Crossing to Douqi Continent and walking sideways

Xiao Muchen's vision was completely filled with golden light, as if he had fallen into a burning sun. The intense burning sensation penetrated every inch of his skin. He wanted to shout, but found that a faint blue flame was gushing out of his throat. Looking down, his hands were constantly switching between reality and illusion, sometimes solid as usual, and sometimes turning into dancing flames.

"Is this... the Flame Realm?" His voice echoed in the empty world of fire, and every word brought a circle of flame ripples. Suddenly, a heart-wrenching pain broke out from his dantian. Xiao Muchen groaned and knelt on one knee in the empty sea of fire. He was horrified to find that the Phantom God Dark Flame in his body was undergoing an unprecedented change - the blue flame that was originally as gentle as flowing water was now like an angry beast, rushing through the meridians. What was even more terrifying was that strands of golden silk threads were spreading from the depths of the flames, wrapping around every meridian like a living thing.

"The inheritor..."

An old voice came from all directions, and a blurry face gradually emerged on the flame sky. The face made of pure flames seemed calm, but it gave people a sense of vicissitudes of life. The eyebrows made of flames were slightly wrinkled, as if examining every change of Xiao Muchen.

"It's been three thousand years..." The flame-faced man slowly spoke, his voice like the sound of thousands of sparks exploding, "I finally waited for someone who can withstand the fusion of the seven flames..."

Xiao Muchen endured the pain as if his meridians were broken and looked up at the giant face: "Who are you? Where are my companions?" As he spoke, a streak of golden-blue blood flowed from the corner of his mouth, which turned into sparks and dissipated in the air before it could drip.

"I am a trace of divine consciousness left by Emperor Yan." The answer from the flame face shocked the entire Yan world. "Your companions are fine. They are receiving basic inheritance. And you..." The flames suddenly churned violently, "will be put to the real test."

Before he finished speaking, the calm sea of fire suddenly erupted! Countless golden flames entangled Xiao Muchen like chains. He instinctively wanted to use his spiritual power to resist, but found that his body was completely unable to move. He could only watch those golden flames penetrate into his seven orifices.

"ah--!"

Heart-wrenching screams echoed in the Flame Realm. Dense golden lines appeared on Xiao Muchen's skin, as if molten gold was flowing in his blood vessels. His consciousness began to blur, and he saw countless broken pictures flashing before his eyes in a trance - the firebirds covering the sky on the ancient battlefield, the huge city sinking in the raging sea of fire, a lonely man holding a flaming spear and fighting against the demons alone... Every picture was filled with suffocating pressure, as if to crush his tiny consciousness.

"Hold on!" The voice of Emperor Yan's consciousness was like thunder. "If you cannot withstand the baptism of Emperor Jin's Burning Heaven Flame, you and your companions will be reduced to ashes!"

At the same time, in the altar space outside, the Flame Demon Elder was frantically attacking the flame barrier. Each of his attacks was accompanied by corrosive black flames, and those pitch-black fire snakes collided with the barrier, making a teeth-grinding "sizzling" sound.

"It's useless!" The Flame Demon Elder grinned, the black lines on his face moving like a living thing, "The Soul Devouring Black Flame is specifically designed to defeat all fires in the world. This barrier won't last long!" He suddenly opened his arms, his black robe moving without wind, "Let me show you what true flame control is!"

As he roared, seven black flames shot out from his sleeves, transforming into ferocious dragons in midair. These black dragons bared their fangs and madly bit the already shaky flame barrier. With each bite, large areas of the barrier were corroded into black ash.

On the other side of the altar, Chu Li and others were trapped in five different colored flame cocoons. Through the translucent cocoon walls, they could be seen sitting cross-legged with their eyes closed, surrounded by flames of different attributes - Chu Li was wrapped in pure white flames, with a delicate flame mark emerging between his brows; the light cocoon where Lin Wan'er was was glowing with sharp golden light, with two short blades suspended in front of her, with ancient runes flowing on the blades; countless ice crystals condensed around Ling Shuang's blue light cocoon, but it was burning strangely; Ye Feng's green light cocoon was full of vitality, with vine-like flames wrapped around his mace.

"Brother Xiao..." Chu Li murmured unconsciously in the light cocoon. A crystal teardrop just overflowed from her eye socket and evaporated into mist.

In the center of the altar, Xiao Muchen's body was suspended in midair, completely enveloped by the golden and blue flames. Every clash of the two top flames caused tiny cracks in the surrounding space. Even more terrifying was that a wisp of almost imperceptible black air was spreading upward along his ankles, silently contaminating the Phantom God Dark Flame.

In the Flame Realm, Xiao Muchen's consciousness was on the verge of collapse. The dominance of the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame was far beyond his imagination. Spider-web-like cracks appeared in his meridians, and the Qi in his Dantian was even more turbulent. Just when he was about to collapse, he suddenly felt a coolness in his chest - it was the jade that his mother left for him!

The simple jade pendant emitted a soft green light, creating a pure land in the body raging with golden fire. Xiao Muchen took the opportunity to calm his mind and began to try to guide the Golden Emperor Burning Sky Flame that was running wild in his body. To his surprise, when the golden fire ran along a certain route, the pain was actually relieved a lot.

"Is this... the operating route of the Nine-Turn Flame God Art?" He suddenly realized, and the posture of the man practicing the art in those broken images flashed through his mind.

