Liu Xi stood with his hands clasped behind his back, walking leisurely through the air above the magma world, surveying what was now his own dominion. Indeed, that was no exaggeration. Having inherited the legacy of the Pure Lotus Demon Saint and successfully subdued the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame, Liu Xi's strength had risen to heights nearly equal to that of that ancient figure ten thousand years ago. The flame space and the Demonic Flame Refining Heaven Formation were now no different from his private garden.
First came the aftermath of the battle. Among the captives of the ancient clans, the best among them—Hun Mo, a Late 5-Star Dou Saint—was a valuable asset. After the formation had purged his strength, subduing him was effortless.
Before Liu Xi now stood Hun Mo, clad in fiery armor, his eyes flickering with faint flames. His soul remained trapped within an illusion, and though his Dou Qi strength lingered around the level of a 5-Star Dou Saint, he could not fully wield his past power.
"We'll need to push harder," Liu Xi said with a faint smile. "Let Hun Mo lose himself completely within the illusion, until his consciousness is wiped out. Only then can a Flame Slave reach its full potential."
An incomplete Flame Slave and a complete one were worlds apart. Xiao Chen had once been such an incomplete Flame Slave—his body subdued, but his soul defiant. He resisted for nearly a thousand years before Xiao Yan freed him.
Thinking of that name, Liu Xi's eyes glimmered with azure flame. He clapped his hands lightly, and far below, the magma seethed, then exploded upward as more than a dozen Flame Slaves rose into view.
Each one was a Dou Saint, their strengths ranging from 1-Star to 3-Star. Liu Xi's gaze swept over them until it settled on one in particular—a 3-Star Dou Saint wielding a massive crimson battle-axe.
The man's gaze was hollow, no different from the rest, yet through his link with the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame, Liu Xi could sense that this one's soul still resisted submission.
"Blood Axe Xiao Chen," Liu Xi murmured. "Either he must awaken fully, or lose himself entirely. If perfected, he could at least reach 5-Star Dou Saint. In his current half-lucid state, staying at 3-Star is a waste."
He shook his head, forming seals with his hands. The Nightmare Heavenly Fog spread once more, its pale-blue glow twisting through the air. Xiao Chen's body tensed, his face contorting in agony. Driven by Liu Xi's Emperor Realm Soul, the fog's power now far surpassed what even the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame could achieve.
"Rrraahh!"
Xiao Chen roared, his battle-axe slashing wildly, his killing intent surging as if he sought to cleave heaven and earth. But soon his rage waned, his aura dimmed, and his expression slackened.
Liu Xi altered the illusion. Within it, Xiao Chen escaped the Lotus Flame's captivity after endless struggle, returning to the Central Plains only to find himself alone—his Xiao Clan annihilated by the Hun Clan, its inheritance seized by the Gu Clan, and every ancient clan stepping forward to strike him while he was down.
Blinded by fury, Xiao Chen unleashed his power recklessly. The more he raged, the stronger he grew, until he became a storm of destruction, cutting down every clan in his path—men, women, elders, children, all the same beneath his axe.
Yet no slaughter could fill the void within. The more he killed, the emptier he became, until weariness hollowed him completely. In the end, after exterminating the seven remaining clans, Xiao Chen went to the Heavenly Tomb—to tell Xiao Xuan that he had avenged their clan.
But Xiao Xuan's response was scathing: "If you were truly here, the Xiao Clan would never have fallen!"
That one sentence shattered Xiao Chen's mind. The conviction sustaining him vanished, and as despair overtook him, the azure flames surged and devoured his consciousness.
When it was over, Xiao Chen's body stood still, blazing with pure azure flame. His hidden strength erupted, his cultivation rising rapidly—3-Star Dou Saint, 4-Star, 5-Star, until it stabilized at Late 5-Star Dou Saint.
Liu Xi nodded in satisfaction. "Now that's more like it." At that level, the man could finally serve a purpose.
