Parting Gift, Traces of a Heavenly Flame

Lu Xia froze in place, utterly dumbfounded.

He... had been kissed?

By his own disciple?

What was going on?

Before he could react, Xiao Yi Xian had already blushed furiously and retreated several steps.

Her face was so red it seemed ready to drip blood. She looked at Lu Xia with a sly smile.

"Master, this is your disciple's parting gift~"

she said playfully.

Lu Xia finally came to his senses.

He touched his cheek, looking at Xiao Yi Xian's shy yet daring expression, unsure whether to laugh or be annoyed.

"Well, well. Your nerve is growing by the day!"

"How utterly disrespectful. You actually dared to tease your master?"

"I'm not afraid of you~"

Xiao Yi Xian made a face at him, having already returned to her girlish self.

"What disrespect? I don't care!"

"Master, I'll wait for you at Wu Tian Manor."

She looked at Lu Xia, her gaze earnest.

"You have to come find me. Don't make me wait too long, okay?"

Having said that, she turned and ran off without waiting for his answer.

After running several steps, she looked back at him again, waved, and then hurried away.

Lu Xia stood in the courtyard, watching her receding figure, and shook his head helplessly.

Yet the corners of his mouth rose without him realizing it.

Lu Xia touched the lingering warmth on his cheek, and for some inexplicable reason, felt a hint of anticipation.

The moment Xiao Yi Xian ran out, the smile on her face vanished.

It was replaced by reluctance and sorrow.

At last, she could no longer hold back her tears, and they fell.

"Master..."

she murmured softly as she walked.

"I'll wait for you..."

The young girl's grief drifted far away with the wind.

Only after Xiao Yi Xian's figure disappeared from sight did Lu Xia let out a soft sigh.

He gave the courtyard where he had lived for so long one final look, then turned around. With a flicker, he vanished from where he stood.

After leaving Green Mountain Town, Lu Xia sped directly toward the Jia Ma Empire.

His goal was clear: the Tagor Desert and the Green Lotus Core Flame!

At this point in time, according to the original story's plot, the Green Lotus Core Flame should still be inside the underground lava cavern beneath the Tagor Desert and had not yet been taken by the Medusa Queen.

He had to obtain this Heavenly Flame before the Medusa Queen did.

Otherwise, once the Medusa Queen took it, getting his hands on it would become far more troublesome.

His Woeful Poison Body was already close to becoming impossible to suppress. He could not afford to delay.

Lu Xia traveled at full speed, racing like the wind. In just one day, he reached the edge of the Tagor Desert.

Standing at the desert's edge and looking out, he saw nothing but golden sand dunes stretching as far as the eye could see.

Under the blazing sunlight, even the ground seemed scorching hot, while waves of heat rolled through the air.

"So this is the Tagor Desert..."

Lu Xia narrowed his eyes, sensing the dry heat in the air, and nodded to himself.

Just as described in the original story: harsh surroundings, dangers everywhere.

But to him, this much was nothing.

At that moment, Lu Xia suddenly thought of someone.

The Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils, Qinglin!

That pitiful little girl should still be working as a maid for the Desert Iron Mercenary Group in Stone Desert City.

The Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils were also a rather good talent.

They could not only control snake-type magical beasts, but also rapidly increase their wielder's strength. Their potential was immense.

If he could bring Qinglin under his wing, she would be a great help in the future.

"What a pity..."

Lu Xia shook his head, feeling somewhat regretful.

His constitution was already extremely unstable. He could lose control at any moment, so he had no time to go to Stone Desert City and look for Qinglin.

He should obtain the Heavenly Flame first and solve his constitution problem before anything else.

Lu Xia stopped thinking about it. After taking a deep breath, he plunged into the boundless desert.

The Tagor Desert was vast and endless, and it was easy to lose one's sense of direction.

Based on the original story's description, Lu Xia had a rough idea of where the Green Lotus Core Flame was located.

Together with his powerful divine sense, finding it was not too difficult.

After searching for half a day, Lu Xia finally sensed a scorching aura rising from deep underground within the Snake-People Tribe's territory.

"Found it!"

Lu Xia's eyes lit up, and delight appeared on his face.

It really was here!

Judging by the intensity of the aura, the Green Lotus Core Flame was still here and had not been taken.

Lu Xia locked onto the Heavenly Flame's location with his divine sense. Forming seals with both hands, he used an earth escape technique and slipped underground in a flash.

With his cultivation, moving beneath the earth was as natural as a fish swimming through water.

As he continued downward, the temperature grew higher and higher.

The surrounding rocks had turned crimson, radiating searing heat.

Clearly, he was already close to the underground lava region.

After descending another several hundred meters, Lu Xia's view suddenly opened up.

A massive underground lava cavern appeared before him.

The cavern was enormous. Within it lay a lake of lava, its orange-red magma churning and bubbling as it gave off astonishing heat.

The entire cavern was illuminated crimson by the lava.

"So it really is here."

Lu Xia looked at the scene before him and nodded inwardly.

His attention was quickly drawn to a figure in the center of the lava lake.

It was a massive Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake.

Its entire body was covered in crimson scales, radiating a blazing aura.

Its two enormous snake heads flicked their tongues, while savage light gleamed in their scarlet eyes.

It was the fourth-tier fire-attributed magical beast that guarded the Green Lotus Core Flame: the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake.

Outside, it could be considered a minor overlord.

But in Lu Xia's eyes, it was not worth mentioning.

"A mere little snake dares block my path?"

Lu Xia sneered and walked straight toward the center of the lava lake.

Dou Emperor-level dou qi supported his body as he advanced deeper inside.

The Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake quickly noticed Lu Xia, the intruder.

It abruptly raised both enormous heads and let out an angry hiss at him.

"Hiss—!"

It opened its bloodied maw and spat a blazing pillar of fire at Lu Xia.

"You're courting death!"

Lu Xia's gaze turned cold as he casually waved his hand.

A stream of dark green poison gas flew from his palm and met the fire pillar head-on.

"Boom!"

A deafening explosion rang out as the fire pillar collided with the poison gas.

To everyone's surprise, the seemingly ferocious fire pillar rapidly melted away the instant it touched the poison gas, like snow beneath the blazing sun.

The dark green poison gas did not slow down and continued flying toward the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake.

The Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake clearly had not expected this human to be so powerful. Terror appeared in its eyes as it tried to evade.

But it was already too late!

"Pfft!"

The poison gas landed on its body.

"Hiss—!"

The Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake let out a miserable shriek and began struggling violently.

The dark green venom rapidly seeped into its body through its scales.

Within only a few breaths, the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake, which had just been so vicious and imposing, went limp on the ground. It was barely alive and had lost all ability to resist.

Lu Xia landed beside it and raised an eyebrow slightly as he looked at the unconscious Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake.

He had originally intended to kill it with a single palm strike, but then he reconsidered and remembered its fate in the original story.