BTTH: From Genius to Invincible

Chapter 599: Gathering of All Clans

Word Count: 2,776 Words

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The warmth in Cai Lin’s voice made Yun Yun pause in quiet surprise. In her memory, Queen Medusa had always been domineering, cold, and ruthlessly decisive, never gentle like this.

She understood the reason well enough. Cai Lin was no longer only the Queen of the Snake-People Tribe or simply Xiao Yan’s wife. She was the mother of two children.

A rare sharpness flashed through Yun Yun’s usually tranquil eyes, and she nodded with quiet resolve. "Rest assured. Not just me. Everyone in the Yan Alliance will protect them with their lives."

Her gaze lingered on Xiao Xiao for a heartbeat. The little girl’s features carried unmistakable traces of both parents, Xiao Yan’s resolute brow and Cai Lin’s enchanting eyes. Something stirred in Yun Yun’s chest, a quiet ache for a path not taken, a future that might have been.

Almost without thinking, she let her eyes drift toward Xiao Yan. He happened to turn his head in that same moment, and their gazes met across the courtyard. An odd flicker passed through his expression as an unbidden memory surfaced. The cave in the Magic Beast Mountain Range. The feverish haze when the Ten Thousand Beast Flame erupted with feral instinct.

If he had been a little less restrained back then, or if the Ten Thousand Beast Flame had been a little more ’stiff’ once it went berserk, he might already have more than two children by now.

Even now, that memory wasn’t something he could entirely push down.

The moment stretched, then broke. Xiao Yan reached into his storage ring and produced a small mountain of medicinal pills, among them Bodhisattva Great Restoration Pills and all manner of precious tier 8 elixirs, enough wealth to make most alchemists weep.

Yun Yun watched him press such a staggering amount into her hands. Once again, it was as if he were trying to compensate her for something. A trace of fond reproach colored her gaze. "I don’t want pills."

"Even if you don’t, your silly disciple still needs them, doesn’t she?"

Yun Yun shot him a look brimming with reluctant charm. Ever since the Flower Sect, this fellow had figured out exactly how to get around her objections. He simply invoked Nalan Yanran’s name.

And she had to admit, it worked every single time.

Having merged souls with Xiao Yan, how could Cai Lin be unaware of the tangled history between him and Yun Yun? But those entanglements belonged to a time before she had entered his life, and she refrained from speaking.

Without warning, the sky changed color once more. A violent surge of energy rippled across the world, and strange mists bled out of the void, spreading in every direction. Faintly, there even seemed to be the sound of waves crashing, as if some distant ocean hung upside down in the sky.

Xiao Yan’s Spiritual Strength swept across the void, and even he couldn’t help but grumble inwardly.

This Demon Flame’s descent is this blatant?! What the hell was the point of risking my life to collect those ancient map fragments?!

Forget just the Central Plains. He suspected the entire Dou Qi Continent already knew.

Right then, his Soul Command Token pulsed with a soul message.

[Within three days, the Demon Flame will appear.]

A set of coordinates for a plain followed. That had to be where the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame would descend.

Swoosh!

Several streams of light shot in from all corners of the Jia Ma Empire the moment Xiao Yan received the message. After a few flickers, they appeared at his side. It was Little Fairy Doctor and the others.

"The Demon Flame is about to descend." Little Fairy Doctor’s face was grave as she landed beside him.

"This Purifying Lotus Demon Flame really is astonishing." Even Zi Yan’s brows drew together. "According to our Ancient Void Dragon Tribe’s records, we once tried to hunt for it in the void. We almost fell into its trap. After that, the tribe never dared target it again."

Xiao Yan nodded. Starting tomorrow, countless experts would rush toward the site of the Demon Flame’s descent. Many knew full well they lacked the ability to subdue it, yet every one of them clung to that sliver of hope.

After all, whoever obtained the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame and successfully refined it would see their strength soar beyond measure. In battle, they could easily defeat opponents whose cultivation far exceeded their own. The temptation of that was not small.

"When do we set off?" Little Fairy Doctor asked.

Xiao Yan hesitated. Just as he opened his mouth to answer, his expression shifted violently. He snapped his head up and stared toward the northwest.

The dark night sky there suddenly blazed with intense light. Within that glow surged a terrifying heat, and concentric ripples spread outward. Who knew how vast an area they covered? Even all the way here at the Yan Alliance, people felt a stifling heat well up from the depths of their hearts.

"This is... the Demon Flame’s power?!"

Solemn expressions appeared on every face. The Demon Flame hadn’t even emerged yet, and this was merely an aftershock of its impending descent. Already it baked people dry from the inside and turned their emotions raw and irritable of their own accord!

Xiao Yan’s eyes narrowed. The Heart Flame of the Fallen Heart Flame rose within his chest, instantly devouring the restless emotions the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame had stirred.

