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**
This was a strange space.
All around, purple-black flames spread endlessly. When Xiao Yan entered, he found himself right in the middle of this boundless sea of fire. Before he could even regain his bearings.
"Hateful human!"
From up ahead, within the blazing purple-black flames, an angry dragon's roar suddenly rang out.
At once, wild winds howled forth. One could faintly see a small dragon rising and coiling within the purple-black flames, stirring up waves and storms. The wind—it was a scorching, blazing wind. The waves—were waves of fire.
Xiao Yan's gaze lifted toward the top of those fire waves. There, within the overwhelming sea of fire, a blinding black sun slowly rose. The radiance of the black sun suppressed the surging fire waves.
Each sweep of those purple-black fire waves seemed ferocious, but they couldn't shake that black sun in the slightest. Instead, every time the fire waves struck against it, a strange chunk of them would simply vanish as if devoured.
"That's Brother Wei." Xiao Yan's eyes lit up at the sight.
Taking a deep breath of the scorching air, he raised his hand and glanced at his somewhat illusory palm.
This kind of soul battle—this was his very first time experiencing it. Let alone facing such an existence as the Three Thousand Burning Flame in a battle of souls. Yet his face didn't show the slightest fear. On the contrary, there was even a faint eagerness stirring there.
With a thought, a vast soul power burst forth. Wisps of four-colored flames swayed within it, quickly forming into a four-colored lotus platform beneath him.
He sat cross-legged upon it, his pitch-black eyes locked firmly on the Three Thousand Burning Flame within the sea of fire, as he sneered, "Beast, I'm here!"
Whoosh~
The four-colored lotus flared with flames, shielding Xiao Yan within, then shot forward rapidly into the sea of fire, drawing near the suspended black sun.
Sensing Xiao Yan's arrival, the little dragon ceased its raging for just a moment, its draconic eyes glancing over.
Roar~
The instant it saw Xiao Yan, it erupted in fury, roaring, "Another one!"
Did they think its core space was some kind of public courtyard?
Xiao Yan ignored the enraged roar of the flame's source. He directly guided the lotus platform to float beside the black sun, calling out, "Brother Wei."
"You're here." Wei Yang's voice came from within the black sun.
"Mm, I came to help." Xiao Yan grinned.
"Good, this should be your first time engaging in a soul battle of this level with a Heavenly Flame, right?"
"Mm." Xiao Yan nodded, his expression turning solemn. Though he had already devoured four Heavenly Flames, he had never truly engaged in a direct soul battle with one.
The Green Lotus Core Flame didn't even count—it lacked proper intelligence, not even dim awareness, only instinct. What's more, Wei Yang had already tormented it beforehand, leaving it badly crippled.
As for the Fallen Heart Flame beneath the magma, he had Yao Lao's assistance and had directly swallowed it.
The Wind and Thunder Fury Flame and the Sea Heart Flame had both been subdued first by Wei Yang, then handed to him. Neither of those flames possessed real intelligence.
"Hehe, no need to be so tense, relax a bit." Wei Yang's laughter echoed out, "Heavenly Flames are really nothing special. When it comes to soul control, they can't compare to us alchemists."
At those words, Xiao Yan hadn't yet spoken, but far away, the Three Thousand Burning Flame was already displeased.
Roar~
It unleashed a furious bellow.
In response to its roar, the purple-black flames in this entire space instantly swelled wildly, surging up to engulf the two of them in a boundless torrent.
The momentum was utterly terrifying.
"Don't panic, let it thrash about a little, we'll slowly wear it down first." Just as Xiao Yan was about to respond, Wei Yang's voice transmitted, "You've heard of hawk-taming, right? The initiative is in our hands. We'll drag this out, see who lasts longer."
Xiao Yan was startled for a moment, then immediately understood Wei Yang's intention, nodding in agreement. Thus, in the face of the Three Thousand Burning Flame's frenzied onslaught, the two of them remained calm, choosing to hold a defensive stance.
As the purple-black flames came crashing in, a layer of four-colored flame slowly spread outward from the lotus, eventually forming into a round barrier, enclosing them both within.
The lotus platform and the black sun floated together within the sea of fire.
No matter how the purple-black flames crashed against them, they remained unmoving like mountains, carrying a faint air of "let the wind blow, let the rain fall, I remain the mountain standing tall."
