Less than a moment after the three disappeared, Su Qian, carrying a surging rage, stormed into the lowest level of the Burning Heaven Refining Qi Tower. His battle qi, made incredibly violent by anger, once again scattered the rubble scattered in various corners by the explosion.
However, when Su Qian, filled with fury and unparalleled killing intent, arrived at the seal of the Fallen Heart Flame, the scene before him instantly made his pupils shrink, and his expression, twisted with rage, froze.
The surging aura and overwhelming killing intent around him also paused, then gradually weakened.
What came into his view was a devastated underground stone chamber. The silver light prison that sealed the Fallen Heart Flame had been completely destroyed, leaving no trace, and broken stones were scattered throughout the chamber.
Clearly, this scene, as seen by Su Qian, was interpreted as the Fallen Heart Flame having successfully escaped and left Canaan Academy in a way unknown to him, leaving no trace.
At this moment, Su Qian was disheveled, his body trembling violently, his eyes bloodshot, his face flushed, his teeth clenched tightly, the surging emotions in his chest seemingly blocked by a boulder, his heart filled with rage and hatred for the students who had died in the academy, with nowhere to vent it.
"Ah!"
Su Qian suddenly raised his head, letting out a long roar, his powerful battle aura reverberating with his roar, shattering the scattered pebbles in the stone chamber into dust, as if trying to release some of the pent-up anger within him.
However, just as Su Qian was frantically venting his emotions, suddenly, his body trembled violently, feeling an instant chill as a sinister, evil aura enveloped him, a terrifying aura of death shrouding him.
The terrifying aura emanating from the depths of a hellish abyss instantly made Su Qian's mind go blank, his breathing become labored, his hands and feet stiffen, and his senses feel somewhat out of control.
For a moment, a vision of the dark, desolate hellish abyss, teeming with evil spirits and littered with corpses—a scene representing endless despair—faintly appeared in Su Qian's mind!
"You must be Elder Su Qian of Canaan Academy. Can you tell me... what just happened here?"
At this moment, a humanoid figure shrouded in black mist, wearing a long black robe and a hood, appeared behind Su Qian.
The figure slowly solidified, leaning forward slightly towards Su Qian's stiff body, and asked in a hoarse, shrill voice like that of an old man.
This person was none other than Hun Changqing, who had arrived late. Upon entering Canaan Academy, Hun Changqing witnessed the scene of utter devastation, his heart pounding, and he immediately rushed into the Burning Heaven Refining Tower to investigate.
Upon entering Hun Changqing's chamber, he found it in a similarly chaotic state, with Su Qian in a state of frenzy. Filled with doubt, Hun Changqing unleashed a torrent of energy, subduing Su Qian and demanding an explanation.
Su Qian's pupils dilated and contracted sharply, revealing his turmoil. Someone had appeared behind him without his notice, and the indescribable aura emanating from this person filled him with utter horror.
Stiffly turning around, Su Qian forced a smile and tremblingly clasped his hands in a fist salute, saying,
"This… senior, this disaster was caused by the sudden surge of the strange fire from my Canaan Academy. Now that beast has broken free and escaped, I was filled with rage and vented my emotions here."
He sensed an aura from this person far more terrifying than that of the two academy guardians, and dared not be negligent, lest he incur the other's wrath and unleash a massacre upon Canaan Academy. The malevolent aura emanating from this person left Su Qian with no doubt that such an act was possible.
Since the Fallen Heart Flame had already escaped, there was no need for him to hide anything anymore. He briefly recounted the incident to Hun Changqing.
After listening, Hun Changqing's doubts deepened. How could so many powerful figures from Canaan Academy fail to stop a mere Fallen Heart Flame? And it even escaped?
"When you were sealing the Fallen Heart Flame, did you see anyone break in?"
Hun Changqing was still somewhat incredulous and asked Su Qian for confirmation again.
