Yun Lintian startled for a moment before he reacted. "Are you the Blazing Sun Monarch?"
"I am." The ancient voice resounded along with an illusory silhouette that appeared above the throne.
Yun Lintian raised his head to look at the illusory silhouette slightly. The silhouette appeared as a handsome young man clad in fiery red attire with a black-colored dragon pattern. His brows were sharp and slanted up slightly at the end. His eyes were like an eagle, it was as if nothing could be hidden under his gaze. Yun Lintian didn't know whether it was his imagination as he saw a small fire image within the man's pupils.
"I've been waiting for you for a long time." The Blazing Sun Monarch slowly descended to the ground. His eagle-like eyes stared at Yun Lintian for a while before he asked, "What is your name?"
Yun Lintian knew he might possibly encounter the typical guardian spirit trope at this moment. He cupped his fists and replied respectfully, "This Junior's name is Yun Lintian. I pay respect to Senior Blazing Sun Monarch."
"Yun Lintian… Good name." The Blazing Sun Monarch muttered to himself. His gaze inadvertently landed on the silver necklace around Yun Lintian's neck, and his pupils shrank slightly before returning to normal a second later.
"You can call my name directly. I am no longer the Blazing Sun Monarch." The Blazing Sun Monarch, Yan Qi, said. Without waiting for Yun Lintian to reply, he said further, "I know you have several questions in your mind right now, but we can put that aside first. I need you to come with me." Following that, he walked toward the end of the hall.
Yun Lintian hesitated slightly, but he still followed him in the end. The two of them gradually reached the end of the hall. Yan Qi's illusory hand touched the wall gently, and the lifelike-fire pattern promptly lit up. In the next moment, a door had magically appeared on the wall, and Yan Qi beckoned Yun Lintian to follow in.
Yun Lintian grew numb to this kind of magical secret passage already. He wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if there was another hidden passage right under his feet.
The moment he passed through the door, Yun Lintian immediately felt a raging heatwave hit his body. It was to the point he could feel an intense burning sensation on his skins. He hastily conjured a protective barrier around his body to block the heatwave.
"This is The Sun." Yan Qi spoke.
Yun Lintian didn't have leisure time to look around the place before as he just finished dealing with the heatwave. He cast his gaze to the center of the room and saw an adult human-size sun-like orb floating in the air. It glowed in orange-red color and small blasts could be seen on it occasionally. It resembled an image of the sun he saw when he was on Earth. Compared to the orb on the outside, this one was more realistic and more imposing.
While Yun Lintian was fascinated by The Sun, Yan Qi said further, "Since you've already read my diary, you should know that I was asked by 'that person' to guard this… I've been guarding this for several thousand years, waiting for the destined person to come here and take it away."
"During this period, I've seen many young practitioners managed to arrive above this place, but none of them can get closer to The Sun… Years after years, my will started to collapse as well as my lifespan gradually reaching its end. After I died, I left a trace of my soul here in case the destined person came to this place." Yan Qi paused for a moment and turned to Yun Lintian. He said slowly, "And that person is you."
"Wait a minute, Senior. I don't think I have done anything until now. Why are you so sure that destined person is me?" Yun Lintian felt this matter was escalated too fast, and he didn't even have time to consider it carefully.
A playful smile appeared on Yan Qi's illusory face as he replied, "You would have burned into ashes by now if you are not the destined person."
F*ck!… Yun Lintian cursed inwardly. That meant he had almost gone to the netherworld just now.
"Come here. You can try to touch it." Yan Qi beckoned.
Yun Lintian shook his head frantically. "No!"
Yan Qi frowned in dissatisfaction. He waved his hand slightly. In the next moment, Yun Lintian felt a strong force gathered around him before he was thrown into the air and flew to The Sun directly.
"You!… Ah!" Yun Lintian didn't even have time to curse as his body entirely merged into The Sun. He felt a scorching burn all over his body and his consciousness gradually faded into a completely dark world.
"As expected, he is the one." Yan Qi looked at Yun Lintian, who floated in the center of The Sun, and nodded his head approvingly.
If Yun Lintian were to hear this, he would spit blood directly because Yan Qi actually didn't have confidence at first even though Yun Lintian didn't get burned after coming closer to The Sun. But now, he had confirmed that Yun Lintian was the one he had waited for all this time.
