Chapter 1499: The Skies Stir in All Directions

With a thunderous boom, when the nine brilliant stars in the sky formed a straight line, a powerful energy fluctuation instantly arose, spreading across the land. Then, countless strange mists emerged from the void, and faintly, the sound of surging tides could be heard echoing through the heavens and earth.

“The celestial tidal waves indeed match the prophecy of the ancient map,” said Xiao Yan, slowly rising from the treetop and gazing at the mist that filled the entire world, muttering to himself.

“Whoosh!”

As Xiao Yan spoke, several beams of light swiftly flew over from the Star Boundary, flickering and appearing beside him. It was none other than Elder Pharmacist and the others.

“The Demon Fire is about to descend upon this world…” said Elder Pharmacist gravely as he landed beside Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan nodded. Starting tomorrow, countless powerhouses would flock to where the Mysterious Lotus Demon Fire was descending, driven by the mere wind of the news. Many knew they didn’t have the ability to subdue the Mysterious Lotus Demon Fire, but everyone harbored a sliver of hope. After all, whoever could obtain and refine the Mysterious Lotus Demon Fire would see their strength skyrocket. When facing an opponent with a level far above their own, they could still easily defeat them. The temptation was too great.

“When shall we set out?” asked Elder Pharmacist.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan hesitated slightly, just about to speak when his expression suddenly changed. He abruptly raised his head and looked towards the northwest direction in the darkness. In the distant sky, a sudden burst of intense light erupted, containing an extremely terrifying temperature. The ripple spread out, covering an unknown range. Even here at the Starfall Pavilion, one could feel a heat welling up from the depths of their hearts.

“This is the descent of the Mysterious Lotus Demon Fire,” Elder Pharmacist took a deep breath, noticing the unusual phenomenon. He hadn’t expected the Demon Fire to break free from its seal so eagerly.

“Bang, bang!”

Xiao Yan pressed his forehead with his palm. At that moment, the strange light orb floating in his mind once again began to ripple violently.

“Phew…”

Exhaling a long breath, Xiao Yan focused his mind and gradually suppressed the strange movements of the light orb. With his current soul force at the peak of Heavenly State, although he still couldn’t penetrate the light orb, suppressing it wasn’t much of a problem.

“Let’s set out now. Regardless, we should go there and see the situation first…”

Having suppressed the light orb’s fluctuations, Xiao Yan’s gaze flickered, and he said in a deep voice. The speed at which the Demon Fire descended was much faster than he had expected. Presumably, the various powerhouses were already on their way, and they also needed to arrive quickly. Even if they did not take the initiative, they needed to discern the situation as soon as possible.

Elder Pharmacist was stunned, then quickly whistled loudly. The whistle echoed through the brightly lit Star Boundary, and numerous figures hurriedly flew over from all directions, finally hovering in the sky. At the very front was the Great Elder of the Lesser Dan Tower, the Ancestor of Fire Cloud, and the two Immortals of the Flower Sect…

“This trip is of utmost importance. Two days ago, I invited them all,” Elder Pharmacist smiled at Xiao Yan and explained.

Xiao Yan nodded slightly. With more people, their chance of success in seizing the Mysterious Lotus Demon Fire was greater.

“Fellows, this journey is fraught with danger. If you encounter unbeatable peril, retreat immediately. Our priority is preserving our strength,” Xiao Yan said in a grave tone. These powerhouses were essentially the elite forces of the alliance. If they suffered too great a loss, the alliance would be severely weakened. Seizing the Mysterious Lotus Demon Fire was important, but not worth meaningless sacrifices.

“Yes!” Upon hearing this, the many figures in the sky all responded in unison. With Xiao Yan’s current strength and reputation, he was no less significant than Elder Pharmacist in the alliance. No one would dare to defy his words.

“Go!” Seeing this, Xiao Yan wasted no more words. He waved his hand, and his figure turned into a beam of light, swiftly flying out of the Star Boundary and dashing towards the place where the Demon Fire descended. Behind him, a large group followed, darkly streaking across the sky, hot on his heels.

As the Starfall Pavilion began to mobilize, on the mainland, various major sects and influential forces dispatched large numbers of people, who flew with whooshing sounds, one after another, heading surprisingly uniformly towards the northwest of the Central Region!

