At the peak, Xiao Yan opened his eyes, drenched in cold sweat, his gaze heavy with seriousness. He hadn't expected that during this journey of his soul exploring the heavens, he would encounter the Hall Master of the Huan Pavilion—the one who had been seen only in passing, never fully present. The scene earlier had been quite challenging; had it not been for the mysterious strongman's assistance, Xiao Yan would have found it difficult to escape. Though in the soul-to-soul encounter, he believed himself no less than the Hall Master, as the latter had pointed out, his own strength still fell significantly short of the Master's. "The Hall Master's prowess might even surpass Zi Yan's." Xiao Yan exhaled slowly, calming his rapidly beating heart. The experience had been remarkably thrilling—the man truly lived up to his reputation as the Hall Master, for even his soul had left Xiao Yan utterly helpless. Yet, he remained curious: who exactly was this mysterious strongman? He had never heard of him before, and yet, he had stepped in to assist him. Xiao Yan's brow slightly furrowed as he finally began to sense the hidden talents and outstanding figures of the Central Plains region—despite his soul having fully detached and reached the peak of the Heavenly Realm, he had nearly encountered peril. "Since this mysterious powerhouse has agreed to assist me, he must be an adversary rather than an ally. If I can uncover his identity, he might prove to be yet another valuable asset." Xiao Yan's gaze flickered. Clearly, the mysterious figure had no fear of the Hall Master of the Soul Palace, and during their intense clash, Xiao Yan had not lost any ground—indeed, even within the Hall Master's voice, he could detect a certain sense of apprehension. On this continent, there aren't many individuals capable of making even the Grand Master of the Soul Palace hesitate... After pondering deeply, still finding no resolution, Xiao Yan could only shake his head. He then lifted his gaze toward the northwest. The dark pools of his eyes burned with intense flame. This soul journey had yielded substantial results—not only had he encountered the Grand Master of the Soul Palace, but he had also pinpointed the location where the Divine Phoenix Fire of the Spirit Beasts was descending. Within that warped space, the Pure Lotus Spirit Fire must surely be sealed. However, the fact that both the Grand Master of the Soul Palace and that mysterious master had already appeared there suggested they had detected the phenomenon long before. Thus, they had remained stationed there in anticipation. Xiao Yan's own encounter with the Grand Master, however, seemed rather like a case of walking straight into their well-planned trap. "The space there appears fragmented, clearly indicating that the Pure Lotus Demon Flame is about to burst through once again—perhaps within just a few days, the flame will descend to the world..." Xiao Yan gently rubbed his palm, and this encounter with the Hall Master of the Soul Palace had deepened his understanding of the latter's formidable strength. Now, should he face the Hall Master directly, he would have no chance at all. Therefore, no matter what, Xiao Yan must secure the Pure Lotus Demon Flame! With his current strength, only by absorbing the flame could he achieve a rapid surge in power over a short period. At that point, even the Hall Master would no longer be a threat. Moreover, after the Soul Palace Master, there lies an even more formidable force—the Soul Clan. If he cannot handle this one, how could he possibly face the Soul Clan? Indeed, this powerful faction even saw its ancestor, Xiao Xuan, fall in defeat. "The Pure Lotus Demon Flame—must obtain it!" Xiao Yan clenched his fists, but suddenly reached up to stroke his forehead. In his mind, the peculiar luminous orb he had obtained from the ancient scroll had settled back into stillness after his soul had returned to its body—so still, in fact, that even with the fully perfected soul power of a Tianjing cultivator, he could not penetrate it at all. "This seems to react strongly to Jinglian Demon Fire. It must be something left behind by that legendary Jinglian Demon Saint. But I still don't know what its purpose is..." Xiao Yan furrowed his brows. After having spent countless efforts to gather all the fragmented scrolls, he had only uncovered a few rather unremarkable secrets. If this orb held no significance at all, then Xiao Yan truly felt he would have to drag the Jinglian Demon Saint out and give him a good scolding. "Hmm…" With a sigh, Xiao Yan gently rubbed his forehead, calming the thoughts swirling within him. With a mere thought, the spiritual energy at his brow surged forth, coalescing into a tangible, solid figure that appeared almost like a physical presence. Gazing at the soul-image before him—identical in appearance to himself—the figure's face shimmered with vitality, neither dull nor lifeless. From a distance, the two looked exactly like twin brothers. "Xiao Yan..." Xiao Yan smiled gently at his counterpart and extended his hand. "Please take good care of me," the soul-image replied, smiling in return and clasping hands with Xiao Yan. The scene was both comical and strangely eerie. "Wow, there