Finally Obtaining a Heavenly Flame

The violent pillar of fire shot past Xiao Yan's body and slammed straight into the wall of the molten cave, leaving behind a huge crater dozens of meters wide and over ten meters deep.

"Flame Emperor Armor!"

Just before the fire pillar struck him, Xiao Yan swiftly withdrew the power from the Black-Weight Ruler and channeled it all into the Flame Emperor Armor.

Within the deep crater in the molten cave wall, Xiao Yan still stood there, maintaining the dim yet unvanished Flame Emperor Armor.

With the Volcanic Rock Flame empowering it, the Flame Emperor Armor was so durable that even a Fourth-Rank Two-Headed Fire Spirit Serpent that had lived in magma for years would need to expend several times its usual strength to break it. Under a rushed attack, however, the Fire Spirit Serpent simply could not gather such immense power.

Seeing that its attack had failed to achieve the desired result, the Fire Spirit Serpent sought to attack once more.

But Xiao Yan had clearly lost interest in continuing to trade blows with it. He swiftly escaped the crater and used the walls of the molten cave to rapidly shift positions.

After repeatedly failing to hit Xiao Yan, the Fire Spirit Serpent flew into a rage and simply summoned dozens of fire pillars to sweep through the entire molten cave.

Having spent so long in magma, the Fire Spirit Serpent was clearly unaccustomed to this kind of close-quarters battle on land. Xiao Yan, on the other hand, had trained exceptionally agile movements in the Magic Beast Mountains, weaving through the gaps between dozens of fire pillars while using falling chunks of rock to evade.

The more the Fire Spirit Serpent failed to hit Xiao Yan, the angrier it became. The angrier it grew, the more power it poured into its attacks. Compared with Xiao Yan, it possessed greater and more abundant strength. Relying on the nearby sea of magma and the fire-element energy radiated by the Green Lotus Core Flame, its power was nearly inexhaustible. It could afford such wastefulness.

As dozens of fire pillars continued their wild dance, the molten cave, once relatively cramped for the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Serpent, steadily expanded. Melted rock fell to the ground and formed a river of magma, flowing through the passage the Fire Spirit Serpent had used to enter and into the sea of magma.

As the space expanded, the lower half of the molten cave had become a small sea of magma as well. Xiao Yan found it increasingly difficult to find footholds, and several times he nearly got hit by fire pillars. If this continued, he would soon have nowhere left to dodge!

This stupid snake actually created home-field advantage for itself! Xiao Yan marveled.

The Two-Headed Fire Spirit Serpent timely revealed a smug look.

But its smugness did not last long.

The deadly poison that had long entered the Fire Spirit Serpent's body spread through its boiling blood and continuously invaded its internal organs—its stomach, liver, spleen, kidneys, and heart. When the poison reached its brain, the Fire Spirit Serpent suddenly felt an unprecedented weakness, and the fire pillars shooting wildly in every direction faltered.

I've been poisoned! the Fire Spirit Serpent realized in terror. In its panic, it could no longer spare any attention for Xiao Yan and turned to flee toward the passage it had come through.

Naturally, Xiao Yan would not miss such a good opportunity. Raising the Black-Weight Ruler, he slashed down.

Roar!!!

I can't escape! I'm going to die! The Fire Spirit Serpent realized in horror, and its two heads let out terrified roars. Then it glared hatefully at the crimson figure who had caused it all.

Since you want to kill me, then we'll die together! Fear of death and resentment awakened the ferocity of this Two-Headed Fire Spirit Serpent, which had lived comfortably for centuries.

To Xiao Yan's surprise, the fleeing snake heads suddenly turned back. Before Xiao Yan could react, they viciously bit down on him!!

The two heads clamped down on Xiao Yan's limbs from either side, leaving him no chance to break free.

Eight massive fangs relentlessly pressed into the Flame Emperor Armor, on the verge of breaking through its defense.

When enemies met on a narrow road, the braver one prevailed. Xiao Yan's own ferocity was stirred as well.

On one side, he desperately maintained the Flame Emperor Armor. On the other, he continued pouring vast amounts of Dou Qi into the Black-Weight Ruler. The enormous fiery ruler burst forth and pierced straight through the throat of one of the Fire Spirit Serpent's heads. Yet no blood sprayed out; it was all burned to ash by the scorching flames!

A vast amount of fire-element energy was absorbed by Xiao Yan through the Flame Emperor Armor. The Two-Headed Fire Spirit Serpent refused to be outdone and began competing with Xiao Yan for the underground fire-element energy.

Even the sea of magma several miles away became turbulent, periodically erupting with waves of flame. Under the pull of both sides, immense fire energy gathered into a nearly tangible river of magma that flowed upstream from the sea of magma and entered the molten cave.

As a Fourth-Rank Magical Beast that had dwelled here for generations, the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Serpent's ability to draw in energy went without saying. Yet with the empowerment of the Volcanic Rock Flame and the amplification of the Flame Emperor Armor, Xiao Yan's pull was surprisingly no weaker.

In the current situation, whoever held out longer would claim the final victory!