At a time like this, what mattered was not only soul strength, but also willpower, endurance, and more.
Of course, skill and tactics were just as crucial.
It was just like two armies at war—if they simply clashed head-on from the start, both sides would only end up battered and bloodied.
Now, by holding firm, gathering strength, and waiting for the enemy's power to burn out, they could strike when fatigue set in, unleashing a decisive blow to secure victory in this clash.
In the void outside.
Xian'er and Xuan Kongzi quietly waited.
Time ticked away, second by second.
At a certain moment, just as Xuan Kongzi was about to speak, his face suddenly changed. From ahead, the enormous purple-black dragon suddenly swelled violently, its flames erupting like a volcanic explosion.
"This is bad, looks like the Three Thousand Burning Flame is about to erupt!"
Seeing the rapidly expanding dragon's body, Xuan Kongzi gave a low cry, hastily thrusting both hands forward in a binding gesture.
At once, the black rune web upon the dragon's body flared with light, locking and suppressing it.
But even with Xuan Kongzi activating the seal in time, he still could not stop the eruption of the Three Thousand Burning Flame.
Boom!
From beneath its swelling scales, massive pillars of purple-black fire, each several zhang thick, roared forth through the gaps of the black rune web, bursting out in all directions.
In the blink of an eye, they engulfed a large swath of the surrounding void, and judging from the looks of it, the eruption was far from over.
The sheer scale of this outpouring of flame made even Xuan Kongzi's expression shift slightly. He, too, felt helpless against it.
He could seal and restrain the body of the Three Thousand Burning Flame, but he couldn't prevent it from spewing flames in such a manner. The black rune seal was like an iron cage—not a sealed box.
Xian'er's face also grew grave.
They both could sense it—the Three Thousand Burning Flame seemed to be going mad, recklessly unleashing all the flames it had accumulated over countless years in one frenzied outburst.
"President Xuan Kongzi, what's happening?" Xian'er hurriedly asked.
Xuan Kongzi's eyes flickered. He looked toward Wei Yang and Xiao Yan, then back at the giant dragon.
At this moment, the two of them sat with eyes tightly shut, silent, while the Three Thousand Burning Flame also had its dragon eyes closed.
A moment later, comprehension dawned on him. His eyes lit up, then turned stern as he said, "The soul battle has reached a critical juncture. The Three Thousand Burning Flame is fighting desperately now. It's no longer caring about conserving its energy—this is a reckless frenzy."
"In this state, even the seal might not hold. If we keep pressing it, I fear the Three Thousand Burning Flame may… self-detonate!" Xuan Kongzi frowned.
"Self-detonate?!" Xian'er was shocked.
"Uh, not the kind of self-detonation you're thinking." Xuan Kongzi thought for a moment before explaining, "It's like a volcano that's been suppressed for far too long, on the verge of erupting. When energy can't be released properly, it finds one outlet and pours out in a wild torrent."
"The Three Thousand Burning Flame has been sealed for so many years, its body has accumulated an incomparably vast energy. If it chooses to unleash it all at once, it's essentially a different kind of self-detonation." His tone was heavy.
"There's no way to stop it?" Xian'er frowned.
"No way." Xuan Kongzi gave a bitter smile, sighing. "If the Three Thousand Burning Flame hadn't been driven to the edge, it would never choose such a mutual-destruction approach."
"Now it seems the soul battle has reached an extremely dangerous stage, which is why it's fighting so recklessly."
"So, does this mean Brother Yang and Xiao Yan already hold the absolute advantage?" Xian'er's face lit up, relief flooding her heart.
She couldn't help but be nervous. Though she had faith in Wei Yang, the sheer size of the Three Thousand Burning Flame put tremendous pressure on anyone who saw it. After all, with a body that massive, how much energy did it contain?
"Mm, looks like those two brats are really going to win." Xuan Kongzi sighed with emotion.
Who would have thought—the Three Thousand Burning Flame that had plagued the Pill Tower for so many years would finally be subdued by Wei Yang and Xiao Yan, these two youngsters.
"So what do we do now?" Xian'er asked.
"What else can we do? Just watch." Xuan Kongzi actually withdrew the hands that maintained the seal, tucking them into his sleeves with a look as if he were settling back to enjoy a show.
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