The others, however, were weaker—mostly 1-Star and 2-Star Dou Saints, with only a few reaching 3-Star. Still, they would make fine cannon fodder.
With a wave of Liu Xi's hand, Xiao Chen and the other Flame Slaves retreated respectfully to the side.
He could subdue Xiao Chen so easily because the man had endured nearly a millennium of illusions. His spirit was long since exhausted, clinging to life only through obsession with the Xiao Clan. Once that final obsession was shattered, the centuries of fatigue consumed him, and his consciousness dissolved completely.
Only an Emperor Realm Soul could ever hope to restore such a being.
As for Hun Mo, Gu Nanhai, Yao Wangui, and Huo Yao—all Mid Level Dou Saints—they were formidable in life, and though the illusions could restrain them, refining them into perfect Flame Slaves would take time.
Continuing forward, Liu Xi's expression grew odd. Ahead stood another row of Flame Slaves—Hun Feng, Huo Xuan, Huo Zhi, Yao Tian, Yao Ling, and… Gu Xun'er.
He sighed helplessly. Truly, his gains were immense: six Heavenly Flames, an Emperor Realm Soul, and advancement to 7-Star Dou Saint—but the trouble these spoils brought would linger forever.
The Yan and Yao Clans would go mad. Their heirs and their Heavenly Flames had both fallen into Liu Xi's hands. The Hun Clan still had Hun Tiandi, so losing Hun Feng wasn't disastrous. But Gu Xun'er—she was Gu Yuan's only daughter, his beloved child born late in life.
If it were anyone else who had done what she did, they'd have been executed countless times over.
Liu Xi stopped before her. Even asleep, her features were exquisite—delicate and ethereal, her closed lashes trembling faintly. Her beauty was breathtaking, enough to humble flowers and outshine the moon.
Her flowing hair cascaded like silk, softening her presence and stirring a strange protectiveness in him.
His gaze involuntarily drifted lower.
That chest, that waist, that curve—tsk, tsk…
Liu Xi quickly averted his eyes. Any further and he'd be downright improper.
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. These people couldn't be released—he wasn't foolish. If he set them free, the ancient clans would immediately unite to hunt him down.
But turning them into simple 1-Star or 2-Star Flame Slaves would waste their worth. Their identities were far more useful than their strength.
And besides, Liu Xi had no idea how much time had passed since his seclusion, nor how the outside world had changed. Perhaps the clan leaders had already begun to suspect the Hun Clan's corruption. These captives might serve an unexpected purpose when the time came.
As for the last group—the remaining Central Plains experts, those Peak Dou Zuns and Half Saints—they weren't worth refining.
He'd keep them alive for now. When peace returned to the continent, he'd release them.
Finally, Liu Xi drew out a jade bottle from his ring. Inside rested a 9th Tier Mysterious Pill—the transformed form of the Pill Tower's Old Ancestor.
He owed the Pill Tower a favor, so he wouldn't consume it. Yet trust was another matter; the old man wasn't like Xiao Yixian or Qing Lin, whose loyalty was absolute.
He'd keep him sealed for now.
Liu Xi wouldn't allow the Pill Tower to fall, and a temporary disappearance wouldn't doom it. The old ancestor had been "missing" for years before, after all.
When Liu Xi no longer feared anyone, he'd let the old man go. As a pill, he could recover with a few elixirs.
Having finished all his arrangements, Liu Xi finally prepared to leave the flame space.
Now the successor of the Pure Lotus Demon Saint, he naturally inherited not only the legacy but also the domain itself. There was no need to waste effort crafting a personal dimension—this flame space would serve perfectly to store his Flame Slaves.
He wasn't like Qing Lin, who had her Jade Snake Three-Flowered Pupils and could carry her Snake Servants within a pocket dimension.
Liu Xi smiled faintly. "Convenient enough."
(End of Chapter)
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