"Seriously, what a waste of my time."
"This damn system completely lost contact after we entered the Fog Sea Area!"
Holding Huo Yutong in his arms, Huo Tian hovered above Flame Island's coast with a cigar between his lips.
Huo Yutong stared at the cigar in Huo Tian's mouth, scratching her head in bewilderment. She had truly never seen anything like it.
Huo Yutong buried her cheek in the crook of Huo Tian's neck. She remembered that the cigar seemed to have come from that big, dark-skinned fellow in the Soul Tool Department.
He Caitou's appearance was still fresh in Huo Yutong's memory, and she unconsciously poked her own hand.
Huo Tian landed on Flame Island's beach with Huo Yutong. The moment they landed, both could feel the temperature around them steadily rising.
Huo Tian exhaled smoke and tossed the cigar in his hand into the sea. He released Soul Power to protect Huo Yutong's body.
Huo Tian stamped his foot, leaving a pit beneath it, then released Soul Power to probe their surroundings. His Soul Power immediately covered a radius of nearly a hundred meters.
Huo Tian discovered that all the flowers, grasses, and trees on Flame Island contained fire elements. Apart from a small number of plants, he felt that this environment was very similar to the Vermilion Bird Secret Realm from a year ago.
"Little Yutong, let's go inside and have a look."
"Okay."
Huo Yutong took Huo Tian's hand of her own accord. He tightened his grip on hers, and they set off together, leaving the beach and heading deeper into the forest.
Huo Tian discovered that the closer they drew to the forest, the hotter their surroundings became. Fortunately, the Evil Fire within him continuously absorbed the high-temperature aura coming from outside.
"Chubby!"
Huo Tian called into the air. He waited a while, but the system never appeared, and he fell silent.
Seeing Huo Tian stop, Huo Yutong stopped as well and began releasing her Martial Soul.
Golden light instantly shone from Huo Yutong's eyes as she unleashed Holy Light Detection and Holy Light Sharing. A vast energy net formed from Mental Power appeared before Huo Tian's eyes.
Looking at the clearly visible surroundings, Huo Tian felt a small jolt of shock. He had not expected the range of Huo Yutong's Holy Light Detection to have increased by another fifty meters.
The comprehensive detection range of Huo Yutong's Martial Soul had now reached 350 meters. Whether in team battles or individual fights in the future, this Soul Skill of hers would be downright diabolical.
"Not bad. Your detection range has increased again. In a while, your master will get you a powerful Second Martial Soul."
"Little Yutong, that way, you'll be able to both scout and take hits head-on."
A smile appeared on Huo Tian's face, and he raised a hand to pat Huo Yutong's shoulder gently. He had already decided to choose the Ice Dragon King as her Second Martial Soul.
The Ice Dragon King commanded both Ultimate Ice and Ultimate Water. Pairing this Power Attack System Martial Soul with Huo Yutong would truly be seamless as a heavenly robe.
"Master, what Second Martial Soul have you chosen for me?"
The two continued deeper into the forest. Huo Yutong clasped her hands together behind her back, skipping along.
The reason Huo Tian did not fly with Huo Yutong was that he had sensed a magnetic field on Flame Island. They could not fly here for long, or they would lose Soul Power.
"Let's choose the Ice Dragon King as your Second Martial Soul! This Martial Soul is one of the Nine Great Dragon Kings."
"Hmm, never heard of it."
Huo Yutong lifted her head and gazed at Huo Tian's extremely sharp jawline with an uncomprehending expression. Huo Tian waved a hand helplessly.
It would have been strange if Huo Yutong really had heard of it.
"Little Yutong, I'll explain it to you later."
The two headed deeper through the undergrowth. From time to time, Huo Tian also sent out messages through his Soul Power, hoping Yan Shaozhe and Xuan Zi could receive them.
Huo Tian figured that since even he could reach Flame Island, the other two certainly could as well. Still, he was a little worried about Yan Shaozhe.
Yan Shaozhe was currently only a rank-95 Super Douluo. Running into a Sea Soul Beast aged 150,000 years or more on his own would give him plenty to choke on.
Yan Shaozhe also disliked using Soul Tools, so he basically never equipped himself with rank-9 offensive or defensive Soul Tools.
After walking through the fiery-red forest for two hours, the two finally emerged from it, greeted by a vast grassland stretching as far as the eye could see.
Huo Tian gazed at the enormous grassland, red swath after red swath. Even the low-level Soul Beasts living here were all fire-attribute beasts.
There was one thing Huo Tian could not understand. Mu En had easily found Flame Island and had even flown over it to explore the entire island.
Yet when it was Huo Tian's turn to find this island, difficulties had piled up at every step. He vaguely suspected someone was playing tricks.
"Could it be... the gods of the Divine Realm?"
Huo Tian raised his head, his eyes fixed on the clear blue sky. The sun shone high overhead, and he stopped dwelling on it.
"Little Yutong, climb onto your master's back."
Huo Yutong quickly climbed onto Huo Tian's back, clinging tightly to him like a vine. Huo Tian had to find that 180,000-year-old Nirvana Divine Bird as soon as possible.
Huo Tian took a step back, and Evil Fire instantly spread from his entire body. He shot forward like an arrow released from a fully drawn bow.
A streak of light barreled across the fiery-red grassland, sending the low-level fire-type Soul Beasts living there flying.
Huo Yutong wrapped her legs even more tightly around Huo Tian's strong abdomen. She found it truly exhilarating.
Huo Tian's legs kept picking up speed as he began thinking over the specific location of the Nirvana Divine Bird that Mu En had told him about.
Huo Tian could not guarantee that his arrival would not completely change where the Nirvana Divine Bird lived.
Mu En had said that after passing through a forest and crossing a red grassland, they would see one Flame Mountain Range after another.
Many Flame Mountain Ranges stood in the center of Flame Island, and the one at the very center was home to that 350,000-year-old fire-type flying Soul Beast.
Even Mu En had not dared approach the central Flame Mountain Range lightly, because that 350,000-year-old fire-type flying Soul Beast possessed strength comparable to Di Tian's.
That was only Mu En's own objective assessment.
Huo Tian headed north across the grassland, because he could see the Flame Mountain Ranges in the distance. The closer he drew to them, the more sharply the surrounding temperature rose.
Huo Tian had to release Soul Power both to run at high speed and to continuously counteract the fiery aura around them.
Huo Tian himself was fine in this scorching environment, but Huo Yutong could not withstand it, so half the Soul Power within him went toward protecting her.
After running for two hours, they finally reached the boundary between the Flame Mountain Ranges and the grassland. The dividing line between the grass and the volcanic soil was extremely distinct.
"Head ten kilometers west from the central Flame Mountain Range, and we'll find the mountain range where the Nirvana Divine Bird lives."
Huo Tian immediately turned west. The continuous running had consumed a great deal of Soul Power, and his legs were beginning to feel a little weak.
Huo Tian was really starting to envy those with Soul Cores.
The two passed one Flame Mountain Range after another before finally arriving at the foot of a smaller one.
Many fire-attribute lesser dragons were living at the foot of this Flame Mountain Range, and Huo Tian recognized every one of them.