286: A bizarre situation unfolds at the summit, and a dramatic change occurs amidst the raging flames.

Yan Sha Peak, located in the western part of the Yan Realm, is the cultivation dojo of the Law Enforcement Elder of the Yan Clan, Yan Sha.

This peak is pitch black throughout; it is not made of flame crystals, but rather a rare "Obsidian Fire Rock" that can absorb and store fire-attribute energy.

The peak is incredibly hard, yet its temperature is much lower than the surrounding areas, giving it a stern and cold appearance.

At this moment, the entire mountain is sealed off by the Flame Dragon Guard, layer upon layer, and the atmosphere is as heavy as an iron plate.

All Formations are fully activated, isolating the inside from the outside.

Ordinary clansmen only know that Elder Yan Sha is in seclusion to heal, but they do not know the specifics.

Huo Xuan brought Li Ao, not taking the main path, but sneaking into the depths of the mountain through an extremely hidden secret passage known only to Yan Sha himself and a few others like the Clan Chief.

At the end of the secret passage is a quiet room hollowed out from a single piece of Obsidian Fire Rock.

The room is dimly lit, illuminated only by a few night-luminescent pearls embedded in the walls.

Yan Sha lies on a cold black rock bed in the center, his complexion ashen.

A strange, dark-red fire poison mark flickers between his eyebrows, and wisps of cold, evil aura continuously emanate from it, eroding his Soul.

Elder Yao (Chief Pharmacist of the Yan Clan) is guarding nearby, his expression grave.

Seeing Li Ao arrive, Elder Yao breathed a sigh of relief and whispered: "Hall Master Li, you have come. This fire poison is extremely stubborn. I have exhausted all methods, but I can only suppress it here to delay its spread; I cannot eradicate it. Its nature is insidious, specifically devouring Soul Power and fire sources, unlike any fire poison or Soul poison I have ever known."

Li Ao nodded and walked to the bedside. The Power of Gui Xu circulated in his eyes as he carefully observed the fire poison mark on Yan Sha's forehead.

In his perception, it was not a simple energy mass, but a twisted, malicious creation formed by the mixture of resentment, coldness, and a forcibly distorted "Flame Incineration" rule concept.

Deep in its core, there was indeed a trace of an aura homologous to the "pollution" in the Red Lotus Karma Fire, but it was more violent and aggressive.

"It is indeed the work of the Hun Clan, and it is mixed with the power of polluted Red Lotus Karma Fire," Li Ao said in a deep voice.

"Elder Yan Sha's own fire Qi is vigorous, and he was just treated by me with the Purification Lotus Demon Flame; his internal fire Qi is currently in a phase of transition between old and new, making it relatively active and sensitive.

The attacker used this special fire poison to launch a sneak attack, which is exactly the right medicine, allowing the fire poison to quickly invade his Soul sea and create a kind of malignant resonance with his Origin fire Qi, exacerbating the toxicity."

"Does Hall Master Li have a way?" Huo Xuan asked urgently.

"I can try," Li Ao extended his right index finger, with pure white flames dancing on the tip.

"The Purification Lotus Demon Flame can purify the distorted rules and external Soul Power in this poison, but I must first soothe and strip away Elder Yan Sha's own Origin fire Qi, which has been triggered and fallen into a vicious cycle.

Otherwise, the purification power might damage his own fire Qi as well. This process requires extreme precision, and Elder Yan Sha needs to remain slightly conscious and cooperate with the guidance."

Hearing this, Elder Yao immediately said: "I can use needles to stabilize Elder Yan Sha's Divine Soul and stimulate his survival instinct, allowing him to briefly regain a trace of clarity. But the time cannot be too long."

"A cup of tea's time is enough," Li Ao said.

Immediately, Elder Yao took out several jade needles as thin as cow hair, made of fire jade marrow.

His movements were as fast as lightning, piercing several major acupuncture points on Yan Sha's body.

Yan Sha's body trembled slightly, an unnatural flush appeared on his ashen face, and his tightly closed eyelids moved as he slowly opened a slit.

His eyes were turbid and painful, but he had indeed regained a little bit of consciousness.

"Elder Yan Sha, I am Li Ao. I am now driving out the poison for you. Please relax your mind and guide your own fire Qi back to your Dantian. Do not resist my purification power," Li Ao's voice was calm, carrying a power that settled people's hearts.

Yan Sha's blurred vision focused on Li Ao's face.

He seemed to recognize him, making a hoarse sound in his throat, and nodded imperceptibly with difficulty.

Li Ao did not hesitate anymore.

The Purification Lotus Demon Flame on his fingertip shone brightly, turning into countless thin, yet extremely pure white fire threads, gently piercing into the dark red mark on Yan Sha's forehead.

As soon as the white fire threads entered, they immediately engaged in a fierce confrontation with the cold and vicious fire poison.

There was a constant hissing sound, and strands of black and red intertwined poison gas were forced out, only to be purified and dissipated in the pure white flame.

At the same time, Li Ao's left hand pressed vaguely above Yan Sha's Dantian.

