Chapter 58: Soul-Devouring Nether Flame

Zhou Huai controlled Gandalf, his figure flickering as he rapidly approached that cluster of ghostly green flames.

Before they even got completely close, a wave of scorching heat rushed toward them, not baking the Physical Body, but rather a bizarre scorching heat that seemed as though it would ignite the Soul!

Even more, a scalp-tingling palpitation spontaneously arose from the depths of his heart.

When Gandalf was less than three meters away from the flame, a line of information panels finally clearly floated before his eyes:

[ Exotic Flame: Soul-Devouring Nether Flame (Unidentified / Unbound) ]

[ Effect: This fire originates from the depths of the Nine Nether Hell, condensed from endless resentful Souls and Evil Qi. Once contaminated, it is like bone-gnawing maggots, extremely difficult to extinguish. During the burning period, it will continuously scorch the target's Physical Body and Soul, causing fire damage and Soul damage based on Mental Energy every second. The flame duration is at least fifteen minutes, until the target is reduced to ashes or the caster actively withdraws it. Those whose Souls are burned by this fire have a certain chance of their Souls collapsing and being completely annihilated. ]

[ Note: Absorbing this fire requires enduring the backlash of the Nether Prison's Evil Qi and the biting of ten thousand Souls, a slim chance of survival. ]

" It really is an Exotic Flame! "

Zhou Huai's pupils suddenly contracted, and his breathing even became somewhat hurried!

Exotic Flame!

This is definitely a good thing!

In Great Xia Country, and even the entire Blue Star world, Exotic Flames are extremely rare existences!

Its formation conditions are extremely harsh, often only born with a very low probability in some desperate and perilous realms with extremely special environments and highly concentrated energy, or the places where terrifying BOSSes with heaven-reaching strength and mastery over the fire Law have fallen.

The birth of every Exotic Flame is enough to trigger crazy competition among countless Professionals, and even stir up bloody storms!

Its preciousness goes without saying!

For fire-attribute Professionals, an Exotic Flame is an even more dream-desired supreme treasure!

Once successfully absorbed and refined, not only will the power of one's own fire skills experience an earth-shaking surge, but it will also carry the special attributes of the Exotic Flame, becoming bizarre, unpredictable, and impossible to guard against!

According to rumors, that legendary mage in the Free Federation known as the Flame Disaster had a profession rating of only an A-Rank Blazing Flame Controller.

Yet through an Opportunity, he obtained an S-Rank Exotic Flame, the True Sun Fire.

Relying on this fire, he could even go head-to-head with veteran S-Rank Experts without falling behind, instantly cementing his legendary name!

From this, it can be seen just how terrifying the enhancement of a powerful Exotic Flame is for Professionals!

Besides combat, Exotic Flames have irreplaceable roles in fields such as forging, Alchemy, array formation, and even top-tier cooking.

The Forging Guild in Donghai City, that forging room acclaimed as the most top-tier, has its core energy as a cluster of D-Rank Earth Core Fire.

Zhou Huai felt that compared to the Soul-Devouring Nether Flame before him, that Earth Core Fire was simply the difference between fireflies and the bright moon.

They are simply not on the same order of magnitude.

Exotic Flames also have grade distinctions.

From low to high, they are successively D, C, B, A, S.

On the market, even the lowest-grade D-Rank Exotic Flame can easily sell for an astronomical price of tens of millions of Daxia Coins.

And it is consistently priced without a market.

Zhou Huai looked at the Soul-Devouring Nether Flame before him, his heart burning with passion.

However, wanting to absorb an Exotic Flame is no easy task.

The more powerful the Exotic Flame, the more terrifying its backlash power.

During the absorption process, one must not only endure the bone-gnawing and body-burning pain of the fire itself, but also resist the violent will impact contained within the Exotic Flame's Origin.

If one is slightly careless, the end result is the destruction of both body and Divine Soul, turning into flying ash.

Throughout history, the number of Genius Professionals who have fallen while attempting to absorb Exotic Flames is countless!

Therefore, before absorbing an Exotic Flame, Professionals usually make thorough preparations.

First, they must use a precious [Exotic Flame Appraisal Scroll] to determine its grade and characteristics and evaluate the risks.

Secondly, they will also prepare various auxiliary Medicinal Pills or items to resist backlash and stabilize the mind, before cautiously attempting absorption.

But right now, Zhou Huai was deep within this bizarre hidden dungeon; let alone an appraisal scroll, there wasn't even a single strand of hair.

Wanting to get this Exotic Flame, Gandalf had to force his way through!

" Wealth is sought through danger! "

A trace of decisiveness flashed in Zhou Huai's eyes.

He decisively withdrew from controlling Gandalf's body, handing everything over to the ultimate calm smart core ai to handle.

An AI without a Soul might have unexpected effects when resisting backlash on the Soul level!

Gandalf, under the control of the smart core ai, slowly extended his right hand, reaching toward the quietly suspended Soul-Devouring Nether Flame.

Just at the moment his fingertips were about to touch the flame.

That cluster of Soul-Devouring Nether Flame, like a startled Vicious Beast, suddenly came alive, transforming into a ghost face that viciously pounced toward Gandalf!