Although the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame ranked only third on the Heavenly Flame Ranking, this was only a remnant wave spread across an enormous distance. The Fallen Heart Flame could barely withstand it. Once they entered the Demon Flame Space, things would be another story entirely.

A sharp light passed through Xiao Yan’s gaze. "Let’s set off now. We have the location. Whatever happens, we need to get there first and assess the situation."

The Demon Flame seemed impatient to break free, and every faction coveting it had surely started moving. They had to arrive as quickly as possible. Even if they didn’t rush into action, they needed to read the situation before anyone else.

Little Fairy Doctor and the others nodded without further discussion. Xiao Yan summoned Mao Wu. The cat now looked completely different from before. Its feline eyes glimmered with a strange light, and the black flames flickering along its fur carried a faint, uneasy agitation.

On the Dou Qi Continent, the first-ranked Heavenly Flame remained shrouded in mystery. The second-ranked Nihility Devouring Flame and the third-ranked Purifying Lotus Demon Flame, however, carried a faint hostility toward one another. Each was extremely wary of the other.

"This trip is fraught with danger. If we encounter something we absolutely cannot overcome, scatter and retreat. Even if we can’t obtain the Demon Flame, it doesn’t matter. Preserving our lives comes first." Xiao Yan’s tone was heavy. The people gathered here weren’t only the Yan Alliance’s core strength. They all had deep ties to him.

He didn’t want anything to happen to any of them.

Cai Lin and the others only nodded lightly. Their feelings differed from his. Xiao Yan had done far too much for them already. This time, it was their turn to shoulder the risk for his sake.

"All right then. Just remember, don’t let anything happen to you!"

Xiao Yan read the unspoken resolve in their eyes and understood their intentions. He didn’t waste words trying to persuade them further. With a sweep of his palm, he drew on the special power of the Nihility Devouring Flame’s Heaven Seed Flame and tore open space. The group shot out of the Yan Alliance and raced like lightning toward the coordinates Hun Mie Sheng had left behind.

As the Yan Alliance stirred, the great factions across the Central Plains followed suit. Within every major power, large groups of figures rose into the sky. One batch after another swept across the heavens trailing howling wind, all converging on a single point. The northwest!

In a single night, the entire Central Plains was thrown into upheaval.

Yet Xiao Yan still had no idea that a remark he had made years ago, combined with something he had done two years prior, would trigger a butterfly effect, one that would send this entire Demon Flame expedition spiraling in an uncontrollable direction.

A butterfly gently flapped its wings, and a great storm was born. This particular storm would shape the entire future of the Dou Qi Continent... and even worlds beyond it.

...

Space twisted. Wisps of black flame curled to life in the empty void as five figures emerged from the spatial tunnel. Xiao Yan and his companions had arrived.

"Is this the plain where the Demon Flame is about to descend?" Little Fairy Doctor’s brows drew together. The Heavenly Flame Poison Pill within her body pulsed faintly. The Purifying Lotus Demon Flame had yet to appear and remained sealed, yet simply drawing near stirred an instinctive wariness inside her.

When a Heavenly Flame appeared, ten thousand flames submitted. The same held true among Heavenly Flames themselves. Even among the kings of fire, a hierarchy existed.

Second only to the Nihility Devouring Flame, the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame stood as a supreme Heavenly Flame of which only one could ever exist in the world. Even the Nihility Devouring Flame regarded it with caution. The gap between them was negligible at best. Calling them equals would not be wrong.

Xiao Yan lifted his head and gazed into the far distance. Blinding light blazed there like a second sun, erupting without pause. With every step closer, waves of terrifying heat rolled over them. Even though every member of this expedition was a Dou Saint, several of them were already drenched in sweat.

"It hasn’t even fully emerged..." Cai Lin murmured. "As expected of the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame. Just the residual heat alone is enough to make any Dou Venerate below the 6-star stage struggle."

"Xiao Yan, there are more than a dozen teams around us." Zi Yan’s bright eyes swept across the surroundings, her tone perfectly casual. "Among them are Half-Saints, even Dou Saints. Their goal is obviously the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame as well. Looks like this really will be a heaven-shaking contest."

Judging purely by quality, their team was the strongest contender by far. A Nine-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python, an Ancient Void Dragon Emperor, the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils, a Woeful Poison Body, and Xiao Yan himself. Together, these five could almost sweep the entire Central Plains.

Xiao Yan nodded. They had indeed crossed paths with quite a few groups bound for the same destination, but none of them weighed on his mind. Those fellows were not weak, but if they hoped to snatch the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame from his hands, they were still far too lacking.

’Our true opponents are the ancient Dou God Clans. They’ve probably been eyeing the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame for a thousand years, ten thousand even.’

