Chapter 600 - 328: Facing the Lost Flame?

"That’s right," Su Chen replied, somewhat puzzled.

"You..." Qing Cang gave him an odd look. As far as he knew, even someone with a Divine Dawn Talent had to reach Tier Seven to withstand the consumption of Divine Fire.

But then he remembered Su Chen’s true strength, and it didn’t seem quite so shocking. Composing himself, he finally reacted. "You said you ignited the Morning Fire and made an unexpected discovery? What was it?"

"A craving. My body seems to crave the Morning Fire. Or, to be more precise, something hidden inside my body does..." Su Chen said, intentionally leading him on.

"Craving the Morning Fire?" Qing Cang’s eyes flickered. Just as Su Chen had hoped, he made the connection. ’Could it be the Spiritual nature of the Great Venerable Red Flame Thunder Resonator inside you?’

Su Chen nodded. "I suspected as much, but I can’t withstand the Morning Fire’s consumption on my own. That’s why I want to use Divine Blood as fuel—to make the Morning Fire burn longer and see what happens."

Qing Cang looked thoughtful. Su Chen’s situation was truly unprecedented and couldn’t be judged by past experience.

No one could say for certain what effects the fusion of a Spiritual entity and a Chosen One would bring.

However, since Su Chen had made a request, and his master had also instructed him to cooperate.

After weighing the options, Qing Cang said, "In that case, you should give it a try."

He reached into the void and pulled out a black metal box about the size of his fist. It had sharp angles, like a cut piece of obsidian, and its surface was smooth enough to cast a reflection.

Pale gold patterns flowed across the dark metal, sometimes converging into star-like dots, other times fanning out into a delicate web.

’So Qing Cang had it ready all along?’ Su Chen was surprised. He reached out to take it.

Qing Cang was holding it with some reluctance. Su Chen had to tug it discreetly before Qing Cang finally let go.

"Do you want me to stay and watch?" Qing Cang asked, hesitating.

Su Chen was silent for a moment, then shook his head. "Not for now, Senior Brother. I know what I’m doing."

"Alright..." Seeing Su Chen’s firm stance, Qing Cang didn’t insist. "If anything unexpected happens, tell me immediately. Also, after you’ve used it, I’ll come to test your body for any residual Deceitful God’s Power."

He added the reminder. Ever since their master had been sabotaged by a Deceitful God, the Bronze Sect had maintained a strict defense against them.

"No problem." Su Chen, of course, wasn’t worried.

As Qing Cang left, he was still a little uneasy. Every time he glanced back, he saw Su Chen waving enthusiastically, leaving him speechless.

’When no one is controlling it, the Divine Blood doesn’t have much Power. Given Su Chen’s condition, he should be fine.’

’That was easier than I expected.’ After seeing Qing Cang off, Su Chen seemed rather impatient and immediately entered the Nether Tower.

Carefully opening the box, a drop of deep, pitch-black blood floated out, causing ripples to instantly spread through the air around it.

’It’s you again, Blackie. We really are fated to meet.’

With a single glance, Su Chen recognized the source of this Divine Blood. It was from his old friend, Black Tuo.

From what he had pieced together, the Sect’s supply of the Blood of the Deceitful God had been accumulated over many years, extracted from the hideouts of the Deceitful God’s Followers.

Another special source was the Little Deceitful Gods, but they were extremely rare in the Nether Realm, as the Great Deceitful Gods wanted to turn them into Divine Sons.

The Sect and the Royal Court, however, viewed them as raw materials. Ten to twenty drops of Divine Blood could be extracted from a single Little Deceitful God.

The Sect’s stockpile of Divine Blood was a secret, but Su Chen figured they couldn’t be too short on it. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been so easy to procure a drop.

He reached out, attempting to touch the drop of Divine Blood.

The moment he made contact, the Divine Blood abruptly vanished, and text appeared on his panel—

[The Purifier has discovered Divine Blood and is attempting to analyze it. Its internal gene fragments are jumbled and mixed with the Power of Faith.

The Purifier has spat it out. To perform an analysis using the Blood of the Deceitful God, more cross-verification will be required.]

’It spat it out?’ Su Chen mused, looking at the blood of Black Tuo that had reappeared before him. ’So it can be used, but the quantity is insufficient.’

