The image of the Furnace Queen lingered in Lin Yan's mind long after the vision faded.
He could still see her—silver hair drenched in blood, eyes like molten rubies, her bare feet walking over the corpses of sect elders, her robes fluttering in a storm of fire and fury.
And behind her…
**A trail of burning seals**, shattered emblems of the seven great sects.
---
The crystal obelisk hummed softly, as if still whispering her name to the stone walls.
Lin Yan placed his hand on the book—the **Codex of the Forgotten Vessels**—and as he did, it opened without resistance.
A surge of spiritual data flowed into him.
> *"She was once called Yue Qilan. Born in the Azure Cloud Sect. Designated a Divine Yin Furnace at birth. Taken at age seven. Drained for a decade. Escaped at seventeen. Ascended by devouring the dantians of her captors. Vanished at twenty-one… only to return as a calamity."*
The words burned into Lin Yan's mind.
He turned the next page.
> *"She did not rebel for herself. She rebelled to build a kingdom. A sanctuary. A dream that failed."*
Yan Ruo stared at the codex beside him, her voice hoarse. "They say she created the art of **Reversed Furnace Cultivation**… converting the furnace body into a source of devouring, not giving."
Lin Yan's flame responded to the words, swirling higher, hotter.
The codex flipped again on its own.
The final page glowed red.
> **"The Reversed Path begins when one dares to consume what once consumed them."**
> **"Beware. It changes more than just the body. It changes the soul."**
---
The room darkened.
Suddenly, the stone chamber trembled.
The obelisk cracked—and from it rose a spectral image. A woman in crimson.
Not Yue Qilan herself, but a **memory echo**.
Her voice echoed across the shrine.
> "If you've found this, then the world hasn't killed all of us yet."
> "But if you take this path, understand: power will not free you. It will isolate you. Wound you. Hollow you."
> "Choose not revenge. Choose purpose."
And then her form scattered like embers.
The obelisk shattered.
The codex burned into Lin Yan's chest—its knowledge sealed within him, its weight heavy as fate.
---
Outside, thunder rolled over the ruined city.
Yan Ruo's eyes narrowed.
"She left something behind. A technique. A warning."
Lin Yan looked toward the north, where the great sects ruled.
"No," he said quietly. "She left us a beginning."