Boom!
From the ruins of the Fire Spirit Palace, endless flames erupted skyward like a fiery fountain. The blaze surged thousands of feet high, molten and magnificent, painting the heavens in a sea of red. The air itself warped beneath the suffocating heat.
Atop the blazing fountain, where moments ago there had been only empty air, an elderly man in crimson robes and flaming hair appeared without warning. Flames swirled around his figure like a second sun descending upon the world, yet within his eyes burned not warmth—but bone-chilling frost.
With his arrival, the raging inferno devouring the palace suddenly turned, drawn toward him in a torrent of light. One by one, the fires rose and were absorbed into his body until, in mere breaths, the flames that had destroyed the Fire Spirit Palace vanished completely.
It was an immaculate display of control—fire mastery taken to perfection.
At that moment, Huo Yan fell to his knees with a resounding thud, his voice cracking with desperation.
"Father, please uphold justice for your son!"
"Please, Ancestor, avenge us!"
The surviving members of the Fire Spirit Clan followed suit, bowing low and crying out in unison.
Liu Xi's casual sweep of Spiritual Energy had annihilated every one of their defenses, leaving their hearts frozen in terror. The only sliver of hope they clung to now stood atop that flaming fountain—the Fire Spirit Ancestor.
The old man's gaze turned toward Liu Xi, his ancient face grave. The aura radiating from Liu Xi's body pulsed with extreme danger, its heat enough to make even him uneasy.
The Fire Spirit Ancestor's expression darkened as his cold voice rolled through the air.
"You've gone too far, young friend."
Liu Xi hovered with his hands clasped behind his back, meeting the old man's gaze with a faint smile.
"Oh? Now you feel distressed? Where was this concern earlier—when your people tricked me, poisoned me, and ambushed me?"
His voice grew colder with each word, until the very atmosphere trembled.
"You lured me here under false pretenses, tampered with the wine, and laid an array to kill me. Tell me—who's gone too far?"
The Fire Spirit Ancestor blinked, momentarily stunned. To plot against a Heavenly Sovereign—what kind of fool would dare such a thing?
He turned toward Huo Yan, seeking an explanation from his witless son.
Seeing the confusion on the old man's face, Liu Xi also glanced at Huo Yan. Clearly, this entire scheme had been the handiwork of that idiotic clan leader.
'No wonder he never advanced to Heavenly Sovereign—his brain must have burned away.'
Still, it mattered little. Liu Xi held the advantage now. The Fire Spirit Clan was already in the palm of his hand.
Under the twin gazes of two Heavenly Sovereigns, Huo Yan's body trembled violently, his heart nearly stopping. His eyes filled with panic as he waved his hands frantically.
"Father, you wrong me! We welcomed him kindly, even offered our finest brew—the 'Sovereign's Drunken Flame'! Yet he repaid our goodwill with greed, coveting our Divine Flames! He stole the Four Divine Flames that powered the Fourfold Flame-Spirit Demon-Slaying Array—the Azure Cloud Dragon Flame, the Howling Wind Tiger Flame, and the others!"
Like father, like fool. The Fire Spirit Ancestor already understood the truth. But the damage was done—Liu Xi had crushed their pride before the entire city. If he didn't subdue Liu Xi now, the Fire Spirit Clan's reputation would crumble across the Great Thousand Worlds.
He exhaled softly, his tone outwardly calm.
"It seems there's been a misunderstanding. Return our Divine Flames, apologize to my fallen clansmen, and we'll call this matter settled."
Liu Xi laughed aloud. This decrepit fool still hadn't realized the gulf between them.
"Perhaps. But if you wish to end this peacefully, hand over the idiot who plotted against me—and compensate me with ten Divine Flames. Then I'll consider it even."
His voice carried across heaven and earth. Everyone in Fire Spirit City heard it.
The two sides may have accused one another, but the crowd understood well enough who held the upper hand.
The Fire Spirit Ancestor's face turned to stone. To be humiliated so publicly—unforgivable.
"So, you refuse to end this peacefully," he hissed, his tone frigid.
The air trembled with his surging power.
Liu Xi's eyes were calm, his voice indifferent. "You're right. I don't intend to."
"Nine Suns Celestial Body!"
The Fire Spirit Ancestor's Celestial Body erupted forth, towering tens of thousands of feet high, its golden form blazing like the descent of the sun itself. His divine manifestation radiated an overwhelming heat that scorched the very air.
"In deference to the Great Thousand Pact," the ancestor thundered, "I will not kill you. I'll suppress you for ten years to make you repent!"
His terrifying strength came from refining a near–Immortal Grade Divine Flame—the Nine Suns True Flame.
"Azure Lotus Celestial Body."
Liu Xi summoned his own manifestation, cloaked in azure flames. The Azure Lotus Celestial Body rose to equal height, its aura vast, ancient, and even heavier than the old man's.
"The Great Thousand Pact, hmm? Then I'll do the same. I won't kill you—just suppress you for ten years."
"Arrogant whelp!" the ancestor roared. Golden flames surged as he raised a colossal, radiant hand.
"Nine Suns Divine Buddha Palm!"
"Azure Lotus Manifestation!"
The Azure Lotus giant lifted its hand. Endless azure fire flowed into its palm, twisting and blooming into a breathtaking lotus. Each petal shimmered with transcendent rhythm and hidden power.
Liu Xi waved his hand lightly. The ethereal lotus floated forward, spinning gracefully, slow in appearance but impossibly fast—rending the air until it appeared before the golden hand in an instant.
Silence.
The golden hand vanished without a sound, disintegrated beneath the azure lotus.
"Impossible!"
The Fire Spirit Ancestor's voice trembled with disbelief.
In the blink of an eye, his massive palm was gone—and the lotus drifted forward once more, hovering before his divine manifestation.
The ancestor's body blazed with dazzling gold, nine suns whirling in his flames, their light flooding heaven and earth. Yet the instant the lotus touched him, that brilliance vanished.
His colossal manifestation shattered.
Within, the true body of the Fire Spirit Ancestor was seized and swallowed whole by the lotus. No matter how he roared, no matter how he unleashed his Divine Flame or his Spiritual Energy, he could not stir even the faintest ripple upon its surface.
Instead, his struggling power only nourished the lotus further. Its glow deepened, and its rhythm grew ever more profound.
Boom!
The lotus descended, embedding itself deep within the ruins of the palace. Azure light flared, merging with the heavens themselves before slowly fading.
Rooted within the void, the lotus sealed the Fire Spirit Ancestor completely. Unless someone possessed ten times Liu Xi's strength, he would remain imprisoned there for eternity.
Liu Xi appeared atop the lotus, his palm glowing with azure light. With a flick of his hand, a golden flame rose from the seal—within it flickered nine miniature suns radiating endless light and warmth.
"A near–Immortal Grade Divine Flame…"
Liu Xi smiled with satisfaction, storing it away. But he wasn't finished.
He scoured the Fire Spirit City, unearthing eleven more Divine Flames in the process—and casually erased Huo Yan from existence along the way.
When he finally left, the entire Fire Spirit Clan lay in ruins.
Soon after, news spread across the Great Thousand Worlds—
The Fire Spirit Clan had schemed against Qing Lian, only for their clan leader to die, and even their Heavenly Sovereign Ancestor to be sealed within their own territory.
The revelation shook the major powers to their core.
(End of Chapter)
---
Want to read the whole thing right now?
The story is complete on Patreon! Free members still get 2 chapters ahead of the regular release.
Support here: Patreon,com/Fallen_Archangel_ (change the comma to a dot)
If you're liking the fic, please drop a 5-star review and a Power Stone. It means a lot!