Flint Blaze shouted angrily, "If King Lane truly insists on this, then I'll stand my ground to the end!"
"Flint Blaze, it seems you've already colluded with outsiders and refuse to listen to me," King Lane said with a cold snort.
"I am only responsible for the Heaven-Scorching Furnace and the safety of the Desert Tribes. Whether I listen to you depends on your actions. Everything else is none of my concern," Flint Blaze replied.
"Do you really think you're something special just because you're the guardian of the Heaven-Scorching Furnace? Watch how I break you today!" King Lane snorted. As he spoke, a strange energy appeared in his hand and struck Flint Blaze directly.
Instantly, Flint Blaze felt as if he were bound by some invisible force. He exclaimed in shock, "King Lane, you actually use such crooked methods!"
"Crooked methods? This is simply the power of our Desert Tribes," King Lane sneered.
"The Desert Wastes have a strict rule—no one is allowed to use this power. You... you actually broke the rules! Unforgivable!" Flint Blaze roared.
"Why not use such great power? Only fools like you would cling to dead rules," King Lane laughed heartily.
Flint Blaze shouted, "I'll let the Desert Tribes see your true face!"
"It's useless. Once you're dead, I'll blame everything on them. Nothing will happen to me," King Lane laughed.
Flint Blaze was shocked, not expecting King Lane to have planned even this. At that moment, Evan Yang, standing nearby, smiled and said, "King Lane, do you really think you're that impressive?"
"Without that power, I'd think you're formidable. But with it, you can see—he can't even fight back, just stands there immobilized," King Lane said confidently.
"Is that so? Then let's see if your power is stronger or if my luck holds out," Evan Yang sneered.
Evan Yang moved, and King Lane's hand was already reaching out. As Evan attacked, King Lane quickly reacted, pointing at Evan just as he had before. A strange power coiled around Evan.
Instantly, Evan Yang was immobilized, just like Flint Blaze.
King Lane laughed, "I thought you were something special, but you're nothing. Once I deal with that girl and let the Heaven-Scorching Furnace erupt, I'll blame everything on you. Then I'll personally finish you off and hand you to my son. I hear you have many Blood Marks—my son should like that."
Evan Yang stood amidst the flames, unhurried, as the voice of the Blood Demon Lord echoed in his mind.
"This is Nether-Origin Force from a remote region beyond the Chaos World. But he only has a little of it; this power can temporarily immobilize people," explained the Blood Demon Lord.
"Is there any way to break it?" Evan Yang asked.
"No, but your body is special. This power only works on animals, not plants. You have the Heaven-Cold Seed inside you, so you're half human, half plant," the Blood Demon Lord replied.
Hearing this, Evan Yang felt a bit strange—was he no longer human?
But now wasn't the time to ponder these things. He activated the Heaven-Cold Seed, and sure enough, once Heaven-Cold qi dominated his body, he could move again.
Unaware, King Lane approached Ember Yang and smiled, "Little girl, you have quite the skill—even able to swallow flames. But your time is up. Die, and don't interfere with my Heaven-Scorching Furnace!"
With that, King Lane threw a punch toward Ember Yang, who was absorbing flames. Seeing the punch, she quickly tried to dodge, but his power locked onto her—no matter how she tried, she couldn't escape.
Just as Ember Yang thought she was doomed, Evan Yang appeared beside King Lane, smiling, "You were too careless. Did you really think you were invincible?" He grabbed King Lane's fist and hurled him into the wall.
King Lane never expected Evan Yang to break free from the power's restraint. He exclaimed in shock, "Impossible! How can you move?"
Flint Blaze was also shocked, never expecting Evan Yang to be immune to such evil power.
"I'm really curious—where did you get this power?" Evan Yang asked with a smile.
"Damn it! That's none of your business. Die!" King Lane tried to attack again, but Evan Yang dodged. The two fought in the cramped space, naturally affecting the Heaven-Scorching Furnace.
The flames from the Heaven-Scorching Furnace surged even higher. Flint Blaze was shocked and quickly told Ember Yang, "Quick, absorb these flames, or the outside will suffer!"
"Okay." Ember Yang knew it was no time for jokes, so she quickly opened her mouth and absorbed all the flames.
Meanwhile, Evan Yang and King Lane continued their fierce battle. But as time passed, Ember Yang felt the power was too immense to absorb all at once. She called out, "Dad, this power is too much—I can't hold on!"
