Transferring the Lotus Flame

"The old bastard is really dead. What a pity about this Mountain Breaking Arm. Burned like this, its value has dropped sharply!"

Yan Qingshan shook his head as he walked over to Mo Cheng's charred corpse. A high-star Dou Ling truly was formidable. Even the breath of a fifth-tier magical beast had failed to leave him without a complete corpse. Though perhaps it was because Mo Cheng had modified himself with a whole bunch of magical beast organs, making his body tougher than an ordinary person's!

Yan Qingshan carefully slipped Mo Cheng's Storage Ring off, then took out a blade and severed Mo Cheng's entire left arm.

The Blazing Mountain-Breaking Rhinoceros's forelimb was Fiery Red. Although its value had been diminished after transplantation and contamination, it was still material from a fifth-tier magical beast, so it could still fetch a high price.

After Mo Cheng came the people who had died here one by one. The magma eruption Yan Qingshan had arranged had not been especially powerful, but these people had been unlucky enough to be trapped at the entrance of the magma cave. Once the magma receded, charred corpses littered the ground, and almost none of them were still breathing.

Yan Qingshan obtained several Storage Rings from the corpses of a few Dou Shi and Da Dou Shi. Storage Rings were not easily damaged. As long as they had not been soaked in lava for a long time, they would not fail so easily.

"Your life is quite tenacious. You're actually still alive!"

Yan Qingshan walked over to someone beside the Magma Sand Cave. The man had half a leg burned to charcoal, his entire body was bright red, and he had already fallen unconscious. Yet he was still gasping heavily, his forehead covered in fine beads of sweat.

"A member of the Mo Clan. Since you're still alive, then..."

Yan Qingshan's eyes shifted. He did not kill the man. Instead, he stuffed a healing pill into his mouth. After dealing with the other charred corpses and survivors, he brought Qingling beneath the sand cave.

"Qingling, tell the Fire Spirit Snake something important..."

Yan Qingshan looked at the expanse of magma before him, then tilted his head and spoke softly into Qingling's ear. Qingling, meanwhile, communicated with the Fire Spirit Snake through their contract.

"Hiss..."

The Fire Spirit Snake hissed and nodded, then plunged its entire body into the magma. Before long, the entire magma lake shook and boiled violently, as though it were about to erupt a second time. However, perhaps because Yan Qingshan had triggered an eruption in advance, the magma lake could not erupt again in such a short period. Though ripples spread and bubbles surged like springs, fortunately no magma eruption occurred.

"Hiss hiss~~~"

The Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake's cries suddenly sounded from within the magma lake. A patch of green light appeared before Yan Qingshan and the others—a deep-green lotus seat wrapped in Fiery Red magical energy, like the most beautiful treasure in the world.

Within a mass of azure light stood an azure lotus, gentle and graceful.

This azure lotus had eight petals. The eight azure leaves were as flawless as the most perfect natural green jade. At a glance, they appeared crystalline and translucent, making one reluctant to put them down.

Within the lotus was a small lotus platform around two to three feet wide. Faint glimmers of light radiated from some of the holes on the platform. These were the lotus seeds of the Green Lotus, containing rich energy. They were extremely precious and rare treasures that even Dou Emperors would go mad over.

Beneath the azure lotus grew an exceptionally slender root stalk over ten meters long. Countless tiny tendrils densely covered it, and as these tendrils swayed, they continuously drew in and absorbed the Fire Attribute energy from the surrounding magma.

At the center of the Green Lotus, a tiny cluster of deep azure flame burned quietly. Though the lotus-heart flame seemed small, it contained exceedingly terrifying energy.

The Green Lotus Core Flame, ranked nineteenth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking... Ten years to gain spirit, a hundred years to take form, a thousand years to become a lotus. When the thousand-year lotus reached Great Accomplishment, its color leaned toward azure, and a cluster of azure flame was born at its heart. It was called Green Lotus Fire, also known as the Green Lotus Core Flame.

This seemingly tiny Green Lotus Fire actually possessed exceedingly terrifying power. In the original story, even Queen Medusa, whose strength was close to the Dou Zong realm, had paid a grievous price when she came for the Heavenly Flame, only beginning her transformation and breakthrough half a year later.

That was also because the fire spirit of the Green Lotus Core Flame was a plant form with limited intelligence. If it had been an animal form like the Fallen Heart Flame or Three Thousand Burning Flame, with extremely high intelligence and ferocity, Queen Medusa would absolutely have met no good end by confronting it head-on with her current strength.

However, the Green Lotus Core Flame's low intelligence in its plant form was still a good thing for Yan Qingshan. If this Heavenly Flame had been too intelligent, then with his current strength, plotting against it would have been nothing more than a fantasy.

The Green Lotus Core Flame was a plant form with low intelligence. It would not erupt unless it sensed a threat, while the Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake was much like a guardian magical beast of the Green Lotus Core Flame.

It had found the Green Lotus Core Flame somewhat troublesome and frightening when it was at the fourth tier, but after advancing to the fifth tier, it could actively transfer the Green Lotus Core Flame. This perfectly suited Yan Qingshan's plans.

They had caused such a huge commotion in Stone Desert City earlier. This place was close to the Tagore Desert, and Queen Medusa was currently searching for a Heavenly Flame to prepare for her transformation. With a Dou Emperor's speed, she would probably arrive here before long. They needed to leave as soon as possible.

Thinking of this, Yan Qingshan no longer hesitated. After discussing matters with the other two, the three of them quickly began to act separately.

