Under Xiao Hua's painstaking and meticulous refinement, Cai Lin had stepped into the perilous threshold between life and death!
Though she possessed immense strength and could forcibly endure, the two spiritual projections—serpent and human—intertwining above her head revealed the truth: she was withstanding excruciating pain.
And this agony did not stem from the flesh—it surged from the very depths of her soul, far surpassing the torment she had once suffered when devouring the Green Lotus Core Flame for her evolution.
As time quietly flowed on, a shift occurred. The agony etched upon Cai Lin's face gradually eased, if only slightly. The two soul shadows within the cluster of Soul Heart Flame hovering above her slowly, imperceptibly, began to show signs of merging.
This subtle transformation did not escape Xiao Hua's keen senses. Lifting his gaze, a faint smile curved his lips, and his expression brightened with relief. Yet his hands did not falter—he remained firmly in control of the Soul Heart Flame.
This marked the beginning of the fusion. Though the process was agonizingly slow, it was proof that once Cai Lin endured until the very end—until both souls fully merged—she would gain true dominion over her body.
Only then could he relinquish control of the Soul Heart Flame and finally allow himself rest. But that moment had not yet come. His gaze grew sharp once more, the light in his eyes dimming into solemn resolve as the smile faded from his face.
…
Time flowed like molten fire beneath their feet—slow, searing, and without end. Within that crimson world, two months passed in silence, devoured by the breath of flame.
Deep within this crimson abyss, a large cluster of nearly imperceptible flame drifted slowly. Faint arcs of blue lightning crackled within it, but the oppressive red radiance of the surroundings made it nearly impossible to discern with the naked eye.
Yet, if one were to draw near, they would witness a strange and stirring sight. Upon closer look, they would see that within the heart of the flame rested an alluring, unclothed figure. In front of her, a young man in black robes sat in utter stillness.
His focus did not waver; he remained motionless—more like a statue than a living soul—guarding the flame-bound figure as if nothing in the world were worthy of breaking her slumber.
"…Is it nearing completion?"
A whisper, soft as drifting ash, echoed faintly through the crimson world of magma and silence.
At last, a subtle tremor ran through the young man's body. Slowly, he lifted his head. In his gaze, there was only her—the enchanting figure with her eyes shut wrapped in flame, his entire world reflected in her form alone.
By now, the human and serpent spirits above Cai Lin's head had mostly merged. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before the fusion completed—and once it did, she would fully claim this body as her own.
"It seems Cai Lin is about to completely merge with the spirit of the Heaven Swallowing Python…" Xiao Hua exhaled softly, relief flickering in his eyes.
Having crossed the most dangerous threshold, he was finally able to ease his grip on the Soul Heart Flame. At this stage, it no longer required his full attention; even with a portion of his focus diverted, Cai Lin's progress would remain unaffected.
As he lightened his control, Xiao Hua drew in a deep breath and slowly released a stream of turbid air from his body. A faint arc tugged at the corner of his lips. From this point onward, the path was hers to walk.
There was nothing more he could do. Whether Cai Lin would fully merge with the Heaven Swallowing Python's spirit depended entirely on her own will and strength.
"Cai'er…" he whispered softly. Yet his gaze held no trace of worry—only quiet confidence and unwavering belief in her success.
A moment later, Xiao Hua slowly closed his eyes, slipping into cultivation. He had expended too much—his body was fine, but his spirit had been pushed to its limits.
Even with his formidable strength and vast reservoir of Dou Qi, the mental toll of such precise, unrelenting refinement was no small matter. For now, he could only allow his mind the rest it deserved.
Boom!
Just as Xiao Hua was about to fully enter his cultivation state and rest, his expression suddenly shifted into a grimace. Within the depths of his consciousness, the unique space housing the merged flames—Heavenly Lightning and Primordial Heavenly Flame—began to tremble violently, surging out of control.
The sudden turmoil sent a jolt through his spirit. In that instant, Xiao Hua recalled what Lady Azure had warned him when she handed him the Glazed Soul Flame Method...
…
Two days prior, Lady Azure had entrusted him with the method of Glazed Soul Flame—a means to cure Cai Lin's condition.
At present, Tian Huo Zun-zhe lay in a deep slumber, having consumed a medicinal liquid that Xiao Hua had specially prepared to heal his wounded soul. The remedy required time to be fully absorbed, sending the old expert into a temporary dormant state.
