Reaching the edge of the pit, Xiao Ce did not jump straight down. Instead, he spoke to the Ninth Grade Golden Pill, asking her to release her Dou Qi to support him and lower him slowly.
He was still only a Dou Shi. Even though his physical constitution rivaled that of a Sixth Rank Magical Beast, jumping straight down such a deep pit was hardly advisable.
If only I could fly. Looks like I need to find some time to get started with the Purple Cloud Wings, or tame a flying pet beast to carry me around in the future, Xiao Ce planned inwardly.
As he was thinking, his feet touched the rocky ground, supported by the Ninth Grade Golden Pill's Dou Qi.
Looking at the crimson rocks beneath his feet and the vast sea of magma before him, Xiao Ce guessed that this was where the Green Lotus Core Flame had been located in the original story.
Of course, there was something else that could confirm his guess.
Xiao Ce casually picked up a loose stone from the ground and hurled it into the magma.
The stone landed in the magma, throwing up a small splash, and a dark shadow moved beneath the surface.
Soon, a Fourth Rank Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake poked its heads out of the magma and let out a scorching hiss at Xiao Ce.
A wave of heat struck his face. Xiao Ce summoned the myriad beast spirit flame to block it, a slight grin spreading across his lips.
The appearance of the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake confirmed beyond doubt that this was where the Green Lotus Core Flame was located.
Looking at the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake, Xiao Ce had no intention of controlling it.
First, Qing Lin was not with him, and he had no means of making the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake submit completely. Even if he subdued it by force, the snake might well harbor crooked intentions.
Second, he had Mysterious Yellow Flame, and he possessed Heavenly Flames himself. He could easily rely on the perception between Heavenly Flames to reach the green lotus where the Green Lotus Core Flame resided.
At that thought, Xiao Ce said to Mysterious Yellow Flame inside his body, "Mysterious Yellow, knock this Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake unconscious. Don't let it get in our way."
Mysterious Yellow Flame did exactly as told, without a single question, simply carrying out his order obediently.
The Ninth Grade Golden Pill, however, asked Xiao Ce curiously, "Father, why only knock it unconscious? Wouldn't it be better to kill it outright?"
Xiao Ce had grown completely accustomed to the Ninth Grade Golden Pill's rather brutal disposition and took no offense, replying casually, "It'll still be useful."
A Fourth Rank Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake fell right within Qing Lin's contracting limit. Leaving it for her as a contracted Magical Beast was a good choice.
He was going to Stone Desert City sooner or later anyway. He would never pass up Qing Lin, the owner of the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils with such enormous potential, so naturally, he needed to make plans for her in advance.
The Ninth Grade Golden Pill murmured an uncomprehending acknowledgment, having gleaned no useful information at all.
By then, Mysterious Yellow Flame had already left Xiao Ce's body and resumed the form of a beautiful woman. With a casual wave of her hand, a terrifying force made the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake go rigid and faint, its body sinking into the magma.
With the obstacle of the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake removed, Xiao Ce had Mysterious Yellow Flame lead the way and shield him from the scorching magma along the way.
Mysterious Yellow Flame nodded, approached Xiao Ce, and gathered him into her arms, holding him tightly.
Feeling Mysterious Yellow Flame's two enormous, soft breasts against him, Xiao Ce did not refuse, though he was somewhat bewildered. "Why do we have to do this?"
Mysterious Yellow Flame spouted nonsense with a perfectly straight face. "My power is meager. Only by protecting you at close quarters can I keep you from harm, Master."
A Two-Star Dou Saint's power was meager? How interesting.
Xiao Ce held back his amusement and did not contradict Mysterious Yellow Flame.
Held in Mysterious Yellow Flame's embrace, Xiao Ce entered the magma.
Viscous magma pressed in around him. Nothing remained in Xiao Ce's vision but crimson, and he lost all sense of direction. Only the faint sensations transmitted by the emperor flame and myriad beast spirit flame inside him allowed him to confirm their course.
Time ticked by. Mysterious Yellow Flame's power spoke for itself; even after they had descended for a long time, it showed no sign of weakening.
