Chapter 487 : Purifying Golden Flames
487: Purifying Golden Flames
Tan Xin was perhaps destined to die in this calamity.
Years ago, due to their acquaintance, Jiang Mo didn't want him to sacrifice his life in vain, so she found a way to save him. Yet as time passed, he still died before her eyes. This time, however, it wasn't a sacrifice but self-immolation.
Tan Xin burned his already blackened soul, the golden flames perhaps representing the Buddha's disciple's final true heart. None of them expected him to be so decisive. As Tan Xin burned his soul, his physical body was also consumed by golden flames... Just before his body was completely devoured by the fire, Jiang Mo's sharp eyes caught the Blood Fiend Beast Pearl in his chest shatter, without releasing even a trace of fiendish energy, as it was completely cleansed by the golden flames.
What formidable golden flames, seemingly even stronger than her senior sister's ice flames!
Jiang Mo felt both heartache and amazement, while also wanting to collect some of the golden flames—though they originated from the little monk burning his soul, this substance was incredibly effective against evil forces and would certainly be a powerful weapon in the outside world.
But despite her thoughts, Jiang Mo wasn't brazen enough to reach out, nor did she know how to subdue such powerful flames.
This thought only lasted a moment, as the formidable golden flames burned through both soul and physical body with incredible efficiency. In the brief moment Jiang Mo's mind wandered, the tragically self-immolating Tan Xin had burned himself without leaving even ashes.
Before the last wisp of golden flame extinguished, the Buddha Sect elder recited a Buddhist phrase and suddenly reached into the golden flames. Perhaps he wanted to retrieve Tan Xin's sarira, but by the time the golden flames died out, he hadn't found even one—a Buddha's disciple who died young would typically leave behind sarira, and with Tan Xin's cultivation, he should have had some. However, after experiencing these tribulations, with both his physical body and soul corrupted by demonic energy, even if there had been sarira, they wouldn't have remained.
Jiang Mo watched in astonishment as the Buddha Sect elder reached into those formidable golden flames. Yet the feline's innate curiosity suddenly emerged, causing her to quietly extend her paw toward the flames.
They weren't hot at all; she only felt warmth, like dipping her hand into warm water.
The little tiger's eyes brightened momentarily before she felt a cool sensation on her neck as a slightly chilled slender hand gripped the scruff of her neck... Though Jiang Mo wasn't in her traveling form, habit made her instinctively withdraw, also realizing the impropriety of her action.
The little monk was gone, and Jiang Mo certainly felt some sadness, but the outcome wasn't unexpected given how things had developed.
Jiang Mo withdrew her paw and observed a moment of silence, but eventually couldn't contain her curiosity and asked: "Is the little monk really gone just like that? Can he still reincarnate? Did burning himself like this actually solve the problem?"
Her voice wasn't loud, but it still broke the solemn atmosphere.
The Buddha Sect elder was in low spirits and didn't actively respond to Jiang Mo's questions, so the responsibility of explanation fell to Peak Master Qingyu. She glanced at where Tan Xin had burned his soul—nothing remained there now—and seemed to sigh before saying: "With his soul destroyed, the person is naturally gone. As for reincarnation... unless he has great fortune, he likely has no future life."
These words made the atmosphere even heavier, weighing down even Jiang Mo, who had been distracted just moments ago.
Fortunately, the little monk's choice to burn his soul wasn't entirely negative. Peak Master Qingyu continued: "However, regarding the Seven Treasures Glass Heart, we probably need not worry anymore. You all saw the golden flames earlier—if I'm not mistaken, those should be Purifying Golden Flames, capable of burning away all evil in the world. After being burned by the Purifying Golden Flames, the black energy contaminating Tan Xin would definitely be completely eliminated, including any contamination that reached the Seven Treasures Glass Heart."
Of course, such powerful Purifying Golden Flames weren't easily obtained. To Qingyu's knowledge, only a Buddha's disciple could ignite these flames through self-sacrifice; there was probably no other method, otherwise Buddha Sect wouldn't have fallen to their current state.
Thus, Jiang Mo's sudden idea of collecting the golden flames was completely fantastical.
Regardless, after this ordeal, one potential crisis had been eliminated. While Jiang Mo and the others felt regret and pain for Tan Xin, they also couldn't help but feel somewhat relieved.
At that moment, the blood pool beneath the stone bridge suddenly stirred again. Abruptly, a point of blood-red shot out from the blood pool, rapidly fleeing toward the distance, not even pausing when it hit the stone wall but instead penetrating through it. It moved so quickly that Jiang Mo and the others only saw a blood-colored afterimage, while the three Great Achievement cultivators fared slightly better, glimpsing a bit of golden light wrapped within the blood-red.
Jiang Mo blinked, completely bewildered: "What was that?"
