Chapter 31

As his mind merged with the martial soul, Xiao Yun felt his soul about to be incinerated. The scorching air currents fiercely engulfed his mind, like millions of hungry fire ants gnawing at his soul, ready to devour him.

This was a torment that ordinary people could hardly imagine.

The pain, fear, and despair from the soul were enough to make even the mightiest of the mighty collapse, and even sink into madness, leaving an indelible shadow. Even if they didn't die, they would become cripples, forever demented.

Xiao Yun felt he was really about to sink into the endless flames, which seemed to be about to incinerate his soul. The feeling was almost unbearable, after all, he was just a boy not yet sixteen.

But just as his mind was about to sink and be destroyed, Xiao Yun's heart suddenly tightened, and a thought emerged in his mind.

"No... I absolutely cannot give up. I must firmly guard my mind and merge with this martial soul." With a shout in his heart, Xiao Yun began to discard the pain and tightly guard his mind, leaving a clear and calm spirit.

Once his mind was guarded, Xiao Yun no longer felt as if he was sinking into an endless abyss of darkness.

He was like a lamp in the darkness, always holding onto that thread of brightness.

However, the cultivation technique was still running, and he was still merging with the Purple Flame Martial Soul, the scorching heat difficult to dispel.

"I must persevere. Only by merging with the martial soul can I become stronger, and in the future, I can protect my sister, help my grandfather, and go to the Heavenly Capital Region to find my father. Only by becoming strong can I avoid being ridiculed and mocked."

"Only by being strong enough can I live with dignity in this world."

Xiao Yun constantly reminded himself to persevere, and with this belief, he actually managed to guard his mind and not sink into madness. Gradually, he even began to no longer feel the burning sensation from the martial soul's flames.

He could even feel himself merging with the scorching heat.

"Am I about to merge with the martial soul?" Xiao Yun was slightly stunned, a hint of excitement in his heart.

As this feeling grew stronger, Xiao Yun's heart finally became excited. His efforts had not been in vain!

At this moment, his soul was merging with the martial soul. He felt he was a part of the Purple Flame Martial Soul, sensing a world of purple light, the scorching heat no longer affecting him.

At this moment, he finally merged with the martial soul.

With the soul's fusion, Xiao Yun even felt he could control the purple flames.

However, this was just the initial fusion, and more refinement was needed.

The Swallowing Heaven and Extinguishing God Technique was assisting Xiao Yun's soul power to thoroughly merge with the Purple Flame Martial Soul.

"Is this boy about to succeed in the fusion?" the Swallowing Heaven Sparrow muttered to itself.

Merging with a martial soul was extremely dangerous. Any martial soul left by a strong person was like a spiritual entity, unwilling to be controlled even if it had lost its consciousness. They were still incredibly proud, and it was very difficult for an ordinary cultivator to merge with a martial soul.

Many cultivators wanted to obtain martial souls left by ancient cultivators, but very few could truly merge with them. Most were either counterattacked by the martial soul or sank into madness, leaving an indelible shadow.

This was why the Swallowing Heaven Sparrow had let Xiao Yun merge with the martial soul.

However, after waiting for so long, the vortex in the boy's dantian still hadn't stopped, which made the Swallowing Heaven Sparrow start to wonder. It seemed that the boy's mind hadn't completely sunk, and he still had control over his body.

"Could this guy really merge with the Purple Flame Martial Soul?" the Swallowing Heaven Sparrow wondered, which would be troublesome if true.

As if to verify the Swallowing Heaven Sparrow's thoughts, the dantian trembled, and the vortex suddenly dissipated, revealing a purple flame.

"Did he succeed?" The Swallowing Heaven Sparrow's eyes widened, its spiritual sense tightly focused on the boy's dantian.

The purple flame flickered, appearing in Xiao Yun's dantian. The scorching heat was still there, but upon closer inspection, it was clear that the heat was no longer as fierce, and the aura had become gentler.

"Did he really succeed in the fusion?" The Swallowing Heaven Sparrow was dumbfounded by the sensation.

Suddenly, the flame's light flashed, and it disappeared into the boy's dantian, merging into his mind's eye, appearing in the vast sea of consciousness. Clearly, Xiao Yun had successfully merged with the martial soul.

"Damn, is this kid even human?" The Swallowing Heaven Sparrow couldn't help but want to howl to the sky. It had originally intended to use the Purple Flame Martial Soul to trick the boy, hoping to escape, but instead, it had helped him, making the already formidable boy even stronger.

The purple flame settled in the sea of consciousness, emitting a soul fluctuation.

"Brother, is this you?" Xiao Zi blinked her eyes, looking curiously at the purple flame.

The little girl was very cautious, sensing the extraordinary nature of the purple flame and fearing it might burn her. However, her gem-like eyes fluttered, staring intently at the Purple Flame Martial Soul, amazed at how her brother suddenly had a purple flame.

"Yes, now it's a part of me," Xiao Yun's voice came from the purple flame. Now, the martial soul had become a part of him, connected to his mind, and the successful fusion made him very happy.

"Brother, you're so amazing." Xiao Zi's eyes shone with admiration.

