7: Chapter 7 The Domain of Withering and Flourishing Flames

In this space, the Nine-Colored Emperor Flame sat in the center, burning quietly.

At the edge of the Emperor Flame, a gray-green flame tightly wrapped in its fiery glow and unable to break free appeared strikingly out of place and discordant.

This was his Spirit Origin Space!

As for that gray-green flame, it was naturally the Withered-Prosperous Dragon Fire that he hadn't had time to refine yet.

Apart from that, what was even stranger was that a gray-green thread was wrapped around the Emperor Flame at this moment.

It was unknown where the thread originated from, but its end was tightly connected to the Emperor Flame, exuding an eerie yet blazing aura.

Seeing this, Lin Yan did not hesitate and traced his consciousness further along the thread.

Following an instinctual sense, after passing through an invisible membrane that seemed to be woven from countless rules, his consciousness stepped into another unfamiliar space.

This space was lightless, colorless, formless, and phaseless. Since his consciousness had entered, there was no such thing as "observing," yet he could clearly sense everything around him.

As soon as he entered, a flood of chaotic information began pouring into his consciousness.

[Fire Breath: Charge power for three seconds, exhaling a scorching fire ray that deals linear area flame damage]

[Fire Armor: Condense fire to form armor covering the upper body, increasing defense while inflicting fire burns on close-combat attackers]

This information flooding his consciousness consisted of descriptions of various Spirit Abilities.

Naturally, this was the Origin Space of the spirit ring, and also the Soul Skill Rule Space that contained all the Bloodline information of this Withered-Prosperous Fire Dragon!

As for why Lin Yan was able to skillfully find his way here, it dated back to the first time he absorbed a spirit ring.

Back then, when he absorbed a spirit ring for the first time, he was curious about the mechanism by which a spirit ring generated a Spirit Ability.

Thus, during the process of absorbing the spirit ring, he deliberately lit the Prajna Heart Lamp, attempting to use its divine light of wisdom to comprehend the internal structure of the spirit ring.

Unfortunately, the spirit ring was not yet fully absorbed at the time, and its connection to him was still very weak. Penetrating it to perceive anything was extremely difficult, so in the end, he discovered nothing.

Just as he was about to give up, a flash of inspiration struck his mind.

Under the illumination of the Prajna Heart Lamp's divine light of wisdom, he first found his own Spirit Origin Space.

Then, following the connection between his Spirit and the spirit ring, he naturally "slipped" into the spirit ring's Origin Space.

Later, after deep investigation, he came to understand the true nature of this space and grasped the essence of how Spirit Abilities were formed.

Within the Soul Skill Rule Space lay all the Bloodline Legacy information of a Spirit Beast from ancient times to the present.

Of course, over long stretches of time, it was inevitable that some Bloodline information would be lost completely.

Otherwise, Lin Yan would only need to find any sub-dragon or sub-phoenix to trace his way back to the Dragon God or Phoenix Ancestor, and wouldn't need to look for lower-tier Spirit Beasts that clearly inherited a portion of a formidable Divine Beast's Bloodline.

These pieces of Bloodline information were essentially countless fragments of Laws flowing deep within the Spirit Beast's Bloodline.

When a human absorbed a spirit ring, certain fragments of Laws would attract and merge with the Spirit, eventually solidifying into the spirit ring to produce a Spirit Ability.

As for the remaining fragments of Laws that were not solidified, Lin Yan's subsequent investigations led him to believe they completely dissipated as the spirit ring was absorbed.

Furthermore, when Lin Yan's consciousness entered this Rule Space, because it carried the aura of his own Spirit, whenever he drew near various fragments of Laws in the space, the fragments would automatically generate corresponding Spirit Ability information.

From that moment on, his method of acquiring Spirit Abilities officially upgraded from gacha mode to a cracked version—custom selection mode!

While receiving a steady stream of generated Spirit Ability information flooding his consciousness, Lin Yan drove his mind to travel rapidly through this Rule Space.

All kinds of miraculous Spirit Abilities flooded Lin Yan's mind in the form of information streams, quickly comprehended and memorized by him.

[Flame Claw: Condenses fire at the fingertips to unleash a sharp fiery claw strike that inflicts a laceration effect]

[Flame Super Armor: Temporarily boosts physical strength, defense, and flame intensity by 100%, entering a Super Armor state with 50% immunity to fire-attribute attacks]

Lin Yan's consciousness traversed countless Spirit Abilities, not just to search for a stronger one, but also to absorb the varied Spirit Ability information contained within.

As this information poured in, his horizons broadened, and his mind became even more active.

[Flame Domain: Increases all personal attributes by 20%, weakens opponents by 20%, and significantly enhances control over the fire element.]

