Fighting: Practice makes it real, start with a poisonous body.

"Pfft-"

Yan Jin's aura instantly weakened, the pressure of an eight-star Dou Sheng vanished, and the crisp sound of his bones breaking could be clearly heard.

Below, the faces of the Yan Clan elders changed drastically, their pupils filled with horror and despair.

As they gazed at the remnant soul of the Medicine Emperor suspended in mid-air, feeling the terrifying pressure emanating from him that far surpassed that of an eight-star Dou Sheng, they felt a chill run from the soles of their feet straight to the top of their heads.

This is something they simply cannot stop!

"Clan leader!"

An elderly man with white hair shouted and was about to rush forward to help, but was held back by his companion.

"Don't go! Going there will only lead to your death!"

Just as everyone was in despair, a staggering figure slowly stood up from the ruins.

Yan Jin leaned against the broken palace pillar, his body covered in blood and his clothes torn to shreds, but there was no sign of defeat on his face. Instead, he burned with an almost frenzied fighting spirit.

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his gaze sweeping over the terrified clansmen below, his voice hoarse: "What's the panic! It's not time to give up yet! The Yan Clan has a history of thousands of years, how could it be so easily destroyed!"
There is still hope! The last reserves of our Yan clan have not yet been used!

As soon as he finished speaking, Yan Jin took a deep breath and suddenly forced out all the remaining holy power and even the bloodline essence in his body, turning it into a crimson pillar of light that shot straight toward the ancestral altar in the deepest part of the Yan Realm!
"Om-!"

The moment the beam of light struck the altar, the entire Flame Realm trembled violently. The earth cracked, magma poured out, and an ancient and majestic hum echoed from the depths of the ancestral land.

Immediately afterwards, a golden line of fire shot up from the depths of the Flame Realm, tearing through the sky, and finally gathered into a ball of golden flame about ten feet in size above Yan Jin's head!

This flame was extremely strange. Unlike ordinary flames that are hot and violent, it exuded a warm and profound aura. Within the flame, countless ancient runes seemed to be slowly flowing, radiating a pressure that made heaven and earth tremble.

What's even more peculiar is that a faint imperial aura lingers above the flames, the aura of the ancestors of the Flame Clan!
The moment the golden flame appeared, the Yan Clan members below were stunned, and then their eyes blazed with disbelief.

"This is……"

"Could it be the legendary innate flame left behind by the ancestors of the Yan Clan?!"

"It actually exists! Our ancestor's innate flame has truly been passed down!"

A glimmer of hope finally appeared on the faces of the despairing crowd.

Yan Jin threw his head back and laughed loudly, his laughter desolate yet filled with boundless pride: "Hahaha! That's right! This is the last treasure of my Yan clan—the natal flame of our ancestors!"

"If I can fuse with this strange fire, I will temporarily gain the power of a half-Emperor! Not to mention the remnant soul of the Medicine Emperor, even the Dragon-Phoenix Son would be no match for me!"

His gaze swept over the ball of golden flame, a hint of determination and reluctance flashing in his eyes.

The ancestral innate flame is the lifeblood of the Yan clan. While fusing with this flame can grant heaven-defying power, the price is the burning of one's own soul and bloodline, ultimately leading to the destruction of one's soul and spirit...

But he had no other choice!
"Although I will surely die after the fusion..."

Yan Jin's voice gradually lowered: "But as long as I can fight for your lives and open a path to survival for the Yan Clan, I, Yan Jin, will die without regret!"

Everyone was stunned, staring at the blood-soaked figure, their eyes instantly reddening. A wave of sorrow swept through the entire Flame Realm. They knew that their patriarch was sacrificing his own life to give the Flame Clan a chance to survive! Then, a surge of rage erupted from the depths of their hearts!

"Clan leader!"

It's unclear who shouted first, but immediately afterward, countless cries of grief and indignation echoed through the sky.

"We'll fight the orcs to the death!"

"I would rather die than surrender!"

"To live and die with the Yan Clan!"

However, just as the Yan Clan members were overwhelmed by grief and determination and were about to fight to the death with Yan Jin, an extremely terrifying blood-red sword aura suddenly rose from the sky without warning!
“Clang, clang, clang—!”

The sword energy was as red as blood, reaching the heavens and the earth. As soon as it appeared, it echoed wildly in the sky above the Flame Realm, emitting a piercing "whoosh" sound, as if countless wronged souls were wailing within it!
A devastating sword intent descended like a curtain from the sky, and the Yan Clan members felt their bodies stiffen instantly, pinned to the spot and unable to move. Their fiery bloodline surged uncontrollably, as if it were about to be forcibly torn apart by this sword intent!
"Pfft! Pfft!"

The Yan Clan disciples with lower cultivation levels were directly shaken by this pressure, causing them to bleed from all seven orifices and collapse limply, without even the strength to let out a scream.

The core elders were pale-faced and tried their best to circulate their battle qi to resist, but they still couldn't stop their bodies from trembling, and their meridians were faintly aching from the sword intent.

A white-haired elder's pupils constricted to their extreme as he stared intently at the crimson sword energy: "It's the Star Annihilation Sword Intent! But how could it be..."

Before he finished speaking, the blood-red sword energy had already locked onto Yan Jin, who was standing covered in blood. Like a bolt of crimson lightning, it carried the power to tear the heavens and the earth apart and shot fiercely towards Yan Jin!

"Tear-!"

Just as Yan Jin was about to activate his holy power to fuse with the ancestral natal flame above his head, his pupils suddenly contracted when he sensed the deadly danger behind him.

He tried to turn around and block, but the speed of the Star Extinction Sword Intent was too fast, and the terrifying pressure had already blocked all his escape routes, making even his movements to mobilize his battle qi extremely slow.

"Tear-!"

A piercing tearing sound ripped through the sky. Just a second ago, Yan Jin was full of determination and arrogance, determined to fight for the survival of the Yan Clan with his life. However, his body was actually cleaved in two by this blood-red sword energy!
"Crash-!"

Blood gushed out like a fountain, staining the ruins beneath him. His broken body crashed heavily to the ground, the light in his eyes instantly fading, leaving only endless shock and resentment.

An eight-star Dou Sheng, the pillar of the Yan Clan, has fallen!
The entire Flame Realm fell into a deathly silence.

The Yan Clan members stared blankly at the scene, their grief and anger freezing instantly. They opened their mouths but could not utter a sound, and could only watch helplessly as their clan leader's mangled body lay in a pool of blood, his body ice-cold.

The ancestral flame that had been hovering above Yan Jin's head lost its pull, swayed slightly, and then slowly drifted into the sky. Finally, it landed precisely in the hand of a figure that was slowly walking towards them.

Su Yun held a longsword that emitted a blood-red light in one hand, and held the golden ancestral natal flame in the other. The warm light of the flame reflected on his face, making him look even more eerie and terrifying.

He hovered in mid-air, appearing like a demon crawling out of hell in the venomous and desperate gazes of the Yan Clan.

Su Yun glanced down at the strange fire in his hand, a strange smile playing on his lips: "As expected, the Yan Clan does have some good stuff... It wasn't for nothing that I deliberately spared your life, instead of killing you immediately, hehe." (End of Chapter)