The voice of Qingniu the herdsman came softly and steadily, yet the expressions of the crowd shifted dramatically—waves of astonishment poured into the sky, where the swirling black light column surged. Could it be that the Pure Lotus Demon Flame had deliberately been captured by them? "How is this possible?" murmured several of the stronger warriors who had previously united to attack. If indeed the case, then the Pure Lotus Demon Flame must be astonishingly formidable—calculating and outmaneuvering human beings in such a manner was something they had never witnessed before. "This... indeed," said Xiao Yan, his face filled with wonder. He exchanged a glance with Xun'er, and both slowly nodded. With the ancient elder of Xiao Dan Tower's formidable strength, it was impossible for him to have overlooked such a development. "Hmph. Nonsense! Even if the Pure Lotus Demon Flame is strong, it will surely be trapped by my Hún Clan's Great Luo Sealing Magician Array and unable to escape!" the Hall Master of the Hún Palace said, his expression somewhat displeased, his voice firm. The spectral elder standing beside him gazed intently at the black light column in the sky, his eyes slightly flickering, yet remained silent—no question was raised. Having interacted with the Dan-ta Elder on numerous occasions, he knew well that the latter was not one to offer mere speculation without substance. If he expressed such confidence, it must be grounded in some solid assurance. Faced with the skeptical glances of the others, the Dan-ta Elder offered no defense, merely observing the swirling black light column. After a moment, when it still showed no response, he spoke softly, "Since you are unwilling to appear of your own accord, then I shall have to step in." With those words, he bent his finger and released a slender streak of black energy that shot forth from his fingertip. Though the streak appeared delicate, wherever it passed, space subtly dissolved into a vacuum trail, and then it surged forward toward the black light column, swift as lightning. The black line moved with astonishing speed, nearly in an instant, closing in to just half a cun from the black light column. Yet, as it was about to strike, the primordial phoenix flame sealed within suddenly jolted violently, and then a colossal wave of fire surged forth, sweeping across the heavens—immediately exploding the black light column under the stunned gaze of all present. "Old beast! You're once again thwarting my plans—do you intend to die?" A surge of milky flame spread across the sky, forming a figure within the fire sea—the white-robed phoenix flame, Jinglian, his expression cold and resolute, glaring down at the elder of the Dan Tower, shouting in anger. This one truly was deliberately sealed. At the sight of this, Xiao Yan and the others were struck with surprise. The Hall Master's expression grew increasingly grave. The Pure Lotus Spirit Fire had clearly been quite effortless when it broke free of its seal—this clearly confirmed the Hall Elder's earlier words. Indeed, the Pure Lotus Spirit Fire had been deliberately sealed, with the intention of causing internal strife among them, and then taking advantage of the chaos as the ultimate beneficiary. Such strategic depth was truly remarkable. "The Pure Lotus Spirit Fire is temperamental and fierce. If allowed to enter the Central Plains, it would inevitably cause widespread devastation. That is precisely why, when the Pure Lotus Spirit Saint was nearing the end of his life, he chose to seal you away. Therefore, you must remain here—you cannot leave." The Hall Elder raised his slightly youthful face, gazing steadily at the Pure Lotus Spirit Fire now blazing across the sky, and spoke slowly. "That old fool! I've accompanied him for a thousand years—though I may not have earned any glory, I've certainly given my share of hardship. Yet now, he has no regard for our past ties, and instead decides to seal me away, ultimately suffering a reversal of fortune—what a fitting retribution. As for whether I can finally leave now, it's not up to you. Even if you've now ascended to the rank of Six-Star Stellar Saint, I doubt you'll be able to stop me!" Net Lian's phoenix flame eyes grew cold, her voice sharp and steady. Regarding the elder spirit-mage's words, Dan Ta's elder patriarch did not find it surprising, and thus simply returned his gaze. "Master, shall we intervene?" Xiang Yan asked, bowing slightly. The Pure Lotus Demon Flame was exceptionally formidable; although Dan Ta's elder patriarch was deeply profound, a direct confrontation would undoubtedly be a grueling battle. "No, at this moment, you won't be able to make much difference," the elder patriarch replied, shaking his head with a smile. Then, with a tap of his foot on the green ox, his compact form swiftly moved through the flames and materialized before the Pure Lotus Demon Flame. "The seal established by the Pure Lotus Demon Saint is far from easily breached. Even if you utilize the celestial tides to tear through space, as those tides wane, the seal will naturally re-strengthen. As long as you're kept there until then, you'll be unable to escape." "Then it will depend entirely on your skill! "Jinglian's yin-qi phoenix fire sneered, then suddenly changed the position of her hands. The ethereal, milky-white flames that had spread throughout the heavens surged swiftly toward her, coalescing under the stunned gazes of all present into a colossal flame giant nearly ten thousand zhang in height. 'The Divine Image of the Phoenix Fire!' The giant planted its feet firmly into the molten lava sea below, its immense stature causing the very souls of onlookers to tremble. A single punch from this titan would likely obliterate even a Supreme Combatant of the Battle Saint rank. 'Old fool, die!' Jinglian stood atop the divine image, her eyes fixed upon the people below, who appeared like ants. With a cold, serene smile, the phoenix fire giant raised a fist that seemed to form a mountain, and delivered a powerful blow straight toward the elder of the Dan Tower. As the fist struck, a vast whirlpool of molten lava, stretching thousands of zhang in diameter, erupted at the surface of the lava sea, spinning and roaring violently. Faced with this onslaught of拳 winds radiating with destructive power, Xiao Yan and the others could not help but grow pale. A single blow from either Zi Yan or Gu Na Hai would instantly reduce either of them to fine powder if they attempted to absorb it directly. The azure blood, as soon as it detached from the old master of Danta, swiftly flew toward the divine phoenix-fire statue. As it moved, its volume grew larger and larger, and within mere moments, it expanded into a cluster of nearly a hundred shimmering blue light beams. These beams, carrying a rich, fragrant scent, swept across the sky and then struck the divine phoenix-fire statue with the speed of lightning, directly upon its chest. Instantly, waves of bright blue light spread out, and the statue was visibly melted to half its original form. "Even more astonishing," the elder spirit-mage, watching from afar, remarked, his eyes now reflecting a deep sense of seriousness. "Roar!" The Yōhō Spirit Image was severely wounded, and the Jinglian Demon Flame grew furious. According to the principle of mutual generation and overcoming in nature, the Dan Tower Elder's true form was a pill—by nature, he should have been extremely afraid of such a flame. Yet as his power grew, an unusual transformation occurred within him: instead of being overcome, he began to counteract flames and other such elements. This counter-effect greatly suppressed the Jinglian Demon Flame. "As these flames surged deep into the space, the Qinglian Demon Fire roared aloud, and immediately, thunderous rumblings echoed throughout the realm. Then, everyone was stunned to witness a vast fire array—nearly ten thousand zhang in scale—gradually materializing from the void above the sky. "This is a major crisis..." Everyone watching this scene gasped in astonishment. The sheer power of this array far surpassed the previous Great Luo Sealing Demon Array performed by the Hall Master of the Spirit Palace.