Earth Fire Lotus Seeds in Hand

"Hah!"

Hai Bodong shouted, his spear trembling sharply as he swept the shaft sideways, lashing the Fire Spirit Snake like a whip.

With a deafening bang, the tremendous force sent the Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake flying. Hai Bodong grabbed Qing Lin by the shoulder and hurriedly retreated with her.

At the same time, Lu Bu rushed back to their position. His soul power roared forth, instantly binding the Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake tightly.

The frightened Qing Lin took a long time to recover. After Lu Bu landed, he held her in his arms and comforted her carefully. Only then did Qing Lin gradually calm down, color slowly returning to her pale little face.

Hai Bodong stood with his spear planted on the ground, watching over the Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake bound by Lu Bu. The beast was indeed cunning, but since Lu Bu had not killed it, he was in no hurry. With the strength of the two of them, dealing with this Fire Spirit Snake was more than manageable.

Once Qing Lin had mostly recovered, Hai Bodong asked, "What should we do with this thing? And what do we do next?"

Lu Bu rubbed his chin, unsure how to begin. He could not exactly state his thoughts outright, could he?

"Um... Young Master." Qing Lin tugged at Lu Bu's hand and said timidly, "Young Master, if you're looking for Heavenly Flames, perhaps it knows something."

Qing Lin's words made Hai Bodong's expression change slightly. "This thing knows where a Heavenly Flame is? No, how did you know that?"

"Um... well..." Qing Lin lowered her head, not daring to look at Lu Bu. Her two index fingers poked against each other. "I think I can sense its thoughts..."

Hai Bodong's eyes bulged. He looked at Qing Lin, then at the little green flower atop the Fire Spirit Snake's two heads, seemingly understanding something. The corners of his mouth immediately twitched.

Lu Bu waved his hand and withdrew his soul power. Hai Bodong tightened his grip on his spear, but the Fire Spirit Snake's previous savagery and killing intent had vanished. Instead, its eyes revealed a humanlike fear.

Hai Bodong's mouth twitched. Though he did not understand what was happening, he could more or less tell that this magical beast had acknowledged the little girl as its master.

"Girl, where did it say the Heavenly Flame is?" Lu Bu asked with a smile, rubbing Qing Lin's head.

"Mm..." Qing Lin blushed faintly, then her expression turned serious. "Young Master, it said the Heavenly Flame is... below..."

Qing Lin's slender jade finger pointed toward the sea of magma.

"What? The Heavenly Flame is beneath the magma?" Hai Bodong's eyes widened as he asked in disbelief. How were they supposed to get it, then?

"Girl, have it lead the way. I'll go down and take a look," Lu Bu said. "Elder Hai, watch over Qing Lin for a while. I'll be back soon."

Seeing the determination in Lu Bu's expression, Qing Lin swallowed the words of warning that had reached her lips. She looked at the Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake. The magical beast lowered both heads, then crawled into the magma with its head hanging low. It even turned back to glance at Lu Bu, signaling for him to hurry and follow.

Spirit Fire surged from Lu Bu's body, instantly forming a protective barrier around him. He then leaped into the sea of magma, following the Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake as they vanished into the molten depths.

"Damn..." Hai Bodong wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Even at his peak, he would not have dared to swim through magma like that.

This time, he had truly witnessed the attraction Heavenly Flames held for alchemists.

As he watched Lu Bu and the Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake disappear from sight, worry flashed through Hai Bodong's eyes. If something happened, all his efforts would have been for nothing.

Qing Lin found a place to sit. A faint glow flickered in her emerald-green eyes, yet she did not look nervous. Seeing this, Hai Bodong relaxed slightly. It seemed the problem was not serious.

Time passed bit by bit. Within the underground magma world, only the gurgling roll of molten lava could be heard. Hai Bodong was not much of a talker. Though Qing Lin was unusual, he was not the sort to pry into everything.

Qing Lin paid no attention to Hai Bodong. She simply sat there, the faint glow in her eyes flickering as she kept watch over Lu Bu's movements.

At the bottom of the sea of magma!

The surroundings shifted from red to black, then from black to green. Finally, a lotus platform enveloped in green light appeared in Lu Bu's sight.

"Wonderful!" Lu Bu's eyes lit up.

The Companion Purple Crystal Source was no longer enough to support his cultivation of the Nirvana Golden Body, but the Earth Fire Lotus Seeds could. There were eleven of them here, enough for him to condense the Nirvana Golden Body.

Once he tempered his body further, he could begin refining the Minor Nirvana Golden Body.

"Hehehe, time to reap the harvest..." Lu Bu rubbed his hands together and chuckled as he took out the sharp jade blade he had prepared long ago.

After an unknown amount of time, delight suddenly appeared on Qing Lin's face as she stared at the sea of magma. Hai Bodong's heart stirred at the sight. It seemed Lu Bu had succeeded.

But then again, did he not already possess one type of Heavenly Flame? Why was he so determined to obtain another?

After pondering for a while, Hai Bodong failed to figure it out and simply stopped thinking about it. It had nothing to do with him. All he wanted now was to recover his strength as soon as possible.

If he had been at his peak, that Fire Spirit Snake would not have dared to split off one head for a sneak attack. He could have frozen it with a single move.

With a whoosh, Lu Bu and the Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake broke through the surface of the magma at the same time and landed beside Hai Bodong and Qing Lin.

But Hai Bodong frowned at the sight. Lu Bu's hands were completely empty. Though he cultivated ice-attributed Dou Qi, he knew that something like a Heavenly Flame could not be stored inside a Ring.

"Someone beat me to it," Lu Bu said helplessly, spreading his hands.

"Who?" Hai Bodong raised an eyebrow.

Lu Bu said nothing and handed over two Seven-colored Snake Scales.

Hai Bodong's eye twitched, and he instinctively stepped back twice. The scales were filled with Medusa's aura, and his face became extremely ugly. "Damn it, it's Medusa's aura!"

"Elder Hai, they're just snake scales. There's no need to be so nervous," Lu Bu teased.

"What do you know!" Embarrassed, Hai Bodong's old face flushed red. Growing angry out of shame, he snapped furiously:

"That's Medusa! She kills without batting an eye... Forget it, you don't understand how terrifying she is."

Lu Bu wore a faintly amused smile but said nothing. Hai Bodong grumbled and cursed, accusing Lu Bu of being ignorant and spouting nonsense.

Only after a while did he realize Lu Bu had done it deliberately. He rolled his eyes in frustration and changed the subject. "What now? The thing is already in Medusa's hands. Are you still going?"

"Of course. I'm making a trip to the desert." Lu Bu chuckled. "I can take the chance to see Medusa's strength for myself and help you look for medicinal ingredients. But before that, I need to refine some pills."

"Come on, let's get out of here first."

At Lu Bu's call, Hai Bodong bent forward and took the lead, preparing to open a path back to the surface.

Qing Lin waved at the Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake. At once, the green flower on its heads lit up, then transformed into a streak of green light and slipped into Qing Lin's sleeve.

"Young Master, we can go now." Qing Lin smiled with pursed lips. Having gained a little pet, she was very happy.

Hai Bodong sighed. That creature's combat strength was no weaker than his own. This little girl truly was... enviable.

"Alright, let's go." Lu Bu picked up Qing Lin and followed behind Hai Bodong as they returned to the surface.

As the three humans and one beast departed, this world of magma once again sank into eternal silence.