Chapter 103: Green Lotus Core Flame
In the pitch-black and deep tunnel, three streaks of light of different colors were swiftly darting forward at high speed.
The deeper they went, the chill of the underground completely disappeared, replaced by an intense heat. Even the surrounding elemental energy had fully transformed into fire-attribute energy. The earth-attribute energy inherent in the underground had been so thoroughly suppressed that it was barely detectable.
Hai Bodong, whose Dou Qi was of the ice attribute, naturally sensed the fire energy very clearly. As he felt the rapidly rising temperature around them, he couldn't help but speak. "The fire energy here is way too dense!"
"This place is indeed unusual. We're not even at the deepest point yet, and the fire energy has already reached this level. The heavenly flame you're looking for might really be below."
Cai Lin cast a glance at Yao Yan who was leading the way. Even in her cold and elegant eyes, a trace of anticipation appeared. After all, heavenly flames—those rare wonders birthed by the world—were things she had only heard of, never seen. Now that she had a chance to witness one with her own eyes, how could she not feel stirred? It was said that Queen Medusa's bloodline possessed a secret technique to evolve through heavenly flames.
If they truly found one this time, she might even ask Yao Yan to lend her its power and use it to transform her own bloodline!
"We're almost there."
Yao Yan chuckled upon hearing this, his eyes growing increasingly fervent. His speed also increased slightly. Ever since cultivating Flame Mantra, and successfully devouring the Phantom Gold Flame through it, he had developed an intense craving for these powerful flames and heavenly flames.
Once he devoured the Green Lotus Core Flame, not only would Flame Mantra evolve, but his strength would also skyrocket. And when he eventually met Hun Xu Zi again, he would even have a proper reason to ask for help in seeking more heavenly flames!
Flame Mantra, as a technique alone, was worthless in Hun Xu Zi's eyes—mere chicken ribs.
But if Yao Yan could master it and successfully devour several heavenly flames, it would be a whole different story!
As time passed, the trio soon arrived at a fiery red world.
A vast underground cavern appeared before them, its interior filled with slowly flowing magma. From time to time, huge bubbles would rise and burst, releasing scalding magma in explosive jets. The entire domain was saturated with fire-attributed energy.
At this moment, Yao Yan could feel the Flame Mantra inside his body speeding up under the influence of the surrounding energy. Just like a human seeing delicious food, Flame Mantra seemed to sense the "delicacy" nearby.
"Heavenly flame…"
Yao Yan felt the desire swelling within and sighed internally. When he devoured the Phantom Gold Flame, his body had never reacted like this. Perhaps it was because this was a true heavenly flame that even his cells seemed to be cheering with excitement.
Both Cai Lin and Hai Bodong were Dou Huang-level powerhouses. With their physical constitutions and Dou Qi, they had no need to worry about the heat around them.
"There's no path ahead. Looks like your heavenly flame is likely within the magma."
Cai Lin's cold and elegant eyes scanned the surroundings. After a brief pause, she looked at the scarlet magma below and spoke in a slightly tense tone.
Yao Yan stared into the magma and spoke slowly. "The Green Lotus Core Flame… It's a heavenly flame that originates in magma, birthed deep within the earth, forged through countless cycles of earthly fire tempering, merging, compressing, and sculpting—after ten years it becomes sentient, after a hundred it gains form, and after a thousand, it becomes a lotus!"
"Let's head down and see."
Hai Bodong was also full of curiosity about the Green Lotus Core Flame. After all, heavenly flames were something he had only heard about and never seen. It was said that where a heavenly flame appears, all fires submit. He was eager to witness this legendary treasure. At this moment, he felt as though he had returned to his youth, chasing adventures again.
"Let's go."
Yao Yan smiled, the Phantom Gold Flame flaring around his body as he was the first to dive into the magma in a streak of light.
Cai Lin and Hai Bodong followed right behind.
The blazing magma at this point felt no different than a hot spring.
But not long after the three entered the magma, a massive, mysterious creature charged toward them. At that moment, Queen Medusa let out a cold snort. A phantom of a giant purple serpent appeared behind her. Its icy eyes locked onto the creature, causing it to halt in its tracks, not daring to get any closer.
