Chapter 1048 - 473: The Flame of the Tomb of the Void

"Senior!" Xu Qinghan quickly walked up to the old man, her voice carrying a hint of tremble.

The old man slowly opened his eyes, his gaze was murky and weary, but when he saw Xu Qinghan, a glimmer of surprise and comfort flashed in his eyes.

"Qinghan... you have returned..." the old man said hoarsely, with a hint of weakness in his voice.

"Senior, how are you? The Fire Network..." Xu Qinghan asked anxiously.

The old man sighed softly, and slowly shook his head: "The Fire Network... has suffered severe damage. Many Guardians... to suppress the Nucleus of Annihilation and the explosion of the Tomb of the Void, they burned their sources, completely dissipating..."

Xu Qinghan’s heart ached fiercely, even though she had been expecting it, hearing it with her own ears still brought her heart-wrenching pain.

"The Tomb of the Void... was it successful?" the old man asked with difficulty, a hint of hope in his eyes.

Xu Qinghan suddenly raised her head, her eyes shining with a determined light: "It was successful! The fire seed of the Tomb of the Void has already merged with my Ancient God’s Fire!"

Hearing this, the murky eyes of the old man suddenly burst into a brilliant light, and he began trembling excitedly: "Good! Good! The fire shall not extinguish! Hope forever remains!"

He struggled to extend his hand, pressing it on Xu Qinghan’s forehead. Xu Qinghan could feel a faint but pure Power of Fire pouring from the old man’s palm into her body, nurturing her Ancient God’s Fire.

The old man closed his eyes, carefully sensing the fluctuations of fire within Xu Qinghan. After a moment, he slowly withdrew his hand, a comforting smile appearing on his face.

"Your fire... is several times stronger than before. The Nucleus of Annihilation and the fire seed of the Tomb of the Void contain the ancient source of fire, by merging them, your resistance to the void has greatly increased, and you have even comprehended the Meaning of Annihilation of fire, able to transform the power of the void for your use... this is a blessing in disguise." The old man said softly.

Yet Xu Qinghan felt a pang of sadness. This so-called blessing in disguise was bought with the lives of countless Fire Guardians.

"Senior, what should we do next?" Xu Qinghan asked.

The old man’s gaze swept over the empty meditation cushions surrounding the altar, a glimmer of pity in his eyes.

The old man’s gaze swept over the empty meditation cushions surrounding the altar, a glimmer of pity in his eyes.

"The legacy of fire is a path of self-sacrifice, illuminating the way ahead... Those fallen companions have not perished, but transformed into part of the Fire Network, their wills will always be with us." Although the old man’s voice was weak, it carried a force that pierced through time, as if one could see the threads of the fire legacy spanning millions of years.

He slowly raised his head, his murky gaze looking towards the sky above the valley, where the slowly wriggling void cracks seemed like wounds of the Cosmos.

"Qinghan, your return not only brought back the fire seed of the Tomb of the Void, but more importantly, you comprehended the Meaning of Annihilation of fire, able to transform the power of the void into nourishment for the fire... This is an unprecedented breakthrough in the long legacy of fire." The old man said slowly, his tone carrying a hint of gravity, "This means you are no longer simply resisting the void, but truly understanding and mastering it."

Xu Qinghan, hearing this, felt a movement in her heart. She could sense that the power of fire within her was indeed different from before. It was no longer purely golden, but interwoven with black, like the first ray of light at the dawn of chaos, containing both vitality and annihilation. This power gave her a deeper understanding of the cosmos, as if the boundaries between life and death, existence and nonexistence, became blurred and unified.

"Senior, what exactly is this Meaning of Annihilation of fire?" Xu Qinghan couldn’t help but ask. Although she mastered this power, she still had many questions about its essence.

The old man sighed softly, his gaze deep: "The Meaning of Annihilation of fire is not the fall of fire, but its sublimation. Throughout the eons, the struggle between fire and the void has always been a contest between life and death, hope and despair. We, the Fire Igniters, have always adhered to the Belief of ’the fire shall not extinguish’, using vitality to fight annihilation. However, the Power of the Master of Nothingness is not merely darkness; it is an extreme ’nothingness’, an annihilation of the Cosmic Origin. To truly defeat it, relying solely on vitality is not enough."

He paused, his tone becoming more ancient: "In the ancient fire legends, it is recorded that the ultimate form of fire is not purely life, but the unity of life and death, the balance of hope and despair. When fire can encompass annihilation, when vitality can master the void, that is the true ’eternal fire’. The Nucleus of Annihilation, as one of the birthplaces of fire, contains within it a glimpse into the Void Origin. And the Tomb of the Void, is the result of countless fire sages from ancient eras, fighting with both body and Divine Soul against the power of the void, ultimately imprinting the Void Origin in the fire seed. By merging these two fire seeds, you have been able to glimpse the secret of the Meaning of Annihilation of fire."

"The Meaning of Annihilation of fire... the unity of life and death..." Xu Qinghan murmured to herself, closing her eyes and feeling the interwoven gold and black fire within her. She understood, this was not the void’s erosion of her, but the ’inverse fusion’ of fire and the void, a deeper evolution.

"Yes." The old man slowly nodded, "The Master of Nothingness believes it can devour everything, erase everything, returning the cosmos to eternal nothingness. But it does not understand, life and death, annihilation and hope, are but two sides of the same coin. Without death, there is no life. Without annihilation, there is no hope. The Meaning of Annihilation of fire is to transform the power of the void into the nourishment for fire, converting despair into hope, transforming death into rebirth!"