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**
A violent black wind swept down from the oppressive sky above, like the gaping maw of a demonic beast, devouring everything in its path.
The black wind blotted out the sun and sky, completely obscuring everything within sight.
Pitch-black darkness engulfed Wei Yang and his group.
Within the howling wind, even soul perception was slightly affected, becoming less clear and accurate.
It was as if even their senses were being interfered with by the eerie black mist and this violent black wind.
"This thing... is a bit strange. There's something unusual here," Wei Yang murmured in surprise.
One had to know that even someone like him—whose soul perception had half a foot into the Spirit realm—was still impacted upon contact. That alone was enough to show how bizarre this phenomenon truly was.
Xian'er was doing fine, but someone like Qing Lin, whose soul perception was barely comparable to a low-rank Dou Wang, might as well be blind in this kind of environment.
"You all stay here. Don't run around," Wei Yang instructed. Then, with his hands behind his back, he took the initiative to step out of the thin protective barrier, placing himself directly into the black wind, silently sensing everything around him.
As the fierce wind lashed against him and struck the Dou Qi shield covering his body with crackling sounds, Wei Yang's expression showed a trace of surprise.
He hadn't expected this so-called black storm to be even stronger than he'd imagined.
Not only did the storm block soul perception, but its power was considerable.
For someone like Qing Lin, at the peak of Da Dou Shi, if caught off guard and forced to confront this storm head-on without preparation, she likely wouldn't last long before her Dou Qi was drained and she'd be swept away.
Even a Dou Ling expert would need to proceed with caution in this storm.
Wei Yang slowly closed his eyes, and his perception spread outward rapidly, intending to carefully observe the nature of this black windstorm.
Very soon—
"Hmm... the storm's power isn't overwhelming, but it does interfere with soul perception. Truly strange."
"And this wind—it keeps howling nonstop. Listening to it for too long makes one feel inexplicably irritable."
"Moreover, though this black wind appears cold and gloomy, when you actually experience it, you realize it brings an unexpected heat... an agitating heat. Could it be the principle of extremes reversing?"
"It's precisely this subtle heat, coupled with the strange whistling noise, that causes the heart to feel restless—like the screech of metal scraping against glass."
"Perhaps... that's why this Great Plains of the Black Region makes people feel so stifled and irritable…" Wei Yang silently analyzed.
"Hmm? Wait a minute!"
"This situation... this black windstorm…"
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him. He finally grasped a fleeting thought that had previously slipped through his mind.
"This black windstorm... these characteristics... they seem somewhat similar to… the Nine Serene Wind Flame?"
"???"
"!!!"
"No way, right?" Even Wei Yang was startled by his own speculation.
He quickly shook his head. "It shouldn't be. It's just a resemblance, nothing more."
How could that be?
That was the Nine Serene Wind Flame!
Ranked tenth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking—one position higher than Yao Lao's Bone Chilling Flame—a true top-ten Heavenly Flame. How could it just coincidentally show up here for him to stumble upon?
Even if his luck was incredible, there's no way these Heavenly Flames would keep clustering around him, right?
Think about it—how many has he already encountered?
There was the currently ranked twenty-fourth Black Sun Burning Heaven Flame.
Wind and Thunder Fury Flame.
Green Lotus Core Flame.
Ghostly Poison Flame.
Damn it—without even realizing it, he'd already obtained four Heavenly Flames!
If he had just arrived in the Black-Corner Region and randomly found traces of the Nine Serene Wind Flame on this Great Plains of the Black Region, wouldn't that be a bit too ridiculous?
It doesn't make sense at all!
Even a novel wouldn't dare write it this way—it completely defies logic.
Even Wei Yang himself didn't believe his luck could be that absurdly good.
Besides, there are so many powerful experts within the Black-Corner Region, and people come and go daily. If the Nine Serene Wind Flame really was here, it would've been discovered long ago. There's no way it would still be lying around for him to pick up.
Not to mention, in the magma world beneath the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower in the Inner Academy of Jia Nan Academy—not even counting the ancient emperor's cave dwelling—there were already two Fallen Heart Flames, one large and one small.
Han Feng also possessed the Sea Heart Flame, ranked fifteenth.
If on top of that, you throw in the tenth-ranked Nine Serene Wind Flame...
Wouldn't that suddenly make it four Heavenly Flames again?
It's just the tiny Black-Corner Region. What right does it have to be so blessed?
Seriously, what kind of divine treasure land is this supposed to be?
Even the most generous dungeon drops in a game wouldn't be this broken!
