Should the source of the fire ignite into sentience, the elemental particles surrounding them must surely harbor spiritual energy. Regrettably, even after Nie Kong pushed his perception to its absolute limit using the Ziluo Huan Ling Xiang mental resonance, he could not sense the slightest breath of spirituality emanating from the particles near him.

Nie Kong sent a thought toward Qing Yue, "Qing Yue, have you discovered anything?"

"Grandmother, I haven't sensed any spirituality from this fire source either," Qing Yue’s voice quickly echoed in Nie Kong’s mind, her tone growing heavy. Her life was intrinsically linked with Nie Kong’s; if he met with disaster here, she could not survive.

"Since the fire source has not yet attained consciousness…"

Nie Kong murmured to himself. Qing Yue was an ancient herbal spirit, possessing extremely keen sensory perception regarding spiritual energy. Now that her assessment matched his own, the possibility of the fire source being sentient could be dismissed. "So, it's highly likely someone is manipulating the fire source here?"

Manipulating the fire source?

Considering this possibility, Nie Kong’s pupils involuntarily contracted slightly. He had cultivated within the ‘Heart of Flames’ for so long that he understood this fire source profoundly. To truly manipulate it would be a feat perhaps even beyond the cultivation level of the War Clan ancestor, Zhan Xinzi!

"Nie Kong, we are falling!"

Qing Yue’s melodious voice rang out again.

Nie Kong glanced around and indeed noticed his body sinking downwards. If he hadn't observed closely, he might not have even perceived it himself. Subconsciously, Nie Kong looked down; beneath his feet was still a sea of crimson fire, leading to an unknown destination.

With a flicker of intent, the Ziluo Huan Ling Xiang mental resonance melted back into Nie Kong’s brow, vanishing.

At this moment, Nie Kong’s heart became utterly still.

If this fire source was indeed being controlled, then the controller’s cultivation must be terrifyingly high. Such a powerful being could easily extinguish his life. For that person to ‘seek the distant while abandoning the near’—drawing him deep into the fire source—must have a separate motive.

Given this, perhaps it was best to let nature take its course.

Once he met the person, everything would become clear! If the timing was right, he might even secure a sliver of hope for survival—surely better than racking his brains and struggling desperately here?

"Sigh… For over a thousand years, Grandmother has just been a tragedy!" Sensing Nie Kong's thoughts, Qing Yue sighed helplessly. Yet, despite the sigh, Qing Yue understood that under these circumstances, Nie Kong’s choice was the most appropriate one.

"If you survive this, you will be a comedy."

"..."

Qing Yue fell silent, and Nie Kong’s body continued to descend unstoppably. After an indeterminate amount of time, the surrounding crimson void began to shake violently.

"Tear!"

A sound like ripping silk suddenly erupted, and a fissure manifested beneath Nie Kong’s feet. He took only one glance before his body plunged through, followed immediately by the fissure above snapping shut, sealing out all light and plunging Nie Kong into absolute darkness.

However, Nie Kong paid no mind to the darkness at this instant. His mind was filled with shock; the death aura here was intensely concentrated, surpassing imagination. The concentration of death aura at the ‘Heart of Flames’ outside was already astonishing, but this place held several times that intensity.

"Thud!"

A moment later, the sound of a heavy object landing broke the surrounding silence—Nie Kong’s feet had found solid ground.

"Spiritual Seal!"

Nie Kong willed it, and the Zhan Shen Xing Yin emerged, wrapped in a flash of golden light, instantly transforming into a golden silhouette that enveloped Nie Kong’s entire body. Billions of golden rays burst forth, instantly dispelling the darkness and illuminating the surroundings brightly.

Instantly, Nie Kong realized he was standing within an arched tunnel. What surprised him was that the structure forming this tunnel was neither earth nor sand, but solidified death energy! It was a passage entirely constructed from condensed death qi.

Nie Kong’s avatar was already at the first rank of the Virtual Spirit realm, capable of mobilizing spiritual elemental energy with his spiritual sense to condense a humanoid passage. However, such passages were usually hidden in the void, intangible and invisible. This passage before him, however, could be seen and touched.

"I didn't expect death energy to condense to this degree?" A mysterious aura subtly clung to the figure manipulating the fire source in Nie Kong’s mind as he thought silently, "To achieve this level... could that person be a Spirit God?"

"Spirit God..."

Muttering the two words, Nie Kong took a deep breath and stepped forward, the sound of his footfalls echoing, "Thump, thump," through the passage.

This tunnel offered no retreat; only forward progress was possible.

After a minute or two, Nie Kong suddenly halted.

Upon reaching this position, Nie Kong's vision abruptly widened. The tunnel ahead had instantly expanded several times its size, continuing forward into an unknown distance. Nie Kong advanced another ten meters or so, glanced around, and discovered four tunnels behind him. One was slightly smaller, while the other three were roughly equal in size. Counting from left to right, the tunnel he had just traversed was the second one.

