A Walking Cheat

Above the Tagor Desert, Queen Medusa diligently led the way, while Xiao Yan and Xun'er followed at a leisurely pace, their feet treading on the void.

The Green Lotus Core Flame was not deep within the Tagor Desert, but rather closer to the Mo City controlled by human forces.

With a casual strike, they tore through layers of accumulated yellow sand, revealing a bright expanse of lava before them.

"There is a Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake here, and it knows where the Green Lotus Core Flame is," Queen Medusa explained, before attempting to use a secret technique of the Snake People Clan.

But Xiao Yan ignored it, summoned a ball of cyan flame, sensed it briefly, and then sank directly into the magma.

Queen Medusa's expression froze as she stared at the flame that was so similar to the Green Lotus Core Flame. There was something on her mind that she didn't know whether she should say or not.

But circumstances were beyond their control, and Queen Medusa could do nothing about the two of them. After standing there for a moment, she left dejectedly.

The location of the Green Lotus Core Flame was relatively shallow. It only took Xiao Yan about ten minutes to reach an area full of azure lava.

Slender yet long roots spread throughout the magma, the massive root system greedily absorbing the magma at all times.

The scorching magma and abundant fire-attribute energy became its nutrients, flowing along its roots and converging into a crystal-clear Lotus Platform, resembling a finely carved piece of jade.

The Earth Fire Earth Fire Lotus Seed, hailed as the Earth Fire Essence, and the Green Lotus Core Flame, capable of controlling natural disasters such as Volcanic Eruption, were both formed from this Lotus Platform.

It's hard to say whether the blue magma came first, which then formed the massive root system of the Green Lotus Core Flame, or whether the beautiful Green Lotus came first, which caused the surrounding magma to turn blue under Green Lotus influence.

Or perhaps the Green Lotus and the blue magma are complementary and mutually reinforcing.

Xiao Yan stared intently at the miraculous scene before him. Although the Green Lotus Core Flame had lost its lotus heart, its roots and the Green Lotus still exuded powerful vitality and were still nurturing a new Heavenly Flames.

"Brother Xiao Yan, the speed at which this Green Lotus root absorbs the World Energy is comparable to that of Peak Dou Emperor breaking through to Dou Zong..." Xun'er said with some emotion.

"Yes, most of the undercurrents in this lava probably originate from here, right?" Xiao Yan chimed in.

After observing for a while longer, Xiao Yan had a sudden thought and said, "Xun'er, I want to try something. You will protect me."

"Mm." Xun'er nodded without hesitation.

Xiao Yan took a deep breath, feeling the faint "joyful" emotions emanating from the Green Lotus Core Flame. His heartbeat gradually quickened, and the Flame Mantra involuntarily began to circulate, subtly resonating with the Azure Green Lotus.

Suppressing the restless Green Lotus Core Flame, Xiao Yan slowly approached a root that was "working," a wisp of Life Spirit Flame emanating from his fingertip, which he gently touched to the root, feeding Green Lotus Heavenly Flames.

Although the Green Lotus looks no different from a real living thing, with roots, stems, Lotus Platform pedestals, and seeds, Xiao Yan could sense that this was just its shape and did not mean that it was actually alive.

The Life Spirit Flame does not actually have the power to turn decay into magic. It can only accelerate the ripening of Medicinal Herbs, directly ripening Medicinal Herbs from seeds to finished products, and use its powerful life force to heal injuries. It does not have the ability to bring inanimate objects back to life.

However, for Heavenly Flames are undoubtedly the best nourishment.

Under Xiao Yan's somewhat nervous gaze, the Life Spirit Flame, which was almost integrated with the environment, finally made contact with the root.

"Buzz..."

A strange buzzing sound suddenly rang out, and almost instantly, the Life Spirit Flame were devoured by the roots and rushed into the lotus heart at an indescribable speed, merging into the hollow.

However, the Life Spirit Flame was unwilling to sit idly by and become nourishment for the Green Lotus. Its violent fire-attribute energy instantly became agitated, attempting to break free from the Green Lotus's restraints.

The entire Green Lotus instantly shone brightly, its dazzling azure radiance enveloping everything. Xiao Yan's fighting Dou Qi was almost uncontrollably released, continuously being devoured by the roots.

The special battle qi cultivated from the Burning Technique has a remarkable effect on fusing with different flames. The Azure Lotus itself is formed from pure fire attribute energy and does not possess any characteristics of any cultivation technique, so it does not repel the battle qi of the Burning Technique.

Under the influence of the Burning Battle Qi, the Life Flame of Lotus Heart slowly but steadily became part of the Azure Lotus.

