A fire infant capable of summoning a devastating flame lotus—what this signifies for Xiao Yan, he himself knows best. In the future, when facing opponents, he will no longer need others to hold him back. With a mere thought, this little creature will swiftly help him gather and form the flame lotus. This fire infant will be an immense asset to Xiao Yan. Xiao Yan and Xun'er exchanged glances, each seeing clear delight in the other's eyes—clearly, this transformation of the rare fire had surpassed their expectations. "Iwa! Iwa!" The little creature played with the swirling destruction flame lotus circling its body, then opened its mouth and directly swallowed the lotus whole. Afterward, it extended its plump little hands, cradling Xiao Yan's palm, gently rubbing and nuzzling against it, as if sensing something unique—acting like a cherished pet, seeing Xiao Yan as the closest and most beloved person. Xiao Yan smiled warmly at the fire infant, gently caressing its small head. The infant settled comfortably, its large eyes half-closed, chirping happily with a continuous stream of "I-wa, I-wa." Seeing this, Xiao Yan smiled softly. Though the fire had now taken on this unusual form, he was still able to control it perfectly—whenever he focused his mind, the little creature would instantly carry out his commands. In a sense, the connection between Xiao Yan and the fire had simply introduced an intermediate control layer, a layer that could also amplify the fire's power to its fullest potential. "This little one seems quite intelligent. It has tremendous growth potential. Perhaps we should give it a name?" Xun'er said with a gentle smile. "I-wa, I-wa!" As if understanding Xun'er's words, the fire infant promptly lifted its head, its large eyes full of anticipation, and emitted its soft, infantile chirps. "The name... it keeps calling 'Yi-wa, Yi-wa,' so let's just call it Xiao-Yi," Xiao Yan spread his hands and said casually. "Yi-wa!" Seeing that Xiao Yan had named it so casually, the Fire Infant immediately looked downcast, murmuring 'Yi-wa' to express her protest. Yet Xiao Yan only chuckled and said, "Xiao-Yi, hurry back—we're leaving now." With the matter settled so easily by Xiao Yan, Xiao-Yi could only slump down, her head resting on Xiao Yan's palm, then gradually transforming into a soft pink flame and drifting into his body. "You're even treating children like that," Xun'er shook her head in exasperation, scolding. "Ha ha..." Xiao Yan laughed, lifting his gaze to the space now filled with flames, and said, "We should be going now." "Hmm," Xun'er nodded slightly. This training had taken a long time—she suspected the entire clan must have been in a frenzy. "Xun...," Xiao Yan suddenly lowered his gaze, his eyes warm and tender, fixed upon the jade-like figure before him. Under the intensity of his gaze, Xun's cheeks flushed gently, and she lowered her head, speaking softly, "What?" "Once we return, I'll find a suitable time to make a formal proposal to the Ancient Clan. After I rescue my father, we'll hold a grand wedding. How does that sound?" Xun's body trembled slightly, her delicate face flushed with warmth and excitement. In her eyes, a deep sense of joy and fulfillment shone—this very moment, this very sentence, she had waited for many years. Yet even now, upon hearing it, her heart still fluttered with nervous anticipation and exhilaration. "Hmm." Staring at the delicate maiden, her face flushed and gently nodding, Xiao Yan couldn't help but burst into laughter. With his current strength, he could conquer the entire world—no ancient lineage, no matter how venerable, could daunt him. For back then, the useless heir of the Xiao family had now ascended to one of the pinnacle existences in this realm! "Come!" Xiao Yan extended his arms, effortlessly wrapping his slender, supple waist around Xun'er, pulling her into his embrace. With a swift stroke of his palm before him, a cascade of rosy flames bloomed from his fingertips. As his fingers passed through, the space that had once left even many Five-Star Stellar Sovereigns helpless was torn open into a vast rift. Without hesitation, Xiao Yan cradled Xun'er and stepped through the crack. With a simple sway of his body, he vanished along with the space rift. And as Xiao Yan and the other departed, this realm of demonic fire finally became utterly silent—this space would never reappear again, and it would gradually be forgotten in the river of time... On the Plain of Demonic Fire, two years ago, the land was a towering range of mountains. By two years later, it had transformed into a vast expanse of white plains. Across the plains, massive fissures stretching thousands of zhang spread out like giant earthworms, radiating intense heat that made the land remarkably dry. This plain naturally came into being two years ago, when Jinglian's immortal flame first erupted. At that time, the towering mountains around were instantly reduced to nothing, and the land itself turned into a region of molten rock. However, after the closure of the immortal flame's spatial realm, the molten desert gradually solidified and eventually transformed into this plain. According to expectation, areas ravaged by the immortal flame should have become exceptionally desolate. Yet when a group of exploratory mercenaries discovered a rare crystalline stone radiating