Qing Yue zipped out and jumped onto Nie Kong’s shoulder. "Forward, or back?" In a place like this, Qing Yue had no reservations left.

Nie Kong glanced at her, frowning slightly. "The passage we took had no exit, and the other three are certainly dead ends. We have no choice but to go forward!"

Qing Yue chuckled, patting Nie Kong's shoulder. "Grandmother thinks so too. Let's go—ah..."

Hearing Qing Yue’s final drawn-out note, Nie Kong couldn't help rolling his eyes but didn't argue with the little spirit, continuing his advance down the widened passage.

Not long after, Qing Yue suddenly bounced on Nie Kong’s shoulder and exclaimed, "Look, there's a side passage!"

"Oh?"

Nie Kong followed the direction of Qing Yue’s finger and indeed saw a passage sloping sharply backward to the left. Judging by its shape, it was much larger than the four passages they had seen earlier. However, it was unlikely this side passage led to an exit. In fact, as long as the one controlling the fire source didn't want him to leave, even a path leading out would become a dead end. The only way to understand the situation was to press forward.

Therefore, Nie Kong’s steps paused only for a fraction of a second before he resumed moving. As Nie Kong left the side passage behind him, the tunnel ahead began to narrow slightly from both sides towards the center, yet it continued straight ahead, dark and seemingly endless like a black hole.

"Nie Kong."

Qing Yue suddenly lowered her voice, calling out mysteriously, "Have you noticed what the place we just passed through looks like?"

Nie Kong asked reflexively, "What does it look like?"

"Like a palm!" Qing Yue chirped.

"A palm? Haha, Qing Yue, you..."

Hearing this, Nie Kong couldn't help a burst of laughter, but the rest of his words died in his throat. Nie Kong abruptly spun around. The area twenty or thirty meters behind him was pitch black, but the general shape of the tunnel instantly materialized in his mind.

"A palm..."

These two words struck Nie Kong like two icy blades, causing his heart to clench violently.

Qing Yue huffed, "The first four passages we saw were the index, middle, ring, and little fingers. The one we walked through was the middle finger. Next is the palm, and that side passage just now should be the thumb. We just walked out of the palm! If we continue, it will be the wrist, the arm... all the way to the shoulder!"

Finally, Qing Yue grit her teeth. "To be precise, this passage should be a right arm!"

Nie Kong gently shook his head. "No, the right arm is just a segment of this passage. The entire passage should be... a body!"

"A body?" Qing Yue was stunned.

"Let's go!"

The thudding footsteps echoed again. Nie Kong said no more, but in his mind, the image he had once seen deep within the War Clan’s Nether Source, along with those strange calls, flashed unbidden. If he hadn't heard the complete 'Heart Drum War Sound,' Nie Kong would never have guessed that a giant lay beneath War God Mountain, and that the giant might not actually be dead.

Judging by the shape of the passage behind him, this place must also contain a giant, but this giant's body was entirely condensed from death energy.

Nie Kong had little doubt about his conjecture.

The War Clan's 'Nether Source' was a gigantic body. The death aura in the Nether Sea was far denser than at War God Mountain, so it was natural for a 'Nether Source' to exist here too—another body, nothing out of the ordinary. What Nie Kong could never have imagined was that one day he would actually enter the body of a person and walk so far inside it.

"No wonder he can manipulate the fire source; the Nether Sea fire source was born because of him!"

After his sudden realization, another huge question arose in Nie Kong's mind. "There is a giant body beneath War God Mountain, and there is one in the Nether Sea. There must be many more in other parts of the Nether Earth. Where did all these bodies come from?"

"..."

"This person, like the body beneath War God Mountain, hasn't completely died. I wonder why he sucked me in?"

"Is it because I absorbed too much death aura contained in the Nether Fire during my cultivation? That seems unlikely. Over two thousand years, countless amounts of Nether Fire have been taken from here, yet this giant never showed the slightest dissatisfaction with the actions of those Black Spirit Masters. Why would he now take offense at the trace of death aura I carry?"

"If it's not about the death aura, is it because of my mutated Wood Spirit Energy? My life force? The Ziluo Huan Ling Xiang mental resonance? Or..."

"..."

The sound of empty footsteps echoed in his ears as Nie Kong continued to speculate.

"We should be at the elbow position by now!"

Qing Yue’s crisp call suddenly broke Nie Kong’s train of thought. Glancing over, he saw that the passage here had widened considerably compared to before, almost matching the width at the palm area. It seemed Qing Yue was right; he had reached the elbow of the giant's right arm.

"In a little while, we'll reach the shoulder!"

Qing Yue swung her tiny fists, a hint of excitement shining in her cyan eyes. Clearly, her curiosity had begun to outweigh her worry about the unknown danger. Nie Kong smiled faintly, his nine Nether Stars within his body flashing rapidly, and he transformed into a streak of golden light, soaring forward...