Lotus Heart Takes Shape, Emperorheart Flame!

Wutan City, Xiao Clan.

Half a month had passed since Gu Xia and the others returned. He had originally thought today would be no different from the past half month—guiding Xun'er's cultivation while pondering the refinement of fifth-tier pills...

But just after correcting one of Xun'er's mistakes, he suddenly felt the strange flame far away in the Tagore Desert calling out to him...

Although the call this time was extremely faint, Gu Xia felt it clearly!

"Has it already taken shape? I thought it would need at least another half year..."

Not far from where Xun'er was cultivating, Gu Xia stood alone beneath the eaves, murmuring to himself...

According to his original estimate, the Green Lotus Core Flame should have needed nearly half a year before fully taking shape. Gu Xia had not expected it to awaken now, but that was fine. Waking up earlier meant he could carry out his plan earlier as well...

After briefly giving Elder Ling a few instructions, Gu Xia did not say goodbye to Xun'er, who was immersed in her cultivation nearby. He quietly left the courtyard, took a single step, and arrived outside the city without alerting anyone.

After briefly getting his bearings, Gu Xia tore open space and stepped inside...

Just before Gu Xia tore open space, within the underground cave dwelling of the strange flame in the Tagore Desert, a pale cyan lotus covered in golden patterns was slowly blooming...

Beside the pale cyan lotus stood a woman in a purple brocade robe, her figure exquisite and graceful. She gazed at the slowly opening green lotus with a complicated expression.

She did not know how she felt right now. She should have been thrilled and excited after successfully advancing to Dou Zong and rising four stars in a row. Yet she felt not the slightest joy from her increased strength. As for the man who had given her Dou Di blood, she did not know what expression she should wear when facing him...

The Snake-People Tribe's queen—this title brought supreme glory, but it also carried the mission of leading them back to the Snake-People Tribe's ancestral land. So she had no choice, because her name was Medusa...

This was her responsibility, and also her mission. There had never been fairness in this world, and she understood that. So she had to leave him and return to her royal city, her tribe...

"Although you gave me Dou Di blood, I'm sorry, but I still have things I must accomplish... I will repay your kindness. If we ever have the chance to meet again..."

After saying that, Medusa no longer hesitated. She was a queen, and she still had a mission she had to fulfill!

Her slender, flawless jade feet stood in the air. With a light step, she arrived at the cave dwelling's exit in the blink of an eye. This was the first time she had seen the world above ground since emerging from the green lotus, though this land was still as unbearably scorching as ever...

Looking out over the boundless, desolate sands, the resolve in her beautiful eyes grew even stronger...

"..."

After one final look at the bottomless cave entrance, she slowly rose into the air. Following a brief pause, she transformed into a streak of purple light and vanished toward the other side of the desert...

Less than a minute after Medusa left, the green lotus within the cave dwelling seemed to sense something and began spinning more cheerfully.

Then, a spatial rift appeared out of thin air. From within it, an exceptionally handsome young man stepped out at an unhurried pace...

As the young man appeared, the green lotus spun even faster. It was as though he were the person it had been waiting for all along...

"Looks like you matured naturally..."

Gu Xia examined the green lotus and found that it was not merely in good condition—it was almost too good. Why? Couldn't you see it rubbing its petals against Gu Xia like it had become sentient?

"By the way, where's your strange flame?"

After soothing the overly affectionate green lotus, Gu Xia looked at the little lotus still circling his fingers.

He could not help asking, because from the moment he arrived until now, he had not found anything other than the lotus. He even somewhat suspected that the Snake-People woman had taken his strange flame with her. Of course, he was only guessing wildly. After all, he had already fused his Dou Di blood into the strange flame back then. Without his permission, no one could possibly take the strange flame away, no matter who they were. Unless, of course, their level was higher than this guy's—otherwise, it was impossible...

While Gu Xia was still puzzled, the pale cyan lotus seemed to understand its master's thoughts. Amid an outrageously dazzling burst of cyan-gold effects, the green lotus directly transformed into a... flame with a golden core! It bounced happily in Gu Xia's hand...

Gu Xia: "???"

What the hell? According to the plot, wasn't he supposed to get the lotus platform, lotus seeds, and strange flame? Why was there only this seemingly idiotic little flame left now? Where was his strange flame? Where were his top-grade spiritual herbs? Where had his huge lotus gone?...

Looking at the obviously somewhat idiotic cyan flame in his hand, Gu Xia's expression instantly became wonderfully animated. He had originally planned to use the lotus seeds to try refining fifth-tier pills. Who would have thought that all he had now was an idiotic strange flame trying to chase its own tail flame—just like a husky chasing its tail...

"Fuck me..."

With his mentality somewhat shattered, Gu Xia could not help swearing. Then he suddenly realized that something round, soft, warm, and white—cross that out—had appeared in his hand...

"This is..."

Looking at the thing that had suddenly appeared in his hand, which seemed to be a green lotus seed, Gu Xia appeared to think of something. He glanced strangely at the cyan flame still trying to crawl out of his palm...

"Uh, Little Green, did you make this round thing?"

Gu Xia tentatively asked the little flame floating around his fingers. Then something happened that left him dumbfounded. The flame seemed to understand Gu Xia's words, and he felt as if it were charging up some ultimate move before squeezing out another lotus seed exactly like the first one!

"Holy shit! It can do that?"

Watching another round, warm lotus seed fall into his palm, Gu Xia felt as though he had raised something incredible...

Still somewhat astonished, Gu Xia tried having the little flame spit out two more lotus seeds. Then he got carried away. He kept making the little flame produce lotus seeds until it had spat out a full twelve. Only when the flame became somewhat dim did he hurriedly absorb it into his body and fuse it with his Dou Qi.

Gu Xia's process of fusing with the strange flame went extremely smoothly, because the strange flame's origin had belonged to him from the start. Without any mishaps, Gu Xia successfully fused with that cyan strange flame tinged with gold.

Only after truly fusing with the strange flame did he finally understand just how tremendous a mutation this somewhat idiotic strange flame had undergone!

"Not bad. It suits this emperor's status, at least. From now on, I'll have another way to show off when I go out! Quack, quack, quack..."

This Dou Di, who had once again accidentally laughed like a duck, had absolutely no idea what it meant to carry himself like an expert...

"Ahem, calm down, calm down~ Just a small matter. What hasn't this emperor seen before? It's merely intelligence of its own..."

Suddenly realizing that his image was on the verge of collapsing, Gu Xia coughed awkwardly. Thinking of the abilities and bonuses possessed by the new Azure Lotus Emperorheart Flame, Gu Xia suddenly had a bold idea...