Stranger Danger

Zhang Jun was still hesitating when he suddenly felt a heart-wrenching pain from his hand. It was because his wrist had turned into charcoal, and the purple flames covering the burning man were crawling up his arm.

Wherever the purple flame went, water evaporated into nothing, and flesh turned ashen black. At the same time, he felt himself steaming and turning red like he was a piece of metal inside a furnace.

“Argh!” Zhang Jun let out a terrified scream. Only he knew if it was because of the pain, the fear, or both.

To be fair, his decision-making and reaction speed while under pressure were top-notch. He brought down his palm like a knife and cut off the afflicted arm in one smooth motion. Ignoring the pain, he immediately raced toward the exit. If he could escape this place, then he might yet have a chance to survive.

Unfortunately, his left hand had just touched the door when the unknown person within the purple fireball gently clenched his fist. As if lightning had struck the room, a deafening, space-shaking boom broke out and knocked Zhang Jun on one knee. His ears hurt, and stars were floating inside his head.

Zhang Jun wasn’t sure if it was because he was dizzy or hallucinating, but he saw flakes of charcoal flying off the ashen fist and revealing smooth, glass-like skin. Before he could make sense of it, his vision darkened, and his entire body popped and cracked ominously like he was being squeezed by a gigantic, invisible hand. However, purple flame gushed out of his orifices instead of blood.

“ARGH!”

This time, Zhang Jun definitely screamed because of the pain. He felt like someone was grinding his body with a millstone, and the pain was so terrible that he wished he was dead.

“Mercy... I’m...”

But Zhang Jun didn’t want to die, so he tried to beg the known person for mercy. There was none. Purple flames shot out of the purple fireball and burned him into a pile of ash just like that.

After Zhang Jun had perished, the purple fireball gradually shrank in size not because it was disappearing, but because something was absorbing it. Eventually, the purple flames vanished completely, leaving only an ashen black figure behind.

Yi Pin looked shell-shocked as the black substance covering the humanoid figure began peeling off bit by bit like egg shells, revealing a perfectly sculpted body within.

Sparkling, pure and almost translucent, the body looked as perfect as glazed glass. Every curve of its bones, every fiber of its muscles, and every blood vessel underneath the skin could be seen clearly. Besides that, the body was exactly the right size and shape for the person. If someone slapped a pound of flesh onto the body, then it would’ve appeared just a tad bloated. If someone removed a pound of flesh from the body, then it would’ve appeared too thin. Hence, perfection. Words could not describe how beautiful and strong it looked.

At first, the body looked completely pale and transparent. It almost looked like it was made of marble, not flesh and blood. Then, the body began humming with vigor and vitality, and its complexion slowly turned back to normal. In the end, Ye Qing opened his eyes.

The first thing Ye Qing saw after opening his eyes was Yi Pin staring at his bare ass with one-tenth admiration, one-tenth intoxication, one-tenth envy, and seven-tenth jealousy. It was a complicated look to say the least.

He’s not gay, is he?

A shiver ran up Ye Qing’s spine, and Ye Qing immediately produced a set of clothes from Nine Heavens and put it on at lightning speed. Sure, Yi Pin had already seen everything there was to see, but that didn’t mean he was going to endure the old man’s passionate gaze for even a second longer. Then, he watched Yi Pin warily and suspiciously.

“Your body is quite beautiful,” Yi Pin reluctantly withdrew his gaze and sighed after Ye Qing put his clothes back on.

I’m aware, but you will never have me, so don’t even think about it, alright? Ye Qing ranted mentally even as he subconsciously backed away from Yi Pin. His eyes were only growing more suspicious over time.

Finally, Yi Pin noticed Ye Qing’s strange gaze and asked in puzzlement, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Something clicked inside his head, and Yi Pin’s eyebrows knitted together in annoyance and exasperation. “Are you stupid? I was just admiring how strong your body’s become and thinking that you have a bright future ahead of you, especially considering your age. I don’t mean anything by it.”

“Also, I like women, alright? I like beautiful women. I like beautiful, sexy women.”

Important matters should be repeated three times.

