Mortal: Supreme Being of the Ghost Path

Upon hearing this, Qin Han's brows furrowed without any attempt to hide his expression: "No! What do you mean?"

"Legend has it that the three sacred flames were brought out from the Netherworld by powerful beings of the Ghost Path in ancient times. The Netherworld is the legendary final resting place of the dead and the place where all ghosts return to nothingness; it is not the same space as our world. Later, the world underwent a great change, the passage between the two worlds was severed, and the three sacred flames were lost along with it."

After saying this, the man in black robes spoke with a hint of regret.

"The so-called 'ghost fire' circulating in the cultivation world today is nothing more than ordinary fire condensed from yin energy. Compared with the three sacred fires, it is like fireflies compared to the bright moon."

Upon hearing this, Qin Han nodded thoughtfully, his tone tinged with regret: "That is indeed a pity. If such a sacred fire truly existed, the Ghost Path wouldn't have disappeared from the Inner Sea."

The man in black robes also showed a hint of regret, shaking his head. "Who can argue with that? What a pity, what a pity..."

Qin Han pondered for a moment, then asked, "What about the other two sacred flames? The Netherworld Ghost Flame and the Profound Nether True Flame—have they ever been rumored to have appeared in the mortal world?"

The man in black robes shook his head again: "They've also vanished. According to the sect's records, the last time anyone saw the Xuanming True Fire was probably nearly ten thousand years ago. Since then, no news has been passed down."

Qin Han was secretly surprised, and the plot of the original work involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

Master Xuan Gu, that old monster who has lived for over a thousand years, actually knows the method of fusing with the Asura Sacred Flame. No one knows where he obtained this secret.

"That old demon has quite a few secrets..." Qin Han thought to himself.

Xuan Gu was a renowned figure in the Chaotic Star Sea back then. As the Lord of Xuan Yin Island, he was in charge of a lineage, and the ancient secrets he possessed were probably far more than what he had mentioned.

He knew the method of fusing the Asura Sacred Flame either because it was a classic text passed down from Xuan Yin Island since ancient times, or because he obtained it from some ancient cultivation site during his long lifespan.

Whichever possibility it may be, it is enough to demonstrate the depth of this old devil's power.

"What a pity..." Qin Han sighed inwardly.

According to the original story, after Xuan Gu obtained the Azure Ice Flame in the inner hall, he immediately fled. The Chaotic Star Sea was vast, so he could find a secluded and deserted place in the outer sea to cultivate in seclusion.

Once he returns to the Nascent Soul stage, with the terrifying power of the Asura Sacred Flame, how could he possibly fail to kill a mere Han Li?

Unfortunately, now that I, the "Cheng Yaojin," have appeared out of nowhere, all that old devil is painstakingly planning will ultimately only benefit me!

Just as I was pondering this, a strange rustling sound suddenly came from nearby, followed by a dense series of sounds coming from all directions.

The sound was like countless tiny claws crawling on the ground, dense and close, louder and louder, making one's scalp tingle at first listen!

Qin Han's expression suddenly changed, and he abruptly stopped in his tracks.

The man in black robes also stopped at the same time. The two looked at each other and saw wariness in each other's eyes.

Without saying a word, Qin Han opened his divine sense and quickly spread it outwards.

"Whoosh whoosh-"

Suddenly, countless silver-white figures emerged from the snow!

The small animals shimmered with silver light, their fur appearing as if plated with silver. They were small, only about the size of a fist, resembling mice, but far more agile than ordinary rodents.

What is most striking is that each of them has a short, exquisite silver horn on its head, with a sharp tip that gleams with a cold light, making them appear extremely eerie.

There were hundreds of them, densely packed together!

They swarmed out of the snow one after another, surrounding Qin Han and the man in black robes. Their scarlet eyes stared intently at the two of them, and they squeaked loudly.

"Silver Light Rats?" Qin Han frowned, instantly guessing the origin of these silvery little beasts.

Before Qin Han could react, the nearby silver rats simultaneously let out sharp screechs and transformed into streaks of silver light, shooting towards the two of them like arrows!

