First Encounter with Qing Lin, Sea Heart Flame's New Mysteries!

"Sea Heart Flame seems to have gained another property..."

Lin Chen's eyes widened. He felt as though Sea Heart Flame's power had suddenly surged by a tremendous margin. It had also acquired some of the Nine Nether Yellow Springs' chilling properties, making it truly extraordinary.

The next instant, Sea Heart Flame whooshed back into his body. An immense torrent of energy poured endlessly from the flame, coursing through his limbs and bones.

Lin Chen grunted. His entire body alternated between cold and heat, as though trapped between worlds of ice and fire. Faint, deep-blue flames streamed from his pores, while the Dou Qi within him began to condense, compress, and surge under this peculiar tempering.

For a time, his cultivation, which he had raised through pills, began skyrocketing again!

Peak four-star Dou Wang!

Five-star Dou Wang!

Peak five-star Dou Wang!

Finally, when the surging flames slowly dissipated, Lin Chen's aura settled firmly at the six-star Dou Wang level.

The instability in his Dou Qi caused by taking pills had vanished completely. An exceptionally concentrated aura spread from him!

Bang!

Lin Chen slowly opened his eyes and snapped his fingers. A ball of Dark-Blue Flame appeared, profound and tranquil like a reef beneath the deep sea. Its temperature seemed impossible to sense, yet it radiated terrifying cold.

With a flick of his finger, the Dark-Blue Flame shot out and struck the stone door at the entrance, instantly burning a bowl-sized hole deep into it.

Strangely, countless tiny crystals of frost spread around the hole, and icy cracks branched outward. It looked less like a hole burned by flames than one pierced by an invisible spear of ice!

"Tsk, tsk. After evolving, Sea Heart Flame alternates between cold and heat. It feels almost like Bone Spirit Cold Flame now. I wonder which is stronger..."

Lin Chen stroked his chin as he sensed the mysterious power of the Heavenly Flame in his hand. A gleam flashed through his eyes. He felt that Sea Heart Flame's power after evolving might not end there.

But he would have to test it himself to discover exactly what this change could do.

Not long afterward,

As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but endless desert.

The blazing sun hung high in the sky like a great fireball constantly releasing flames. Its scorching rays fell upon the golden desert, roasting the grains of sand like tiny pieces of red-hot iron.

Wisps of heat rose from the ground, warping the surrounding air.

"Lin Chen, they're coming! Hurry up and attack!"

Just then, a purple figure streaked past, shouting for him to act. Behind her, a dense grayish-brown ocean came surging forward.

On closer inspection, that grayish-brown ocean was made up of palm-sized, long-tailed venomous scorpions. Their bodies were brown, but their hooked tails were sandy yellow, making them extremely difficult to spot. These were the Yellow Sand Scorpions renowned throughout the Tagor Desert!

At a glance, they resembled a writhing tide of insects, a deeply unnerving sight.

"Got it!"

"Watch this!"

At that moment, a streak of blue light cut across the sky. Magnificent ice wings left two crystalline trails behind it, and an earth-shaking dragon's roar thundered forth!

Roar!

As the dragon's roar rang out, a vast shower of deep-blue flaming maple leaves descended. The leaves howled in the wind, weaving together and overlapping in midair to form an enormous palm imprint that blotted out the sky and sun!

The palm imprint bore patterns like maple leaves, yet it was entirely deep blue. Wherever it passed, vast numbers of venomous scorpions froze instantly, becoming lifelike ice sculptures.

In the blink of an eye, the surging ocean of venomous scorpions was sealed in ice for a thousand miles, transformed into a gray-blue sea of ice crystals!

Earth-tier Low-grade Dou Technique, Thousand-Leaf Heaven-Burning Palm!

Whoosh!

Just then, a streak of deep-blue light descended and hovered above the sea of ice crystals. The newcomer was tall and slender, dressed in blue robes, with handsome features. It was none other than Lin Chen.

