Twin-Headed Flame Spirit Serpent

"Brother, may I come in?"

A few days later, early in the morning, outside a guest room in the City Lord's Manor, a little girl who looked only seven or eight stood at the door and asked in a crisp voice.

"Come in."

At his words, delight appeared on the little girl's face. She pushed open the door and walked inside.

Xiao Yun, who had been sitting cross-legged on the bed cultivating, slowly opened his eyes. Looking at Qing Lin carrying breakfast, he said helplessly, "Qing Lin, haven't I told you? Let others handle these things. You're my little sister, not a maid."

"But Qing Lin likes serving Brother. Rather than letting someone else do it, Qing Lin would rather do it herself." Qing Lin smiled softly. After spending the past few days together, Xiao Yun's gentle attitude had made her much bolder. She even dared to argue with him a little now.

Her delicate little hands pressed skillfully. Although Xiao Yun said no, he was actually enjoying it.

"Brother, are we still going to look for that fire today?"

"It's a Heavenly Flame. I have a feeling we'll find it today!"

"Mm-hmm, Qing Lin believes in Brother. We'll definitely find it today!" The girl carefully tidied Xiao Yun's hair, her tone full of faith in him.

"You haven't eaten yet, have you? Sit down and eat with me later."

Xiao Yun spoke up. With his cultivation, his need for food had grown smaller and smaller. Even going ten days or half a month without eating would not have been a problem. But he could not refuse Qing Lin's kindness, so he could only eat a little with her every morning.

"Okay." The girl smiled sweetly, her large eyes curving into crescents.

Qing Lin pulled Xiao Yun over to sit down. The breakfast on the table consisted of coarse grains and simple food. It was far from lavish, yet she ate with immense satisfaction, as though she were enjoying mountain and sea delicacies.

These past few days had been the happiest days of her life. She no longer had to worry about being bullied or about finding food. She lived in a house that did not leak cold wind and wore clothes that did not let in drafts. Most importantly, she had met a gentle brother who treated her like his real little sister.

Having suffered so much, she was far too easily contented. Even just staying beside Xiao Yun, eating breakfast with him, and doing nothing else was enough to make her happy for an entire day.

Outside Stone Desert City, the blazing sun hung high in the sky. Xiao Yun led Qing Lin through the yellow sands, Soul Power pouring from between his brows as it continuously seeped underground to search.

According to Hai Bo Dong's Heavenly Flame map, Xiao Yun had already investigated the other two regions a few days ago. Only this final place remained, which was why he believed they would find the Heavenly Flame today.

A moment later, Xiao Yun suddenly stopped. Lowering his head, he looked at the desert beneath his feet.

"Brother, did you find it?" Qing Lin looked doubtfully at the flat stretch of desert before them.

In her eyes, this place was no different from the areas they had explored before. It was all endless sand. Where was there any sign of fire?

"Mm, I found it. It's right beneath our feet." Xiao Yun raised an arm, and fiery-red Dou Qi surged from his fist, blasting directly into the yellow sand.

The once-flat desert immediately exploded, sand flying in every direction. Xiao Yun had blasted open a pitch-black hole. Walking up to it, he immediately felt a somewhat scorching aura rise from within.

"Is the fire Brother is looking for inside this hole?" Qing Lin's little face was flushed red by the scorching air, but she stood beside Xiao Yun at the entrance, her strange jade-green eyes peering curiously inside.

"Hahaha, that's right. I can already sense the aura of the Heavenly Flame!" Xiao Yun extended his arms and looked at Qing Lin beside him with a smile. "We don't know what's inside, and you haven't begun cultivating yet. Should I carry you in?"

"Mm-hmm." Qing Lin's little face gradually turned rosy. She lowered her head and allowed Xiao Yun to gather her into his arms.

Xiao Yun first wrapped the yellow sand in Dou Qi. After jumping into the passage, he withdrew the Dou Qi and allowed the sand to seal the entire entrance again.

