Chapter 116

Chapter 116: Five-pointed Golden Fire

Lou Yun couldn’t help but sigh inwardly: what a release this must be for you too!

Of course, he couldn’t voice that thought aloud. Needing to mind his and Xiao Huo’s lives, he said softly, "Elder Leng, though you agree, I still must ask… if… I mean if… we fail… then…"

A rather bleak smile touched Leng Cangqiong’s face. "Rest easy, young friend. I understand your meaning. If we do fail, I won’t hold it against you. The responsibility rests entirely with me!"

With Leng Cangqiong’s assurance, the burden in Lou Yun’s heart finally eased.

Leng Cangqiong then asked, "What should I do now? Do I need to remove my sister from inside the iceberg?"

Lou Yun nodded. "Absolutely. Through the ice, Xiao Huo hasn’t caught the scent of the Heavenly Fire. You must know, it’s most sensitive to that smell."

"Good!"

Agreeing, Leng Cangqiong strode towards the iceberg. Though his steps were swift, Lou Yun could clearly see his legs trembling slightly. Clearly, Leng Cangqiong was even less certain and felt a sliver of fear inside.

Reaching the iceberg, Leng Cangqiong didn’t act immediately. Instead, he offered a gentle smile towards the figure within the ice. In an extraordinarily tender voice, he spoke to his sister, "Qianrou, I’m sorry. Your brother didn’t take good care of you, letting you suffer for so long. Today, I will help end this pain for you. Whether you wake… or leave forever… I believe, for you, it will be a release. If you… pass on… don’t worry. Your brother will absolutely follow you right after. This time… I certainly won’t let you be alone again. And I won’t ever let anyone hurt you again!"

As he spoke, Leng Cangqiong reached out his hand and softly stroked the ice surface twice.

It was these seemingly casual touches that instantly triggered a sharp, clear series of crack! crack! sounds on the ice. Multiple fractures appeared, radiating outwards at terrifying speed.

Lou Yun was deeply moved by Leng Cangqiong’s heartfelt words. It was crystal clear: if his sister, Leng Qianrou, wasn’t healed this time, Leng Cangqiong would end his own life after her.

Hearing the sudden noise, Lou Yun snapped his head up, urgently looking.

The broad ice surface swiftly became covered in a spiderweb of fissures. Leng Cangqiong then lifted his hand and gave the ice a very light tap. It was an extremely soft motion. Yet, a tremendous BOOM! echoed as the entire iceberg violently exploded!

Lou Yun sucked in a sharp breath at the sight. Two strokes and one tap… just that was enough to shatter a mountain of ice around four meters high into fragments? This level of power… it was simply beyond comprehension!

Even Chang Xiang couldn’t stifle his admiration. "This Leng Cangqiong’s strength is truly immense! If he weren’t here…"

His voice abruptly shifted: "But I still don’t understand… Why did my spiritual perception detect his magical weapon is only at the Mystery Rank?"

Lou Yun heard Chang Xiang’s words didn’t connect. Before he could ask the meaning of Chang Xiang’s earlier statement, Leng Cangqiong was already walking towards him, holding his sister.

At the same time, Xiao Huo became extremely excited. Its tiny eyes locked onto the sister in Leng Cangqiong’s arms, jumping wildly up and down on Lou Yun in agitation. Evidently, without the ice obstructing it, the scent of the Heavenly Fire had reached it.

Lou Yun had no choice but to temporarily set aside his confusion. Hurriedly, he stepped forward to meet Leng Cangqiong, tightly holding onto Xiao Huo, afraid it might impulsively dash up and swallow the Heavenly Fire.

Leng Cangqiong walked to a clear area and slowly laid his sister’s body flat on the ground. Lou Yun immediately activated his spiritual perception and directed it inside Leng Qianrou’s body.

One look… and Lou Yun sucked in another fierce sharp breath. An almost despairing sigh escaped him internally: Leng Qianrou… was beyond saving!

Originally, Lou Yun had assumed the Heavenly Fire within Leng Qianrou was concentrated at one spot or perhaps moving chaotically inside her body. Seeing it clearly now, he realized, it was nothing like that at all!

One could no longer describe it as a Heavenly Fire inside Leng Qianrou. Instead, it was countless tiny flames. Yet, these flames had an extremely peculiar shape and color – like five-pointed stars, glimmering gold. They currently existed chaotically, filling every single part of her body!

The Heavenly Fire had actually… fragmented!

Lou Yun had never witnessed such a situation before. But logic dictated: no matter how formidable Xiao Huo was, no matter how much it loved consuming Heavenly Fires, it would be impossible to extract so many fragmented pieces from inside Leng Qianrou’s body.

Fortunately, Leng Cangqiong wasn’t looking at Lou Yun’s expression at that moment. He was gazing at Leng Qianrou with profound affection. Her eyes were still closed as if peacefully asleep. Otherwise, he would likely have collapsed instantly.

Chang Xiang also took a deep breath, speaking slowly: "So, it’s the Five-pointed Golden Fire!"

Hearing the name, Lou Yun examined the Heavenly Fire patterns inside Leng Qianrou more carefully. He nodded unconsciously; the name truly matched the fire’s form and color.

"Where does the Five-pointed Golden Fire rank among the Eighteen Known Heavenly Fires? Is it stronger than Hellfire?"