Recalling the tremendous might of Dou Sheng Experts in the original story, Xiao Ce strongly suspected that Mysterious Yellow Flame could take him straight to the Green Lotus Core Flame.
But seeing the faint smile on Mysterious Yellow Flame's face as she held him, he voiced no questions.
After another stretch of time, as the response from the Heavenly Flames inside him grew stronger and stronger, Xiao Ce suddenly felt that the fiery red filling his vision seemed to have faded somewhat.
Finally, as though passing through some barrier, Xiao Ce saw the green lotus deep within the magma.
The lotus was in full bloom, radiating a dense fire-attribute aura. At its center, a green flame filled Xiao Ce with joy.
"The Green Lotus Core Flame, nineteenth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking!" Xiao Ce said aloud.
Landing on the green lotus's platform, Xiao Ce quickly approached the Green Lotus Core Flame.
The Green Lotus Core Flame was not docile. Sensing someone approaching, it immediately attacked on instinct.
The green flame abruptly surged higher, releasing searing heat.
Mysterious Yellow Flame's flames covered Xiao Ce's body. The instant the Green Lotus Core Flame's green flames touched those yellow flames, they recoiled as though encountering a natural enemy, trembling all over in terror.
More precisely, it was not "as though" encountering a natural enemy. This should indeed have been its natural enemy.
Heavenly Flames were as incompatible as fire and water. The instincts to devour and oppose one another were etched deep into their flame seeds.
In the original story, even with the Flame Mantra, Xiao Yan could only barely fuse a few Heavenly Flames together. He could not stop them from being hostile to one another.
If he withdrew the Flame Mantra's special Dou Qi, the terrifying conflict between the Heavenly Flames would erupt immediately.
Buddha's Fury Fire Lotus was a Dou Technique developed by exploiting the conflict between Heavenly Flames and drawing on the tremendous energy generated in that instant.
With his palm wrapped in Mysterious Yellow Flame, Xiao Ce thrust his hand forcefully straight into the Green Lotus Core Flame, reaching all the way into its deepest part and seizing its flame seed.
As a mature Heavenly Flame, the Green Lotus Core Flame was considerably more violent than the myriad beast spirit flame. With its flame seed seized, it immediately unleashed all its power to attack Xiao Ce.
But before Mysterious Yellow Flame, whose cultivation was at the Dou Sheng level, the Green Lotus Core Flame, whose cultivation merely rivaled a Dou Zong's, was no different from an ant trying to shake a tree. It failed to hinder him in the slightest.
Xiao Ce held the Green Lotus Core Flame's flame seed and used Mysterious Yellow Flame to wrap the Green Lotus Core Flame completely, suspending it beside him. He planned to begin absorbing it after leaving this place.
For now, he wanted to collect both the Green Lotus Platform that had nurtured the Green Lotus Core Flame and all the earth fire lotus seeds.
Both were rare companion treasures of the Green Lotus Core Flame and were immensely useful.
The Green Lotus Platform, in particular, had been assessed by Yao Lao as capable of increasing cultivation speed three- to fourfold.
That assessment was somewhat exaggerated, of course. But in a place with abundant fire-attribute energy like the Tagor Desert, the Earth Fire Lotus Platform could help filter out impurities and indeed accelerate cultivation considerably. At the very least, doubling his speed would not be difficult.
Normally, raising his cultivation by one star within the Dou Shi realm would take him a month and a half to two months.
If he cultivated on this Green Lotus Platform, gaining one star a month would certainly be no problem.
In that case, wouldn't breaking through to Da Dou Shi and obtaining his next deployment opportunity be just around the corner?
And he must not forget that he still had over a hundred bottles of ice spirit cold spring on him, along with the earth fire lotus seeds he was about to acquire.
Absorbing these things would all provide considerable increases to his cultivation.
Taking into account the cultivation increase from absorbing the Green Lotus Core Flame as well, he would most likely be able to break straight through to Da Dou Shi and obtain his fourth deployment opportunity!
Before you continue