Chapter 649: Anomaly in the Fire Realm

A fire man!
Su Che’s entire body was engulfed in pure black flames, resembling a sinister flame demon from the depths of the earth.
No further explanation was needed—facts spoke for themselves: crossing the Fire Realm relied on this very ability!
“Undoubtedly, the Chaos Demon-Annihilating Flame can no longer cause him any harm.”
Though still incredulous, Lin Jiu and the other five had to admit that Su Che had accomplished something they simply could not do.
Su Che didn’t intend to explain this ability to them. He simply said in a deep voice, “I can keep the Chaos Demon-Annihilating Flame at a distance of ten zhang, creating a relatively safe personal space. If you six stay within my domain, you have a good chance of crossing the Fire Realm safely. But I can’t guarantee your safety 100%. You must consider that.”
In such a perilous place, no one could assure they could protect everyone else—sometimes even they themselves might not survive. Su Che’s words made sense, and Lin Jiu and the others saw no flaw in them.
“Alright, then I rely on Tian Yu to take good care of us. We’ll discuss this favor later…”
As he spoke, Guang Qi, who had always played the ‘good guy’ role, subtly gave Lin Jiu a signal. Lin Jiu then fulfilled his role as the ‘villain’ quite competently.
Lin Jiu transmitted a message to Su Che, “Tian Yu, we’ll cross the Fire Realm with you. But if you try any tricks during this time, I’ll attack you immediately! I don’t believe you can withstand my full strength.”
Lin Jiu’s intention was clear: if Su Che used the Chaos Demon-Annihilating Flame to abandon them and escape on his own, Lin Jiu would rather die together than let Su Che get away.
This was the only way they could restrain or threaten Su Che.
No matter how amazing Su Che might be in other aspects, his cultivation level was far inferior to theirs. Unless he could kill all six of them in an instant, even a single counterattack from them could send Su Che to hell.
“I understand.”
Su Che replied calmly, his expression unchanged. “I can guess your thoughts. There’s no need to say more.”
With a whoosh, the flames subsided, and the Sacred Flame Guard was withdrawn back to Immortal Prison by Su Che.
“Then let’s go.”
Su Che moved and slowly descended downward.

The six members of Lin Jiu carefully surrounded Su Che, none of them staying more than ten zhang away. The ten-zhang-radius personal domain created by Su Che served as a safety zone—within it, no one would be harmed by the Chaos Demon-Annihilating Flames. Of course, this was just Su Che’s claim; the actual situation would be verified soon enough. The Chaos Demon-Annihilating Flames couldn’t instantly kill a Xuanxian like Lin Jiu. As long as they stayed within ten thousand zhang of the lower fire region, they could still escape alive. Theoretically, if Su Che could maintain stability over the first “ten thousand zhang” without any issues, he should be able to protect Lin Jiu and the others as they crossed more such distances. As they neared the Holy Flame Fire Region, not only Lin Jiu and his group but also You Lin, Lian Yi, and others hiding in the Dao Artifact Space were deeply anxious. The Chaos Demon-Annihilating Flames were no joke—how could they not be nervous? Sure enough! Su Che proved his ability by leading Lin Jiu and the others into the black flames below. His ten-zhang-radius personal domain immediately pushed countless flames aside, preventing even a single spark from penetrating. Whoosh whoosh whoosh… Descending vertically, Su Che remained silent. Lin Jiu and the others also wore solemn expressions, carefully guarding against the surrounding black flames. If anything went wrong, they would act together to subdue Su Che instantly and then fly upward to escape the fire region… One hundred zhang… One thousand zhang… Five thousand zhang… They continued descending and soon crossed the first ten thousand zhang. Everyone was unharmed. Along the way, though the Chaos Demon-Annihilating Flames pushed aside by Su Che’s personal domain appeared agitated, none of them could harm them—they were all thrown far above. “So far, it’s not bad,” Guang Qi transmitted to Lin Jiu. “This kid really has some skills. In just two months, he’s completely mastered this kind of spiritual flame.” “You’re starting to admire him?” Lin Jiu’s tone was peculiar. “A bit,” Guang Qi replied with a faint smile. “Your jealousy is also a form of admiration.” Lin Jiu’s eyes twitched; he stayed silent but inwardly sneered, “It won’t take long before all his skills become mine…” Whoosh whoosh whoosh…

