Fallen Heart Flame Erupts!

A surprised question arose, drawing everyone's attention.

The figure in white robes slowly stood up, turned his head, and smiled, "It's me, Senior Lin, how have you been!"

"Is it really you? What are you doing here?"

Lin Xiuya asked curiously.

Xiao Yan was not surprised because he already knew about this, but he was still a little curious to see Xiao Yuan waiting there.

Normally, Third Brother would only be cultivating here, but judging from the current situation, it seems Third Brother doesn't intend to continue cultivating! "Cultivation!" Xiao Yuan smiled, then turned to Su Qian and cupped his hands, saying, "Great Elder, everything is ready."

Su Qian nodded upon hearing this, then turned her head to look at the top ten on the Strong Ranking, pointed to the ten specially made jade platforms next to Xiao Yuan, and said with a smile, "Sit down, everyone!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan and the other ten quickly followed suit and each found a jade platform to sit on.

As Xiao Yan sat down on the jade platform, he immediately felt a faint, cool sensation seep into him. Sitting here, it seemed that even the scorching heat outside was blocked out.

Seeing that everyone had taken their seats on the jade platform, Su Qian turned to look at Xiao Yuan and nodded with a smile.

Xiao Yuan nodded slightly, then turned and slowly walked towards the entrance of the deep cave. His hands formed a hand seal with lightning speed, and finally he shouted in a low voice.

As his shout fell, a ripple suddenly surged around the empty cave, and then a layer of somewhat illusory energy ripples slowly appeared in everyone's sight.

After the energy ripple shield appeared, Xiao Yuan waved his hands, and immediately, pale white light shields the size of human heads slowly floated out of the deep hole, finally permeating with energy ripples and hovering two meters above the ground, rising and falling.

After a while, a total of ten orbs of light appeared in front of Xiao Yan and the others.

Blinking, everyone stared in confusion at the egg-shaped white light shield.

Seeing the bewildered expressions on everyone's faces, Su Qian smiled faintly and waved his sleeve lightly. Instantly, the pale white light shield became transparent, revealing what was inside to everyone.

As the color faded, what appeared inside the light barrier was a seemingly invisible yet visible flame. These flames rose gently within their respective light clusters, but the light barrier seemed to completely block out their heat, so Xiao Yan others could not detect any temperature at all.

"This is the Source Heart Flame." Su Qian gazed at these invisible flames and said calmly, "This Source Heart Flame is extremely difficult to obtain. Every year, we expend a great deal of manpower to obtain only about three to four clusters, and even that depends on luck. This thing is not very useful for people above the Dou Wang level, but for those below the Dou Wang level, it can pave the way for them to advance to the Dou Wang. Of course, there is also a considerable risk involved. The pain of body tempering is extremely difficult to endure. If you are not careful, you will not only fail, but also cause considerable damage to yourself."

After saying that, Su Qian glanced at Xiao Yuan.

Speaking of which, Xiao Yuan has captured two more Source Heart Flame in the past month. With his Heavenly Flames and his own formidable strength, Xiao Yuan Yuan's efficiency in capturing Source Heart Flame is truly surprising to Su Qian, even to some Dou Emperor- level elders.

"Great Elder, what was the success rate of this Source Heart Flame Body Tempering in previous years?" Someone in the crowd reached out and asked cautiously.

"The failure rate for the top ten on each year Strong Ranking who come here for body tempering is not low; half of them fail each time." Su Qian's nonchalant voice caused some people to break out in a cold sweat. A failure rate of half... that seems a bit high, doesn't it? "The Dou Wang Stage is the watershed between the strong on the continent. You Peak Dou Ling should know very well how difficult it is to advance to this rank. Without enough opportunities, it's not impossible to stay at this level for your entire life."

Su Qian glanced at Lin Xiuya, Liu Qing, and the others, and said slowly.