The silver horns on their heads flashed with a blinding cold light as they charged at high speed, striking the dark blue protective shields on the two people's bodies with dull, loud bangs, sounding like thunder, with an astonishingly powerful force!

The protective shield began to tremble violently under the intense impact, and cracks on its surface spread at a visible speed, as if it would shatter at any moment.

Seeing this, the man in black robes showed a hint of surprise, then let out a low shout and began to chant incantations. A series of obscure incantations followed, and the Soul-Locking Tower in his hand immediately trembled violently.

The next moment, a more solid, dark blue aura emerged from the tower, repairing and reinforcing the protective shield.

Without saying a word, he raised his hand and a jet-black, ghostly blue aura shot out, heading straight for the swarm of rats in front of him. At the same time, it transformed into a crescent-shaped blue light about half a zhang long!

Seeing the black-robed man make the first move, Qin Han also glanced coldly at the surrounding rats, snorted, and his ghostly mist surged, transforming into countless thin black lines as fine as hair, shooting out in all directions.

"Puff puff puff—"

Wherever the black line passed, dazzling silver ripples shot out from the surface of the Silver Light Rat's body, but it was unable to kill them completely as it had killed the silver snakes before.

It only slightly slowed down their attack.

Upon seeing this, Qin Han's magical power surged forth once more, and the black threads that were originally as thin as hair transformed into the thickness of a finger!

Only then did it pose a real threat to the silver rats. The black threads shot out onto their bodies, but they did not work immediately. Instead, they became locked in a stalemate with the silver light on the small animals' bodies.

But as more and more black threads shot out, the little beasts finally couldn't hold on any longer. The silver light on their bodies instantly dissipated, and they were pierced through on the spot!

In an instant, the first monstrous rats to pounce were all wounded one after another, and let out miserable screechs, completely losing their lives.

However, those small beasts were fearless and charged forward one after another. Once the ones in front were all dead, the ones behind would step over the corpses of their companions and continue to pounce.

Qin Han frowned slightly and increased his mana output.

The black lines grew denser, like raindrops, and strangled all the approaching silver rats.

About half a cup of tea later, the last silver rat that had been attacking Qin Han let out a mournful scream as several black lines pierced its body, and it collapsed helplessly to the ground.

The ground was littered with corpses, and the silver fur of the strange rats was stained with scarlet blood, which stood out even more against the backdrop of the blood-icy forest!

Qin Han withdrew his magic power, his expression returning to normal.

Meanwhile, the black-robed man on the other side also withdrew his magic power, looking down at the corpses of silver rats scattered on the ground, his brows furrowed.

"Silverlight Rat?" He asked with a hint of doubt, turning to look at Qin Han.

Qin Han shook his head and did not speak.

"How could something like this appear in the Mystic Crystal Path? I heard from an elder of our sect who once stormed the Void Heaven Palace that such a bizarre thing shouldn't exist!"

Seeing Qin Han's clueless expression, the man in black robes became somewhat serious.

Upon hearing this, Qin Han turned to look at the man in black robes and said calmly, "Does this beast have any origins, fellow Daoist?"

The man in black robes nodded, his tone grave: "This is a rare demonic beast that lives in icy and snowy lands, with an extremely powerful reproductive ability. Although its individual strength is not particularly high, its collective strength is exceptionally formidable."

After saying that, he looked deeper into the Blood Ice Forest, his tone becoming increasingly heavy, "If we go any deeper, we'll probably encounter an even larger swarm of rats."

Qin Han withdrew his gaze with an unchanged expression and spoke calmly.

"With our combined strength, such a demonic beast is nothing to worry about. Let's continue on our way." He turned and walked forward without looking back, then suddenly added, "We don't have much time left."

The man in black robes watched his retreating figure, remained silent for a moment, a cold glint flashing in his eyes, but it disappeared in an instant, and he followed after him.

The two of them, one after the other, gradually disappeared into the depths of the Blood Ice Forest...