The light I lent you-it's time to give it back

After spending these past days together in Stone Desert City, Qing Lin had opened her heart completely to Luo Yang and felt no resistance or aversion to their everyday displays of affection.

On the contrary, she liked them very much and looked forward to them.

"Elder Hai, sorry to trouble you again."

"No need to stand on ceremony."

Without another word, Hai Bodong sent Ice Dou Qi into the passage Qing Lin had just pointed out.

Then they entered the passage.

In the pitch-black tunnel, Hai Bodong took the lead, clearing the way.

Luo Yang held Qing Lin tightly in his arms. Pressed close together, they kept sliding down the sloping passage.

There was very little friction on the ice, and their descent was like riding a slide, taking them down very quickly.

The ice Hai Bodong had condensed with his Dou Qi even gave off a faint glow, sparing Luo Yang the trouble of using a flashlight.

After sliding for nearly two or three minutes, Luo Yang saw Hai Bodong suddenly stop ahead, seemingly having reached the bottom.

He immediately flexed his feet slightly. A moment later, with a soft thud, he landed with his body bowed, bending and straightening to dissipate all the force of the impact.

Once on the ground, Luo Yang released Qing Lin from his embrace.

Tushan Rongrong, who brought up the rear, slowly landed a moment later as well.

There were many passages here too. After having Qing Lin "sniff out" the right one again like a search dog, they set off once more.

In the dark, deep passage, time seemed to have no meaning, and they continued onward rather stiffly.

The passage, too, seemed endless. Its end remained out of sight, as though... they were walking ever farther toward the center of the earth...

As they ventured deeper, they suddenly noticed the coolness surrounding them vanish, replaced by a faint heat.

Sensing the change, Luo Yang slowly stopped and turned his head slightly.

"There's magma down below, which puts your ice-attribute Dou Qi at a disadvantage. Elder Hai, you don't need to come down."

"But there's one more thing I need to trouble you with. Go back to the surface and guard the entrance. Your ice must have drawn quite a few desert mercenaries and magical beasts looking to escape the heat. Please don't let anything that breathes come near this place..."

"Mm, leave it to me."

The scorching underground magma was far beyond anything the yellow sands above could compare to. Hai Bodong had not wanted to go down anyway, so he nodded.

Following the passage he had just cleared with ice, Hai Bodong returned to the surface without a hitch.

Luo Yang, Tushan Rongrong, and Qing Lin continued onward.

Without Hai Bodong beside them, the deeper they went, the more unbearable the dry heat became. All moisture in the air had long since evaporated.

Fiery-red magma flowed slowly through an enormous underground cavern.

Occasionally, enormous bubbles rose from the magma. Moments later, with a faint pop, they burst, spraying scorching magma out in a dazzling display like fiery-red fireworks.

Standing at the end of the narrow passage, the three gazed at the seemingly boundless Magma World before them. Amid their shock, all three involuntarily swallowed.

"Even though I was mentally prepared, actually seeing something like this still makes my liver tremble a little..." Luo Yang wiped the sweat from his forehead, a layer of crimson Dou Qi enveloping his body.

After all, Luo Yang had only transmigrated half a year ago and had seen too little of the world. This was his first time seeing magma with his own eyes. Fortunately, his Dou Qi had a fire attribute; otherwise, this really would have been difficult.

"It's too hot down here. Go get the lotus throne and lotus seeds yourself. Qing Lin and I will wait here." Tushan Rongrong spread her Demonic Power to envelop herself and Qing Lin.

She had long known that Queen Medusa had taken the source of the Green Lotus Core Flame, but she also knew that two supreme treasures, the Earth Fire Lotus Throne and Earth Core Lotus Seeds, remained below. They had helped Xiao Yan greatly in the original story and carried no small amount of karma, so naturally, they could not be missed.

"Don't worry. Mere magma can't do anything to me. I'll just treat it as going for a swim."

Seeing the worry in Qing Lin's eyes, Luo Yang knew his affection for her had not been wasted. He reached out and stroked her head.

"Mm-hmm! Young Master is the best." Qing Lin gripped the hem of Luo Yang's clothes tightly and said with a smile.

Although Tushan Rongrong and Luo Yang both treated her very well, for some reason, Qing Lin was a little closer to Luo Yang and relied on him more.

"But before that, there's one more thing..." Luo Yang picked up a rock twice the size of his fist, coated it in his Dou Qi, and hurled it into the magma with all his strength.

Splash!!!

The stone struck as though hitting water, sending up an enormous "splash" with a dull sound.

"Young Master, it's coming..."

Qing Lin stared fixedly at a spot in the constantly churning magma. Flecks of dim light appeared in her emerald eyes, as though her gaze had pierced through the obstructing magma and seen the mysterious thing hidden beneath.

As Qing Lin's voice fell, a muffled boom suddenly rang out from the tranquil magma lake below, and countless streams of scorching magma erupted in that instant.

Amid the molten rock spraying through the air, an enormous, mysterious creature suddenly burst out of the magma.

Breaking through the magma with a shrill hiss, the mysterious creature shot toward the three on the shore. The wildly flying magma stirred the calm magma lake into a sudden frenzy, sending pillars of molten fire surging skyward in a spectacular sight.

Luo Yang showed no panic at all. He swiftly shielded the two girls behind him and took a Y-shaped object from his inner pocket.

"The light I lent you back then-now, it's time to give it back..."

He took a long look at the Y-shaped object in his hand, then held it upright before his chest and willed it to act.

Click-

The Y-shaped object gave a crisp click, then unfolded from the middle, unleashing golden lightning and dazzling white light as it gradually transformed and merged with Luo Yang's body.

The brilliant light forced both Tushan Rongrong and Qing Lin to turn their heads and close their eyes.

By the time the dazzling light faded, Luo Yang was already gone from before the two girls, and they could also see the mysterious creature clearly.

Its body was extremely long, measuring at least forty or fifty feet at a rough glance. It was fiery red all over, its body densely covered in palm-sized red scales. Most astonishing of all, this magical beast actually had two heads...

It was none other than one of the targets of their journey, the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake.

Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snakes generally lived in places of extreme heat, surviving by devouring magma. They had tremendous potential for evolution. At birth, they were merely rank-one magical beasts, but with sufficient fortuitous opportunities, they might evolve into rank-six magical beasts comparable to human Dou Huang experts.

And barring the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake's path was a warrior bathed entirely in holy light.

The light slowly faded, revealing the figure within. A diamond-shaped crystal sat on the forehead of his silvery-white head, and his large, oval eyes shone with holy light. Red and blue stripes crisscrossed his streamlined body, and a sapphire-blue, gemlike luminous object was set in the very center of his chest.

Every inch was just right, a work of heavenly craftsmanship that could be called perfect.

"I feel... fantastic..."