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In the Magma World beneath Jia Nan Academy, Xiao Yan was still refining the Fallen Heart Flame. Due to the immense energy contained within the Fallen Heart Flame, this time, his refining process took an exceptionally long time.
Unbeknownst to him, more than half a year had passed.
Yao Chen sat motionless at the entrance of the cave they had carved into the rock wall, his ethereal, transparent figure still.
Over the past six months, he had occasionally detected movement from within the Magma, subtle signs of living creatures, which kept him constantly vigilant and on high alert.
After all, he was merely a soul body, with limited recovery capabilities. Maintaining the soul shield for such a long time was an immense burden for him.
Yao Chen opened his eyes, a hint of fatigue flashing across his brow, and he helplessly murmured to himself:
"Xiao Yan, if you don't wake up soon, I'll have no choice but to withdraw the soul shield..."
A violent energy fluctuation suddenly erupted from within the cave. Xiao Yan's previously stable aura suddenly became turbulent, and the momentum on his body continuously surged, even subtly showing signs of breaking through the Dou King realm to reach Dou Emperor.
However, this trend was ultimately suppressed, remaining at the peak of Dou King. This was Xiao Yan's deliberate action; by absorbing the Fallen Heart Flame, he had advanced from a One-star Dou King to a Nine-star. If he had directly reached Dou Emperor without restraint, he worried that he would lack the understanding of the Dou King realm, which would affect his foundation.
"Qing Meng..." Qing Meng emerged from Xiao Yan's bald head, his eyes appearing a bit more lively.
Xiao Yan slowly rose, touching his forehead, and muttered, "I'm bald again."
He took out a wig from his space ring and skillfully placed it on his head.
Walking to the cave entrance, Xiao Yan looked at the hint of fatigue on Yao Chen's brow and said with a touch of emotion:
"Teacher, you've worked hard. After we leave, let's proceed with your resurrection..."
Yao Chen showed a relieved smile: "I'll go rest first."
His ethereal Spirit Body returned to the bone flame ring.
Xiao Yan found the Magma passage connected to the Heavenly Burning Training Qi Tower and was about to leave when he suddenly stopped, turning his head to gaze at the Magma below.
He felt a faint summons coming from below.
"Qing Meng..." Qing Meng leaped out and dove headfirst into the Magma.
Xiao Yan's brow twitched, and he followed behind it.
"Be careful, there should be some creatures in this Magma. I vaguely sensed them before," Yao Chen's voice echoed in Xiao Yan's mind.
A scorching force suddenly surged from one side. A silver light flashed under Xiao Yan's feet, and his body moved in a strange arc. He instinctively retreated rapidly, his gaze fixed on the direction from which the attack came.
He saw a crimson figure, its color almost indistinguishable from the surrounding Magma, its body covered in scales, and a half-zhang Longtail dragging behind it.
The red figure stood on two feet, its feet webbed, its head round, its mouth slightly agape, revealing dense teeth inside, and a fierce look in its small eyes.
Looking at its round head, Xiao Yan instinctively touched his scalp... his wig had fallen off due to dodging the attack just now.
"What is this thing?" Xiao Yan asked in confusion.
"I'm not sure, I haven't seen it either," Yao Chen shook his head.
"Screech..." The Flame Lizardman let out a sharp, piercing shriek and lunged at Xiao Yan.
Seeing that the opponent was uncommunicative and aggressive, Xiao Yan immediately counterattacked without holding back, killing it with a single palm strike.
He saw that the opponent resembled a magical beast and thought it might have a demon core, so he shook his palm, unleashing Dou Qi, and blasted it into pieces.
Xiao Yan keenly spotted a crimson bead among the fragments of the corpse and grabbed it.
The crimson bead was covered in slick grease and glowed with a faint red light. He could feel that the bead contained powerful and violent fire-attribute energy.
For others, the energy in the bead was too violent to absorb directly, but Xiao Yan possessed an Heavenly flame and could easily control the energy within it.
