"The move from you three is quite extraordinary. This Han has never heard of such a unique technique in the Demon Flame Valley!"
As the three clusters of flames appeared, a flicker of surprise and hidden joy flashed in Han Feng's eyes. The sensation brought by the Heavenly Flame of Sea Heart told him that while these flames weren't a Heavenly Flame, they far surpassed ordinary beast flames and seemed even more useful for his incomplete Flame Mantra (Terminal Blaze in manhua).
Back then, Han Feng betrayed Yao Lao for the Flame Mantra, but he never obtained the complete version. Although he managed to cultivate the incomplete Flame Mantra relying on the Heavenly Flame of Sea Heart, subsequent cultivation could only be done through speculation and experimentation based on memory. He had been stuck at the Dou Emperor realm for a long time.
He had been searching for a second Heavenly Flame, with Jia Nan Academy being one of his suspected targets. Also, to evade Feng Zun's (Feng Xian) pursuit, he came to the Black-Corner Region and established Feng City, becoming the current Medicine Emperor.
Because the Flame Mantra he possessed was only an incomplete scroll, his confidence in absorbing a second Heavenly Flame wasn't very high.
However, the cultivation method evolved by the Heavenly Flame of Sea Heart was only a high-tier Xuan-ranked technique, offering little assistance to his current cultivation. Ordinary beast flames, on the other hand, couldn't cause any qualitative change at all.
Originally, he was only trying his luck in this search for a Heavenly Flame, but he never expected a series of unexpected events. There truly was a clue to a Heavenly Flame, and he also unexpectedly discovered the strange flames on the three members of the Demon Flame Valley.
The power of these three people's flames, while slightly inferior to a true Heavenly Flame, was far stronger than ordinary beast flames, and seemed more suitable for his second attempt than a true Heavenly Flame.
The grey-brown flames hovered above the heads of the three Elders of the Demon Flame Valley, like a grey sun, constantly emitting a terrifyingly high temperature that caused space itself to distort. In terms of temperature, it was already quite close to a true Heavenly Flame.
Of course, this was only in terms of temperature. A Heavenly Flame was a unique existence in this world, unreplicable.
"Our Demon Flame Valley's supreme unique skill, the Flame Manipulation Art, can cultivate Transformation Flames comparable to Heavenly Flames. Perhaps Medicine Emperor can give us your assessment."
The three from the Demon Flame Valley were quite pleased. The grey-brown "fake Heavenly Flame" formed by the fusion of all their Dou Qi was indeed remarkably powerful. In these years, it had caused many opponents to be buried in their hands, including some peak powerhouses of the Black-Corner Region.
The grey-brown flames wafted upwards, then, with a cold laugh from Fang Yan, suddenly split into three groups, flying out and finally shooting into their bodies.
As these grey-brown flames entered their bodies, the aura permeating the surfaces of Fang Yan's three companions suddenly became much more violent. Waves of scorching oppressive wind, fused together, surged out like a tide towards the other two factions.
The combined aura of these three could subtly contend with Mo Tianxing, a Dou Ancestor.
Han Feng's companions, the Gold and Silver Twin Brothers, also reacted simultaneously. Their auras were almost perfectly blended, like water and milk, with each containing the other.
Coupled with Han Feng, who had released his Heavenly Flame of Sea Heart, their combined aura even overshadowed both the Black Emperor Sect and the Demon Flame Valley.
"Flame Manipulation Art!"
A ripple appeared in Han Feng's eyes, and he was already thinking about how to get his hands on this Dou Skill.
Outside Black Emperor City, the three factions confronted each other. The Black Emperor Sect members were calm and composed; this was closest to their lair, and mobilizing personnel was easiest. If they weren't concerned about Han Feng's influence and the Demon Flame Valley's strength, they would have long since gone all out.
Han Feng stood at the forefront of the surging pressure, his robes fluttering incessantly, his expression unchanged. He scanned the three from the Demon Flame Valley again, then suddenly chuckled faintly, "Although you three have merged these flames, it seems more like harming yourselves before harming others!"
Fang Yan sneered in response, "Medicine Emperor Han indeed has good eyesight. Every time we use the Transformation Flames merged from the Flame Manipulation Art, our bodies indeed suffer significant burns. However, if we can retrieve the Heavenly Flame, we in the Demon Flame Valley will surely be able to perfect this Dou Skill."
"Fang Yan, you of the Demon Flame Valley are truly boastful. Let alone that the Old Ground Demon Ghost isn't here today, even if he were, what of it? Would I be afraid?"
Fang Yan's words displeased Mo Tianxing, the strongest cultivator present, who immediately retorted. The Old Ground Demon Ghost had been famous for a long time, rumored to be a high-star Dou Ancestor above five stars, but Mo Tianxing had also reached the threshold of a four-star Dou Ancestor.
Although the gap between each star after a five-star Dou Ancestor was not small, within the Dou Ancestor realm, regardless of whether it was a low-star or high-star cultivator, it was still easy for the weaker to save their lives. At least under normal circumstances, escaping was possible.
"Sect Master Mo! Elder Fang! Now, all three of us desire the Heavenly Flame, and all have obtained a jade piece with a route map. We are all destined to be involved in this matter."