"That's right." The voice of Emperor Yan's consciousness was full of rare praise. "You can comprehend the true meaning of the technique at the critical moment of life and death, which means you are indeed qualified to inherit my mantle."

As the technique was running, the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame began to slowly merge with the Phantom God Dark Flame. The originally dark blue flame gradually took on a noble golden glow, emitting an even more terrifying pressure. Xiao Muchen could feel that the new flame had both the agility of the Phantom God Dark Flame and the domineering power of the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame. Every time it flowed, it made the meridians more resilient.

However, just as the fusion was about to be completed, the long-lurking black gas suddenly burst out! It rushed towards Dantian like a poisonous snake, instantly contaminating a large area of the new flame.

"Puff--" Xiao Muchen spat out a mouthful of black blood, and his breath, which had just stabilized, became disordered again. He was horrified to find that the polluted flames had become violent and restless, and were eating away at his internal organs.

"The curse of the soul-devouring black flame!" Emperor Yan's consciousness exclaimed, "When did he..."

Outside, the Flame Demon Elder suddenly stopped attacking, with a strange smile on his face that showed he was confident of victory: "Did you find out? My Black Flame has already been planted in that kid's body! Now, he will either be burned to ashes by the Golden Emperor's Burning Sky Flame, or become my puppet! Hahaha!"

As if to confirm his words, the flame barrier on the altar shattered and turned into sparks all over the sky. The Flame Demon Elder strode towards Xiao Muchen who was suspended in the air, and stretched out his skinny fingers to the young man's forehead: "What a perfect vessel... With a body of seven flames combined into one, coupled with my Soul Devouring Black Flame..."

Just when his fingertips were about to touch Xiao Muchen, something strange happened!

A brilliant golden-blue beam suddenly burst out from Xiao Muchen's body, illuminating the entire cave like the rising sun. The Flame Demon Elder was blown away by this force for more than ten feet and crashed heavily into the rock wall. The young man suspended in the air slowly opened his eyes, with golden and blue flames dancing in his pupils, and a complex flame emblem appeared on his forehead.

“This is impossible!” Elder Yan Mo was shocked and angry, and the black lines on his face were moving crazily. “How could you possibly dissolve my Soul Devouring Curse!”

Xiao Muchen did not answer, but raised his hand gently. A golden and blue flame danced in his palm, seemingly gentle, but it slightly distorted the surrounding space. Even more amazing was that a hint of purple could be seen flowing in the center of the flame.

“Thank you for the Black Flame,” he whispered, with a strange echo in his voice. “Without its stimulation, I would not be able to truly complete my transformation.”

The Flame Demon Elder's face changed drastically, and he turned around and fled without hesitation. However, a seven-colored wall of fire suddenly rose up, blocking all escape routes. In the flames, seven different forms of fire spirits could be vaguely seen wandering, emitting a suffocating pressure.

"Want to leave now? It's too late." Xiao Muchen's voice was icy cold, and every word he said resonated the fire element between heaven and earth. "Let me show you what the true...Yan Emperor inheritance is!"

The golden-blue flames shot up into the sky, and condensed into a simple-looking spear in his hand. The spear was wrapped with seven different colors of fire patterns, and a purple light flickered at the tip of the spear, emitting a terrifying aura that made the whole space tremble.

The Flame Demon Elder roared in reluctance, and the black flames around him surged to the extreme: "Even if you get the inheritance, what does it matter? The Soul Devouring Black Flame will never go out!"

"Then give it a try." Xiao Muchen shook his wrist, and a flaming spear shot out from the air.

Two completely different flames collided in mid-air. There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a creepy "sizzling" sound - the Soul Devouring Black Flame was being purified bit by bit! The Flame Demon Elder was horrified to find that his most proud Black Flame was melting rapidly like snow in the sun.

"No! This is impossible!" He frantically urged his spiritual power, but he could not stop the defeat of Black Flame. What was even more terrifying was that the purple light was like a thorn in the flesh, corroding his essence in the reverse direction of Black Flame.

Xiao Muchen walked forward slowly, and with every step he took, the flames on his body grew stronger. "The ultimate meaning of the Yan Emperor's inheritance is to 'purify the world.' Your soul-devouring black flame is essentially just a polluted alien fire."

When the last word fell, the flaming spear pierced the chest of the Flame Demon Elder. There was no blood splattering, only the green smoke of the purified black flames. The Flame Demon Elder opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he turned into a pile of ashes and drifted away.

As the enemy fell, the altar space began to collapse. Five flame cocoons broke one after another, and Chu Li and others opened their eyes blankly, just in time to see Xiao Muchen turning around and walking towards them.

The flames on his body gradually subsided, leaving only a little golden, blue and purple light deep in his pupils. But everyone could feel that Xiao Muchen in front of them was completely different from before - it was an essential transformation, as if he had turned into the incarnation of flames.

"Brother Xiao, you..." Chu Li just opened his mouth, and suddenly his face changed drastically, "Be careful behind!"

Without even turning his head, Xiao Muchen waved his hand. A wisp of three-colored flame swept past, completely purifying the last trace of black flames from the sneak attack.

"It's okay." He said softly, his eyes looking into the depths of the cave, "But our troubles have just begun..."

Following his line of sight, a passage appeared behind the altar at some point, and at the end of the passage stood a huge flame portal. There were seven flame totems engraved on the door, six of which were already lit, but the one in the middle was still dim. Even more disturbing was that a trace of black gas was seeping out of the crack in the door, and one could vaguely hear the low breathing of some creature behind the door...

(To be continued)