are actually two Xiao Yan!" In the sky, the space gently rippled, and a group of figures stepped into view, gazing at the two figures intertwined in each other's presence, all of them momentarily stunned. Zi Yan then gasped, her face filled with curiosity, descending to closely examine the two figures, her hands gripping them as she stared intently. "Indeed, soul duplicates that are as complete as the original bodies—reaching the peak of the Heavenly Realm, truly no exaggeration..." The senior abbot of Xiao Dan Tower slowly descended, eyes widening as he admired the vibrant spiritual energy radiating from the duplicate, and couldn't help but express his admiration. "Moreover, this duplicate is not weaker than the original. Their synergy is flawless—complementary and perfectly balanced. Together, they produce a power that is truly formidable." The elder from the medicine sect, stroking his beard, smiled warmly. Xiao Yan smiled, then waved his hand, and the soul duplicate before him dissolved, flowing into his brow as pure spiritual energy. "Hehe, you've finally completed your cultivation. According to the timeline, the Pure Lotus Demon Fire will also emerge in the near future. As for the exact location, we still haven't determined it—yet when the time comes, it will surely be a moment of great significance." Wind Master smiled. "I already know where the Demon Fire will emerge." Xiao Yan gave a slight smile, noticing the astonishment on Wind Master's face, and after a brief pause, added, "I discovered it during my soul journey, and I've also had the opportunity to meet with the Hall Master of the Soul Palace." "It seems the Huan Palace truly has a strong interest in the Qinglian Demon Fire, having stationed themselves there long before. "The old pharmacist frowned slightly, pausing to ponder, "As for that mysterious master, I still can't quite fathom his identity. However, since he's come to assist you, I believe he must be an ally, not an adversary." Xiao Yan nodded slightly. "You needn't worry too much about the Huan Palace's Palace Master. The emergence of the Qinglian Demon Fire is a truly momentous event—ancient races will surely intervene, and the Ancient Clan will certainly be no exception. At that time, other powerful figures will handle the Huan Palace's Palace Master. Our task will simply be to seize the opportunity to claim the Qinglian Demon Fire." The old pharmacist grasped his palm, and a jade vial appeared in his hand. Inside, swirling clouds of pills hovered gently, with a single dark-red pill suspended at the center. A cool, refreshing aura emanated steadily from the vial, causing delicate ice flakes to drift down continuously from the sky within a ten-meter radius around it. "This is the Nine-Yin Yellow-Quenched Pill, which we, along with the Senior Monastic, managed to successfully refine over the past two months of your cultivation..." Xiao Yan took the jade vial, and instantly a cold sensation surged from his feet up through his body. As he exhaled deeply, the breath immediately turned into ice pillars, cracking and falling to the ground. "Indeed, it's the Nine-Yin Yellow-Quenched Pill. Thank you, Master and the Senior Monastic." Xiao Yan expressed a touch of delight, then smiled warmly at both of them. This Nine-Yin Yellow-Quenched Pill belongs to the ninth-rank precious pill category—surely, even with the combined efforts of the Senior Monastic and the Elder of Medicine, it would have been no easy task. The Yeold smiled and said, "Now everything is in place. All we need to do is wait for the Pure Lotus Demon Flame to emerge. As for whether we can truly secure it—that depends entirely on our efforts and on fate, for in all its past appearances, the Pure Lotus Demon Flame has never yet been truly subdued." Xiao Yan nodded silently. He naturally knew how difficult it would be to subdue the Pure Lotus Demon Flame, yet no matter what, he would make every effort to try! … In the days that followed, Xiao Yan, who had successfully refined his soul to the peak of the Heavenly Realm, gradually found himself more at ease. Meanwhile, spies from the Alliance were secretly dispatched and eventually arrived at the region detected by Xiao Yan's soul senses, conducting reconnaissance there. Of course, this initiative wasn't limited to the "Heavenly Palace Alliance"—several ancient sects and power houses that had previously remained inconspicuous in the Central Plains now paid close attention to that region. The emergence of Jinglian Fiery Spirit had stirred an overwhelming number of powerful forces, both openly and covertly, vying for its influence or claiming its potential. Once a quiet, sparsely visited forest, it now buzzed with intense activity. This growing momentum persisted for approximately four days. At the very same instant, among the stars, nine brilliant stars slowly shifted, under the gaze of countless awed spectators, eventually aligning themselves into a straight line... The twin moons appeared, the nine stars united, the tides of heaven and earth surged, and the phoenix flames of the Jinglian deities descended upon the world! The pure lotus phoenix flames had finally descended upon the mortal realm at this very moment!