38: The brand backfires, life and death

In the center of the magma lake, Xiao Yan was enveloped in two-colored flames of green and white, his face contorted in pain. The Origin of the Fallen Heart Flame was rampaging through his body, each impact causing his Meridians agonizing pain as if being sliced by a knife.

Lin Chen stood beside Xiao Yan, his left hand pressing firmly on the restless brand on his wrist. The blood-red skull mark squirmed like a living creature, attempting to break free from the confines of his skin. Under the dual suppression of Shadow Erosion Dou Qi and the mixed Heavenly Flame, the brand was temporarily restrained, but the pain of the backlash caused beads of sweat to seep from Lin Chen's forehead.

"Just a little longer..." Lin Chen gritted his teeth and looked at Xiao Yan. At this moment, Xiao Yan had reached a critical juncture in subduing the Heavenly Flame; the Green Lotus Core Flame and the Fallen Heart Flame were forming a delicate balance in his Dantian.

In the distance, the battle between Gu Xun'er and the black-robed Elder Zun entered a white-hot stage. The Golden Emperor Sky Incinerating Flame and black Soul chains intertwined and collided in the air, each clash causing fine cracks to appear in space. Although Xun'er had temporarily unsealed the Seal within her body, gaining the power of a Dou Zong, she was still gradually falling into a disadvantage against the experienced Hall of Souls Elder Zun.

"Little girl, did Gu Yuan not teach you to respect your Seniors?" The black-robed Elder Zun sneered, and seven black rays suddenly shot out from his sleeve. These black rays transformed into seven strangely shaped short swords in the air, their blades covered with runes that devoured Souls.

Xun'er's expression changed slightly, and golden flames formed a shield in front of her. However, those seven short swords actually penetrated the flame defense, striking directly at her vital points!

"Chh!"

A short sword grazed Xun'er's left shoulder, drawing a trail of blood. More terrifyingly, a strange blackness immediately appeared at the wound, and her Soul Power began to drain uncontrollably.

"Soul Devouring Sword?" Xun'er gritted her teeth and retreated, "You actually Cultivated such a sinister Dou Skill!"

The black-robed Elder Zun gave a sinister smile: "It's your honor to die by a secret technique of the Hall of Souls."

Just as he was about to press his advantage, an old voice suddenly rang out: "What kind of skill is it to bully juniors? How about this old man plays with you?"

Space rippled like water, and a gray-robed old man appeared out of thin air. He held a seemingly ordinary wooden staff, but with each step he took, the surrounding Heaven and Earth energy trembled.

"Mang Tianchi!" The black-robed Elder Zun's face finally changed.

The Guardian of Jia Nan Academy, the Dou Zun expert Mang Tianchi! This powerful individual, who usually appeared and disappeared like a Dragon, had actually shown himself at this moment.

"Get out of this old man's territory." Mang Tianchi lightly tapped his wooden staff, and an invisible ripple spread out. The black-robed Elder Zun was struck as if by lightning, retreating dozens of steps, a trace of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

"Good, good, good... You're lucky today!" The black-robed Elder Zun glared venomously at the entire scene, his gaze lingering on Lin Chen for a moment, "However, there's only one fate for a traitor—death!"

He abruptly crushed a black Jade Slip, and a spatial crack instantly appeared, swallowing him. Before leaving, that chilling voice directly echoed in Lin Chen's mind:

"The Hall Master has already locked onto your location. Enjoy your last moments, Shadow Blade..."

Lin Chen's body trembled, and the brand on his left wrist suddenly erupted in a sharp pain, ten times more intense than before! He groaned and fell to his knees, his vision momentarily darkening.

"Lin Chen!" Xun'er ignored the wound on her shoulder and quickly walked over. When she saw the blood-red brand on Lin Chen's wrist, a hint of shock flashed in her golden eyes: "This is... the Hall of Souls's Blood Soul Brand?"

Mang Tianchi also walked over, his brows tightly furrowed: "Troublesome. This is the Hall of Souls's highest-level tracking mark. Once activated, it's a relentless pursuit."

Lin Chen struggled to stand up, a forced, ugly smile on his face: "It's... it's fine. I was prepared..."

He took out the container with the Void Swallowing Flame sub-flame from his storage ring; the black flame inside had already produced a subtle resonance with the Fallen Heart Flame Origin he had collected earlier.

"What are you going to do?" Xun'er asked cautiously.

"Fight fire with fire..." Lin Chen took a deep breath, "The Void Swallowing Flame can devour all things, so it naturally can also devour the Hall of Souls's brand. It's just..."

"Just what?"

"The process will be very painful, and the success rate is less than thirty percent." Mang Tianchi answered the question for Lin Chen, a glint in his old eyes, "Boy, are you sure you want to do this?"

