Yan Yan adored Ancestor Chen Xi. Not only was the ancestor strikingly beautiful with a gentle disposition, but she also frequently refined delicious pills for Yan Yan and Ling’er. She doted on them endlessly.
That said, Yan Yan suspected the affection extended to them was merely by extension of her love for their father. The one Ancestor Chen Xi cherished most was still Father.
The master and disciple often spent days together discussing the Dao. Yan Yan had eavesdropped once, only to doze off midway through—and when she awoke, her cultivation had advanced by one star.
Of course, Yan Yan still absolutely adored Ancestor Chen Xi, just a smidgen less than she loved Mother.
The moment she heard she could enter the Fire Refining Starry Sky to find Ancestor Chen Xi, Yan Yan’s sulk vanished. She immediately burrowed out from Mother’s forehead, transforming into a blazing cluster of three-colored flames.
Red, blue, and yellow.
The red embodied the Great Crimson Heaven Flame, the blue the Evil Spirit Dragon Breath Flame (gray in its true form), and the yellow the Gold-Silver Fire. This unique three-colored blaze was Yan Yan’s innate companion fire seed, born while she was still in the Myriad Snake Queen’s womb. Its power stemmed from Yan Zhen himself.
In his previous life, Yan Zhen had ranked this novel three-colored flame tenth on the Extreme Flame List, dubbing it the Three Flowers Gathering Spirit Fire.
Entry to the Fire Refining Starry Sky wasn’t granted on a whim; it required Yan Zhen’s guidance or Chen Xi’s permission. Yan Yan, however, was the exception.
She could morph into the Three Flowers Gathering Spirit Fire and, exploiting the realm’s innate pull toward extreme flames, slip inside effortlessly.
Sure enough, no sooner had the three-colored flames appeared than the crystal pendant on the bed ignited with light. A visible vortex of radiance swirled to life, engulfing the flames—and Yan Yan herself—within.
Once inside the Fire Refining Starry Sky, Yan Yan resumed her human shape: a twelve- or thirteen-year-old loli clad in a skirt of living flames, as pink and endearing as a porcelain doll.
Her features closely mirrored the Myriad Snake Queen’s, though her eyes bore a hint of Yan Zhen’s. Fiery red locks trailed behind her, bound into twin tails with mismatched hair ties.
Yan Zhen’s bloodline had overshadowed the Snake God Bloodline, sparing her the pronounced Snake Descendant traits of her mother. Still, she could activate it at will to assume those distinctive features.
“Fire Refining Starry Sky… I sure do miss this place~”
Yan Yan sighed with the airs of an old-timer.
The realm differed slightly from her memories. A mere four stars gleamed faintly amid the expanse; the rest were dim husks, a far cry from the dazzling stellar host of her past life.
Two of those radiant stars felt especially intimate: the Gold-Silver Fire and the Evil Spirit Dragon Breath Flame.
Yan Yan reminisced about her childhood, riding the little dragon form of the Evil Spirit Dragon Breath Flame while clad in sword and armor forged from Gold-Silver Fire. The Great Crimson Heaven Flame had wreathed her like a dramatic flourish as she strutted off on grand adventures, leaving Ling’er green with envy. Those were the days.
But she hadn’t come to frolic with the extreme flames. She sought Ancestor Chen Xi and Father.
Like a shooting star, Yan Yan streaked through the gloomy void, trailing a vivid scar of starlight. Soon she neared the array formation plaza, vast as a great lake.
At its heart loomed a towering altar, crowned by a lavish bed draped in pink gauze curtains that hinted at intimacy.
The translucent veil offered only vague glimpses within: her father, apparently pillowed in Ancestor Chen Xi’s arm.
Yan Yan’s lovely eyes sparkled.
“So even young Father acts spoiled with Ancestor Chen Xi like that?”
Curiosity drew her into the plaza, straight toward the center.
Yan Yan’s aura so closely mimicked the extreme flames that Chen Xi overlooked her approach at first. But upon breaching the plaza, Chen Xi sensed her instantly, astonished that anyone could breach the Fire Refining Starry Sky. Then came the voice:
“Father~~~ I’m here to play with you and Ancestor Chen Xi!”
This voice… Yan… Yan’er?!
Chen Xi jolted in shock, nearly losing her poise. She could never have anticipated hearing that impish little voice here. Glancing up, she confirmed it: Yan Yan had alighted on the altar.
Yet Yan Zhen had reached a critical juncture, suckling insistently at the tip of her breast, his throat working to swallow the sweet medicinal nectar. He was lost in the tender paradise she had woven, deaf even to Yan Yan’s cry.
Chen Xi bit her lip. Far from relenting, she quickened the rhythm of her hands.
Only after Yan Zhen had fully released did she cease. Gently, she shifted his head from the crook of her arm to her lap, threading her fingers through his hair in soothing strokes.
Yan Zhen relinquished the nipple from his mouth. His breaths carried a cloying milky fragrance.
“Master… I swear I heard someone calling my name…”
Chen Xi managed a wry smile, her expression peculiar as she peered beyond the gauze. There stood Yan Yan, frozen in a stare, tiny hands clapped over her face—though her splayed fingers betrayed her. Her big, dewy eyes brimmed with shock and embarrassment.
Meeting Chen Xi’s gaze, the girl yelped and bolted.
“I-I didn’t see a thing!”
Yan Zhen blinked, his wits still foggy.
“This voice… it sounds just like Yan’er?”
He started to rise for a look, but Chen Xi eased him down.
“Sleep now, Zhen’er. Everything will be fine once you wake.”
Her words as the beautiful master wielded an enchanting power, lulling Yan Zhen into slumber.
Chen Xi transported him out, straightened her attire, and dispelled the illusory bedroom conjured from her spiritual power.
Yan Yan fled for dear life, reaching the plaza’s edge in a flash. But as she stepped beyond, a force teleported her right back before Chen Xi.
“Think you can escape, little one?”
“Aiya, Ancestor Chen Xi…”
Towering half a head taller, the beautiful ancestor wore a benevolent smile that terrified Yan Yan.
She had stumbled onto a colossal secret. Gentle as Ancestor Chen Xi might be, she’d fly into a rage and paddle Yan Yan’s bottom raw.
Worse, Father was involved—he wouldn’t lift a finger to help. Doom!
“I didn’t mean to barge in! I don’t know anything! I’m a good girl~”
She looked utterly pitiful, weak, and helpless.
“Ahem, it’s a misunderstanding, Yan’er,” Chen Xi explained. “Your father had a minor issue with his body, so your ancestor was administering special treatment.”
Yan Yan cocked her head, her big watery eyes blinking in innocent confusion.
“Special… treatment? Like that?”
“Exactly.” Chen Xi maintained a straight face. “Your ancestor was purging the side effects of his refining the Evil Spirit Dragon Breath Flame while dosing him with medicine. It may look affectionate, but it’s nothing like what your father and mother get up to. Understand, Yan’er?”
“Ohhh, got it! I thought you and Father were sneaking off for something naughty, hehe~”
Yan Yan relaxed instantly, scratching her head sheepishly.
Chen Xi exhaled discreetly.
Thank goodness it was Yan’er and not Ling Ji. The girl seemed sly but was guileless at heart—easy to bamboozle, nothing like her sharper sister.