And in that moment, the three of them finally got a clear look at it.
It was a serpent-like magical beast, extremely long in size—at least four or five zhang. Its entire body was crimson red, nearly blending into the magma, resembling a massive, round fire jade. Its surface was covered in palm-sized crimson scales. Uniquely, it had two heads. Its long neck forked into two ferocious serpent heads with large diamond-shaped pupils, glaring angrily at them.
"A fourth-tier magical beast?"
Hai Bodong couldn't identify its species, but he could clearly sense its fourth-tier magical beast aura.
Two-Headed Fire Spirit Serpent… Yao Yan silently named the beast in his heart. He didn't know much about magical beasts, but this one had been clearly documented in the original story. It was an extremely unique species that fed on magma, starting as a first-tier beast and with enough fortune, capable of evolving to the sixth tier.
"Hiss~"
The serpent flicked its forked tongues, its massive eyes showing signs of resistance as it tried to defy Queen Medusa's pressure.
Cai Lin's companion soul was the Purple Nether Flame Serpent, a species with ancient beast lineage. It had a natural bloodline suppression over other serpent-type magical beasts. Let alone a mere fourth-tier serpent—how could it resist her pressure? As the phantom snake behind her solidified, the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Serpent slowly lowered both its heads, showing submission.
Seeing it yield, Cai Lin flew over. Her charming purple serpent tail swayed as she opened her red lips and emitted a few strange sounds, seemingly communicating with the beast.
Soon, Cai Lin received the answer she wanted. The corners of her lips curved slightly in a faint smile as she glanced at Yao Yan and softly said, "It's just below."
Looking at the now-obedient serpent, Yao Yan's expression remained calm. He knew the Medusa bloodline had this innate power. In addition, they also possessed a unique petrification ability—just one gaze could silently trap an unsuspecting opponent.
Unfortunately, such abilities had little effect on the strong and could only be used on weaker foes.
"Let it lead the way."
Yao Yan said softly.
Cai Lin nodded and ordered the serpent to lead the way. Then the group swam deeper into the magma.
As they went further, the heat and pressure around them surged drastically. Even the color of the magma began to change, shifting from crimson to a faint blue-green. But this didn't affect Yao Yan in the slightest. With his physical body, he had no fear of magma's pressure or high temperature.
In contrast, Hai Bodong found the situation awkward. His ice-type Dou Qi clashed continuously with the searing magma, surrounding him with a bubble stream that looked quite comical—and also slowed him down considerably.
Eventually, he helplessly motioned for the others to go ahead while he followed behind.
Yao Yan wasn't surprised. Magma had always been extremely unfriendly to ice-attribute cultivators. The conflicting natures were obvious, and the closer they got to the Green Lotus Core Flame, the more intense the heat. Hai Bodong was enduring several times more pressure than they were.
A little while later…
Yao Yan activated the Vajra Indestructible Body. His body turned a bronzed hue, and tiny silver streams shimmered across his skin, deepening and amplifying his presence. This caused Cai Lin to glance at him for a moment. Even without physical contact, she could feel the immense strength radiating from his body.
Just a tiny movement from him caused tremors in the surrounding magma—an impressive feat this deep underground.
A flicker of astonishment passed through Cai Lin's eyes. In her heart, she muttered, "How did this guy train his body? It's even stronger than a sixth-tier magical beast… he's a little monster!"
She finally understood where Yao Yan's confidence came from.
"Hiss~"
The Two-Headed Fire Spirit Serpent hissed and suddenly sped up. Soon, it led Yao Yan and Cai Lin to a strange magma domain. The surrounding magma was bathed in a faint blue light, and at the center of that light floated a bizarre, elegant blue lotus.
"Hiss~"
The moment the serpent saw it, it let out a sharp screech, clearly terrified. Its massive body even began to tremble slightly, not daring to approach.
Cai Lin looked at the jade-like lotus, a flash of awe in her eyes. The lotus was stunning, seemingly a perfect creation of heaven and earth—each petal flawless.
