Beholding the Green Lotus Core Flame

"What's wrong? Is there something strange about those two names?" Little Fairy Doctor asked when she noticed Xiao Yan's odd expression.

"No, it's nothing." Xiao Yan shook his head. After packing everything away, he smiled at Little Fairy Doctor and spread his arms.

Little Fairy Doctor stepped lightly forward, carrying a fragrant breeze as she entered Xiao Yan's embrace. Her hands naturally wrapped around his neck, and Xiao Yan took the opportunity to lift her into his arms.

Sun Shan stared at the scene in utter confusion. He had no idea why these two were flirting at a time like this, right in front of him. Were they deliberately bullying a single man?

"Come here and hold onto my leg."

"Huh?"

"Hurry!"

"Yes!"

Though Sun Shan did not understand, he tightly hugged Xiao Yan's right leg.

Then, he saw a pair of purple shadows flash before his eyes. They seemed to be a pair of wings.

I must be muddled. How could there possibly be wings? Dou Qi Wings are something only a Dou King can...

Suddenly, a hurricane-like gust swept down from above, sending yellow sand flying everywhere and filling Sun Shan's mouth, nose, and eyes.

But Sun Shan had no time to care about that, because... he was flying.

Holy shit shit shit shit shit! No, brother, are you really a Dou King?!

Sun Shan could not help wondering whether he had forgotten to check the almanac before leaving. Otherwise, how had he escaped from the Snake-People only to run into a Dou King?

Although Sun Shan had misunderstood Xiao Yan's strength, since ordinary people would never know about something as high-grade as flying Dou Techniques.

Still, he was not entirely wrong. Whether Xiao Yan was a Dou King or a Seven-Star Great Dou Master, he could easily kill him.

Naturally, Xiao Yan had no idea what complicated thoughts were running through Sun Shan's mind, nor did he care to know.

After ascending into the sky, Xiao Yan roughly identified the direction and flew toward the spot marked with a flame symbol on the map.

As for why Xiao Yan had not flown from the start and had instead traveled on foot, it was mainly because flying was too fast. He could easily overshoot places used as landmarks. Moreover, there were magical beasts in the sky as well, and being noticed by them would be troublesome.

One Scarlet Flame Arrow and one Rainbow Poison Palm later, another flock of bird-like magical beasts had been dealt with by Xiao Yan and Little Fairy Doctor.

But rather awkwardly, the two of them had gotten lost, just as expected.

At times like this, the importance of bringing Sun Shan along became clear.

"Sun Shan, wake up. Stop pretending to be unconscious and take a look at where we are."

For low-level cultivators, high altitudes had always been terrifying, especially when there was nothing beneath their feet.

However, one certainly could not refuse the request of "Lord Dou King." Trembling, Sun Shan opened his eyes and scanned the surroundings. Recalling the markings on the map Xiao Yan had shown him, he cautiously stretched out half an arm and pointed in a direction.

"O-over there. If we fly for about another half an hour, we should arrive, my lord."

"Good."

Xiao Yan abruptly shot in the direction Sun Shan had pointed.

Yet before long, Xiao Yan suddenly stopped in midair. His aura sharply contracted as his eyes fixed tightly on a spot below in the distance.

Although Little Fairy Doctor had not noticed anything yet, she cooperatively took out a medicine sachet meant to conceal their scent. The Snake-People Clan's sense of smell was far sharper than that of humans, so they had to be cautious.

Sure enough, two Snake-People were wandering around the place Xiao Yan was watching. However, they did not appear to be patrolling. They seemed more like they were searching for something.

The Heavenly Flame probably hasn't been found yet, Xiao Yan judged.

They slowly circled behind the two Snake-People, descended from the sky, and hid behind a sand dune.

"Mm, those two Snake-People aren't very strong. They're only Dou Masters." Xiao Yan observed them carefully before speaking.

"What do you think, sir? Should we take care of them?" For some reason, Sun Shan suddenly grew excited, as though he were the one about to act.

"I think we'd better not. We don't want to alert them," Little Fairy Doctor suddenly said.

"Mm. Even random Snake-People in this group are Dou Masters. Their leader is at least a Great Dou Master, perhaps even a Dou Spirit. We cannot be careless." Xiao Yan nodded. "Our target is the Heavenly Flame. As long as the Snake-People have not found it, there is no need for us to clash with them."

"It's just that Snake-People Clan members are already everywhere around here. It probably won't be easy for us to find it either." Little Fairy Doctor frowned, resting her delicate hand beneath her chin in concern.