In just one night, the entire Central Region was thrown into a frenzy…

“Whoosh!”

Suddenly, the sound of cutting wind rose in the sky, and a large number of figures flew over from the distant horizon.

“We’re about to enter the thousand-mile radius of the Demon Fire’s descent…” Xiao Yan lifted his head, gazing toward the distant brilliance. Blinding light like a scorching sun continuously emitted, and as they drew nearer, waves of terrifying heat washed over them. Despite the fact that all those who came were no weaklings, many were still drenched in sweat.

“No wonder it’s the Mysterious Lotus Demon Fire. Just the residual heat it emits is enough to make these six-star Dou Zuns struggle to resist…”

Xiao Yan’s gaze swept over the figures behind him, and his brows furrowed. Six-star Dou Zuns were top-tier experts on the mainland, yet such strength could only resist the residual heat radiating from afar. This showed just how terrifying the Mysterious Lotus Demon Fire truly was.

“Xiao Yan, on this journey, we’ve encountered at least ten groups of teams. Their goal is clearly the Mysterious Lotus Demon Fire. It seems this will be a truly shocking contest,” Zi Yan’s beautiful eyes swept around, then she spoke.

Xiao Yan nodded slightly. On the way, they had indeed met many teams with the same purpose, but he didn’t think much of it. Though their strength wasn’t weak, they were still too inferior to seize the Mysterious Lotus Demon Fire.

“I wonder if the Soul Palace and other ancient races have arrived yet…”

Xiao Yan gazed into the distance, and this thought flashed through his mind. Then, he waved his hand again, commanding, “Speed up.”

A thousand miles was a matter of mere minutes for experts like Xiao Yan. Although there was a large group following, they reached the rugged mountains where the Demon Fire descended in about twenty minutes. However, when Xiao Yan reappeared, the lush mountains he had seen before were gone, replaced by a vast milky-white desert. A terrifying heat rose from the desert, distorting the space within a few thousand miles.

“What a terrifying Mysterious Lotus Demon Fire, to reduce such a vast mountain range to a desert…”

Elder Pharmacist couldn’t help but gasp, his face filled with shock as he gazed at the enormous desert.

Xiao Yan nodded slightly. Flames surged from his body, enveloping the entire group, which alleviated the burning sensation on their skin. Then, he looked up at the distant sky, where the space had already ruptured. A milky-white glow poured out from the cracked space, exuding a temperature that even souls could not endure.

“The space sealing the Mysterious Lotus Demon Fire has ruptured, but the Demon Fire hasn’t come out. It must still be inside that space, and this milky-white light is just some residual warmth…”

Xiao Yan spoke softly, observing the scene.

“Residual warmth…”

Even Zi Yan, with her formidable strength, couldn’t help but change her expression. If a little residual heat could turn a mountain range into a desert, what kind of horror awaited inside that space?

“Whoosh, whoosh!”

Shortly after Xiao Yan and the others appeared over the desert, breaking wind sounds came from all directions. Figures halted far from the ruptured space, their gazes filled with shock as they looked at the milky-white desert. They all knew that, before tonight, this had been a range of flourishing mountains…

“From the look of things, obtaining the Mysterious Lotus Demon Fire may require entering that space…”

Elder Pharmacist watched the space for a long time before speaking.

“There’s no need to rush. That space must be filled with peril. We are not fit to be the first to enter…”

Xiao Yan shook his head. He, too, felt a strong sense of crisis. If they rashly entered, only a few might survive the ordeal…

Elder Pharmacist nodded. As an Alchemist, he could sense how terrifying that ruptured space was.

“Ah.”

As Xiao Yan and the others waited quietly, the space suddenly squirmed, and thick black fog seeped out, spreading a terrifying aura that immediately drew the attention of everyone present.

Under the watchful eyes of all, the source of the black fog was observed. After a while, the fog dissipated, revealing several figures, slowly materializing in everyone’s sight.

“Is that… the Hall Master of the Soul Palace?”

Elders Pharmacist and the others’ pupils constricted as they gazed at the robed figure at the forefront, emanating a horrifying presence. Their Dou Qi began to circulate silently within them.