"Ying ying!"
Ling'er, nestled in Yao Yan's chest, suddenly poked out her head. Her fuzzy ears stood up high, and her emerald eyes locked onto the lotus, letting out cautious cries. Clearly, she too sensed the presence of a heavenly flame.
"Green Lotus Core Flame…"
Yao Yan whispered, gently patting Ling'er as he prepared to move forward.
"Be careful!"
Cai Lin warned him, her eyes warily fixed on the lotus. Her years of experience in the Tagor Desert taught her that the more beautiful something looked, the more dangerous it usually was—especially a heavenly flame born in deep magma!
Yao Yan shook his head. He had already scanned it with his soul force. The Green Lotus Core Flame was currently very calm. Unless provoked, it wouldn't reveal its volatile nature—especially in its "home," where it was at its most docile.
As he stepped into the blue glow, the temperature and pressure around him rapidly decreased. The surrounding fire-attributed energy also diminished significantly.
Yao Yan's eyes locked on the blue lotus. Beneath it, long roots were greedily absorbing nearby fire energy, transforming it into nourishment for the "fruit" at the center—a cluster of quiet, blue flames.
And that flame was the very goal of his journey!
Beneath the Green Lotus Core Flame was a lotus pedestal about two or three feet wide. Eleven crystalline holes sparkled on its surface, as if sculpted from earth-fire itself.
"What now?"
Cai Lin arrived beside Yao Yan and couldn't help but ask, staring at the perfect creation before them.
Yao Yan suppressed his eagerness. Seeing the raging fire energy drawn to the lotus and the eleven Earth Flame Seeds in the center of the pedestal, he licked his dry lips and said slowly, "Cultivate. I'm going to break through to Dou Ling here, then consider refining it."
"Cultivate here?"
Cai Lin looked at Yao Yan like he was insane. She didn't know what to say about such a mad idea.
"But first, I need to move the Green Lotus Core Flame."
Yao Yan added softly.
If he planned to refine it, weakening its power was necessary. He wasn't stupid enough to try devouring it at full strength. Even if it lacked intelligence, it still had instinct. Once threatened, a heavenly flame's explosive power was terrifying—especially when still in its birthplace!
As he spoke, he pulled out a half-human-sized ice crystal from his storage ring. Inside it was a large amount of Ice Spirit Cold Spring. The exterior crystal was simply the condensation of its power.
He had already prepared the cage.
The Ice Spirit Cold Spring, being the perfect elemental counter to the Green Lotus Core Flame, was the ideal vessel. It would sever the flame's connection to the outside world, preventing it from absorbing more fire energy. Over time, its power would be weakened until it was completely tamed.
In the original story, Queen Medusa had used this crude method to remove the flame. But it consumed too much of the spring.
Compared to that brute method, Yao Yan had a better idea: use the Black Demon Cauldron. As a famed cauldron on the Heavenly Cauldron Ranking, it had natural resistance to heavenly flames. Combined with the Ice Spirit Cold Spring, it would perfectly seal the flame.
Without hesitation, Yao Yan used his soul force to control the cold spring, forming an icy palm that directly grasped the blue flame at the center of the lotus. The moment they touched, the surrounding fire energy violently reacted. The Green Lotus Core Flame went berserk, expanding from a cluster into a raging sea of fire, instantly vaporizing much of the Ice Spirit Cold Spring.
"Time for a new home!"
Yao Yan chuckled and tightened his grip, dragging the flame out and guiding it into the Black Demon Cauldron.
Chi chi!
At that moment, the Green Lotus Core Flame erupted completely. Fierce fire surged wildly. As more cold spring evaporated, the cauldron began to tremble, its engravings glowing faintly red as if fully awakened.
Yao Yan remained calm, steadily feeding more of the Ice Spirit Cold Spring into the cauldron. To ensure this mission's success, he had emptied out the Snake-People Tribe's entire supply.
Enough for the Green Lotus Core Flame to vent as much as it wanted!
(END CHAPTER)
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