That was why Lady Azure willingly withdrew from Xiao Hua's spiritual sea, sending him the method to utilize the Glazed Soul Flame to treat Cai Lin's condition.
However, after imparting the method, Lady Azure suddenly issued a grave warning—the true reason behind Xiao Hua's berserk state.
"The other four flames will become uncontrollable? Why is that, Sister Azure?"
Xiao Hua had never imagined that the cause of his rampage was tied to the other four flames: the Tribulation Lotus Flame, Thousand Immortal Flame, Wrathful Chilling Flame, and Life Execution Flame. Each of them, without warning, would spiral into chaos.
Lady Azure had anticipated his confusion. After all, the Chaos Mantra, his Qi Method, made no mention of the deeper nature of the Primordial Heavenly Flames. She began to explain calmly.
"It seems you've misunderstood the essence of Primordial Flames. I've mentioned it briefly before, but let me clarify: the twenty-two Primordial Heavenly Flames are all fragments of a singular origin—the Heavenly Genesis Flame."
"Unlike the normal Heavenly Flames, they are bound by a shared source. Thus, when you use one, the others will inevitably respond."
"But Sister Azure…there were many times when I used just one, and nothing happened…"
Xiao Hua frowned, brows furrowed in doubt. He could clearly recall several occasions when he had drawn upon the Thousand Immortal Flame to heal his injuries or fortify his body, yet the other flames had remained silent. The memory only deepened his confusion.
Lady Azure shook her head, having already understood the meaning behind Xiao Hua's words. "If you only use a flame for a brief moment—an instant, really—its reaction won't be noticeable. But when the usage is prolonged, that's when you could detect the flames become wild and violent."
"So that's why you told me to use all five flames at once for pill refinement... even knowing it would drain me completely."
A flicker of realization passed through Xiao Hua's eyes. Indeed, he had never maintained a single flame for an extended period of time.
Only now did he truly understand the purpose behind Lady Azure's seemingly unreasonable suggestion to wield all five flames simultaneously instead of relying on just one.
"That's one of the reasons, child," Lady Azure said with a knowing nod. Then, with a faint smirk tugging at her lips, she added, "The other reason... is simply because I thought it would be more beneficial for you to experience the extreme difficulty of refining pills under pressure. After all, if you can endure that, refining high-tier pills in the future will be far less daunting."
"You do realize I went through hell because of that, right..." Xiao Hua muttered, recalling that particular time—back when he had only the Tribulation Lotus Flame, and Lady Azure had casually dropped her suggestion as though it were nothing.
Lady Azure had mercilessly raised the bar for him, forcing his spiritual control to reach the high standard she deemed acceptable. After discovering that his Chaos Mantra contained no detailed guidance on merging Primordial Flames—as he was still in the first level—she had taken it upon herself to compensate for that lack.
Moreover, he had yet to meet the conditions required to unlock the second and third levels of the Chaos Mantra. As such, he remained unable to properly merge the Primordial Heavenly Flames with one another. For now, he could only merge them with Heavenly Lightnings which stated in the first level of Chaos Mantra.
"Regardless," Lady Azure said with a faint smile, calmly brushing off Xiao Hua's resentful glare, "if you lose focus for even a single breath, Cai Lin will be reduced to cinders. You must forcibly restrain the flames using your Spiritual Strength."
"But doesn't he have Sister Xue Yue's Celestial Ancient Frost? Can't he just use that to help him with the violent Primordial Heavenly Flames?" Zi Yan suddenly raised her hand and interjected, asking a rather insightful question.
Lady Azure gave a soft sigh, as though anticipating the inquiry. "First of all, Xiao Hua is far too weak to refine the Celestial Ancient Frost. And second—should he even dare to use it in his current state, he would instantly be frozen into a statue of ice. Unless a Heavenly Genesis Flame is used to thaw him, that frost would never melt."
Her expression turned solemn as she began listing the dangers of using the Celestial Ancient Frost, and then offered the most critical reason for forbidding its use.
"Even if Sister Xue Yue offered a weakened, split fragment of the Celestial Ancient Frost—one on par with the Primordial Heavenly Flames—it would still be like adding oil to fire. The Heavenly Genesis Flame and the Celestial Ancient Frost are natural opposites."
"Even though both are merely fragments of their true forms, they still carry the essence of their origin. They will instinctively clash and struggle for dominance. If that happens within Xiao Hua's body, the backlash would be devastating."