Su Che surely couldn’t hear their telepathic communication. He continued to lead them downward vertically. Soon, another ten thousand feet was covered. If this continued, no matter how long or deep this fiery realm was, they would be able to pass through safely. After all, the Chaos Demon-Annihilating Flame could no longer threaten Su Che; on the contrary, Su Che now had the ability to control this fiery realm. So, was Su Che really willing to act as a shield for Lin Jiu and the others, truly willing to lead them through this ordeal safely? Of course not! Su Che had already made plans with Lao He—to use this Sacred Flame Realm to teach Lin Jiu and the others a harsh lesson. He hadn’t taken action earlier simply because the time wasn’t right. “It’s over twenty thousand feet now. Even if these guys try to turn around and flee, they’ll die along the way,” Lao He said gloomily in the Immortal Prison. “Master, it’s almost time.” “Exactly!” Su Che replied in his mind. Immediately afterward, a very obvious abnormal change occurred in the fiery realm ahead. Boom! Boom! Boom… The deafening roars came from the bottomless fiery realm below. Lin Jiu and the others paled. Without needing to say more, they could guess that something was about to happen. Soon, black flames from all directions suddenly became several times denser, encircling everyone tightly with no gaps. Earlier, there had still been spaces between the black flames along the way, but now they were completely connected, leaving no openings. “What’s happening?” one of the deputies blurted out, obviously asking Su Che. “The Demon-Annihilating Sacred Flames have gathered together, creating a strange resistance. Clearly, it’s meant to block my personal domain and stop us.” Su Che deliberately used “us,” implying that they were on the same side. “They’re deliberately trying to stop us?” Guang Qi said skeptically. “It’s true that the Chaos Sacred Flames possess spirituality, but they don’t have full consciousness. They wouldn’t deliberately target anyone—how could they do such a thing?” “I don’t know,” Su Che replied with a slight frown, his voice deep. “The resistance is getting stronger. I think it’s necessary to stop for now and observe what happens. We can’t keep plunging headfirst downward.” “Agreed,” Guang Qi replied immediately. Lin Jiu also didn’t express any dissent.

It’s quite wise to stop first and figure out the situation; no one has any reason to object. More importantly, they never imagined that Su Che could control those Chaos Demon-Extinguishing Flames to stage a deception together. Thus, the six people led by Lin Jiu also stopped descending along with Su Che. Fortunately, Su Che’s personal domain still existed, preventing any flames from intruding. Boom! Boom! Boom… The eerie roaring continued, getting closer and closer. But due to the black flames surrounding them having fully converged, everyone’s vision was restricted to within ten zhang. Moreover, these flames could harm the original spirit through divine consciousness, forcing everyone to keep their divine senses confined within their minds, afraid to extend them outward. As a result, they became almost blind, unable to see anything. “What exactly is going on outside? How can intangible spiritual flames produce thunderous noises?” Lin Jiu and the others were deeply anxious. Even with millions of years of experience, they couldn’t guess any possibilities. Inside the Dao Instrument Space, You Lin, Lian Yi, and the others were in a similar state of mind. They shared a common fate—if Su Che failed to hold things together and danger arose, they would all perish as well. Only Meng Luo remained expressionless, seemingly unconcerned about his own life or death. “Brother Meng Luo, do you know what kind of anomaly is happening outside?” Hei Ya couldn’t hold back any longer and turned to ask Meng Luo. “Something abnormal,” Meng Luo replied coldly. Hei Ya’s expression stiffened as he nodded awkwardly, inwardly cursing, “Nonsense!” The others had long realized he was an uncommunicative freak and decided not to bother him. Only that seemingly simple-minded Old Ox asked with a chuckle, “Boss Meng Luo, are we going to die?” “Yes!” Meng Luo replied bluntly, “Sooner or later.” Well, even Old Ox gave up at that point. Outside, someone asked a similar question, but this time it was the Deputy Demon Sealer addressing Su Che, “Young Tian Yu, can you guess what’s happening?” This person believed that Su Che must have complete resistance to the Chaos Demon-Extinguishing Flames and should therefore understand their properties very well. Su Che’s reply wasn’t as rude as Meng Luo’s; instead, he said in a low voice, “I feel this anomaly isn’t the intention of the Chaos Holy Flames. It seems something else is controlling them…”

Su Che’s words were also meant to lead them to think this way: within this dangerous place, there might be unknown intelligent beings.
“If that’s really the case, that would be troublesome!”
Lin Jiu and the others felt a surge of anxiety. Some creature capable of controlling the Chaos Demon-Annihilating Flame was not something they could handle—at least it had to be a super-strong being on the level of the Golden Winged Demon King…
Boom!
A loud explosion came from very close by.
Immediately afterward, the dense flames in front of Su Che and the others parted like a curtain, revealing a narrow passage.
A figure stepped forward from the other end of the passage, floating through the air and approaching slowly…