Lin Chen looked at Xiao Yan, who was still absorbing the Heavenly Flame, and nodded: "I have no choice."

Xun'er was silent for a moment, then suddenly raised her hand and sent out a golden light, setting up a barrier around Lin Chen: "I will act as your Protector, but if I detect any unusual movements from you..."

"Understood." Lin Chen sat down cross-legged, placing the container in front of him. He first took out a few Medicinal Pills and consumed them, then began to form hand Seals. As the Seals changed, the black flame in the container slowly floated out, hovering above his left wrist.

"Begin."

Mang Tianchi sighed, lightly tapped his wooden staff on the ground, and a gentle energy enveloped Lin Chen: "This old man will lend you a hand."

Lin Chen nodded gratefully, then abruptly pressed his left wrist towards the black flame!

"Chhh—!"

The sound of flesh burning was grating. The moment the black flame touched the blood-red brand, it erupted in a dazzling red light. Lin Chen's entire body trembled violently, veins bulging on his forehead, but he clenched his teeth, refusing to cry out in pain.

What kind of pain was this? It was as if a thousand ants were gnawing at his bone marrow, or a dull knife was slowly slicing his Soul. Lin Chen's vision began to blur, and his consciousness gradually sank into darkness...

"Hold on!" Mang Tianchi's shout exploded in his ears like thunder, "Once you lose consciousness, your Soul will be devoured by the brand!"

Lin Chen fiercely bit the tip of his tongue, the sharp pain temporarily clearing his mind. He looked at his left wrist, only to see the black flame and the blood-red brand engaged in a fierce struggle. The brand struggled like a living creature, even emitting a sharp shriek.

"It's not enough..." Lin Chen tremblingly took out a small bottle, which contained the Fallen Heart Flame Origin he had collected earlier. He unhesitatingly guided this wisp of white flame towards the brand as well.

"Are you crazy?!" Xun'er exclaimed, "Two Heavenly Flames entering your body at once, you'll be burned to ashes!"

Lin Chen didn't answer, as the extreme pain had already rendered him speechless. When the white flame joined the battle, three types of energy formed a delicate balance at his wrist. The black flame devoured, the white flame purified, and the blood-red brand gradually faded under their combined assault.

This process was slow and cruel. Every second felt like a century, Lin Chen's skin began to crack, and blood seeped from his pores, turning him into a blood-soaked figure.

Just as he was about to collapse, a cool energy suddenly came from behind him. Lin Chen struggled to turn his head, seeing that Xiao Yan had somehow completed the Heavenly Flame absorption and was pressing a hand on his back, gently transferring two-colored flames of green and white into his body.

"Don't get distracted!" Xiao Yan whispered, "Use the method Old Yao taught me to guide the Heavenly Flames!"

Lin Chen closed his eyes, and following Xiao Yan's guidance, he introduced the energy of the Green Lotus Core Flame and the Fallen Heart Flame into his Meridians. Although these two Heavenly Flames were domineering, they were unusually docile under Xiao Yan's control, flowing through his body like two swimming Dragons, repairing his damaged Meridians.

Time passed by minute by minute. When the afterglow of the setting sun fell upon the volcanic cluster, the blood-red brand on Lin Chen's left wrist finally let out a silent shriek, completely dissipating into the black flame.

"It worked..." Mang Tianchi let out a long sigh of relief, withdrawing the protective barrier.

Lin Chen collapsed to the ground, all his strength seemingly drained. But his eyes sparkled with an unprecedented brilliance—the Hall of Souls brand that had troubled him for so long was finally eradicated!

"Thank you." He looked at Xiao Yan, speaking sincerely.

Xiao Yan shook his head, his face equally pale: "We're even."

Xun'er walked over and handed each of them a bottle of Medicinal Pills: "Recover a bit, things aren't over yet."

She pointed to the distant sky. In the overcast sky, several figures could be vaguely seen rapidly approaching. Judging by their aura, there were at least three Dou Zong-level experts!

"Hall of Souls's reinforcements..." Mang Tianchi snorted coldly, "They truly don't know what's good for them."

The old Headmaster was about to make a move, but Lin Chen suddenly spoke: "Wait! Those people... aren't from the Hall of Souls!"

Everyone looked intently and indeed found that the figures' attire was completely different from the Hall of Souls. Leading them was a red-haired old man, surrounded by scorching flames, his aura even stronger than that of the black-robed Elder Zun.

"It's people from the Burning Flame Valley!" Xiao Yan recognized their identity, "Why would they be here?"

Lin Chen's heart stirred, remembering a certain plot point from the original novel. The Burning Flame Valley had always been searching for Advanced Heavenly Flames, and the news of the Fallen Heart Flame's unrest had clearly attracted their attention.

