Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake

At the end of the underground passage, a sea of red light swept toward them, bathing Yan Qingshan and Qingling's faces in a dazzling crimson glow.

Within the enormous underground cavern before Yan Qingshan, fiery-red magma flowed slowly through a region resembling a lava lake. Every so often, huge bubbles rose from the magma, causing quite a commotion.

With a faint sound, they burst open with a bang. Scorching magma shot out like brilliant fiery-red fireworks, while ripples spread across the boiling lava, sending wave after wave of heat rolling outward.

"Young Master, is this what you were looking for?"

As Qingling stared at the seemingly boundless world of magma before them, shock mingled with worry and fear. Unconsciously, she tightened her grip on Yan Qingshan's hand.

She had never imagined that such a magma world existed beneath Stone Desert City, much less understood why Yan Qingshan had come looking for it. Yet she could sense the danger hidden within.

Yan Qingshan did not reply. Despite being far stronger than Qingling, he appeared to be in worse shape. His body was soaked with sweat, and it was difficult to circulate his Dou Qi. His Wood Attribute was being suppressed far too severely in this place.

Standing beside Yan Qingshan, Qingling remained far more composed despite not even having reached the Dou Zhe level, seeming to be barely affected at all.

"Young Master!"

A cool little hand gently caught Yan Qingshan's hand as he wiped away his sweat. Qingling timidly said, "There seems to be something hidden in the magma. Can we not go any farther?"

"Qingling, where is the thing you sensed?"

Yan Qingshan looked around and found nothing but crimson rocks and bubbling magma. Hearing her words, he quickly lowered his head and asked her.

Qingling's emerald eyes met his blue-glowing ones, but she instinctively avoided his gaze. The girl pointed toward a spot somewhere within the endless fiery-red magma.

"Young Master, there seems to be something inside the magma over there. I can sense a tiny trace of its concealed aura... It's very strong... stronger even than Robb, the leader of the Sand Mercenary Group in Stone Desert City..."

Qingling stared fixedly at a spot in the continuously churning magma. Faint glimmers appeared in her emerald eyes, as though they had pierced through the obstruction of the magma and seen the mysterious thing hidden beneath.

"Stronger than Robb... then it should be the Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake. The problem now is how to lure it out so Qingling can form a contract with it!"

Faint sparks flickered in Yan Qingshan's blue-glowing eyes as his Soul Perception reached its limit. Following Qingling's guidance, he too vaguely sensed the sleeping two-headed giant snake beneath the magma. It was the most powerful being Yan Qingshan had encountered so far.

Yan Qingshan was not reckless enough to provoke the Fire Spirit Snake now. This magma region was the home that had nurtured it; here, the Fire Spirit Snake would be even more troublesome than a Dou Wang.

Moreover, Yan Qingshan could sense that this was no ordinary fourth-tier magical beast.

Vast power had accumulated within its body. It had likely reached the peak of the fourth tier and was on the verge of transforming into a fifth-tier magical beast. It merely lacked one opportunity to become a fifth-tier magical beast comparable to a Dou Wang, one that would not be considered weak anywhere on the continent.

The Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake was somewhat stronger than Yan Qingshan had imagined. Having encountered both a swarm of Yellow Sand Demonic Scorpions and this unexpectedly powerful Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake along the way, things seemed somewhat inconsistent with the original story.

In truth, that was only normal. How could a real world possibly unfold exactly as it had been written in a book?

However, based on Yan Qingshan's speculation, the weakened strength of the Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake Xiao Yan encountered was related to Queen Medusa, who came to seize the Heavenly Flames several years later.

When Queen Medusa took the Green Lotus Core Flame, she left behind quite a few scales, seemingly proving that she had gone through a fierce battle to obtain it.

Apart from the instinctively resisting Green Lotus Core Flame, the only possible opponent in that battle was the guardian beast born from this magma region, the Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake. Judging from the Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake's fear whenever Medusa was mentioned later, it had definitely suffered a crushing defeat.

The Fire Spirit Snake Xiao Yan encountered had not been at its peak. It was a Fire Spirit Snake that had been wounded and was still recovering, which was why its strength had been relatively weak.

It was precisely because the Fire Spirit Snake was still injured that Qingling could subdue it so easily in the future. And because of those injuries, it could not defeat Mo Cheng at the Dou Ling level, which was what later led to Qingling being captured.

Beside the underground lava lake, a figure spread a pair of purple wings and slowly rose into the air, flying diagonally upward while maintaining a considerable height as he headed toward the depths of the lava lake.

Within the bubbling lava lake, four points of red light slowly appeared. The sleeping giant beast had been awakened, its four eyes fixed on the "bird-man" in midair.

Yan Qingshan flew through the air above flowing magma. At the center, it gathered into a lake. Occasionally, when a scorching wave of air surged forth, a fiery-red pillar of magma would violently erupt from the lava lake. At the same time, splashing magma spread outward, eroding the surrounding rocky ground and searing deeper blackened marks into it.

The molten world within the cavern was also a world of death. Almost no living creatures could survive in such a place, but Yan Qingshan could sense that something had already fixed its attention on him. Not far behind him, two small shadows were watching him intently.

From the edge of the lava lake, Qingling's slightly shrill cry suddenly rang out. "Young Master, it's following you! Come back quickly!"

