Battle Through the Heavens: Reap the Red Lotus Karmic Flame at the Start

As Xiao Yan and his companion slowed down, the oppressive aura emanating from behind intensified dramatically. The Lord of the Void Devouring Flame, who had been relentlessly pursuing them, immediately noticed the change in the two ahead and was secretly delighted.

"Heh...you two little devils, finally too tired to run anymore?"

His chilling laughter rang out, and his figure flickered repeatedly, rapidly closing the distance between him and Xiao Yan. In just a moment, the figure shrouded in black flames became clearly visible, with dark flames swirling around him.

Having reached this point, Xiao Yan simply stopped completely and turned to face the pursuers. Qing Lin followed closely behind, a hint of tension flashing in her emerald eyes, yet she remained firmly positioned behind and to the side of Xiao Yan, her body subtly swirling with energy. She would act immediately should Xiao Yan need her.

"What? You can't run anymore?"

Xiao Yan smiled faintly. With a thought, his Dou Qi quietly circulated within his body, directly connecting to the Heavenly Tomb World.

The fluctuations of this connection did not escape the other party's perception. However, to Xiao Yan's surprise, the Lord of Void Devouring Flame did not intervene, but instead seemed to stop his approach with great interest.

"Then let me see what you want to do?"

After Xiao Yan quickly established contact with the Heavenly Tomb, Xiao Xuan's vast and profound aura emanated from it.

The Lord of the Void Flame sensed this power, and his eyes showed some surprise at first, but then he immediately understood.

"So that's how it is. You plan to use Xiao Xuan against me?"

He scoffed, black flames erupting from his body: "If he were in his prime, I might have been somewhat wary. But now he's nothing but a remnant soul, what can he do to me?"

As the Lord of the Void Devouring Flame was about to make his move, Xiao Xuan's soul power suddenly increased, dragging him in. Rather than dragging him, it was as if the entire Heavenly Tomb space opened its maw, completely engulfing and swallowing the Lord of the Void Devouring Flame.

The perspective shifted rapidly, and the Lord of Void Devouring Flame found himself inside the hazy, gray space of the Heavenly Tomb.

A phantom-like yet towering figure stood with his hands behind his back, his face calm and his gaze as deep as an ancient well.

The two stared at each other across the distance, the air seeming to freeze.

The Lord of the Void Devouring Flame said no more. With a wave of his hand, a black hole appeared in his palm, and a terrifying devouring power swept out, heading straight for Xiao Xuan.

Xiao Xuan's soul power, as deep as an endless abyss, surged out wildly, but he could not escape the huge devouring vortex and could only be continuously absorbed into it.

"It seems that what happened last time gave you excessive confidence, making you think that you can deal with me just because you dealt with the Soul Emperor."

"He came in as a fragment of a soul, but I have come in person."

"Very well, today I will also take your remnant soul and refine it into my fire. It will be quite a unique experience."

While the Lord of the Void Devouring Flame was speaking, Xiao Xuan remained silent. Only after he finished speaking did a smile appear on Xiao Xuan's face.

That was a confident smile that suggested control and understanding of everything.

"Have you said enough, Void Devouring Flame!"

The person opposite was also slightly surprised: "You have good eyesight, you actually saw through me. But it doesn't matter, after all, you're already a dead man."

Xiao Xuan said, enunciating each word clearly, "Then don't forget, this isn't the Soul Realm, but my Heavenly Tomb!"

After speaking, he turned his head for one last look at Xiao Yan's Three Thousand Thunder Illusions. In that glance, there were no instructions, no lingering feelings, only a sense of entrusting everything to him with equanimity.

Then Xiao Xuan parted his lips slightly, and four words came out of his mouth as if they had the force of a thousand pounds.

"Heavenly Tomb, self-destruct!"

"What?"

"How could that be?"

Xiao Xuan's tone remained calm and composed: "This is the grand gift I prepared for the Soul Emperor, but unfortunately, I have to use it on you in the end."

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire Heavenly Tomb came to life.

Then, Xiao Yan's three thousand lightning phantom bodies witnessed an extremely shocking scene: the entire Heavenly Tomb moved at the same time under Xiao Xuan's influence.

The feeling was so peculiar that the space seemed to be boiling and surging like water being boiled.

Xiao Yan's Three Thousand Thunder Illusionary Bodies ultimately only survived for three breaths within the Heavenly Tomb. During those final moments, the Heavenly Tomb underwent tremendous changes with each breath.

In the first breath, the battle qi within the Heavenly Tomb suddenly surged and became extremely violent, with wave after wave of battle qi energy sweeping wildly through the space.

Even just standing inside the Heavenly Tomb, one can feel extremely astonishing changes in battle aura.

At the same time, the entire area around the Heavenly Tomb seemed to be shrinking, with the sky above and the earth below suddenly contracting towards the center, as if being violently pushed and squeezed by a pair of invisible giant hands.

In the second breath, Xiao Yan's Three Thousand Thunder Illusion Body could no longer observe this space with his eyes. The entire world became incredibly distorted, filled with battle qi and the power of the dead.

At the same time, Xiao Yan sensed a fourth existence, which was the fourth energy source besides himself, Xiao Xuan, and the Void Devouring Flame, and that energy had become hotter than ever before.

The sound of space cracking and shattering filled his ears, and Xiao Yan's Three Thousand Thunder Illusionary Bodies felt immense pressure. The entire Heavenly Tomb space contracted further inward, continuously exerting pressure.

In the third breath, the previously shrinking space of the Heavenly Tomb suddenly stopped, and the sudden calm was even more unsettling than the previous turmoil.

The entire Heavenly Tomb no longer contracted inward as it had in the previous two breaths, and the battle qi no longer surged and swept around as before. Instead, it had been completely compressed to an extremely terrifying degree, and the space between heaven and earth was filled with energy.

However, this fighting spirit energy is completely different from the stable fighting spirit energy that can be absorbed. It contains the most disordered, chaotic, and mixed fighting spirit energy.

It was after this third breath that Xiao Yan's Three Thousand Thunder Illusionary Bodies finally gave way and were completely crushed by that energy.

In the last moment before his consciousness faded, he saw Xiao Xuan turn his head and meet his gaze.

When Xiao Yan met his ancestor Xiao Xuan's gaze, he found no frustration or worry in his ancestor's eyes, but rather an extremely calm and relaxed demeanor with a touch of pride.

Then, darkness engulfed everything.

Xiao Yan's consciousness was then completely interrupted, and when he opened his eyes again, he saw Qing Lin guarding him.

He immediately focused his mind to sense the connection between himself and the Heavenly Tomb space, but the faint, lingering connection that had been there before had vanished without a trace.

Everything proves one thing: in order to help the two of them, Ancestor Xiao Xuan decided to sacrifice himself, detonate the Heavenly Tomb Space, and perish together with the Void Devouring Flame!