Su Qian shook his head and said, "We had already set up a magic array. If someone secretly broke through the array, we would definitely have sensed it. During the process, we didn't detect anyone entering."
"Heh heh... Elder Su Qian, you'd better tell the truth, otherwise, even with the two hidden peak Dou Zongs in your back mountain, you still can't protect your Canaan Academy."
After hearing Su Qian's answer again, Hun Changqing believed Su Qian's words. Su Qian had no reason to lie to him, nor would he dare to lie to him. No one in Canaan Academy could withstand his wrath. However, he still habitually threatened Su Qian. Upon hearing Hun Changqing's words, Su Qian's pupils constricted sharply, his heart filled with alarm. he hadn't expected that this powerful figure, whose aura was even more terrifying than the two elders and who seemed to be a Dou Zun, would know of their existence. he quickly replied
"Senior, rest assured, everything I said is true. You can verify it yourself!"
Hun Changqing nodded, then decided to hurry to the Ancient Burning Sect to kill the Ancient Burning Demon, as he didn't know if the Fallen Heart Flame would fall into the hands of the Ancient Burning Demon after its escape. He had to eliminate this menace as soon as possible.
Just as Hun Changqing was about to leave, he suddenly sensed a faint trace of Taiyin True Qi within the stone chamber, which startled him greatly. He immediately began to sense it.
Following his senses, Hun Changqing slowly walked deeper into the stone chamber, arriving before a charred corpse. Looking at the charred corpse, Hun Changqing's eyes were filled with doubt.
Why did this thing have the aura of his Taiyin True Qi?
He slowly bent down and began to examine the area carefully. After a thorough examination, Hun Changqing's expression changed rapidly, like a chameleon.
First, confusion, then doubt, followed by uncertainty, then disbelief, and finally, utter shock.
"Hiss! This…this is my brother Yan?!"
Hun Changqing gasped, his eyes widening in disbelief. He couldn't understand why Xiao Yan was here, burned to ashes. Had he tried to subdue the Fallen Heart Flame but was instead killed and reduced to ashes? Was
he courting death?
Hun Changqing no longer had time to ponder what had happened to Xiao Yan; he was now focused on what to do if Xiao Yan died like this!
If Gu Xun'er knew Xiao Yan was dead, Hun Changqing estimated that the crazed Gu Xun'er would summon the powerful members of the Ancient Clan to dismantle him piece by piece!
Moreover, she might even inflict all eighty-one Soul Hall tortures on himself, the very ones he had previously used to threaten Gu Xun'er! That would be a fate worse than death!
Imagining certain scenes, Hun Changqing shuddered. He quickly assessed whether the charred corpse could still be saved; Xiao Yan was far too important!
"Brother Yan, Brother Yan! How could you leave like this? What will I do without you!"
Hun Changqing's face was filled with sorrow. He wanted to see if he could bring him back. He missed the lively Xiao Yan of the past terribly. If Xiao Yan was truly beyond saving, Hun Changqing estimated that there was only one way for him to survive:
to kidnap the precious dragon, then take him through the seal outside the Ancient Emperor's cave and seek refuge with his father-in-law.
However, this would mean he would completely lose his freedom, remaining trapped in the dark, sunless cave entrance, waiting for a descendant to open the cave with the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Jade before he could escape. This was something the ambitious Hun Changqing found extremely difficult to accept, but if his life was truly in danger, then so be it.
Ignoring the filth and stench on the charred corpse, Hun Changqing used his jade-like hands to sift through Xiao Yan's ashes, his soul focused on sensing Xiao Yan's body.
Finally, after a long search, Hun Changqing found a simple, unglazed black stone among the charred remains, faintly emanating Xiao Yan's soul aura.
Looking at the black stone in his hand, Hun Changqing was overjoyed, letting out a huge sigh of relief. It seemed he wouldn't have to go to the depths of the molten lava to be imprisoned!
"Brother Yan! I knew you weren't meant to die! You are the chosen one here! You really scared your older brother to death this time!"