own. No other ancient race had such a gift.
Eventually, the Devour Spirit Clan was annihilated by the joint forces of other ancient clans. Back then, the Void Swallowing Flame had devoured the corpse of their fallen clan leader, thereby inheriting part of their powers.
As for the evolution he imagined, it referred to the complete exhaustion of the Devour Spirit Clan's Dou Emperor bloodline. To survive, their ability to devour Dou Emperor bloodlines transformed into something akin to his own—devouring all under heaven.
With that thought, the Void Swallowing Flame finalized his plan and said coldly, "This is a Heaven-Tier Advanced Dou Technique. Get down!"
"Roar!"
A roar that shook the heavens and the earth erupted, accompanied by the cries of dragons and phoenixes. When the Void Swallowing Flame heard it, his consciousness was struck like lightning, and his mind felt as though it were being torn apart.
"This technique... it's Yellow Springs Sky Fury! So, you've inherited the legacy of the Yellow Springs Demon Saint!"
Though both the Void Swallowing Flame and Qian Renhan had souls at the peak of the Heavenly Realm, the attack still dealt a heavy blow to the former's consciousness, weakening the power of the black flame finger by thirty percent.
"It's you who's going down—Yellow Springs Palm!"
With a sword in one hand and a palm strike in the other, Qian Renhan shattered the massive finger of black fire into countless fragments. Black flames filled the air. His Fallen Angel wings flapped behind him as he instantly closed the distance, chasing after the Void Swallowing Flame. At the same time, his fingers formed another seal—once again activating Yellow Springs Sky Fury.
"Roar—!"
The roar rang out again. The Void Swallowing Flame groaned in pain, transformed into a ball of fire, and slipped into the void in an attempt to escape.
In the Dou Qi Continent, power hinges on three core elements: soul, cultivation, and physique.
Qian Renhan's physique could rival the Void Swallowing Flame's cultivation. The latter had a Heaven-Tier Advanced Dou Technique, but so did Qian Renhan. Moreover, Qian Renhan had the Fallen Angel Wings and the Asura Sword. With their support, he managed to suppress the Void Swallowing Flame.
As for the fleeing Void Swallowing Flame, Qian Renhan didn't give chase. Although his wings and spatial powers would let him catch up, he couldn't kill the Void Swallowing Flame outright. Worse, he might even provoke Hun Tiandi to appear. As strong as he was now, Hun Tiandi could still seriously injure him with a single palm—and obliterate him with two.
Qian Renhan turned his gaze to the dozens of black flames scattered below, each varying in size but all radiating intense energy. These were remnants from the battle with the Void Swallowing Flame. His lips curled into a smile. "Quite a bit of loot dropped."
These black flames were, in essence, the Void Swallowing Flame's sub-flames. If left unchecked, they would continue devouring the underground world's Dou Qi. Left long enough, they might even gain sentience—creating miniature Void Swallowing Flames.
Ordinarily, the Void Swallowing Flame would have reclaimed them immediately. After all, no one wants an independent copy of themselves roaming free with its own will.
Just as Qian Renhan began collecting the flames one by one and preparing to head to another region to continue absorbing them, the space before him distorted again. The Void Swallowing Flame reappeared, though the black flames surrounding him had dimmed noticeably compared to before.
"Still not done fighting? Or are you here to drop more loot?" Qian Renhan asked casually, sword in one hand, while the other hand continued gathering black flames. His soul power blanketed the area, ready to flee to the Ancient Emperor's cave if Hun Tiandi actually showed up.
The Void Swallowing Flame didn't emit any hostility and didn't even glance at the flames being taken. He got straight to the point: "I want to cooperate. Consider those black flames a greeting gift."
Qian Renhan's expression didn't change. As before, he simply stared at the Void Swallowing Flame. There are no eternal enemies—only eternal interests. If one wanted cooperation, they had to bring something both sides found acceptable. Either leverage, or sincerity.
The pile of flames left behind—while seemingly valuable—was no real loss to the Void Swallowing Flame. Given time and access to Dou Qi, he could easily recover.
If he didn't show real sincerity within three seconds, Qian Renhan would leave immediately. Whether this was a genuine partnership offer or a stalling tactic to lure Hun Tiandi, he couldn't afford to gamble.
The Void Swallowing Flame, being a cunning old schemer, understood this perfectly. After a single breath, he said, "I know how to become an Emperor. Most of the Hun Clan's Dou Saint elders possess my sub-flames. I've left some... tricks in those flames. If I activate them, I can turn those elders into my puppets—controlling their minds at will."
Upon hearing this, Qian Renhan finally saw the sincerity. It was likely that Hun Tiandi already knew of these actions but chose to tolerate them—for now—for the sake of his grand plans to become Emperor.
However, if this secret got out within the Hun Clan, it would trigger chaos. They would turn on the Void Swallowing Flame en masse. Before becoming Emperor, Hun Tiandi still needed these elders to serve him—helping him destroy clans, seize jade, search souls, and manage the Soul Devouring Death Formation. He would undoubtedly act against the Void Swallowing Flame then.
(End of Chapter)