Chapter 175: The Remnant Soul

Though the Swiftflame was not large, this beast possessed remarkable abilities. True to its name, it was not only exceedingly fast, but the flames of an adult Swiftflame were so fierce that even the most fearsome corpse-fiends dared not approach. Watching the fire beast emerge from the cave, Zhou Qing noticed a strange little box hanging from its neck, with a peculiar red glow seeping from the seams.

“Your name is Huo’er, isn’t it? Come here,” Zhou Qing called softly, sweeping his gaze over the Swiftflame, whose body flickered with blue fire.

At his gentle summons, the beast known as Huo’er let out an odd cry—almost as if it understood Zhou Qing’s words. It approached him docilely and sat at his feet.

Seeing this, Hong Yun, who stood a short distance away, was filled with disbelief. In her experience, such a beast was nothing short of ferocious, and yet, at a single word from Zhou Qing, it had become tame and obedient. She was also puzzled by the way he had called it “Huo’er,” as if he knew every detail about the creature.

Pondering this, she arrived at a sudden understanding—Zhou Qing was, after all, the Dao Master. Perhaps all of this had been arranged by him long ago.

Hong Yun stood silently on the side, watching Zhou Qing as he crouched down and removed the strange, glowing box from Huo’er’s neck. The moment Zhou Qing saw the box, he understood its contents. Without hesitation, he opened it.

Inside was a brilliant red orb, shining with piercing light. As soon as the lid was lifted, the orb slowly floated upward, then in a quick flash, plunged directly into Zhou Qing’s body.

The red orb entered him, and Zhou Qing was immediately seized by an excruciating, burning pain. Unable to withstand it for even three breaths, he cried out and collapsed into unconsciousness.

Seeing this, Hong Yun stepped forward, intending to help Zhou Qing, but unexpectedly, Huo’er sprang between them, barking a strange warning at her.

Clearly, the Swiftflame did not want Hong Yun to approach Zhou Qing. From their earlier interaction, she could tell that the beast bore Zhou Qing no malice.

Glancing at the strange blue-flamed creature, Hong Yun halted her steps. As the beast let out another warning cry, she withdrew from the cave.

Once Hong Yun had left, the beast bit gently at Zhou Qing’s collar and dragged him to the deepest part of the cave.

Though the creature was only the size of a wolfhound, it was incredibly strong, easily hauling Zhou Qing to the cave’s depths, finally depositing him in a small stone chamber at the very end.

The stone chamber was small and bare. Apart from a yellow cloth pouch hanging from a small protruding stone on the mud wall, there was only a man-sized stone block resting against one side of the chamber.

After dragging Zhou Qing to the stone, Huo’er released him and settled down nearby, letting out a gentle, peculiar cry.

With that sound, the blue flames enveloping Huo’er were extinguished, and the beast revealed its true form.

Its body was covered in a layer of red fur—strangely fine and flickering like tiny flames, glowing with an eerie brilliance. The plush flame-like pelt made its wolfhound-sized body look odd, for it was tailless, with a short, sharp horn atop its head.

Yet this fire beast was not a solid creature but rather a spiritual being. While the blue flames had earlier concealed its horn, now that the fire faded, the horn stood out clearly.

As Zhou Qing lay unconscious, the Swiftflame sat quietly nearby, watching over him. After an unknown span, Zhou Qing awoke from his stupor.

The moment he stirred, the beast leapt to his side, uttering a gentle and strange cry.

Zhou Qing knew this was not a true Swiftflame. From the hidden notes in his records, he understood this was only a lingering soul, left to guard this place. By means of some great magical art, this remnant soul could take on the semblance of a real beast—a secret known only to Zhou Qing, for Hong Yun had not discerned it at all.

Rising to his feet, Zhou Qing checked his spiritual core. Since the Fire Spirit Pearl had entered his body, just as with the Water Spirit Pearl before, he found no trace of fire energy within. The spiritual core showed not a hint of fiery essence.

He swept his gaze around the chamber and finally fixed his eyes on the small cloth pouch on the stone wall.

Taking it down, he opened the pouch to find a string of tiny wooden prayer beads and a small red stone, scarcely larger than a fingernail.

Zhou Qing knew well the purpose of the beads and the red stone.

He raised his hand, bit his fingertip, and let a drop of blood fall upon the red stone. Then, calling out “Huo’er,” he tossed the stone to the Swiftflame.

The beast let out a strange cry and leapt into the air, catching the red stone in its jaws.

A bizarre transformation followed. The creature’s wolfhound-sized body began to shrink rapidly, finally collapsing into a small, round red stone, scarcely larger than a thumbnail, which landed on the ground.

As Huo’er vanished, the stone chamber was plunged into utter darkness. Zhou Qing, feeling his way, pressed his hand to his treasure pouch at his waist and retrieved a luminescent stone.

At its appearance, a dim glow filled the chamber once more.

With the light, Zhou Qing approached the small red stone, picked up the form Huo’er had left behind, examined it closely, and then put it away in his treasure pouch.

Having thus sealed Huo’er into stone, Zhou Qing took up the string of prayer beads, slipped them onto his wrist, and then struck the peculiar stone embedded in the chamber.

At his touch, the stone emitted a blinding light, illuminating the chamber as if it were day.

A strange force surged from within the stone, seizing Zhou Qing and pulling him into its depths.

As his figure vanished into the stone, darkness once more claimed the chamber.

Not long after, footsteps echoed nearby, and Hong Yun appeared at the entrance.

This chamber marked the cave’s end; she had followed the path all the way, finding no other passages. Yet now, within the chamber, there was no sign of Zhou Qing.

Not only Zhou Qing—there was no trace of the Swiftflame beast either, as if both had vanished from the world.