"It ranks sixteenth. It is not as potent as Hellfire. Hellfire ranks fifteenth. However, the uniqueness of the Five-pointed Golden Fire isn’t its heat. As you’ve seen, it can split apart, forming tens of thousands of small sparks. Yet, each spark possesses the fire’s original temperature."

Lou Yun had never seen anything like this; there was actually a heavenly flame that could split automatically. However, no matter what, without a master controlling it, this ranked sixteenth Five-pointed Golden Fire was highly unlikely to automatically fuse back together.

Lou Yun gave Xiao Huo a gentle squeeze and mouthed towards Leng Qianrou’s body. Not daring to speak aloud, he could only hope in this way that Xiao Huo would understand: the heavenly flame inside Leng Qianrou could not be absorbed out.

But instead of helping, his squeeze only made Xiao Huo more excited. The little creature wriggled frantically in his palm, seeming desperate to leap onto Leng Qianrou’s body immediately.

Finally, taking advantage of a slight looseness in Lou Yun’s grip, Xiao Huo shot out with a ‘swish’, landing right on Leng Qianrou. Lifting its head towards her face, its tiny mouth trembled unceasingly, perhaps from excitement or perhaps something else altogether.

Seeing Xiao Huo jump over, Leng Cangqiong finally snapped back to reality. He stood up, looking at Xiao Huo with a mix of surprise and hope. Glancing at Lou Yun too, he whispered, "How will it absorb the heavenly flame?"

A bitter smile was all Lou Yun could offer in comfort. "Elder Leng, I don’t know either. We can only see what Xiao Huo does now!"

Though no longer worrying for his own safety, the thought of Leng Cangqiong’s inevitable despair when Xiao Huo ultimately failed to extract the Five-pointed Golden Fire from Leng Qianrou made Lou Yun rather unwilling to witness it.

At this moment, Xiao Huo, sprawled atop Leng Qianrou, suddenly began running back and forth. Its speed was so fast it became like another streak of fiery red flame.

Neither Leng Cangqiong nor even Lou Yun himself knew what Xiao Huo was up to. But with all hope now pinned on this little creature, both men could only wait patiently.

After running for a while, Xiao Huo finally stopped right at Leng Qianrou’s dantian. Standing there, its entire body trembled slightly.

Suddenly, a red light glowed from Xiao Huo’s form. Immediately after, its body began to change. The fur all over its body erupted outwards, growing at a frantic pace. Especially the hair on its fluffy large tail – threads upon threads shot outward at an incredible speed. In mere moments, Xiao Huo had transformed into a long-haired rat. Each hair stretched about a meter long, completely obscuring its tiny body beneath.

Lou Yun and Leng Cangqiong couldn’t help but turn and look at each other simultaneously. Both saw utter bewilderment reflected in the other’s eyes. Wordlessly, they quickly turned back, fixing their entire attention on the scene.

Although Lou Yun had subdued Xiao Huo for over a year, he truly wasn’t familiar with its habits and abilities. This state of Xiao Huo was something he encountered for the first time; he had no clue what it was about to do.

Now, Xiao Huo gently swayed its body. Instantly, the countless long hairs followed suit, swaying. The sway grew larger, the hairs lifting and rising higher and higher into the air. So long were they that they almost entirely blanketed Leng Qianrou’s body.

Suddenly, Xiao Huo gave another shake!

Countless long hairs plummeted downward at tremendous speed!

The next scene stunned both Lou Yun and Leng Cangqiong into absolute stupor.

Each and every one of Xiao Huo’s long hairs had pierced accurately and unerringly into the pores on Leng Qianrou’s body!

Looking at it now, Leng Qianrou and Xiao Huo were unmistakably fused together.

Utter confusion and anxiety etched themselves onto Leng Cangqiong’s face. Unable to restrain himself, he blurted out, "Young Brother, what exactly is this mouse of yours trying to do?"

How could Lou Yun possibly know? But bound as the creature’s master, all he could do was defend it now. Forcing a strained smile, he replied, "Helping to draw the heavenly flame out of your sister, of course!"

The instant Lou Yun’s words fell, Leng Cangqiong’s eyes suddenly snapped wide open. Lou Yun, too, swiftly shifted all his focus back onto Xiao Huo and Leng Qianrou.

Right then, right now, Xiao Huo’s hairs, which had pierced through the pores all over Leng Qianrou’s body and deep into her, actually began to grow again inside her! And each individual hair coiled around a tiny flicker of flame.

Innumerable sparks of Five-pointed Golden Fire were firmly wrapped around Xiao Huo’s threads!

Seeing this, a rush of elation surged within Lou Yun. Hope, once completely extinguished, now bubbled fiercely back to life in his heart. If Xiao Huo could use its own hairs to ensnare the heavenly flames inside Leng Qianrou, then it might very well really be able to pull those Five-pointed Golden Fire sparks out of her body!

Before this, Lou Yun had merely watched with detached curiosity. But this moment, ignited by tangible hope, transformed his mood entirely. His hands clenched involuntarily into fists. Silently, fiercely, he cheered Xiao Huo on.

Leng Cangqiong was even more agitated than Lou Yun. He too witnessed the happenings inside Leng Qianrou and instantly grasped the same possibility as Lou Yun. His entire body leaned forward unconsciously, barely daring to breathe, as if he might rush forward any second to aid Xiao Huo in urgently dragging the Five-pointed Golden Fire out of Leng Qianrou’s body!

After remaining utterly still for roughly the time it takes half an incense stick to burn, Xiao Huo finally moved!