C1768 The Irritable Earthfire!
Below lay the Fireheart Mountains, a place Yu Yuan knew well. It served as the stronghold of the Order of Healing, yet under Tan Xiaotian's influence, it had morphed into a dark and foreboding Otherworld!
This World of Darkness, reminiscent of the Dark Realm, lacked any trace of chill. On the contrary, it induced a searing heat within the spirited body.
Yu Yuan, from his position outside the darkness, had not ventured deep within. It was his distance from the engulfing shadows that allowed him to feel the Fireheart Mountains' intense heat.
At this moment, the Fireheart Mountains were more tumultuous than ever, weighing heavily on Yu Yuan's soul.
The pervasive darkness had seemingly transformed into Tan Xiaotian's personal Divine Domain. Regardless of the method Yu Yuan employed to scrutinize it, all he encountered was unadulterated darkness.
Neither his vision nor his soul's perception could penetrate such absolute darkness.
Like Zu Ann and Mo Baichuan, he was blind to the numerous volcanoes, the rivers of molten lava and fire, and the medicinal halls of the Order of Healing.
His gaze was fixed solely on the figure of the Demon Lord, Tan Xiaotian.
The Demon Lord stood amidst the darkness, visible to Yu Yuan above and to Zu Ann and Mo Baichuan below.
Tan Xiaotian reigned over this World of Darkness as its supreme deity. Every person and object shrouded by the shadows could not elude his watchful eye and keen perception.
With a mere thought, his dark will could command the infinite dark energy, mingling it with the rule to permeate any entity within the darkness.
Mo Baichuan, who had not ascended to godhood, and Zu Ann, who had journeyed from Skyreach Peak, were now ensnared in his Darkland. Without his consent, neither could hope to break free from the darkness.
"You two, and all of you..." Tan Xiaotian's gaze swept over Zu Ann and Mo Baichuan, then settled on the members of the Order of Healing, as he spoke with detached authority, "Stay put."
"The earthfire is intensifying," Mo Baichuan stated gravely.
"That's to be expected," Tan Xiaotian responded, then added with a smile, "Ah, here I am, cleansing the Everlands of its perils, and yet you all seem so agitated. If I decide to extinguish the modest Order of Healing, how long do you think your sect could possibly last?"
"The darkness here is even more profound than in the Dark Realm," Yu Yuan murmured.
While he could discern people and objects within the Dark Realm, extending the reach of his soul and physical might, the realm of darkness that enveloped Tan Xiaotian seemed to be the ultimate embodiment of darkness itself.
Beyond Tan Xiaotian, Yu Yuan could neither feel nor see anything.
This indicated that the artifacts Tan Xiaotian had acquired from the City of Light had granted him a more complete mastery of dark magic, signifying a steady enhancement of his combat prowess.
"Still, it's not enough."
The Demon Lord, smiling, looked up at Yu Yuan, who he held in high regard, and said, "In another place, remnants of dark magic await my integration. Once I journey there, it will become the far shore of darkness. At that time, any who delve into the power of darkness and reach its zenith will find themselves in the shadow of my figure, Tan Xiaotian."
"I eagerly anticipate the arrival of that day."
The flames of ambition blazed in his eyes, his covetousness for the dark powers of the Abyss unmasked.
"The scope of the Origin Deity is too narrow. He's not the mightiest Evil God, yet he aspires to command the belief of all. Alas, it would be tolerable if he were victorious, but he's no match for Bertain, and that has led to his current plight."
Tan Xiaotian spoke with a low chuckle, all the while a dark remnant soul persistently shadowed Jihui, seeping into the depths below.
He was taken aback, having not anticipated that this once ancient God-King would reach the Earthfire through an enigmatic relic hidden within Shadow's Keep.
The moment Jihui harnessed the relic to plunge into the Earthfire, the entire Everlands quaked dramatically!
Boom! Thunderous rumbling!
The tremors in the Fireheart Mountains were the most violent, followed by the long-dormant volcanoes of the Land of Quiescence erupting tumultuously, swiftly impacting the continents of Euwrea and Aetherius.
Empires, sects, and domains of the evilkind alike were engulfed in cries of despair and bizarre shrieks.
"The Everlands are growing hotter!"
"Indeed, the islands amidst the seas of the three continents, even the eternally frigid realms, are all warming!"
"What in the world is happening?"
Cultivators, mortals, and archdemons alike, unclear on the situation, all sensed the climate's aberration.
The temperature soared too rapidly and with such ferocity that the once temperate spring of the Human Empire was abruptly transformed into an oppressive summer.
Within the domain of Winter's Bite, ice peaks were dissolving, and the Fellbeasts that thrived in the cold howled in discomfort.
Fellbeasts attuned to the ice attribute sensed an impending disaster. Those with the power to break free from the extraterrestrial realm had already begun their exodus from this land, which was on the brink of becoming a wasteland.
A series of extraordinary spectacles unfolded.