"If you are not comfortable with body tempering, you can bring it up. This Source Heart Flame is extremely precious, so it would be best to save it if possible."

Su Qian continued.

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other, but no one suggested backing down. Just as Su Qian said, advancing to the Dou Wang was too difficult. If they gave up such an opportunity, they would regret it later, and there would never be another chance like this!

"Since no one has any objections, close your eyes and concentrate. Don't get distracted. If any problems arise, we will take action."

Seeing that no one spoke, Su Qian waved his hand, and ten balls of light flew to the top of everyone's heads. Finally, under everyone's watchful eyes, they shattered with a "bang," and the invisible flame fell straight down, drilling into the top of everyone's heads. As the invisible flame entered Xiao Yan and the others' heads, all ten people's bodies trembled to varying degrees. Then, their faces turned as red as burning coals, and even wisps of white mist seeped from their foreheads.

Looking at the ten people's flushed faces, Su Qian nodded slightly and instructed Xiao Yuan, "Keep a close eye on them, don't let anything go wrong."

Xiao Yuan nodded calmly, knowing that with his speed and skills, he could easily handle it.

Moreover, he had just gone through this ordeal not long ago.

Su Qian naturally trusted Xiao Yuan, then glanced at the huge, deep hole behind him, frowned slightly, and asked, "How's the Fallen Heart Flame doing lately? Any news?"

Upon hearing Su Qian's question, Xiao Yuan's expression turned serious, and he quickly said, "I was just about to tell you that the Fallen Heart Flame has been extremely calm lately, without even the slightest fluctuation. I've asked the two elders, and the Fallen Heart Flame has never been this calm before. I feel something is amiss!"

"No movement?" Upon hearing this, Su Qian's expression gradually became serious. For so many years, the Fallen Heart Flame had been constantly challenging the seal, so how could it suddenly become completely silent? There must be something fishy going on when things are not normal. Could it be that the Fallen Heart Flame is brewing something? As these thoughts raced through his mind, Su Qian's expression grew even more solemn. After a moment, he said in a deep voice, "How is the seal?"

"A few days ago, I summoned all the elders of the Inner Academy, gathered eighteen people, and spent five days to completely repair the seal that had been somewhat damaged by the previous attack."

However, Great Elder, the power of the Heavenly Flames is extraordinary. The Fallen Heart Flame has already evolved into a sentient being, and I'm afraid it will make a big move this time. I have a feeling that a storm is brewing.

Although there's still a seal personally set up by the Dean on the surface of the Heavenly Flame Training Pagoda, that beast's unusual behavior this time suggests he might have some confidence in breaking through the seal. In my opinion, we'd better make some preparations in advance!

Su Qian nodded in agreement and said, "Yes, you possess Heavenly Flames, so you naturally know how Heavenly Flames it is. I trust your judgment. I will send more people to the vicinity later. If there is any movement, send a signal immediately. I already spoke with the Outer Academy yesterday. If there is any problem with the Fallen Heart Flame, someone will come quickly!"

"Yes, Great Elder, don't worry. I will send a signal immediately if anything happens. Leave the students here to me."

Xiao Yuan knew that Su Qian was worried and wanted to go down and investigate, so he nodded seriously and said.

"Okay, I'll go check out the situation. I'll leave things here to you!"

Su Qian nodded with some relief upon hearing this, and then disappeared in a flash.

A glimmer of light flashed in Xiao Yuan's eyes as he gazed at the spot where Su Qian had disappeared.

The outbreak of the Fallen Heart Flame is a foregone conclusion. Instead of worrying about the seal, it would be better to shut down the Heavenly Flame Training Pagoda in advance and clear out all the students and instructors around the tower!

Xiao Yuan snapped out of his daze and began to pay attention to the status of the top ten people on the Strong Ranking who were undergoing Heart Flame Body Tempering.