The Power of Gui Xu silently seeped in, not to devour, but with an extremely exquisite intent of "stripping" and "smoothing," soothing and guiding the Origin fire Qi in Yan Sha's body that had been triggered by the fire poison, was raging wildly, and was entangled with the toxic power, causing it to slowly return to the right track and break away from the vicious cycle with the toxic power.

This process was extremely exhausting.

Fine beads of sweat soon appeared on Li Ao's forehead.

But his eyes were focused, and his movements were as stable as a rock.

Elder Yao and Huo Xuan watched nervously from the side, not daring to breathe.

Time passed minute by minute.

The dark red mark on Yan Sha's forehead faded and shrank at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the pain on his face gradually eased, his breathing becoming steady and long.

Just as the detox was about to succeed, a sudden change occurred!

On the floor of the quiet room, the floor made of solid Obsidian Fire Rock, which should have been indestructible and isolated everything, suddenly displayed countless fine, dark red, weird patterns that wriggled like blood vessels!

These patterns spread instantly, covering the entire floor of the quiet room, and climbed up along the walls!

A cold, violent, and terrifying fire energy full of resentment and destructive desires, like a sleeping volcano being instantly detonated, erupted from the depths of the earth!

"Not good! There is an ambush! It's a trap!" Huo Xuan was shocked and furious, instantly activating his Dou Qi to protect himself and Elder Yao.

Elder Yao's face changed drastically: "This... this is... triggering the 'Sha Fire' in the earth vein?! How could such a large-scale Yin Sha fire vein be hidden under the Obsidian Fire Rock?!"

Rumble—!

The entire quiet room shook violently, and cracks appeared on the Obsidian Fire Rock walls.

At the center of the dark red patterns, which was directly below the black rock bed where Yan Sha was lying, the ground exploded violently.

A dark red flame, viscous as blood and churning with countless phantom images of painful human faces, rushed into the sky, heading straight for Yan Sha on the bed and Li Ao, who was fully detoxifying and unable to be distracted!

This flame was definitely not naturally formed!

The resentment and Soul Power erosion characteristics contained in it were exactly the same as the fire poison Yan Sha was suffering from, only a hundred times more powerful!

What was even more terrifying was that the position and timing of this flame eruption were precisely calculated, clearly counting on the moment when Li Ao was at the most critical and unable to withdraw while detoxifying for Yan Sha!

"Hall Master Li, be careful!" Huo Xuan's eyes were splitting, and he was about to pounce on him.

However, Li Ao's reaction was faster than his!

Just as the earth fire erupted and the dark red Sha flames attacked, the calm eyes of Li Ao, who was focused on detoxification, suddenly burst with a cold light as sharp as an ancient cold abyss!

The Power of Gui Xu in his left hand changed abruptly, no longer just "stripping" and "smoothing," but turning into a miniature, bottomless grey vortex, instantly "devouring" the last trace of violent fire Qi in Yan Sha's body that might have resonated with the Sha fire, completely cutting off its connection with the outside world!

At the same time, the Purification Lotus Demon Flame on his right hand, which was purifying the fire poison, suddenly retracted.

It was not retreating, but rapidly condensing and compressing in his palm, turning into a white fire lotus that was only palm-sized, yet crystal clear to the extreme, emitting a terrifying purification fluctuation!

"Purifying World fire lotus, Suppress!"

Li Ao gave a low shout, and without hesitation, pressed the white fire lotus, which had been compressed to the extreme, towards the top of the dark red Sha fire column erupting from under his feet!

Hum—!

There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a strange buzzing sound that seemed to be able to cleanse the Soul.

The moment the pure white fire lotus came into contact with the dark red Sha fire, the violent, resentful, and corrosive dark red flame, as if encountering a nemesis, actually emitted countless sharp and shrill Soul screams!

The white fire lotus rotated slowly, and wherever it passed, the dark red Sha fire was like ink dropped into clear water, rapidly fading, dissolving, and being purified!

Even the phantom images of painful human faces contained within it, as if being transcended, dissipated in the pure white light, revealing a look of relief.

However, the dark red Sha fire gushing from the ground seemed endless and more violent, constantly impacting the white fire lotus.

Even more troublesome was that the rock ceiling above the quiet room began to crack, and the entire mountain belly was shaking violently.

It seemed that this Sha fire eruption had touched the Foundation of Yan Sha Peak's earth vein!

"Hall Master Li! This place should not be stayed in for long! The mountain is going to collapse!" Elder Yao shouted urgently.

He was fully protecting Yan Sha, who was still unconscious but whose poison mark had basically disappeared.

Huo Xuan also roared: "Hall Master Li, retreat first!"

Li Ao's eyes were cold.

One hand maintained the Purifying World fire lotus to suppress the Sha fire column, and the other grabbed into the void.

The Power of Gui Xu turned into a grey giant hand, grabbing Yan Sha along with the black rock bed.

"Go!"

Four people and one bed retreated rapidly towards the entrance of the secret passage.

Behind them, the dark red Sha fire broke through part of the purification of the white fire lotus and gushed out more crazily.

Wherever it passed, even the Obsidian Fire Rock was eroded and melted, and the entire quiet room was quickly swallowed by the dark red flames and spread to the surrounding passages.