Su Chen wasn’t particularly surprised. Divine Blood was clearly different from ordinary Moonlight blood. ’As long as it’s usable, that’s what matters. There are plenty of ways to obtain this stuff.’

Just as he was about to store the drop of Divine Blood, his panel reacted again, but this time it wasn’t the Purifier—

[The Great Venerable Red Flame Thunder Resonator opens its eyes. Its brow furrows. A wisp of purple flame seeps from its body, seemingly drawn to the Divine Blood.]

’What’s going on?’

Su Chen stared at the text on the panel in astonishment. ’The purple flame must be the Sun Residual Fire. It merged into the Great Venerable’s body before; I thought it had vanished.’

’It seems a trace of it was left behind, and it’s being drawn to the Divine Blood. Does it want to use it as fuel, too?’

’What would it do with fuel?’

Su Chen had a theory. After a moment’s hesitation, he acted on his thought.

He felt a faint warmth in his body as a wisp of purple fire floated out. It was incredibly fine, no thicker than a strand of hair.

It was barely visible without close inspection.

But the instant it touched the Divine Blood, the purple fire reacted as if it had been splashed into oil.

WHOOSH! It erupted into a blaze. A torrent of violent purple flames rushed over Su Chen, engulfing him completely.

"What the f—"

Su Chen was startled and instinctively put his guard up, but he felt no pain. Instead, a strangely familiar sensation washed over him.

His Spiritual Power began to drain as a grayish-white landscape spread out beneath his feet.

’Have I entered the Nether Realm?’ Su Chen realized, looking down at his body, which was enveloped in purple flames.

He still had a shadow on the ground, flickering unsteadily. It was exceedingly rare to see one’s own shadow in the Nether Realm.

In his peripheral vision, he noticed the colors of his surroundings were off. Not only was there no drifting Nether Fog, but a faint purple light permeated everything.

’This looks like an area covered by a Flame Fire...’

Su Chen seemed to sense something. He abruptly looked up, his pupils constricting as his eyes reflected specks of purple light. High in the sky above was a vast, boundless mass of purple Flame Fire.

’This... couldn’t be the Lost Flame, could it?’

Su Chen stared in a daze. The dazzling glare of the fire forced him to squint.

The manifestation of the Bronze Sect’s Flame Fire in the Nether Realm wasn’t nearly this large, visually speaking. This thing took up almost his entire field of view.

’I wonder how big this thing is in the real world.’

He tilted his head back to look at it, then scanned his surroundings. The grayish-white earth stretched to the horizon, revealing barren mountains, hollows, and ravines. Wherever the Flame Fire’s light reached, the Nether Fog kept its distance.

’They said Qin Yun and her group reached the vicinity of the Lost Flame through the Nether Realm.’

Su Chen looked at the purple flames burning on his arm. ’This Sun Residual Fire was able to bring me directly here...’

’This thing...’ Su Chen looked up again at the purple Flame Fire. ’They say there’s a Spirit of Sun inside, but I know that appearances can be deceiving.’

It looked close, but he had no idea how far away it actually was. Besides, the situation was truly bizarre. Last time, six Morning Star Tiers had entered, and four died while one was gravely injured. He didn’t dare attempt it rashly.

According to what Qing Cang had relayed from the Sun, the Lost Flame followed a tidal pattern. When Qin Yun’s group entered, it had been in its "Extinguishing Stage," which was why they were able to get in.

Right now, it was in its "Vigorous Stage," a time when even a Moonlight Tier would struggle to get close. One would need to use some strange method to even attempt entry.

However, just as he was weighing his options, he noticed the purple flames on his body gradually began to rise and stretch, as if being pulled by something.

Su Chen’s heart leaped. He quickly tried to run away from it, but he found the flames on his body were still stretching resolutely upward. ’This Sun Residual Fire... it’s not trying to pull me inside, is it?’

He hesitated and subconsciously tried to leave the Nether Realm, but...

’I can’t leave?’ Su Chen’s expression changed. Within these flames, his connection to the real world seemed to have been severed.

’Is this a forced transaction?’ The situation made him even more resistant. Just as he was about to question the Great Venerable, he noticed the purple flames on his body gradually dimming.

A faint, scorching heat washed over him from all directions. In an instant, his mouth went dry, and he was drenched in sweat.