Zhou Huai controlled Gandalf, who, with {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} a flicker of his body, swiftly approached the cluster of eerie green flames.

Before he even got close, a scorching sensation washed over him, not a burning of the Physical Body, but a strange heat that felt as if it wanted to ignite his Soul!

Even more, a spine-tingling tremor arose from the depths of his heart.

When Gandalf was less than three meters from the flames, an information panel finally appeared clearly before his eyes:

【Exotic Flame: Soul-Devouring Underworld Flame (Unidentified / Unclaimed)】

【Effect: This flame originates from the depths of the Nine Nether Hell, condensed from countless resentful Souls and Evil Qi. Once contaminated, it is like a maggot on bone, extremely difficult to extinguish. During combustion, it will continuously burn the target's Physical Body and Soul, causing flame damage and Soul damage based on Mental Energy per second. The flame will last for at least fifteen minutes, until the target turns to ash or the caster actively withdraws it. Those whose Souls are incinerated by this flame have a certain chance of their Soul collapsing and being completely annihilated.】

【Note: Absorbing this flame requires enduring the backlash of Nether Hell's Evil Qi and the gnawing of ten thousand Souls, a near-death experience.】

“It really is an Exotic Flame!”

Zhou Huai's pupils suddenly constricted, and his breathing became somewhat rapid!

Exotic Flame!

This was an absolutely good thing!

In the Great Xia Country, and even the entire Blue Star world, Exotic Flames were as rare as Phoenix feathers!

Their formation conditions were extremely harsh, often only appearing with a very low probability in some extremely special environments, highly concentrated energy death zones, or in places where terrifying BOSSes with heaven-defying strength and control over the Law of flames had fallen.

The emergence of every Exotic Flame was enough to trigger a mad scramble among countless professional practitioners, even stirring up a bloody storm!

Its preciousness was self-evident!

For fire-attribute professional practitioners, Exotic Flames were even more of a dream treasure!

Once successfully absorbed and refined, not only would the power of their own flame skills skyrocket, but they would also gain the special attributes of the Exotic Flame, becoming unpredictable and hard to guard against!

Rumor has it that the legendary mage of the Free Federation, known as "Flame Calamity," originally had a professional rating of only A-rank Blazing Flame Controller.

But by Opportunity, he obtained an S-rank Exotic Flame, the "Solar True Flame."

With this flame, he could even contend head-on with veteran S-rank powerhouses without falling behind, establishing his legendary name!

From this, one can see how terrifying the improvement a powerful Exotic Flame brings to a professional practitioner!

Besides combat, Exotic Flames also play an irreplaceable role in fields such as Forging, Alchemy, array arrangement, and even top-tier cooking.

The Forging Guild in Donghai City, the core energy of its so-called top-tier forging room, was a D-rank Earth Core Flame.

Zhou Huai felt that compared to the Soul-Devouring Underworld Flame before him, that Earth Core Flame was simply the difference between a firefly and a bright moon.

They were not on the same level at all.

Exotic Flames also had grades. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

From low to high, they were D, C, B, A, S.

In the market, even the lowest D-rank Exotic Flame could easily sell for a sky-high price of tens of millions of great xia currency.

And they were often available only at a price, but not in stock.

Zhou Huai looked at the Soul-Devouring Underworld Flame before him, his heart burning with excitement.

However, absorbing an Exotic Flame was not an easy task.

The more powerful the Exotic Flame, the more terrifying its backlash.

During the absorption process, one not only had to endure the pain of the flame itself burning the body and devouring the bones, but also resist the impact of the violent will contained within the Exotic Flame's Origin.

A slight mistake could lead to the complete annihilation of the Divine Soul, turning into ashes.

Throughout history, countless Genius professional practitioners have perished trying to absorb Exotic Flames!

Therefore, before absorbing an Exotic Flame, professional practitioners usually make thorough preparations.

First, they must use a precious 【Exotic Flame Identification Scroll】 to determine its grade and characteristics, and assess the risks.

Secondly, they would also prepare various Medicinal Pills or items to resist backlash and stabilize their mind before cautiously attempting to absorb it.

But right now, Zhou Huai was deep within this strange hidden instance dungeon, let alone an identification scroll, he didn't even have a single hair.

To get this Exotic Flame, Gandalf could only go for it!

“No pain, no gain!”

A hint of determination flashed in Zhou Huai's eyes.

He made a decisive decision, withdrew control over Gandalf's body, and handed everything over to the extremely calm Smart Core AI.

An AI without a Soul might have unexpected effects when dealing with backlash at the Soul level!

Under the control of the Smart Core AI, Gandalf slowly extended his right hand, reaching towards the silently suspended Soul-Devouring Underworld Flame.

Just as his fingertips were about to touch the flame.

That cluster of Soul-Devouring Underworld Flame, like a Vicious Beast startled awake, suddenly came alive, transforming into a ghostly face, fiercely pouncing on Gandalf!

