Battle Through the Heavens: Starting with Cao Ying as an apprentice

The blue light surged like a tide, instantly cleansing the body and forcing out all the emotional fires that were trying to take root.

A lotus phantom appeared around her, transforming into a blue light shield that protected her.

Outside the protective barrier, several figures were struggling painfully in the sea of ​​fire.

Some were consumed by their own fear, others by greed, and all were reduced to charred shells. Further away, a semi-saint sat cross-legged with a ferocious expression, his battle aura fiercely clashing with the pale flames, clearly also locked in a bitter struggle.

"Anyone below the level of a half-saint will die if they enter. Even a half-saint, without special methods, will likely perish here." Cao Ying shook her head and sighed softly.

"Ying'er... Ying'er..."

Just then, a weak yet familiar call came from the depths of the flames.

Cao Ying paused slightly and looked in the direction of the sound—she saw Su Baichen lying beside Jiao Yan, his white clothes stained with blood, a terrifying penetrating wound on his chest from which pale flames were seeping, his breath as weak as a candle flickering in the wind.

"Ying'er, save your master..." He reached out his hand with difficulty, his eyes full of pleading.

Cao Ying didn't step forward immediately. She tilted her head and looked at them for a moment, her expression becoming extremely strange, before finally bursting out laughing.

She crossed her arms and said in a teasing tone, "I have to say, your acting... is just too convincing, isn't it?"

Chapter 362 The Demon Saint's Gaze!

Su Baichen's outstretched hand froze in mid-air, his weak and painful expression frozen.

"Wh-what?"

“I said—” Cao Ying’s smile vanished, and she raised her right hand slightly, instantly transforming the colorful flames into a long, flowing spear.

"—You're faking it so badly."

The spear slipped from his hand and pierced his brow.

The illusion shattered inch by inch, turning into pale sparks that dissipated in the sea of ​​fire.

"Where does he not look the same?" Su Baichen's amused voice echoed in his mind.

Cao Ying patted non-existent dust off her hands and thought to herself as she walked, "Master, with your cautious nature to the core—I've known you for so long, and I've never been able to 'sense' you outside."

Even if you are seriously injured!

She said firmly, "I will definitely find a rat hole where no one can find me first, and then consider how to get treatment."

"Why would they lie there so openly, waiting for someone to rescue them, like they did just now?"

“Therefore, a ‘master’ whose aura I can easily sense must be a fake.” She gave her final verdict.

Su Baichen was silent for a moment, his voice carrying a hint of amusement and exasperation: "...You really understand your teacher."

“That’s natural,” Cao Ying said, raising her chin, her blue lotus radiance flowing.

"After all, a good teacher produces outstanding students."

"Master, you're so strong, how could I possibly be weak!"

"Alright, stop fooling around. Xiao Yu is just ahead, and she's not doing well!" Su Baichen's voice rarely carried a hint of urgency. He fell silent as soon as he finished speaking, as if he had never been there.

Cao Ying felt a chill run down her spine and, without further hesitation, quickly walked forward.

In just a few breaths, she saw the figure enveloped in pale flames—Xiao Yu was kneeling on one knee, surrounded by eerie white flames, her hair fluttering silently in the flames, her eyes unfocused, and intermittent, indistinct whispers escaping her lips.

"Xiao Yu, wake up!"

Cao Yingqing shouted, her jade hands flying, and a colorful, flowing lotus flower of flames suddenly bloomed in her palm.

The lotus petals unfurled, bursting forth with a scorching and pure radiance, which she then imprinted into Xiao Yu's back with her palm.

"Uh-"

Xiao Yu shuddered violently, letting out a short groan of pain, her eyes regaining clarity for a moment.

Seizing this fleeting moment, Cao Ying focused all her attention on guiding the wisp of colorful flame, transforming it into countless fine streams that seeped into Xiao Yu's limbs and bones.

Wherever it passed, the white demonic fire, like a persistent carbuncle, was forced out inch by inch, turning into wisps of pale smoke that hissed and dissipated into the fog.

"I... just now..." Xiao Yu leaned on the ground, panting heavily, her forehead covered in cold sweat, and her eyes still showing lingering fear and disorientation.

“It should be the Pure Lotus Demon Flame.” Cao Ying stopped her attack, the seven-colored flame receding into her palm, her expression as solemn as frost.

"This fire is strange, with very few records, and my knowledge of it is also limited."

Just then, Su Baichen's calm yet clear voice resounded once again deep within their consciousness:

"The Pure Lotus Demon Flame uses human emotions as fuel and can ignite a demon flame within itself."

"Once this fire takes hold, if it is not extinguished immediately, it will slowly burn away the blood and soul from the inside out, until the host becomes nourishment and slave of the demonic fire."

"Xiao Yu must have fallen into an illusion, lost his composure, and was emotionally agitated, which led to his self-destruction."

"As for Cao Ying—when you stepped into this place, did you feel any nameless unease? If it weren't for the 'Myriad Fire Lotus' within you, which is naturally sensitive to the myriad fires and spontaneously protects its master, you would probably have followed in Xiao Yu's footsteps by now."

Upon hearing this, Cao Ying suddenly recalled the inexplicable surge of violent energy she felt when she first entered the fog, an energy that almost made her want to vent on everything around her. A chill ran down her spine, and fine beads of cold sweat appeared on her forehead.

This demonic fire... can ignite emotions without anyone noticing, killing without anyone's knowledge; it is truly insidious and terrifying.

Xiao Yu regulated his breathing for a few breaths, suppressed his surging blood and qi, and looked up at the thick white mist around him that seemed to be alive, slowly flowing and changing.

"Young master, is this bewitching illusion related to this strange white mist?"

