"Squeak!" The delicate human face, formed from the ethereal devouring flame, emitted a sharp, plaintive cry as it was fiercely gnawed by Xiao Yi. Instantly, it began to struggle violently, black flames surging forth from within in an unceasing torrent, sweeping toward Xiao Yi with furious intensity. "Yi-wah!" Despite the relentless resistance of the ethereal devouring flame, Xiao Yi remained undisturbed. A delicate pink flame solidified on her body, forming a crystalline armor-like layer that held firm against the flame's consuming power, preventing any extraction of her internal energy. "Thump-thump!" As she defended against the devouring force, the fists she clutched continuously struck the massive human face. With each impact, clusters of pink flame seeped into the black flames, gradually causing them to dissipate and lose cohesion. "You dare injure me?!" "The sensation radiating from within, like something tearing apart, also caused a touch of fear to appear on that face. Though it was merely a subordinate flame of the Void Devouring Flame, Xiao Yi had formed her fire spirit by fusing six distinct flames—including the Pure Lotus Demon Flame—making her no ordinary flame. Even if it were the original embodiment of the Void Devouring Flame, defeating Xiao Yi would not be an easy task. 'Iwa!' Now, Xiao Yi seems to be growing wiser with each passing day—she not only understands human speech but also expresses emotions more vividly. When she heard the Void Devouring Flame roar in fury, a fierce determination surged across her small face. With one hand, she grasped the vast human face of the Void Devouring Flame, and a surge of blazing pink flames erupted from her palm, completely enveloping the latter. 'You... you dare to absorb me? You're going to die!' The moment Xiao Yi took this action, fear surged across the other's face, yet his voice continued to rise in command—something he had never witnessed before: nothing had ever been able to resist his devouring power. Yet now, his long-prided, unique ability had completely failed. "Trouble—lost contact with Zi Huo!" The Hall Master, standing not far away, suddenly grew pale, realizing at this very moment that the connection to that ethereal, consuming flame of Zi Huo had completely severed. "The boy's inner strange flame has undergone a transformation. It no longer fears Zi Huo's devouring power. We've underestimated him this time!" The Master of the Soul Palace had his eyes flashing rapidly, then bit his lip firmly, launching himself toward the pink flame shield floating in the sky. Though it was merely a subordinate flame, he had gone to great lengths to secure it within the clan. If he could gradually refine it, he would gain some capacity for absorption—though it couldn't match the void's devouring power, it would still serve as a decisive strength in combat. Losing it would be difficult to justify to the clan, so nothing short of absolute protection would do. "Master, perhaps we should let the battle between the different flames unfold without interference..." Yet as the Master of the Soul Palace moved, a figure appeared beside him instantly, smiling warmly—none other than Xiao Yan, who had been closely observing him throughout. Seeing Xiao Yan intervene, the Hall Master of the Soul Palace grew cold in expression and, without pausing to recover from the significant loss of soul energy absorbed by the Void consuming Xin, immediately launched a fierce and aggressive assault against him. Amidst the Hall Master's relentless attacks, Xiao Yan merely smiled calmly, maintaining a composed and steady engagement. He could clearly sense that the current Hall Master was notably weaker than before—evidently weakened by the Void's absorption of much of his soul energy. In this state, the Hall Master could no longer pose a serious threat to Xiao Yan. As the two renewed their fierce assaults, the young one in the sky opened her mouth and expelled a cluster of pink flames, adding it to the flame already gathering before her. The very essence of the ethereal consuming flame, which had only just managed to withstand the surrounding intense pressures, finally could no longer endure—suddenly, a piercing, agonized cry rang out. Her human-faced black flame burst apart, splintering into streams of black serpentine flames that darted wildly, like aimless insects, within the pink flame sphere. "Seeing this, the faces of the Yao elder and others also grew cold. Xiao Chen and the Elder of Dan Tower swiftly stepped forward, intercepting Houn Qiemo and his companions. At the same time, the other Dou Sheng masters from the Heavenly Palace moved into action, holding the Dou Sheng masters from the Houn Palace in place. For a moment, the scene at the