When the little girl opened her eyes, Xiao Yan was momentarily stunned. Within those golden pupils was an aloofness that completely contradicted her adorable appearance. Even more astonishing was the aura that surged from her—she was actually at the Earth Sovereign level!
The moment she saw Xiao Yan, she suddenly extended a finger and gently pointed at the void. Instantly, a strange purplish-black flower bloomed in midair. As its petals unfurled, a dark purple pillar of light erupted violently, parting the surrounding magma sea and shooting straight toward Xiao Yan.
The destructive power contained within that light beam was immense. Even a perfected Ninth Grade Earth Sovereign would be hard-pressed to survive without a unique defensive technique. Yet Xiao Yan's expression remained completely calm. He looked up at the incoming beam, raised his sleeve, and gently waved it—causing the terrifying beam to disintegrate into nothingness.
The girl's indifferent gaze flickered with a trace of surprise at how easily her attack had been neutralized. Without regard for her still-naked body, she stepped forward, clearly preparing another strike. But before she could act, black thorns suddenly burst forth from her snowy-white skin.
The moment those thorns appeared, the previously expressionless face of the girl contorted with pain. The black brambles writhed like chains, wrapping around her delicate body, their sharp tips piercing her flesh and wriggling slowly—as though drinking her blood.
"This girl seems to be afflicted with some kind of curse," the Spirit of the Ancestral Stone murmured as it observed the scene. "For a curse to inflict this much pain on an Earth Sovereign, it must be extremely rare in the Great Thousand World…"
"Is that so? Then she's really unlucky." Xiao Yan sneered and summoned the Emperor Flame. With a flick of his wrist, he hurled it at the pitiful girl who was now writhing in agony. He had never been the type to show mercy—'Strike when they're weak and take their life' had always been his principle. Since this girl had attacked first, she was his enemy. Mercy was not on the table.
However, the unexpected happened. Just as the Emperor Flame approached her, the black brambles suddenly changed direction and surged toward the flame instead. When the two forces collided, black smoke billowed into the magma chamber. Under the intense burning of the Emperor Flame, the thorns recoiled violently and eventually retracted back into the girl's body.
"What's going on?" Xiao Yan was briefly stunned. 'Wasn't this thing a curse? Why is it acting like it's trying to protect her?'
"Uh… maybe the curse mistook your Emperor Flame as an external force trying to remove it, and instinctively retaliated?" the Ancestral Stone's spirit offered with uncertainty. "Your Emperor Flame is just too powerful. Although this is strange, it's not entirely impossible."
Once the black thorns receded, the girl's painful expression gradually eased. She opened her golden eyes in confusion and looked toward Xiao Yan. Though the earlier flare-up of the curse had left her too distracted to focus on her surroundings, she could still sense that it was Xiao Yan's flame that had driven the curse back and alleviated her suffering.
"You… why did you help me?" she asked hesitantly, her voice soft.
"You looked like you were in pain. Also, you kind of resemble someone I once knew. That's all," Xiao Yan casually made up an excuse. Since she didn't seem intent on attacking anymore, he didn't see a reason to speak the whole truth. 'I can't exactly tell her I was actually trying to roast you alive and the brambles blocked me, can I?'
Xiao Yan could feel that her hostility had lessened. Perhaps it was because of his fabricated reason, or perhaps she had misunderstood his actions. Either way, he saw an opportunity and decided to take advantage of it—maybe he could extract some useful information about the Tianluo Continent from her.
Still, he hadn't entirely lied. When he first saw this girl, Xiao Yan had indeed been reminded of the little girl Zi Yan. That memory stirred up a sense of nostalgia for the Dou Qi Continent—his old companions, his beloved, and his friends…
"Just because of that, you helped me? I didn't expect someone so naïve still existed in the Great Thousand World. How on earth did you become an Earth Sovereign? Haven't you ever been betrayed before?" she tilted her head, as if observing something curious.
"I've never been taken advantage of," Xiao Yan replied innocently. His youthful appearance and calm demeanor gave him an aura of harmless inexperience. It was easy for others to mistake him for a fresh-faced youth from some large faction. The girl was clearly deceived by his looks and age, quickly forming the conclusion that he was a sheltered disciple out exploring the world.
If any of Xiao Yan's old enemies had heard this assessment, they'd probably cough up blood on the spot. The Yunlan Sect, Soul Clan, Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan, Flame Clan… if they could rise from the grave, they'd probably crawl out just to curse Mandala. 'Naïve and innocent? Have you ever seen someone treat annihilating entire clans like a casual pastime?!'
'This young man's flame seems capable of suppressing the curse in my body… If I stick close to him, I won't have to worry about the curse erupting unexpectedly,' the girl thought silently. On the surface, she remained calm, but her mind was already calculating how best to exploit Xiao Yan to remove the curse.
She had dived into the depths of the magma in hopes of using the extreme heat to suppress the curse, but that had proved futile. Just when she was about to give up hope, this odd young man appeared, wielding an extraordinary flame—and best of all, he seemed gullible.
"This is the depths of a volcano. Most people wouldn't come here. Why did you?" she asked, feigning casual curiosity. She deliberately left out her own reasons for being here and instead shifted the focus onto him, subtly reclaiming the initiative in the conversation.
"I cultivate fire-type spiritual energy. I sensed that the fire attribute here was incredibly rich, so I came down to have a look. I was hoping to find some unique flame. But in the end, I didn't find anything at all," Xiao Yan replied as he scratched his head. Then he added, "You arrived before me, didn't you? Did you find any strange flames?"
(End of Chapter)
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