Sensing the information flooding his mind, thoughts flashed through Lin Yan's head. He paused briefly in front of [Flame Domain], memorized its location, and then resumed traversing the spirit ring's Soul Skill Space.

As Lin Yan rapidly absorbed the incoming Spirit Ability information into his consciousness, he pondered swiftly in his mind.

A Domain Spirit Ability naturally tempted him, but it was far too conventional, and its quality paled in comparison to his first two Spirit Abilities.

Of course, only Lin Yan possessed the confidence to be this extravagant.

Even if it were any quasi-Titled Douluo powerhouse, given the chance to acquire a Domain Spirit Ability, even if it didn't align with their Spirit attribute, as long as there was no conflict, they would choose it without hesitation.

But Lin Yan was different, because he knew there were definitely even more powerful Spirit Abilities present in this space.

Based on his past two experiences searching for Spirit Abilities, this Soul Skill Space containing endless Law fragments followed a pattern; where his consciousness had first entered was merely the shallowest layer of this Rule Space.

The deeper one ventured toward the core, the stronger and older the existing Law fragments were!

[Incinerating Flame Body: At the cost of damaging one's own Spirit Origin, enters an Incinerating Flame state for ten seconds, drastically increasing all attributes and rendering defense impenetrable to anyone below Divinity]

[Withered-Prosperous Sea of Fire: Violently stimulates one's Withered-Prosperous Dragon Fire to form a vast sea of flames; the fire inside possesses an unceasing burning characteristic that steals vitality to replenish oneself. As long as the fire is not extinguished, one cannot die. After use, the user falls into a one-month weakened state]

...

As Lin Yan's consciousness drew closer to the core, the emerging Spirit Abilities became stronger and stronger, to the point where some were completely beyond what a sub-dragon like the Withered-Prosperous Fire Dragon could possess.

And these Spirit Abilities, which were rapidly turning downright absurd, were derived from ancient Law fragments buried deep within the innermost depths of the Withered-Prosperous Fire Dragon's Bloodline.

Ordinarily, these Law fragments remained hidden deep within the Rule Space. When normally absorbing a spirit ring, what a Spirit could attract was mostly just the more active portion in the shallow region.

Because of this, it was virtually impossible for the Law fragments in the core region to be drawn out by anyone to form a Spirit Ability!

Time could not be sensed in the Rule Space. When the portion of Lin Yan's consciousness left in the outside world vibrated with an instinctual tremor, he knew the spirit ring absorption was coming to an end.

Thus, Lin Yan charged with all his might toward the core region at rapid speed.

Traveling at high speed, Spirit Ability after Spirit Ability flooded his mind. The massive wave of information bombarded Lin Yan's consciousness, leaving him somewhat dizzy and dazed.

After an unknown amount of time, the surrounding Law fragments grew increasingly sparse, yet the fluctuations emitted by each one were potent to the extreme.

[Dragon Fire Enhancement: Increases the power of all fire-attribute skills by 800%, while significantly raising personal affinity to the Flame Law during activation]

[Withered Glory Tribulation Fire: The Origin Tribulation Fire of the Calamity Flame Ancient Dragon, possessing boundless power; upon Major Achievement, it can burn worlds and boil oceans]

Lin Yan forcibly suppressed his temptation toward these two Spirit Abilities, because floating alone behind them was a "dazzling" Law fragment that radiated fluctuations far surpassing both.

Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Yan immediately directed his mind to reach toward that last remaining Law fragment.

Yet what first entered his consciousness was not Spirit Ability information, but a breathtaking vision.

It was a massive ancient dragon with half its body wrapped in dead, dark-green withered fire, its scale patterns decayed like charcoal wood, while the other half flowed with red-ember and green veins with subtle vitality swirling around it. Its snout exhaled tribulation fire and ash-laden winds, and the volcanic charred earth beneath its limbs would wither in an instant only to sprout tiny grass shoots a moment later, commanding the Withered-Prosperous Fire Tribulation.

As the vision shattered, a massive flood of Spirit Ability information surged frantically into Lin Yan's consciousness like a tidal wave.

[Withered Glory Tribulation Flame Domain: (1) Upon Domain activation, all self fire-attribute attacks gain calamity power, ignoring 50% of enemy defense and dealing damage over time. (2) Meanwhile, based on one's Spirit characteristics, it generates Heavenly Tribulation Fire Fall, which possesses a guaranteed lock-on hit trait. (3) Within the Domain, withered prosperity cycles—withering enemies and prospering oneself—continuously draining enemy vitality and Soul Power to restore one's condition. (4) Suppresses all enemy attributes within the Domain by 30%, while boosting all self attributes by 30%.]