As expected, Xiao Yan did not encounter any problems. However, about an hour after the Source Heart Flame entered his body, one of the students suddenly showed abnormalities. His originally flushed face turned pale instantly, and his body trembled rapidly, as if he were having a seizure.

Although Xiao Yuan had no impression of this person, he naturally wouldn't neglect his duty. He flashed to his side, his hand lightly reaching out and landing on the student's back. From his palm, powerful Dou Qi mixed with Heavenly Flames surged directly into the latter's body, devouring the Source Heart Flame within.

As the Dou Qi surged in, the student's trembling began to subside, but a flush rose on his pale face, and he couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of bright red blood.

The blood fell to the ground, making a hissing sound and a puff of white smoke, eventually leaving only a faint reddish stain on the ground.

Blood spurted out, and the student slowly opened his eyes. He seemed to know that he had failed, and his eyes were filled with sadness and helplessness.

"Take a break. Failure is common in Heart Flame Body Tempering. Even if you don't succeed, with your talent, you won't be stuck at the Dou Wang Stage forever."

Xiao Yuan smiled and offered a word of comfort.

The student clearly knew of Xiao Yuan's reputation, but he didn't understand when Xiao Yuan had suddenly become an elder of the Inner Academy. He wanted to ask, but then another student's body began to tremble rapidly. Xiao Yuan shrugged helplessly, then flashed to the person's side again and, following the same pattern, directly devoured the heart flame within the student's body.

The failure of the first two people triggered a chain reaction, and within just one hour, three more people failed. Even though Xiao Yuan was extremely efficient, he was still very busy.

After dealing with the last student who had encountered a problem, Xiao Yuan looked at the other five students. Seeing that their complexions were flushed but their breathing was still stable, he breathed a sigh of relief. They had passed the most dangerous period, and as long as no major mistakes were made next, they should be able to succeed.

"It's still a 50% probability."

Xiao Yuan shook his head and sighed.

Then, Xiao Yuan turned his gaze to the five people who were somewhat dejected because of their defeat, and said with a smile, "You guys take a rest first, and I will send you out of the tower later."

After saying that, Xiao Yuan closed his eyes and sat on his jade platform to cultivate, not giving the five of them a chance to ask questions.

Two hours later, Xiao Yuan opened his eyes.

"Let's go, I'll see you out. Be quick, things haven't been peaceful in the tower lately, I need to keep an eye on things here."

After saying this, Xiao Yuan got up and left.

Upon hearing this, the five people exchanged glances, then had no choice but to follow.

After quickly seeing the five people off, Xiao Yuan immediately returned and then stopped cultivating, sitting quietly in place.

On the third day, the group's Heart Flame Body Tempering was finally nearing its end. The flush on their faces was slowly fading, and waves of aura of varying intensity rose from their bodies. Although the intensity of this aura was not much different from before the tempering, it was clearly more solid than it had been a few days ago. However, just as everyone was about to achieve their goal, Su Qian, who had been watching the movements of the Fallen Heart Flame at the bottom of the Heavenly Flame Training Pagoda, suddenly changed his expression.

The bottom level of the Heavenly Flame Training Pagoda is a completely different scene from the upper levels. The scorching temperature rises in the vast space, so much so that even the vision is somewhat blurred and illusory. Taking a gentle breath into the body, one immediately feels as if one has inhaled a flame.

A fiery red light seeped out from somewhere, illuminating the entire space. In the center of this space, there was an extremely spacious deep cave. The entrance to this cave was wider than any of the previous levels, and it was not bottomless black, but filled with a faint dark red, like congealed blood.

Outside the deep cave, a visible cylindrical energy shield tightly sealed it off. The surface of the energy shield was covered with various mysterious patterns, like the winding indentations left by a snake. Moreover, the energy shield here was extremely violent, with powerful energy ripples constantly spreading out, and even a very low-pitched sound of air explosions could be faintly heard.

