novelraw Chapter 328 : The Secret of the Seed of Fire
Chapter 328 : The Secret of the Seed of Fire
"Quan Yi and I are twins."
In hereditary noble families vying for power and profit, the birth of twins seemed to be an ill omen. On the night of their birth, the Upper Realm witnessed the inauspicious sign of two moons falling. The old patriarchs of the family, who had been in seclusion for countless years, all emerged to collectively divine and prophesy—these two children would bring calamity in the future!
This disaster would not only destroy the Quan family but would also entangle the entire Upper Realm, potentially leading to world-ending consequences!
Unfortunately, they couldn't accurately divine which child would be the source of the calamity.
An elder stepped forward, claiming he could use a forbidden technique to transfer the disaster onto one of the children.
By sacrificing this child, misfortune could be turned into fortune.
The twins' talents were not equal. After weighing the pros and cons, the Quan family chose Quan Yu, the weaker of the two, as the sacrifice.
Though still young, he was abandoned by his clan members in the Forest of Death Mist as a sacrifice for the family's self-preservation, his fate unknown.
The dense, poisonous mist nearly suffocated him. As starving evil spirits swarmed towards him, about to tear him apart and devour him, a steady hand pulled him into an embrace and retreated. The woman raised her hand, and red fire dispelled the turbid air. The terrifying, oppressive aura was instantly driven back. The wave of evil spirits that had lunged forward only managed a scream before being instantly incinerated without a trace.
"Abandoned, how pitiful..."
He hurriedly opened his eyes to see a figure in dazzling red robes. This person had arrived treading on moonlight and now gently set him down on the ground. Her long black hair was unbound, cascading freely. Her eyes were crimson, with a vermilion mark between her brows. Upon closer inspection, her tattered hemline resembled smoldering embers. Endless flames coiled around her body, yet there was no warmth or heat, only an infinite, bone-chilling cold that made the young boy shiver involuntarily.
If not for her face lacking the ghastly pallor of the undead, her sudden appearance in the Forest of Death Mist would have truly made one mistake her for a nocturnal female ghost.
The surrounding evil spirits scattered as if they had seen a real ghost.
She narrowed her eyes and freed one hand. Dark red flames surged out in all directions with the two of them at the center. The evil spirits that couldn't escape in time were instantly incinerated.
The young Quan Yu was stunned. Weren't evil spirits impossible to destroy? How could her flames annihilate them? Could she be...?
"Awake?"
The woman looked down at him, then carried the pitiful child to a tree and set him down against the trunk.
She seemed unfamiliar with living beings and curiously circled him once before half-squatting down. She reached out to pinch his still slightly chubby cheeks. "I saw those people wearing clothes with the same pattern as yours... Poor little thing abandoned by your clan, you must have quite a bit of resentment. Enough for me to feast on."
"..."
"Hm? Strange, why don't you have any resentment?"
"..."
Quan Yu turned his face away and lowered his head, disliking being touched.
The woman, seemingly unwilling to give up, turned his little face back towards her and cast a cleansing spell. "You're quite pretty. Cry for me. I don't save people for free. Give me some resentment."
"...Are you the Fire of Creation?" He couldn't hold back anymore and spoke up, looking at her.
He had read in ancient books that only the legendary Fire of Creation could completely incinerate evil spirits. The woman before him seemed both human and otherworldly, her entire demeanor unlike ordinary deities. Of course, no ordinary deity could stay unharmed in the Forest of Death, causing even evil spirits to fear them.
But the ancient texts also mentioned that the Fire of Creation was a divine fire capable of burning everything.
Creation was equivalent to world destruction.
Only by destroying one era could a new era be created.
This fire had another terrifying name—the Fire of Annihilation.
"Are you... good or evil? So many deities in the Upper Realm have died at the hands of evil spirits. Why have you never appeared before?" He had previously thought the Fire of Creation was just a legendary divine object, never imagining it was real. But why had she remained indifferent to calamities, never helping those poor souls?
The Fire of Creation was neither good nor evil, without distinction between right and wrong, acting on whims.
Whether she chose to be the Fire of Creation or the Fire of Annihilation depended entirely on her own decision. Could it be... that this time it was the Fire of Annihilation that had appeared?
The boy's face paled slightly as he swallowed hard, lowering his head and no longer daring to meet her gaze.
No one answered his questions. In his peripheral vision, he saw her flame-wreathed bare feet pause for a moment before turning to leave.
The evil spirits hiding in the darkness around them began to stir again, as if they would pounce and tear him apart at any moment. Quan Yu had no time to think. He immediately stood up and grabbed her skirt, looking up pleadingly, "Please... don't leave me!"
"I just happened to pass by and save you. It doesn't mean I have to protect you. Let go, you troublesome thing."
The next moment, the child suddenly fainted.
"..."
Had she just been scammed?
⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱
When Quan Yu regained consciousness, he found himself in a cave. A warm campfire illuminated the dark corners. He curled up and moved closer to the fire, then suddenly remembered something and nervously looked around. "Big sister..."
The entire area was covered by a powerful force, keeping evil spirits at bay.
But he couldn't see her anywhere.
Sensing something, he looked towards the cave entrance.
He hesitated for a moment, then stood up, dusted himself off, and walked over.
The forest looked the same as before he had fainted. The only difference was that there were no evil spirits to be seen nearby.
He hadn't walked far when he came upon an enormous ancient tree with gnarled roots. This tree must have been incredibly old, a full head taller than the surrounding trees and twice as thick. Countless massive roots erupted from the ground, coiling like giant beasts.
He ran his hand over the rough, split bark and continued forward.
Half an hour later, Quan Yu encountered another towering ancient tree, very similar to the one he had just seen.
He left a mark of divine power on the trunk.
The third time, he saw the same tree again.
Quan Yu could finally confirm that the ancient tree he had seen three times was indeed the same one.
It seemed this place was enclosed by some kind of energy barrier.
The boy lowered his head, lost in thought.
Though his abilities were inferior to Quan Yi's, he had extensively studied the arts of divination and had considerable attainments in talisman crafting. Opening a passage large enough for a child to pass through in this carelessly constructed barrier was no difficult task.
After entering, he discovered a lake inside. In the lake was an enormous blooming fire lotus, occupying nearly a third of the entire pool. Floating in the lotus was a spherical pearl as large as half a person, emanating a coldness that warned people to stay away.
In the middle of the pearl, a shadowy figure...
The boy leaned in for a closer look, his face suddenly flushing red.
At that moment, the sleeping figure in the pearl abruptly opened its eyes. A dangerous red light flashed, and he hastily retreated several steps. His still somewhat childish voice was filled with panic and a hint of shyness, "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to peek!"
The flames transformed into the familiar figure. With a wave of her hand, a fiery red dress fell onto her body. This process happened so quickly, in the blink of an eye, that no one could clearly see the movement.
The woman cast a lazy glance at him. "Not on purpose? Then why did you specifically break the formation? Don't tell me you opened it by accident."
"I woke up and couldn't see you. I sensed your aura here, so I followed it."
She gave a faint "Mm," showing no intention of pursuing the matter further. "Since you're awake now, it's time for you to leave this troublesome place."
"I've been abandoned by my clan. I have nowhere to go," he said very softly. "Can I stay here, stay... by your side?"