Underground
Since Jia Nan Academy had not repaired the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower, Xiao Yan entered directly from the top of the tower and followed the holes in the center of each floor downwards, quickly arriving at the Underground World.
At the base of the tower, scorching magma flowed wildly, and the World Energy was filled with a violent force. Looking around, there was almost no trace of life.
Xiao Yan knew there was an unlucky Heavenly Flame Venerable here, and upon careful sensing, he indeed detected a faint, almost imperceptible, summons.
However, relying solely on this faint summoning sensation to find the Heavenly Flame Venerable amidst the endless magma is quite difficult.
Therefore, Xiao Yan infused the merged Sea Lotus Heart Flame with Dou Qi, separating the Fallen Heart Flame and using it as a separate "guide" to point out the location of the Heavenly Flame Venerable.
As for Xiao Yan himself, he activated the Molten Earth Splitting Body, which began to devour the rolling magma. After being tempered by the Heavenly Flames, this magma would turn into lava, allowing this Dou Technique to advance further.
Xiao Yan was originally One-Star Dou Emperor, but after being refined by the Fallen Heart Flame Origin Fire Seed for a year, he is now Four-Star Dou Emperor. In addition, the fire attribute energy here is extremely rich, so it is no problem for him to activate the Molten Earth Splitting Body for several days and nights.
"However, that summoning feeling is still very faint. Let's sink for a while first..."
Seeing that the little snake formed from the Fallen Heart Flame was spinning around in circles, seemingly unable to find its way, Xiao Yan could only activate his Crystal Wings and dive into the magma.
The magma here is quite different from the magma beneath the Tagor Desert. Both the violent fire energy it contains and the temperature of the magma itself are far greater here than in the Tagor Desert.
Without Heavenly Flames, one would probably need to have the cultivation level of Dou Zong to protect their body with powerful Dou Qi and use Space Power to resist the pressure in order to remain unharmed.
Xiao Yan didn't have this problem. After leaving the Heavy Black Ruler with its Soul Imprint as a road sign for his return journey, he swam comfortably in the magma.
After diving for more than ten minutes, the pressure of the magma increased, and Xiao Yan could only summon the Sea Lotus Heart Flame to add an extra layer of protection to the outside of the lava layer.
With the protection of the Heavenly Flames, Xiao Yan's pressure was greatly reduced, and the little snake finally found its direction and plunged into a deeper place.
After finding its way, the little snake moved extremely fast. Xiao Yan followed it and descended again for more than ten minutes before arriving at their destination.
However, in Xiao Yan's eyes, this place was still just a dark red lava field, with nothing unusual about it.
Just then, the small snake that the Fallen Heart Flame had transformed into circled twice in front of Xiao Yan, and then opened its mouth and spat out a faint flame, which shone on a patch of lava not far below.
Immediately, the magma began to slowly undulate, and a transparent halo emitting a faint glow emerged from it.
Knowing that the Heavenly Flame Venerable was hiding here, Xiao Yan did not hesitate and went straight inside.
As Xiao Yan's body broke through the transparent halo, an unusual fluctuation swept across his body. However, when this fluctuation came into contact with the Sea Lotus Heart Flame, it receded instantly, like a startled cat.
After passing through the aperture, the crimson color that filled my eyes quickly dissipated, replaced by a hazy, faint white light.
Xiao Yan steadied himself, glanced around, and finally looked at the skeleton floating in the center of the space.
The skeleton was devoid of flesh and blood; the stark white bones emitted a faint, radiant glow, making it appear quite extraordinary.
In addition, a completely transparent, invisible flame— the Fallen Heart Flame —was floating on the skeleton.
This Fallen Heart Flame was only the size of a head, and the temperature it emitted was far less than that of the one inside Xiao Yan's body, clearly indicating that it was still in its infancy.
Xiao Yan slowly approached the Fallen Heart Flame. Just two meters away from the mysterious skeleton, a dazzling white light suddenly erupted from within the skeleton, and a tremendous force quietly appeared, freezing Xiao Yan in place.
Xiao Yan tried to break free and discovered that this was a wonderful use of Space Power.
After realizing what the method was, Xiao Yan calmed down and let the white light in front of him slowly wriggle, eventually transforming into a phantom old man's figure.
The figure was dressed in a white robe, with snow-white hair and beard, an aged face, and a faint glint of intelligence in his calm eyes.
The moment the illusory figure appeared, Xiao Yan felt a pressure spreading from the bottom of his heart, and he instantly found it hard to breathe.
Just then, the Sea Lotus Heart Flame trembled violently, not only dispelling the oppressive feeling but also distorting the space that imprisoned Xiao Yan.
If Xiao Yan hadn't reacted quickly and withdrawn the Sea Lotus Heart Flame, he probably would have pounced on the old man in front of him.
"... You are a force to be reckoned with! Not only have you refined the Heavenly Flames, but your affinity with it is also terrifyingly high. I only wanted to investigate your Heavenly Flames and see its specific situation, and I almost suffered a counterattack."
The old man remained silent for a moment, carefully considering his words before uttering these words.
"You're really brave."
"..."
Xiao Yan felt that his words were correct. In the past, the fusion of the Green Lotus Core Flame and the Sea Heart Flame was comparable to the Bone Spirit Cold Flame. Now, with the addition of the Fallen Heart Flame, it was not only unmatched, but its power could easily destroy a Dou Zun.
But the old man was somewhat unconvinced; he felt he had been looked down upon.
So the old man beckoned to Xiao Yan, trying to summon the Fallen Heart Flame and show off his skills to the younger man.
Xiao Yan felt his heart race. The merged Sea Lotus Heart Flame suddenly stirred, and the Fallen Heart Flame almost broke free, but was held back by the Green Lotus Core Flame and the Sea Heart Flame.
In the old man's eyes, Xiao Yan only trembled slightly and then showed no other reaction.
"..." The old man lowered his hand somewhat awkwardly, then forced a conversation and asked, "Who is your teacher?"
"Peak Dou Zun, peak of Eighth Grade Alchemist, Venerable Yao —but he's currently busy breaking through to Dou Sheng and Ninth Grade Alchemist, so he doesn't have time for me," Xiao Yan said sincerely.
"..." The old man was speechless. How could this kid have such a powerful background? How was he supposed to maintain the image of a senior expert?
"No wonder you were able to refine the Fallen Heart Flame with your Dou Emperor cultivation. It must be related to your special cultivation technique, right?" The old man sighed with a touch of melancholy, then straightened his body and said with a hint of pride, "I am Yao Tianhuo, and others sometimes call me Heavenly Flame Venerable. In my previous life, I was a Five-Star Dou Zun."
"Junior Xiao Yan, Four-Star Dou Emperor and Seventh Grade Alchemist," Xiao Yan replied neither humbly nor arrogantly.
Xiao Yan entered the Pill Soul Realm when he refined the Sect Breaking Pill, which greatly improved his alchemy skills. In addition, the Soul Power from refining the Fallen Heart Flame increased further, and the flame enhancement also improved. At this moment, he could easily call himself Seventh Grade Alchemist.
On the surface, Heavenly Flame Venerable remained calm, but inwardly, a storm was raging.
Heavenly Flame Venerable could sense that Xiao Yan was only about twenty years old. At that age, Dou Emperor was already an absolute genius, but at the same time, he was also Seventh Grade Alchemist...
You've definitely been on drugs!