A fervent glint flashed in Xiao Yan's eyes. To him, this crimson bead was nothing short of a natural "One Beginning Pill." If he had a large quantity of these beads, his cultivation speed could be greatly accelerated.
Just as he was lamenting the small amount of energy contained within the crimson bead, the Magma on one side suddenly began to surge, and a group of Flame Lizardmen appeared in Xiao Yan's sight.
This caused his expression to change slightly. Although this group of Flame Lizardmen still couldn't cause him trouble, and the crimson beads within their bodies were what he needed, who knew how many more such creatures were hidden in this vast Magma World? Or, were there even more powerful creatures hidden within?
Xiao Yan didn't want to stay long in such a dangerous place, but he could sense that Qing Meng was still diving deeper.
After a moment of thought, he decided to stay a bit longer. Qing Meng's somewhat unusual behavior made him curious.
While Xiao Yan was entangled with the Flame Lizardmen, Qing Meng moved unimpeded... The Flame Lizardmen had no interest in this inedible creature. They dared not devour abnormal flames and harbored a deep-seated fear of the Heavenly flame's power, originating from their very bloodline.
Qing Meng arrived before a thin light shield. Inside the light shield was a human skeleton, and a nascent Fallen Heart Flame quietly burned on the skeleton.
A brilliant white light suddenly erupted, and a soul body, even more ethereal than Yao Chen's, as if it could dissipate with a gust of wind, emerged from the skeleton.
Yao Tianhuo looked at Qing Meng, who was entirely pale green, wore a pointed soft hat, had a monocle over his right eye, and was two heads tall, and a hint of confusion appeared on his face... What in the World was this thing?
He could feel that the Fallen Heart Flame he once possessed was on this unknown creature.
"Qing Meng..." Qing Meng ignored Yao Tianhuo and reached out to grab the nascent Fallen Heart Flame.
Yao Tianhuo instinctively tried to stop him.
Qing Meng raised his hand and threw a three-colored Fire Lotus composed of Azure Lotus Core Flame, Bone Spirit Cold Flame, and Sea Heart Flame.
An extremely dazzling light erupted, and the violent explosion caused the Magma ocean to churn, with shockwaves carrying immense energy spreading through the Magma.
Xiao Yan repelled a Flame Lizardman, and caught off guard by the shockwave, he felt his internal organs churn, and a metallic taste filled his mouth.
As for the Flame Lizardmen, because they lived in the Magma, their bodies were more adapted to such an environment, which to some extent weakened the impact of the shockwave.
They launched a fierce assault while Xiao Yan was disoriented.
"Damn it..." Xiao Yan retreated rapidly. He had already realized what had happened, and his expression changed slightly: "Has Qing Meng also encountered a powerful enemy?"
"Xiao Yan, quickly retreat. I feel that there might be an even more powerful existence here. If we encounter it, it will be too late," Yao Chen said with a hint of urgency in his tone.
"I understand." Xiao Yan quickly flew upwards, and at the same time, he issued a retreat order to Qing Meng through their spiritual connection.
Yao Tianhuo's soul and skeleton had vanished without a trace in the explosion, and Qing Meng and the nascent Fallen Heart Flame were also affected, becoming extremely listless.
Qing Meng mustered his spirits, grabbed the Fallen Heart Flame with his chubby little hand, and quickly rushed towards Xiao Yan's direction.
The vibrations caused by the Buddha Fury Fire Lotus continued to spread deep into the Magma, disturbing the more powerful Flame Lizardmen below.
Two pale Flame Lizardmen slowly opened their eyes, their gaze piercing through layers of Magma, staring at Xiao Yan who was fleeing.
Xiao Yan's speed suddenly slowed, cold sweat streamed down his face, and his body involuntarily began to tremble. He felt a shiver originating from his soul.
Yao Chen's expression also changed drastically. He could feel that the creature watching them was terrifying, so terrifying that he wouldn't have been its match even when he was alive!
And that creature carried intense killing intent!
The shadow of death suddenly descended, causing an uncontrollable fear to rise within Xiao Yan.
"Qing Meng..."