He was still holding a small snake several inches long. Its entire body was jade green, and Dark-Blue Flame scorched it as it writhed constantly in agony. A thin layer of snakeskin could faintly be seen peeling away.

The flesh beneath squirmed, flickering with green light, as though undergoing an unprecedented transformation!

Lin Chen watched the little jade-green snake with a grave expression. He directed his palm toward the ground and drew it back, unleashing an immense suction force. Countless Magic Cores shot out of the venomous scorpions below, becoming jade-green crystals.

Hiss!

The little bamboo-green snake hissed and swallowed several scorpion Magic Cores in succession. Rings of green ripples immediately spread from its body. Its outer skin abruptly split apart, scattering into fragments, and its aura surged!

Fourth-Order Magical Beast!

"It worked! Lin Chen, your Heavenly Flame really can help snake-type magical beasts evolve!"

"A Third-Order Poison Jade Snake evolved into a Fourth-Order Magical Beast!"

Just then, a streak of purple light swept over. Zi Yan's eyes widened as she watched the little snake transform. Its body grew dramatically, nearly slipping out of Lin Chen's grasp.

"It only purified its bloodline. The energy needed for evolution still has to come from outside..."

"But even so, this is incredible. The Nine Nether Yellow Springs already had the ability to temper the Nine Netherworld Python Clan's bloodline and draw out their potential. It seems that after evolving, my Sea Heart Flame inherited that property perfectly..."

Understanding flashed through Lin Chen's eyes at the sight. After several days of continuous attempts, he had finally discovered through experimentation what Sea Heart Flame's chilling property could do.

In short, the Nine Nether Yellow Springs could help snakes evolve, and Sea Heart Flame possessed that ability too!

The Nine Nether Yellow Springs could not dissolve in water, but Sea Heart Flame possessed that ability as well!

Even if Sea Heart Flame could never evolve again, these two properties alone would likely be enough to place it among the leaders of the Heavenly Flame Ranking!

"Excellent, excellent. I originally planned to team up with Zi Yan to steal the Green Lotus Core Flame. To think Sea Heart Flame would evolve this ability instead. The plan I made will have to change..."

"And there's the Heavenly Snake Mansion..."

Lin Chen stroked his chin, a sudden gleam flashing through his eyes. Whatever had occurred to him made him break into a cackling laugh, prompting Zi Yan beside him to roll her eyes.

Unable to help herself, she patted him and said, "Lin Chen, what are you grinning like an idiot for? I'm hungry! Hurry up and refine pills for me. Luring those stinking scorpions for you without being allowed to stomp them to death wore me out!"

"All right, all right. Once I collect these scorpions' Magic Cores, I'll refine pills for you when we get back. You've reached five-star Dou Wang during this time too, so at least all that feeding wasn't wasted."

Lin Chen put away Sea Heart Flame and swept his sleeve. Countless scorpion Magic Cores flew from the ground and fell into the Jade-Green Ring on his hand.

Then he scooped Zi Yan into his arms and flew toward Mo City.

"Lin Chen, fly faster! I want charcoal-grilled scorpions!"

Zi Yan clutched Lin Chen's arm, her face full of excitement as she shouted.

She did not seem to mind him getting handsy with her. After all, she had long since grown used to it during this time.

A short while later,

A streak of blue light landed before the Ancient Map Map Shop. The light faded, revealing two figures.

Just then, the shop door opened, and a young girl in a green dress stepped out. Though petite, her figure was quite mature, especially her slender waist, narrow enough to encircle with one hand. As it swayed, it was as alluring as a Beauty Snake.

Her lovely, delicate oval face still held a youthful innocence. She looked only fourteen or fifteen, like a porcelain doll that stirred affection.

At that moment, a timid expression rested on the girl's face as she bowed to the newcomers.

"Hello. Welcome to the Ancient Map Map Shop."

"Please come inside, honored guests. Master Hai is drawing a map. Please do not disturb him."