The azure light slowly faded, replaced by a faint fragrance that suddenly appeared, making Xiao Yan feel a slight longing for the Green Lotus.

"This method works..."

Xiao Yan's eyes lit up, his heart began to pound uncontrollably, and his whole body was filled with excitement.

Gently licking his slightly dry lips, Xiao Yan flashed and sat cross-legged on the Lotus Platform. The Green Lotus Core Flame surged out from his body and connected with the lotus heart.

Without any hindrance, Xiao Yan immediately felt a vast and pure fire-attribute energy, which, using the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame as a bridge, was poured into his body. Without even needing to refine it much, it simply circulated through his meridians and transformed into Burning Technique Battle Qi.

Although the speed was much slower than Xiao Yan's own cultivation, Xiao Yan could still absorb the World Energy here, which was equivalent to gaining a boost for no reason.

Of course, that wasn't Xiao Yan's goal.

The Green Lotus and its roots nourish the green lotus Green Lotus Core Flame, which in turn nourishes the Green Lotus, making Green Lotus Transformation even purer.

The Life Spirit Flame seeped silently into the Green Lotus Core Flame, slowly but surely transforming it into the Life Lotus Core Flame, continuing its connection with the Green Lotus.

Xiao Yan could feel that with the addition of the Flame of Life, the connection between him and Green Lotus was constantly weakening. Fortunately, this connection was not completely severed in the end, and Green Lotus truly enjoyed the tempering effect of the Life Spirit Flame.

The faint fragrance suddenly became much stronger, and the jade-like Green Lotus now had a different texture, as if it might come to life at any moment.

Of course, this is just a special mode under the Life Spirit Flame, and it does not mean that the Green Lotus has directly become a living thing - to reach that point, it will probably take a long time to continuously adapt and evolve.

Xiao Yan looked up at the root system that was still devouring the magma. At this moment, there was a faint green vitality flickering inside them, and the speed at which they devoured the magma was much faster than before.

It's already almost at the same speed as Xiao Yan's own cultivation.

Xiao Yan stared for a long time, then gently tapped his finger. A wisp of invisible and colorless Fallen Heart Flame appeared out of thin air, coiled around a root, and was then devoured by it without causing a ripple.

Only the already crystal-clear, slender roots seemed to become even more translucent.

After confirming that the roots were incredibly strong and that even the Fallen Heart Flame wouldn't destroy them, Xiao Yan's lips curled up slightly. The Fallen Heart Flame instantly enveloped the entire root system, and along with the massive flow of magma, it was swallowed up by the roots, becoming nutrients for the Green Lotus, which in turn nourished him.

Under the connection of the Burning Battle Qi, and with the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame as a bridge, the two strange flames, the Flame of Life and the Fallen Heart Flame, all became nutrients, causing the Azure Lotus, which was already a miracle, to evolve in a direction that no one could have predicted.

"Hmm... I feel like something's missing..."

Xiao Yan murmured softly, feeling that the Green Lotus lacked a certain spiritual radiance.

Then, a powerful surge of Soul Power emanated from between Xiao Yan's brows and merged into the Green Lotus along with the Heavenly Flames.

Xiao Yan's Soul Power was naturally much stronger than that of ordinary people, and his talent was also considered excellent. Now that he has broken through to the Dou Zong level and refined the Fallen Heart Flame, his Soul Power is already comparable to that of Seventh Grade Intermediate Alchemist.

With the addition of such a massive Soul Power, the Green Lotus became even more lush and vibrant, emitting a faint glow that was both mysterious and magnificent.

As for Xiao Yan, his experience was equally peculiar. Although he was in a Lava World surrounded by Heavenly Flames, his Soul Power only felt a cool sensation after coming into contact with the Green Lotus, and then his Soul Power grew slightly stronger.

This visible change filled Xiao Yan with immense joy, and without hesitation, he completely integrated his Soul Power into the Heavenly Flames, merging it with the entire Green Lotus.

"Boom!"

Just as the forces completely merged into one, a violent wave suddenly erupted, causing the magma within a hundred miles to become extremely violent, even nearly boiling.

"This is truly unbelievable!"

Gu Yuan could no longer conceal his figure. He reached out and pressed down, and the space within a radius of a thousand miles was affected, forming a vast Space Barrier that completely concealed the turbulent and strange phenomena inside.

"Dad... you've been here all this time?!" Xun'er's eyes widened suddenly as she looked at Gu Yuan, who had suddenly appeared behind her. Her pupils contracted sharply as she recalled her intimate moments with Xiao Yan along the way, and her pretty face instantly turned red.