If using Dou Techniques consumed Dou Qi, then continuously drawing upon the energy of heaven and earth relied on soul power!

Because Xiao Yan had lived two lives and undergone alchemy training, his soul power far surpassed the level of a Da Dou Shi. Even ordinary Dou Ling cultivators were no match for him, and he was not far behind even a Dou Wang. Not to mention that Xiao Yi Xian's deadly poison was still taking effect inside the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Serpent.

Under the poison's erosion, the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Serpent's consciousness grew increasingly heavy. Forcibly drawing upon the energy of heaven and earth also exhausted its soul further, yet the human before it continued to endure. Why? Shouldn't he be weaker than me?

The Two-Headed Fire Spirit Serpent did not understand, but it no longer had the chance to.

The aura belonging to the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Serpent gradually faded. Its tightly clenched fangs lost their power and loosened, while its powerless flesh was immediately burned to ash by Xiao Yan's fierce flames. Only a crimson magical core, as large as a human head, remained floating in the air.

A Fourth-Rank Magical Beast's core! Xiao Yan, who was likewise exhausted, perked up. With a wave of his hand, he swiftly summoned the magical core into his palm.

After tearing off the clothes on his body, which had already been reduced to strips of rag, Xiao Yan took out a fresh set from his Storage Ring and changed before returning to where he had placed Xiao Yi Xian.

After confirming that Xiao Yi Xian was unharmed, Xiao Yan stuffed several Qi-Recovery Pills into his mouth and headed along the passage toward the sea of magma.

"Hm?" The Golden Snake Tribe leader, who was leading his men in search of the Heavenly Flames, suddenly stopped and frowned deeply. "Everyone, stop first!"

"What is it, Chief?" Jinjie stepped forward and asked.

"Did any of you feel some kind of disturbance?" the Golden Snake Tribe leader asked.

The nearby snake people looked at one another, unsure why their leader had suddenly asked that, until the disturbance became more obvious.

"This is... Chief! I felt it too. There really is a disturbance!"

"Me too!"

"The disturbance seems to be coming from underground!"

"Could an underground volcano be about to erupt?" Jinjie asked fearfully. "Chief, why don't we head back first?"

The Golden Snake Tribe leader ignored Jinjie's cowardly words. With his brows tightly furrowed, he paced back and forth. "Do you think this could be a disturbance caused by the Heavenly Flames?"

"Heavenly Flames?"

"Yes, Heavenly Flames! These past few days, our tribesmen have turned this whole area upside down several times, but we still haven't found the Heavenly Flames. If there truly are Heavenly Flames here, then they can only be underground!" The Golden Snake Tribe leader spoke, becoming more convinced of his own analysis the more he considered it.

Abruptly stopping, the Golden Snake Tribe leader said, "Among the captured humans, who knows this area best?"

"It's someone named Zhong Bang," Jinjie replied.

"Zhong Bang? Bring him here to lead the way! Tell him that if he finds the Heavenly Flames, he lives. If he fails, he dies! I hope his name brings him good luck! Send word to all tribesmen: gather here within half an hour!"

"Yes!!!" x30

Passing through the end of the passage, Xiao Yan was greeted by a crimson world.

Although he had expected it, the grandeur of the sea of magma still left Xiao Yan deeply shocked.

Within the enormous cavern, crimson magma flowed quietly, rolling with astonishing heat waves. The air was filled with the pungent smell of sulfur. Xiao Yan watched with his own eyes as a piece of broken stone fell from above. Rather than making a splash like it would in ordinary seawater, it was like it had fallen into quicksand, slowly sinking down. No—it was melting, merging into it! In such a world of molten rock, even a Dou Wang would not be able to endure for long.

Fortunately, the Fire Spirit Serpent had been successfully lured out. Otherwise, he would never have lasted even a quarter of an hour in this environment. Xiao Yan felt a burst of relief.

"As expected of the birthplace of Heavenly Flames. It really is terrifying!" Xiao Yan decisively summoned the Flame Emperor Armor to cover his entire body, wiped the sweat from his forehead with one hand, and exclaimed.

But this was not the time to stand around marveling.

Calming himself and carefully sensing the energy of heaven and earth around him, Xiao Yan looked toward one spot in the sea of magma.

Although it was obscured by the various poisonous gases rising from the magma, Xiao Yan could clearly sense that the Green Lotus Core Flame was over there.

His body leaned slightly forward as the Purple Cloud Wings sprang from his back. With a flap of his wings, Xiao Yan shot toward the Green Lotus Core Flame like a bullet.

As Xiao Yan continued advancing deeper into the molten world, the magma below gradually shifted from crimson to pale green, then deep green. The temperature around him continued rising, until even Xiao Yan's Flame Emperor Armor was struggling to withstand it.

When he reached the place where the green was deepest and the temperature highest, he still did not see any sign of the Green Lotus Core Flame.

Xiao Yan decisively withdrew the Purple Cloud Wings on his back and plunged straight into the magma.

From the first time he sensed the Green Lotus Core Flame, he had known that it was not above the magma, but within it!

