Faced with the crushing pressure of the black devouring ring, Hun Xuzi immediately sensed a deadly threat. In this life-and-death moment, he unleashed all the skills he had accumulated over his lifetime. One after another, powerful Dou Techniques erupted from his hands and bombarded the black vortex.
Under this fierce assault, the spreading speed of the black ring visibly slowed. Hun Xuzi let out a sigh of relief—yet just as he prepared to launch another round of attacks, he suddenly sensed a disturbance behind him. Whipping around, he was shocked to see another Xiao Yan appear behind him like a ghost. But this Xiao Yan looked slightly translucent.
"A soul clone?" Hun Xuzi barely had time to react before the clone's hand seals changed. A thousand-foot illusory figure suddenly manifested behind him, unleashing a soul shockwave identical to the one that had previously inflicted heavy damage—Yellow Spring Heavenly Fury!
As the second wave of Yellow Spring Heavenly Fury struck, Hun Xuzi's defenses collapsed completely, leaving him reeling from yet another soul wound. At that moment, the black devouring ring enveloped his body and swallowed him whole. Within that devouring space, the Tower of Soul Refinement, formed by the Nine Revolutions Spirit Refinement Art, emerged and enveloped Hun Xuzi entirely. One after another, invisible fire dragons roared out and began refining his physical form.
Hun Xuzi's soul strength was at the peak of the Heavenly Rank. If Xiao Yan could fully refine it, his own soul realm could take another great leap forward. Combined with the soul orbs he had recently plundered from the Hall of Souls, he might even break through to the Emperor Rank Soul Realm in one stroke!
Still, Hun Xuzi lived up to his title as the Hun Clan's number one alchemist. Even while trapped in the Soul Refining Tower, he was able to resist the searing of soul flames and counterattack using soul-based techniques—something Xiao Yan had never encountered before.
But with the Black Dragon Devours Spirit Hand active, Hun Xuzi's strength was slowly being drained. The more he struggled, the faster he weakened. In time, Xiao Yan would fully refine him. It was just a matter of patience—and patience was one thing Xiao Yan had in abundance.
He also had his eye on the Void Swallowing Flame sub-fire within Hun Xuzi. His Black Dragon Devours Spirit Hand relied on devouring force, and if he could obtain this sub-fire, its power would surely grow stronger. As for the true Void Swallowing Flame—Xiao Yan wasn't yet ready. That creature had already reached the early Nine-Star Dou Sheng Rank. Only a handful of people across the Dou Qi Continent could even hope to fight it. For now, he would settle for the sub-flame.
This sub-flame was practically the king of all sub-fires—essentially a larval form of the true Void Swallowing Flame. If not for the fact that Xiao Yan's Demonic Lotus Flame of Illusion had fused with seventeen Heavenly Flames, and that the Nine Nether Flame had evolved into the Undying Flame, suppressing this sub-fire would've been extremely difficult.
"This guy is really stubborn…" Xiao Yan frowned as he watched Hun Xuzi still struggling within the Soul Refining Tower. Judging by the rate of resistance, it might take up to half a year to fully refine him. That was mainly due to the sub-fire within him interfering with the soul flames' efficacy.
"If that's the case… time to turn up the heat." Xiao Yan exhaled lightly and tapped his fingers. Instantly, streaks of violet-golden light flickered through the devouring space created by the Black Dragon Devours Spirit Hand. The light gathered into a massive, transparent array that hovered atop the Soul Refining Tower.
At the same time, an identical formation appeared beneath the tower. The two arrays spun simultaneously, and the energy they released caused Hun Xuzi's face to change drastically. For the first time, he felt true dread. His eyes widened in horror as he stared at the formations.
"That's... the Heaven-Refining Ancient Formation of the Demonic Lotus Saint?!"
The Hun Clan had long studied the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame and had researched its former master, the Demonic Lotus Saint. This formation was one of the saint's legendary ultimate techniques. But ever since the saint's fall, it had been considered lost to history. Never did Hun Xuzi expect that Xiao Yan could actually use it!
"Correct. You win a prize," Xiao Yan smiled faintly. Then he tapped his finger to activate the formation. With his current strength, he could finally deploy the complete version of the Heaven-Refining Ancient Formation. With its aid, Hun Xuzi's resistance would be crushed, no matter how stubbornly he clung to life.
The instant the formation activated, Hun Xuzi felt his internal energy boil uncontrollably. No matter how he tried to suppress it, it wouldn't calm down. Worse, he suddenly sensed the emergence of a faint milky-white flame within his body. The moment it ignited, all the defenses he had formed were completely vaporized.
"That's... the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame?!" he screamed in disbelief.
"If it were the real thing, you'd already be dead," Xiao Yan replied calmly. With his current strength, if he truly used the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame to fuel the Heaven-Refining Ancient Formation, even a Seven-Star Dou Sheng like Hun Xuzi wouldn't survive a second—let alone be talking.
The Heaven-Refining Ancient Formation was a legacy of the Demonic Lotus Saint. Its energy was modeled after the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame. Though the flame within it wasn't the real thing, it could still be called a pseudo-Demonic Lotus Flame. And even as a replica, its purifying power was enough to cause top experts countless headaches.
If Xiao Yan could someday activate the formation with the true Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame, its power would be nothing short of monstrous. Back in his prime, the Demonic Lotus Saint had dominated the world with just two ultimate arts. Even the previous Hun Clan patriarch had admitted defeat before him. Though Xiao Yan couldn't yet channel the real flame, combining this formation with the Soul Refining Tower and the Black Dragon Devours Spirit Hand was more than enough to refine Hun Xuzi.
"Arghhh!!" Hun Xuzi let out a scream of agony. Against the Soul Refining Tower alone, he might have held out. But once the Heaven-Refining Ancient Formation activated, he had no chance of survival.
Meanwhile, the soul orbs Xiao Yan had plundered from the Hall of Souls drifted out of his storage ring and, under the searing soul flames, melted into streams of pure soul energy. That energy quietly flowed into Xiao Yan's body.
He was going to use it to make a breakthrough—to the Emperor Rank Soul Realm.
(End of Chapter)
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