The Fire of the Sun

Mingde didn't know how Liu Jin managed to control three kinds of flames at the same time, but he could see that the drought demon was being refined. Once the drought demon was completely destroyed, his half-corpse body would lose its source, and his cultivation would collapse instantly.

He had to forcefully merge with the drought demon while it was still around. Even if he failed, at least there would be a glimmer of hope.

Liu Jin didn't even turn his head. With his left hand, he unfastened the Illusion Moon Mirror from his waist, and with a backhand glimpse, the moon-white mirror light struck Mingde squarely in the chest. Mingde felt as if an invisible hand had gripped his throat, freezing him in mid-air.

The light of the illusory moon struck his very soul; it was not an attack, nor a defense, but a judgment. All the sins he had committed against Mingxin on Mount Lao, against Mingzhi, and against the innocent villages and towns along the way were magnified infinitely in the mirror light, pressing down on him so much that he couldn't even lift a finger.

Immediately afterwards, a ribbon of gold and blue fireworks flew out from Liu Jin's waist and gently struck Mingde's chest. Mingde spat out a mouthful of dark red blood and was sent flying backward, crashing heavily onto the cracked wasteland, creating a shallow crater.

He lay at the bottom of the pit, face up, a large section of his chest caved in, his dark blue skin cracking inch by inch, revealing black runes still slowly writhing beneath. His pupils contracted sharply, his lips moved a few times but no sound came out, but his expression said it all.

His judgment of the drought demon was correct; the drought demon was indeed the pinnacle of this world. But he didn't know that the person before him, dressed in a moon-white gauze robe, was also one.

Zhao Fengnian landed at the edge of the pit, looking down at the once arrogant senior disciple of Laoshan. The dragon scales on the back of his hand slowly retracted, and the power of water and fire condensed into a final fireball in his palm. He glanced at Mingxin, who had already closed his Crescent Moon Fan and turned away, no longer looking at him.

Then he released his grip. The fireball landed on Mingde's chest, without exploding, but burning quietly, burning away the black runes, burning away the half-corpse body, and burning away a soul fed on greed.

The drought demon let out a final, low wail amidst the pillar of sunlight. Its body had completely vanished, leaving only a dark red core slowly rotating within the pillar of light.

Liu Jin thrust the Crimson Lotus Spear forward, its tip piercing the very core. Yin Fire surged from the spear tip into the core, drawing upon the Drought Demon's last remaining pure Yang power, which converged with the descending solar fire on the spear.

Three flames—Taiyin, Chunyang, and Taiyang—intertwine on the Crimson Lotus Spear, forming a complete Yin-Yang cycle. The Taiyang fire ignites the Chunyang and Taiyin powers simultaneously, and the three flames merge and refine each other, ultimately sealing the core essence of the drought demon completely within the spear.

The pillar of light slowly dissipated. The Crimson Lotus Spear changed color, its shaft turning from the pitch-black of the Netherworld Cold Iron to a dark red, and a crimson lotus flower slowly bloomed at the tip, its petals edged with a ring of golden, sun-like firelight.

The intaglio markings on the gun barrel had faded, replaced by fine, intricate red lines that shimmered faintly in the sunlight. Liu Jin had inscribed a name on it: Crimson Lotus.

Liu Jin stored the Crimson Lotus Spear into his inner vision. The crimson patterns on the spear slowly flowed under the reflection of the dark blue fire in his dantian, echoing the Samadhi True Fire, the Taiyin Fire, and the lights of ten thousand homes.

He turned around and looked at Zhao Fengnian.

Zhao Fengnian was squatting by the shallow pit in Mingde. The dragon wings had been retracted into his body, and the scales on the back of his hand had all disappeared.

He heard Liu Jin call his name, stood up, dusted off his knees, looked up and met Liu Jin's gaze, and suddenly understood.

That gaze was exactly the same as when we first met in the black pine forest—neither too close nor too distant, neither too warm nor too cold, but every word he uttered was delivered with utmost composure.

Back then, Liu Jin said "it can be eliminated," and then gave him three options. Now, before Liu Jin has even spoken, he already knows the weight of what he's about to say.

"I'll temporarily entrust the Sanyi Temple to you as acting sect leader, in my junior brother's capacity. Once one of the disciples ignites the Samadhi True Fire, and your Dragon Transformation Technique is essentially complete, you can then freely seek your own opportunities."

Zhao Fengnian opened his mouth. He wanted to say, "Brother, what you're saying sounds like you're making your final arrangements," but he swallowed the words back, because Liu Jin's expression told him that it wasn't about the end, but about the next step.

He remained silent for a long time, his eyes slightly reddening, but this time he didn't shed any more snot or tears.

He simply straightened up, the dragon scales on the back of his hand involuntarily surfaced briefly before receding, and then nodded vigorously.

Mingxin tucked the crescent-shaped fan into her waistband and stepped forward.

He said that Liu Jin didn't need to worry about Laoshan, as the sect leader already knew about Mingde's matter. He would first return to Laoshan to report to the sect leader, and then stay at the Sanyi Temple.

He still needs to help improve the illusion techniques section of the Fire Condensation Scripture. After the disciples ignite their essence fire, someone will have to teach them how to apply illusion techniques.

Liu Jin thanked him, but Ming Xin shook his head and said there was no need to thank him. He acknowledged the cause and effect of being the one who pulled him out of the illusion in the stone house in Laoshan.

After arranging everything, Liu Jin looked up at the sky.

The pillar of sunlight had dissipated, but a wisp of golden fire, pure and yang, still hovered before him, enveloped by his reversal of life energy, like a small sun held in the palm of his hand.

He opened his mouth and swallowed the True Fire of the Sun. Simultaneously, the Samadhi True Fire, the Yin Fire, the Myriad Lights, the Lingzhi Demon Fire, and the Red Lotus Karmic Fire ignited within his dantian. All the flames found the same anchor point at this moment: the fragment of reality.

The ultimate strength and yang of the true fire of the sun filled the last gap in his flame system, achieving a balance of yin and yang and encompassing all five elements.

The azure flame mark between his brows began to change, transforming from pure azure to a blend of gold and blue, then from a blend of gold and blue to blazing white, and finally settling into a cluster of quietly burning pale golden flames.

The third level of the Reverse Rebirth Triple Stage was completely perfected at this moment. There was no longer a need for the Taiyin Veil to conceal its aura, nor for deliberately suppressing the flames. All the fire was completely integrated into this body, which was based on real fragments, with innate Qi as its flesh and blood, and with ten thousand fires as its spirit.

He opened his eyes, and the faint golden light deep within his pupils slowly receded. Then he reached out and gently pushed against the void in front of him.

Earth.

Space monitoring centers around the world detected an unusual signal almost simultaneously.

It is not a meteorite, not satellite debris, and not any known space junk.

It was a person. A person dressed in a moon-white gauze robe stepped out of the void and stood in near-Earth orbit, with the blue Earth behind them like a giant curtain.

The moon-colored gauze robe fluttered silently in the vacuum, a gold and blue woven firework ribbon around her waist spun slowly, and a moon-white ancient mirror hung on her left side.

Global alarms were sounded almost simultaneously.

On the giant screen of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, a red dot suddenly appeared in low Earth orbit, and no orbital model could explain the origin of this dot.

The duty officer's first reaction was a system malfunction, his second was a meteorite, his third was an unknown spacecraft, and his fourth reaction was to take off his headphones and rub his eyes, because the light spot on the screen, when magnified, was clearly the outline of a person.

The sound from the observatory came through the headphones:

"Sir, that thing...that person...he's watching us."