Just then, Queen Medusa's Dou Qi suddenly surged without warning.
She suddenly lowered her head and looked at her hands. At her fingertips, seven-colored light was slowly flowing, growing brighter and brighter, enveloping her in a magnificent halo.
The vortex of Dou Qi in her dantian began to expand at a visible speed, and an aura far exceeding that before suddenly erupted from her body.
The surrounding magma surged and churned under the impact of this aura, forming a giant vortex centered on her. The vortex was tens of meters in diameter, and the magma at the edge of the vortex was flung up by centrifugal force.
It drew countless orange-red arcs in the air.
A rainbow of light flowed from her body, illuminating the entire Magma World in a dazzling array of colors.
The Dou Zong that had plagued her for so long finally loosened at this moment.
At that moment Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python bloodline within her body completely merged with her Dou Qi, no longer barely coexisting as before, but truly becoming one.
A brand new Dou Qi cycle slowly took shape within her body. This cycle was several times more complex than when she was at the Peak Dou Emperor. Each circulation of Dou Qi could cause the energy of heaven and earth to spontaneously flow into her body.
It took her far too long to go from the Peak Dou Emperor to Dou Zong.
For years, she had been stuck at this bottleneck, trying every possible method and consuming countless rare and precious herbs, but she was always just one step away from success.
And now, that step has finally been taken.
The Yao Lao smiled slightly, stroked his white beard, and his eyes were full of satisfaction.
He had already noticed signs of the bottleneck in Queen Medusa's body loosening while he was recuperating inside Xiao Huohuo's body, but he never expected to break through at this moment.
Dou Zong? This woman really broke through to Dou Zong?
Does that mean she wasn't at her peak when she was chasing him?
Thinking of this, Xiao Huohuo felt another layer of cold sweat break out on his back. If Yao Lao hadn't intervened in time to stop the fight, he probably wouldn't have been able to escape from a Dou Zong expert who had broken through to the peak of battle.
A moment later, Queen Medusa slowly opened her eyes. The deep green flames in her narrow, serpentine pupils had subsided, replaced by a faint halo of seven colors.
The halo of light swirled deep within her pupils, subtly altering her entire demeanor.
If she was a sharp sword drawn from its sheath before, its edge fully revealed, then at this moment she is an ancient sword that has been tempered to its ultimate perfection.
The sword's edge was not yet revealed, but its aura was already overflowing.
She looked down at her hands, feeling the unprecedented, immense power within her.
A slight, involuntary smile appeared at the corner of her mouth. The curve was so faint and fleeting that it vanished in an instant.
But Xiao Huohuo, with her sharp eyes, caught it.
She raised her head and gave Xiao Huohuo a cold look. The killing intent in that look was gone, but it still carried something indescribable.
She snorted coldly, and with a gentle flap of her seven-colored Dou Qi Wings, she transformed into a streak of seven-colored light, flying towards the exit at the bottom of the tower above the Magma World.
She didn't turn back, but paused briefly at the edge of the exit, casually uttering, " Xiao Huohuo, I've remembered those thousand-year-old spiritual herbs that Yao Lao mentioned."
"What are you all standing there for? Chase after them!" Yao Lao flicked Xiao Huohuo's forehead with his Spiritual Soul Power.
"She just stopped, didn't you see? Just because she's not killing you now doesn't mean she won't kill you in the future."
But at least for today, your life is spared.
Moreover, she has just broken through to the Dou Zong, and her Dou Qi is not yet fully stable, requiring time to consolidate her cultivation.
"Stay with her, don't let her rush up alone."
Xiao Huohuo rubbed his forehead, a relieved smile unconsciously spreading across his face. With a flap of his wings, he charged forward as well.
At the bottom of the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower, at the sealing hub.
Great Elder Su Qian stood in the very center of the sealing formation at the bottom of the tower, his white brows furrowed into a tight knot.
His face was extremely pale, and the wrinkles on his forehead looked even deeper than usual.
He could feel that familiar aura of the Fallen Heart Flame rising from the bottom of the tower to the top at an extremely terrifying speed.
It was not a wisp, nor a clump, but a complete, blazing source of the Fallen Heart Flame, powerful enough to make the entire Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower tremble.
