Deep beneath the magma, the scenery changed completely. The fiery red faded, replaced by a field of green. The transformation all around them came from a huge mass of green light, within which a green lotus swayed, radiating terrifying heat.
When Gu Shenge saw the green light, delight appeared in his eyes. He hurried toward the green lotus. As he drew closer, the temperature rose sharply, forcing him to pour more Battle Qi into his protective barrier to keep it from breaking.
A moment later, Gu Shenge reached the green lotus and fixed his gaze on it.
The green lotus had eight petals, each one seemingly carved from fine green jade. They were flawlessly formed, crystal clear, and breathtakingly beautiful.
At its center sat a small lotus platform, two or three feet across. It was riddled with holes, each containing an Earth Fire Lotus Seed brimming with pure fire-element energy.
The Green Lotus's root was a stem more than a dozen meters long, covered in tiny tendrils that greedily absorbed the fire-element energy in the magma. It swayed in the endless molten depths, drifting with the current and shifting from place to place.
Gu Shenge looked into the fist-sized hole at the center of the lotus platform. A mass of green flame radiated terrifying heat as it constantly changed shape. One moment it formed a lotus; the next, it became a green snake coiled around the platform. It looked quite docile.
But as Gu Shenge drew closer, the Green Lotus Core Flame reacted like a mother cat whose temper had been provoked. It instantly bristled, no longer docile, and transformed into a green, two-headed snake that coiled around the green lotus. Its scorching green flames blazed, scorching body and soul.
"This little thing's pretty fierce."
Seeing the Green Lotus Core Flame change like that, Gu Shenge knew it possessed a faint glimmer of awareness. Rather than forcibly taking it, he released his Soul Power and pressed it down upon the flame.
Nine Sun Emperor Characters encircled his soul, naturally imbuing it with a trace of the Sun Emperor's might. This gave his Soul Power an innate, absolute dominance over fire-attributed beings.
Sure enough, when the Green Lotus Core Flame sensed the trace of supreme, sacred, vast, and majestic Sun Emperor's might within Gu Shenge's Soul Power, it was so frightened that it shrank into a hole in the lotus platform and didn't dare show itself.
Seeing this, Gu Shenge smiled with satisfaction. A white jade dagger appeared in his hand. Following the instructions in the original story, he cut the Earth Fire Green Lotus from its stem, leaving the roots behind. In a thousand years or so, another Green Lotus Core Flame could grow there.
Holding the Earth Fire Green Lotus, he turned and left.
Outside, Medusa grew a little anxious when Gu Shenge failed to emerge for so long. But the Marriage Contract showed no signs of reacting, proving he was unharmed.
After a long while, the magma lake suddenly began to boil, as if a volcano were about to erupt and something below was about to burst through.
The next second, magma shot into the sky like a volcanic eruption. A figure emerged through the scorching rain of molten rock, seemingly unfazed by it. Holding a green lotus, he flew out and landed beside Medusa.
"My dear wife, your husband's back."
Gu Shenge smiled at Medusa. Seeing him return unharmed, the Snake-Person Queen secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but then took several steps back, eyeing the green lotus in his hand warily.
Although Medusa had reached the Dou Zong level, the cold bloodline within her made her reluctant to get too close to a Heavenly Flame, a natural wonder of extreme fire.
Seeing his wife step back, Gu Shenge realized she didn't like Heavenly Flames. He put the lotus into the System Space and reassured her.
"Don't be afraid. I'll refine it as soon as we get back. Then I'll give you a Child Flame to play with."
A flicker of displeasure crossed Medusa's beautiful eyes. She immediately retorted, "I'm not afraid of it. I just—I just don't like it."
"Yes, yes. My dear wife isn't afraid of it. She just doesn't like it."
Gu Shenge humored Medusa as if she were a child, making her even more annoyed. She gave a cold snort and flew away.
Seeing this, Gu Shenge shook his head helplessly and flew after his wife, out of the magma cavern.
Shimo City.
As an important stronghold of the Jia Ma Empire in the Tagor Desert, the city had stronger military forces than other places and a large number of mercenaries. It could certainly be called a city of mercenaries.
"Come take a look! Top-quality wound medicine! Just apply it to any cut or burn, and it'll heal right up!"
"Cactus fruit! Sweet, juicy cactus fruit! Just one silver coin a pound!"
"The Sand Mercenary Group is recruiting! All mercenaries are welcome to join! Our leader is a Da Dou Shi expert!"
"The Mo Tie Mercenary Group is recruiting! Everyone who joins is family!"
Shouts rang through the streets. The passersby were all mercenaries from the Mercenary Guild, living by the sword and dressing so scantily they could rival the Snake-people. The local customs were truly bold and wild.
Two figures descended from the sky and landed on the street, instantly drawing everyone's attention.
They stared at the golden Dou Qi Wings behind Gu Shenge, which hadn't yet faded, and showed their shock. A Dou Wang expert!
A Dou Wang expert had arrived in Shimo City!
As for Medusa, they automatically ignored her. There were no Dou Zong experts in the Jia Ma Empire, so how could one possibly show up in Shimo City?
Brought to Shimo City by Gu Shenge, Medusa looked puzzled. She glanced at the humans around them, a trace of disgust appearing in her eyes.
"What did you bring me here for?"
Gu Shenge took her hand and softly explained, "My Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils sensed a faint aura of the same origin. I suspect there's another person with Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils in this city."
"Really?"
Medusa was startled. There was another person with Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils! She hurriedly asked Gu Shenge.
"Can you sense exactly where they are?"
Gu Shenge nodded. He wasn't making it up. As another possessor of Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils, his powerful soul perception really could sense Qing Lin's presence. The aura shared his origin—or, more precisely, the origin of the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils—but it was faint, perhaps because she hadn't awakened yet.
Following that faint aura, the couple reached its source.
A crowd had gathered, and a stream of curses came from the middle, along with the onlookers' chatter and undisguised jeers.
"You little witch, why are you standing so close to me? You made me drop the fine porcelain I just bought! Pay me back!"
"What a curse. She causes trouble wherever she goes. If you ask me, they should just throw her out of the city."
"That's right. She's a bastard, and seeing her every day is an eyesore. But she's got a nice little figure. Why not leave her to me?"
"You're looking to die? That little witch belongs to the Mo Tie Mercenary Group. Aren't you afraid those Mo Tie guys will come after you?"
"I'm with the Sand Mercenary Group. I'm not afraid of those Mo Tie trash."
Hearing them, Gu Shenge frowned and walked into the crowd with Medusa. An irresistible force parted the people who were still talking, opening a path for the couple.
PS: Qing Lin will start out as the protagonist's maid. He'll raise her for a while before deciding what to do.
Before you continue