Chapter 258: Soul Seal

Beneath the towering pillar of light stood an old man. His eyes radiated divine brilliance, and as his gaze opened and closed, terrifying beams of light shot forth, causing the void ahead to collapse. This old man exuded a chilling aura to Yang Tian, clearly indicating he was extremely fearsome.

This old man was terrifying and mysterious. The surrounding towering pillars of fire had no effect on him whatsoever; not even a trace of flame touched his robes.

Above his head was the towering pillar of light, a crimson beam that gave a visual impact. Inside, terrifying tongues of fire roiled, yet the fearsome flames could not approach within ten zhang of the old man.

Within the towering pillar of light, Yang Tian vaguely saw a hidden portal, ancient and unmoving. The massive gate stretched straight into the sky, exuding an archaic aura.

The old man’s gaze fixed on the void. He frowned slightly, always sensing something amiss, as if something was right before his eyes.

"Damn, he didn't notice me, did he?" Looking at the old man's gaze, Yang Tian couldn't help but shrink his head. A terrifying old man guarding this place meant it was no ordinary spot. If caught, he wouldn't be able to explain himself.

After being stared at by the old man for about a breath, the Ancestral Dragon Ring brought Yang Tian's soul force back. At that moment, the old man’s face showed contemplation; he sensed that the earlier feeling had dissipated.

Within that massive portal lay a hidden fiery red region, exuding a chilling aura everywhere. Inside, waves of fire struck the sky, and layers of magma filled the void, stretching endlessly—an extremely terrifying scene.

Among these layers of fire domains, a blazing flash of light occasionally appeared, as if possessing intelligence, emitting strange energy fluctuations.

Flames frequently emerged in this void, extremely powerful. The ground of the fire domain seemed constructed from runes, as if something was sealed beneath—a truly astonishing feat.

At the end of the endless fire domain stood a palace built of flames, suspended in the void like the bedchamber of a fire god, spewing terrifying waves of fire. Around this palace, many colorful flames danced, as if paying homage.

Inside the palace, the scorching heat burned the sky, fearsome and dreadful! It seemed a deity resided within; from the palace roof, towering waves of fire surged endlessly, overwhelming and terrifyingly intense.

The surrounding colorful flames were very interested in these fire waves. When the waves swept over, they rushed forward, as if scrambling for food.

Above the flame-built palace were the two characters: "Fire Ancestor."

More than a dozen clusters of colorful flames, each containing world-destroying fluctuations, faintly stirred with heavenly might—extremely terrifying, hair-raising, and soul-shaking.

Yang Tian stood like a statue. Yuan Xia’s strange soul force observed for a while, but still couldn’t figure out what was happening to Yang Tian, and a sense of urgency welled up in her heart.

A gust of clear wind swept by. Yang Tian’s black hair danced, and his clothes fluttered, but he remained completely still. When Yang Tian had been like this for nearly two hours, Yuan Xia finally couldn’t hold back.

"Yang Tian, what's wrong with you?" A voice like heavenly music slowly sounded by his ear.

At the soft voice, Yang Tian was instantly startled awake. His gaze swept around, and when he saw no one, he immediately laughed: "Yuan Xia, is that you? I was just thinking about something."

Inside a bamboo hut, the decor was rather simple. By a bamboo window stood a figure in white, her veil removed, revealing a flawless face.

Compared to before, she had lost a bit of ethereality and gained a touch of liveliness and charm. She was pure and otherworldly, her expression serene without a ripple, her eyes like water, flowing with luster.

Yet, the moment Yang Tian spoke, her body trembled slightly. Looking at him recovering, Yuan Xia puffed her cheeks, looking annoyed and quite charming.

"You're quite good at pretending." Stomping her foot, Yuan Xia gave Yang Tian her verdict. She raised her brows lightly and sat down angrily on the small bed nearby.

Yang Tian called out a few times but found no one responding to him.

Yang Tian scratched his head, full of helplessness. As his thoughts turned, he suddenly remembered something, shuddered, and immediately sat cross-legged on the ground.

Inside the Ancestral Dragon Ring, Yang Tian’s figure appeared. He took a deep breath and brought out the white jade cauldron. His previously calm mind instantly surged with towering waves.

"A divine medicine..." His throat moved, and a wild, blazing fervor surged in Yang Tian’s eyes. A divine medicine had fallen into his hands, yet he didn’t know that many outside were going mad searching for him.

He rubbed his hands together, his burning gaze fixed on the small white jade cauldron. The corners of his mouth curled up, and he reached for the cauldron’s lid.

His hand pressed on the lid, and he exerted force, but found the lid unmoving. He frowned and increased the strength in his hand.

His full strength erupted, blood energy surging. Yang Tian’s strength was far more than a hundred thousand jin; he used all his might, even the strength of his last breath, but still couldn’t budge the white jade cauldron’s lid.

"Could it be sealed?" Frowning, Yang Tian’s face turned ugly. He cursed, "No wonder the Heavenly Dao Alliance was so confident—they set a seal."

After a moment of stillness, Yang Tian’s soul force surged out. If it was a soul seal, that wouldn’t be a problem for him—it would be a piece of cake.

Just as his soul force probed the cauldron’s body, the entire white jade cauldron shook. Wisps of pitch-black light bloomed, gradually condensing into a figure in the void.

"Indeed, a soul seal technique!" Looking at the soul avatar forming in the void, Yang Tian sneered and instantly retreated backward.

As the black mist surged more fiercely, a pair of blood-red eyes appeared, extremely ferocious. The eyes fixed on Yang Tian, and a voice cackled: "Hehe, young friend, did you think the Heavenly Dao Alliance’s things were so easy to take?"

The rapidly condensing figure in the void seemed not to notice its surroundings. The aura it emitted was terrifyingly dreadful, distorting the void around it.

With terrifying fangs, it looked like a huge monster, its hundred-zhang-tall body rising from the ground, entirely shrouded in black mist, revealing only lake-sized eyes gleaming with blood-red light.

At this moment, the monster before Yang Tian sensed something off about its surroundings. The energy floating around was terrifyingly dense. Its blood-red eyes narrowed slightly, darting around sharply.

Its gaze instantly locked onto the three ancient trees ahead. Sensing the thick ancient aura around, it exclaimed in surprise: "These are ancient trees. How can such things exist here?"

Its voice was full of surprise but remained calm, which surprised Yang Tian. From its words, he gathered that ancient trees were not extinct; some secret realms still harbored such precious trees.

The monster’s gaze lingered for a moment, then fell on the colorful medicinal field ahead. Delight showed in its eyes: "I didn’t expect such a bountiful harvest today, including such rare treasures."

It seemed very pleased. When its gaze fell on Xiao Bai, who was sound asleep, its blood-red eyes showed some uncertainty. Noticing the demonic aura around Xiao Bai, its pupils contracted slightly.

"What kind of strange beast is this? Could it be a descendant of a desolate beast?" It muttered to itself, its gaze very strange.

"Desolate beast!" Hearing this, Yang Tian smacked his lips. Extremely powerful desolate beasts could even rival divine beasts, but such beasts were almost extinct, rarely existing in the world. Their bloodlines were passed down from the desolate era. If a desolate beast existed now, its bloodline would likely have degenerated.