153: Chapter 153 The Strange Flame Goes Wild: The Little Wildcat Who Went Too Far

Boom—!

The terrifying sound of impact echoed through the empty valley, causing the surrounding rubble to tremble.

Though the heavy Broken Dragon Stone Gate was glowing red from the heat and the formation's light screen on its surface was flickering precariously, it was, after all, a forbidden area portal reinforced by generations of Dan Tower's predecessors. It stubbornly withstood the first wave of the Three Thousand Blazing Flames' impact, deathly guarding the final line of defense.

"It won't open? You actually won't open?!"

Seeing that the stone gate still hadn't shattered, the bloodshot veins in Xiao Yu's eyes grew even more prominent, and the string of her sanity snapped completely.

To her, this wasn't just a door; it was Liu Hanyan and Xu Chen mocking her. It was as if the stone gate had transformed into a giant face, silently jeering at her: 'With just your meager level of cultivation, you want to disturb the good things happening inside?'

"Aaaah! This is infuriating!"

Xiao Yu stomped her feet in rage. She didn't want to lose, and she certainly didn't want to leave in disgrace.

At this moment, that terrifying thought grew wildly in her mind like a poisonous weed.

"Since my current power can't break this turtle shell, then I'll become stronger! Stronger than anyone!"

She abruptly withdrew the fire dragon she had released. The clump of deep purple strange fire pulsed wildly in her palm, emitting waves of destructive energy.

The Three Thousand Blazing Flames, though immensely powerful, had never been fully refined by her as its host. Because the flame was too violent, the elders of the Dan Tower had repeatedly warned her to proceed step by step and not to be overly ambitious, or she would surely suffer a backlash.

But now, jealousy had made her disregard everything.

"As long as I completely swallow this fire source, I can break through to the mid-stage Saint Realm! When that time comes, forget this broken door—even Liu Hanyan will be trampled under my feet!"

A flash of crazed determination crossed Xiao Yu's eyes.

She actually sat down cross-legged on the spot without any protective measures or even preparing any auxiliary pills. Opening her cherry-red mouth, she took a sudden, sharp breath from the violent purple fire source in her palm!

"Swallow it!"

Whoosh—!

The clump of purple flame seemed to possess sentience. Upon sensing Xiao Yu's intention, it didn't resist; instead, it let out an excited hum and slid down her throat into her body without any hindrance.

It was too smooth.

Eerily smooth.

But this didn't alert the enraged Xiao Yu at all. She only felt an unprecedentedly majestic power explode within her, instantly filling her entire body.

"Hahaha! Power! This is power!"

Feeling the spiritual energy surging through her meridians, a look of ecstatic joy appeared on Xiao Yu's face.

"Xu Chen! Liu Hanyan! Just you wait, this young lady will—"

Before her laughter could fully bloom, it came to a screeching halt.

In its place was a blood-curdling scream.

"Ahhh—!!!"

The purple spiritual energy that had been flowing submissively through her meridians suddenly became like red-hot serrated blades, frantically slicing through her flesh.

The Starry Sky Fire Poison hidden deep within the core of the strange fire erupted completely at this moment!

"What's happening?! Stop! Stop it!"

Xiao Yu discovered to her horror that she had lost control over her body.

The Three Thousand Blazing Flames no longer obeyed her commands; instead, it began frantically devouring her life force, treating her dantian like a fuel depot and burning wantonly.

"No... don't..."

Intense pain instantly overwhelmed her consciousness.

It felt like being thrown into a steel furnace, melting from the inside out.

Sizzle! Sizzle!

As her internal temperature skyrocketed, the Saintess's red robes—already tattered—could finally no longer withstand the heat gushing from her pores and instantly turned to ash.

Large patches of snow-white skin were exposed to the air, but they were immediately scalded red by the high temperature, and even began to show scorched cracks.

"Help... Save me..."

Xiao Yu collapsed to the ground, rolling in agony. She tried to scratch herself with her hands, only to find her fingers too stiff to bend.

She regretted it.

She truly regretted it.

She shouldn't have acted out of spite; she shouldn't have touched this taboo.

But there is no medicine for regret in this world.