Beside her, the Green Branch Martial Soul trembled, sensing the presence of the Purple Flame Martial Soul.

"Hey, this Purple Flame Martial Soul is now a part of me, so don't even think about it!" Xiao Yun warned the Green Branch Martial Soul, sensing its desire to absorb the fire essence from the Purple Flame Martial Soul, which was like a glutton.

However, after hearing Xiao Yun's voice, the Green Branch quickly calmed down.

This made Xiao Yun slightly relieved.

"Kid, now that you've successfully merged with the martial soul, can you let me out?" the Swallowing Heaven Sparrow called out.

"Let you out?" Xiao Yun's mind sank into the tower, "I know what you were up to."

Xiao Yun had seen through the Swallowing Heaven Sparrow's intentions, but he was very eager for the martial soul, so he decided to give it a try.

"You misunderstand, how could you think I'm so despicable?" the Swallowing Heaven Sparrow chuckled awkwardly.

It was puzzled by how a boy of only fifteen or sixteen could be so mature.

"You're not even human, and you're not a good bird," Xiao Yun said with disdain. "Don't try that on me again."

"Of course, of course, we still need to work together well in the future," the Swallowing Heaven Sparrow's eyelids twitched, feeling very aggrieved but having to laugh it off. Otherwise, if it was absorbed by the boy, it would truly regret it. As long as it was alive, everything was fine.

Seeing the Swallowing Heaven Sparrow's expression, Xiao Yun ignored it.

As long as he was cautious, he wouldn't fear this bird as his strength increased.

Xiao Yun was in a great mood after merging with the martial soul, and his soul power spread out.

"There seems to be a stone chamber inside," Xiao Yun's eyes lit up, and he immediately walked towards the stone chamber.

"This is the legacy of a powerful person," the Swallowing Heaven Sparrow said.

The stone chamber was empty, with a skeleton lying inside, its bones like jade, crystal clear, and shimmering with a precious light. The long robe it wore had turned gray and was almost reduced to ashes, having been corroded for countless years.

Seeing the skeleton, Xiao Yun couldn't help but feel a sense of melancholy.

From the strength of the fire from the martial soul left by this predecessor, it was clear that he had been a supreme strong person in life.

But even so, he could not escape the cycle of life and death.

The skeleton had several broken bones, and the chest and abdomen were almost caved in, indicating severe injuries before death.

"Latecomer, I have disturbed you, please forgive me," Xiao Yun felt a bit melancholic and bowed to the elder to show respect.

He knew that the martial soul he had merged with was left by this person, and he had received a favor, so it was only right to do so.

Moreover, the dead should be respected, and such a gesture was not excessive.

The Swallowing Heaven Sparrow looked indifferent and muttered, "Just a dead ghost, what's there to respect?"

Xiao Yun didn't say much, bowed three times to show his gratitude for receiving the legacy, and then stood up.

Buzz!

Just as Xiao Yun stood up, the ground below trembled, and a hidden compartment opened.

This hidden compartment was triggered by Xiao Yun's bow.

"Did this predecessor leave something behind?" Xiao Yun was stunned and focused his gaze on the hidden compartment.

There was an ancient box inside, which clearly contained something.

"Huh, there's something!" The Swallowing Heaven Sparrow's eyes lit up, and it couldn't help but exclaim.

"What could it be?" Xiao Yun, curious, carefully took out the box.

He could faintly feel a trace of heat from the fire on the box.

Opening the box, a book appeared inside.

Purple Flame Alchemy!

Looking at the words on the book, Xiao Yun was slightly stunned, "Could this be an ancient book on alchemy?"

Picking up the book, Xiao Yun found a piece of paper beside it.

On the paper were clear words.

"I am the Purple Flame King, a master alchemist of the Medicine Sect, but I was tragically betrayed by my fellow disciples..."

This was a record of the Purple Flame King's life, revealing his glorious past to Xiao Yun.

The Purple Flame King was a supreme strong person and a master alchemist. Unfortunately, he was coveted for obtaining the formula for the legendary Nine-Transmutation Divine Pill, and was ambushed by his fellow disciples. He barely managed to escape and fled to this desolate place.

Unfortunately, his injuries were too severe, and he soon passed away here.

"Since you can see this, you are a person of destiny. I hope you can inherit my alchemy knowledge."

In the end, the Purple Flame King left this message.

As for revenge, the Purple Flame King did not mention it, only expressing regret.

In addition, he left an ancient alchemy cauldron and a map.

The ancient cauldron was also hidden in the compartment, and Xiao Yun quickly found and took it out.

It was a purple tripod cauldron with intricate patterns, emitting a vast aura.

Below the cauldron was a map.

This map showed the location of the divine pill, but it was incomplete, appearing to be only one-third of the whole.

"This area seems to be in the Fallen God Mountains of the Heavenly Capital Region's forbidden zone!" The Swallowing Heaven Sparrow suddenly spoke, its tone particularly excited, its eyes glowing with fervent light, "Could it really be that the formula for the legendary Nine-Transmutation Divine Pill is here?"