The aura grew closer and stronger, like an ancient Ferocious Beast that had been dormant for a long time finally awakening and climbing the tower steps one by one.
The magma pool at the bottom of the tower was churning violently, and huge bubbles burst open on the surface of the magma, each bursting bringing with it a scorching aftershock of Heart Flame.
The ancient sealing runes on the tower walls flickered under the impact of this force, and some of them even began to show fine cracks.
The image of the great battle two years ago involuntarily surfaced in Su Qian's mind.
The scene was the same that day.
The Fallen Heart Flame broke through the seal, and the invisible Heart Flame swept through the entire Inner Academy.
The students screamed and fled in terror as the Heart Flame flames burned them, their souls emitting Heart Flame -wrenching cries. The elders struggled with all their might to barely suppress the Heart Flame back into the tower.
In that battle, the academy lost dozens of outstanding students and elders. Xiao Huohuo was engulfed by the primordial flames of the Fallen Heart Flame during that battle.
Only two years have passed, and the Fallen Heart Flame has already erupted again?
Su Qian took a deep breath, a resolute look appearing on her wrinkled face.
He turned around, releasing his battle Dou Qi without reservation, his voice booming like thunder across the square:
"Everyone evacuate the square immediately! Quickly!"
His voice echoed across the empty square, each word carrying an undeniable authority.
The students who were entering the tower in an orderly fashion were stunned, and the few freshmen at the front of the line stopped in their tracks, completely bewildered.
I don't know what happened.
But the veteran students, especially those who experienced the great battle two years ago.
Their reactions were incredibly fast. The moment they heard Su Qian's voice, their expressions changed; it was an instinctive reaction as ingrained memories were awakened.
Led by Lin Yan, the members of Pan Gate quickly formed a human wall, protecting the panicked freshmen behind them.
Lin Yan's voice was steady and powerful. As he waved his hand to direct the veteran members of Pan Gate to disperse the crowd, he shouted at the few freshmen who were still in a daze:
"What are you standing there for! Run! Run out of the square! Don't look back!"
Su Qian's figure had already rushed from the bottom of the tower to the tower entrance, and his Dou Qi barrier covered most of the square.
He was prepared to fight to the death, releasing his Dou Qi without reservation, Dou Qi formed a pale golden barrier around him.
He didn't turn around, but he heard the panicked footsteps of the new students and the steady, powerful commands of the veteran students behind him.
He gritted his teeth and silently said to himself, "This time, I will not let any of you get hurt."
Just then, the top of the tower exploded with a deafening roar.
Gravel and debris flew in all directions, hitting the square with dull thuds.
A transparent flame, carrying a figure, shot into the sky through the gap at the top of the tower. The transparent flame was extremely fast, leaving a long, transparent tail in the sky.
The temperature in the square suddenly soared, and the students near the top of the tower felt a wave of heat hit them, and a thin layer of sweat even appeared on their skin.
All eyes were focused on the figure.
Su Qian's first reaction was to take action.
His palm was already raised, and the Dou Qi spirit at his fingertips was rapidly gathering, preparing to confront the original incarnation of the Fallen Heart Flame.
But he quickly froze, his hand hanging in mid-air. Because he saw the figure within the transparent flame.
Bare-chested, his well-defined muscles gleamed bronze in the firelight, and his black hair flew wildly in the wind.
He recognized that face all too well. It was Xiao Huohuo. Not a statue, not a portrait.
It wasn't an image from a memory crystal, nor a hallucination he vaguely saw in the middle of the night, but a living, breathing Xiao Huohuo grinning at him.
Su Qian's eyes widened, his white beard trembling slightly in the wind.
He opened his mouth, the sound coming from his throat hoarse and trembling, carrying a hint of disbelief, and a hint of long-suppressed anticipation.
He had weathered countless storms in his life and was used to keeping his emotions hidden, but at this moment he found himself completely unable to control his voice:
"Xiao... Xiao Huohuo?"
Xiao Huohuo looked down at the chaotic square below, at the panicked freshmen and the seasoned veterans who were on high alert.
Great Elder Su Qian was suspended in mid-air, frozen in place, his hands still in a posture ready to unleash an attack.