Not far outside the energy shield, Su Qian sat cross-legged, his eyes half-closed. With the help of his immense Dou Qi, he used his will to envelop the entire bottom layer of the Heavenly Flame Training Pagoda. No slightest fluctuation could escape his perception.

In the quiet depths, a faint sound of flowing liquid suddenly arose, like the rolling of lake water. Yet, this subtle sound caused Su Qian's solemn expression to change drastically in an instant. His eyes snapped open, two sharp beams of light shooting straight into the deep hole in the center, from which the sound was emanating! Standing up with lightning speed, Su Qian's figure moved, and when he reappeared, he was already at the edge of the deep hole. His gaze, like lightning, shot straight into the depths. However, after a long while, the sound of flowing liquid that had suddenly arisen earlier seemed to have completely vanished at that moment.

With a slight frown, Su Qian hesitated for a moment before slowly placing her hands on the extremely violent energy shield in front of her.

The violent energy, which was enough to easily injure any Dou Wang expert, became quiet in Su Qian's hands, as if it were a pet seeing its master. As he slowly separated his hands, the circular energy shield opened up a passage that could be passed through.

With a flash, Su Qian instantly darted into the energy shield, his feet firmly planted on the edge of the deep hole. Instantly, an extremely hot temperature rushed towards him. Even with Su Qian's strength, he dared not ignore such a high temperature. With a wave of his sleeve, a powerful Dou Qi enveloped his body, isolating him from the scorching heat.

After completing these protective measures, Su Qian turned his gaze into the deep cave. A faint fluorescent light gradually covered his pupils, and under this light, a different scene finally appeared in the bottomless depths of the cave: a sea of lava. However, the color of the lava here was much darker red than ordinary lava, as if it were mixed with countless drops of blood, making it look quite eerie.

Gazing at the corner of the Magma World that stretched to an unknown depth underground, Su Qian's expression grew even more solemn. Although he knew that the true form of the Fallen Heart Flame was hidden within it, even with his strength, he dared not easily venture in under such extremely harsh conditions. Moreover, a predatory and sentient Fallen Heart Flame was lurking within.

With the amplification of his eyesight, Su Qian was able to vaguely see a corner of the Magma World. The dark red that filled his entire field of vision, after looking at it for a long time, even with his strength, he felt a surge of restlessness in his heart. He knew that this was the Fallen Heart Flame causing trouble. This kind of flame that arises from the human heart is the most bizarre.

"How can there be no movement?" The Magma World remained as calm as ever, without the slightest sign of disturbance. Yet, just moments before, Su Qian had clearly sensed an extremely massive flow of energy. In this desolate depths, devoid of any other life, who else besides the Fallen Heart Flame could possess such astonishingly vast energy? His brow furrowed, Su Qian, with his strength, naturally knew that it couldn't possibly be an illusion. However, now... "Boom!"

Suddenly, a faint sound quietly rose from the Magma World, then traveled through an unknown depth to reach Su Qian's ears.

The faint sound, like the beating of a heart, made his heart skip a beat as well.

His pupils shrank to the size of pinpoints in an instant. Su Qian was now certain that something was about to happen in the Magma World below. The strange sound from before must have been something unusual! However, even though he knew that something was happening underground, Su Qian still dared not enter. After all, if something happened to him and the Fallen Heart Flame suddenly erupted, the Inner Academy would probably be doomed.

"Bang!"

Just as Su Qian was pondering, another deep voice quietly rang out. Moreover, this voice was even louder than the previous one, as if something was about to break out of its cocoon.

Su Qian slowly clenched his fist within his sleeve, his expression shifting between light and shadow, appearing somewhat gloomy in the reflection of the dark red light.

"Bang!"

Another sound, similar to a heartbeat, was heard, this time even stronger than before.

"Bang!"

