N-A-A 532. Mutual Devouring
532. Mutual Devouring
Xiao Yan looked at the black threads in front of him, and realized that Mu Gu wanted to use the cage in front of him to trap him.
The enormous black flame palm slowly descended, its center aimed at him. The immense pressure generated a rapidly circulating wind, causing the ground beneath Xiao Yan's feet to begin to collapse.
In response, Xiao Yan channeled his Dou Qi into his right arm. He hadn't used his Devouring Power in the previous battles, but today the power within his right arm had exhibited unusual behavior. He didn't know what the consequences would be if he used it, so he wanted to use other abilities to temporarily subdue Mu Gu.
However, this mysterious black flame is truly troublesome. Even though he still possesses many techniques, anything involving battle qi or soul power could easily lead to him being devoured by the black flame. If he doesn't want to continue providing nourishment to the black flame, the best course of action right now is to devour it in return.
Without hesitation, Xiao Yan activated the hidden power in his right hand, and a flame drawn by black light appeared out of thin air behind him.
A black vortex that could devour anything appeared in Xiao Yan's palm. As he poured his Dou Qi into it, the vortex suddenly expanded, and the space at its edge collapsed silently. Even the light was torn into spiral-shaped bands of light and disappeared into it, making it deep and terrifying!
Nothingness swallows the heavens!
"This is!? Absolutely impossible!" Upon seeing this, Mu Gu was also speechless with disbelief.
The enormous fiery hand moved even faster, crashing down with a deafening roar, unleashing the full devouring power contained within its black flames. Xiao Yan's vortex, however, was equally formidable, devouring against devouring!
The moment the two devouring forces collided, time seemed to stretch out. The central area was briefly drained clean, not even the air was spared—a sight Xiao Yan had never witnessed before.
"Swallow them all!" Xiao Yan roared.
The black vortex in his palm suddenly swelled several times over, transforming into a colossal abyss that stretched across the heavens and earth, abruptly severing half of the surging black flames before him. This massive increase instantly shattered the previously balanced situation.
Seeing his attack blocked by Xiao Yan for the first time, Mu Gu finally understood why he had been sent to deal with Xiao Yan.
"If I die, you won't live either!"
Mu Gu had lost all reason at this moment. The black flame giant he had transformed into let out a deafening shriek, and the flames burned even more fiercely. Mu Gu's broken body was completely reduced to ashes and disappeared.
The five-zhang-tall body exploded with a deafening roar, countless viscous, dark flames intertwining in the air to form a black net that blotted out the sky. At the center of each flame was a twisted human face—the souls of countless innocent alchemists devoured by Mu Gu over the years. All of them were unconscious, their gaping maws, filled with fangs, lunging at Xiao Yan. Where the black net enveloped, rocks turned into boiling magma, and space itself crumbled like a shattered mirror.
A sickening cracking sound erupted between the two, and the space within a hundred-foot radius completely collapsed, revealing chaotic void currents. Mu Gu's skull flickered in and out of existence amidst the black flames: "Xiao Yan, accompany me to the endless abyss!"
"Ha, just a mere remnant soul. Mu Gu, your days of swaggering are over!"
Xiao Yan's Dou Qi was almost instantly drained, and the black flame phantom behind him now seemed alive. Xiao Yan's entire right arm turned pure black. The devouring power within the vortex intensified once more, and countless alchemist souls transformed into black flames, none able to escape the pull of this black vortex. Mu Gu's skull was filled with resentment, but it was still no match for the bottomless, enormous vortex. Mu Gu, along with the black flames ignited by his own remains, plunged into the endless black abyss.
Xiao Yan then forcefully channeled his Dou Qi, immediately escaping from the chaotic void. After all, he had already reached the Dou Zun realm, and was no longer helpless when faced with spatial difficulties as he had been before.
Upon returning to the Cloud Mist Mountains, Xiao Yan immediately sat cross-legged. At this moment, Xiao Yan had no mind to lament Mu Gu's fate, because he too had encountered a huge problem. His entire right arm had turned into bare white bones, yet it still managed to withstand the eerie black flames that kept gushing out.
Xiao Yan's right arm flesh was rapidly melting away under the erosion of the black flames, and his white finger bones crackled and popped in the flames. Amidst the acrid smell and the sound of burning flesh, only the skeleton burning with black flames remained of his arm. The flames surged wildly along the joints of his bone marrow. If Xiao Yan hadn't forcibly resisted with his fighting spirit, the black flames would have rushed into his body.
Normally, whatever it devoured would either dissipate into nothingness or be transformed into energy to nourish itself. But this time, when Xiao Yan fought desperately against Mu Gu in the final moments, all those black flames were also devoured.
Xiao Yan witnessed firsthand how Mu Gu, a dignified Dou Zun, was completely devoured by the black flames in a short time, leaving not a trace behind. He himself was now helpless; his transplanted Dou Sheng arm could withstand the flames for a short time, but in the long run, he too might become fuel for the fire.
Just thinking about that scene sent a chill down Xiao Yan's spine.
He tentatively tried to control the rising Red Lotus Heart Flame within his body, and the two flames merged together at Xiao Yan's shoulder. This time, the Red Lotus Heart Flame, which Xiao Yan was personally controlling, was not directly devoured, but a sharp pain came from his shoulder.
The two forces collided violently at his shoulder blades, causing him to spit out a mist of blood from his mouth and nose, and dozens of fine, bloody gashes to burst open on his skin.
"No." Xiao Yan also withdrew the Red Lotus Heart Flame. They could clash, but his body was not suitable to be their battlefield and could not withstand such an impact.
"We have no choice but to try the Burning Technique." The situation was extremely critical, and Xiao Yan made a decision immediately.
This black flame was truly terrifying, and its origin was unknown. If given the choice, Xiao Yan really wouldn't want to draw it into his body, as it was tantamount to inviting a wolf into his house.
But this black flame seemed to devour everything, and he couldn't think of any other way to control it, so he could only try the Burning Technique. Logically speaking, any flame should be able to be absorbed by the Burning Technique.
"Let's see what you, this ownerless, lifeless thing, can do to me!"
Xiao Yan gritted his teeth and simply released control of his right arm, letting the black flames surge back into his body. At the same time, the Burning Technique was also activated.
The black figure in mid-air had been coldly observing everything, but now, seeing Xiao Yan's actions, a hint of almost human excitement finally appeared in his lazy and casual voice: "Sure enough, it's this damn technique."