Battle Through the Heavens: I Can Solidify All Talents

The trace of intoxication in his eyes quickly faded, replaced by clarity and calm.

Xiao Qing took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed that terrifying sense of power.

He refocused his attention on the bottomless underground world below, which radiated scorching heat.

"Teacher is right. This disciple lost his composure for a moment."

Xiao Qing replied solemnly in his heart, his tone returning to its usual steadiness.

"External power is ultimately external power. Only one's own cultivation is the foundation of everything!"

Old Yao could clearly sense the rapid change in his state of mind. His tone softened, carrying a hint of satisfaction. "It is good that you came to your senses so quickly!"

"Just remember this sense of control and understanding over power. It will become the key to your future breakthroughs... Now calm your mind. The path to the Heavenly Flame deep underground may not be peaceful."

"Understood."

Xiao Qing nodded and gazed deeply into the depths below.

The terrifying power of the Dou Zong level gradually dispersed, but the resolve to press forward only became firmer.

With a light flap of his Purple Cloud Wings, his body turned into a streak of light.

Without hesitation, he plunged down the Geocentric Passage he had personally carved out, heading toward the unknown and opportunity!

The road had already opened, and the Heavenly Flame lay ahead!

As Xiao Qing continued onward, a sweltering current of air ten times hotter than the surface rushed toward him.

The surrounding cave walls were not cold stone, but dark-red vitreous material.

It was sand from the desert, melted by terrifying heat and then cooled into glass!

Faint traces of residual energy still flowed across its slightly smooth surface.

Xiao Qing's body descended rapidly under acceleration, the howling wind rushing past his ears.

A pale golden Dou Qi barrier automatically appeared around him, blocking the heat that could scald a Da Dou Shi.

The farther down he flew, the dimmer the light became.

Yet the temperature rose rapidly instead, and the air began to fill with a unique scent of sulfur mixed with pure Fire Attribute energy.

"Be careful. After that impact just now, the underground structure here may not be stable."

Old Yao's cautious voice warned Xiao Qing in his mind.

"Understood."

Hearing this, Xiao Qing nodded slightly.

His Soul Power spread outward and extended directly downward. Although it still could not penetrate that mysterious barrier,

it was enough for him to sense the underground world below, as well as the surging fire-element energy!

After continuing like this for less than half an incense stick's time, the view before him suddenly opened up!

He burst out of the narrow passage and entered an unimaginably enormous underground world.

It was a vast subterranean cavern stretching as far as the eye could see, with a high ceiling hung with countless massive dark stalactites.

And beneath him lay a crimson sea that seemed to have no end!

An incomparably enormous underground Lava Lake!

Viscous magma flowed and churned slowly within the lake like blood.

From time to time, a huge bubble would swell up.

Then, with a "pop," it burst!

The splashing crimson waves radiated suffocating heat and a pungent smell.

Even the entire space was dyed a dark red.

The fire-element energy in the air was so dense that even breathing made his lungs feel as though they were burning!

"What pure Fire Attribute energy!"

Xiao Qing spread his wings and hovered in midair. Even he could not help but marvel at the sight before him.

If he did not possess Fire Attribute Dou Qi, an Innate Spirit Body, and control over the Law of Fire, merely staying here would consume an astonishing amount of Dou Qi.

"Heavenly Flames are strange flames born between heaven and earth. One born within a sea of magma beneath the earth is likely the nineteenth-ranked Green Lotus Core Flame on the Heavenly Flame Ranking!"

Old Yao's voice also took on a grave note.

"And this Lava Lake is its finest breeding ground."

Deep within the magma—

In that mysterious region cut off from all perception...

It was not dead and tranquil. Instead, it teemed with a more primal, more violent vitality!

Viscous dark-red magma flowed and surged through the vast underground space like the blood of a giant beast.

The lava was filled with pure fire-element energy and Venomous fire miasma, enough to make even Dou Wang experts turn back.

However, the relatively "peaceful" years this place had maintained for who knew how long were thoroughly shattered today by a single youth!

The shockwaves and energy fluctuations created by that terrifying strike from the surface, which had pierced through the earth's crust, still crashed violently into this Earth Core World despite being weakened by layers of rock!

Rumble...

The entire Lava Lake began boiling violently, more frenzied than ever before!

The massive stalactites hanging above were shaken by that terrifying force until they swayed precariously.

Several even snapped under the strain and plunged into the Lava Lake, stirring up even greater waves.

Refining the Green Lotus Core Flame! (Combined Chapter, 4k Words)

Even the Heavenly Flame's fluctuations, like the "heartbeat of the earth," showed a minute trace of disorder at this moment.

And the fiery-red figure dwelling at the outermost edge of this region—the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake—reacted even more intensely!

"Hiss-roar—!!"

Its two savage heads abruptly rose from the lava. Its long body, covered in crimson scales, tensed with vigilance as it coiled atop the Lava Lake near the passage.

Its four cold vertical pupils stared fixedly at the deep passage that had been forcibly blasted through, now continuously pouring in fresh air and unfamiliar scents. They were filled with the fury of an invaded territory and a trace of... barely perceptible fear!

As a Tier 4 Magical Beast, its perception of energy was extraordinarily sharp.

