Support me at patreon for 30+ advanced chapters :
patreon.com/YaoIk
**
As Wei Yang moved closer to the black-colored Heavenly Flame, the surrounding temperature rose sharply, and the rate of Dou Qi consumption increased significantly.
Finally, when he was about ten meters away from the black sun, he stopped.
At this distance, it was already quite dangerous.
The originally calm black flames burning atop the black sun began to fluctuate, flickering erratically as its glow became noticeably brighter.
Clearly, Wei Yang's arrival had startled it—or at the very least, caught its attention.
Squinting his eyes, Wei Yang felt the searing light burn his pupils, causing sharp pain as tears involuntarily streamed down his face.
"One hour at this distance!" Wei Yang murmured to himself.
He carefully assessed the rate at which his Dou Qi was being consumed. At this distance, he could hold out for at most one hour before his Dou Qi was entirely depleted.
In this domain, his Dou Qi couldn't be replenished from the outside world—once it was consumed, it was gone.
Unless he resorted to consuming pills.
Experiencing its power at such close range, Wei Yang could now determine that the power of this Heavenly Flame was roughly at the peak of Dou Wang.
However, due to its special abilities, it appeared far more terrifying than a typical peak Dou Wang existence.
In truth, its raw power hadn't yet reached the Dou Huang level.
Furthermore, its intelligence seemed relatively low—perhaps even weaker than the Green Lotus Core Flame.
This was a young flame!
It had not yet matured.
Realizing this, Wei Yang felt both exhilaration and regret.
He was excited because this Heavenly Flame was still in its infancy, meaning it had vast potential for future growth.
Yet, he also felt regretful—its current power was somewhat low, only at the peak of Dou Wang. Raising it to full maturity, or even beyond, would require an immense amount of time and resources.
Then again, if its power had been stronger—reaching the Dou Huang level—the risks of refining it would have increased exponentially.
If that were the case, Wei Yang wouldn't have had the confidence to refine it anytime soon.
There are always trade-offs.
Considering his current strength, this was actually an ideal outcome.
...
Numerous thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant.
"Let's focus on subduing you first!" Wei Yang's gaze burned with intensity as he fixated on the small black sun.
Slowly, he released his soul power, extending it carefully toward the Heavenly Flame and then gradually enveloping it, attempting to seep inside.
Hiss~ hiss~ hiss~
His soul power was being rapidly consumed, as though cold air had encountered a scorching sun.
Wei Yang's expression turned solemn—he dared not be careless. With the utmost caution, he delicately manipulated his soul power, infiltrating it bit by bit.
Throughout this process, the black sun remained motionless, its dark flames gently flickering, seemingly unaware of the impending danger.
Seeing this, Wei Yang licked his lips in excitement and increased the output of his soul power, penetrating deeper into the black sun.
With his late-phase Mortal Realm soul power, he could afford to endure this kind of sustained depletion for a while.
Everything was proceeding smoothly.
The small black sun seemed dazed and unaware, showing no signs of resistance.
"As expected of a young flame—its intelligence is too low." Wei Yang thought to himself.
Time passed slowly.
Finally, the foundation had been laid. Wei Yang's soul power had successfully infiltrated deep inside.
At this moment, he prepared to launch a decisive strike, branding it with his soul imprint to take full control.
However—
BOOM!
As if it had suddenly realized the threat it was under, the black sun's flames erupted violently, surging high into the air as it finally unleashed its power!
Boom—
Instantly, the temperature within the entire domain soared, and the previously faint black glow became blindingly intense.
From within the Heavenly Flame, Wei Yang's soul power sensed a powerful, instinctive resistance.
"Stop struggling. Become my flame! Merge with me and transform into my Natal Flame! In the future, I will take you to the highest peaks, beyond the Dou Qi Continent, into the Great Thousand Worlds, forging an unparalleled legend! That's far better than wasting eternity here alone, don't you think? Jie jie jie~"
Wei Yang reinforced the Dou Qi barrier around his body, thickening it to withstand the Heavenly Flame's scorching heat and ferocious flames, while simultaneously intensifying his soul power output.