But the temperature beneath the magma was in no way comparable to that above it.

The Two-Headed Fire Spirit Serpent's scales could directly resist the blazing heat here, but Xiao Yan's skin could not. He could only depend on the Flame Emperor Armor for protection.

This caused the little Dou Qi he had just recovered to be rapidly consumed. Xiao Yan could not recklessly absorb the surrounding energy of heaven and earth to recover, because he had little soul power left as well, and he had no means of restoring it.

One minute, two minutes.

Five minutes, six minutes.

Xiao Yan no longer needed to wipe the sweat from his face, because it had all evaporated, leaving only grains of white salt crystal on his skin. His Dou Qi was already nearing exhaustion.

Finally, just as Xiao Yan was about to be unable to hold on, an intense green light flashed into his eyes. A green lotus stood gracefully amid the scorching magma.

Overjoyed, Xiao Yan swiftly swam over. Pulling apart the petals of the Qinglian, an unprecedentedly scorching aura rushed at his face. Xiao Yan forced his dry eyes open and looked closely. A green flame was fiercely burning within the lotus, trembling continuously as though it had sensed Xiao Yan's arrival.

Xiao Yan was ecstatic. He quickly dug out a Fire Lotus Seed, closed the petals, and stored the entire lotus, along with its stem, leaves, and roots, inside the Bone Flame Ring.

Because Qinglian's roots spread across dozens of meters, it took Xiao Yan quite some effort. Fortunately, the magma around Qinglian had been pushed away by the might of the Heavenly Flames, greatly easing the pressure on him.

Taking the opportunity, Xiao Yan swallowed several more Qi-Recovery Pills and rapidly returned upward.

"My lord, this is the place. Going down from here leads directly underground." At the dried well through which Xiao Yan's group of three had descended, a thin man was surrounded by a group of snake people, repeatedly bowing and scraping.

"Are you sure this place leads to where the Heavenly Flames are located?" the Golden Snake Tribe leader asked.

"Yes! It definitely does!" Zhong Bang immediately answered. Although he wanted to say that he did not know either, he feared he would lose his life the next second if he said so.

"Good. Then we'll go down from here. Bring ropes."

The Golden Snake Tribe leader took Zhong Bang down first, and the snake people behind them descended one after another.

"Strange, why is there a foul smell?"

"Chief, look over here! There seem to be traces of people here!"

"My lord, you're back!" Finally seeing Xiao Yan carry Xiao Yi Xian out from the passage on the right, Sun Shan, who had been anxiously waiting alone at the fork in the road, eagerly rushed over. "My lord! You have no idea how worried I was while you were gone! I..."

"Alright, alright, I know. It's getting late, so let's hurry back." Xiao Yan interrupted Sun Shan's rambling. "Xian'er is a little tired. Keep your voice down and don't disturb her." The loss of blood essence had taken quite a toll on Xiao Yi Xian, and Xiao Yan had already given her the Earthfire Lotus Seed he had kept back.

At this moment, the Earthfire Lotus Seed was not only restoring Xiao Yi Xian's depleted vitality, but also tempering her meridians, nourishing her flesh and blood, and evolving her poison. Once she completely digested this Earthfire Lotus Seed, Xiao Yi Xian would not only make a full recovery, but her cultivation might even rise a little. It would not be much, however, since Xiao Yi Xian's physique primarily needed poisonous gas to improve.

"Oh." Sun Shan immediately restrained himself and cautiously looked at Xiao Yan walking ahead. "Um, my lord, did you find the Heavenly Flames this time?"

"If I found it, why would I come back instead of refining it on the spot? For fun?" Xiao Yan deliberately spoke in an irritated tone. You could know someone's face but not their heart; he would not casually reveal the matter of the Heavenly Flames.

"Yes! This lowly one spoke out of turn!" Sun Shan hurriedly apologized.

To be honest, Xiao Yan was not quite used to having someone act so subservient before him. But on the Dou Qi Continent, this was the normal way the weak faced the strong. Still, Xiao Yan had no intention of asking Sun Shan to change. It was not as though he had demanded it.

"Quick, move faster! Someone has already been here. We must find them before they find the Heavenly Flames!" The Golden Snake Tribe leader urged his snake people forward through the passage.

"Chief! There's a fork ahead!"

At a look from the Golden Snake Tribe leader, several snake people immediately stepped forward and investigated each branch.

"Chief, there are human footprints here. They were left not long ago!"

A snake person shouted from before the far-right passage.

"Chase!"

At the leader's command, all the snake people surged into the far-right passage in a swarm.

The snake person responsible for guarding Zhong Bang and the other human captives lagged behind with a regretful expression. It could not be helped; dragging along dead weight made it impossible to run quickly.

Just as this snake person was lamenting, a tremendous force suddenly smashed into the back of his head and knocked him unconscious.

By the time the other snake people noticed the disturbance behind them, they saw only a figure with black cloth covering his face leisurely departing with Zhong Bang and the other human captives. Before leaving, the figure punched the ceiling of the passage, causing a large amount of falling rubble to block their route of pursuit.