"Has it finally come? Shuguang, record and collect the Fire Spirit Snake's actual movement data. Simulate the plan's feasibility. Adjust the optimal solution..."

Yan Qingshan had already noticed it as well. Qingling's sudden shout immediately spurred the thing beneath the magma into action, but Yan Qingshan had prepared for this long ago. He kicked off a fiery-red stalactite hanging upside down in midair, and a surge of heat instantly rose through the soles of his feet.

The stalactite snapped under the force of the blow, and the broken formation smashed viciously toward a spot in the magma. Yan Qingshan used the opportunity to turn around and swiftly return to Qingling along the route he had planned beforehand.

Yan Qingshan had barely landed when a muffled boom and an enraged roar sounded behind him. It seemed both furious at losing its prey and enraged at being attacked. Countless streams of blazing magma shot into the air as an enormous creature churned its way out of the lava lake.

"Go!"

Yan Qingshan naturally knew full well how strong the creature inside was. Seeing that his goal of enraging it had been achieved, he tossed a porcelain bottle behind him, which burst into a cloud of powder, then grabbed Qingling and fled toward the passage they had entered through without hesitation.

The moment Yan Qingshan left, amid the rain of lava filling the air, a huge mysterious creature suddenly burst from the magma and lunged like lightning in the direction they had fled, hissing and snapping after them.

Because Yan Qingshan had reacted quickly and left in advance, it bit down on nothing. Its two massive heads caught only a mouthful of powder and air. Yet the monster did not turn back. Instead, after biting into the powder, its eyes grew even redder, and it rapidly swam after Yan Qingshan.

"SSS! SSS! SSS..."

Yan Qingshan raced through the passage with Qingling, while furious hisses and roars came from behind. Every so often, he tossed down another porcelain bottle. As the Fire Spirit Snake inhaled more powder into its body, it became increasingly frenzied and relentless in its pursuit.

As a peak fourth-tier magical beast, the Fire Spirit Snake possessed no small amount of intelligence. Unable to catch up for the moment, it violently swept out its massive tail. The stalactites protruding from the passage behind Yan Qingshan exploded, sending countless flying stones shooting toward the fleeing pair like cannonballs leaving their barrels, whistling through the air.

Warning. A source of danger is rapidly approaching from behind. Estimated time of arrival: thirteen seconds...

Phoenix Soaring Steps!

At this moment, Yan Qingshan could no longer care about his Dou Qi consumption. After activating his Movement Dou Skill, his speed rapidly increased. He nimbly evaded the whistling fragments and raced deeper into the passage at even greater speed.

With Qingling in tow, Yan Qingshan fled from the pursuing Fire Spirit Snake until they reached the upward-slanting cave entrance through which they had first entered. There were more than ten branching paths here, and he chose one passage that felt somewhat cooler before turning into it.

Before long, the Fire Spirit Snake caught up. Following the scent of the powder and their auras, it pursued them once more, showing no interest whatsoever in the cave entrance leading outside.

Yan Qingshan raced through the dark passage with Qingling. He did not know how long they had run, but the passage grew increasingly cold and damp. By the time they reached another turn farther ahead, they could even hear the dripping of water.

"Big guy, why did you stop? Don't tell me you're afraid to keep chasing!"

After pursuing them to this point, the Fire Spirit Snake hesitantly slowed down. It greatly disliked the cold, damp environment here, but Yan Qingshan, waiting around the corner, threw two or three porcelain bottles at it.

The bursting powder was inhaled into its body once more. What little reason it had left was immediately overwhelmed by rage. It wanted to tear this repeatedly provoking "little bug" to pieces.

The Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake hissed and roared as it chased after Yan Qingshan. One pursued while the other fled, until they reached the depths of the passage. There was a shallow pool there, not very large—only around thirty meters across—with tiny streams converging from all around. The temperature here had already dropped to an extreme low.

Yan Qingshan leaped up, spreading his wings and swiftly gliding over the pool. After reaching the other side, he set Qingling down and had her move farther back. He then turned to face the menacing Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake as it was about to enter the water.

The Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake was extremely long. At a rough glance, it was at least four or five zhang in length. Its entire body was fiery red, and from afar, it resembled a rounded piece of fire jade. Palm-sized red scales densely covered its body.

As its name suggested, the Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake had two heads. Where its long neck split, two vicious heads stared out with enormous diamond-shaped pupils, filled with savage, bloodthirsty killing intent.

This big fellow had never suffered at Queen Medusa's hands, so it was even more violent. If it had been the snake from several years later, Yan Qingshan might not have been able to provoke it into leaving the magma lake so easily.

"Hisss~~~"

The Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake also noticed that the one who had enraged it had stopped. As it drew closer to the pool, its speed gradually slowed as well. It lived within magma and thoroughly detested the environment of this cold pool. If it truly entered the water, its strength would definitely be affected.

Warning: Target energy flow is gathering. It will fully erupt in nine seconds...

"Is it preparing to unleash its ultimate move? Qingling, hide!"

Yan Qingshan noticed that the Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake's neck seemed to be gradually swelling, as if something was about to be spat out. Realizing it was preparing a powerful attack, he hurriedly called for Qingling to hide behind the bend in the passage.