Chapter 852
A Long-Awaited Reunion
The ancient Refining Heaven Formation, which blots out the sky, is like two vast and boundless fiery discs, one above the other, firmly enveloping the entire space of demonic fire.
Standing between the two formations, Xiao Ling's tall figure appeared as insignificant as a drop in the ocean under the overwhelming pressure of the formation.
However, the Pure Lotus Demon Flame, who was the controller of the great formation, felt no sense of security whatsoever.
Seeing Xiao Ling suddenly stop and look slightly stunned, he assumed that this was the perfect opportunity for the other party to be intimidated by the pressure of the formation and reveal a flaw.
His expression changed wildly, and his hand seals flew rapidly in front of him, so fast that only afterimages remained.
The two colossal arrays in the sky and the sea of fire immediately began to rumble and spin like world-destroying millstones, causing the entire space to tremble violently.
As the formation rotated, the fiery energy between heaven and earth instantly surged to its extreme.
"The Ancient Heaven-Refining Array, refining the heavens into slavery!"
The Pure Lotus Demon Flame hovered high in the sky, its face ferocious. A vast expanse of milky-white flames surged forth from its body, pouring into the great formation like a river overflowing its banks.
"Oh!"
The moment the shout fell, the entire world trembled violently. A milky-white halo spread wildly from the edge of the great formation towards the center, eventually condensing into a massive pillar of light, hundreds of feet tall, surging with destructive power capable of incinerating everything.
"Refine!"
A chilling and ruthless glint flashed across the Pure Lotus Demon Flame's face as she suddenly pointed her finger upwards.
The Sky Fire Array and the Underground Fire Array trembled violently at the same time, and two dazzling beams of light shot out like volcanic eruptions, their sharpness aimed directly at Xiao Ling in the sea of fire.
"Bang bang—!"
In an instant, earth-shattering energy fluctuations swept in all directions, and the boundless sea of fire below surged and boiled violently, revealing the terrifying power of this attack.
Two beams of light, each a hundred feet long, struck Xiao Ling's figure without any suspense or hesitation.
"boom--!!!"
The terrifying explosion suddenly resounded throughout the heavens and earth, ten times more violent than any previous collision.
A milky-white torrent of energy, centered on Xiao Ling, swept wildly outwards in a spherical shape, shattering the void like glass and revealing dark spatial turbulence.
The raging sea of lava and fire below was completely emptied by this terrifying force!
The magma, spanning tens of thousands of feet, was violently ripped apart as if by an invisible giant hand, exposing the hard rock layers of the seabed and forming an enormous cavity.
The lava was pushed tens of thousands of miles away, creating towering waves of fire that lingered for a long time.
The entire Demon Flame Space was trembling violently, and the array patterns of the Refining Heaven Ancient Array were rippling due to the aftershocks.
The Pure Lotus Demon Flame, suspended high in the sky, watched this earth-shattering commotion, and its tense nerves finally relaxed, and it couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.
A hint of smugness and relief flashed in his eyes as he muttered to himself:
"How dare you be distracted before my Heaven Refining Ancient Formation... Even you would find such an attack difficult to withstand, would you?"
His gaze was fixed on the center of the energy source, his tone chilling:
"With your cultivation level of a three-star Dou Sheng, without that unique soul technique, you probably wouldn't even have a chance to resist!"
However, at the very moment the Pure Lotus Demon Flame was watching, the spot that had been hit by the fire pillar suddenly rippled with gentle yet domineering energy.
The ripples spread slowly, easily calming and dispersing the lingering power of the raging flames around them, and even the spatial tremors gradually subsided.
The next moment, the Pure Lotus Demon Flame's pupils shrank sharply. At the very center of the attack, a milky white halo slowly spread out, blocking all the previous destructive attacks.
As the light faded, Xiao Ling remained standing in the same spot, his clothes spotless, his breathing steady, unharmed in the slightest.
Seeing that Xiao Ling remained completely unharmed and unscathed despite his all-out attack, the Pure Lotus Demon Flame's face instantly turned extremely ugly, and his heart was filled with turbulent emotions.
But when he focused his attention and looked more closely, he suddenly noticed something strange and unusual.
At this moment, a gentle yet majestic halo slowly emanated from Xiao Ling's body. The halo gradually condensed and rose, eventually transforming into a semi-transparent, illusory figure behind him.
The face of that figure was so familiar to the Pure Lotus Demon Flame that it was etched into its very bones—
He looks almost exactly the same as he does now.
Their identities speak for themselves.
That illusory figure was none other than the true Pure Lotus Demon Saint!
While the Pure Lotus Demon Flame was still in shock and its mind was not yet settled, Xiao Ling's body, with its eyes tightly closed, suddenly trembled slightly.
The next moment, he slowly opened his eyes, and his originally dark and deep pupils had turned into a holy and majestic milky white.
