Chapter 2: Passive Advancement (Part 1)
It took Huo Fen Tian a long time yet she still couldn’t suppress the restlessness in her soul. Having absorbed too many souls, she had intended to ease up a bit. Unexpectedly, when leaving the Snow Valley Secret Realm, she encountered altar-level experts. Unable to resist, she forcefully seized their souls through fire sacrifice, plunging herself into an even greater crisis.
She knew this was a huge hidden danger, but she just couldn’t help herself—seizing others’ souls was highly addictive.
Upon hearing the news, the altar-level professionals from the Gu Ji family rushed over and surrounded Huo Fen Tian’s location. Although they lost some of their altar experts, they still believed they could overwhelm and eliminate Huo Fen Tian by combining their numbers.
Huo Fen Tian struggled to purify the impurities in her soul, but at a slow pace. Growing increasingly impatient, her soul became chaotic, and two flames appeared in her eyes. Suddenly, she raised her head and glared at the gathering professionals, growling impatiently, “All of you, get lost! Go away!”
Unable to process the newly acquired souls, Huo Fen Tian rarely resorted to physical action; instead, she merely shouted at the professionals to leave.
The leader among them was Ji Xue Tian, Ji Yun Tian’s elder brother, an expert at the sixth level of the altar. By now, he had vaguely sensed Huo Fen Tian’s strength, but his primary desire was to kill her. He shouted, “Prepare to attack! Surround her and kill her!”
Ji Yun Tian launched the attack first, followed by over a dozen other altar experts. With so many experts striking at once, their combined attacks were terrifyingly powerful.
Magic runes flashed as their sacred treasures were unleashed, flying toward Huo Fen Tian not far away.
A layer of flames erupted from Huo Fen Tian’s body. Any attack from the sacred treasures seemed to hit air, dissipating silently without causing any effect on her. Instead, the ice around her shattered into countless droplets, which reformed into ice crystals upon falling.
The professionals from the Gu Ji family were stunned, too afraid to launch another attack. Only then did they realize how terrifyingly strong this woman was—she could ignore the attacks of so many altar experts.
Interrupted in the process of merging souls, Huo Fen Tian could no longer contain her fury. She slowly rose into the air, her closed eyes suddenly opening as she said coldly, “Since you won’t leave, then stay! Fire sacrifice!”
The Frozen Continent was not actually a place where Fire Devourer could exert her power. It was extremely cold, with thick ice layers that made it difficult to reach the ground, so Fire Devourer couldn’t summon underground fire, which inevitably reduced her strength. Yet this woman was incredibly powerful; even with these limitations, she could easily handle professionals like Ji Xuetian.
Ji Xuetian was horrified to find that his soul seemed on the verge of burning. As an ice-type professional, he had destroyed two ice-related sacrificial treasures in a row to suppress the burning sensation in his soul. Terrified, he screamed, “Retreat! Run away…” Before his words faded, he witnessed a terrifying scene.
A dozen altar-level experts let out agonized screams as scorching flames rose from their altars, instantly turning into raging fires. Ji Xuetian’s eyes burned with fury as he shouted angrily, but the altars continued to teleport wildly into the distance.
This time, Fire Devourer didn’t absorb their souls. Instead, she reached out and grabbed them, pulling out over a dozen soul beads amidst explosive noises. With a loud howl, she sneered, “Since you’re here, there’s no going back!”
Ji Xuetian regretted it deeply. These altar-level professionals were among the elite forces of the Gu Ji family—about half of the family’s top warriors were here. If they were all killed by this woman, the Gu Ji family would inevitably weaken. How could he accept that? He screamed desperately, “Run! Escape!”
The Gu Ji family’s professionals fled frantically. They never expected that just by saying “fire sacrifice,” Fire Devourer had killed over a dozen elite altar-level experts, including some at the fifth-tier altar level. With a single strike, everyone gave up the idea of attacking, wishing their altars could fly faster.
Fire Devourer didn’t pursue further. Her soul was in chaos. She slapped the ground, sending countless sparks flying from her body, which landed on the ice field with hissing sounds, creating patches of mist. She slowly rose into the air, her eyes ablaze with extreme irritation.
Altar-level experts were fast enough to escape. In moments, the area returned to calm, with not a single figure in sight.
The ice on the ground melted rapidly. The sparks that landed on it turned into layers of flames, burning beneath the ice. It was unknown what kind of fire this was—even the ice couldn’t stop it. Large areas of the ice field melted and spread outward quickly. The mist formed from the melting ice came into contact with the extreme cold air and immediately turned into tiny ice crystals, falling softly.
