AZI Volume 6 Chapter 9

"Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!!"

Throwing her arms around frantically, Xia Ri'er continues to scream. 

"Ah…"

Realizing what had happened, Qing Ming Yang's complexion turned pale. 

The person who had cursed them said that they aren't allowed to talk to anyone about their existence, and Xia Ri'er—in her peeved state, had completely forgotten about the terms. 

"Hmm."

Looking at the dark purple flames that are burning Xia Ri'er, Bai Wen frowns. 

These flames cannot be called actual flames, there is something innately different about them. 

"Uh…!"

Raising a sharp gasp, Xia Ri'er widens her eyes. 

She can evidently sense the core—that was formed during her ascension into the Core Formation realm, being melted. And should this be prolonged, she would inevitably lose her current realm of cultivation. 

"…" 

Watching Xia Ri'er being burned by the dark purple flames, Yao Ying stands completely still—utterly stunned by what had happened. 

"…"

Instinctively, Nuo'er takes a few steps back—in fear of getting these flames onto her body as well. 

"Surnamed Qing, save me!"

"…!"

As Xia Ri'er runs towards him, Qing Ming Yang widens his eyes, and steps aside—causing the former to fall onto the ground. 

"Ah this…"

With an awkward expression on his face, Qing Ming Yang continues to take a few steps back, and says—

"Surnamed Xia, I can't save you, these flames…"

Cursing at Qing Ming Yang in her head, Xia Ri'er turns to Bai Wen. 

"Bai-daren!"

Towards the pleading light in Xia Ri'er's eyes, Bai Wen shrugs his shoulders, and says—

"Ai, surnamed Xia, blame your own luck. These flames aren't something that I'm brave enough to touch."

"…!"

Enduring the agonizing pain of being burned alive, Xia Ri'er turns a hateful glare at Yao Ying. 

From Xia Ri'er's point of view, everything can be traced back to Yao Ying. If this little girl wasn't alive, she wouldn't have come into the Leng Bing Realm, and had been unfortunate enough to encounter Long Hua. 

"Because of you…! All of it is because of you!"

Rising off the ground, Xia Ri'er approaches Yao Ying with her hands stretched outwards. 

"…"

Regaining her wits, Yao Ying takes a few steps back. Similarly to Qing Ming Yang, she doesn't wish to get these flames onto her body either. 

"Ack!!!"

Upon her core melting fully, Xia Ri'er's eyes turn bloodshot. 

In that same instance, her cultivation base has been dropped back to the Foundation Establishment realm, and is continuing to plummet at a despairing rate. 

"…"

Setting his cup down, Long Hua rises off his seat, and makes a grasping gesture towards Xia Ri'er. 

Immediately, the dark purple flames that are burning Xia Ri'er flow towards Long Hua in the form of a stream. 

And upon all the flames having been extracted from Xia Ri'er, a fist-sized mass of it—looms an inch off Long Hua's palm. 

"…"

Looking at the dark purple flames like it is the most wonderful treasure in the world, Long Hua's eyes emit a radiant shine, while Bai Wen asks—

"Lao Long, what exactly is this flame?"

"Ming flames."

"…?"

Towards the curious look on Bai Wen's face, Long Hua shakes his head, and explains—

"Don't ask too much about it. Its very existence might as well be considered forbidden knowledge in some star regions. …What I can tell you is that—under normal circumstances, these flames are impossible to manufacture. Even the creation method that I've used is something that I'm borrowing; eventually, I'll be forced to return it to its source."

Raising a sigh, Long Hua thought—

(If only the contract maker could force the contractant to break the terms outright. Having more of these flames would be nice.)

...…

Within the dreamscape—

"Ah…"

Realizing something, the Tai Xuan Emperor widens her eyes. 

"That's why she wanted Ah Yao to break their contract…! It's so he can extract these flames!"

Discovering how vicious Long Hua is once more, the Tai Xuan Emperor hugs her arms together. 

...…

"Y-You're…?"

Looking at Long Hua, Qing Ming Yang—who has connected the dots, points to the former's direction with a trembling finger. 

"…Hm?"

Turning to Qing Ming Yang, Long Hua playfully positions the Ming flames in front of him, and blows against it. 

"…!"

Immediately, Qing Ming Yang dodges to the side; however, the expected flame blast never occurred. 

Smiling with amusement at Qing Ming Yang's reaction, Long Hua remarks—

"Calling it a flame isn't exactly appropriate."

Storing the flames away into his storage pouch, Long Hua retrieves his wine cup, and downs the remainder of the drink. 

Chuckling aloud, Bai Wen remarks—

"The source of these flames can't possibly be ordinary. Being cooped up inside of a cage—not knowing how vast the world truly is… Ai, this is why I'm against that old tortoise's method."

"…"

Setting the cup down, Long Hua glances at Qing Ming Yang, and says—

"Surnamed Qing, having seen these flames, do you still believe that you have any hopes of removing my curse on you?"

*Thud* falling onto his knees, Qing Ming Yang presses his head against the ground, and pleads—

"Senior, I don't dare! I-"

"…"

Seeing how frantically Qing Ming Yang is begging for his life to be spared—before glancing back at Xia Ri'er, who is covered in hideous burn wounds, an odd feeling manifests in Yao Ying's heart, as she looks to Long Hua. 

During the night she was thrown into the Leng Bing Realm, Qing Ming Yang and Xia Ri'er might as well have been existences that she cannot ever hope to match up to. 

But now—

(So, even they could be made to kneel and beg?)

Pressing a hand to her chest, Yao Ying frowns. 

She doesn't feel an ounce of pity towards Qing Ming Yang or Xia Ri'er. The two had attempted to kill her, so there is no need for her to do so. 

However, the ability to make them kneel and beg, this is a right that belongs solely to the powerful—someone that she is not.