Wherever his gaze swept, an unparalleled aura of dominance emanated from the depths of his blood and soul, making people involuntarily want to prostrate themselves in worship, their hearts trembling.
With a flick of his sleeve, the milky-white light shield surrounding Xiao Ling slowly dissipated, and his milky-white eyes calmly fell, locking onto the Pure Lotus Demon Flame standing stiffly above the sea of fire.
"Pure Lotus Demon Saint?! How is this possible! How could you still be alive?!"
Locked directly onto by that gaze, a sense of familiarity from its very origin surged forth like a tidal wave, causing the Pure Lotus Demon Flame to instantly shatter its composure. A horrified roar tore through the sky, echoing wildly throughout the entire Demon Flame space.
"It seems that the seal of thousands of years has still failed to extinguish the violence in your heart."
Using Xiao Ling's body to appear in the world, the Pure Lotus Demon Saint quietly gazed at the Pure Lotus Demon Flame's eyes, which were filled with ferocity and madness. A voice, sometimes near and sometimes far, ancient and majestic, slowly emanated and echoed between heaven and earth.
As soon as he finished speaking, an overwhelming pressure that made the entire space tremble quietly spread out.
"You bastard, Pure Lotus Demon Saint, you ungrateful scoundrel! Without me, could you have achieved such a pinnacle? I helped you countless times, and in the end you sealed me away! Haha—you deserve to be devoured and die in the end!"
The Pure Lotus Demon Flame stared menacingly at Xiao Ling, who was possessed by the remnant soul of the Demon Saint, laughing and roaring like a madman, as if unleashing all the pent-up hatred accumulated over a thousand years. "I do bear responsibility for your violent nature. But your destructive power is too terrifying. If you were allowed to roam freely, the entire Dou Qi Continent would be reduced to a purgatory of calamity." The Pure Lotus Demon Saint slowly shook his head, his voice calm yet carrying an undeniable weight.
"Hmph! A mere remnant soul dares to be arrogant in front of me! Do you still think you're the Pure Lotus Demon Saint who once dominated the Central Plains and reigned supreme?"
The Pure Lotus Demon Flame's eyes were filled with venomous hatred, and it gritted its teeth: "I knew it! This kid is only a three-star Dou Sheng, how could he have such strange and unpredictable methods? It turns out that you, you bastard, were the one who did it in the dark! I want to see how much strength your remnant soul still has left. After I completely obliterate you, I will torture that kid who dared to trespass into my Demon Flame Space!"
As soon as he finished speaking, his hand seals suddenly changed, as he was about to activate the Refining Heaven Ancient Formation again to unleash a devastating attack.
But the next moment, the Pure Lotus Demon Flame's expression changed drastically. He was horrified to discover that he could not mobilize even a fraction of the flame's power.
Only now did he realize that his control over the entire Refining Heaven Ancient Formation had already vanished without him noticing.
"I created the Refining Heaven Ancient Formation. In terms of understanding it, you are ultimately no match for me."
Xiao Ling smiled faintly, his gaze calmly fixed on the pale and ashen-faced Pure Lotus Demon Flame, and spoke softly.
"You bastard! I'll fight you to the death!"
The Pure Lotus Demon Flame's eyes instantly turned bloodshot, and he appeared like a madman. He knew better than anyone the true terror of this great formation; he hadn't even unleashed a fraction of its power before. If he didn't fight desperately now, he would only face being sealed away again. He had already had enough of that torment of endless darkness and millennia of silence, and he absolutely did not want to repeat it.
"Extinguish the demonic flames—"
Just as he was about to unleash his last bit of power in a desperate counterattack, "Xiao Ling" subtly changed his hand seals.
That's enough, let's call it a day.
The moment the sound faded, the two great formations in the sky and on the ground suddenly moved, rapidly closing in one above the other. Two vast and boundless fire curtains shot out from the center of the formations, intertwining and forming a four-sided fire pillar prison, instantly sealing the Pure Lotus Demon Flame within.
"Damn it, you can't trap me here."
Upon seeing this, the Pure Lotus Demon Flame immediately let out a shrill and furious roar, its milky white demon flames surging wildly as it used all its primal power to crash fiercely into the fire prison barrier.
He unleashed punches and palm strikes, causing flames to explode as he repeatedly bombarded the prison with the power to scorch the heavens. However, the array light shield, personally activated by the Pure Lotus Demon Saint, remained as solid as an impenetrable wall, unmoved no matter how violently he struggled or how desperately he resisted.
The holy array light descended layer by layer, transforming into an invisible yet extremely domineering binding force, firmly locking his limbs and the source of his flames, making it impossible for him to even move a finger or shift an inch.
He roared, howled, burned his very essence, and urged all his remaining power, but all his struggles seemed pale and powerless. He could only be firmly trapped in the fire pillar prison, constantly suppressed by the array's pressure, and completely lost any possibility of escape.
