Chapter 757: A Contingency Plan

"Star Haze Leaving Fire Array, refine!"

With Xu Yan's sharp cry, the lamps suddenly burst into dazzling light, enveloping Ye Yuan completely.

Caught in the light, Ye Yuan was instantly lifted into midair.

His limbs were bound by the Star Haze Leaving Fire Array, unable to move.

The powerful Cangyan Evil Fire continuously scorched Ye Yuan's flesh, and a mighty force tried to pull Little Fire out of his body.

Before the formidable Cangyan Evil Fire, Ye Yuan seemed to have no room to resist.

His brows were tightly furrowed, his expression one of intense pain.

"Hahaha, I thought you were something special, looking so confident! In the end, you're still caught without a fight, aren't you? Kid, have a good taste of the Cangyan Evil Fire's power and suffer the agony of refinement! Once I refine you all, my strength should recover to eighty percent. Then I'll go extinguish that old thing's divine soul and see how he tries to revive!" Xu Yan laughed triumphantly.

"Ugh..."

Ye Yuan groaned in pain, beads of sweat as big as beans quickly forming on his forehead.

Being refined by a peak seventh-order flame was no easy ordeal. Moreover, the great array generated a powerful tearing force, trying to rip Little Fire out of his body.

Ye Yuan and Little Fire were already spiritually connected, and this tearing force felt like slowly peeling open a wound on Ye Yuan's body.

The pain was excruciating, almost causing him to faint.

But Ye Yuan knew that if he passed out, everything would be over.

So he endured the agony, using all his strength to protect Little Fire and prevent him from being pulled out.

"Damn it, why isn't it coming yet! If it doesn't come soon, I won't be able to hold on!" Ye Yuan cursed inwardly.

Ye Yuan naturally wouldn't have foolishly followed Xu Yan into a death trap; before entering, he had set up a contingency plan.

But that plan was something he himself couldn't control.

Now all his hopes rested on that contingency!

"Hahaha... How does it feel? Not bad, huh? Don't worry, after you die, I'll take good care of your Primordial Fire and make it part of me!" Xu Yan laughed unrestrainedly.

But just then, a sudden change occurred!

An extremely powerful soul force instantly enveloped the entire stone chamber!

"Cangyan, you have disappointed this Emperor greatly! I treated you well and even allowed you to develop a spirit, yet you dare to betray me!" An aged, hollow voice echoed through the chamber.

A faint shadow stood in midair—it was the old man who called himself Xie Lingzi, whom Ye Yuan and the others had seen before entering the teleportation array.

Though Ye Yuan was in agony, he still kept his mind clear.

Hearing this voice, he knew his guess was correct. This Xie Lingzi was indeed a Dao Profound realm expert, a Sovereign realm expert!

Seeing the shadow in the air, Xu Yan's face changed drastically, and he exclaimed in shock, "You, you, how could you have awakened early! Without these soul supplements, how could you have awakened ahead of time?"

At this, Xie Lingzi glanced at Ye Yuan and said calmly, "I have this young friend to thank. He disturbed the Luotian Soul-Sealing Array, waking me from my slumber! If not for him, you probably wouldn't have given me the chance to awaken, would you?"

"What! How... how is that possible? I was monitoring his every move; how could he have had the chance to disturb the Luotian Soul-Sealing Array?" Xu Yan said in disbelief.

From the moment Ye Yuan entered this ancient cave dwelling, Xu Yan had been watching his every move.

Earlier, when he was at the altar, Xu Yan would never have given him such an opportunity. So how had Ye Yuan set up this contingency?

Xie Lingzi looked at Xu Yan with some pity and said, "You could sense that his Primordial Fire had developed intelligence, but you didn't know what his Primordial Fire was! I must say, I'm quite surprised too. He actually obtained a Nether Sandalwood Fire Lotus and awakened the spirit of the Nether Sandalwood Sacred Fire at the fifth stage—truly incredible."

"Net... Nether Sandalwood Fire Lotus!" Hearing this name, Xu Yan was panic-stricken.

If it was the Nether Sandalwood Fire Lotus, then everything made sense.

Earlier at the altar, Ye Yuan had sensed something was off with Xu Yan, so he secretly had Little Fire leave behind a clone.

After they left, that clone triggered the Luotian Soul-Sealing Array, awakening Xie Lingzi ahead of time.

"You're surprised too, aren't you? The Nether Sandalwood Fire Lotus is not particularly powerful among Primordial Fires, but its growth potential is immense. However, advancing a Primordial Fire requires extremely harsh conditions, and most alchemists wouldn't bother cultivating one. But once a Nether Sandalwood Fire Lotus grows to a level comparable to yours, its strength is enough to crush you. What's more, this Nether Sandalwood Fire Lotus has already developed intelligence and is not far from giving birth to a spirit!" Xie Lingzi said calmly.

Cultivating a Primordial Fire is completely different from a martial artist's training; it requires extremely harsh conditions and involves a great deal of luck.

Even Ye Yuan hadn't initially planned to keep using the Nether Sandalwood Sacred Fire. His own cultivation speed far outstripped the fire's advancement.

If Little Fire hadn't accidentally developed intelligence, Ye Yuan would have abandoned it before long.

Though reluctant, once Ye Yuan broke through to the Immeasurable realm, the Nether Sandalwood Sacred Fire would become almost useless.

Xu Yan's face was extremely grim. He glared at Ye Yuan, who was still in pain, with murderous intent.

He had calculated everything but never expected Ye Yuan to have such a contingency.

"This kid, he had seen through me back at the altar!" Xu Yan gritted his teeth.

Xie Lingzi suddenly sighed and said, "Cangyan, think back to when we joined forces—how glorious we were! Who would have thought that times would change, and you would commit such betrayal? Why must it come to this?"

Xu Yan's face turned cold. "Bah! Glorious for you, maybe. I was just a pawn in your hand! The worst part is, after you died, you still had to suppress me in this godforsaken place, nearly extinguishing my spirit! Heaven has eyes, finally allowing me to break the seal before you awakened. Of course, I want to be free!"

Xie Lingzi said coldly, "So you possessed this body, lured these people in, tried to recover your strength, and then kill me?"

Xu Yan sneered, "So what? This world now is completely different from our time. Divine Path experts vanished overnight, and no one can become a Divine Path expert anymore. Once I recover my peak strength, I can dominate this world! Do you expect me to remain your dog, forever unable to turn things around?"

Having possessed Xu Yan, the Cangyan Evil Fire had also inherited his memories and knew the changes in this world.