Firmament Sword

Du Qingteng was puzzled at the time and asked, ”Did that Fire Spirit wipe out that race?”

”Silly child, the Fire Spirit was that race’s Holy Fire. It was their god. What god would kill their own people?”

Du Qingteng still remembered when his master told this story. He had been sitting with a group of his martial brothers and sisters, all looking at their master with curiosity, listening intently.

”A living flame is simply too heaven-defying. This kind of Fire Spirit... is something the heavens and earth simply cannot tolerate!”

”That race... in order to protect this flame that had gained Spiritual Wisdom, fought against the heavens. It is said they resisted the Celestial Tribulation for thirty million years!”

”In the end... that once glorious and prosperous race, which had been the Lord of the Continent, fought until only one person was left.”

”It is said that at this point, the heavens were finally moved and spared the Fire Spirit.”

”But an incomparably brilliant, great race... fell into decline because of it.”

He remembered a senior sister had been moved to tears by the story, saying that the race was so touching for fighting to the last person to protect their god.

Du Qingteng also remembered what he himself had said back then.

He had said, ”That race was so damn stupid. If the heavens wanted to take the fire, just let them. Now look, they’re all dead for the sake of protecting a Fire Spirit. Was it worth it?”

And then... there was no ’and then.’ His butt was still swollen for several days after.

That day, not only did his senior sister give him a good beating, but even his master, who had always been kind and gentle with him, taught him a harsh lesson.

He’d said, ”You may be young and ignorant, but you must remember to never say such things again!”

The events of the past were still as clear as day. Du Qingteng had never dreamed that one day, he would actually meet a Fire Spirit in person!

And it was the Celestial Blue Fire Spirit from his master’s story!

To encounter it... so easily, and so unbelievably!

Looking again at the millions of Iron Dolls in this cold and desolate Earth Palace, Du Qingteng suddenly felt a pang of sorrow.

These millions of Iron Dolls... seemed to symbolize that incomparably glorious, great race of the past!

Only a Royal Family capable of dominating an entire continent would have the financial resources and ability to create so many Iron Dolls, right?

’So... the story my master told me back then wasn’t a legend, but the truth.’ The thought flashed through Du Qingteng’s mind.

Then, he saw the maiden walking toward him, Long Sword in hand.

Du Qingteng lost all will to resist. He sighed, looked at the Blue Flame Maiden, and said sincerely, ”Senior Fire Spirit, I’m sorry... I truly didn’t mean to offend you. It’s my fault... I admit it. This has nothing to do with my friends. Could you please let them go?”

Xu Luo and Master Mao watched from the side, completely stunned.

For some reason, however, as Xu Luo looked at the Blue Flame Maiden, a tremor ran through the depths of his soul. It seemed... his past self was very familiar with this Blue Flame Maiden!

”I am Beidou’s Eighth Star. I came from the starry sky and fell directly into the Lower Realm, and then... I have been reincarnating in the Lower Realm ever since.”

”Dubhe once said I was born in the Chaos Era, one of the first two beings to gain Spiritual Wisdom. The other was named Zhu, also called Kaitian. My name is Fu, also called Pidi.”

It was as if the sun, moon, and stars were flickering in and out of existence within Xu Luo’s eyes, revealing an endless, ancient vicissitude.

Even Xu Luo himself didn’t notice this change. He stared blankly at the Blue Flame Maiden, not understanding why seeing her would suddenly make him think of these things.

Originally... he had gradually suppressed these matters deep in his memories, and they would never be easily recalled.

Because any one of these memories contained a world-shattering secret!

If any one of them were to be known, it would likely set off monstrous waves!

In the world of the Divine Domain, the Big Dipper cannot be seen!

Therefore... Xu Luo didn’t want to think about so many things at a time like this!

’But why?’

Xu Luo looked at the Blue Flame Maiden.

At that moment, as if by telepathy, the Blue Flame Maiden saw him too.

”Brother Fu!” The Blue Flame Maiden’s eyes suddenly lit up. Her face, which had been cold and filled with intense anger, instantly brightened into a brilliant smile. The blue Long Sword in her hand vanished in a flash, and then...

She ran and threw herself at Xu Luo.

Du Qingteng couldn’t take the shock anymore. He fell to the ground on his butt and stared, dumbfounded, as the True God in his eyes... threw herself directly into the arms of his new boss, Luo Tian.

Xu Luo was frozen as well. He was completely dumbfounded, especially when the maiden called out the word ”Fu.”

His intuition hadn’t deceived him. His past self had definitely known this maiden!

’But... how is this possible? She... she’s just the spirit of a flame!’ Xu Luo screamed in his mind.

But immediately after, another voice appeared in his mind: ’Your past self... was also just a spirit!’

This voice... seemed to come from the ancient past, and yet also from the future.

It appeared abruptly in Xu Luo’s mind, yet he didn’t feel the slightest bit of surprise.