“Ahem... I don’t understand what you’re saying. I wasn’t thinking about anything. You’re the one who seems to be thinking too much,” Ye Qing feigned innocence.

Yi Pin: “...” Oh, so it’s my fault for pointing out your reaction?

“Ahem... so like, who is that guy just now? Why did he try to kill you?” Ye Qing hurriedly changed the subject when he noticed that a storm was gathering on Yi Pin’s face.

Yi Pin shook his head disgruntledly. “That’s my question as well. I took one look at him—seriously, just one look!—and suddenly, the guy went bonkers and tried to kill me!”

Ye Qing recalled the times he almost died because he happened to look at the wrong things. “Well, I can’t say I don’t sympathize with your plight. This world is seriously bonkers.”

“By the way, your body looked as flawless as glazed glass just now. Dare I say that you’ve completely recovered?” Yi Pin asked.

Ye Qing smiled at that. “You are correct. Thanks to you, I am fully recovered.”

It was no wonder the Purple Sun Trueflame was recognized as one of the fiercest and most yang fires in the world. Just a single wisp of the flame was enough to wipe out most of the Black Sky Divine Palm force inside his body.

That said, without the Black Sky Divine Palm force and Zhou Hengshan’s saber intent—especially Zhou Hengshan’s saber intent—he would’ve perished trying to take the Purple Sun Trueflame into his body.

Zhou Hengshan was a Grandmaster, and the Slaughterer of Ten Thousand was a Phenomenon-class Strange Artifact. The saber intent they created were beyond deadly and yin enough to freeze a river to say the least. Together with the Profound Yellow Qi and the Nature’s Water, he just barely avoided being burned into a crisp the second he swallowed the Purple Sun Trueflame into his abdomen.

Even so, the heat of the flame had evaporated every drop of water inside his body and burned his flesh into a crisp in an instant. He only survived because he was protecting his major organs, meridians and other vital areas with the Profound Yellow Qi. Once he was certain that he was in no danger of dying, he slowly began directing the Purple Sun Trueflame against the palm force and the saber intent. After his body began adapting to the Purple Sun Trueflame, he absorbed even more flame to hasten the process.

There was no denying the potency of Zhou Hengshan’s saber intent, but metaphorically speaking, it was a pond trying to weather the unrelenting, unending heat of the sun. In the end, it was broken down and eliminated entirely from Ye Qing’s body.

Not only that, the process had further increased Ye Qing’s power. His body had already been nurtured by several wisps of Profound Yellow Qi, but the Purple Sun Trueflame had brought him to near death as well. Like a phoenix who was reborn from ash, Ye Qing came back stronger than ever before. Now, he was eight dragon elephants strong.

Ye Qing felt better than he ever had in his life. He was confident he could kill ten Yi Pins in one punch.

“I didn’t think it would work,” Yi Pin murmured, and Ye Qing’s smile immediately turned into a frown. I thought you said it’s definitely going to work?!

“Ahem... moving on,” Yi Pin noticed his slip-of-the-tongue as well and hurriedly changed the subject, “You were manipulating the Purple Sun Trueflame just now, weren’t you? How did you do it?”

Ye Qing relaxed. Right now, his euphoria was too strong for his annoyance to overcome. “It’s simple, really. I just refined the Purple Sun Trueflame I absorbed.”

After he was done eliminating the foreign forces inside his body, Ye Qing thought it would be a waste to expel the Purple Sun Trueflame just like that. So, he tried to absorb and refine it into his own power.

For most other people, the attempt would only result in spontaneous combustion and immediate death. After all, the Purple Sun Trueflame was one of the three strongest yang flames in the world. One misstep was all it took for someone to burn into a pile of ash.

This wasn’t too big of a problem for Ye Qing though. For one, his body had already grown used to the Purple Sun Trueflame to a certain extent. Even without the Black Sky Divine Palm force and Zhou Hengshan’s saber intent to keep it suppressed, the flame couldn’t consume him completely.

Visit freewe𝑏n(o)vel.𝑐𝘰𝑚 for the best novel reading experience