Indeed, this place was neither small nor large. If they were searching everywhere for the Heavenly Flame too, it would be difficult not to run into the Snake-People Clan.

Xiao Yan tried hard to recall his already blurry memories, hoping to find some clue.

"Underground!" Xiao Yan suddenly said. "Sun Shan, do you know if there are any large pits nearby? The very deep kind."

"A pit?" Little Fairy Doctor and Sun Shan both froze, clearly unable to follow Xiao Yan's train of thought.

"Although this area is not small, the Snake-People Clan has been here for several days. They should have searched it once already. Otherwise, they would not have sent people this far out." Xiao Yan continued, "The fact that they sent people this far to investigate means they've already searched the area, but found nothing. So either there is no Heavenly Flame here, or the Heavenly Flame is underground!"

"That makes sense. Then we should focus on the underground. And if we enter through a pit, we can avoid the Snake-People above us without worrying about being discovered." Little Fairy Doctor's eyes lit up as she spoke excitedly. The little stars in her gaze as she looked at Xiao Yan left him deeply satisfied.

"If you mean a pit leading underground, I do know of one." Sun Shan spoke at just the right moment. "But I've never gone down there myself. What if we get lost..."

"It's fine. At worst, we can just blast our way back up." Xiao Yan looked utterly unconcerned. Clearly, many problems in this world did not apply to those with absolute strength.

"Since it's settled, let's go."

After bypassing the two Snake-People, Sun Shan led the way while Xiao Yan kept watch to avoid encountering Snake-People, and Little Fairy Doctor covered the rear. In this formation, the three swiftly made their way through the desert.

Several hours passed. When the moon was nearly at the center of the sky, several dilapidated buildings appeared ahead of Xiao Yan's group.

"This is?" Xiao Yan asked in confusion.

"This used to be a desert waystation. There's a well behind those buildings. It was built here back when the well still had water." Sun Shan explained, "But this isn't our destination. About one li east of this waystation is another well that was dug when the original water source dried up. It never produced water, but it led to a huge lava cavern underground."

"A lava cavern?"

"That's right, a lava cavern formed by erupting magma! If there really is a Heavenly Flame underground, we'll definitely be able to find it by going down from there." Sun Shan spoke with certainty.

They bypassed the waystation and walked several hundred more steps. There was nothing unusual along the way... ahem, they did not encounter anything else. At a point roughly one li east of the waystation, there really was a vertical hole in the ground. Since it had never yielded water in the first place, there was not even a stone wellhead around it.

Looking down through the opening, they saw only pitch-black darkness. Even after tossing in a stone, they could not hear the slightest echo.

Still unwilling to give up, Xiao Yan threw a fireball down after it. This time, he saw clearly.

It turned out the hole was not particularly deep. Rather, years of blowing sand had piled up beneath it, so the stone made no sound when it fell.

By the firelight, Xiao Yan could basically confirm that there really was a huge lava cavern below.

"This is it. Let's go down." Xiao Yan said.

"But how do we get down? We don't have any ropes, and there's nowhere around here to secure them." Sun Shan asked worriedly. For some reason, he had a bad feeling about this.

"Ropes? What do we need ropes for? We just jump down." Xiao Yan looked at him strangely, as though Sun Shan had said something incomprehensible.

"Huh? Jump down? Won't we fall to our deaths? And how are we supposed to get back up later?" Sun Shan asked in shock.

But Xiao Yan did not listen any further. He kicked Sun Shan down, then jumped in after him.

Little Fairy Doctor waited briefly at the entrance. Estimating that the timing was about right, she jumped down as well.

"Aaaah—"

Bang!

Still screaming endlessly, Sun Shan landed heavily on the sand pile beneath the opening. He was not injured, though his mouth was full of sand.

Xiao Yan landed shortly afterward. Just before reaching the ground, flames burst from beneath his feet, slowing his descent and allowing him to land steadily. Then, with practiced ease, he opened his arms, bent his knees slightly, and precisely caught the falling Little Fairy Doctor. His bent legs effectively absorbed the impact. Clearly, this was far from their first time doing this.

In the pitch-black lava cavern, Xiao Yan took out a torch from his Storage Ring and lit it. Although he could create a fireball for illumination himself, it was better to conserve Dou Qi whenever possible. After all, it was unrealistic to think that such a vast underground space contained nothing at all.

The lava cavern ran east to west, and Xiao Yan once again chose the eastern direction.

The sand pile beneath the entrance was not large and disappeared after only a few steps. Their boots made tapping sounds against the cavern walls left behind by magma, echoing through the immense cavern.

