Medusa

Medusa's beautiful eyes fixed on the flickering point of light on the crystal ball. Its direction was precisely that of Stone Desert City.

"That direction just now? It was the aura of a Heavenly Flame!"

With that, Medusa vanished from the hall.

After the time it took to burn an incense stick, a seductive figure appeared before the cave Lin Qing and the others had entered.

Unable to see her toes when she looked down, she could only crouch and grab a handful of sand, sensing it carefully. It indeed carried the scent of a Heavenly Flame. She had visited this place before and had only found it somewhat unusual at the time. She had never expected there to be another world beneath the ground.

Just as she prepared to enter, a sudden feeling of unease rose within her. There was danger. A strong expert's instincts were generally accurate, and this time, she chose to trust hers.

With a flash, she flew a thousand meters into the sky. Immediately afterward, a streak of energy powerful enough to injure a Dou Emperor struck the spot where she had just stood.

Ling Qingzhu slowly appeared at the cave entrance, her cool voice ringing between heaven and earth:

"Stop there. We found this place. Before he comes out, no one else is permitted to approach."

"A human?"

A flash of amazement passed through Medusa's eyes. In all her centuries, this was the first time she had seen someone so beautiful. But Medusa was famed throughout the world for both her beauty and ferocity; she did not rely on her looks alone.

A fierce glint flashed through Medusa's eyes. No one could stop her from obtaining the Heavenly Flame.

When Ling Qingzhu first saw Medusa, a trace of amazement also flashed through her eyes. She was confident in her own beauty, yet this was the first time she had encountered such an enchanting woman, one who did not pale beside her in the slightest. However, when she saw Medusa's expression, she sighed softly. "It seems you are unwilling to leave?"

Medusa sneered.

"A heavenly treasure like a Heavenly Flame cannot be claimed merely by those destined for it. It can only be won by one's own ability!"

Seeing that the other woman was no more than sixteen, Medusa did not believe someone so young could surpass her. At most, her opponent was a Dou Emperor. Such a young Dou Emperor could not possibly have been nurtured by any of the surrounding Empires. Could she be from the Central Plains?

No matter what great faction she came from, Medusa was determined to obtain the Heavenly Flame. As long as she captured the other woman and spared her life, everything...

Medusa's pupils suddenly contracted slightly. An unbelievable sight appeared before her: the young girl opposite her stepped through the air and arrived in front of her.

"A Dou Zong?!"

Medusa could not help crying out in shock. She simply could not understand when Dou Zongs had become so young.

Without the slightest hesitation, Medusa shot toward the Snake-People Tribe's territory at top speed.

"Trying to leave? Too late!"

A cool voice came from behind Medusa, its tone leaving no room for doubt.

She turned to look and saw that the young girl who had been behind her had already caught up. At her side stood a woman in a white dress, also a Dou Zong walking through the air.

"Another Dou Zong?"

Medusa gritted her silver teeth as the Dou Qi throughout her body began to swell...

At that moment, Lin Qing sat with his eyes closed, holding the Green Lotus Rootstalk. He knew nothing of what was happening aboveground.

His body seemed to have transformed into an energy black hole, continuously drawing into himself the pure fire energy that had originally belonged to the rootstalk and was used for its growth.

As the vast cyan energy poured in without cease, there was nothing else to temper it. The energy was both exceptionally pure and exceptionally domineering.

Fortunately, he possessed the Swallowing Heaven Scripture and the Swallowing Ancestor Symbol, so he did not fear this tyrannical energy. As the Cultivation Technique circulated, the blazing energy began seeping into Lin Qing's meridians. Specks of jade-like cyan radiance appeared along with it, continuously merging into his meridians and flesh.

Feeling his meridians become somewhat broader and tougher, and his body being tempered as well, Lin Qing could not help feeling delighted.

I never expected the energy within the Green Lotus Rootstalk to have this effect. It is not inferior to the Earthfire Lotus Seed at all!

The lion and the Fire Spirit Snake were not idle either. One vigilantly watched the surroundings, preventing Lin Qing from being disturbed.

The Fire Spirit Snake went out for a while, returned to its nest, and brought over all the savings it had accumulated over the years. Then it obediently stayed beside the lion.

Every breath of energy emitted by the Green Lotus Rootstalk was incomparably abundant, enough to equal half a month of bitter cultivation for a Da Dou Shi. Yet nearly half of that energy was used by Lin Qing to temper his physical body, and only the remainder was absorbed by him.

His mind continuously directed the energy along the circulation path of the Swallowing Heaven Scripture. The endless cyan energy was like vehicles speeding along a highway, whistling past before finally rushing into the Dou Crystal Urchin.

No matter how deep a pit was, there would always come a time when it was filled. Although the energy required to advance was so vast it left one dumbfounded, the rootstalk's lower tendrils continuously supplied him, constantly replenishing the energy Lin Qing needed.

Lin Qing did not absorb energy for very long. A day later, under the infusion of immense, refined energy, the second-to-last spine on the Dou Crystal Urchin slowly retracted.

The instant the spine retracted, Lin Qing's body trembled slightly. A powerful aura erupted from the Dou Crystal Urchin within him, forming an immensely powerful ripple of energy that passed through his Dou Qi vortex, meridians, and body's surface. Finally, that vast aura swept outward with his body as its center.

Eight-Star Dou Spirit!

A pressure stemming from his bloodline made the lion and Fire Spirit Snake somewhat fearful. The lion shielded the Fire Spirit Snake beside him and could not help clicking his tongue in wonder. The young master truly deserved to be accepted as a disciple by an Eighth-Rank Alchemist. With such a rate of breakthrough, even riding a unicorn, he could not catch up. And the young master could actually exert bloodline pressure on him, a Tier 6 Magical Beast. It seemed the young master's origins were extraordinarily remarkable as well.

However, Lin Qing did not stop cultivating. Though he was deep beneath the magma, with the Green Lotus roots sharing the pressure and strange treasures such as the Heavenly Flame Ancestral Talisman upon him, he felt no discomfort whatsoever.

Although Lin Qing absorbed energy extremely quickly, the energy required to rise two stars in a row was simply too immense. Ordinary people had to accumulate strength over a long period before achieving a natural breakthrough, but Lin Qing wanted to advance two stars in one burst. Naturally, the energy required was enough to horrify anyone.

Another three days passed in this state. After being nourished by an enormous amount of energy, the final spine on the Dou Crystal Urchin within him finally retracted.

Early Nine-Star Dou Spirit!

At the instant of his breakthrough, Lin Qing opened his eyes and slowly exhaled a long breath of turbid air. He inspected the Dou Crystal within him, which had become smooth and rounded.

Only because he had the Heavenly Flame protecting his body, along with the support of the Ancestor Symbol and Ancestral Stone, did he dare to cultivate in magma so far beneath the surface. Even if others could cultivate here, they would not be able to endure for so many days.

He released the Green Lotus Rootstalk and clenched his fist, feeling the abundant Dou Qi within him and his increased strength. Then he glanced at the Green Lotus Rootstalk, whose roots still swayed gently. Absorbing some of its energy had not affected it too greatly.