Within the pitch-black passage, Xiao Yun held Qing Lin tightly in his arms. Their bodies slid rapidly downward with the slope of the passage, Dou Qi enveloping them and smashing apart anything they encountered along the way.

A moment later, with a faint sound of landing, the two finally reached the bottom.

"Phew!"

A flame appeared at Xiao Yun's fingertips. He gently set Qing Lin down and looked at the narrow space around them.

"It seems Medusa Queen hasn't drilled through here yet. Then the Heavenly Flame should still be here..."

Xiao Yun thought as his Soul Power continued to spread out and probe the underground. Very quickly, he sensed an extremely dense fire-attributed energy.

Fiery-red Dou Qi surged from his body, churning continuously before condensing into the shape of a drill. It bored through the soil in the direction he had just investigated, forming a tunnel just wide enough for him to pass through.

As they went deeper, the temperature inside the passage grew higher and higher, eventually becoming visible waves of heat.

Xiao Yun felt the Dou Qi within him growing more and more active. Somewhat worried, he looked at Qing Lin. "Qing Lin, if you can't hold on, tell me."

"Brother, I'm fine." An endless stream of chilly energy was being released from within Qing Lin's body, wrapping around her and keeping her from feeling much heat.

A moment later, both Xiao Yun and Qing Lin stopped. Shock appeared on their faces as they looked through the tunnel Xiao Yun had opened at the fiery-red world before them.

Within the enormous cavern, fiery-red magma flowed slowly. Occasionally, huge bubbles rose from the magma, only to burst with a soft sound moments later. Scorching magma shot out like brilliant crimson fireworks.

"This place is so spectacular, Brother." Qing Lin followed Xiao Yun out of the tunnel and stared in shock at the seemingly boundless Magma World before them.

"Yes, the Underground Magma World really is spectacular." Xiao Yun nodded in agreement and smiled. "Qing Lin, wait here for a while. I need to go down there."

"Brother, be careful. There's a huge snake in that magma." Qing Lin stared worriedly at the endless fiery-red magma, strange light shining in her jade-green eyes.

"Oh? You sensed it too? Tsk, tsk, it seems the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils really are the bane of snake-type Magical Beasts. Don't worry. Brother is going down there to catch that little snake." Xiao Yun rubbed her little head and chuckled.

With a flash, Xiao Yun appeared above the magma's surface. Fiery-red wings slowly flapped behind him, holding his body steady in midair.

Looking down at the fiery-red magma below, Xiao Yun released his Soul Perception from his body and quickly detected the Magical Beast within.

"Oh, you still dare to come up? You're truly bold. But that saves me the trouble of going down to find you."

A massive black shadow gradually emerged from the magma below. Accompanied by a piercing hiss, an enormous snake-type Magical Beast broke through the magma and shot toward Xiao Yun in midair. Though huge, it was not slow. The instant the hiss ended, it had already arrived before Xiao Yun.

The Magical Beast's enormous jaws snapped open, revealing rows of sharp teeth gleaming with cold light. Xiao Yun could even smell the stench from its mouth.

"Scarlet Flame Palm!"

Without the slightest panic, Xiao Yun struck at the Magical Beast with his palm. Fiery-red Dou Qi instantly surged from his hand and condensed into a gigantic flaming palm, slamming directly into the snake-type Magical Beast's mouth.

With a loud boom, fiery-red magma splashed everywhere. The Twin-Headed Flame Spirit Serpent, whose strength was only at the Dou Ling level, was knocked unconscious atop the magma by Xiao Yun's palm strike.

Seeing the giant snake beginning to sink into the magma, Xiao Yun hurriedly released Dou Qi, transforming it into a giant fiery-red hand that lifted the unconscious Twin-Headed Flame Spirit Serpent. He then flew back to Qing Lin's side.

"Brother, you're amazing! You killed that bad snake that tried to ambush you with one slap!" Qing Lin's face reddened with excitement as she looked at the huge snake lying on the ground and shouted happily.