Buzz—!

The Arcane Barrier glowed brightly, firmly blocking the green ghostly flame.

However, the flame did not give up there.

It instantly wrapped around Gandalf like a giant green spider web, burning fiercely!

-1229!

-1299!

-1258!

A series of astonishing damage numbers frantically appeared above Gandalf's head.

The shield value of the Arcane Barrier rapidly decreased at a terrifying speed.

Had it been any living person here, they would probably have already suffered a mental breakdown from the excruciating pain of Soul-burning and bone-corroding.

At the same time, he closed his eyes, as if an old monk had entered meditation, and began to try to guide and absorb this destructive power from Hell according to some profound trajectory.

This was a long and perilous process.

The "Soul-Devouring Underworld Flame" was incredibly violent; every wisp of flame seemed to carry an independent will, frantically trying to tear through Gandalf's defenses, drill into his body, and burn him into nothingness.

The shield value was rapidly depleting, repeatedly on the verge of shattering, only to be propped up again by the Smart Core AI the moment the cooldown ended.

Gandalf's magic power was also rapidly depleting, and Zhou Huai had to make him drink several bottles of the magic recovery potions he had previously acquired.

Time passed by minute by minute.

Zhou Huai's heart was in his throat.

He could clearly perceive that the Smart Core AI was wrestling with the Soul-Devouring Underworld Flame in a way that surpassed human understanding.

It had no emotion, no fear, only cold and precise calculation.

It transformed Gandalf's body into a perfect container, meticulously guiding those violent flames, incorporating them into his body, and then using its own vast Mental Energy to gradually grind away their malevolence and refine their Origin.

Finally—

After an unknown amount of time, when the shield value of the Arcane Barrier once again barely reached rock bottom.

That last wisp of eerie green flame let out an unwilling whimper, and was completely absorbed into Gandalf's body!

Zhou Huai's tense nerves finally relaxed.

He let out a long sigh of relief.

“It succeeded.”

Just now, he had even prepared for Gandalf to explode and die on the spot.

The backlash of this Exotic Flame was simply too fierce.

Its grade was definitely not low.

After absorbing the Exotic Flame, Zhou Huai suppressed the excitement in his heart and then controlled Gandalf to meticulously search the surroundings of the ancient battlefield.

After confirming that there were no other valuable treasures to take, and no deeper hidden BOSSes.

Only then did he contentedly control Gandalf, leaving this hidden underground space, and reuniting with Yasuo, who was waiting outside the stone gate.

Subsequently, the two no longer lingered and quickly exited the Shadow Swamp Demon Cave.

...

Swish! Swish!

Two flashes of white light, and Yasuo and Gandalf's figures reappeared at the entrance of the Shadow Swamp Demon Cave instance dungeon.

By this time, the sky outside had completely darkened.

Stars dotted the night sky, but they could not dispel the deep gloom and chill of the wilderness.

Zhou Huai looked at the scene before him, slightly startled and somewhat surprised.

Outside the entrance of the Shadow Swamp Demon Cave instance dungeon, a large number of professional practitioners had gathered at some point.

At least a hundred people.

They sat in small groups around several bonfires, whispering about something, and the atmosphere seemed a bit heavy.

Each person's face carried more or less a hint of worry and unease.

The bodies of those from the Sword of Azure Sky Guild had been casually dragged to the side, piled up like garbage.

These people, who usually bullied others and lorded it over them, no one even bothered to glance at them after their death.

Strangely, from beginning to end, no one looked at Yasuo and Gandalf, who had just appeared.

As if they were just air.

A hint of doubt arose in Zhou Huai's mind.

Why hadn't the Sword of Azure Sky people arrived yet?

Logically, with so many people dead here, the news should have already spread back.

Also, what were these people guarding here for?

Judging by their appearance, they didn't seem to be preparing to team up and enter the dungeon.

Zhou Huai had an idea, controlled Yasuo, and walked towards a middle-aged man nearby who was wiping a long saber.

“What happened?”

Yasuo's voice was still that indifferent tone.

“Why are you all gathered here?”

The middle-aged man looked up, sized up Yasuo, and then glanced at the silent Gandalf behind him.

His eyes held a hint of wariness.

“You don't know?”

Zhou Huai controlled Yasuo to shake his head.

“Just came out of the dungeon.”

Upon hearing this, the wariness on the middle-aged man's face lessened slightly, then turned into a long sigh.

He sheathed his long saber, his tone heavy.

“It's better if you don't know.”

“Tonight, Donghai City might not be peaceful.”

Zhou Huai frowned slightly, said nothing, and just waited quietly for his next words.

The middle-aged man looked at the distant jungle shrouded in night, his eyes full of worry.

“Beast tide.”

“Tonight, there will likely be a beast tide.”

“All of us here are refugees who escaped from nearby leveling spots.”