Fusang Red Heart Lotus, the Demon Emperor's Core Flame Returns

Night pressed down.

Outside the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, cold and hot energies entwined beneath the moonlight like two dragons of utterly different colors coiling through the valley.

Di Yao sat cross-legged atop a piece of Black Stone.

Before him lay a red-gold lotus.

Its petals blazed like fire, while its core resembled a tiny dark gold sun, gently pulsing.

The Fusang Red Heart Lotus.

Hu Liena stood several steps away, staring at the Immortal Herb. Her brows had not relaxed since earlier.

"Are you really going to eat it now?"

With her arms folded, she could not suppress the displeasure in her voice. "You just finished suppressing Dugu Yan's poison, and your Soul Power hasn't even recovered. Now you're taking an Immortal Herb? Are you tired of living?"

Di Yao raised a hand and picked up the lotus core, his movements steady.

"My Soul Power can't suppress it anymore."

Hu Liena opened her mouth, wanting to scold him. But when she saw the wound beneath his collar that had yet to fully heal, the words changed before they left her lips.

Her voice lowered, carrying a trace of irritation. "You could still wait until dawn."

Di Yao looked toward the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

"The cold energy is stronger at night. It's better for suppressing the fire."

Hu Liena was left speechless.

She realized that Di Yao was not acting on impulse.

He had already thought it through.

That was what made it most infuriating.

If he were merely insane, she could still scold some sense into him.

But every risk he took seemed to have been calculated and dissected beforehand, then entered with calm determination.

Dugu Bo stood in the distance with his hands behind his back, watching coldly.

Dugu Yan had come as well.

She leaned against a rock wall, her complexion better than before, though her tone remained defiant.

"You'd better not burn yourself to ashes." She looked at Di Yao, her voice stiff. "My Grandfather won't collect your corpse."

Di Yao did not raise his head.

"If I die, no one will suppress your poison."

Dugu Yan's expression stiffened. Gritting her teeth, she said, "You're really unpleasant to talk to."

Di Yao placed the Fusang Red Heart Lotus into his mouth.

The lotus core melted the instant it entered his mouth.

The next moment, dark gold firelight lit up from his throat.

Boom!

It was as if a sun had exploded inside Di Yao's body.

Fine Red Gold Veins instantly appeared beneath his skin, spreading from his chest to his neck and then along the side of his face.

Hu Liena's expression changed as she instinctively stepped forward.

"Don't move."

Yue Guan's voice sounded from nearby.

At some point, he had appeared beneath a tree, his expression unusually serious.

Hu Liena halted and turned to him, urgency in her voice. "He's about to lose control!"

Yue Guan gently shook his head.

"If you touch him now, his fire will burn you first."

Hu Liena's fingers tightened.

She could only remain where she was.

Di Yao closed his eyes.

The medicinal power of the Fusang Red Heart Lotus did not transform into gentle Soul Power. Instead, it became a Core Flame that plunged straight into the depths of his Martial Soul.

The Great Sun Golden Flame was completely roused.

Dark Gold Flame rose from all around him. Unlike when his first soul skill was unleashed to kill enemies, it now burned inward, scorching his meridians, bones, and flesh.

Pain.

Extreme pain.

It was as though someone had torn his body apart and thrown it, inch by inch, into the sun to be reforged.

Di Yao's fingers slowly clenched.

Cracks spread across the Black Stone beneath his grip.

Yet he did not make a sound.

Dugu Bo watched the scene, and his expression shifted slightly.

"The brat can really endure."

Dugu Yan pursed her lips without replying.

When her poison had been suppressed earlier, the pain had nearly made her collapse.

But the pain Di Yao was enduring now was undoubtedly far worse than what she had suffered.

Hu Liena stared at Di Yao's face.

She saw the veins at his temples twitching faintly. She saw his lips turn pale. She saw that, even as the tendons on the back of his hands stood taut from pain, he still refused to lower his head.

She suddenly understood why he always spoke of "resources."

Because every resource he obtained was truly bought with his life.

Behind Di Yao, a Dark Gold Sun slowly rose.

Within it, the Dharma Image of Demon Emperor Di Jun emerged.

A Mystic Gold Emperor Robe.

The wings of a Three-Legged Golden Crow.

Beneath a blurred crown, a pair of golden eyes slowly opened.

This time, it was clearer than before.

Especially the phantom of the Three-Legged Golden Crow. It was no longer merely a mass of fire; the outlines of its feather patterns, sharp claws, and third leg could vaguely be seen.

Dugu Bo's gaze sharpened.

"This Immortal Herb isn't meant to increase his Soul Power."

