Amidst the billowing torrent of flames, Ye Chen’s form slowly emerged, appearing within the intense crimson fire. Clad in black flames that behaved like a monarch of the inferno, he exuded an aura of sharp authority and noble disdain, coupled with a wicked majesty that scorned all else.
The girl in the red dress knitted her delicate brows, swiftly forming a complex seal with her fingers before pointing directly at Ye Chen—
“Yan Jiong Curse Kill!”
Rumble~~~
In the boundless sea of crimson flames surrounding Ye Chen, a tremendous, earth-shattering surge suddenly erupted. Countless tendrils of fire whipped and roared like living appendages, the blaze intensifying severalfold in an instant. From the heart of this crimson fire sea, a colossal crimson hand, etched with bizarre runes, began to slowly stretch forth!
This giant blood-red hand reached out to grasp Ye Chen, radiating an intense heat and overwhelming power.
Ye Chen watched the approach of the colossal hand with cold indifference. He suddenly raised his own palm, slicing his index finger across his center. A wisp of black flame surged forth, rolling and coalescing into a massive black fist, which descended from above to smash violently against the crimson giant hand.
Bang!
Under the impact of that single punch, the blood-red giant hand shattered into fragments.
The black flames, viscous and malevolent like demonic energy, clung to the ruined remnants of the crimson hand, burning until they had completely consumed and incinerated the red fire, before they too vanished.
The expression of the girl in red shifted slightly. She stared at the black flames, a flicker of dread in her eyes. Biting her lip, she swiftly twisted her body and dissolved back into the sea of crimson fire behind her.
Ye Chen understood the wisdom of not pressing a routed foe. His form flickered, and he instantly teleported past the perimeter of the beautiful crimson lotus.
“You will not leave,” a chilling and commanding voice resonated from within the massive blood-red lotus, booming across the expanse of the star-strewn cosmos. It was the voice of the girl in red, though it now carried a far greater surge of power.
As the voice faded, the entire blood-red lotus began to tremble. The petals folded inward like the canopy of an umbrella, intending to envelop Ye Chen entirely.
Ye Chen teleported straight upward, piercing toward the heavens. He watched the surrounding starscape shrink from his vision, replaced entirely by the stark, blood-red hue of the lotus petals. Fixing his gaze on the apex above, he unleashed the full extent of his power, his body flashing madly as if scaling an invisible void, pushing his teleportation range to its absolute limit.
“Hmph!” A cold snort echoed from the core of the red lotus. Immediately following, the entire colossal structure abruptly surged upward, mirroring Ye Chen’s movement by flying relentlessly straight toward the zenith.
Ye Chen’s heart sank. Given the lotus’s sheer volume, even a slight shift required years of frantic effort for him to match. He stopped abruptly, manifesting his internal black flames and enveloping his body with them, then fixing his stare upon the central stamen of the red lotus.
The surrounding petals gradually sealed shut, finally closing completely.
As far as he could see, the entire world had turned the color of fresh blood. Ye Chen had now entered the interior of the red lotus. From beneath his feet, countless fireballs roared forth, hammering toward his body. Furthermore, an immense oppressive force pervaded the entire interior, making even Ye Chen’s movements labored.
Facing the oncoming barrage of fireballs, Ye Chen’s eyes gleamed with a razor-sharp intensity. He inhaled deeply, spread both hands, and drove the black flames within him to their peak. His entire body blazed with soaring black fire. Against the oncoming fireballs, each one the size of a small planet, he roared fiercely, clenched his fists, and hammered downward.
Whoosh!
All the black flames converged into his fist. The tip of the entire fist, resembling the roar of a lion, manifested a massive black fireball that shot toward the base of the red lotus, plummeting like a meteor filled with peerless might.
The fireballs streaking upward collided with the descending black fire mass. They were cleanly pierced through by the black flames and detonated spontaneously.
The black fire pressed forward unstoppably toward the deepest core of the red lotus, moving tens of thousands of times faster than Ye Chen’s own physical movement—a disparity akin to the speed of a thrown punch versus the speed of the body that threw it.
Before long, the entire red lotus shuddered violently, followed by a piercing, agonizing shriek filled with disbelief: “What… what kind of flame is this? It is even more terrifying than my Blood Buddha Demonic Lotus Fire…”
Ye Chen’s eyes flashed, and he spoke coldly, “I am here by the behest of Senior Fire Blood Phoenix to subdue a Heaven-Defying Realm weapon. If you submit, I will release you. If you refuse, I will detonate my flames in an instant and annihilate you!”
The red lotus roared, “Submit to you? Dream on!”
“Courting death!” Ye Chen’s fingers swiftly wove a phantom seal, murmuring a few incantations, then spoke in a low voice: “Darkness Fire, Burn!”
