Zhu Kun's Drop of Essence Blood, Mid-Phase Eight-Star

The space had originally been gray, but the moment Lin Yang entered, it suddenly brightened.

At the center of the space floated a miniature Fallen Heart Flame. With a sweep of his gaze, Lin Yang saw a soul body curled up within the flames, deep in slumber. It was naturally Heavenly Flame Venerable. He was resting to conserve what little soul strength he had left.

Lin Yang gave a slight cough, his voice piercing into the Fallen Heart Flame and abruptly jolting Heavenly Flame Venerable awake.

"Who is it?"

With a sharp cry, Heavenly Flame Venerable peered through the Fallen Heart Flame and saw Lin Yang.

His heart shuddered violently. "D-Dou Saint!"

The instant the words fell, hope flashed in his eyes. A Dou Saint could absolutely take him out of this Magma World. He just did not know what the other party wanted or whether he would be willing to help.

"Heavenly Flame Venerable, I never expected it to be you. It's been hundreds of years—how did you end up in such a state?" Lin Yang deliberately pretended not to know and slowly asked.

"Y-you know this old man?" Heavenly Flame Venerable was greatly startled. The hope in his eyes surged even higher. There was a chance!

He then sighed and explained, "Alas! This situation... it's a long story. It was all because this old man was too greedy back then and forcibly refined two Fallen Heart Flames. The Heavenly Flames clashed, leaving me severely injured. Then I was hunted down by the Flame Lizardmen, and in the end, I came to this."

After speaking, he looked at Lin Yang with a trace of expectation.

"Heh." Lin Yang chuckled and said bluntly, "Then you really were unlucky. Since that's the case, are you willing to serve me? I can take you out, restore your soul, and even help revive you."

Heavenly Flame Venerable's eyes lit up. This was exactly what he had been waiting for, and he agreed without hesitation. "Fine, I agree."

"Good. I have a Soul-Nourishing Pearl here. Stay inside it for now. Once we return to the Xiao Family, I'll find you a better place to stay." As Lin Yang spoke, he took out a black bead he had previously seized from the Soul Hall.

"Alright, thank you, sir," Heavenly Flame Venerable said.

Without standing on ceremony, he flew into the Soul-Nourishing Pearl. Lin Yang put away the bead, no longer lingered, collected the Fallen Heart Flame, and flashed out of the space.

Magma World.

Lin Yang spread his soul perception to its limit, searching for Gu Yuan's aura.

He kept moving through the area, and after two hours, Lin Yang finally sensed an unusual aura.

After memorizing its location, he immediately flashed out of the Magma World.

Zi Yan's room.

Zi Yan was gnawing on a medicinal herb she had casually stolen, her gaze drifting toward the door from time to time as she waited anxiously for Lin Yang to return.

Just then, the space before her rippled, and Lin Yang stepped out from the distortion.

Zi Yan instantly rose to her feet. "Senior, you're back."

Lin Yang nodded slightly and said directly, "Zi Yan, enough. Let's go. I'll take you to see your father."

"Mm, alright."

Lin Yang said no more. He took Zi Yan with him and entered the underground world.

Magma World.

Lin Yang wrapped Zi Yan in Dou Qi and swiftly descended with her.

Zi Yan's eyes were wide as she curiously looked around at everything.

Before long, Lin Yang had arrived near Zhu Kun.

An oppressive aura even more immense than Gu Yuan's enveloped several kilometers around them.

Zi Yan's heartbeat involuntarily quickened. This aura gave her a sense of closeness that came from the depths of her bloodline.

"Senior, why is my father in a place like this?" Zi Yan could not help asking the question that had lingered in her mind the entire way.

Lin Yang did not explain, merely saying, "You'll know when you get there."

Zi Yan pouted and asked no further questions, instead carefully sensing the aura in the distance.

At that moment, Zhu Kun, who was sealed outside Tou She Ancient God's Cave Mansion, had also sensed the auras of Zi Yan and Lin Yang.

His heart churned with excitement and emotion.

Then, Lin Yang took Zi Yan through a spatial jump and arrived directly before Zhu Kun.