"Hang in there just a bit longer. I'm coming," Evan Yang said. He instantly gathered power in his right hand and struck King Lane's chest, shattering it.
Realizing he was no match for Evan Yang, King Lane opened a tunnel and escaped, just as he had before. Evan wanted to chase him, but considering the situation, he stopped. Instead, he went to Flint Blaze, infused him with power, and soon Flint Blaze could move freely, looking at Evan in disbelief.
Evan Yang asked, "What should we do now to stop the flames?"
"There's no way unless it stops on its own," Flint Blaze replied, frowning.
Hearing this, Evan Yang pondered for a moment, then took out the Fire-Heaven Furnace. Flint Blaze was curious, "What's this?"
"Maybe it'll help," Evan Yang said.
Evan Yang watched the Fire-Heaven Furnace, which began to spin in his hand, then floated out and moved toward the flames.
Perhaps the two furnaces were connected, or maybe the Fire-Heaven Furnace restrained the Heaven-Scorching Furnace. The three watched as the flames gradually faded, and finally, even the surrounding fire disappeared. Evan Yang saw the true form of the Heaven-Scorching Furnace—much larger than the Fire-Heaven Furnace, with six round subsidiary furnaces, each with a recessed socket. The Fire-Heaven Furnace was inlaid in one of them.
"What's this?" Flint Blaze exclaimed. He had never encountered such a situation before.
"It really seems they're connected," Evan Yang said as he approached the Heaven-Scorching Furnace and infused his divine sense into the Fire-Heaven Furnace. He found the two artifacts had achieved some effect, and one of the statues even began to glow—a surprise to Evan.
"Could the six statues represent six artifacts like the Fire-Heaven Furnace?" Evan Yang muttered.
At that moment, another furnace tried to emerge. Evan Yang quickly took it out, realizing it was the one he'd obtained when entering the Sky Unity Sect years ago.
That furnace was also inlaid in a socket. Evan Yang finally understood—when it was inlaid, a second statue lit up.
Ember Yang and Flint Blaze were stunned—how did Evan Yang have two artifacts that fit perfectly into the Heaven-Scorching Furnace?
"Flint Blaze, what exactly is the Heaven-Scorching Furnace, and why is it here?" Evan Yang asked, curious about its origins.
"The Heaven-Scorching Furnace has been here for ages. No one knows exactly when it appeared, but every ten thousand years it erupts. Each eruption strengthens it, and when its seal is fully undone, it'll leave this place," Flint Blaze explained.
"Leave this place?" Evan Yang asked skeptically. He reached out, and the Heaven-Scorching Furnace, now linked with the Fire-Heaven Furnace and the unknown cauldron, also became indirectly connected to him.
Evan Yang grasped and waved his hand, and the Strange Spiral Shell appeared. He instantly stored the Heaven-Scorching Furnace inside it.
"What..." Evan Yang exclaimed. Ember Yang was also stunned. "What just happened?"
"Looks like the Heaven-Scorching Furnace followed my two treasures," Evan Yang said.
"This is the first time I've seen anything like this," Flint Blaze said, still in shock.
"Seems like the Heaven-Scorching Furnace can only follow me now," Evan Yang said, fascinated by the strange furnace but worried Flint Blaze might object.
Flint Blaze understood Evan Yang's meaning and smiled. "As its guardian, I know the Heaven-Scorching Furnace's nature well. It's spiritual—if it doesn't want to leave, no one can move it. Its willingness to follow means it's chosen you."
"I see. Then I'll accept it," Evan Yang replied.
"The flames are finally dealt with. I should check outside now—come with me," Flint Blaze said.
Evan Yang nodded, and the three left through the tunnel Flint Blaze prepared. Outside, they saw strange flames everywhere, with many people struggling in the fire.
"What's going on? Didn't the eruption stop?" Flint Blaze exclaimed.
"If I'm not mistaken, King Lane is behind this. These flames carry his aura," Evan Yang muttered after scanning the area. Flint Blaze couldn't sense it—not due to lack of skill, but because Evan had trained in pure natural aura techniques and was more sensitive than others.
"What should we do?" Flint Blaze asked anxiously.
"Don't worry—leave it to me," Evan Yang said. He soared into the sky, and his body erupted in both ice and fire. Soon, icy rain began to fall, merging with the flames and extinguishing them. Evan infused the rain with Heaven-Cold qi, so when the drops touched those burned, they felt relief.
Everyone looked up at the sky and regarded Evan Yang as a miracle worker.