The next day, under the blazing sun, the scorching light beat down on the Tagor Desert. The golden sands stretched endlessly, every grain as hot as red-hot iron, while the heat warped the air.
After another night of passion, Gu Shenge and Medusa rose early and left Snake-Person City to search the Tagor Desert for traces of Heavenly Flames.
Although the System Store sold Heavenly Flames, they were far too expensive. Even Xuanhuang Flame, the lowest-ranked, cost a million Origin Points, while Tuoshe Ancient God Flame, ranked first, cost a hundred million.
Rather than spend a fortune buying one from the System Store, he might as well take the time to find one himself. Having read the original, Gu Shenge knew where most of the Heavenly Flames were and who possessed them.
According to the original's description, the Green Lotus Core Flame was located east of Shimo City, or more precisely, to the southeast.
High above the Tagor Desert, two figures, one red and one gold, raced through the sky. Their powerful auras kept the magical beasts below from daring to show themselves; they all hid beneath the sand.
A little over an hour later, Gu Shenge and Medusa reached the eastern outskirts of the Tagor Desert.
A plain, imposing desert city came into view. It was heavily guarded, with fully armed soldiers patrolling the city walls and the area outside the gates, carefully checking everyone who entered.
When Medusa saw the humans in Shimo City, a hint of disgust showed in her beautiful eyes. She glanced around, then let her spiritual power pour from her body and spread eastward, in the direction Gu Shenge had told her. Relying on the Purple Nether Flame Snake's sensitivity to fire-attribute energy, she began searching for a Heavenly Flame.
Gu Shenge stayed beside his beloved wife, looking down at Shimo City. He remembered that a little girl named Qing Lin, who also possessed the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils, lived in the city. He might as well take her along while he was here, sparing the girl the discrimination and scorn she would face in Shimo City.
A dozen or so minutes later, Medusa withdrew her spiritual power and spoke in a cool, authoritative voice.
"Found it."
The Purple Nether Flame Snake had sensed an extremely dense, powerful source of fire-attribute energy beneath the ground, twenty or thirty kilometers east of Shimo City. Its intensity was dozens of times greater than elsewhere.
At her words, Gu Shenge knew they had found the Green Lotus Core Flame. He spread his golden wings and flew with Medusa toward the spot.
A few minutes later, the couple arrived above the Green Lotus Core Flame's location.
Gu Shenge looked down at the unremarkable, level stretch of sand below. It looked just like the rest of the desert. If he hadn't read the original, he wouldn't have believed such an ordinary place could conceal a Heavenly Flame, a treasure of nature.
He raised his hand and formed a sword-finger. Solar Dou Qi surged, and a streak of golden light appeared at his fingertips. With a sweep of his fingers, a golden sword aura more than ten meters long shot out, cleaving through the air and piercing the flat desert to carve a passage underground.
Gu Shenge and Medusa descended into the passage his sword aura had made, heading straight beneath the earth.
Guided by the Purple Nether Flame Snake's senses, the couple went deeper underground. Gu Shenge carved out passage after passage with his sword aura, until at last they reached the Green Lotus Core Flame.
An underground magma world stretched nearly as far as the eye could see. Magma flowed through a vast cavern, and the scorching heat evaporated every trace of moisture from the air. The space was filled with wildly surging fire-attribute energy. Every so often, bubbles rose from the magma lake and burst with a pop, scattering brilliant, searing droplets of molten rock.
The couple stood at the edge of the magma lake, their Battle Qi forming a protective barrier that blocked the lake's terrible heat.
Medusa's brows furrowed slightly. Her snake-person bloodline was cold by nature, so she had no liking for this place. Gu Shenge, on the other hand, felt quite comfortable. His Solar Sacred Body responded to the abundant fire-attribute energy in the magma cavern. If he cultivated here, he would surely make twice the progress in half the time.
"My beloved wife, wait here for a while. I'll be right back."
Gu Shenge knew she didn't like the place, so he asked Medusa to wait above while he went to retrieve the Green Lotus Core Flame himself. With his Four-Star Dou Emperor cultivation, the Battle Qi barrier he could sustain would be more than enough to withstand the magma lake's heat and corrosive force.
With that, he prepared to venture into the magma lake. But before he could take his first step, the lake began to boil violently. Bubbles surged to the surface and burst, spraying magma in every direction. Then, beneath the churning surface, a two-headed shadow appeared and disappeared.
The next second, the shadow burst out of the magma lake. Molten rock sprayed through the air, and cascades of it streamed down the crimson body that had suddenly emerged. The creature lunged at Gu Shenge as soon as it appeared, both heads gaping wide, magma dripping from their jaws as if it meant to devour him whole!
Faced with the sudden attack of the Double-Headed Fire Spirit Snake, Gu Shenge stood unmoved. Solar Dou Qi surged from his raised hand like a river crashing against the shore, taking the shape of a giant golden hand. As easily as if he were grabbing a loach, he seized the snake. No matter how fiercely it struggled, it couldn't break free.
It was only a Fourth-Order Magical Beast, equivalent to a human Dou Ling. How could it possibly stand against Gu Shenge? It was lucky he hadn't slapped it dead.
A dozen or so pale-golden chains appeared in Gu Shenge's palm and wrapped around the Double-Headed Fire Spirit Snake. They pierced its body and sealed its cultivation, leaving it powerless to resist. Then he tossed it into the Serenitea Pot.
Seeing how easily he had subdued the Double-Headed Fire Spirit Snake, Medusa lowered the hand she had slightly raised.
With the Double-Headed Fire Spirit Snake gone, there wasn't much danger left in the magma lake. Gu Shenge spread his golden wings and flew into its depths.
Though the Double-Headed Fire Spirit Snake was no longer there to guide him, Gu Shenge could still sense the intense fluctuations of fire-attribute energy coming from the Green Lotus Core Flame. A golden barrier formed from Solar Dou Qi enveloped his body. He plunged into the magma lake, sending molten sparks flying.
Medusa watched Gu Shenge disappear beneath the surface, unease flickering in her beautiful eyes. Her jade-like hand clenched without her realizing it.
The blistering red magma was kept at bay by his barrier. Now and then, currents of magma surging with violent fire-attribute energy slammed into Gu Shenge, but the barrier easily blocked them, leaving him completely unharmed.
As Gu Shenge went deeper, the magma around him began to change color, gradually shifting from crimson to pale green. The temperature outside his barrier grew even more dreadful. That meant he was close to the Green Lotus Core Flame.
He sped up. His golden wings beat hard, and he shot like a streak of golden light toward the bottom of the magma lake, churning the magma into a frenzy. Countless bubbles rose to the surface and burst, scattering showers of molten sparks.
The sight made Medusa's heart jump. Her lovely face changed. Had something gone wrong down there?!
She carefully checked the Marriage Contract within her. There was nothing amiss, which meant Gu Shenge was safe. Only then did Medusa breathe a sigh of relief.
At the bottom of the magma lake, after a rapid descent, Gu Shenge finally reached the Green Lotus Core Flame.
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