Chapter 45: Cloud Sacred Fire! Part I

The Soul Phantom, carrying a tray, walked slowly toward Yu Fan and said, “My disciple, Fang Thirteen, was actually defeated by you.” Approaching Yu Fan, the Soul Phantom added, “I can’t fathom how someone known as a useless nobody in the righteous realm could defeat my disciple.”

The Soul Phantom crouched down slowly, his eyes fixed on the person before him. “If you hand over the Cloud Sacred Flame, I will let this slide. Otherwise, everyone here will be sacrificed.”

Yu Fan was trapped in a prison of wooden vines, which twisted around him like living creatures, emanating a chilling coldness that rendered him immobile. The surfaces of those vines faintly glowed; upon closer inspection, countless ancient runes shimmered with a ghostly blue light, as if capable of devouring all life.

Whenever Yu Fan tried to gather his true energy to break free, the runes seemed to come alive, tightening their grip and nullifying his efforts. Sweat mixed with rain slid down his cheeks, dripping onto the cold ground, creating tiny ripples.

Yet in Yu Fan’s eyes burned an indomitable flame. He clenched his teeth, staring unwaveringly at the Soul Phantom approaching slowly. Those hollow eyes seemed to conceal endless depths of calculation and cunning.

At this moment, Fang Yu and Star Child were also tightly bound to the ground by these wooden vines, the atmosphere around them dim and oppressive.

Yu Fan forced himself to lift his head, his voice barely audible through the constricting vines: “I honestly don’t know anything about that Cloud Sacred Flame. Even Bai didn’t tell me.”

The Soul Phantom’s voice dripped with mockery: “Fine. If you won’t speak, don’t blame me for being merciless.”

He stood, gently pulling a purple thread from the tray with his left hand. As he clenched his fist, the wooden vines tightened with brutal intensity.

With the Soul Phantom’s grip strengthening, the vines, already densely entwined, seemed infused with a darker, more sinister power. They hardened like iron, each strand becoming a sharp blade, piercing deep into Yu Fan’s skin. Blood slowly seeped through the gaps, staining his clothes and the surrounding cold air a chilling red.

Pain contorted Yu Fan’s face, yet he summoned every ounce of strength to barely force out, “I... really... don’t know…” His voice was weak and trembling but resolute beyond doubt.

Sweat and blood blurred his vision, but his gaze burned brightly, as if fueled by the last flicker of hope.

The Soul Phantom’s actions echoed a death sentence’s prelude. The purple thread in his palm stretched slowly, connecting to an endless darkness and destruction.

As his fingers tightened, a suffocating pressure filled the air. The cold around them seemed to solidify, enveloping the three tightly.

Fang Yu and Star Child, though also bound by the vines, twisted their heads to look at Yu Fan, their eyes filled with worry and helplessness. A flash of resolve passed through Star Child’s eyes, as if silently scheming, but all resistance now seemed futile.

Yu Fan trembled from the excruciating pain but stubbornly raised his head. His unyielding gaze seemed to pierce every chain, locking eyes with the Soul Phantom’s cold indifference.

Each breath was like a knife cutting through his body as the vines constricted. Blood and sweat mingled, blurring his sight but never dimming the light within his eyes.

His voice grew stronger, “I don’t know—I really don’t.”

“You think you’re someone special? Just because you’ve trained a few decades more than me? What’s so great about that?” Yu Fan spat, acknowledging the stabbing pain with contempt for them.

The Soul Phantom’s tone turned stern, “Silence! The weak do not deserve to educate the strong. Only the powerful have the right to speak.”

His words struck Yu Fan like ice, chipping away at the surface but igniting his rebellious spirit all the more fiercely.

He lifted his head sharply, eyes blazing. Even in this dire predicament, his unyielding pride shone brilliantly.

The vines around seemed to sense their master’s emotional shift. Their glow intensified, intertwining ghostly blue and purple-black, painting a sinister tableau.

Yu Fan took a deep breath. Each inhalation tore through him like a wound, yet he straightened his back and roared with all his might: “The strong? If strength alone defines heroes, then this world is nothing but endless slaughter! I may be weak, but I know justice and protection! If your power is used only to oppress the weak, how are you any different from beasts?”

His words cut through the cold air like a sharp blade, striking deep into the Soul Phantom’s soul.

A cold sneer curled Yu Fan’s lips, laced with disdain and mockery, as if ridiculing the Soul Phantom’s false façade of strength.

The wooden vines trembled in response to his anger, their ghostly blue light flickering with subtle uncertainty.

“You so-called strong ones are nothing but killers and looters, committing every atrocity imaginable. I can’t help but laugh.”

Though his voice was hoarse from pain, every word rang with undeniable power, resonating through the darkness.

His eyes flickered with a stubborn light, seeming to cut through all bonds and stare directly into the hollow eyes of the Soul Phantom, exposing the cowardice and darkness within.

The Soul Phantom’s expression darkened sharply, his brows furrowing as if Yu Fan’s words had touched a forbidden nerve.

He stepped forward abruptly, the ground beneath his feet cracking faintly under the weight of his presence.

The surrounding chill deepened, transforming into swirling black mist that wrapped around him like an invisible cloak of war.

“Hmph, righteousness? You insignificant ant, how dare you speak of good and evil?” The Soul Phantom’s voice was low and menacing, each word forced through clenched teeth, radiating undeniable authority.

Raising his right hand, the purple thread in his palm flared brightly, as if countless tormented souls wailed within, threatening to engulf all light.

Yu Fan’s words exploded like thunder in the cold space, each syllable a sharp ice blade slicing through the silence and despair.

His gaze held no fear, only profound hatred and scorn for the world’s injustice.

“Massacres across the land! Massacres only to harvest the world’s true energy and maintain your so-called strength!” Yu Fan’s voice grew more impassioned, filled with a tragic fury that echoed through the chamber, stirring reverberations.

He struggled fiercely, though the vines held him fast, his indomitable will seeming to shake the heavens.

Sweat and blood mingled, flowing down his cheeks and dripping onto the cold floor, instantly swallowed by the darkness.

His eyes were wide open, pupils ablaze with raging fire—a yearning for justice and a vehement denunciation of tyranny.

Yu Fan’s voice resounded through the dim chamber, carrying a solemn resolve. A mocking smile curled at his lips, glaring sharply against the backdrop of blood and sweat.

With a sudden jerk, the iron-like vines creaked faintly, as if moved by his sheer will.

“Kill me then!” His voice thundered, no longer weak or trembling but filled with power and disdain.

His gaze pierced through the gaps in the vines, locking onto the Soul Phantom with a look that bore both acceptance of death and mockery of unjust fate.

The cold air seemed to boil with his roar; the ghostly blue glow on the vines flickered erratically, as if even these natural bonds were stirred by his fury, swaying unwillingly.

The Soul Phantom’s face grew darker still, a flash of anger crossing his hollow eyes. Suddenly, he swung his palm, the purple thread striking toward Yu Fan like a venomous serpent, carrying a world-shattering force.