Luring You into the Trap, Two Great Heavenly Flames!

Within the dim passage,

Everything was pitch-black; they could not even see their hands before their faces.

Smack!

"Lin Chen, don't smack my butt!"

"Ahem, I was just afraid I'd lose you. I was checking your position."

Boom!

With an explosive burst of air, a dazzling ball of flame rose in the darkness, instantly driving back the gloom. In mere moments, Lin Chen slid down with Zi Yan and landed underground.

Before them, a deep-blue fireball hovered in midair, illuminating the dozen or so narrow passages around them.

Every passage was unfathomably deep, like a gaping maw of darkness waiting to devour people. Their twisting, winding interiors sent a sinister chill through anyone who looked inside.

"Lin Chen, which one do we take?"

"There are so many passages here!"

Zi Yan looked at the passages before her, her little face scrunching up like a chrysanthemum as she complained unhappily.

"This one."

Deep-blue light flickered in Lin Chen's eyes. He pointed toward a slightly wider passage and strode into it.

Heavenly flames could sense one another. With the sea heart flame guiding him, he was certain he had found the right direction.

Seeing this, Zi Yan hurried after him.

At the same time, the sound of someone landing came from within the passage.

Bang, bang!

A figure carrying the Heavy Ruler on his back dropped straight down from above. Powerful thrusts erupted from his palms as he struck out repeatedly, sending invisible currents of air outward to counter his downward momentum before he landed solidly on the ground.

After landing, Xiao Yan let out a soft breath. Seeing the pair leaving swiftly ahead, he hurried after them and shouted, "Senior, wait for me..."

A short while later,

At the end of the passage, a fiery-red world appeared before the three of them.

"Gurgle..."

Crimson bubbles rose from the magma, then burst in midair, scattering countless sparks and stirring splashes of molten rock across the vast Magma Lake.

"It's so hot here, but we should be very close to that thing now..."

Feeling the temperature around her, Zi Yan twitched her delicate nose, then looked down into the Magma Lake. She licked her lips, a gleam of craving flashing through her eyes.

Lin Chen nodded slightly in agreement with Zi Yan, but he did not rashly descend.

He reached out and grasped the air, conjuring a large saber of deep-blue flame. Its blade was long and narrow, about three feet in length, with tongues of profound blue flame several inches long flickering along its edge, making it look extraordinary.

"It should be down there. But before that, let me deal with the hidden danger here."

With that, he swung the saber. Streaks of deep-blue saber light several yards long shot outward. In the blink of an eye, they filled the sky, forming a dense net that sealed off every avenue of escape as it descended over the Magma Lake.

Rumble!

The flaming net swept down over the magma, stirring up countless sparks. Molten rock suddenly erupted everywhere, and an enormous creature shot skyward, trying to escape the net's deadly blades and flee this zone of death.

But how could a mere fourth-order magical beast withstand saber light empowered by a heavenly flame?

Crack, crack!

In mere moments, terrifying cold erupted from the deep-blue saber light. In the blink of an eye, the countless erupting pillars of magma stopped short, turning into pillars of sculpted ice. Even the enormous creature was no exception.

It instantly became an ice sculpture of a two-headed serpent magical beast and crashed heavily onto the nearby ground with a sharp crack.

"All right, let's go down and take a look. That beast was probably the heavenly flame's guardian."

"Once spiritual treasures of heaven and earth reach a certain stage of growth, they attract magical beasts of varying strengths. Some come to devour the treasure, while some treasures need these beasts to guard them. In short, the two share a mutually supportive relationship."

Lin Chen offered this explanation, then swept his sleeve. A deep-blue flame barrier enveloped him and Zi Yan, and he turned toward the dumbstruck Xiao Yan beside them.

Old fellow, let's see you keep hiding now...

At this thought, his mischievous streak flared. A teasing glint flashed through his eyes as he said, "Young brother, the temperature beneath this magma is extraordinarily high. Only a Dou Wang expert or a special magical beast can withstand it. You're merely a Dou Shi. If you have no way to protect yourself, you'd best stay here."

With that, he paid Xiao Yan no further attention. He instantly became a streak of deep-blue light and shot down into the Magma Lake!

"Teacher, what should I do?"

Seeing this, anxiety flashed through Xiao Yan's eyes. All the signs now suggested that the heavenly flame was very likely below.

After all the hardships I endured to find this place, am I supposed to give up just because I'm not strong enough?

"Ah, foolish boy..."

Inside the Bone Flame Ring, Yao Lao sighed. He knew he had no choice but to act now. If he did not, their bond as master and disciple would likely end here.

After all, he was the one who had urged Xiao Yan to cultivate the Flame Mantra. Now that a chance to evolve it lay right before them, how could he refuse to help?

Even if doing so exposed his existence, he could no longer afford to worry about that.

So be it. They're only two Dou Wang experts. Even if they harbor ill intentions, I have ways to deal with them.

Yao Lao silently weighed things over, then transmitted his voice. "Little Yanzi, release control of your body. I'll lend you my power for now."

At those words, Xiao Yan's eyes lit up, and delight instantly swept over him. He released the restraints of his soul, and an immense power surged from every part of his body.

Hiss, hiss!

A thin layer of bone white flame burst forth, covering his entire body. Then a white gleam flashed through "Xiao Yan's" eyes. With a sweep of his sleeve, he instantly parted the magma before him and darted in the direction Lin Chen had gone.

Beneath the Magma Lake,

Countless streams of dark-red magma flowed slowly. Occasionally, bubbles burst, churning an area and shattering the black rocks around it.

But on the whole, very few creatures could survive in this extreme environment, where the temperature reached several thousand degrees.

Aside from the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake that Lin Chen had frozen, they had yet to encounter any other creatures.

As the pair continued descending, the magma around them grew hotter and hotter. Its dark-red color began to take on a faint green tint, showing signs of changing into that hue.

"Lin Chen, are we almost there? It's so scary here. I feel like I'd turn into charcoal in an instant if I were exposed to the magma..."

Inside the deep-blue barrier, Zi Yan huddled in Lin Chen's arms and spoke timidly, her little face still full of lingering fear.

"We're here. Look ahead."

Lin Chen patted Zi Yan's little head, a hint of a smile on his face, and pointed toward the magma ahead.

There was not a trace of dark red there. Instead, green light shrouded the entire area, and within that glow, a green lotus with eight petals grew in serene grace.

The entire lotus was smooth as jade. At a glance, it seemed a seamless whole, like a flawless piece of green jade. At its center was a three-inch lotus seat dotted with holes that gave off a faint luminescence, seemingly containing lotus seeds.

Beneath the lotus was an extremely slender stem more than ten meters long. It was rooted in the surrounding magma, greedily absorbing the energy within.

"Is that the green lotus core flame?"

Just then, a bone-white figure came darting over. The moment the surrounding magma touched him, it was devoured by the bone white flame, creating a remarkably strange sight.

"Old sir, might I ask what business you have possessing this young brother of mine?"

Lin Chen looked at Xiao Yan, who had been subjected to the Heaven Tier Dou Technique, Possession, and a faint smile curved his lips. His question carried the air of someone whose expectations had just been confirmed.