The purple flames had already begun gushing from her seven orifices, forming a terrifying fire cocoon around her body. She could clearly feel her consciousness fading bit by bit, as if her soul were about to be incinerated by the flames.

This was not just the destruction of her body, but the total annihilation of her soul.

"Am I going to die..."

"Just because of... this ridiculous jealousy..."

Xiao Yu closed her eyes in despair. A single tear that slipped from the corner of her eye was vaporized into a wisp of white smoke by the high temperature before it could even fall.

...

Meanwhile, inside the Medicine Spirit Abyss.

The originally charming and warm atmosphere was instantly shattered.

Xu Chen, who was admiring the newly refined divine pill, suddenly frowned and abruptly turned toward the stone gate.

"What intense fire energy!"

Not just him, but Liu Hanyan, who was tidying her clothes nearby, also had a drastic change in expression.

As an expert in handling fire, she instantly identified the source of this aura.

"It's the Three Thousand Blazing Flames! And... it's out of control!"

Liu Hanyan's voice was trembling; she knew all too well what that thing losing control meant.

"Xiao Yu?! What is she doing outside?!"

"Has she gone mad? This level of strange fire fluctuation is clearly a source rampage! She's forcibly devouring the fire source!"

Although Liu Hanyan usually didn't get along with this junior sister and they bickered whenever they met, they were fellow disciples after all, with hundreds of years of shared history. Sensing Xiao Yu's rapidly weakening life aura that was almost about to vanish, she immediately panicked.

"Xu Chen! Quick! Save her!"

Liu Hanyan grabbed Xu Chen's arm, her eyes filled with anxiety.

"Though she has a haughty temperament and a sharp tongue, she doesn't deserve to die! If the Three Thousand Blazing Flames completely erupts, not only will she lose her life, but the entire Dan Tower and even most of Dan City will be leveled to the ground!"

This was by no means an exaggeration.

The ninth-ranked entity on the strange fire ranking, once its power was fully released, would be comparable to the self-detonation of a peak Saint Realm expert.

Xu Chen's expression darkened as well.

Although he didn't have much of an impression of that noisy little girl and even found her a bit annoying, she was still a top-tier beauty with a score of 92. Moreover, dying such a clumsy death just because of jealousy... that was just stupid.

If he really let her burn to death like this, not only would it be a waste, but wouldn't the Dan Tower's dowry be cut in half?

"This girl is truly a handful."

Xu Chen cursed under his breath, a cold light flashing in his eyes.

"Hanyan, take the pill and step back. Protect yourself."

"I'm going out to see exactly where this wild fire came from, daring to run wild at my doorstep."

Before his voice had even faded, his figure flickered, and he instantly appeared before the Broken Dragon Stone Gate that had been sealed for seven days.

Boom!

There was no need for any complicated opening hand seals.

Xu Chen raised his right leg, carrying the force of ten thousand tons, and kicked out violently.

"Open for me!"

Bang—!!!

The indestructible Broken Dragon Stone Gate, which had just kept Xiao Yu out, exploded into a cloud of rubble under Xu Chen's angry kick.

Amidst the rolling dust, a suffocating heatwave rushed toward him.

Xu Chen narrowed his eyes. Through the distorted air, he saw at a glance the petite figure lying in the ruins, wrapped in purple flames.

Tragic.

Truly tragic.

At this moment, where was there any trace of Xiao Yu's arrogant Saintess of the Dan Tower persona?

She looked like a suckling pig thrown into a fire pit. There wasn't a single patch of uninjured flesh on her entire body, and her clothes were burnt to nothing, leaving only a few charred remnants hanging on her to cover her last bits of privacy.

The purple flames were like maggots on a bone, frantically boring into her body in an attempt to completely refine her into ash.

"Help... Save..."

Xiao Yu was now on the brink of death, her consciousness blurred.

But in her haze, she seemed to see that the stone gate, which had been tightly shut for seven days, had finally opened.

A tall figure stepped out against the light.

Though she couldn't see his face, that familiar aura—that overbearing scent she both loved and hated—sparked a final glimmer of hope in her despairing heart.

"Is... is it you..."

She called out silently in her heart.

The next second.

Without any hesitation, that figure stepped directly into the purple sea of fire that could burn through even the void.