"This thing is a mixture of the Netherworld Soul Flame and some other power," Ye Fan retracted the flame from his fingertip. "As for what the remaining components are, I haven't figured it out yet."
"Netherworld Soul Flame?" The little demon girl quickly leaned in. "What exactly is it? It sounds very powerful!"
"The Netherworld Soul Flame is a flame from the Demon Realm," Ye Fan explained. "It primarily targets spiritual attacks."
"No wonder I felt so uncomfortable..." The little demon girl suddenly understood and nodded. "And no wonder you're not afraid of this thing..."
She had witnessed Ye Fan's spiritual sea before; it couldn't even be described as monstrous!
Even a legendary immortal would likely pale in comparison to Ye Fan's spiritual sea!
With that in mind, this item was indeed a good thing for Ye Fan, and only Ye Fan could unleash its full potential.
Spiritual attacks might not sound like much at first glance, perhaps just a way to scare people.
But anyone who thought that was truly naive!
Ordinary scare tactics might be harmless.
However, when such intimidation becomes powerful enough to completely destroy a person's spiritual power, it transforms entirely!
With spiritual power destroyed, a person becomes an unconscious wreck, left at the mercy of others!
"Besides attacking, it can also assist in alchemy and artifact refining," Ye Fan continued to explain. "Furthermore, this flame has excellent effects in repairing souls."
In the past, when he had consciousness, a close friend of Ye Fan was ambushed and his spiritual power was almost on the verge of collapse.
At the time, many professional alchemists and formation masters studied it for a long time, discussing various hypotheses, and finally arrived at a helpless conclusion.
There was no hope...
These were true professionals, not the so-called 'experts' who were anything but.
They represented the top authorities in their respective fields!
In fact, Ye Fan, who was also a top professional at the time, believed the same; the situation was truly hopeless.
However, he did not give up. Instead, he went into seclusion with fierce determination.
He pored over various ancient texts and fragmented manuscripts, constantly searching for new clues.
Each time he gained new insight, he immediately began to deduce formulas, only to end up in a dead end once more...
Finally!
After spending hundreds of years, Ye Fan found a solution!
A brand new formation was thus developed by him!
However, the operation of this formation was missing the most crucial element.
The legendary...
Netherworld Soul Flame!
Later, Ye Fan ventured alone into the Demon Realm and, after countless life-and-death battles, finally found a single flame.
This process, too, took him hundreds of years!
Then, he returned to the Human Realm with the Netherworld Soul Flame and successfully healed his friend.
Subsequently, he also gained more fortune and opportunities by utilizing the power of the Netherworld Soul Flame.
However, due to time constraints back then, the structure of that grand formation was still quite rough.
Although his friend was cured, there were some residual aftereffects...
Even though his friend did not blame him, Ye Fan still felt very guilty.
From then on, with each transmigration, Ye Fan would refine this grand formation whenever he had free time.
It could only be said that the soul was an incredibly complex and difficult entity to deal with; the calculations involved were beyond astronomical numbers.
Even with Ye Fan's spiritual sea reaching such monstrous levels, progress remained incredibly slow.
It was not until his eighth or ninth transmigration that he finally perfected this formation.
At least, with his current capabilities, he had achieved the utmost.
However, now with this evil flame, new ideas popped into Ye Fan's mind.
After all, this thing was not purely the Netherworld Soul Flame; it contained other components.
Since returning from the evil flame ruins, Ye Fan had been pondering this evil flame for the past few days.
Although the components other than the Netherworld Soul Flame were still uncertain, their properties suggested they were not significantly different from the Netherworld Soul Flame's functions.
After several days of calculation, Ye Fan felt that the grand formation could be further refined.
The general idea had been simulated, and the rest...
It seemed there were no remaining steps...
He currently had no cultivation, making many steps impossible to implement.
He could only treat it as solving a puzzle for amusement.
Unless he created a vastly weakened version, but that would be meaningless.
His current contemplation was purely out of professional habit...
Just then, Shan Ji and the others arrived.
"What's with you all?" Ye Fan turned his head, and his brow immediately furrowed.
Through his spiritual perception, he could sense Hong Ying's general condition.
"Plop!"
Lu Ying immediately knelt on the ground. "Senior, my sister... she's in trouble..."
She was unsure if Ye Fan would agree to help. Now, she truly had no other recourse but to seek his assistance.
If Ye Fan truly remained indifferent, she would have no choice but to return.
As for saying something like 'I won't get up until you agree'?
Only an idiot would do such a thing; she wouldn't be so foolish...
If that were to happen, it was possible that she and Huang Hui Hong would meet their end before her sister today...
"Such severe soul damage..." Ye Fan frowned. "Could it be... soul-searching?"
"Yes, Big Brother," Xiang Jiao Jun replied, seeing Lu Ying's slightly dazed state. "Earlier, they encountered some people..."
Xiang Jiao Jun was quite honest.
He not only recounted Huang Hui Hong's situation but even mentioned Er Ha and the others.
Ye Fan's expression flickered upon hearing this...
What the heck?
That thing actually found its way to Ge Shan City?
Damn it, it wouldn't be here to betray me, would it?
Although Ye Fan had taken in Shan Ji and Xiang Jiao Jun, the Chicken-Banana combination was not his contracted spirit beasts, so there was no possibility of them betraying him.
Er Ha and Little Fox were different...
These two little guys were officially registered spirit beasts, loyal lackeys of the system!
It seemed he needed to be more vigilant recently...
"Ye Fan, is there any way?" the little demon girl asked anxiously.
Seeing her good sister in such a state, she felt immense sadness.
However, she also knew her boundaries.
If Ye Fan couldn't or wouldn't help, she wouldn't force the issue.
No matter how good their sisterly bond, it ultimately couldn't compare to her own man.
Therefore, she was only inquiring if there was a solution, not saying things like 'You must help her.'
Ye Fan did not answer but pondered with a frown.
There was indeed a solution.
It was the grand formation he had been contemplating recently.
He had just obtained the evil flame, and now Hong Ying's soul was damaged.
This was truly a remarkable coincidence...
Although he had always insisted on not cultivating, techniques involving alchemy and formations seemed to be used more and more frequently lately.
It was as if something was guiding him from the shadows...
Even though Ye Fan's current abilities couldn't replicate the perfect grand formation, the current situation was sufficient for a simplified version.
After all, his friend back then was divine level, while Hong Ying was merely a cultivator.
Besides this, there were a few other minor issues...
After a long while.
Seeing Ye Fan's continued silence, Lu Ying murmured to herself, "Is there really no way..."
If even Ye Fan was powerless, she truly didn't know who else she could turn to in Ge Shan City...
"There is a way, but there's a small problem..." Ye Fan smacked his lips. "It will require a price to be paid."