The energy fluctuations that had come from the passage just now, with their terrifying level and destructive force, made it feel an intense threat deep within its bloodline!

Underground world—

"Sense carefully. The source fluctuations of the Heavenly Flame should be hidden beneath this sea of lava."

Just as Xiao Qing focused his senses, the Lava Lake beneath him suddenly exploded!

"Hiss-roar—!"

Accompanied by a savage hiss, that familiar fiery-red figure burst through the magma and shot into the sky!

It was precisely the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake he had sensed earlier!

At such close range, its ferocity could be felt even more clearly.

Its two heads and four vertical pupils locked tightly onto Xiao Qing, filled with fury at the intrusion into its territory.

Its enormous body was formed from scorching magma and hard crimson scales. Wherever it passed, the air twisted.

One of its heads suddenly opened its jaws, firing a highly compressed crimson flame beam at Xiao Qing like lightning!

Its other head spewed out a wide rain of molten fire, sealing off every route of escape.

Before the attack even arrived, the scorching heatwave had already sent ripples across Xiao Qing's protective Dou Qi.

Faced with this combined assault that could instantly heavily injure even an ordinary Dou Ling, Xiao Qing did not panic. He simply raised his right hand.

He did not use any Dou Technique. With only a slight thought, a wisp of crimson-gold flame emerged at his fingertips.

The flame appeared weak, yet it contained an aura of law that stood above ordinary fire!

With a flick of his finger, the pale golden flame flew out swiftly, meeting the violent flame beam and molten fire rain.

A strange scene unfolded!

The aggressive flame beam trembled violently the instant it touched the pale golden flame, like a subject meeting its king!

Then it was extinguished in midair!

The rain of molten fire was like snow meeting the sun. Before it could even approach, it dissipated on its own, reverting into pure Fire Attribute energy and silently being absorbed by that wisp of pale golden flame.

"Whimper—"

Both heads of the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake let out cries filled with fear and confusion.

As a fire-type magical beast, its perception of flames far surpassed that of humans.

In its simple consciousness, the flame aura emanating from this human was of such a high level that it made its bloodline tremble with fear and submission!

It was absolute suppression in status!

Its massive body shrank back fearfully, circling over the Lava Lake. Its four vertical pupils stared at Xiao Qing in shock, not daring to attack again.

Seeing that the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake's attacks had been extinguished, Xiao Qing did not continue paying attention to it.

His gaze passed over the Fire Spirit Snake and fell upon the depths of the Lava Lake.

Through the earlier activation of the Law of Fire, he clearly sensed that the Green Lotus Core Flame was at the very center of that crimson sea.

An incomparably pure flame source, like the heartbeat of the earth, was resonating intensely with the Burning Mantra and Law of Fire within him!

"Found it."

Xiao Qing glanced at the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake, which had been frightened out of its wits and was playing dead at the edge of the lava. He could not be bothered to deal with it further.

With a shift of thought, Dou Qi surged within him. Crimson-gold flames burst from his body with a whoosh, condensing into a dazzling protective barrier around him that completely blocked out the scorching heatwaves and fire venom.

Though Xiao Qing stood amidst high-temperature magma, he possessed the Law of Fire. To him, this temperature was about the same as soaking in a hot spring.

But standing before such a boundless sea of lava was still visually unsettling.

It was like standing at the edge of a bottomless ocean trench, the silence carrying a suffocating pressure that made one's scalp tingle.

He took a deep breath and steadied himself. The flicker of hesitation in his eyes vanished, replaced by resolve.

Without another thought, he leaped forward, turning into a dazzling streak of golden light and diving down like a sharp sword!

Splash.

With a dull sound, he plunged directly into the viscous, boiling crimson expanse.

The expected burning sensation did not come upon entering the magma.

The crimson-gold barrier enveloped him steadily. The terrifying temperature outside, enough to vaporize steel, reached him as nothing more than a mild warmth. His movements were not hindered in the slightest, as smooth as if he had returned home.

This was the domineering aspect of the Talent known as the Law of Fire: near-absolute control over all flames beneath heaven.

He no longer distracted himself with the scalp-numbing sights around him. His soul perception spread like an invisible net, tightly locking onto the ancient and majestic flame fluctuations ahead.

Like a fish, he parted the viscous magma and accelerated toward the direction he sensed.

Beneath the lava, it was not completely dark. A hazy dark-red glow permeated the surroundings, as though he were forever submerged in a blood-colored dusk.

He did not know how long he had dived when, at the end of his perception, a patch of unusual green suddenly pierced through the crimson.

At first, the green was extremely faint, like a flickering lamp in the night.

But as he drew closer, that point of light rapidly grew larger and brighter. Its green was so pure, yet carried a hint of bewitching otherworldliness and overwhelming spirituality.

Wherever it shone, even the violent lava energy became obedient, like subjects surrounding their king.

Finally, after breaking through an especially viscous membrane of magma, the sight before him suddenly opened up!

A massive spherical space had been forcibly propped open deep within the sea of lava by an invisible force field.

It was exceptionally clean inside, without a single drop of magma entering. It was utterly different from the crimson, violent world outside.

And at the center of the space, the source of that light was not merely a flame.

"It really is the Green Lotus Core Flame!"

Old Yao's voice rang out in his heart with barely restrained amazement.