Lin Yang looked ahead.

Zhu Kun's body was tightly bound by nine chains of laws, restraining him before the entrance to the Ancient Emperor Cave Mansion.

Zi Yan's gaze froze on Zhu Kun, tears glimmering in her eyes.

"Daughter, it's you. My daughter, it really is you." Tears also shimmered in Zhu Kun's eyes.

"Father, you..." Zi Yan opened her mouth, but no words came out for a long time.

"Daughter, it's Dad. Dad has wronged you. Back then, I thought I wouldn't be trapped, but I never expected to leave you alone and helpless all these years. These years..." As Zhu Kun spoke, tears began streaming down his face uncontrollably.

Watching the tender reunion between father and daughter, Lin Yang quietly considered how he should ask Zhu Kun for a drop of his essence blood later.

The father and daughter continued speaking for a while, finally pouring out the suffering they had endured over the years.

Zhu Kun looked at Lin Yang and asked, "Kid, what's your name? Thank you for bringing my daughter here. What reward do you want? Pills, cultivation methods, Dou Techniques—I can satisfy you."

Lin Yang's heart stirred. Here it came. After a brief pause, he said, "Senior Zhu Kun, I would like a drop of your essence blood. Would you be willing to grant it to me?"

Zhu Kun did not hesitate. "Fine, I'll give it to you. But take good care of Zi Yan for me. I won't be getting out anytime soon. If you have the ability, help Zi Yan manage the Ancient Void Dragon Clan."

"Alright. Thank you, Senior. Rest assured, I will take good care of Zi Yan." Lin Yang cupped his fists solemnly.

Zhu Kun said no more. He forced out a drop of essence blood and tossed it to Lin Yang with a wave of his hand.

Lin Yang hurriedly caught it.

"Alright, kid, take Zi Yan back. Come visit me when you have time. I'm going to rest."

"Alright, Senior."

"Enough, go."

"Farewell."

After leaving the Magma World, Lin Yang directly took Zi Yan back to the Xiao Family.

After returning to the Xiao Family.

Once Lin Yang had settled Zi Yan and Heavenly Flame Venerable, he immediately began refining Zhu Kun's essence blood.

Zhu Kun was different from Gu Yuan. Gu Yuan's essence blood contained a trace of Dou Emperor bloodline power, but Zhu Kun's essence blood not only contained Dou Emperor bloodline power, it also possessed the Ancient Void Dragon Clan's uniquely ancient and tyrannical force.

It could not only raise one's cultivation, but also greatly enhance the strength of the physical body.

One day later.

Lin Yang broke through to the mid-phase of Eight-Star Dou Saint. Zhu Kun's essence blood had directly raised him by a minor level.

Not only had his cultivation improved, his physical body had also reached the late phase of Eight-Star.

It could be said that the improvement was tremendous.

When he attacked the Soul Clan with Gu Yuan in a few days, he would have greater confidence as well.

Lin Yang tried activating the Saint Sun Heavenly Flame Transformation.

Four Heavenly Flames erupted within his body, and his strength instantly surged to the half-step Nine-Star level.

With his cultivation improved, activating the secret technique raised his strength somewhat more than before.

If he refined another highly ranked Heavenly Flame, then upon activating the secret technique, he would likely break through directly to the early phase of Nine-Star.

Lin Yang examined the system panel to see what the new mission reward was.

After giving it a quick glance, he found that the new mission was actually to raise his cultivation to the early phase of Nine-Star Dou Saint. The mission reward was a Source Qi Crystal.

Lin Yang froze abruptly. Even if he wanted to skip this mission, he had no choice.

A Source Qi Crystal was far too important.

"Alas!" Lin Yang sighed and stopped dwelling on it. He would take things one step at a time.

As for the two Heavenly Flames still in his possession, Lin Yang did not intend to devour them. He would still leave them for Xiao Yan. This was not only the proper conduct expected of an uncle, but also because he had made an estimate: if Xiao Yan devoured Heavenly Flames, the system would definitely issue related missions. Thus, leaving them to Xiao Yan would bring far more benefits than devouring them himself.