Nangong Qing Lin, a Pat on the Head

"This is the place?"

Xiao Yan glanced at the yellow sand swirling around them, then at the little girl who looked so certain. He rubbed Qing Lin's head and gave Hai Bodong, who had followed close behind, a slight nod.

"Dig!"

"Me?!" Hai Bodong's eye twitched. He pointed at himself in disbelief.

The great Ice Emperor, reduced to digging a hole?

"You may no longer be a Dou Emperor, but a Dou Ling will do. We don't want to attract attention or cause unnecessary trouble, so I'll leave it to you, Elder Hai," Xiao Yan said with a smile.

"I..." Hai Bodong's face darkened. He stepped forward, tested the soft sand underfoot, then looked back at Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan and Qing Lin had already retreated to a safe distance. Smiling, he nodded for Hai Bodong to get on with it.

Hai Bodong grumbled, but when it came time to work, he did not back down. Pale-blue light gathered in his palm. He brought his hands together, forming a deep-blue ice dragon overhead, then sent it roaring into the sand beneath his feet.

He was worthy of the Ice Emperor's name. Even with his cultivation fallen to Dou Ling, he could briefly unleash power no weaker than that of an early-stage Dou Wang.

The ice dragon plunged into the loose sand in an instant and roared deeper underground, leaving a dark shaft whose bottom could not be seen.

"Let's go!"

Xiao Yan grabbed Qing Lin by the back of her clothes. Pale-gold wings trembled behind him as he leaped straight down.

Hai Bodong summoned another ice dragon and followed. Surprise flashed in his eyes. The boy had so many tricks up his sleeve that Hai Bodong would not believe he lacked a master with extraordinary cultivation.

In moments, they touched down. The glow of molten rock ahead painted everything red, revealing a vast, mysterious world.

Xiao Yan stopped and looked at the volcanic lava nearby. His lips curved. The Green Lotus Core Flame was close!

"Hum..."

Hai Bodong arrived just behind them and surveyed the scene with equal astonishment. This was a world of fire. Even he, a Dou Ling, would not dare dive into the bubbling magma in the distance.

Xiao Yan remained calm, but he cast Qing Lin an odd look. Even Hai Bodong had wiped sweat from his brow, while the little girl looked much as usual, apart from a slight flush.

"Snake-People are cold by nature and dislike heat, but they're also more resistant to it," Hai Bodong explained with a smile when he saw Xiao Yan's confusion.

"I didn't know you were familiar with that too, Elder Hai." Xiao Yan smiled.

"I roamed the Jia Ma Empire for years. Back when the Ice Emperor's name struck fear into people, you were still a babe at the breast—if you'd even been born." Hai Bodong chuckled. The boy's origins were mysterious, his talent terrifying, and he had kept Hai Bodong firmly under his thumb. At last, Hai Bodong had won a round.

"Really?" Xiao Yan glanced casually at the bubbling lava. "Then, Ice Emperor, would you dare come down with me and see what's inside?"

Hai Bodong's eye twitched. Why did this boy have to take everything so seriously?

If he still had his Dou Emperor cultivation, he would have laughed and gone along without hesitation. But now... jumping in would be suicide.

"Qing Lin." Xiao Yan turned to the little girl, his expression growing serious. "Do you want to keep following me?"

"Yes!" Qing Lin nodded vigorously without a moment's thought.

"Then when I bring up the big snake beneath the lava, look it in the eyes for as long as you can. Your life won't be in danger, but you'll have to overcome your fear."

Xiao Yan spoke gently.

He did not want to frighten Qing Lin into awakening her Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils, but... he had no gentler way.

"A big snake? Okay!" Qing Lin had not seen any snake, but if Young Master Xiao Yan said it was there, then it was. She would do her best to overcome her fear.

The little girl's face had gone pale, yet she still nodded firmly. Xiao Yan smiled and said no more.

"Watch closely, Ice Emperor."

With that, Dark-Green Flame enveloped him, forming a thin Dou Qi Mantle. He stepped forward and dropped straight into the lava.

There was a splash, a few sparks flew up, and then all went quiet.

Hai Bodong and Qing Lin both leaned over to watch the lava below.

Several minutes passed without a sound.

"He hasn't... died, has he?" Hai Bodong asked, his expression peculiar. He could hardly describe the feeling. It was as though someone who had been fine a moment ago had suddenly jumped off a building.

"Brother Xiao Yan..." Qing Lin's little face filled with worry. The three-petal pattern between her brows grew faintly clearer.

Then, in the next instant—

BOOM!!!

A deafening rumble shook the ground. The once-calm lava erupted like a tidal wave, throwing up a dark-green figure. Columns of molten rock surged after him.

At the same time, a fiery snake with two heads and angular pupils burst out from below, hot on Xiao Yan's heels.

"Elder Hai, now!" Xiao Yan shouted.

"Tch, you..." Hai Bodong's old face twitched. Earning his keep had never been so hard.

In the next instant, the scorching air around him turned cold. Ice crystals formed on every side, then shot forward the moment Xiao Yan lured the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake into range.

"Hiss!"

The snake's hide was thick, but the sharp crystals still sliced through its scales and pierced its flesh. It shrieked in pain.

Its two heads spotted Hai Bodong on the shore, and it moved to retreat.

"After luring you out, how could I let you go back?" Xiao Yan's lips curved. The Rainbow Flight Art, which had seemed painfully slow a moment ago, burst into action. His speed multiplied severalfold, and he brought a dark Mystic Staff crashing down on one of the Fire Spirit Snake's heads.

BANG!

The instant the Mystic Staff struck the Fire Spirit Snake's scales, blood sprayed and shattered scales flew. Dark-green poisonous fire poured from the staff and burrowed into the snake's body, clinging to it like a curse. Even a Fourth-Order Magical Beast comparable to a Dou Ling could only hiss and scream in pain.

"This poisonous fire really is useful..." Golden Wings trembling behind him, Xiao Yan hovered in midair and watched the Fire Spirit Snake writhe in the sea of fire. It churned the magma as it thrashed, but its agony did not ease. Poisonous fire inside the body was no easy thing to endure. Even Xiao Yi Xian would be no exception... (The Netherworld Poison Flame was personally refined by the Old Lord, so its power was not determined by its ranking. It was comparable to one of the top three flames, which was why a Dou Shi could use it to defeat a Dou Ling.)

Only after several minutes did the exhausted Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake crawl onto solid ground. Its two pairs of slit pupils showed fatigue, fear, and a plea for mercy.

It could not take any more.

"Qing Lin."

Xiao Yan beckoned the little girl over. "Try to form a connection with it. In other words, subdue it."

"Okay!" Qing Lin's legs trembled as she looked at the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake. She edged forward and gently laid a hand on one of its heads, meeting its slit-pupiled gaze.

"Be good, little snake. You have to listen..."