The Final Battle: Burning Nests with Red Flames and Returning Earth to the Sun

The depths of the black hole seemed bottomless. Lin Ye and his two remaining companions slid down the rock face, their fingertips scratched by sharp edges. Blood dripped onto the black vine, which instantly absorbed it, causing the leaves to glow an eerie red. Chen Xi followed closely behind. The few remaining small Yang Gu in the cloth bag huddled together, but continued to emit intermittent warning hisses, warning of the growing evil spirit ahead.

"The Soul Nest is just ahead!" Lin Ye suddenly stopped. In the dim light of the red sun fire within the copper box, he could see a massive black stone, two men tall, standing in the vast underground space below—the Evil Stone. Dark red soul threads entwined the stone, one end weaving into a crack in the stone, the other end connected to countless black vines, weaving the entire underground into an impenetrable web. Each vine was wriggling slightly, as if transporting something.

As they landed, the ground suddenly shook, and several black vines attacked from all directions. Lin Ye quickly opened the copper box, and the red sun fire spread along his arms. He waved his hand and flung the fire at the vines. With a sizzling sound, the black vines curled up, but did not break. Instead, more black juice flowed from the broken ends, driving the flames back. "The evil witch has integrated the evil power of the earth veins into the vines!" his companion shouted urgently, wielding his peach wood sword to cut at the vines that were wrapping around Chen Xi, but the blade was stuck in the black juice and could not be pulled out.

Chen Xi suddenly squatted down and poured the Yang Gu from the cloth bag onto the ground. She then pulled out the glutinous rice and cinnabar she had brought with her, mixed it with her fingertip blood, and sprinkled it on the Yang Gu. "The Yang Gu fears evil spirits, but it recognizes my blood!" She gritted her teeth as she watched the Yang Gu regain its strength in the blood mist and crawl towards the evil stone. "They can attract the Yang energy in the cracks of the stone. Take this opportunity to pour the Red Sun Fire on them!"

As the Yang Gu approached the evil stone, the soul threads on the stone suddenly erupted, lashing at them like whips. Several Yang Gu were instantly blown away, but one took advantage of the opportunity to slip into a crevice, emitting a sharp hissing sound. Then, the evil stone cracked, and a faint golden light shone through the cracks—it was the Yang energy of the earth veins! Lin Ye's eyes lit up, and he rushed towards the boulder, holding the copper box. But after running two steps, he heard his companion's screams behind him. He turned around and saw that his companion had been entangled in black vines, his body withering away at a visible rate.

"Leave me alone! Destroy it!" his companion's voice was filled with determination. He suddenly pulled out the last Red Sun Talisman and pressed it against the black vine. The talisman instantly ignited, engulfing both him and the vine in flames. Lin Ye's tears fell on the copper box, but he didn't dare to stop. He leaped to the ominous stone and poured all the Red Sun Fire in the box into the crevice.

When the Crimson Sun Fire met the Earth's Yang Qi, it instantly erupted with a blinding light. The soul threads on the Evil Stone began to burn fiercely, emitting a shrill scream—they were the Evil Witch's own soul threads! The Evil Witch's roar echoed in the distance, and the black fog began to churn violently, shaking the entire underground. Chen Xi ran to Lin Ye's side. The two of them stared intently at the Evil Stone, watching as cracks multiplied, the golden light grew stronger, and the black vines began to wither one by one.

But at that moment, the evil wizard suddenly appeared above the black hole. Most of his black robe had been burned away, leaving only a fragment of the Gu King beneath his left eye. He remained as ferocious as ever. "Even if I die, I'll take you with me!" he roared, leaping towards the evil stone. A final cloud of black mist gathered in his palm, enveloping the core of the earth's evil spirit. "I've absorbed the evil spirit for three years. Today, I'll use everything in this underground to perish with you!"

Lin Ye and Chen Xi were about to dodge when they saw a crimson-gold chain of fire emanating from behind the evil witch—it was Su Nian! Her clothes had been stained black by the black mist, and only half of the red sun talisman between her eyebrows remained, but she still held a burning peach wood sword and stabbed at the evil witch's back. "Your opponent is me!" Su Nian's voice was hoarse, but it was filled with unquestionable determination. "We didn't let you succeed back then, and we won't let you succeed today either!"

The evil wizard screamed in agony after being stabbed. He turned to attack Su Nian, but he didn't notice that the evil stone had completely cracked, and the yang energy within the earth's veins erupted like a volcano. Golden light instantly engulfed the entire underground, and the evil wizard's body dissipated inch by inch in the light, leaving not even a trace of his soul. Su Nian was pushed by the light and landed beside Lin Ye and Chen Xi. She looked at them and gave a weak but reassuring smile: "The fog... should be dispersing."

As the local yang energy gradually subsided, the black fog completely disappeared, and sunlight shone through the black hole. Lin Ye supported Su Nian, and Chen Xi followed behind, stepping out of Meixi Town. Outside the town, the elders and remaining tribesmen were waiting for them. Seeing the three figures, everyone's eyes were red. Su Nian looked up at the sky. The sun was shining brightly, without a trace of fog. In the distance, Meixi Town, under the sunlight, revealed its true appearance - no longer a ghost town, but just a quiet old town.

Later, the tribe renovated Meixi Town and added a new stele next to the stone tablet at the town entrance. It bore the names of Lin Ye, Chen Xi, and their fallen companions. Every year on the anniversary of their death, Su Nian would bring the children here, pour a cup of rice wine on the stele, and recount the story of the Red Sun Fire that year and those who remained unwavering.

Children always ask: "Sister Su Nian, will there be fog again in the future?"

Su Nianhui pointed at the sunlight in the town and said with a smile, "Not anymore. Because someone sacrificed their life to draw out the Yang energy from the earth veins. From now on, every inch of land here will be filled with light."

The wind swept through the town, carrying the fragrance of grass and trees, as if responding, and as if telling a story - telling the story of two generations' "overcoming difficulties", telling the story of the encounter between the Red Sun Fire and the Earth Vein Yang, and also telling that some darkness will never come back as long as someone is willing to burn themselves out.