"I see…" Zi Yan crossed her arms and nodded thoughtfully. She now understood why Lady Azure had not suggested using the Celestial Ancient Frost.
"So, I need to suppress the activity of the other four flames while using the Glazed Soul Flame?" Xiao Hua asked, a faint frown appearing on his face.
"That's correct," Lady Azure affirmed with a solemn nod. "But once you pass the critical threshold, I recommend you ease the suppression—just slightly. Otherwise, the strain may leave a deep sequela within your body. Still… the moment you ease up, the suppressed flames will erupt immediately."
Xiao Hua's frown deepened at the thought. If the other flames stirred even slightly, he wouldn't be able to focus entirely on controlling the Glazed Soul Flame. Unlike pill refinement, soul fusion required an extremely delicate control—where even the slightest deviation could result in catastrophe.
Unlike pill refinement, where a minor lapse could still be recovered from, this task was far more delicate. Merging two spirits into one vessel left no margin for error.
If his spiritual control wavered for even a moment during the soul refinement, Cai Lin would face severe backlash—one that might claim her life. Dividing his attention to suppress four volatile flames while maintaining absolute control over the Glazed Soul Flame was simply not feasible.
It meant he would have to forcibly suppress all four flames simultaneously—like pressing down a massive iron slab atop four writhing beasts, each struggling to break free.
A trace of frustration flashed across his face. He had truly hoped the System's Gacha would grant him the rare medicinal ingredients needed to refine a pill to help Cai Lin's soul-body fusion.
Now, that hope had crumbled, and he was left to face the task with nothing but his will and strength.
"Don't worry. It won't be that unbearable. If you can endure it, perhaps you won't need to cross that line with the python lass just yet." Lady Azure offered a faint smile, her voice gentle as she noticed the grim shadow clouding Xiao Hua's face. Her words were meant to soothe, to lift the weight pressing upon him.
…
"Sister Azure… you definitely lied about it being bearable!" Xiao Hua groaned through gritted teeth, his voice thick with pain. His heart felt as though it were gripped tightly by an unseen hand, squeezing without mercy.
A violent heat surged through him as the four flames—Tribulation Lotus Flame, Thousand Immortal Flame, Wrathful Chilling Flame, and Life Execution Flame—erupted wildly within his body. Like rivers of molten fury, they rampaged through his meridians, scorching bone and vein alike, leaving no corner untouched.
From the center of his chest, faint, vein-like lines of four distinct colors began to creep outward, pulsing with intense heat. Azure, purple, white, and green patterns traced across his skin like branding marks, releasing a fiery aura that distorted the very air around him. His entire body radiated such heat that even his breathing came out in heavy, scalding gasps.
Just as chaos threatened to consume his focus, the violent eruption of the four flames abruptly halted.
However, before he could even sigh in relief, a gentle yet peculiar warmth bloomed within his heart. A new flame had quietly taken root there—one unlike the others.
It spread with startling swiftness, flowing through his meridians like a tide of liquid heat. But instead of scorching pain, it brought a rising warmth that stirred his senses and agitated his breath. It was not unbearable—but it was certainly disorienting.
A strange warmth crept through him, not fierce like before, but insidious and invasive. The flame spread with startling speed, threading through his meridians like silk soaked in fire, coiling around every nerve, every breath, every thought. In mere moments, it had flooded his entire body.
And with it came a rising tide of restlessness…
"Damn it… How am I supposed to endure this?!"
Xiao Hua cursed under his breath. His Dou Qi surged violently in an attempt to suppress the heat of that strange flame. Yet the flame was anything but obedient. The more he tried to subdue it, the more fiercely it retaliated. In just a few brief exchanges, his vision had already been overtaken by a burning red hue.
"I can't hold on much longer…"
His breathing turned ragged, each exhale releasing scalding heat like a forge's bellows. He staggered to his feet, the last thread of rationality slipping as desire overtook him. His blood-red eyes swept across the chamber—then halted.
There, not far from him, was Cai Lin. Her flawless body lay bare under the faint glow of the Glazed Soul Flame, her eyes tightly shut as she endured the searing pain of soul refinement.
Xiao Hua's throat bobbed as he swallowed dryly. His skin flushed, his steps slow and unsteady as he approached her, drawn in by an invisible force.
But just as he stood before her—close enough to see the tightly drawn lines on her face, the faint trembling of her fingers—something stirred within him.