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · · · · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
Jiang Mo and the others were flying rapidly, or more precisely, pursuing a drop of blood.
The events began a quarter of an hour earlier. At that time, Jiang Mo and the others had not fully recovered from the shock of Tan Xin burning his soul when the blood pool beneath their feet suddenly changed again. With Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue's eyesight, they didn't even have time to clearly see what had happened, only vaguely glimpsing a spot of blood-red before hearing Sect Leader Zhu suddenly shout: "Quick, after it!"
As soon as she spoke, Peak Master Qingyu and Sect Leader Zhu herself moved immediately, with the others following a beat later.
At first, no one even realized what they were chasing, until they heard Sect Leader Zhu's explanation while in pursuit: "That drop of blood that escaped from the blood pool is no ordinary matter. As soon as it left, the aura of the entire blood pool changed instantly."
Peak Master Qingyu added seamlessly: "I saw a point of golden light, somewhat similar to the Purifying Golden Flames from earlier."
At these words, everyone immediately formed the same conjecture—Tan Xin had ignited the Purifying Golden Flames by burning his soul, and the flames had spread from his soul to his physical body, and according to Qingyu, even the Seven Treasures Glass Heart connected to his body would have been purified. His body had originally been connected to the Blood Reversal Grand Formation beneath the blood pool, and although Yun Qingyue had later cooperated with the Buddha Sect elder to sever that connection, perhaps the formation hadn't been completely broken, leaving some minute link?
The legendary Purifying Golden Flames were truly rare and genuinely powerful. Perhaps sensing the blood pool filled with demonic energy at the other end of the connection, the Purifying Golden Flames had sought out that path on their own.
As for the drop of blood that escaped from the blood pool, based on the Sect Leader's description, everyone suddenly arrived at the same conclusion—could it be a drop of demon blood? Otherwise, it wouldn't have caused such wariness in Sect Leader Zhu, nor would the Purifying Golden Flames pursue it so intently.
Of course, regardless of whether it was demon blood, that drop was clearly conscious. After perceiving the terrifying nature of the Purifying Golden Flames, the drop of blood, previously hidden within the enormous blood pool, dared not hope for any luck and fled directly.
Sect Leader Zhu called for everyone to give chase, not simply to witness the impressive power of the Purifying Golden Flames, but to see if they could follow this suspected demon blood to track down the Demon Race itself.
……
The wind howled as Jiang Mo currently clung to her senior sister's neck, lying on her back.
Due to different racial talents, the enormous Swan Goose's flight speed was still somewhat faster than the White Tiger's. Previously, Jiang Mo would have been embarrassed to have her senior sister carry her, but now, chasing after the rapidly fleeing "demon blood," she couldn't afford to worry about such things.
The Swan Goose spread its wings in flight, closely pursuing the fleeing "demon blood," allowing Jiang Mo to observe the situation ahead without having to fly herself. As she watched, she couldn't help but worry, whispering in her senior sister's ear: "Is that demon blood going to make it? It's flying so slowly. At this rate, the Purifying Golden Flames will burn it up soon."
The longer they observed, the more convinced they became that it was demon blood, because ordinary evil entities in the cultivation world couldn't withstand the Purifying Golden Flames for so long. Just like Tan Xin earlier—from soul to physical body, he had burned almost completely in just a few breaths. But this drop of demon blood was unexpectedly resistant, burning for a quarter hour as they pursued it.
While flying, Yun Qingyue listened to Jiang Mo's muttering and felt somewhat exasperated: "Enough already. This demon blood is flying plenty fast—if it were any faster, we couldn't keep up."
This made sense, so Jiang Mo fell silent, obediently lying on her senior sister's back.
The Swan Goose flew extremely fast, comparable to Great Achievement cultivators or sometimes even surpassing them. Therefore, in pursuing the demon blood, the other three elders didn't stand on ceremony, all riding on the Swan Goose's back. However, unlike Jiang Mo who clung to her senior sister's neck while chatting, the others either sat or stood, appearing much more composed than her.
They too were observing the demon blood and Purifying Golden Flames ahead. After watching for a while, Sect Leader Zhu said: "Nearly half the demon blood has been burned away; it probably won't last much longer. Unless that demon is nearby, we likely won't find anything."
The other two were somewhat disappointed upon hearing this. If only the Purifying Golden Flames would slow down a bit, allowing them to follow the demon blood back to the demon's side. Even beyond leading them to the Demon Race, the Purifying Golden Flames themselves were effective against demons—encountering and burning them would be extraordinarily beneficial... With such good fortune, the little monk's death wouldn't have been in vain.
Unfortunately, judging by the current trend, that seemed impossible. Nevertheless, by following the demon blood, they had at least found a general direction, which wasn't entirely fruitless.