Cultivators from Winter's Bite, those who practiced the art of ice energy, and the eighth-level Fellbeasts hastily took flight from the Everlands' various sects and forbidden areas.
Powerful human cultivators and evilkind capable of such feats tore through the wall, venturing beyond the Everlands.
The less powerful, those without the means to escape, set their sights on the Godsblight Marsh or sought refuge in the Moonfall Sanctuary.
"This is a disaster!"
Qin Luo of the Ruby Hand arrived swiftly, and upon aligning himself next to Yu Yuan, he expressed his urgent concern: "Demon Lord, the temperatures across the Everlands are escalating at an alarming rate. If we don't devise a solution, the mortals will succumb to the heat first. As you've seen, both the ice-attuned cultivators and the evilkind are desperately seeking escape."
"Those who have not ascended to the Solar Spirit level or reached the eighth level are as feeble as if they were gravely ill."
Qin Luo gestured towards the void with a grave demeanor, "I will now take the extraterrestrial burning sun away from the Everlands! I'll do everything in my power to prevent the sun's heat from affecting our realm. But we both know the true issue lies deep within the earth, so we must find a way to address it!"
With a whoosh, Qin Luo transformed into a streak of crimson lightning and soared into the heavens. He burst through the wall and set his course for the burning sun.
His sole mission was to shift the burning sun aside, ensuring that the fierce extraterrestrial sun would not contribute further heat to the Everlands at this critical time. He was determined to do all he could to cool the Everlands.
He was acutely aware that the abnormal and tumultuous Earthfire raging beneath the Everlands was a problem beyond his capacity to solve.
"Shift the sun aside..."
Yu Yuan narrowed his eyes as he gazed into the extraterrestrial sky. He watched as the crimson lightning burst through the barrier and made a beeline for the burning sun.
In this pivotal moment, the master of the Ruby Hand sect was also exerting effort for the sake of the Everlands.
At last, Demon Lord Tan Xiaotian's brow furrowed. He hadn't anticipated the elusive Jihui or the reckless behavior of President Lyi, which had enraged the Blazing Fire.
Tasked with guarding the Primal Soul, the Blazing Fire sensed an extraterrestrial object within President Lyi's Sunsilver Body attempting to contact the Primal Soul. This disturbance awakened the Earthfire, prompting it to unleash its fiery might.
It seemed desperate to annihilate President Lyi and the spirit of the Origin Deity within him, eager to resolve the issue swiftly.
Yet, it was oblivious to the fact that its exertion could reduce the entire world to ashes in mere moments.
Nevertheless, it appeared indifferent to such consequences.
As long as the Primal Soul remained unharmed, the annihilation of all life in the Everlands wouldn't even cause it to blink.
"Yu Yuan, you must venture to the Frozen Hellscape or summon Zhong Chichen back to channel more ice energy into the Everlands," Tan Xiaotian instructed urgently after a moment's thought, pointing towards the sea. "I hadn't foreseen that entity being disturbed. Such a being's intellectual development is exceedingly slow. Though it is remarkable, its wisdom is barely childlike compared to the Lunar Meridian."
"It's like a petulant child prone to fits of rage, heedless of the aftermath."
The usually unflappable Tan Xiaotian seemed somewhat at a loss regarding the Earthfire.
"We can't communicate with it, and Mo Baichuan has yet to win its favor. Our best course of action is to employ the ice energy from the Astral Domain to soothe it, to cool its temper. That's precisely why the Wintermaw exists!"
Tan Xiaotian's urgency was palpable.
"If cooling is required," Yu Yuan massaged his forehead, contemplating briefly before nodding in agreement. "I have another candidate in mind."
He dispatched a fragment of his soul consciousness through the Domain Channel at the Moonfall Sanctuary, using the Dragon Slaying Stage as a conduit, then stealthily directed it towards the Ashlands.
Shortly thereafter, Ji Ningshuang, known as the Stardust Blade, emerged at the Moonfall Sanctuary.
"Ah!"
With a chilly demeanor, Ji Ningshuang, encircled by a halo of ice crystals, suddenly appeared in the Domain Channel. Spotting Zhou Huan awaiting her arrival, she declared, "I'll take you to the Frozen Hellscape!"
Nearby, several Boulderdawn cultivators caught sight of a revered member of the Sword Sect and their gazes were tinged with complexity.
In these moments, Lin Daoke had, with his singular power, sealed the heavens and earth, rendering beings as mighty as the God-King Taixu and numerous Otherkin champions utterly immobile.
Soul-Capturing had made it clear that he was on his way to Ionodios for a showdown with Lin Daoke, a confrontation that was sure to capture the attention of the masses.
Amidst such a delicate and pivotal time, Ji Ningshuang, also of the Sword Sect, had somehow found herself in the Moonfall Sanctuary, with Zhou Huan there to greet her in person.
Who else but Yu Yuan could have summoned this esteemed Sword Sect luminary back from the extraterrestrial realms?