The black wind, like fire, reappeared among the mountains and forests, lined up neatly, the eerie wind howling, swaying towards the Abyss, as if welcoming their King!
Before long, a Throne rose from within the Abyss. Upon it, a woman with Flames flickering over her body, covering only her vital parts, sat with her legs crossed, leaning back.
"Friend, you are not welcome here. Leave quickly!"
Amidst the swaying and howling of the many eerie Flames, the slender and graceful Black-Skinned Woman on the Throne, with her long legs crossed, spoke in a chilling voice.
The Nine Nether Wind Flame, ranked tenth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking, is a Flame condensed from some of the Mysteries of Wind and Fire. It possesses the formless freedom of Wind and the insidious toxicity of Fire, making it a rare eerie Flame. However, its coldness was nothing compared to the woman's words.
Seeing this, Zhao Li raised an eyebrow, sizing up the woman, and said in surprise:
"Hmm, could it be that the storm earlier was just a joke? What? Found out you can't Control This Seat, so you want to talk sense?"
The Black-Skinned Woman's eyes narrowed, but she cursed her bad luck inwardly. She couldn't understand how such a terrifying existence as Zhao Li could appear in this remote place.
She had held nothing back in that black storm earlier. In fact, that single gust of wind had exhausted her accumulation of Thousand Years in this place. Yet, Zhao Li had dissolved her strongest technique without doing anything. How could she possibly attack again?
However, if a Heavenly Flame was discovered, there was no other possibility than being Devoured and subdued. She didn't want to dissipate just like that.
"I apologize for my previous rashness. Senior has already taken a Sub-Flame from me. How about we just let it go?"
Attacking was out of the question; after all, she wasn't stupid and knew she definitely couldn't win in a fight. She could only hope that Zhao Li would know when to stop.
Zhao Li didn't answer, merely observing the woman formed by the Heavenly Flame before him. Then he shook his head, a little disappointed.
Although she had a human shape, it was just a shape, like the giant python outside. It was just a form manifested by the Flame, not that it had Cultivated to the point of being able to transform.
"Alright!"
Zhao Li withdrew his thoughts. Seeing her on high alert, he nodded, and before the joy in her eyes could fully spread, he continued:
"However, that will depend on your performance."
The expression on the Nine Nether Wind Flame's face stiffened for a moment, then slowly relaxed. She asked cautiously:
"What are Senior's orders?"
As long as she could live, she would do anything.
Zhao Li reached out a hand, and the Throne flew uncontrollably towards Zhao Li's hand, landing in his palm. Divine Abilities like World in Hand and Universe in the Sleeve were now second nature to Zhao Li.
He held it up before his eyes and asked:
"What is this place? Who is the owner of this Snake Statue?"
In the eyes of the Nine Nether Wind Flame, Zhao Li was like a god in the Sky Dome. His not-so-loud voice, in her ears, sounded like Thunder exploding, causing her expression to tremble.
Being so easily Controlled, she was even more horrified and dared not conceal anything, Reveal Everything she knew since she gained consciousness:
"This is the tomb of the Nine Nether Flame Snake. The Divine Statue is formed from her body. She was my first owner and has been dead for many years."
Zhao Li was a little surprised. He actually saw some nostalgic expression in the eyes of this Heavenly Flame.
"Oh? It seems you don't hate her?"
He was a little curious about what kind of owner would make a Heavenly Flame that had developed sentience guard its owner's tomb all this time.
The Nine Nether Wind Flame was very surprised to hear Zhao Li's words, not understanding why she should hate the owner with whom she had grown up. She countered:
"Why should I hate her?"
This question really stumped Zhao Li. He thought about it and realized that he had brought in the situation of the Purifying Demonic Flame and the Purifying Demonic Dou Sheng, and had preconceived the notion that between a Heavenly Flame and its owner, only one could possess sentience.
Thinking of this, he shook his head slightly, then chuckled, no longer dwelling on their relationship. He directly asked about his Doubt:
"Was the secret technique of the Snake People Tribe created by your owner? What was her purpose?"
The Nine Nether Wind Flame was silent for a moment, then gave Zhao Li a definite answer, saying:
"Yes, she was injured when she was young and had no hope of becoming a Dou Sheng for the rest of her life. She was unwilling to give up and created the secret technique, attempting to select those with exceptional Talent from among her Juniors to replace her. Unfortunately, she ultimately underestimated her Juniors..."
Zhao Li was not surprised. He had already suspected the motive behind this secret technique, and now his guess was simply confirmed. He couldn't help but sneer:
"As expected of a snake, their blood is truly cold. They won't even spare their Juniors..."
The Nine Nether Wind Flame keenly sensed the displeasure in Zhao Li's tone. Her heart skipped a beat, not knowing what Zhao Li was angry about. Isn't it the instinct of every living being to want to survive?
Although she didn't understand, she knew it was best not to speak at this moment. She could only watch Zhao Li cautiously, not daring to engage in conversation.
Zhao Li didn't really care about this secret technique. It was the Snake People Tribe's own business. Of course, that was assuming it didn't involve anyone on his side. But now, he didn't even know if that girl Yun Shan had been replaced, which made him feel like he had been played.
With a hint of killing intent in his eyes, he looked at the Nine Nether Wind Flame and continued to ask:
"What about that Elder?"
Under Zhao Li's gaze, the Nine Nether Wind Flame felt a chill more eerie than her own eerie Flames. She couldn't help but shiver and said tremblingly:
"Her Soul had already decayed. I just took the opportunity to take over her body."
"That's not what I'm asking."
Seeing her evade the crucial point, Zhao Li frowned, his voice turning cold. Even if the Nine Nether Wind Flame didn't say anything, he already knew about this, as it was he who had forced out the Nine Nether Wind Flame earlier.
Feeling the bone-chilling coldness, the Nine Nether Wind Flame dared not play any more tricks and honestly told him that when she borrowed the Divine Statue to manifest, she had injected the Fire Seed into the Snake-Shaped Souls they brought to absorb nutrients.
She didn't think there was anything to hide about this. The Snake People wanted to be stronger, and she also wanted to be stronger. It was just a matter of whose methods were superior. Clearly, she was the one who won.
Zhao Li now understood everything. Aside from the mastermind not being a certain ancestor of the Snake People Tribe that he had guessed, everything else was pretty much the same.
What surprised him was that the Nine Nether Wind Flame was feeding on both sides. The souls of the Snake-Shaped Magical Beasts had already been absorbed by it before being injected into the Snake People Tribe infants. The silent Devour of children that he had worried about hadn't actually happened.
This made him breathe a sigh of relief. As long as his disciple's disciple wasn't being raised for someone else, that was good.
After resolving the Doubt in his heart, Zhao Li pondered slightly and said:
"There's one more thing. This Seat wants you to help me Cultivation!"
As soon as he said this, the Nine Nether Wind Flame's expression changed drastically. To it, Zhao Li's words clearly meant that it was no longer useful and should obediently be Devoured and Refined by him to make some contribution.
Thinking of this, it was both shocked and angry, losing its voice and saying:
"You're not keeping your word!"
Zhao Li said innocently:
"Huh? What's with that expression? It's easy to misunderstand, making it seem like I tricked you into giving me your body."
He didn't have any other intentions; he meant it literally. He hoped the Mysteries of Rules within the Nine Nether Wind Flame could speed up the evolution of his inner world.
Saying this, his Soul Power forcefully entered the Nine Nether Wind Flame's body, heading straight for its Origin, and imprinted its Mysteries of Rules.
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