"Troubles are coming one after another..." Mang Tianchi sighed, "Boys, prepare to retreat. Although this old man isn't afraid of them, once a battle starts, this mountain range won't be preserved."

Xiao Yan nodded, helping Lin Chen up: "Can you walk?"

"No problem." Lin Chen managed to stand up, but stumbled after just two steps. The consumption from clearing the brand far exceeded expectations; he couldn't even circulate his Dou Qi normally now.

Xiao Yan, without another word, directly carried Lin Chen on his back: "Hold on tight!"

The group quickly retreated towards the outskirts of the mountain range. Behind them, the people from the Burning Flame Valley had already discovered their tracks and were accelerating their pursuit.

"Split up!" Mang Tianchi made a decisive decision, "I'll take Xiao Yan and Lin Chen to the east, Xun'er and Zi Yan to the west, and Su Qian and the rest of you to the south. We'll rendezvous at Jia Nan Academy!"

Everyone had no objections and immediately split up. Mang Tianchi waved his sleeve, and spatial power enveloped Xiao Yan and Lin Chen, instantly disappearing from their original spot.

...

The sensation of spatial travel was not pleasant. When Lin Chen's feet touched solid ground again, he was already in an unfamiliar forest. The afterglow of the setting sun filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting mottled light and shadows on the ground.

"Where is this?" Xiao Yan vigilantly looked around.

"The Misty Forest on the edge of the Black-Corner Region." Mang Tianchi put away his wooden staff, "Those guys won't find this place for a while."

Lin Chen leaned against a large tree and sat down, recuperating with difficulty. Without the restraint of the Hall of Souls brand, the circulation of his Shadow Erosion Dou Qi was much smoother than before, but his body's exhaustion would not recover in a short time.

"Boy, the Dou Qi in your body is a bit strange." Mang Tianchi suddenly stared at Lin Chen and said, "It's neither a common attribute nor purely dark-elemental..."

Lin Chen's heart tightened. The secret of Shadow Erosion Dou Qi was one of his biggest trump cards, and he hadn't expected Mang Tianchi to see through it with a single glance.

"Senior has a Wisdom Eye." He replied cautiously, "This is a special Cultivation Technique I obtained by chance."

Mang Tianchi gave him a meaningful look, not pressing further: "Rest for the night, and we'll head back to the Academy tomorrow."

In the dead of night, Lin Chen quietly opened his eyes. Mang Tianchi was meditating not far away, and Xiao Yan was sleeping against a rock. After confirming that neither of them was paying attention to him, Lin Chen took out a black crystal from his storage ring.

He had picked this up by the magma lake during the chaos. Inside the crystal, a very subtle wisp of Void Swallowing Flame sub-flame was sealed, even purer than what he had collected before.

"Finally got it..." A hint of excitement flashed in Lin Chen's eyes. With this, he could attempt to Cultivate the true "Dark Shadow Soul Binding Art," and even... reverse-track the Hall of Souls's strongholds!

Carefully putting the crystal away, Lin Chen was about to continue recuperating when he suddenly felt a pang in his heart. He abruptly looked up, only to see a blurry figure silently watching him from a nearby treetop.

Under the moonlight, the person's silver mask gleamed coldly—it was the Silver Masked Man who had escaped earlier!

Lin Chen's entire body tensed, but the Silver Masked Man showed no intention of attacking. He simply raised a finger to his mask, making a "shush" gesture, then tossed over a Jade Slip.

Lin Chen subconsciously caught the Jade Slip, and when he looked up again, the Silver Masked Man had vanished without a trace, as if he had never appeared.

"What's going on..." Lin Chen frowned, looking at the Jade Slip in his hand. His Soul Power cautiously probed into it, and a piece of information immediately appeared in his mind:

"The Hall of Souls has issued a kill order against you. A Human-level Protector will arrive in the Black-Corner Region within three days. If you wish to live, go alone to the old site of the Black Skull Tomb tomorrow at noon. —Shadow Enchantment"

Shadow Enchantment? Lin Chen recalled for a moment; this seemed to be the Silver Masked Man's codename in the Hall of Souls. Why would he help him? Could this be a trap?

Countless questions swirled in his mind, but Lin Chen knew that, whether true or false, this was an important clue. A Human-level Protector of the Hall of Souls was at least a Dou Zun-level expert, and he was currently powerless to contend with one.

"It seems... I'll have to make two sets of preparations." Lin Chen's gaze fell on the sleeping Xiao Yan, and a plan gradually formed in his mind.

After tomorrow, he would completely embark on a path entirely different from the original novel. And awaiting him on this path were crises more terrifying than death, as well as unprecedented... opportunities!