"Exactly." Su Baichen's voice was like a deep pool in an ancient well, calm and still, yet penetrating all the fog.

"This is the 'Nightmare Mist,' an ancient secret technique that can cause people to be forever trapped in their inner demons, endlessly cycling between beautiful dreams and nightmares. The mist is the medium, and the mind is the guide. When the two are combined, it is difficult to distinguish between reality and illusion, and it is extremely dangerous."

Cao Ying's eyes sharpened, and she looked around warily.

"The Nightmare Mist confuses the mind, and the Pure Lotus Demon Flame burns with passion... The combination of the two is a deadly trap aimed at the cultivator's mental state."

Her voice was low, and mysterious fire patterns were faintly visible on her fingertips.

Xiao Yu nodded silently, her fingertips icy cold. In the illusion just now, past regrets, obsessions, fears and desires came rushing in, weaving a web that made her sink into despair.

If it weren't for Cao Ying's clear shout imbued with soul power and the timely injection of strange fire, he would probably be a walking corpse by now.

"Keep a close watch on your mind, as if walking on thin ice." Su Baichen's tone carried a strange sense of calm.

"From now on, whatever you see, hear, feel, or experience, you can first suspect it to be an illusion. Remember, the Pure Lotus Demon Fire is best at interweaving reality and illusion, making the false appear true and the true appear false. The distinction between truth and falsehood lies in your heart."

"clear."

The two exchanged a glance, both seeing the solemnity and determination in each other's eyes.

Under the protection of the Myriad Fire Lotus, they sat cross-legged on the spot, closed their eyes and concentrated, circulating their inner energy to gradually peel away and soothe the shock, fear, and all the emotions and distractions that might have been exploited by the demonic fire.

Once their minds had returned to clarity and their internal energy flowed freely, the two rose and, one in front of the other, cautiously ventured deeper into the white mist.

After an unknown amount of time, the thick, impenetrable white fog around us finally began to thin and disperse.

When the two of them came out, Cao Ying and Xiao Yu both breathed a sigh of relief, their tense minds and bodies relaxing completely.

"Finally... we've made it out." Xiao Yu looked back at the still churning wall of mist behind her, which seemed to hide countless nightmares, and whispered with lingering fear.

Cao Ying did not relax immediately. Her delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, and her gaze was sharp as she carefully scanned the seemingly peaceful and serene space in front of her. The vague sense of disharmony in her heart did not disappear, but became more and more obvious.

“No…” she muttered to herself, her voice wary.

“I always felt… something was wrong. It was too smooth, and… too ‘normal’.”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yu's expression suddenly hardened, his relaxed nerves tightened again, his internal fighting spirit quietly accelerated, and his perception was raised to the extreme as he carefully examined every bit of energy flow and spatial fluctuation around him.

Meanwhile, deep within Cao Ying's mind, in the sea of ​​consciousness...

Two illusory figures, one white and one green, were quietly "watching" everything happening in the outside world.

The white-clad figure was handsome and otherworldly, and his body seemed to exude an aura of purifying all things. It was none other than the Pure Lotus Demon Saint (remnant soul).

The figure in green beside him was naturally Su Baichen (in his soul form).

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Douluo Continent: You Become Gods, I Become an Immortal

Chapter 363 Fire Slave!

"Excellent, truly excellent."

The Pure Lotus Demon Saint's thoughts carried an undisguised admiration as his gaze fell upon Cao Ying.

"Your disciple's spiritual sense is so sharp. Stepping out of the Nightmare Mist, he was able to detect the extremely discordant 'perfect' illusion in this space. This insight far surpasses that of others."

"So-so," Su Baichen said casually, arms crossed, but a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth betrayed a hint of smugness.

"He only inherited three or four parts of my true teachings from back then, and he still needs to hone them."

"Hey, you little rascal, you're getting a good deal and you're still acting innocent." The Pure Lotus Demon Saint laughed and scolded, pointing a phantom finger at Su Baichen.

"Do you know how old she is now? Not only has her cultivation reached the level of a two-star Dou Sheng, but her soul power has also touched the threshold of the mid-stage of the Heavenly Realm! Such talent and temperament are extremely rare."

"Moreover, she is now facing a trap set by 'Little Demon'—after receiving my inheritance, that guy's skill in illusion and control over reality are several times more troublesome than before."

He paused slightly, his mind sweeping over the other areas of the demonic fire space.

There, some intruders still wander and struggle in the nightmare fog, or are so immersed in the beautiful illusion that they are unwilling to wake up, or are trapped in the terrifying nightmare and gradually collapse, and some have even turned to ashes silently in the demonic fire ignited by their own emotions.

"You should be content to have such a successor," the Pure Lotus Demon Saint sighed softly, her voice carrying an ancient vicissitude and a hint of complexity.

“Look at the others. So many so-called prodigies and old monsters are still lost in the illusion, oblivious to their impending death. It is truly remarkable that your disciple has come this far and has even sensed the impending danger.”

Su Baichen stopped refuting, but stared at Cao Ying and Xiao Yu's wary and probing figures outside. A trace of almost imperceptible solemnity and concern flashed deep in his eyes.

The real test has only just begun.

This seemingly peaceful space is probably the first "real" welcoming gift that the Pure Lotus Demon Flame (Little Demon) has carefully prepared for these "distinguished guests".

…………

After leaving the Nightmare Sky Mist, the two women arrived at a crimson plaza.

In the center of the square, Xun'er, Gu Qingyang, and Gu Nanhai were on high alert. When they saw them appear safely, they all relaxed.

"The calculation is finally done!" Xun'er stepped forward quickly, her worried expression turning into genuine joy.