Because this voice... was his own!

The Blue Flame Maiden threw herself into Xu Luo’s arms, but the blazing flames on her body didn’t cause him the slightest harm.

Master Mao, stunned, had a malicious thought: ’Burn his clothes off! Let him streak!’

But Master Mao was soon disappointed, because Xu Luo’s clothes were completely unchanged!

Unconvinced, Master Mao extended a paw, wanting to test if the Blue Flame Maiden’s body had lost its heat.

But before it could get close, a wave of heat surged out, nearly scorching its paw. Baring its teeth, Master Mao snatched its paw back and pretended as if nothing had happened.

’How embarrassing,’ it thought. ’Luckily, Du Qingteng didn’t see that. The guy is just sitting there in a daze, looking completely undignified.’

Holding the Blue Flame Maiden, Xu Luo could feel a deep sense of dependence from her.

The maiden’s heavenly voice rang directly in his Sea of Spiritual Consciousness.

”Fu, don’t you remember me? I’m Lan, little Lan!”

”During the Chaos Era, I was by your side. I was that cluster of blue fire, do you remember me?”

The maiden’s heavenly voice carried a hint of charming naivety.

Xu Luo said with some bitterness, ”I... I can feel that you’re very familiar, but I’ve lost all my memories.”

”I know! It was Kaitian, it must have been him.” The maiden stopped there, then said, ”Fate has finally cycled back to this point. It was destined for me to see you again. I’ll never be separated from you again!”

”Uh...” Xu Luo was a bit speechless. He thought, ’Is fate really in control of everything?’

The maiden seemed very happy. Leaning against Xu Luo’s chest, she said softly, ”I don’t know how many years I’ve been sleeping here. It’s so lonely... I want to leave this place with you!”

Xu Luo finally came back to his senses, pointed at Du Qingteng on the ground, and said, ”He needs a bit of Celestial Blue Fire... to break through his bottleneck.”

The maiden turned her head and glanced at Du Qingteng. Her expression suddenly became incredibly haughty, and her entire aura changed, like that of a true goddess!

She looked at Du Qingteng and said, ”You led me to the person I was looking for, so I’ll forgive you for disturbing my slumber. Are you cultivating fire? You’re so bad at it!”

Du Qingteng forced a smile that was uglier than a crying face and nodded like a chicken pecking at rice. ”Yes... Lord Fire Spirit, you’re right. My cultivation level... is simply terrible!”

”Are you his friend? I can help you.” As the maiden spoke, a small wisp of blue flame appeared in her blue palm. She reluctantly left Xu Luo’s embrace, walked over to Du Qingteng, and pressed it directly against the spot between his eyebrows.

Xu Luo thought Du Qingteng would resist, but to his surprise, the man wore an ecstatic expression and closed his eyes with extreme reverence.

’Isn’t this guy afraid of being burned to death...’ Xu Luo grumbled inwardly.

The maiden pressed the wisp of blue flame directly into the spot between Du Qingteng’s eyebrows and said, ”There!”

After speaking, she immediately returned to Xu Luo’s side, snuggling against him as if she didn’t want to leave him for even a moment.

Du Qingteng felt it for a moment, then couldn’t help but reveal an incredibly excited expression. He actually knelt and kowtowed respectfully to the maiden.

Xu Luo could only turn his face away, not wanting to receive his friend’s bow by association.

”This junior thanks you, Lord Fire Spirit!”

Du Qingteng bowed earnestly, then said to Xu Luo, ”I need to go into seclusion for a while!”

With that, he closed his eyes.

The maiden sighed and said, ”So weak. I already helped him refine it, and he still can’t fully master it.”

”...” Xu Luo stared dumbfounded at the maiden, then said, ”You... can you only appear before people in this form?”

”Of course not!” The maiden turned, and the blue flames burning all over her body suddenly retracted. Then, a woman of peerless, city-toppling beauty appeared before Xu Luo.

It wasn’t just that she was gorgeous; you couldn’t find a single flaw anywhere on her!

Perfect!

This was a truly perfect woman!

Even Xue Chuqing, who possessed a beauty renowned throughout the Divine Domain, couldn’t be called perfect.

But this Blue Flame Maiden before him had no flaws, no matter which angle you looked from!

Like a masterpiece of the heavens, without any imperfections.

It even made one wonder how such a being could possibly exist in this world.

The maiden looked at Xu Luo and said softly, ”Before I went into slumber all those years ago, I performed a divination for myself. One day, you would come here and find me. Hee hee, I guessed right!”

”...” Xu Luo was speechless again. ’The miraculous Divination Skill... is just a guessing game for you?’ he thought.

”These ancient ruins... what’s their story?” Xu Luo thought for a moment and asked the question he most wanted to know.

The maiden, Lan, tilted her head and thought for a moment. ”It’s just a collapsed world!”