Firmament Sword

Lan said, “Later, the Lord of the Continent’s nation grew furious and sent a large number of experts. We fought, and then… this world was broken.”

“…” Xu Luo was speechless.

The corner of Du Qingteng’s mouth twitched, and he grumbled, “Fine… I shouldn’t have asked.”

“So the people of this world… all died out long ago?” Xu Luo asked.

Lan said, “No. After this world collapsed, almost everyone who could leave did. Those who remained gradually faded away.”

“As for me, I was a little tired after that battle, so… I fell into a deep sleep, right up until today.”

“These Iron Dolls… How can they be controlled?” Xu Luo asked, looking at Lan.

Du Qingteng’s eyes suddenly lit up. ‘If I could command these Iron Dolls,’ he thought, ‘a single person could instantly become a terrifying powerhouse!’

‘It wouldn’t be any weaker than any of the top factions!’

“Let me think…” Lan frowned slightly, seemingly lost in thought.

Du Qingteng looked at Lan with pleading eyes, then shot an envious glance at Xu Luo. ‘Why am I never this lucky?’ he wondered.

‘What has this guy even done?’

‘A Fire Spirit!’

‘A spirit of fire!’

‘One of the most magical beings in the world, and the moment she sees him… she’s completely captivated.’

‘Right, I think the great Fire Spirit called him ‘Fu’? What does Fu even mean?’

Du Qingteng suddenly felt that this friend he had only recently met was shrouded in such a mysterious glow that he could barely see him clearly anymore.

‘Is he really… just a young disciple of Celestial Brilliance?’

The question echoed in Du Qingteng’s mind.

Xu Luo was also looking at Lan. If such a massive iron army could truly be brought under his command, it would be a terrifying force!

Moreover, it could be a trump card to keep up his sleeve.

Without Lan, Xu Luo could only stare at this iron army and sigh, completely powerless.

But now… there was at least some hope.

After a while, Lan spoke up, “It seems… this might work.”

As she spoke, countless specks of blue light appeared all over her body. They floated around her like living sprites, a sight so beautiful it took one’s breath away.

Upon closer inspection, these blue specks of light were actually tiny clusters of blue flames!

They burned and danced with joy, even striking various poses!

Du Qingteng trembled as he watched, muttering, “Manifesting thousands of Spiritual Fires… this is the pinnacle of fire control… the absolute pinnacle! It’s a divine technique!”

Then, with a gentle wave of her hand, millions of tiny flames shot out toward the Iron Dolls in every direction.

Stream after stream of tiny blue flames burrowed directly into the lifeless Iron Dolls.

Lan waved her hands continuously, her movements like a celestial fairy’s dance.

In the end, a fragment of Lan’s Fire Spirit had entered every single Iron Doll.

At this, Lan’s body swayed slightly, and her face turned a little pale.

Xu Luo asked with concern, “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. I just slept for too long, so I’m a little out of practice.” Lan smiled at Xu Luo. “Helping Brother Fu is more important than anything to me. This is nothing.”

Du Qingteng, standing to the side, was once again overcome with envy. He sighed internally, ‘Why not me? If it were me… I’d be over the moon!’

Just then, Lan commanded in a low voice, “Awaken!”

CLICK…

First came a faint, grinding, mechanical sound. Then, the sound instantly swelled into a chorus, roaring like an ocean tide!

The entire Earth Palace immediately resounded with a buzzing hum.

Then… Xu Luo, Du Qingteng, and Master Mao saw that in all directions, the million Iron Dolls all at once… opened their eyes!

An icy killing aura instantly erupted from the million-strong iron army, converging on the central altar.

BOOM!

Du Qingteng was a little unsteady on his feet, his face pale.

The aura of a million Venerable Peak experts… how terrifying would that be?

He was finally experiencing it.

He could still stand only because that aura wasn’t directed at crushing him!

Otherwise, even with his power surpassing the Initial Tier Ultimate Venerable, even as an heir to one of the three great Holy Lands, just not pissing his pants under the pressure from a million Venerable Peak auras… would be a damn impressive feat!

“Scared me to death! AHHHHH!” Master Mao’s fur suddenly stood on end, its tail puffed up, and it leaped onto Xu Luo in a flash.

Xu Luo also took a deep breath. He hadn’t expected the million-strong iron army to generate such an oppressive aura; he was utterly shocked.

Lan beamed at Xu Luo. “Brother Fu, what do you think? Was your little sister amazing or what?”

“Amazing! That was truly amazing!” Xu Luo gave a thumbs-up.

You’d have to be blind to not call a feat like this amazing.

Pleased by the praise, Lan smiled happily. Then, a three-inch-tall blue flame suddenly appeared in her palm. This flame looked very different from the previous ones.

Because this flame radiated an incomparably strong aura of life!

Water and fire are merciless. Floods can submerge everything, sweeping away all things!

Not even great mountains or rivers can stand in their way.

A great fire can burn everything to the ground, can extinguish all living things!