But it was only for a moment. The next instant, Xun'er asked anxiously, "Dad, what's wrong with Brother Xiao Yan now?"

"..." Gu Yuan frowned, stared at Xiao Yan for a long time, and then replied somewhat uncertainly, "His Soul Realm is breaking through, it seems to be breaking through from the Mortal Realm to the Spirit Realm; his Heavenly Flames is evolving, but the evolution speed is very slow, and it will not be noticeable in less than a hundred or eighty years; his Dou Qi cultivation is increasing, even faster than your cultivation speed."

"So, it's a good thing?" Xun'er blinked her eyes, then instantly became happy again, excited that Xiao Yan could become even stronger.

It's a good thing, that's true, but this scene is something I've never seen in thousands of years. It's so outrageous and I just can't understand it at all!

Gu Yuan silently complained in his heart, then turned to look at the green Green Lotus that had caused Xiao Yan's mutation.

To be fair, Gu Yuan had read descriptions of the Green Lotus that accompanied the Green Lotus Core Flame in ancient books, and at first, this Green Lotus also fit Gu Yuan's understanding.

However, from the moment Xiao Yan infused the Heavenly Flames into the Green Lotus, things began to gradually exceed Gu Yuan's comprehension.

If nothing unexpected happens, this Green Lotus will be Xiao Yan's biggest gain from this trip.

Breaking through to the Spirit Realm Soul Realm isn't difficult, and Gu Yuan has readily available materials to evolve his Heavenly Flames. Breaking through to the Battle Dou Qi is also easy. Only rare and precious materials like the Azure Green Lotus are truly rare.

However, while the original Green Lotus was rare, its collectible value far exceeded its actual value. Once one's cultivation reaches the Dou Huang Realm, the Green Lotus's effect becomes very limited, and after the Dou Zong, it becomes negligible.

However, a Green Lotus that can evolve along with Xiao Yan is a different story.

If Xiao Yan breaks through to the Dou Sheng, the Green Lotus will also evolve to that level, which will enhance the cultivation speed of Dou Sheng Expert. Even if it only increases the fire attribute by one or two percent, it will still be enough to make all the Ancient Race envious.

More importantly, Gu Yuan hadn't forgotten that this Green Lotus could condense the Green Lotus Core Flame...

The difference between a Green Lotus Core Flame that blooms once every thousand years at the Peak Dou Emperor level and a Green Lotus Core Flame that blooms once every thousand years at the Dou Sheng level is almost like the difference between the Jia Ma Empire and the Gu Clan.

Of course, even the Qiongji Dou Qi Continent probably couldn't sustain Dou Sheng- level Azure Green Lotus to continuously produce Green Lotus Core Flame, but even if it produced just one, it would be a top-tier Heavenly Flames no less powerful than the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame.

However, Xiao Yan, who caused all of this, is currently just a young man who has just entered the Dou Zong.

"What a lucky star..." Gu Yuan stared intently at Xiao Yan, his eyes filled with envy.

"Dad, what did you say?" Xun'er faintly heard Gu Yuan's murmur, and when she looked away from Xiao Yan, she was startled by Gu Yuan's voice.

In Xun'er's memory, Gu Yuan was more like Patriarch than a father. He always had a calm and collected demeanor, never showing any emotion, even in the face of a collapsing mountain. But now, his eyes were full of passion, which made Xun'er feel very unfamiliar with him.

"Cough cough." Gu Yuan touched his nose, quickly composed himself, suppressed his strange emotions, took a deep breath, and returned to normal.

After carefully considering his words, Gu Yuan decided to regain his elder's authority and said calmly, "I have seen Xiao Yan's performance and I am very satisfied with him."

Xun'er was slightly taken aback, and then revealed a genuine smile.

"In fact, I have long recognized him as my son-in-law, but I have always regarded him as a son-in-law who 'married into' the Gu Clan. Now it seems that even without the support of my Gu Clan, Xiao Yan will surely be able to climb to the top of the Dou Qi Continent step by step and obtain the strength and status that match you." Gu Yuan looked at his daughter and was filled with emotion.

This girl usually has a cool and aloof personality, maintaining an attitude that worldly affairs are like fleeting clouds to her, as if she doesn't care about anything. But whenever Xiao Yan is involved, she will show a more womanly reaction.

He felt happy when others praised Xiao Yan, and resentful when others slandered Xiao Yan.

"Of course, I've always believed in Brother Xiao Yan's talent!"

Gu Yuan didn't know whether to be happy or sad.