"This snake isn't dead. I only knocked it unconscious." Landing on the ground, Xiao Yun took Qing Lin's hand and walked to one of the Twin-Headed Flame Spirit Serpent's heads. Smiling, he said, "Qing Lin, try to see if you can form a contract with it and control it."

Fiery-red Dou Qi churned and transformed into chains that bound it. Xiao Yun pried open the giant snake's eyes with his hand. The chains suddenly tightened, and under the pain, its originally unfocused pale eyes instantly sharpened. Ferocity and madness filled its gaze as it stared at Qing Lin in the distance.

"Steady your mind. Don't be afraid. Focus your spiritual power on it and try to communicate with it from your heart."

Seeing that Qing Lin had been somewhat frightened, Xiao Yun reminded her in a deep voice. Although he did not know how to activate the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils, focusing her attention could not be wrong.

Xiao Yun's gentle voice was like a breeze, blowing away the fear in Qing Lin's heart. She stared fixedly at the giant snake before her. After a while, strange light shone from her jade-green eyes. The three tiny jade-green dots deep within her pupils spun rapidly, transforming in an instant into three extremely tiny green flowers.

As the green flowers appeared, an intense ghostly light emerged and shone upon the Twin-Headed Flame Spirit Serpent before her. Enveloped by the eerie light, the giant snake's wildly struggling body instantly stiffened. Its crazed gaze turned to terror, and its snake heads stiffly twisted as it tried not to look into the girl's eyes.

Yet under Xiao Yun's brute force, everything the Twin-Headed Flame Spirit Serpent did was futile. In the end, the ghostly light continuously shrank, turning into two green flower markings imprinted at the center of its snake heads.

Qing Lin could no longer hold on. Her pupils returned to normal, and her body swayed. Just as she was about to collapse to the ground, a pair of strong hands caught her, and she fell into Xiao Yun's embrace.

After Qing Lin collapsed, the Flame Spirit Serpent was freed from Xiao Yun's restraints, yet it still lay foolishly in place. However, whenever its gaze fell upon Qing Lin, the madness and ferocity in its eyes vanished, replaced by a gentle docility.

"Brother, I did it." Lying in Xiao Yun's arms, Qing Lin spoke weakly after exhausting herself by activating the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils.

"Mm, I saw it. Here, take this." Xiao Yun took out a pill that restored spiritual power from his Storage Ring and fed it to Qing Lin.

Perhaps it was the pill's effect, but after Xiao Yun fed it to Qing Lin, her pale face quickly became rosy, like a bright red apple that made one want to take a bite.

"Thank you, Brother. I feel much better." Qing Lin lowered her little head, her voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz. If Xiao Yun had not been so close, he truly would not have heard what she said.

"Then can you communicate with it?" Hearing this, Xiao Yun quickly set Qing Lin down, looking somewhat impatient.

"I'll try." A trace of reluctance flickered in Qing Lin's eyes. She walked to the Flame Spirit Serpent, closed her eyes slightly, and placed a hand on one of its heads. A moment later, she ran toward Xiao Yun as if seeking praise and said with a smile, "Brother, I talked to Little Flame. It told me the fire you're looking for is beneath the magma. I can have Little Flame take you there."

"Well done, Qing Lin." Xiao Yun stroked Qing Lin's little head and smiled. "Then have it lead the way for me. Wait up here for a moment. I'll be back soon."

"Mm-hmm." Qing Lin nodded obediently and said to the Flame Spirit Serpent, "Little Flame, take Brother to find that fire. Listen to Brother down there, okay?"

Hearing Qing Lin's words, the Flame Spirit Serpent nodded with surprising human-like understanding. It looked at Xiao Yun with a trace of fear, then twisted its body and crawled back into the magma.

Seeing this, Xiao Yun left behind a wisp of Purple Crystal Lion Flame to protect Qing Lin. Then, with a flash, his entire body became covered in flames as he leaped directly into the fiery-red magma.