Yet at this moment, an incredibly strong aura of life was emanating from this ball of fire, making it utterly unbelievable.

“This… What is this?” Xu Luo asked.

At the side, Du Qingteng finally lost all composure and plopped onto the ground again. He said, utterly shell-shocked, “The Heart of the Fire Spirit… I can die without regrets now… I’ve finally seen it all!”

Xu Luo glanced at Lan, then glared at Du Qingteng. “Speak clearly. What is the Heart of the Fire Spirit?”

“It’s like a person’s heart.” The corner of Du Qingteng’s mouth twitched violently. He stared at Lan in disbelief, unable to imagine what kind of relationship this Fire Spirit could possibly have with Luo Tian… to be able to offer up something so fundamental to her own life… without a moment’s hesitation.

It was no exaggeration to say that whoever obtained this Heart of the Fire Spirit… would have true control over this Fire Spirit!

Her life and death would be in their hands!

Controlling the Heart of the Fire Spirit was equivalent to controlling the Fire Spirit’s lifeline!

She couldn’t resist in the slightest!

Du Qingteng had only heard about Fire Spirits in legends and stories, let alone a Heart of the Fire Spirit.

The impact of the scene he witnessed today was simply indescribable.

“What are you doing?” Xu Luo asked, looking at Lan with a flicker of compassion in his eyes.

“Giving it to you, of course!” Lan said, looking at Xu Luo as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Without the Heart of the Fire Spirit, how will you control these Iron Dolls?”

“I… I can’t take it!” Xu Luo said, looking at Lan seriously. “The Heart of the Fire Spirit is your lifeline. How can you just give it to an outsider?”

Du Qingteng nodded vigorously from the side. At this point, it was no longer about envy or jealousy, but true agreement with Xu Luo’s words.

‘It’s her lifeline! She can’t just give it to anyone!’

Lan looked at Xu Luo’s reaction, puzzled. “But you’re not an outsider!”

“…” Du Qingteng had just been about to stand up, but when he heard this, he stumbled again. He gave up on getting up and just sat on the altar, staring blankly at the two of them.

“That’s still not okay. You can’t be so trusting,” Xu Luo said earnestly. “The Heart of the Fire Spirit must stay with you. You should control this iron army, too. When I need them, you can just help me.”

“Hmm…” Lan tilted her head and thought for a moment, then refused. “No, I’d rather not. I don’t like these things.”

She laughed and said, “I’ve always been yours, you know. You might have forgotten, but that’s okay, you’ll remember. Back then, it wasn’t just me, there was Yao’Er too! Hey, speaking of Yao’Er, I think I can feel her aura! Seriously, it feels like she’s right here with you!”

Before Xu Luo could react, Lan thrust her palm forward, sending the Heart of the Fire Spirit into his forehead. Xu Luo felt a great tremor in his Sea of Spiritual Consciousness, and then… an incredible sense of familiarity with fire washed over him.

“Actually, a long, long time ago, I used to lend you the Heart of the Fire Spirit to play with all the time,” Lan said happily.

Xu Luo asked, dazed, “Really? And… who is Yao’Er?”

“Yao’Er is Little Yao! She must be with you. Open up your space and let me go find her!” Lan looked at Xu Luo with anticipation.

Xu Luo racked his brains but couldn’t remember who Yao’Er was. However, he still did as she said and opened the Bronze Divine Hall.

“It has returned to your hands? That’s great!” Lan instantly sensed the aura of the Bronze Divine Hall and disappeared into thin air.

“Lan… doing this, will it harm you?” Xu Luo finally came to his senses and shouted the question.

“Just a little! It’s no big deal!”

Lan’s voice came from the Bronze Divine Hall World. Then, he heard her calling out, “Yao’Er… come out, I can feel your aura! Come out, come out, come out, come out! It’s your Sister Lan!”

The voice gradually faded away.

“…” The corner of Du Qingteng’s mouth twitched. After staring at Xu Luo for a long time, he finally couldn’t hold it in any longer. “Boss… Brother Luo… no, Master Luo… you… you’re carrying an entire world on you?”

“Just speak normally!” Xu Luo glared at Du Qingteng, feeling more and more that the more familiar he became with this guy, the more unreliable he seemed.

“How can you possess such a great treasure? Not even the three great Holy Lands have one!” Du Qingteng looked at Xu Luo and sighed, then stood up. “If any one of these secrets of yours got out, it would probably drive the entire population of Jiuzhou mad.”

“That’s why… I’m Luo Tian.” Xu Luo sighed. He couldn’t help but smile bitterly as he recalled his experiences in the Lower Realm.

Du Qingteng looked at Xu Luo and said in earnest, “But don’t you worry. Everything I’ve witnessed today, I’ll take to my grave. I will never breathe a word of it to another soul!”

“If I didn’t trust you, I wouldn’t have come with you,” Xu Luo said, patting Du Qingteng’s shoulder. “So, don’t feel pressured. Let’s go.”