Five minutes after the first sound, another one followed, then three minutes later, yet another. As time passed, the eerie sound beat with increasing frequency, until finally, Su Qian was horrified to discover that the sound was perfectly synchronized with his own heartbeat! "What on earth is happening..." Before he could finish his muttering, Su Qian's expression changed drastically. His gaze turned in horror towards the Underground Magma World, where an extremely violent and powerful energy was slowly surging from the bottom of the magma. With the rise of this violent energy, the tranquility of the Magma World was shattered. A gale, seemingly from nowhere, howled above the magma, causing it to surge and churn into fiery waves ten feet high before crashing down. The deafening roar was like a mountain collapsing and the earth splitting open! "This energy..." Feeling the familiar energy that suddenly surged up, Su Qian's face turned pale. After so many years of dealing with it, he naturally knew very well that this energy belonged to the Fallen Heart Flame! "What did this thing do? How come the energy suddenly became several times more powerful than before?" Su Qian murmured in shock.

"The energy has become so much stronger. Then... what about the effects of these seals?" Suddenly remembering something extremely important, Su Qian felt a chill in his heart. Just as he was about to immediately gather people to reinforce the seals, a loud rumbling sound suddenly rang out from the bottom of the deep cave. He looked down and his eyes widened as he gasped.

In the endless Magma World, the dark red magma suddenly began to churn violently, and an extremely violent energy permeated it.

As the magma churned, it looked as if something was about to burst forth from the water. After a while, the churning magma suddenly calmed down. However, Su Qian's eyes did not relax. He clearly felt that the violent energy was getting closer and closer to the surface of the magma. "Pfft!"

Suddenly, a surge of waves erupted from the calm surface of the magma. As the magma shot out, a Fire Python, its entire body obscured, nearly transparent, with a head a full ten feet in size and its body covered in invisible flames, burst through the magma, bringing with it a tremendous energy that caused the space itself to tremble, and appeared before Su Qian's solemn gaze.

"Grumble!"

Emerging from the magma, the enormous, transparent Fire Python, seemingly imprisoned for millennia, raised its massive head, unleashing a sonic wave sharp enough to instantly shatter the body of an ordinary Dou Ling, which rapidly spread outwards.

As the sound wave spread, the Magma World was as if countless bombs had been dropped on it, with deep rumbling sounds constantly ringing out, magma erupting, and flames spewing wildly in all directions.

After venting its anger almost frantically, the enormous transparent Fire Python, as if sensing the gaze from the ground, suddenly raised its huge head, its vertical pupils glowing with invisible flames, and locked onto Su Qian at the cave entrance!

As his body was locked by the transparent Fire Energy that descended, Su Qian immediately felt a chill, as if his entire body had been seen through by the other party from the inside out.

The snake's eyes locked onto Su Qian, and in just a moment, its intelligence was not low, so it recognized its old rival. Immediately, an extremely terrifying energy fluctuation suddenly rose from its huge body. The ferocity and power of that energy made even Su Qian feel a chill.

"Grumble!"

Another violent and sharp sound wave burst forth, and the enormous body of the Invisible Fire Python slammed against the magma. Instantly, its colossal body, which was nearly twenty or thirty feet long, shot upwards through the deep hole like an invisible lightning bolt, carrying scorching heat and violent energy!

"Damn it, this beast is about to break the seal!"

The Invisible Fire Python's actions caused Su Qian's expression to change. He lightly touched the edge with his toes and his figure flashed out of the energy shield. His hand seals suddenly moved, and energy surged at the cave entrance, eventually forming a colorful energy shield that tightly sealed the entrance! The instant his hand seals moved, a thunderous shout suddenly came from Su Qian's mouth, and finally resounded throughout the Heavenly Flame Training Pagoda and the entire Inner Academy sky.

"All elders, immediately proceed to the tower! All students, stay within 100 meters of the Heavenly Flame Training Pagoda!"

Hearing the sound that resounded through the sky, the entire Inner Academy suddenly fell silent.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuan, who had been sitting quietly, jumped up!