summit of the falling peak became tense, with the atmosphere brimming with the potential for a full-scale clash should any disagreement arise. "Houn Qiemo, if the Houn Palace truly intends to go to war, then the Heavenly Palace Alliance will not hesitate!" the Yao elder boomed. Houn Qiemo narrowed his eyes, slowly scanning the surrounding forces. Both sides' strength was comparable; should the battle come to a head, even if the Houn Palace won, it would be a hard-fought victory—one that would entail significant losses. Such losses, however, were precisely what the Houn clan was striving to avoid. "What shall we do?" the Houn Magus elder murmured, his eyes glowing with cold determination. Hun Qianmo stared intently at the young boy in the green robe before him. The latter's face remained calm, his clear eyes deep and serene, like a still, profound pool of water—something Hun Qianmo had come to understand from their prior encounter. He knew well the formidable nature of this ancient being who had lived for thousands of years. Indeed, even with his full might, he doubted he could defeat him. Though the power of consumption is merely a rare ability possessed by Huiwu Tunyan, among the various heterofires, just as among wild beasts, the principle of the strong devouring the weak prevails—since they all share the same origin, strong fires often consume weaker ones. Indeed, when Xiao Yan previously sought to claim the Yunluo Xin Yan, that fire had long coveted the Qinglian Dixin Fire within him. Huiwu Tunyan ranks second on the Heterofire List, and in truth, even surpasses the Jinglian Yāo Huo in strength. Yet now, this Tunyan is merely a junior fire, and it is a simple matter for Xiao Yi to consume it. "Gurrr..." After swallowing down the flame from Tunyan, a strange sound emerged from Xiao Yi's throat. Satisfied, she patted her stomach and wavered slightly, returning to her palm-sized form. Then, her gaze shifted to the ongoing battle between Xiao Xin and the Hall Master of the Soul Palace. Under the watchful eyes of many, she drifted gently to a distance from the combat zone. With a simple hand gesture, blossoms of fire lotuses began to rotate slowly, spinning around her body. The Hall Master, currently engaged in a struggle with Xiao Xin, caught this scene with a glance and was startled, his heart suddenly tightening. Yet before he could retreat, Xiao Yi's round, plump hand pointed directly at him, "Iwa! Attack!" Ten flames of fire erupted one after another in the sky, sending out devastating waves of searing heat that swept across the heavens, forcing even the already-retreating warriors to step back further. "Hmph!" Though each flame was merely composed of two distinct types of rare fire, their simultaneous detonation seemed to trigger a chain reaction—so powerful that even the Hall Master of the Soul Palace was knocked back, gasping in surprise, his body thrown into disarray and trailing a faint streak of blue smoke as he swiftly retreated. After retreating a thousand paces through the sky, the Hall Master finally managed to steady himself, swallowing the blood rising to his throat. His eyes shimmered with astonishment—he had never expected such formidable combat prowess from what appeared to be a seemingly ordinary Fire Infant. "Master, this competition—perhaps you'll have to lose this time..." As the Hall Master of the Spirit Hall was stunned by Xiao Yi's formidable combat prowess, a ghostly figure suddenly materialized behind him, delivering a sharp, unforgiving palm strike aimed directly at his cervical vertebrae. "You're dreaming!" The attack came swiftly, yet the Hall Master reacted with remarkable speed—almost instinctively turning, his fist meeting Xiao Yi's palm with a resounding, deep sonic boom. Both were sent reeling backward by the impact. "You're still too green to claim my life!" The Hall Master's gaze remained dark and intense as he fixed on Xiao Yi, his voice cold and commanding. "This time, it's a fortunate break for you. I'll personally settle this matter next time!" "Perhaps... you won't even get that chance," replied Xiao Yi, his eyes growing colder, a serene, icy smile curling at the corners of his mouth. Seeing his expression, the Master of the Soul Temple felt a subtle chill in his heart. Suddenly, as though sensing something, he sharply turned his head, and a wave of intense heat rushed toward him. Ten flaming lotuses, each formed into a line and flashing like lightning, swiftly swept past his eyes and finally struck his body with full force, crashing into him amidst the stunned gazes of the onlookers. "How is this possible?" As the overwhelming, violent force surged through his body, a surge of astonishment stirred within the Master's heart.