The secret passage was also shaking violently, and gravel kept falling.

Huo Xuan and Elder Yao opened the way with all their strength, while Li Ao carried Yan Sha to cover the rear, using the Purification Lotus Demon Flame and the Power of Gui Xu alternately to continuously clear the obstacles ahead and the sporadic Sha fire chasing from behind.

When they finally rushed out of the secret passage and returned to the outside of Yan Sha Peak, a dull and terrifying loud noise came from behind!

Boom—!!!

The thousand-zhang-high Yan Sha Peak, known for its hardness, actually collapsed under the impact of the terrifying power erupting from within, starting from the mountainside!

Countless huge Obsidian Fire Rocks rolled down, smoke and dust rushed into the sky, mixed with heart-palpitating dark red firelight and cold Soul Power fluctuations!

"Yan Sha Peak... collapsed?!" The Flame Dragon Guard guarding outside the peak were dumbfounded and could not believe it.

Huo Xuan and Elder Yao also had lingering fears.

If it hadn't been for Li Ao's quick reaction and heaven-defying means, they would probably have been buried in the belly of the mountain by now, perishing with that strange Sha fire!

Li Ao handed Yan Sha to the arriving Flame Dragon Guard to take care of, his eyes scanning the collapsed mountain and the strange cloud of smoke mixed with dark red Sha fire.

He sensed that the moment the mountain collapsed, the core of the Sha fire gushing from the ground seemed to be actively cut off and transferred by some force, and did not erupt completely, otherwise the power would definitely not be limited to this.

"What a subtle calculation." Li Ao's voice was cold, "Luring me into the game, feigning detoxification, but actually using the Yan Sha Peak earth vein as a base to detonate this hidden 'Sha Fire Furnace', wanting to bury me and Yan Sha together.

If I hadn't been on guard early, I might have really fallen for it today."

Hearing this, Huo Xuan's face turned iron-blue: "Hall Master Li, you mean... this Sha Fire was artificially triggered? And hidden under my Yan Sha Peak? This... how is this possible?!"

"If it wasn't man-made, how could it be such a coincidence that it erupted at the critical moment of my detoxification? And how could it contain the same power as the fire poison Yan Sha was suffering from?" Li Ao looked at Huo Xuan, "Brother Huo Xuan, in the Yan Clan, how many people can have the Yan Sha Peak earth vein map, and be able to contact and modify this earth vein without being noticed?"

Huo Xuan was shocked, anger and coldness intertwined in his eyes.

Being able to quietly bury such a large-scale trap under the Law Enforcement Elder's dojo, his authority and strength must be among the few in the Yan Clan!

Combined with the Clan Chief's previous warning about the internal traitor, and Huo Zhi's abnormality... a terrifying conjecture formed in his heart.

Just then, in the distant sky, several extremely powerful fire lights were rushing over.

The leader's aura was as violent as a fire prison; it was Yan Jin who had arrived after receiving the earth-shattering news!

However, before Yan Jin arrived, in the core of the Yan Realm, in the direction of the Ancestral Land Fire Altar, which symbolized the supreme Legacy of the Yan Clan, another change occurred!

A roar that seemed to come from the ancient prehistoric times, full of endless pain, rage, and destructive aura, suddenly came from the depths of the Ancestral Land Fire Altar!

Immediately afterwards, a terrifying fire column with a diameter of more than a hundred zhang, dark red and nearly black in color, with countless distorted faces like vengeful spirits entwined on its surface, like a sword supporting the sky, slammed through the layers of Restrictions of the Ancestral Land Fire Altar and went straight into the crimson sky!

The pressure and violence emitted by the fire column instantly swept across the entire Yan Realm!

Countless Yan Clan members were hit hard, those with weaker cultivation directly vomited blood and fainted, and even Dou Zun and Ban Sheng powerhouses felt their internal fire-attribute Dou Qi violently restless and their Souls trembling!

Red Lotus Karma Fire—it had gone berserk!

Moreover, its berserk state was completely different from the restless, polluted state Yan Jin had shown before, full of complete, hysterical madness and destructive desire!

It was as if the long-dormant "Ancient Mark" had been completely activated, detonating the pollution and resentment accumulated over countless years all at once!

"Karma Fire... totally berserk?!" Huo Xuan looked towards the Ancestral Land, his face bloodless.

Yan Jin, who had just arrived, froze in mid-air, looking at the terrifying fire column that shot into the sky, feeling the familiar yet strange, destructive Karma Fire aura within it.

His eyes instantly turned red as blood, and he let out a heart-piercing roar:

"No—!!!"

Li Ao looked at the Karma Fire column that seemed to want to burn the world, his eyes extremely grave.

The Yan Sha Peak trap was just an appetizer.

This was the second step of the real "Furnace" plan—drawing the firewood from under the cauldron, directly detonating the Red Lotus Karma Fire, dragging the entire Yan Realm into the abyss of destruction!

And being able to precisely trigger the mark deep in the Karma Fire, and choosing this timing... the identity of the internal traitor was already obvious.

The sky of the Yan Realm was truly about to collapse.