Han Feng suddenly spoke, "I propose that we combine the jade pieces, and then explore the endpoint of the route map together. If there truly is a Heavenly Flame there, we will then rely on our own abilities. What do you think of this suggestion?"
Han Feng's words made Mo Tianxing and Fang Yan fall silent. They exchanged glances with their companions, but were both somewhat indecisive. At this moment, Han Feng spoke again, "This matter should be dealt with sooner rather than later. The Yao Three Brothers have seen the complete route map; perhaps they already know and have rushed there."
As soon as Han Feng said this, the two immediately made a decision because his words were quite reasonable, and no one was willing to take such a risk again.
After fighting for most of the day, if this matter wasn't properly negotiated and delayed, and they arrived to find it empty, the feeling would definitely be terrible. Therefore, they all agreed with Han Feng's idea, and a major battle seemed to vanish into thin air.
"Agreed!"
Fang Yan and Mo Tianxing nodded. Each of the three factions sent a Dou King with a jade tablet. After combining the three jade tablets once more, a route map appeared before everyone's eyes.
"This is in the northern part of the Black-Corner Region!"
"I remember there are a few volcanoes there, sometimes emitting wisps of smoke."
"Exactly, exactly! I saw them the last time I went there."
Upon seeing the route map, everyone quickly began discussing it. Soon, someone recognized it as a region in the northern part of the Black-Corner Region.
Han Feng and the others exchanged glances. Mo Tianxing was the first to step into the air and fly through it, demonstrating the style of a Dou Ancestor who controlled spatial power.
Han Feng, Fang Yan, the Gold and Silver Twin Brothers, and many other Dou Kings and Dou Emperors also flew off, their speeds not slow.
The once noisy group quickly became much quieter, with only a portion of the weaker cultivators remaining.
To the north of the Black-Corner Region lay endless barren mountains and chaotic rocks, with sparse vegetation. A few distant tall mountains occasionally emitted thin black smoke, looking like giant chimneys from afar.
Figures, accompanied by the sound of rushing wind, rapidly approached. Each of them, comparing with their memories, quickly locked onto one of the smoking stone mountains.
"Let's attack it together and smash it!"
Everyone remembered that the Heavenly Flame was recorded to be inside the magma within the mountain. The map's entrance was at the magma vent on the summit, but with so many people, how could they descend through such a small opening? Thus, several Dou Kings attacked simultaneously, their powerful Dou Qi directly leveling a good portion of the mountaintop.
With a loud rumble, a section of the mountaintop crashed down to the foot of the mountain, the immense commotion shaking the entire mountain. Animals in the vicinity frantically fled into the distance; they all sensed that danger was about to occur.
With the mountaintop shaved off and the opening enlarged, the once sparse black smoke immediately became much thicker. A faint red glow was also visible at the entrance, and the air temperature increased.
"Down!"
It's unclear who moved first, but numerous figures, like shooting stars, rapidly descended into the opening. After an unknown duration of descent, the temperature continuously rose, and the crimson firelight from below grew brighter.
Deep within the mountain's core, scorching red magma with golden hues churned, occasionally bubbling up. A group of powerhouses, having descended to this extent, remained undeterred. Each of them manifested Dou Qi to form an armor around themselves, then plunged into the magma.
Plop! Plop! Plop!
Figures with extremely powerful auras plunged into the magma lake like dumplings, creating ripples on the surface before quickly disappearing into the fiery depths.
The temperature of the magma was extremely high. Anyone below the Dou Grandmaster realm would likely be incinerated to ashes upon entry. Even a Dou Grandmaster who could condense a Dou Qi armor would only last a bit longer.
Dou Spirit cultivators could barely protect themselves, but staying too long or descending too deep would easily cost them their lives.
Only Dou King powerhouses, with their robust Dou Qi that was fearless of such consumption and their ability to transform Dou Qi into wings for swift movement, could easily explore the magma world.
Within the fiery red magma world, undercurrents surged, occasionally, extremely fierce magma undercurrents would erupt from unknown locations.
These undercurrents contained immense energy. If struck, even a Dou Grandmaster would only suffer severe injuries.
However, with numerous Dou Kings, Dou Emperors, and even a Dou Ancestor powerhouse moving together, these so-called undercurrents became a joke and couldn't affect them. This journey was quite smooth.
In this fiery red world, there seemed to be no living creatures. The living conditions here were simply too harsh. Even ordinary high-level fire-attributed magical beasts couldn't move freely in such a place without being affected.
As they continuously delved deeper into the seemingly endless magma, everyone could vaguely feel that the external temperature was almost doubling, and the consumption of Dou Qi was also rapidly increasing.
"Look ahead, quickly!"
After about an hour of delving, someone suddenly shouted. Everyone looked in the direction of the sound, and their gazes instantly froze on something glowing with an intense blue light not far away.
A blue light enveloped this magma, and faintly visible within that blue light was a blue lotus, standing gracefully.
Han Feng's gaze locked onto this lotus body, and he speculated, "Could it be the Green Lotus Core Flame?"
Beside him, Qi Shan, the chief alchemist of the Black Emperor Sect, had a fanatical expression. "Its pure blue color and elegant lotus body... this must be the legendary Green Lotus Core Flame, ranked nineteenth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking!"