Hum——!

[Arcane Barrier] shone brightly, blocking the green ghost-faced flame tightly outside.

However, the flame did not stop there.

Like a giant green spiderweb, it instantly wrapped up the entirety of Gandalf, frantically scorching him!

-1229!

-1299!

-1258!

A series of astonishing damage numbers frantically popped up from above Gandalf's head.

The shield value of [Arcane Barrier] plummeted at a terrifying speed.

If any living person were here, they would probably have long since had their mentality collapse from the excruciating pain of Soul-burning and bone-corroding.

At the same time, he closed his eyes, resembling an experienced monk entering meditation, and began following a certain profound trajectory to try to guide and absorb this destructive power originating from Hell.

This was a long and perilous process.

The "Soul-Devouring Nether Flame" was extremely violent; every wispy flame seemed to carry an independent will, frantically wanting to tear apart Gandalf's defense, burrow into his body, and burn him into nothingness.

The shield value was rapidly depleting, approaching shattering time and time again, only to be re-supported by the smart core ai the moment the cooldown ended.

Gandalf's mana was also drastically depleting, forcing Zhou Huai to make him chug several bottles of magic recovery potions previously plundered.

Time passed second by second.

Zhou Huai's heart also jumped to his throat.

He could clearly perceive that the smart core ai was engaging in a tug-of-war with the Soul-Devouring Nether Flame in a way that surpassed human comprehension.

It had no emotions, no fear, only cold and precise calculations.

It turned Gandalf's body into a perfect vessel, meticulously guiding those violent flames, incorporating them into the body, and then using its own massive Mental Energy to slowly wear away their malignant aura and refine their Origin.

Finally——

I do not know how much time passed, when the shield value of [Arcane Barrier] once again bottomed out.

That final wispy ghostly green flame emitted an unwilling whimpering sound and was completely sucked into Gandalf's body!

Zhou Huai's tensed nerves finally relaxed.

He let out a long sigh of relief.

" Success. "

Just a moment ago, he had even prepared for Gandalf to be blown apart and die on the spot.

The backlash power of this Exotic Flame was truly too ferocious.

Its grade is definitely not low.

After absorbing the Exotic Flame, Zhou Huai forcefully suppressed the excitement in his heart and controlled Gandalf to carefully search around the ancient battlefield once again.

After determining that there were no other treasures worth taking away, nor any deeper hidden BOSS.

Only then did he contentedly control Gandalf to leave this hidden underground space and rendezvous with Yasuo waiting outside the stone door.

Subsequently, the two did not linger and quickly withdrew from the Shadow Swamp Demon Cave.

…

Swish! Swish!

Two streams of white light flashed past, and the figures of Yasuo and Gandalf reappeared at the entrance of the Shadow Swamp Demon Cave dungeon.

At this moment, the sky outside had turned completely dark.

The night sky was dotted with stars, yet it could not disperse the deep gloom and chill of the wilderness.

Zhou Huai looked at the scene before him, couldn't help but be slightly stunned, and felt somewhat surprised.

I saw that outside the dungeon entrance of the Shadow Swamp Demon Cave, I don't know when, a large number of Professionals had actually gathered.

At the very least, there were over a hundred people.

They sat around a few bonfire piles in groups of three or five, talking in low voices about something, and the atmosphere appeared somewhat heavy.

On everyone's face, there was more or less a trace of worry and unease.

The corpses of those people from the Sword of Azure Sky guild had already been dragged aside casually by people and piled up like trash.

These fellows who usually relied on power to bully others and acted domineeringly—after dying, nobody was even willing to spare them an extra glance.

The strange thing was that from beginning to end, no one cast their gaze toward Yasuo and Gandalf who had just appeared.

As if they were merely air.

A trace of doubt welled up in Zhou Huai's heart.

The people from the Sword of Azure Sky, why haven't they come yet?

Logically speaking, with so many people dying here, the news should have been passed back long ago.

Also, what are these people guarding here for?

Looking at their appearance, it doesn't seem like they are preparing to form a team to enter the dungeon.

Zhou Huai's thoughts stirred, controlling Yasuo as he walked toward a middle-aged man not far away who was wiping a long saber.

" What happened? "

Yasuo's voice remained in that cold tone.

" Why are you all gathered here? "

That middle-aged man raised his head, looked Yasuo up and down, and glanced at the silent Gandalf behind him.

In his eyes, there was a trace of vigilance.

" You don't know? "

Zhou Huai controlled Yasuo to shake his head.

" Just came out of the dungeon. "

Hearing this, the look of vigilance on the middle-aged man's face slightly decreased, which immediately turned into a long sigh.

He returned his long saber to its sheath, his tone heavy.

" It's better if you don't know. "

" Tonight, Donghai City is probably going to be unpeaceful. "

Zhou Huai furrowed his brow slightly, didn't speak, and just quietly waited for his continuation.

The middle-aged man looked at the jungle shrouded by the night veil in the distance, his eyes full of worry.

" Beast Tide. "

" Tonight, there's estimated to be a Beast Tide. "

" All of us people escaped from nearby leveling spots to take refuge here. "