Mysterious Purple Flame

An hour later.

They arrived at the valley.

As soon as Gu Qingfeng reached the place, he heard a series of spine-chilling screams.

"Ah—! Ah—! Kill me! Just kill me!!"

The horrifying, blood-curdling shrieks continuously echoed from the depths of the valley.

Suddenly, the golden ancient war chariot came to a halt before the valley.

The Heart Demon Lord hurriedly scurried to the side of the chariot, then dropped to his knees with a thud, pressing his limbs against the ground and arching his back.

"Master, we have arrived."

"Hmm." Gu Qingfeng's indifferent voice emerged from the chariot.

Then, a strikingly handsome, noble yet sinister man slowly stepped out, placing his foot on the Heart Demon Lord's back as if it were a stepping stone before landing gracefully on the ground.

Gu Qingfeng gazed into the seemingly bottomless valley, spotting an enormous stone pillar in the distance. The pillar was engraved with intricate and profound patterns, as if embodying the principles of the Great Dao.

Wrapped around the pillar were several black chains.

These chains tightly bound a humanoid Heavenly Demon to the stone pillar, while a strange purple flame continuously burned across its body.

The eerie purple fire engulfed the demon entirely, scorching every inch of its flesh. Even when it screamed, flames could be seen rising from its throat, indicating that the inferno was consuming it from the inside out—even its soul was not spared. It was truly a 360-degree, inescapable torment.

"What is his name?" Gu Qingfeng's calm voice broke the silence.

The Heart Demon Lord quickly scrambled up from the ground, trotting over with a servile bow. "Master, this is the Devouring Heavenly Demon. He cultivates the Dao of Devouring."

"Devouring Heavenly Demon?" Gu Qingfeng murmured.

No wonder he had accumulated such vast reserves of power, enabling him—a mere loose immortal—to defeat a true immortal. Devouring was his specialty.

If I consume him, my Devouring Heaven ability will likely undergo a significant enhancement.

Moreover, I can estimate how much power is needed to rival a true immortal.

Without hesitation, Gu Qingfeng leaped straight down from the valley's edge. An invisible cushion of air seemed to cradle his descent, lowering him gently to the valley floor.

Upon landing, the Devouring Heavenly Demon immediately sensed his presence and turned its frenzied gaze toward him.

Not a trace of reason remained in its eyes—only madness and a desperate plea for death.

"Kill me! Kill me! I'll never dare again—just kill me!" the demon begged hysterically.

Clang! Clang!

The black chains rattled violently as the demon thrashed against its restraints.

Gu Qingfeng ignored its pleas, instead focusing intently on the strange purple flames. He contemplated testing whether the fire could harm him.

If it activated his system, that would mean the flame's owner was a "family member." But if it didn’t...

The Devouring Heavenly Demon’s agonized state was a stark warning. Truthfully, Gu Qingfeng feared that once the flames touched him, they might become impossible to shake off—and that would be disastrous.

He studied the flames for a long while but could discern nothing.

The fire seemed to contain its energy perfectly, not a single wisp escaping. If he closed his eyes and relied on perception alone, it was as if the flames didn’t exist.

Yet the Devouring Heavenly Demon’s torment was undeniable—this fire was undoubtedly terrifying.

"You there," Gu Qingfeng casually pointed at one of the chariot-pulling demons. "Test the purple flames."

The chosen demon’s face instantly twisted in horror.

"M-M-Master, please no!"

"Hmm?" Gu Qingfeng narrowed his eyes with a cold hum.

The demon turned and bolted without hesitation.

"Trying to run? Hmph!"

With a cold snort, Gu Qingfeng made no visible move, yet the fleeing demon—already several miles away—suddenly stiffened as if struck by lightning. It collapsed to the ground, writhing and howling in agony, clawing at its own body as if enduring unspeakable torture.

When Gu Qingfeng had subdued these demons, he hadn’t done so unprepared. After all, he had devoured the Oath Demon Lord. Once he defeated them, he bound each one with unbreakable oaths—none could betray him.

"Come here!"

He commanded again.

Yet, even under the excruciating backlash of its oath, the demon would rather face soul-shattering torment than touch the purple flames.

But Gu Qingfeng was not one to be trifled with. Activating the Heart Demon Dao, he instantly seized control of the demon’s mind.

Now devoid of fear, the demon walked mechanically toward the valley floor like a puppet.

"Use your finger to touch the flames. If they spread, sever the finger immediately."

The controlled demon extended a finger toward the fire.

Whoosh!

The moment it made contact—before it could even retract its finger—the demon was instantly engulfed in flames.

Not a single scream escaped its lips before it turned to ashes.

And it did not revive.

This meant the purple flames had incinerated the demon’s very essence, leaving no chance for resurrection.

Gu Qingfeng inhaled sharply.

This fire was truly terrifying!

Its speed was beyond comprehension—far too fast to even react.

But after the initial shock, confusion set in.

Why had the Devouring Heavenly Demon endured the flames for countless ages without harm, while his subordinate had been annihilated in an instant?

Unless...

Gu Qingfeng’s gaze shifted to the black chains and the stone pillar.

He needed to experiment further.

This time, he directly controlled two demons, ordering one to touch the chains and the other the pillar.

Then, something astonishing happened.

The demon that touched the pillar instantly turned into an ice sculpture.

The one that touched the chains lost all its power—but the moment it released the chains, its strength returned.

Now Gu Qingfeng understood.

The black chains sealed power, restraining the Devouring Heavenly Demon and preventing escape.

The stone pillar countered the flames, its freezing energy neutralizing the fire’s burn.

But the purple flames were sinister beyond measure. Beyond their incinerating power, they inflicted unbearable agony—amplifying pain to unimaginable levels.

Though he grasped the mechanics, Gu Qingfeng still hesitated to test the flames himself.

If their owner wasn’t a "family member," he’d be doomed.

What to do?

After some thought, he manipulated the surviving demon—the one that had touched the chains—stretching its arm to an absurd length of a thousand zhang.

Fortunately, Heavenly Demons were immortal and formless, making them easy to reshape. Any other creature would have perished from such alterations.

Now, standing a thousand zhang away, the demon extended its grotesquely elongated arm toward the purple flames.

Whoosh!

Like lightning, the fire raced up the thousand-zhang limb at terrifying speed.

This time, thanks to the distance, Gu Qingfeng saw it clearly.

The demon tried to sever its arm—but it was too late.

Before it could react, the flames consumed it entirely, reducing it to ashes in an instant.

The deaths of three family members saddened Gu Qingfeng for a mere 0.0001 second before he swiftly regained his composure.

Their sacrifice was not in vain.

At the very least, it taught him that while the violet flames spread with terrifying speed, there was still time to sever the burning part—provided the distance was long enough.

This time, he decided to take matters into his own hands!

Nothing ventured, nothing gained!

Gu Qingfeng glanced at his arm, then gently raised it above his head, plucking a single strand of hair. Instead of pulling it out, he stretched it endlessly—

Until it extended a full million zhang in length!

Having devoured all the Dao principles of the Cangming Realm, manipulating the Dao of life to stimulate growth was child's play to him.

Then, he positioned himself a million zhang away, leaving only the very tip of that elongated hair in the valley below.

Steadying himself, Gu Qingfeng took a deep breath and guided that impossibly long strand toward the violet flames.

The scene resembled lighting a firecracker—except the fuse was absurdly long, and the "firecracker" bore an uncanny resemblance to a human.