Yan Qi glanced at the rat that got ignored for all this time and said with a smile, "It's been a long time, my friend."
The rat stood on two legs and nodded its head slightly. Yun Lintian would be shocked if he saw the rat's current appearance because it was exactly like a human and it didn't look stupid like it appeared to be earlier.
"Where is this place? Am I already dead?" Yun Lintian found himself in a dark world.
He recalled the scene earlier and couldn't help but become angry. "F*ck that simp! I swear I will f*cking kill you when we met next time!"
After venting his anger, he slumped on the ground powerlessly. He laughed to himself while muttering, "Yun Lintian, since when you become this stupid. You got tricked by that simp so easily… Is my brain got nerfed somehow after coming to this world?" He then let out a helpless sigh. "Goodbye my beautiful and sexy godmother. This godson of yours probably never has a chance to see you again. I hope you can take everyone to escape safely."
A bunch of sixteen years' memory replayed in his mind like a movie. From the first day he opened his eyes in Yun Qianxue's bosom, the image when he was taken care of by his several beautiful aunts, to the moment he left the Sect under Yun Qianxue's reluctant gaze. Everything was vivid as if it happened yesterday.
Just as Yun Lintian immersed into his own memory, a bright red light flashed on his right side, causing him to subconsciously glance at it.
Yun Lintian used his hand to block the light before his eyes and tried to comprehend the situation. Although he didn't know what was going on, this red light undoubtedly brought him hope. Perhaps he could transmigrate for a second time?
He plodded toward the red light. The more he moved closer, the brighter the red light became. At the same time, he could feel a trace of heat seeping into his body, making him raising his doubt further.
Instantaneously, the red light blended into a small fireball and shot into Yun Lintian's glabella at lightning speed that Yun Lintian couldn't even have time to react.
"Argh!" Yun Lintian screamed painfully as he felt an immense scorching heat spread through every part of his body.
His muscles involuntarily bulged up and veins could be seen clearly. Within ten seconds, his entire being was drenched in sweats, and all of them constantly vaporized, shrouding him in white mist.
At the outside, Yan Qi was currently talking with the rat. When he noticed the change on Yun Lintian, both of them quickly turned to him with a great surprise on their faces.
"He absorbing it?" Yan Qi exclaimed in shock as he saw The Sun slowly shrank in size.
"Sure enough. That thing is not ordinary." Yan Qi spoke. His eyes fixated on the silver necklace that was greedily sucked The Sun's aura like a vacuum machine. He turned to the rat. "Did you bring him here because of that necklace?"
The rat gave a nod to confirm Yan Qi's statement. When the rat first saw Yun Lintian, its sharp eyes immediately noticed the silver necklace on his neck. Even though it was hidden beneath his clothes, it couldn't escape the rat's keen sight.
The rat's intuition told it this necklace was not an ordinary object. It could be something that even surpassed The Sun. Hence, the rat decided to bring him here in case he was the one that Yan Qi had waited for. Coincidently, Yun Lintian turned out to be one.
"You did a good job. I can rest in peace now." Yan Qi gave a thumb up to the rat, but the latter looked at him with a sad expression.
Seeing this, Yan Qi laughed slightly. "Why don't you go out with this young man after this? After all, this mythical realm will cease to exist when he completely took The Sun away."
The rat shook its head stubbornly with a firm determination filled its eyes.
Yan Qi fell into silence for a while. He sighed. "Little Flame, you still have several years left. Why are you insisting to accompany a dead man like me? I've wronged you before by bringing you here and I always feel guilty about it until now… Listen to me, you should leave this place with him. Look at his pitiful strength. Don't you feel he needs someone to protect him? Also, he didn't treat you badly, isn't he?"
"Squeak!" The rat, Little Flame, appeared hesitant, but it still shook its head in the end with a loud squeak.
Yan Qi stared at Little Flame for a long time before he let out a long sigh and stopped trying to persuade it. He turned to Yun Lintian, who had already absorbed half of The Sun, and stayed silent.
All of a sudden, Yan Qi's brows raised slightly. He said with a smile, "We have newcomers."
Little Flame tilted its head slightly and looked back at the entrance with a thoughtful expression.