Ten days later, in the mountains on the outskirts of the Tagor Desert.
A Red-Cyan Flame rolled and danced in his hand. Sitting cross-legged on the Green Lotus base, Xiao Yan slowly exhaled a stale breath, as though a great weight had lifted from him.
"Whew..."
Xiao Yan lowered his head and gazed at the Red-Cyan Flame resting quietly in his palm, irrepressible joy and excitement flashing in his eyes.
"It worked!"
He suddenly raised his head toward the elderly soul projection hovering in midair. A radiant smile spread across his face, and his voice trembled slightly with excitement.
"Teacher, I did it!"
Yao Chen stood with his hands behind his back. A gratified smile appeared on his aged face, while a faint glimmer of tears shone in his clouded eyes.
"Good! Good! Good!"
He repeated the word three times, his soul projection trembling slightly. Clearly, he was just as excited.
"Little Yanzi, do you know how close you came to the gates of death these past few days?"
At those words, Xiao Yan's smile faded a little, and a trace of lingering fear flickered in his eyes.
Of course he knew.
Refining the Green Lotus Core Flame had been far more dangerous than he had imagined.
That green flame, born deep within the earth, seemed docile, yet held the terrifying power to burn mountains and boil seas.
The instant the Lotus Platform's seal was released, violent fire energy flooded his body like waters bursting through a dam. Wherever it passed, his meridians scorched inch by inch, and even his Dou Qi caught fire!
Burning, tempering his body, absorbing, repairing, devouring, refining...
Every step was like dancing on a knife's edge. The slightest misstep would have reduced him to ashes!
Meanwhile, Yao Chen had used his vast Soul Force to