At this critical moment, Qing Meng's naive eyes suddenly deepened. His gaze fell, he raised his right hand and pinched his monocle, and the corners of his mouth slowly curved upwards, revealing a smile.
Seeing Qing Meng, the expressions of the two Flame Lizardman leaders immediately froze, and their upward-moving bodies also involuntarily paused. They remembered that terrifying existence that had suppressed them into immobility with just its aura.
This Heavenly flame doll's current posture was identical to that of the Grave Keepers before he departed!
The two Flame Lizardmen were startled and did not act, allowing Xiao Yan to leave.
After Xiao Yan left, the two Flame Lizardman leaders began to communicate:
"The Grave Keepers has departed; this has been confirmed."
"Are the methods left by the God gradually losing their effectiveness?"
"Perhaps our race can also gain freedom."
"What is the relationship between that Heavenly flame doll and the Grave Keepers?"
"An aura formed by the fusion of many different types of abnormal flames..."
"An aura similar to that of the God..."
The whispers gradually subsided, and the depths of the Magma returned to tranquility.
After leaving the Magma, Xiao Yan rushed back to the Magma passage beneath the Heavenly Burning Training Qi Tower without looking back.
"Qing Meng..." Qing Meng's voice came from behind, seemingly calling out, "Run slower, wait for me."
Xiao Yan did not stop, but instead accelerated, all the way to the end of the Magma passage, the location of the seal core at the bottom of the tower.
Qing Meng floated up from the Magma passage and plopped down onto Xiao Yan's shoulder.
"What were you doing? Why did you suddenly use the Buddha Fury Fire Lotus? Who knows what you disturbed, we almost lost our lives," Xiao Yan said with a hint of slight reproach in his tone.
"Qing Meng..." Qing Meng raised his small hand, proudly showing off his spoils.
Seeing the nascent Fallen Heart Flame in its palm, Xiao Yan was stunned. He could confirm that this Fallen Heart Flame had no connection to him whatsoever.
"Fallen... Fallen Heart Flame? Was this the thing that created that mysterious connection with me in the Magma?" Xiao Yan was momentarily stunned.
Unfortunately, it's too weak, and its help to me now is very limited, and I already have the Fallen Heart Flame... Xiao Yan felt a slight regret.
Different types of abnormal flames could allow him to use a more powerful Buddha Fury Fire Lotus, and the Flame Mantra's absorption of abnormal flames for self-improvement depended on how much original power the absorbed Heavenly flame contained... This nascent Heavenly flame offered little help to him in both these aspects.
However, Xiao Yan's regret lasted only a short while. He suddenly thought that this could be given to Jia Nan Academy.
For Jia Nan Academy, this nascent Heavenly flame might be more suitable than the original powerful, disobedient Fallen Heart Flame.
Although the heart flame's cultivation-assisting effect would be slightly inferior, it had the advantage of being safe and stable.
"Qing Meng..." Qing Meng raised his head, looking as if he was seeking praise.
Xiao Yan raised his hand and stroked its head, praising, "Well done!"
Qing Meng contentedly returned to Xiao Yan's body.
Xiao Yan held the Fallen Heart Flame in one hand and tapped the seal at the bottom of the tower with the other.
Perhaps because the Fallen Heart Flame had shown no activity for half a year, and no heart flame had been produced in the rebuilt Heavenly Burning Training Qi Tower, the Inner Courtyard assumed that the Heavenly flame had already been captured, and relaxed their management of the seal at the bottom of the tower, so this seal was not strong.
Xiao Yan took a step back, took a deep breath, and circulated his Dou Qi.
"Eight Extremities Collapse!" He elbowed the seal, breaking it, then quickly flew upwards through the central void of the Heavenly Burning Training Qi Tower.
The pale green, slightly transparent flame wings appeared exceptionally brilliant.
He broke through the top of the tower and flew into the sky, freely unleashing his aura, circling a few times.
Staying in the underground World for too long had made Xiao Yan feel very suppressed. After coming out, a feeling of escaping a cage and regaining freedom surged into his heart, making him overjoyed.
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