The thought flashed through his mind as he stared toward the distant radiance. He waved his hand. "The space here is being disturbed by the Demon Flame’s power. Let’s go."

Five streaks of motion cut through the air, racing toward the coordinates Hun Mie Sheng had provided. Even Mao Wu, who carried the Nihility Devouring Flame’s Heaven Seed Flame, could not tear space at will within a thousand miles of the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame. A single misstep would invite the Demon Flame’s wrath.

The Heaven Seed Flame, after all, was not the true body. It could not measure up to the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame.

A thousand miles passed in mere minutes for Xiao Yan’s group, and that was with all five of them slowing their pace and advancing with caution, each step still covering a thousand miles.

Even with their mental preparation, the sight that greeted them left them stunned.

"This was once a thriving mountain range."

The lush peaks were gone without a trace. In their place stretched a milky-white desert. A horrifying heat steamed up from the sands, warping the surrounding air for a thousand miles in every direction.

The temperature was harsh enough to leave 9-star Dou Venerates dripping with sweat. Many who had arrived in high spirits, hoping to scavenge a stray gain, took one look at the scorched expanse and understood. Without Half-Saint strength at the very least, even setting foot inside the Demon Flame Space was impossible. They had no right to so much as drink the leftover soup!

Perched on Xiao Yan’s shoulder, Mao Wu lifted its head with a grim expression. The sky above, which should have been empty, now looked as if a great hole had been torn open. Wisps of milky-white radiance spilled from within, as though the heavens themselves were leaking.

’The Demon Flame Space has cracked. The Purifying Lotus Demon Flame hasn’t emerged yet. This is only a sliver of leakage from the Demon Flame Space.’

A question rose unbidden in Xiao Yan’s mind. Why had the Purifying Lotus Demon Saint sealed the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame in the first place?

For a Heavenly Flame possessor like Xiao Yan, Heavenly Flames were as dear as his own arms, brothers who had fought and bled alongside him, who had shared life and death. If the day ever came when he truly faced his end, he would release every one of them, giving those brothers the best possible homecoming.

How could anyone bear to seal a Heavenly Flame away for a thousand, even ten thousand years?

Naturally, Xiao Yan had combed through every ancient record concerning the Purifying Lotus Demon Saint, yet none revealed why he had chosen to bind his own flame.

He only knew that the Purifying Lotus Demon Saint had been an extraordinarily powerful cultivator whose cultivation reached the limits of this world. According to the Hall of Souls’ records, his strength had stood at the absolute peak of the Dou Qi Continent, no weaker in the slightest than the Yellow Spring Demon Saint. Both were apex figures. The Hall of Souls had even noted that the Hun Clan Leader of that era had not dared make an enemy of him.

Legend held that the Purifying Lotus Demon Saint had once drawn upon his flame to cast a Dou Technique known as ’Nightmare Heavenly Fog’, plunging millions in a single city into illusion. When the mist finally dispersed, those people discovered that an entire century of life had been nothing but a fleeting dream. The technique was unspeakably terrifying.

However, the era had been too distant. Almost no detailed records remained, and the Purifying Lotus Demon Saint had left behind no clan or faction to inherit his legacy. Very little concrete information had survived.

Not long after Xiao Yan’s group appeared above the desert, the sound of air being torn apart rose from every direction. Figures streaked through the sky and halted far from the fissured space, gazes full of shock falling upon the milky-white waste below. All of them knew that before today, this place had been majestic, life-filled mountains.

"Judging from this, if we want to obtain the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame, we’ll have to enter that space." Cai Lin studied the cracked sky for a long while before speaking.

"Mm. There’s no rush. The space inside is bound to be incomparably dangerous. With just the few of us, we’re not qualified to play vanguard. Let the others go first." Xiao Yan shook his head with a faint smile. Hun Tiandi had promised to assist him. Naturally, the Hun Clan should serve as the forward troops.

Even Xiao Yan, who already possessed eleven Heavenly Flames, felt a powerful sense of danger emanating from that space.

Speak of the devil, and the devil arrives. He had only just thought of the Hun Clan when they appeared.

While Xiao Yan and the others waited in silence, the space before them suddenly writhed. Thick black fog poured outward and blotted out the sky. An aura heavy enough to shake the soul spread quietly through the area, drawing every gaze in the surroundings.

Under that collective scrutiny, the black mist swirled and slowly thinned. A few breaths later, the fog parted, and several figures emerged into view.

It was the Hun Clan procession led by Hun Mie Sheng. Beyond the Hall Chief himself, even the Hun Clan’s last Divine Grade bloodline, Hun Feng, stood among them.

Xiao Yan’s eyes narrowed. He looked toward the distance and offered a faint smile. ’It seems the other Dou God Clans have arrived as well. They really are keeping each other under close watch.’