Swallowing the Green Lotus Core Flame! Seven-Star Dou Huang!

This was a huge underground chamber.

At its center was a pool of magma, its scarlet surface bubbling and churning. Waves of heat rolled over them, distorting the air.

In the very middle of the magma pool was a raised stone.

A green lotus grew on it.

The lotus was no bigger than a washbasin, but it was translucent all over, as if carved from jade. Its petals overlapped in layers, cradling a cluster of green flames at its center.

The flames burned silently, yet the heat they gave off made the entire underground chamber feel like a steamer.

The Green Lotus Core Flame!

Ye Xiu stared at the flames as the Dou Qi within him began to stir.

He wasn't afraid. He was excited.

He took a step forward.

"Wait," Medusa suddenly said.

Ye Xiu turned to look at her.

Medusa said, "I'll wait outside. If you die, I'll collect your body. If you come out alive, the Green Lotus Core Flame is yours."

Ye Xiu smiled. "Deal."

Medusa watched him, her expression shifting. She seemed to want to say something, but in the end she said nothing and turned to leave.

Ye Xiu faced forward again, looking at the green lotus in the middle of the magma pool.

Taking a deep breath, Ye Xiu swallowed a Blood Lotus Pill. Before long, a layer of blood scab covered his body.

Then the Dou Qi Wings behind him unfurled with a boom, and he flew toward the center of the magma pool.

The moment he landed beside the lotus, Ye Xiu felt as if he'd been thrown into a furnace.

It was unbearably hot.

This wasn't ordinary heat. It felt as if it were burning outward from the depths of his soul. His Dou Qi began circulating wildly, his blood started to boil, and his whole body felt like it was about to catch fire.

But just then, something unexpected happened.

The blood in his body suddenly began to stir, just as it had when he swallowed the Companion Amethyst Source. The surge rushed toward his skin, coursing wildly beneath it.

Then—

The burning sensation eased.

It hadn't disappeared, but it had lessened enough for him to endure.

Ye Xiu looked down at his hands, then at the green flames.

Could the Innate Medicine Body really suppress Heavenly Flames?

It wasn't overwhelming them completely the way it had when he swallowed the Purple Flame, but the situation was still far beyond what Ye Xiu had expected.

Of course, he didn't have time to think about anything else now.

The Green Lotus Core Flame seemed to sense something. Its flames surged and lunged at him!

Ye Xiu didn't retreat. He reached out, grabbed the flame's core, and swallowed it.

Boom!

The green flames instantly engulfed him.

Ye Xiu felt as if he'd been thrown into the magma. Every inch of his skin was burning. But his blood surged wildly, wrapping around the flames that entered him and dragging them into his meridians, then into his dantian.

It hurt.

It hurt like hell.

A hundred times worse than swallowing the Companion Amethyst Source.

But Ye Xiu gritted his teeth and didn't make a sound.

He knew this was the critical moment. If he endured it, the Heavenly Flame would be his. If he couldn't, this would be the end of him.

The Dou Qi within him began to circulate wildly. Purple-gold flames burst from his dantian and collided with the green flames.

The two kinds of fire began battling inside Ye Xiu's body.

The Purple Flame had been refined from the Companion Amethyst Source. It was no weakling, but compared with the Green Lotus Core Flame, it was nowhere near as powerful. As soon as they made contact, the Purple Flame began to retreat.

Ye Xiu gritted his teeth and forcibly drove his Dou Qi forward, pushing the Purple Flame onward!

But it was no use.

The Green Lotus Core Flame was too powerful. The Purple Flame simply couldn't hold it back.

Just as the Purple Flame was about to collapse, Ye Xiu's blood stirred again.

As if it had come alive, the blood surged from every part of his body and rushed straight at the green flames.

At first, the Green Lotus Core Flame paid it no mind and continued rampaging. But the moment the blood wrapped around it, the flames visibly faltered.

It was as if they'd sensed something terrifying!

Layer after layer of blood enveloped the green flames, wrapping them tightly. The Green Lotus Core Flame struggled desperately, but couldn't break free. The blood seemed sticky; the more it wrapped around the flames, the tighter and thicker it became.

Ye Xiu could feel the blood seeping inward.

Bit by bit, inch by inch.

The Green Lotus Core Flame began to shrink.

Ye Xiu's eyes widened.

Was his blood actively devouring the Green Lotus Core Flame?

Ye Xiu could feel the absorbed flames flowing through his whole body with his blood before finally converging in his dantian. His Dou Qi had nearly reached its limit, but the moment those green flames entered, it surged instantly.

The Purple Flame stopped retreating, too. Instead, it moved forward and mingled with the green flames.

The two kinds of fire began to fuse.

Ye Xiu closed his eyes and circulated his cultivation method with all his might.

Time passed, little by little.

He had no idea how long it took, but at last, the Green Lotus Core Flame settled down.

The green flames stopped rampaging. They flowed obediently along with his blood, then all gathered in his dantian. The Purple Flame drew closer and mingled with them, beginning to fuse.

Ye Xiu could feel the two kinds of fire permeating each other.

The Purple Flame had been the weaker one, but after the Green Lotus Core Flame was refined by his blood, its wildness faded. The two flames began to coexist peacefully.

As they fused, Ye Xiu's meridians began to heal.

The meridians, badly damaged by the Heavenly Flame just moments ago, were now mending at a visible speed. Once healed, they were wider and more resilient than before.

Wherever the green flames flowed, a faint green light shimmered across the surface of his meridians.

The Heavenly Flame was transforming his body.

From now on, his Dou Qi would carry the properties of the Green Lotus Core Flame. His flames would be more powerful when refining pills, and his attacks would hit harder in battle.

The final step was to make the Heavenly Flame acknowledge him as its master.

That wouldn't be easy, either.

The Green Lotus Core Flame had not developed intelligence, but it still possessed a trace of awareness.

Ye Xiu took a deep breath and sent his soul force into his dantian.

Inside, the green flames burned quietly. Beside them, the purple-gold flames rested close by as the two slowly fused.

Ye Xiu's soul force approached and gently touched the green flames.

The green flames trembled, and a wave of resistance passed through them.

Ye Xiu didn't rush. He kept touching them gently, again and again, conveying a little of his aura each time.

This was the method Yao Lao had taught Xiao Yan in the original story: use soul force to communicate with a Heavenly Flame and let it grow accustomed to your aura.

Time passed, little by little.

He had no idea how long it took, but at last the green flames stopped resisting. They flickered softly, then moved toward Ye Xiu's soul force of their own accord.

At that moment, Ye Xiu felt a wondrous connection form between himself and the flames.

It was as if they had become part of his body.

Boom!

A terrifying aura erupted from Ye Xiu!

His cultivation began to soar!

After being tempered by the Heavenly Flame Origin, his cultivation finally stopped at Seven-Star Dou Huang! He had risen three stars!

Ye Xiu opened his eyes.

He looked down at his hand.

With a soft puff, green flames appeared in his palm.

Success!