…
Thinking this far, Wei Yang couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head, brushing away the absurd and unrealistic thought from his mind.
Heavenly Flames—those things that others dreamed of day and night, begging to obtain even one—he'd already gotten one after another, to the point that he almost forgot how rare and precious they truly were.
That kind of mindset... could become dangerous.
If he recalled correctly, in the original story, aside from the mutated Nine Eerie Golden Ancestor Flame, there was only one known Nine Serene Wind Flame—in the hands of the Elder Wanhuo of the Yao Clan—and even that was a fleeting appearance. After the Yao Clan was wiped out, that flame vanished from the world. It likely fell into the hands of the Hun Clan afterward.
In his mind, Wei Yang was trying hard to recall everything he knew about the Nine Serene Wind Flame.
The Nine Serene Wind Flame—ranked tenth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking—was truly one of the rare Heavenly Flames that had made it into the top ten.
Its color was black, quite similar to the Black Sun Burning Heaven Flame.
It was born in a place of extreme yin—the Endless Abyss—where cold winds howled all year round. The flame had formed in the most violently wind-swept areas of that abyss.
When unleashed, it gave off an eerie sensation, as though it were a sinister wind blown straight out from the depths of the Nine Nether Abyss.
But in truth, it followed the principle of extremes turning into their opposites—despite its cold and gloomy appearance, it was actually scorching hot.
This flame produced a strange whistling sound from within itself, and when that sound entered a person's ears, it would stir a sense of unusual irritability, enough to destabilize emotions.
In a way, it carried an element of sonic attack, with a hint of soul-impacting effects as well.
Hmm... a rather gimmicky trait, to be honest.
Still, its destructive power was very real—otherwise, it wouldn't have been ranked in the top ten.
You could say it was an enhanced version of the Wind and Thunder Fury Flame.
…
These thoughts flashed rapidly through Wei Yang's mind.
In the pitch-black environment where one couldn't see their own hand, the black wind continued howling and raging endlessly.
Wei Yang stretched out his palm, dispelling the Dou Qi shielding it, allowing his bare skin to feel the touch of the black wind.
Come to think of it, this black wind... and even the environment of this Great Plains of the Black Region—it really did resemble some of the characteristics of the Nine Serene Wind Flame.
Unfortunately, the conditions were worlds apart—completely unqualified to give birth to the real thing.
The Nine Serene Wind Flame was born in the Endless Abyss, a land of extreme yin where the ghostly winds howled without rest year-round...
Only such an extreme environment could potentially give rise to such a Heavenly Flame.
Just like how the deepest parts of the Tagore Desert—or the strange Netherworld Poison Swamp—were the kind of forbidden zones that might allow for the birth of a Heavenly Flame.
A place like the Great Plains of the Black Region? It was far from sufficient.
If there was any possibility at all...
There was only one place that came to mind.
Wei Yang lifted his head, gazing far into the depths of the sky where the endless black wind surged down. That place, too, was cloaked in eternal darkness.
His eyes narrowed, his gaze profound.
The high skies above this plain were unusual.
After all, the fact that this place could frequently produce these heaven-darkening black storms suggested there was something truly strange going on up there.
The black wind came from the heavens!
If there was any possibility… it could only be there.
"The depths of the void, huh..." Wei Yang murmured, furrowing his brow.
Should he go up and take a look?
He was tempted.
Better safe than sorry.
What if… just what if…
If the Nine Serene Wind Flame really was hidden in the depths of the void, then that would be…
But this move would be extremely risky.
Because within those high-altitude void realms, black winds and mists blotted out the sky, their reach uncertain and vast.
If one rushed in recklessly and got lost in that void, it would be a death sentence.
It would be as good as permanent exile—trapped in the void, with no way back.
After all, he didn't possess the abilities of an Ancient Void Dragon, who could freely roam the endless void at will.
"Ancient Void Dragon?" Wei Yang's brow lifted slightly.
Wasn't there one in Jia Nan Academy? That brute-strength little rich girl… that petite loli?
She was a juvenile Ancient Void Dragon, and not just any kind, but a pure-blooded royal.
However, that brutish girl was still in her infancy and hadn't undergone systematic training or inheritance from the Ancient Void Dragon Clan yet. In places like the Black-Corner Region, it was one thing for her to sneak around stealing things or cracking spatial seals, but when it came to soaring freely through the void? She still had a long way to go.
Besides, with her unreliable, careless personality...
Wei Yang couldn't really trust her. He was more worried that if he brought her along, he'd definitely get lost.
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