His gaze locked onto the pained expression she has.
In that instant, the haze in his eyes trembled. A sliver of reason cut through the desire, and he forcefully pulled himself back, biting down hard on his lip to remain stable.
"I refuse to believe I can't hold you back!" Xiao Hua roared, gritting his teeth as he crossed his legs and sat down abruptly. He closed his eyes, and in the next instant, the five Heavenly Lightnings surged within his body, crackling with immense force as they clashed against the nefarious flame, suppressing it with sheer might.
Though Cai Lin had already crossed the critical threshold, her condition was far from stable. The slightest disturbance could cause irreparable damage to her soul.
Xiao Hua dared not let even a sliver of chaos reach her. He clenched his fists tightly, enduring the torment of the Heavenly Lightnings piercing through his meridians like countless needles. The searing pain helped anchor his mind, keeping him from succumbing to the heat stirring within him.
And so, he sat still, forcing himself to endure. Time slipped by unnoticed—two weeks passed in silence.
Then, the faintest twitch of a slender finger broke the stillness.
The spirit hovering above Cai Lin's body had become tranquil, its glow dimming as it gently descended back into her form. Slowly, she opened her eyes, a trace of confusion flickering within them as her consciousness returned, dazed and unsteady.
Then, as if recalling something crucial, Cai Lin's eyes abruptly widened. Her gaze swept the surroundings before settling on the young man seated nearby, suspended in midair with his legs crossed in quiet meditation.
Perhaps due to the lightning crackling around him, his upper garments had long since been destroyed, leaving his body bare. Across his skin, bright vein-like lines of four distinct colors pulsed faintly, each radiating a dense and volatile fiery aura.
"Xiao Hua…"
A soft, pained whisper slipped from her lips. She instantly understood—Xiao Hua was exerting everything he had to suppress the overwhelming impulses threatening to disrupt her soul-merging process.
Cai Lin's eyes grew misty. Something gentle stirred within her heart as she watched him sit there, enduring everything in silence just to shield her. A tender smile bloomed upon her lips, suffused with warmth and quiet affection.
Step by step, she moved toward him—toward the one who, even now, kept his eyes closed, unwavering in his resolve to protect her.
The young man seemed to have faintly sensed something. Xiao Hua slowly opened his eyes, his trembling gaze falling upon the irresistibly graceful figure drawing near.
"Cai'er…"
A soft murmur slipped from his lips as he struggled to restrain the nefarious flame still coursing wildly through his body.
Cai Lin knelt before him, lowering herself gently before wrapping her arms around his neck and drawing him into her embrace. As a member of the Snake-People, her body naturally exuded a cold Yin energy. The moment she held him, a soothing wave of comfort spread through his burning flesh and restless soul.
She pressed a tender kiss to his lips, and a lovely smile blossomed across her face. Leaning closer, her warm breath tickled his ear as she whispered in a voice as soft and seductive as silk, "I'm fine now. Don't hold back any longer. My condition has already stabilized."
Roar—!
As if her words had unlocked the final seal, a deep, guttural roar burst from Xiao Hua's throat. His eyes, once calm, flared with crimson light as the nefarious flame surged once more, consuming all reason beneath the overwhelming desire ignited by the enchanting woman in his arms.
Those bright-red eyes, ignited with burning desire, locked onto Cai Lin's enchanting figure—a sight capable of driving any man to madness. In a sudden motion, Xiao Hua pressed her down, their positions shifting as he moved above her.
His hands found hers—jade-like and delicate—held gently, yet with unshakable firmness. Though his rationality had been consumed by the flame within, his touch remained careful, never crossing the bounds of tenderness.
Cai Lin neither resisted nor voiced complaint. Even in his fervent state, she welcomed him without hesitation. Her heart had long accepted this man—body, soul, and all. No matter what unfolded in this moment, she had already chosen him as the one with whom she would walk the path of a lifetime.
Another deep, guttural roar rumbled from Xiao Hua's throat, primal and wild. The crimson light in his eyes flared violently as he pounced like a fierce tiger, pinning Cai Lin's exquisite form beneath him. His hands moved with growing urgency, and soon, soft and alluring moans intertwined with the air, echoing faintly through the vast world of molten magma.
Within the scarlet-hued abyss, an intimate scene quietly unfolded—hidden from all eyes, shared only between two souls who had entrusted themselves to each other.
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