Cold Flame

It sounded as though something had exploded. Qin Sang’s heart gave a violent jolt, his chest constricting. His escape light wavered before stabilizing, and he turned to look back in sheer horror. Such a massive disturbance was beyond even a great demon in the late Demon Core stage! What was more, hard on the heels of that deafening roar came an enraged howl from the great demon, laced with agonizing pain. By now, the sun had sunk in the west, leaving only a lingering smear of twilight. The sky had grown dim. Over the eastern sea, a pinpoint of crystalline blue light suddenly flared, standing out with striking brilliance against the horizon where water met sky. The blue light grew brighter and swelled outward, then abruptly erupted. In an instant, the blinding blue glow illuminated that expanse of sea as bright as day. Qin Sang was forced to squint, yet he kept his gaze glued unblinkingly to the sphere of light. A slender beam of blue light shot from the radiant cluster, soaring straight into the firmament! The shadow of the moon hung in the sky, and the beam seemed to race straight toward it. At that moment, Qin Sang felt his surroundings turn even darker, his mouth gaping open, unable to close for a long time. Towering waves rose in succession, and the entire sea surface trembled. Before long, the beam of light exhausted its momentum and slowly drifted back down. Flecks of afterglow scattered like starlight, dissipating in the wind just like the fireworks of his past life—a truly breathtaking sight. Qin Sang finally saw it clearly: the source of the blue light was actually some form of blue spiritual fire, and those falling points of starlight were individual tongues of flame. *Could this be spiritual fire hidden deep within the subterranean cavern? It was staying quietly down there without the slightest sign of trouble—how could it erupt so suddenly? Either the great demon inadvertently triggered a restriction inside the cave, or those cultivators caused it by deliberately releasing the spiritual fire. Getting out early was indeed wise. That cavern was definitely far more than just a Nascent Soul cave dwelling...* Qin Sang swallowed hard, feeling secretly alarmed yet thankful. He stared fixedly at the spiritual fire. Even after the explosion subsided, a layer of blue light still permeated the night sky and the sea to the east. The fire had shrunk back to its original cluster size, yet it was still roiling violently—now expanding, now contracting, never settling. It was clearly fiercely tempestuous, far from as gentle and lovely as its appearance suggested. Only then did Qin Sang notice that a layer of ice had actually formed across the sea around the spiritual fire. He saw waves frozen in the very instant they crested, turning into solid blocks of ice. The sea breeze blowing from that direction had also turned piercingly cold. *Freezing the surface of the sea and affecting such a vast expanse of water—what terrifying power! So my previous guess was correct after all. This spiritual fire must be a type of cold flame. The cold mist is related to it and carries its aura, which is why the Nine Nether Demonic Fire reacted so strongly.* Qin Sang muttered to himself, inwardly comparing this cold flame to the Qingyang Demonic Sect’s Ancestral Holy Fire. Among the spiritual fires he had encountered, the Nine Nether Demonic Fire was sealed within a magic treasure, while the Nanming Li Fire had only been an overflowing trace of demon fire power—its core was supposedly tiny, and he had never seen it in person. Only the Ancestral Holy Fire, dancing wildly upon Divine Astral Peak, had he seen with complete clarity. Because of the great distance, he could not accurately gauge the aura of this cold flame, but judging solely from the sheer momentum of its eruption, it was likely not inferior to the Ancestral Holy Fire. This indicated that the cold flame possessed astonishing power on par with at least the Nascent Soul level! *Did Master Dongming build his cave dwelling here precisely to subdue this cold flame? He vanished so suddenly that he didn't even have time to take his treasures. Could it be that something went wrong while trying to subdue the flame, and he died inside after suffering a backlash?* Knowing so little, he could only make wild guesses. Qin Sang hovered in midair, gazing toward the cold flame. *Aside from that agonizing scream, the great demon hasn't made another sound, nor has there been any sign of the cultivators. Could they have all died the moment the cold flame erupted?* Qin Sang hesitated, uncertain whether the cold flame had truly settled down. If he drew near and another explosion occurred, he would end up throwing his own life away. Yet his heart was thoroughly tempted by the cold flame. In the past, Patriarch Kuiyin had subdued the Nine Nether Demonic Fire and refined the Ten Directions Yanluo Banners, shaking the Lesser Cold Domain with his might. After learning the full history of the Nine Nether Demonic Fire and the Ten Directions Yanluo Banners, Qin Sang had been deeply envious, constantly harboring the hope that he might follow Patriarch Kuiyin's example and subdue a spiritual fire of his own. If he could master this cold flame, his strength would immediately leap across countless tiers. With his modest cultivation, Qin Sang was unsure whether he could contend against a Nascent Soul expert by relying on the cold flame, but proclaiming himself the strongest under the Nascent Soul realm would be completely beyond doubt. *Could a terrifying cold flame like this truly be controlled by a mere Core Formation cultivator like me?* Qin Sang had no confidence at all. Patriarch Kuiyin's method of subduing demonic fire was difficult to replicate; he had happened upon a treasure capable of restraining the Nine Nether Demonic Fire, and even with his profound cultivation, it had taken him over a century of painstaking study to devise that method. Leaving aside whether he could find a treasure to restrain the cold flame, even if he did, Qin Sang was not confident he could craft a magic treasure to rival the Ten Directions Yanluo Banner. *Taking a look from a distance to broaden my horizons shouldn't hurt. Even if I can't subdue it now, I might find a way in the future. With the spiritual fire hidden here, the chances of other cultivators discovering it are slim...* With this thought, Qin Sang’s figure flickered as he turned and sped back the way he had come. Unexpectedly, before he had flown far and well before reaching the cold flame, Qin Sang’s expression shifted, and he came to an abrupt halt. His eyes flashed like lightning. After a sweeping glance, he fixed his gaze tightly onto an expanse of ice. An extremely faint cracking sound came from beneath it, growing steadily louder. Immediately after, the entire sheet of ice burst open, sending ice shards flying in all directions as a massive silhouette broke free. The great demon wasn't dead! Qin Sang was startled and prepared to retreat, yet to his surprise, he noticed the great demon’s body was far smaller than before. Looking closer, the lower portion of the great demon's body had actually vanished, almost as though it had been severed at the waist like a human. Even its remaining upper half was covered in wounds, its flesh torn and mangled. Blood-red icicles bristled from the wounds, dropping onto the sea and diffusing into pools of bloody water. *Roar!* Having broken free, the great demon let out an enraged bellow. Despite suffering such catastrophic injuries, it was still alive, though its aura was far weaker than before. It cast a terrified glance at the cold flame, swung its upper body around, and fled into the distance without hesitation, heading back toward its lair. Watching this scene unfold, Qin Sang’s eyes flickered repeatedly. Aside from the great demon, no one else was anywhere to be seen. But judging from the demon's wretched state, one could easily imagine the explosive power of the cold flame; the likelihood of those cultivators surviving was virtually nil. *If I cannot subdue the cold flame, obtaining a late Demon Core stage demon core would still be an astounding harvest.* Though the great demon appeared gravely wounded, its strength was still not to be underestimated. Qin Sang quickly took stock of his capabilities and decided to give it a try. With that in mind, he pivoted without hesitation and pursued the great demon. The Blood Filth Divine Light was of little use against demon beasts, so Qin Sang did not summon the ebony sword. Instead, he opened his palm, and three Ten Directions Yanluo Banners quietly slipped into his grip. At the same time, two Flying Yakshas stood ready at his command. When battling a demon beast in the ocean, one could not afford the slightest carelessness.