"I'm telling you, this place gives me the creeps. Why don't we just head back already?" Zi Yan tugged at Xiao Yan's sleeve, her expression uneasy. After hearing Xiao Yan's earlier observation, a strange chill had crept up in her heart. The surroundings were peaceful—too peaceful. "We've already gathered a bunch of medicinal ingredients. I'd say that's a pretty good haul."
"You might be satisfied with your herbs, but the thing I came for still hasn't shown up," Xiao Yan rolled his eyes and sighed. His reason for venturing into the Fallen Grounds was to search for the traces of a Heavenly Flame. With no signs of it yet, how could he just turn and leave?
"Young Master, look down there… Something's not right." Qing Lin's voice broke the momentary silence as she pointed toward the lakebed. With the Nine Nether Illusion Flame having long since evaporated the lakewater, a massive black pit had emerged beneath the lake—dark, ominous, and unfathomably deep.
Xiao Yan extended his soul power downward in an attempt to probe the hole. However, the moment his spiritual force reached into the pit, it was abruptly severed. Not only that—his soul force had been directly obliterated by some unknown and dreadful force. He frowned, about to abandon the idea of exploring further, when a strange sensation stirred within him—a calling from the depths of the pit.
"That place looks pitch-black and dangerous. Can't we just leave it?" Zi Yan took one glance at the abyss and immediately shook her head. She couldn't feel any energy fluctuations from within. It didn't seem like a place that would harbor treasure. What point was there in risking their lives over it?
"I'm going down," Xiao Yan said quietly, inhaling a deep breath. He didn't fully understand why, but something deep inside him was pulling him in—an instinctual, unshakable feeling that if he missed this chance, he'd regret it forever.
"Young Master, let us go with you," Qing Lin said quickly, noticing the firm determination in Xiao Yan's voice.
"No. Stay here and wait for me," he replied, his tone firm. If he went alone, he was confident he could escape even if things went south. But with them alongside, he wouldn't have the luxury to focus only on survival.
After handing over his storage rings filled with medicinal herbs to Qing Lin, Xiao Yan jumped into the abyss. The moment his body plunged into the darkness, a howling chill wind struck him head-on, growing colder the deeper he fell.
He summoned the Nine Nether Illusion Flame, enveloping his body to resist the piercing cold. But then, his footing vanished. His body was pulled downward as if gravity had intensified a thousandfold. Suddenly, a flash of white light erupted in front of his eyes, forcing him to squint.
As the blinding glow receded, what appeared before him caused his eyes to widen in disbelief.
He now stood on a cracked and weathered concrete road, surrounded by buildings that looked like they'd been torn apart by war. Some were only half-standing, others were charred black by fire. The scene was one of utter desolation and decay.
'This isn't the Dou Qi Continent…'
As he walked further, weaving through rusted-out cars and forgotten debris, Xiao Yan arrived at a derelict plaza. The once-green grass had long since withered. A fountain at its center sat dry and lifeless. The silence was so thick it felt suffocating.
This was not a place from his current world.
This was Earth—the planet he'd once lived on, the home he had buried deep within his heart, hidden from all. This desolate vision was not a dream. It was a memory. One he never thought he'd face again.
"Xiao Yan, have you truly let go?" A voice echoed softly through his mind.
In the next moment, the scene around him began to change. The ruins repaired themselves. The buildings stood tall again. Green returned to the grass, and water gushed from the fountain anew. People appeared—bustling, chatting, walking past him without so much as a glance.
Not one person acknowledged his presence. He was a phantom among the living.
A wave of unbearable loneliness crashed over him. 'Have I really let go?' he asked himself.
He couldn't let go of Earth.
He couldn't let go of his past life.
He couldn't forget Hun Dai'er—the one who made him burn with hatred.
He couldn't forget the disciples he once mentored, those who fought and died by his side.
He couldn't forget any of it—neither the past nor the present.
But he had never tried to let go. Not really.
"Tch. This old trick again? Haven't we done this already?" Xiao Yan chuckled bitterly and closed his eyes, trying to will the illusion away. Yet, even after opening his eyes again, nothing had changed. The scenery remained exactly the same.
He tried a few more times, to no avail.
Finally, he sighed and extended his hand. A pale flame slowly materialized—a soul flame, one he had spent days refining.
"Looks like I'll have to go the hard way," he muttered and slammed the flame directly onto his chest.
Agonizing pain exploded through him like a tidal wave. It was as if his entire consciousness had been thrown into a furnace.
He was burning his own soul.
As the soul flame ignited his spiritual essence, the illusionary world began to tremble. Fire erupted all around, and the scenery—once an Earth replica—started to collapse, consumed by flames. Soon, everything burned away, replaced by the white-cold brilliance of an icy plain.
Hovering in the very center of that vast frozen landscape was a giant azure lotus—pure, majestic, radiating quiet power.
"Hu…" Xiao Yan let out a long exhale, his face regaining some clarity. 'That illusion was dangerously realistic…' he thought. Had it been anyone else, they might've lost themselves in it forever.
He had already gone through a harrowing soul illusion when refining the Nether Poison Flame. Back then, he managed to resist purely through his own willpower. But this time, it was far more terrifying, far more intricate.
If he hadn't prepared this soul flame in advance, he might've had to resort to burning his soul with the Demonic Flame Eyes to snap out of it.
He stepped toward the lotus, the chill beneath his feet cracking the icy surface.
This was not just a test of strength. This was a test of the heart. A confrontation with the deepest recesses of his mind and memories. A place where even the strongest might falter.
But Xiao Yan… would not.
(End of Chapter)
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