Chapter 774: Failure

The man approached the demonic flames and activated a secret technique to examine them closely.

Although the other party had been very cautious and erased their tracks upon leaving, they couldn't escape his notice. He found subtle clues.

“I tried every method to probe them before, and almost died consumed by the demonic flames. Even a late-Nascent Soul stage old devil would have been helpless. Who could it be? The two late-Nascent Soul experts who entered the Seven Kills Palace this time, the Demonic Lord and the Grand Shaman, entered the Heavenly Pagoda together and are now missing. As for the other old devils, their cultivation is at most comparable to mine, unless they possess ancient secret treasures or cultivate some special demonic art. The demonic flames are no ordinary phenomenon; they weren't naturally formed but are the divine ability of an ancient demon. If someone cultivated a similar ancient demonic art, it might indeed be possible. I know the backgrounds of all these old folks clearly, so is there something I’ve overlooked…?”

The blackness in his eyes receded, returning to normal. He paced back and forth, speculating about the other party’s identity.

“Could the demonic flames have undergone a change, diminishing in power?”

Uncertain and surprised, he suddenly flashed closer to the demonic flames.

As he entered the area enveloped by the demonic flames’ power, a layer of blue flame suddenly appeared on his body. The flame was thin but extremely resilient, like a protective shield.

Protected by the blue flames, he stepped forward, approaching the core of the demonic flames inch by inch.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he entered the range of the demonic flames’ power, his eyes suddenly dimmed and became vacant. A bewildered expression then appeared on his face, as if he was about to lose consciousness.

Just then, he bit down hard on his tongue, the sharp pain jolting him awake. His figure immediately retreated, fleeing in a panic.

He moved far away from the demonic flames, breathing heavily, still filled with lingering fear.

The demonic flames’ power hadn't changed from before. Even before their true inherent power erupted, he had almost succumbed. The bizarre and terrifying methods of ancient demonic cultivators were beyond the comprehension of later generations.

Even with his high cultivation, he couldn't resist it. How did that mysterious person manage it?

He shook his head, staring at the core of the demonic flames. “Never mind that, I’ll try to subdue the demonic flames first! Even if someone else has already claimed the treasure inside, as long as I can harness these demonic flames for my own use, it’s only a matter of time before I dominate the Canglang Sea. I might even have a chance to break through to the Soul Transformation stage. What treasure could I not obtain then?”

Having made up his mind, he sat down cross-legged a distance away from the Nine Nether Demonic Flames.

A blue light first flickered between his eyebrows. Then, a small blue flame actually flew out from his glabella, floating in front of him.

This blue flame was crystal clear, hovering in the void, gently swaying, extremely beautiful.

Maintaining the blue flame seemed to be no easy feat; his face was flushed, and sweat dripped from his temples.

“Go!”

He whispered, his spiritual sense surging.

The blue flame trembled slightly, then floated lightly towards the core of the demonic flames.

He opened his eyes, watching the blue flame with anticipation. Seeing the blue flame successfully cross the distance and float towards the demonic flames' core without dissipating from their aura, he was instantly overjoyed.

The blue flame hovered in front of the demonic flames’ core, its fluctuations more noticeable than before.

Seeing this, he knew that the blue flame wouldn’t withstand the demonic flames’ pressure for long, so he immediately began to circulate his cultivation technique, attempting to subdue the demonic flames.

He continuously changed hand seals, and consequently, a great suction force emerged from within the blue flame, directed at the demonic flames, attempting to draw out a wisp of the demonic flames for the blue flame to devour.

The technique worked; the demonic flames were not provoked. A small flame seemed truly about to detach from the core, and was about to be drawn in by the blue flame.

A look of joy had just appeared on his face.

Just then, a sudden change occurred.

As the demonic flame approached, the blue flame began to tremble violently, the flame shrinking back, seemingly in fear and evasion.

He was greatly alarmed and immediately channeled all his spiritual sense to maintain the blue flame. Unexpectedly, the blue flame suddenly exploded without any warning.

‘Boom!’

Like fireworks, the blue flame shattered completely.

The fragmented flames dissipated into the void, a spectacular sight.

The wisp of demonic flame immediately returned to its original place, and the core of the demonic flames remained unchanged.

At the same time, a tragic scream rang out.

The moment the blue flame exploded, he suddenly shrieked, falling to the ground. He clutched his head tightly with both hands, his body curled into a ball, trembling uncontrollably, clearly enduring immense pain.

After a while, he tremblingly sat up, his hair disheveled, eyes bloodshot, and blood actually flowing from his seven orifices.

Covered in dust, he looked extremely disheveled.

Ignoring his state, he hastily entered meditation to regulate his breathing. It took a while for his breathing to stabilize before he slowly opened his eyes.

“Still no good! Unless I can find more spirit flames to further strengthen the fire seed, but spirit flames of this caliber are rare in the world; I only got news of this one by sheer coincidence before…”

He sighed deeply.

He had failed again.

The blue flame was so terrified of the demonic flames that its fire seed shattered on its own before even making true contact.

As for directly circulating his cultivation technique to condense the demonic flames into a fire seed, he didn’t even dare to consider it. He feared that he would ignite himself before the secret technique was even complete.

He then made several more attempts, failing each time.

Finally, he gave up. He stood up, his gaze shifting to the empty space beside the demonic flames’ core, his eyes gleaming.

“What method did that person use to resist the demonic flames’ power and move back and forth? If I could get my hands on it… there are demonic flames blocking the path outside, and the restrictions inside must be even more terrifying. He might not have been able to take the treasure! Moreover, seeing such top-tier demonic flames, wouldn’t he be tempted? It’s very likely he will return here in the future…”

His eyes suddenly lit up. He then meticulously erased his own tracks, and his figure vanished into thin air.

Silence fell over the canyon once more.

The demonic flames swayed, and poisonous mist drifted.

At the edge of the dense forest.

Qin Sang emerged from behind an ancient tree, looking cautiously at the wilderness.

He had changed his attire and simply didn’t wear his cloak anymore.

As long as Cui Ji and Xiang Yi were alive, he couldn't appear as Daoist Qingfeng again. He wasn't afraid of Cui Ji, but he feared that Xiang Yi had too powerful a background and might mobilize people to secretly harm him.

Xiang Yi and the others had already left the area. Qin Sang didn’t know where to find them, so he decided to attend to his own matters first.

The wilderness stretched endlessly, with no human figures in sight.

Qin Sang moved along the edge of the dense forest, sweeping towards the mountain range.

Before long, he arrived at the first mountain.

This mountain wasn't particularly high, but it stretched endlessly, blocking off both the dense forest and the wilderness, like a high wall forming a clear dividing line.

Beyond this mountain lay endless rolling peaks, filled not only with countless secret realms but also omnipresent dangers.

Some areas were so notorious that their reputations were no less fearsome than the Purple Mist Dead Zone.

His poison-dispelling armor was useless in such places; Qin Sang could only rely on his own caution.

The Heavenly Pagoda was situated behind the mountains. After crossing a few peaks, one could see its silhouette. There was no fixed path from here to the Heavenly Pagoda, but certain dangerous areas could be actively avoided.

Qin Sang took out a simplified topographical map, located his position, and found that entering the mountains from here was a relatively good choice. After planning a route, he set off.