His eyes remained tightly shut, but tears poured down his face uncontrollably, streaming down his cheeks.
Yet, his mind was more focused than ever, unleashing an overwhelming surge of soul power that poured into the fiercely burning black sun, relentlessly assaulting its defenses.
The black light grew even more dazzling, and from a distance, the originally dim, shadowy domain had now transformed into absolute darkness, so black it was blinding.
At the center of the crater, a brilliant black sun slowly began to rise.
The black flames surged and expanded, engulfing a dozen meters around them, completely swallowing Wei Yang's figure.
The terrifying heat melted the hardened rock formations on the ground, turning them into molten slag.
—
Far away, beneath a wind-eroded rocky hill…
Xian'er and Qing Lin, who were in the midst of constructing a cave dwelling, sensed the disturbance and immediately stepped outside, looking toward the source.
The blinding black light had already pierced through the crater's boundaries, illuminating their surroundings.
"Careful!"
Xian'er's heart clenched in alarm. She quickly pulled Qing Lin behind her, shielding her as a gray-white Dou Qi barrier materialized around her body to block the invading black light.
Sizzle—sizzle—sizzle!
The black light collided with the gray-white Dou Qi barrier, producing a sharp sizzling noise as the two forces clashed.
For just a fleeting moment, their eyes caught a glimpse of the terrifying scene—but that mere glance was enough to scorch their retinas.
Even though they had immediately shut their eyes, tears streamed uncontrollably, and their vision was completely overwhelmed by black radiance.
They were now temporarily blinded, seeing nothing but darkness.
Retreating quickly, Xian'er dragged Qing Lin back into the cave while still resisting the black light's corrosive effects.
—
Back in the crater.
The surroundings had become a scorching furnace of black flames.
Boom—
The Heavenly Flame raged and burned, its black flames roaring.
Wei Yang's Dou Qi was depleting rapidly, struggling to resist the flames' consumption.
Yet, he remained completely unfazed—in fact, he became even more relentless, pouring everything into his soul power infiltration.
Although the small black sun was resisting fiercely, displaying its wild and untamed nature, Wei Yang wasn't worried at all.
If the Heavenly Flame had launched a desperate struggle from the beginning, it might have caused him significant trouble.
But now…
Wei Yang's soul power had already seeped inside—at this stage, any resistance was meaningless!
After all, this Heavenly Flame was still ownerless, and its intelligence was too low—it was only acting on pure instinct.
No real threat!
Wei Yang was confident that with his powerful soul force, he could gradually overpower and subdue it.
The stalemate continued.
Neither side backed down.
For nearly twenty minutes, the battle raged on—until Wei Yang's face turned slightly pale, and his soul power and Dou Qi were reaching their limits.
Then, suddenly—
Boom!
The barrier he was attacking trembled violently—then, with a sudden breakthrough, he pierced through a final layer of resistance, stepping into a deeper, far more intense black world.
This was the Heavenly Flame's core!
A small, pitch-black sun, only the size of a fist, floated silently at the center of this world, dazzling yet immature.
This was—
The Heavenly Flame's source!
Sensing this, Wei Yang's heart surged with joy.
Like a tidal wave, his soul power surged forward, flooding into the miniature black sun, swiftly establishing complete control over it.
And as his soul power merged with the core—
Everything changed.
The Heavenly Flame's resistance vanished entirely.
The black flames lost their violent nature, growing docile.
A dim, hazy consciousness emerged from the small black sun.
There was still a hint of reluctance, yet also a flicker of curiosity and attachment—
Timid.
Like a newborn infant.
-------------------------------------------------
Support me at patreon for 30+ advanced chapters :
patreon.com/YaoIk