Yue Guan glanced at him, a faint smile on his lips. "You can tell?"

Dugu Bo's voice was deep. "It's restoring the source of his Martial Soul."

Yue Guan did not deny it.

His gaze fell upon Di Yao as he said softly, "The little monster His Excellency favors has always had a big appetite. What he wants has never been an ordinary improvement."

The cold energy within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was suddenly stirred.

White frost mist condensed into a thin thread, rising from the Cold Spring and drilling into Di Yao's body.

The next instant, Di Yao's body jolted violently.

Earlier, it had been fire burning him.

Now, at the height of that burning, extreme cold was suddenly forced into him.

Heat and cold collided violently within his meridians.

A low groan escaped Di Yao's throat.

It was very soft.

But Hu Liena heard it.

Her expression changed at once. She stepped forward half a pace, then forcibly stopped herself.

Dugu Yan's face also went pale.

She whispered, "Is he insane? That'll tear his meridians apart!"

Dugu Bo did not answer.

Because he also thought Di Yao was insane.

But what was even more frightening was that this was not the madness of recklessness.

Di Yao was using the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to suppress the Sun Fire of the Fusang Red Heart Lotus.

It was not that he could not endure the fire.

He was forcibly taming it.

Time passed bit by bit.

The fiery patterns on Di Yao's body gradually stabilized from chaos.

The Great Sun Golden Flame, which had originally surged outward with wild violence, slowly sank back into his body.

From his meridians to his bones, then into the depths of his Martial Soul.

The Fusang Fire Seed finally stopped rampaging and settled firmly within the Dark Gold Sun behind the Dharma Image of Demon Emperor Di Jun.

Boom—

A roar that only the soul could hear rang out.

The phantom Three-Legged Golden Crow behind Di Yao raised its head and cried to the heavens.

This time, its cry was no longer shrill and chaotic. It carried an ancient majesty.

Hu Liena felt her heart sink.

It was not fear.

It was an instinctive reverence.

As though she were watching the sun rise once more from the abyss.

Di Yao slowly opened his eyes.

The dark gold firelight in his eyes had deepened another shade.

His body remained weak.

But his aura was different.

If the Great Sun Golden Flame before had been sharp, violent, and searing,

then now, the flame carried an added weight.

It felt as though it could do more than burn people.

It could judge, suppress, and force all beasts to bow their heads.

Dugu Bo's expression was complicated.

"Brat, you call that pain cultivation?"

Di Yao slowly exhaled a scorching breath. His voice was somewhat hoarse, but still calm.

"The first step."

Dugu Yan could not help asking, "That was only the first step?"

Di Yao glanced at her.

"What else? You thought it was over?"

Dugu Yan was choked speechless.

Hu Liena finally stepped forward. She crouched down and looked at his face, her tone unpleasant. "Do you think this makes you impressive?"

Di Yao looked at her.

Hu Liena gritted her teeth, anger suppressed in her eyes. "Do you know you nearly had an accident just now?"

Di Yao fell silent for a moment before answering blandly, "I know."

Hu Liena froze.

Di Yao added, "That's why I didn't let you come closer."

The anger Hu Liena had prepared suddenly caught in her throat.

She stared at Di Yao for several breaths, then finally threw out a stiff sentence. "Tell me in advance next time."

Di Yao lowered his gaze.

"There may not be time next time, either."

Hu Liena took a deep breath.

She felt that this man would anger her to death sooner or later.

Yue Guan laughed from the side.

Dugu Bo looked at them and snorted coldly, but did not mock them further.

He could tell.

Di Yao had already consumed the Fusang Red Heart Lotus.

And Di Yao had indeed endured it.

That meant he was another step closer to his Third Soul Ring.

It also meant that this brat's value was even greater than before.

Di Yao lowered his head and looked at his palm.

Dark Gold Flame burned quietly at his fingertips.

No longer frenzied.

No longer insubstantial.

Like a Core Flame that had truly returned to its rightful place.

But this was not enough.

Far from enough.

He raised his head and looked toward the other sealed Great Sun Blazing Grass.

There was no excitement in his eyes.

Only a deeper calm remained.

"Continue."

Hu Liena's face instantly darkened.

"Di Yao!"

There was real anger in her voice.

Di Yao looked at her, his tone steady. "The Core Flame has stabilized, but this body still isn't enough."

Even Dugu Bo couldn't help frowning. "If you keep taking a second herb now, you'll be treating your body like a furnace and burning it."

Di Yao reached out and took the Great Sun Blazing Grass.

Golden light flowed across its leaves, like countless tiny Sun Blades.

He looked at the leaves, his voice very soft.

"If the furnace isn't hot enough, nothing can be refined."