After traveling several more li, the passage became increasingly narrow until it could eventually only accommodate one person at a time. Their clothes occasionally scraped against the walls, producing faint hissing sounds.

Finally, at the end of the lava cavern, seven branching paths appeared before them in the torchlight.

Xiao Yan swept his gaze over them. None of the branches looked any different from the others, making it difficult to determine which passage led to the Heavenly Flame—or whether there was even a Heavenly Flame here at all.

"Xiao Yan." Just as Xiao Yan was considering which tunnel to enter first, Little Fairy Doctor suddenly tugged at the corner of his clothing.

"Mm? What is it?" Xiao Yan turned and asked.

"Look over there." Little Fairy Doctor pointed toward the rightmost passage.

Following her finger, Xiao Yan saw a faint trace at the entrance of the far-right passage.

"These are tracks left by a snake-like magical beast crawling!" Xiao Yan's expression gradually turned serious. Encountering a magical beast in a place like this would be no fun.

"Let's check the other six passages first," Little Fairy Doctor suggested.

Xiao Yan nodded, though he did not hold much hope in his heart.

After all, if there really was a Heavenly Flame here, the magical beast that had lived here for so long could not possibly have failed to notice it.

For three consecutive days, Xiao Yan's group explored the other six passages. As expected, they found no trace of the Heavenly Flame.

Looking at the long trail that stretched deep into the darkness, Xiao Yan's expression grew solemn.

But he had chosen the path of refining Heavenly Flames himself. No matter how difficult it was, he had to keep walking it.

"Little Fairy Doctor, stay here first..."

"I'm coming with you."

Xiao Yan had intended to leave Little Fairy Doctor here, because he could not guarantee her safety on the road ahead. If the Heavenly Flame truly was here, then he roughly knew the origin of that snake. Even Xiao Yan, at his current strength, had no spare attention to protect Little Fairy Doctor against that existence.

But Xiao Yan could not finish his sentence. Little Fairy Doctor looked directly at him, with no fear in her eyes, only the resolve to face hardship together.

Little Fairy Doctor was a girl gentle on the outside but strong within. Xiao Yan had always known that. Even if he left her here now, she would follow after him on her own.

"Have you decided?"

Little Fairy Doctor tightly clasped Xiao Yan's hand. That was her answer.

"Good!" Taking a deep breath, Xiao Yan said, "Then let's go."

Leaving Sun Shan behind to wait, Xiao Yan and Little Fairy Doctor advanced through the far-right passage.

Less than half a quarter-hour later, the temperature in the passage began to rise, and the space widened as well.

The Volcanic Rock Flame within Xiao Yan's body suddenly trembled, and a strange sensation enveloped him.

At that moment, Xiao Yan's consciousness seemed to cross the winding lava cavern ahead and the endless magma, arriving at a green lotus in the center of the lava.

Within a sea of dark-red magma, a green lotus bloomed. Green light shone from the lotus's center, making the scorching magma around it seem slightly cool.

Yet beneath that coolness lay an even more terrifying heat. Even the finest refined iron would instantly vaporize here.

Just as Xiao Yan wanted to take a closer look at the Green Lotus Core Flame in the center of the lotus, the scene before him suddenly receded and quickly vanished.

In the final instant before the vision disappeared, he saw a huge crimson serpent with two heads swimming through the scorching magma.

The Two-Headed Fire Spirit Serpent! Xiao Yan recognized it at once.

"What's wrong?" Seeing Xiao Yan suddenly stop, Little Fairy Doctor asked curiously.

Although some time had passed for Xiao Yan within the vision, only an instant had passed in reality.

"Xian'er, I think we've found the Heavenly Flame." Xiao Yan told Little Fairy Doctor what he had just seen, leaving her repeatedly amazed.

"Is it because you possess a Heavenly Flame? Did the two Heavenly Flames resonate with one another or something?" Little Fairy Doctor guessed.

"I'm not sure. I think there may be another reason, but what matters now is the Heavenly Flame and that Two-Headed Fire Spirit Serpent!" Xiao Yan said. Recalling the earlier details, he added, "If that vision wasn't an illusion, they should be around ten li from here."

"What rank is that Two-Headed Fire Spirit Serpent likely to be?" Little Fairy Doctor asked.

Xiao Yan thought for a moment. "It should be a Fourth-Rank Magical Beast, equivalent to a Dou Spirit."

"If that's the case, then this will be troublesome."

Faced with the powerful threat of the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Serpent, the expressions of both of them gradually turned grave.