Moreover, the Pure Lotus Demon Flame was horrified to discover that its own primordial flame was dissipating at an alarming rate, and an irresistible devouring force was spreading out from the prison walls, frantically stripping and extracting the demon flame energy from its body.
His aura weakened at a visible rate, the milky white flames around him grew dimmer and thinner, and his original humanoid form began to shake violently, twist and disintegrate.
As Xiao Ling slowly walked to the light barrier, the Pure Lotus Demon Flame, trapped in the cage, had already unknowingly shed its human form and transformed into a slightly crimson, eerie fire lotus, slowly rotating in the center of the cage. With each rotation, its color constantly shifted between dark red and pure white, its brightness uncertain.
"Om-"
A soft trembling sound arose, and the spinning fire lotus finally settled into a holy milky white. However, each petal was covered with fine, spiderweb-like red veins, winding and coiling like human blood vessels. Occasionally, an eerie red light would flash by, giving this seemingly pure fire lotus an indescribable sense of gloom and perversity.
"When I first met you, you were as pure as a newborn baby. I gave you intelligence and human form and thoughts. But the path you ultimately took was contrary to my wishes."
Gazing at the eerie and strange fire lotus in the cage, Xiao Ling's illusory image of the Pure Lotus Demon Saint sighed softly, his voice filled with vicissitudes and helplessness, echoing slowly in the silent space.
"Pure Lotus Demon Saint, how I grow is my own business! You're interfering too much!"
The demon lotus suddenly burst into light, and the furious roar of the Pure Lotus Demon Flame rolled out from the depths of the lotus heart, full of resentment and venom.
"I just didn't want you to end up self-destructing. I'm the one who turned you into this, so I'll take the final step myself."
The Pure Lotus Demon Saint's voice was calm yet heavy, "I will personally reclaim the intelligence and memories I bestowed upon you. From this day forward, you will return to the purity I had when we first met."
"Pure Lotus Demon Saint, you heartless bastard, I will never let you have your way!"
Within the lotus heart, a furious roar exploded. The next moment, the entire demonic lotus suddenly began to spin rapidly, and eerie and terrifying blood-red flames shot out wildly from the lotus petals.
Even the fiery cage formed by the grand formation was instantly twisted and trembled violently upon colliding with such a gruesome crimson flame.
"When my time was drawing near, I intended to erase your memories, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I could only seal you away, hoping that a thousand years would wear down the violence and murderous intent in your heart. But now it seems that thousands of years of sealing have not only failed to awaken you, but have also deepened your hatred and intensified your ferocity. Since that's the case..."
The Pure Lotus Demon Saint gazed at the demon lotus struggling wildly in the cage, let out a sigh of vicissitude, and his hand seals suddenly changed.
The next moment, the Refining Heaven Ancient Array that enveloped the entire Demon Fire Space slowly collapsed from the outside in, the array patterns and light reversed, and all the power was gathered into the fire prison.
"Refining Heaven Ancient Formation, strip it away!"
An ancient voice resounded throughout heaven and earth. As the great formation collapsed and flowed back, the core of the cage suddenly shot out tens of millions of condensed, milky-white fire lines. The fire lines instantly intertwined into an incredibly dense giant net of flames, deeply embedded within the essence of the demonic lotus, and slowly pulled upwards.
Thick, blood-red, violent mist was forcibly pulled out from the depths of the lotus heart, gradually severing itself from the pure source of the demonic fire.
"what--!"
As the crimson mist was continuously drawn away, a shrill scream of the Pure Lotus Demon Flame suddenly emanated from within the demon lotus. It spun wildly and struggled violently, its flames surging wildly as it desperately tried to break free of its restraints. However, no matter how terrifying its power was, it could not break through the fire curtain formed by the Ancient Refining Heaven Array.
"The Refining Heaven Ancient Formation has been dormant for thousands of years, accumulating boundless power. Although it has consumed most of its strength this time, once it unleashes its full power, you still won't be able to withstand it. Little demon, come with me."
The Pure Lotus Demon Saint steadily controlled the thousands of fire threads, forcibly stripping away the blood-red mist containing all the violent memories and intelligence of the demonic fire from its source, bit by bit. Her calm yet ancient voice slowly echoed in the space.
"Nonsense! Without memories and intelligence, the future Pure Lotus Demon Flame will have no self-awareness! What you're doing is no different from killing me!"
As her mind rapidly emptied, the Pure Lotus Demon Flame finally surged with intense fear, roaring incessantly in anguish:
"You keep saying you won't take my life, but everything you've done is aimed at completely annihilating me! You utterly hypocritical bastard!"
He knew very well that once his memories and intelligence were completely extracted, the once arrogant and violent Pure Lotus Demon Flame would truly be "dead." (End of Chapter)