The moment the words fell, the entire red lotus erupted in agonizing screams. Immediately, an unparalleled black light surged upward from the lotus’s base. Upon closer inspection, it was revealed to be countless strands of black flame that moved like living entities, adhering to the red petals and spreading rapidly outward. Under the pressure of this black fire, the red lotus’s vibrant flames were utterly suppressed, being directly incinerated and converted into fuel for the black flames.
Ye Chen’s expression was merciless as his fingers swiftly worked the seal, causing the conflagration to spread even faster.
The red lotus immediately emitted a series of wretched cries, filled with agony and distortion. After a brief moment, a weakened voice finally pleaded, “Spare me! I beg you, withdraw this monstrous fire, stop burning!”
“Now you beg? Too late!” Ye Chen’s expression was icy. His fingers tightened the seal, making the surrounding flames burn with even greater ferocity, continually devouring the crimson fire, which only made the black flames grow stronger. Their might surpassed the previous level, instantly engulfing the entire blood-red fire lotus and turning it into a pitch-black lotus, its surface and interior writhing with violent black flames that exuded a palpable wickedness.
“I beg you, please…” The red lotus uttered broken, weak sounds. “Don’t burn me anymore! If you continue, I swear I will self-detonate and take you down with me!”
Ye Chen halted the hand seal commanding the fire, his tone frigid. “Reveal your true form!”
The red lotus fell silent for a beat, then a torrent of crimson flame violently burst forth from its depths. As this fire reached Ye Chen, it suddenly dissipated, revealing the girl in the red dress within. Her formerly supple, snow-white skin was now covered in scorched scars, her face pale and weak, looking as if she were on the verge of death. Her gaze fixed on Ye Chen, filled with utter terror.
“I promise to leave with you, just don't hurt me, please…” the girl in red pleaded, looking up at him.
Ye Chen remained aloof. “I ask you: In this void, there are nine Heaven-Defying Realm weapons in total. What is your rank?”
The girl in red stiffened, then stared at Ye Chen with surprise, unable to help but ask, “You don’t want me then? You’re seeking the strongest Heaven-Defying Realm weapon?”
“You only have the qualification to answer!” Ye Chen stated coldly.
The girl in red fell silent for a moment, then slowly replied, “My name is Blood Buddha Red Lotus, and among the nine Heaven-Defying Realm weapons, I rank fifth. Do not be dissatisfied; the nine weapons here are all extraordinary, worlds apart from those forged by others outside. Ranking fifth here is already quite formidable.”
“What is the first rank?” Ye Chen asked directly.
The girl in red gave him a peculiar look. “I advise you not to seek that monstrosity. Though your strength is great, and you possess that peculiar fire, the first-ranked weapon is a true monster. It’s practically beyond the level of a Heaven-Defying Realm weapon; even the second-ranked weapon is worlds away from it!”
“Take me to it.”
“You truly intend to go?” The girl in red frowned. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. It is called the Heavenly Illusion Mirror (Tian Huan Jing). It is approximately nine hundred million light-years from here. If you insist on going, at your current speed, it will take you an immeasurable age.”
“You lead the way,” Ye Chen frowned. “Stop the nonsense and move now!”
The girl in red hesitated, then finally managed a wry, bitter smile. “Very well.” The bizarre red lotus slowly shrank and opened its petals, finally reducing its size to only about a thousand zhang.
Ye Chen rushed out from the lotus’s interior and sat upon the outer edge of a petal, gazing into the pitch-black void. The girl in red beside him said, “Hold tight, I am about to initiate spatial displacement.”
Ye Chen nodded slightly.
The girl in red immediately took a deep breath. The lotus beneath Ye Chen suddenly erupted in an eerie, potent red glow, then shot away like a beam of light toward the distant void.
As the red lotus moved, Ye Chen immediately noticed that the void before him vanished, replaced instead by countless shimmering colors that flashed past like fleeting reflections, indistinct and blurred.
“What are the effects of the other few Heaven-Defying Realm weapons?” Ye Chen asked the girl in red beside him while seated on the lotus.
The girl in red, while controlling the direction of the red lotus’s movement, replied, “The lowest ranked is the Nine Illusory Divine Light. I don't know if you’ve seen its form, but when unfurled, it is immense, like my own red lotus, capable of enveloping an entire star field. It causes that entire star field to appear spectacularly colorful, filled with iridescent rainbows—it is primarily a weapon for confusing enemies, capable of fabricating potent illusory spaces. In terms of illusion creation, only the number one Heaven-Defying Realm weapon can compare to it.”
Ye Chen couldn't help but recall the rainbow-hued, bewildering star field they had encountered on their journey, and he let out a wry smile.
“Then there is the Bronze Fragment, said to be a shard of a powerful Primordial Weapon, currently dormant but possessing immense power, and the Fire God Space, which is also a formidable offensive weapon…”
The girl in red introduced them one by one to Ye Chen, only pausing abruptly when she reached the description of the top-ranked Heaven-Defying Realm weapon.
“What is the ability of this number one ranked weapon?” Ye Chen asked, his brow furrowed.