Huofen Tian hovered high in the sky, somewhat confused, surrounded by countless tiny sparks. Loud noises came from the ground as snow pits collapsed under the impact of hot water. Centered around Huofen Tian, a huge lake began to form and spread rapidly. She continued to hover there, lost in thought, for over an hour before seemingly coming to her senses. Looking at the surface of the water from which steam rose, she reached out and grasped at nothing, causing hundreds of sparks to fly up and land in her hands. Moments later, the surging water turned into ice. Huofen Tian glanced around and suddenly disappeared from sight.
……
Guo Shier and the others rushed through the forest like the wind; they had been flying for several hours. The journey had been smooth, with small mutated beast spirits fleeing at the sight of their souls. The old man said, “That’s about it, kid. Go to the edge and see if there are any professionals left.” Guo Shier stopped, and the Eagle Demon and the others followed. He said, “Okay, I guess they probably won’t come this far.” With that, he flew toward the edge of the forest. Soon they reached the forest’s edge, where they could see an endless expanse of ice fields. Howling winds swept across the land, and tiny ice crystals pattered against the ground, producing a rustling sound. There wasn’t a single person in sight; the entire ice field was desolate and lonely, with only the howling wind occasionally audible. Guo Shier said cheerfully, “Let’s go.” The Eagle Demon said, “We’re lucky to have shaken them off. But how can we leave this continent?” Guo Shier replied, “I don’t know.” Nan You sighed, “It’s really exciting being with you guys. To get out, we still need to turn to the Guji family—they must know about the continents and secret realms in this area.” The Eagle Demon added, “Actually, there’s one more person who knows.” Everyone turned to look at him, and he continued, “Huofen Tian. She must know, otherwise we wouldn’t have come to the Thousand Lakes Continent. By the way, why did we come here in the first place?” Guo Shier smiled bitterly, “For water. Sigh, I never expected to end up in that miserable place.” The old man concluded, “That person… is nothing but trouble!” Suddenly, a figure appeared and asked softly, “What trouble?” The old man’s head snapped back, his soul trembling. “Damn… you scared the old man to death!”
Guo Shier looked at Huo Fen Tian, who had suddenly appeared, scratching his head with a wry smile. This woman appeared out of nowhere without any warning, which made him feel uneasy. They had often discussed her, and if she heard them, who knew how they would die.
No one could answer, so Guo Shier changed the subject and asked, “Elder, where have you been?”
Huo Fen Tian didn’t reply. Instead, she took out a handful of Soul Beads and said cheerfully, “I’m giving these to you.”
Guo Shier was stunned. Pointing at his own nose, he asked in confusion, “To me?”
Huo Fen Tian nodded and said, “Merge them with your own soul, and you’ll be able to advance quickly.” Everyone was stunned; they never expected Huo Fen Tian to give them Soul Beads. Moreover, the Soul Beads she took out were extraordinary—just from the ripples spreading from them, it was clear they weren’t ordinary.
The handsome old man also sensed the ripples from the Soul Beads. His soul trembled quietly, “Quickly take them! They’re formed from the souls of altar-level experts—excellent stuff!”
Even if Guo Shier didn’t want them, it was impossible for him to refuse. He didn’t dare reject Huo Fen Tian—who knew if she got angry? Encountering such a woman was like meeting one’s nemesis. He reached out to take the Soul Beads, examined them briefly, and was shocked—these Soul Beads contained extremely powerful souls, far stronger than his own.
Huo Fen Tian said, “Merge them directly with your soul. Hurry up!”
With a pained expression, Guo Shier said, “Elder, I can’t merge such powerful Soul Beads…”
Huo Fen Tian said eagerly, “It’s okay, it’s okay. I’m here… I’ll help you suppress the power of the Soul Beads. Hehe.”
The handsome old man was also terrified. Of course, he understood just how powerful these Soul Beads were. Once they entered Guo Shier’s soul, causing chaos was the least of the problems—they could easily make Guo Shier’s soul lose its way. Even if he didn’t become an idiot, he would become erratic.
Huo Fen Tian didn’t care what they thought and urged, “Hurry up! Swallow them, and you’ll advance! Really!” She sounded sincere and serious, but Guo Shier found it terrifying.
Guo Shier hesitated and asked, “Can I wait before using them?”
Huo Fen Tian said cheerfully, “No need to wait. You can use them right away. With me here, there’s no need to worry. Be good…”
Guo Shier’s head ached. He thought, “You’re trying to coax a child into taking medicine… Sigh, I’ll take the risk!” He picked up a Soul Bead, hesitated for a long time, his soul trembling. “Handsome old man, help me!” Gritting his teeth, he swallowed it and quickly sat down to start chanting silently.