intense, turbulent fiery energy within the plain, the region immediately came alive with activity. This crystalline stone, brimming with intense, furious fire energy, is known as the Spirit-Fire Stone, as a faint trace of ancient spirit-fire seems to linger within it. Though this spirit-fire has been diluted by unknown factors several thousand times over, it remains an absolute treasure for those who cultivate fire-based combat energy or are involved in alchemy. As long as they absorb the energy from these Spirit-Fire Stones, not only does their combat energy grow stronger, but the flames summoned by alchemists also become significantly more powerful. Consequently, over the past two years, this once-barren plain has attracted numerous factions, each carving out territories and dividing the resources of the Spirit-Fire Stones. Among these, the Tianfu Alliance is no exception—indeed, they hold the region of the plain richest in Spirit-Fire Stones. With the current strength and reach of the Alliance, even if others covet the resource, they dare not take any bold actions. Wherever the Tianfu Alliance has established its presence, the Huan Pavilion inevitably follows—this is well-known common knowledge across Zhongzhou. These two powers have been engaged in intense competition over the past few years, and whenever their representatives meet, a clash is unavoidable. Thus, shortly after the Alliance secured the Yāohuǒ Plain, the Huan Pavilion established a branch pavilion within the plain. Some sects and power groups, eager for Yāohuǒ Stones but hesitant to confront the Tianfu Alliance directly, have quietly joined the Huan Pavilion. Over the past year, they have clashed with the Alliance’s garrison forces on multiple occasions. Though both sides have sustained losses, the Yāohuǒ Stones they’ve acquired have proven highly beneficial. As a result, the Huan Pavilion and the Tianfu Alliance have been engaged in frequent skirmishes—small battles every three days, major confrontations every five—making the Yāohuǒ Plain a vibrant and dynamic arena... "Clang!" Two heavy swords crashed together with a powerful surge of martial energy, sending sparks flying. Clearly weakened, one of the combatants retreated several steps, his face pale as he spat out a stream of blood. Yet he had no time to attend to his injuries; his eyes swiftly scanned the surroundings, growing increasingly fiery upon seeing his comrades lying wounded and fallen. "Hah! Li队长, hand over all the phoenix fire stones now! We've been watching you for over a month and a half!" The figure who had been struck by the first sword laughed with a strange, eerie tone, his feet planted in the void. He wore a black robe, and upon examining the insignia on his chest, it was clear he was a member of the Spirit Palace. "Captain, hurry! These phoenix fire stones are the result of our Xuan team's perilous excavation over the course of a full month—absolutely not to be allowed into the hands of these Spirit Palace people!" Not far away, a man covered in blood roared loudly, but as soon as his words fell, a long sword pierced through him from behind, cutting off the rest of his speech. "A bunch of fools from the Heavenly Alliance! They dare to mine phoenix-fire stones within our Hu Dun realm—setting themselves up for certain death!" A cold laugh echoed around him, and then, with a series of rushing wind sounds, black silhouettes materialized in the sky, surrounding the dozen or so bloodied figures in the center. Upon seeing this, the man known as the Captain, Li, grew pale. "The Heavenly Alliance has no cowards, Captain. We'll protect you as you leave. As long as we hand over these phoenix-fire stones, we'll be promoted to inner alliance disciples!" The group of figures gathered around Li, murmuring fiercely, like wolves driven to the brink, ready to fight to the last. Hearing this, the Li team leader's hands, gripping his weapon, also trembled. He rubbed his hands over a cloth bag tucked in his chest, containing ten nagi—each filled with phoenix fire stones. These stones had been painstakingly gathered over several months through months of exploration, often at great personal risk. Should they successfully deliver them back to the Alliance, every member of the team would be promoted to internal alliance disciples, a significant elevation in status. Yet, the current predicament had cooled the warmth of their spirits to a state of icy resolve. With their current strength, breaking through this encirclement would surely come at an extremely heavy cost. "Heard this, the dozens of figures drew deep, heavy breaths, then charged straight into the encircling formation with blazing eyes. 'All of them must be slain—heads displayed and delivered to the Heavenly Alliance.' A senior figure with a gloomy expression glanced calmly at the ones still resisting, speaking with quiet composure. 'Yes!' A man behind the elder bowed with solemn gravity, his face darkening with reverence. Yet, as he took just one step forward, he suddenly found his body stiffening—his reaction swift. He immediately turned to face the highest-ranking elder. But as he turned, he caught sight of the elder's head suddenly lifting off his shoulders, blood erupting like a towering column into the sky. 'Displaying heads and sending them to the Heavenly Alliance—what a bold move the Spirit Palace has made now.'"