His lips slowly parted to reveal his signature smug grin.
That smile remained his usual carefree demeanor, as if the life-or-death ordeal of the past two years was merely a fleeting doze off in class.
"Oh, Elder, long time no see. Isn't this welcome a bit too much? I thought you were going to chop me in half with one palm."
Su Qian remained silent.
He just stood there, looking at Xiao Huohuo, for a very long time.
For two years, he has walked to the bottom of the tower countless times during his midnight patrols, staring blankly at the rolling lava.
He told himself that Xiao Huohuo was dead, dead in that great battle, dead in the flames of the Fallen Heart Flame, leaving not even a bone behind. But he also felt more than once that the kid wasn't so easy to kill.
He was so cunning and capable of causing trouble, how could he possibly die like that?
Then he smiled. Something shimmered in that smile—was it sunlight, or something else—perhaps it was the wind finally bringing tears to his presbyopia.
He muttered a curse under his breath, his voice so hoarse it was almost inaudible, but Xiao Huohuo heard it clearly:
"You brat, you finally know how to come back."
Xiao Huohuo's smile faltered slightly.
He looked at Su Qian's wrinkled face and her eyes, which were still sharp but clearly more tired.
He suddenly realized he didn't know what to say.
Xiao Huohuo scratched the back of his head, somewhat embarrassed, and said:
"Elder, please don't do this. There are so many people watching, it's so embarrassing."
I'm back now.
Black-Corner Region, Maple City, City Lord's Mansion.
Han Feng stood by the study window, facing the direction of the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower.
Outside the window lay the densely packed buildings of Maple City, with the Black Alliance's battle flags fluttering on their rooftops, the black flags with red stripes swaying in the night wind.
The blood-red skull embroidered on the flag gleamed with a cold, eerie light under the moonlight.
But his gaze was not on the battle flags, nor on the city he had ruled for many years.
He was looking in the direction of the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower.
In that direction, a faint red light could be seen in the darkness; it was the light emitted by the sealing hub at the top of the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower as it activated.
His hands were behind his back, his fingers unconsciously twisting together—a habitual gesture he made when he was thinking.
" The Fallen Heart Flame has erupted again, causing unrest within the Jia Nan Academy."
An unusual energy fluctuation was detected in the direction of the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower, with an intensity far exceeding any previous occurrence, suggesting that someone may have broken free from the tower's seal.
Han Feng slowly crumpled the secret report into a ball and held it in his palm. He looked down at the crumpled paper in his hand and remained silent for a moment.
He was alone in the study. The Zhu Huo burned quietly on the lampstand, casting his long shadow on the opposite wall.
His fingers tightened suddenly, and with a slight exertion of force at his fingertips, a pale blue Sea Heart Flame ignited in his palm.
The paper ball instantly turned into a wisp of smoke under the scorching heat of the Sea Heart Flame, leaving not even ashes behind.
The wisps of smoke rose between his fingers and dissipated into the air, just like the opportunity he had two years ago to nip it in the bud, gone forever.
He turned around, a ruthless glint flashing in his cold eyes on his thin face.
We can't wait any longer.
Han Feng took a deep breath, strode out of the study, and headed towards the council hall of the city lord's mansion.
Inside the main hall, the main leaders of the Black Alliance had gathered together.
Among these people were veteran leaders of forces in the Black-Corner Region, fugitives who had defected from other regions, and headhunters who had coveted the resources of the Jia Nan Academy for many years.
There are also a few Dou Wang expert that Han Feng has won over over the years with pills and benefits.
They stood in twos and threes in the main hall, some talking in hushed tones, others wiping their weapons—the weapons still bearing the dark bloodstains from the last battle.
Some leaned against pillars, closed their eyes to rest, and awaited the leader's command.
When Han Feng walked in, all the sounds stopped.
All eyes were focused on the leader of the Black Alliance. Han Feng didn't exchange any pleasantries and went straight to the high platform in front of the main hall.
He turned around and slowly swept his gaze over the various Black-Corner Region experts below the stage.
Everyone looked at Han Feng, but no one spoke.
The atmosphere in the main hall was as heavy as the deathly silence before a storm, with only the occasional faint crackling of the Zhu Huo.