In the Tagore Desert, southeast of Stone Desert City, a smoking crater had appeared in what had once been a barren expanse of yellow sand.

The surroundings were scorched black. Through the pit that led straight underground, one could vaguely see dark-red magma flowing below. Beneath this desert was clearly a region of magma.

Amid the billowing smoke, faint rustling sounds rang out. A seductive and alluring snake-woman swayed her snake tail as she emerged beside the yellow sand and thick smoke.

Beneath her noble and luxurious purple brocade robe was a full, mature body. The soft, loose robe covered her figure, yet perfectly revealed every curve.

A slightly darker purple sash was tied around her waist, accentuating her slender, supple waist. The pale-purple snake tail below her was not frightening in the slightest. Instead, it carried an exotic and distinctive allure.

Her long black hair was casually tied with a purple ribbon and draped over her shoulders, the ends falling precisely along the other side of her S-shaped curves. As she moved, it playfully brushed against her pert rear.

This woman's exquisite, cold beauty, along with the noble and seductive aura around her, was enough to stir the deepest desires in every man's heart, making him wish to press her beneath him and conquer her.

Yet no man had ever accomplished such a thing. Not even among all the snake-people did anyone dare harbor disrespectful thoughts, because she was the noble Empress of the Snake-people Race, ruler of the Tagore Desert—Queen Medusa.

Less than a day had passed since Yan Qingshan left with Qingling and the others, yet Queen Medusa had already arrived. This woman's mood was extremely poor at the moment. Her delicate brows were faintly furrowed, her red lips lightly pursed, and her pair of snake-like eyes swept across the Cave Entrance.

"There was once a great battle here. At least a hundred people fought hundreds or thousands of magical beasts. High-star Dou Lings, a fifth-tier magical beast, a magma eruption, and... a Heavenly Flame..."

Queen Medusa gathered these clues from the remaining traces. Judging from the earlier volcanic eruption and the lingering aura of the Heavenly Flame at the Cave Entrance, the thing she sought had already been taken away. Nearly a day had passed since the aura was left behind, so it seemed she could no longer catch up. This made her extremely displeased.

Over the past few years, she had mobilized the Snake-people Race to search the Tagore Desert for news of Heavenly Flames. After one finally appeared, she had arrived a step too late. How could she possibly be happy?

"As expected..."

Queen Medusa did not give up searching. Her figure flashed as she entered the magma cave, descending all the way into the underground magma world deep beneath the earth. After searching for a long time, Queen Medusa finally found a few tiny fragments glowing with green light in one corner of the magma world, resembling bits of vine.

These were a few roots left behind when the Green Lotus Core Flame had been moved. They were absorbing fire energy and steadily growing stronger. Perhaps after another thousand years, another Green Lotus Core Flame might appear here.

"Humans... a mixed-blood snake-person..."

Queen Medusa angrily blasted apart the upper Rock Wall. A terrifying explosion of firelight appeared outside Stone Desert City once more, and this massive commotion made the already uneasy residents of Stone Desert City even more terrified.

Almost everyone had noticed the disturbance yesterday. When the Sand Mercenary Group left, they had caused such a huge commotion—how could anyone not know about it?

After the magma eruption, some bold people from Stone Desert City came to investigate. However, by the time they arrived, all they found was the scene Yan Qingshan had dealt with. They could not uncover anything useful.

But an expanse of desert had turned into a smoking magma field, and the remaining traces suggested that the Sand Mercenary Group might have been completely wiped out. How could that not terrify people?

The Sand Mercenary Group had relentlessly hunted Snake-people before, only to be wiped out as if struck by Heaven's Punishment. Rumors now ran rampant throughout the city, and everyone lived in constant fear. Those with any means had already fled Stone Desert City at the first opportunity.

Medusa spread her wings and hovered hundreds of meters in the air, her icy gaze fixed below. A destructive killing intent rose within her, and her slender jade fingers clenched into fists. Yet in the end, she did not strike. There was no need to vent her anger in such a manner.

The continent had its own Unspoken Rules. If a Dou Emperor powerhouse casually vented their rage through slaughter, it would easily provoke Public Outrage. She still had the Snake-people Race to look after, and antagonizing humanity would bring her no benefit.

Moreover, from these people's discussions, she had roughly learned something. At least there were some clues now; it was not entirely hopeless.

At the edge of the Tagore Desert, within a mountain forest that remained lush and green despite being in late autumn, Yan Qingshan sat cross-legged beneath an ancient tree that nearly required ten people to encircle and was likely a thousand years old. Resting across his legs was a damaged root brimming with dense life and wood energy.

Around Yan Qingshan, strands of jade-colored aura enveloped him like green mist. With every breath he took, the green aura around his body grew increasingly condensed and powerful, while the jade-green root pulsing in rhythm with his breathing seemed to shrink continuously as it was absorbed.

Countless streams of jade-green spiritual energy surged forth, forming an energy vortex several meters wide above his head. The Dou Zhe cyclone within his body spun without pause, seeming ready to condense and transform as it advanced to another stage. Yan Qingshan was clearly on the verge of advancing from a Dou Zhe to a Dou Master.

Finally, at a certain moment, the jade root on Yan Qingshan's lap transformed entirely into a cloud of green mist, which he absorbed through his mouth and nose. Within his cyclone, the first drop of liquid energy condensed. He had become a Dou Master.

At the moment he fully absorbed the green mist, an unusual green radiance glimmered over his body. Upon the skin above his heart, the lifelike form of a Green Lotus was outlined before vanishing in an instant.