The dark clouds that had enshrouded the entire island quickly dispersed. Xiao Yan first retrieved the Green Lotus Platform from his storage ring and absorbed the freely drifting Green Lotus Core Flame into it. Only then did he walk up to the massive snake corpse that had been charred into cinders. With a casual wave of his hand, the remains disintegrated into dust, revealing a small, coiled seven-colored serpent curled tightly into a ball before him.
"As expected… a Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python, huh?" Xiao Yan murmured as he gazed at the elegant and vibrant little snake. He reached out and gently stroked the creature's radiant scales. The little python slithered forward, affectionately rubbing against his palm. Seeing this, a slight smile appeared at the corner of Xiao Yan's lips. 'Looks like the plan worked.'
In his past life, Xiao Yan had never interacted with Queen Medusa, but he vaguely recalled that someone once mentioned her true form being that of a Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python. During their encounters in this life, however, she never once exhibited any of the traits associated with such a powerful beast. Initially, Xiao Yan had thought the rumors were false. But upon learning that she intended to evolve with the help of a Heavenly Flame, he understood—she likely hadn't completed her transformation into the ancient beast until now.
So, from the moment they negotiated their earlier deal, Xiao Yan had already laid his plans. He left a soul imprint inside the Green Lotus Core Flame. Once Medusa began her evolution, the imprint would silently integrate into her body at her most vulnerable moment. Additionally, because this little snake had just been born, it would imprint on the first living creature it saw as its closest kin. That explained why she acted so intimately with him.
What Xiao Yan hadn't expected was that Queen Medusa's original consciousness appeared to be in a dormant state. Currently, it was another soul occupying this body. However, this didn't concern him. All he wanted was to tame the Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python. As for whose soul resided within it—he really didn't care.
After playing with the little snake for a bit, Xiao Yan waved and beckoned her to follow. As an ancient beast, the Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python was highly intelligent and immediately slithered up his arm and coiled around his wrist. Xiao Yan gently patted her tiny head, then extended a finger into her mouth, infusing a stream of refined fire-attribute energy directly into her body.
As a fire-attribute ancient beast, the Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python naturally loved pure fire energy. For Xiao Yan, refining this type of energy was trivial. The more she absorbed, the more dependent she would become. In time, this precious creature would obey him completely.
Sure enough, after receiving the energy infusion, the python grew even more affectionate. Seeing this, Xiao Yan smiled and with a flick of his hand, entered a small, isolated space he had constructed—this was where he would refine the Green Lotus Core Flame.
Upon releasing the flame from the lotus platform, the emerald-colored fire immediately emitted a warm and welcoming aura. It had carried his soul imprint for over two years and had long since been tamed. Given its relatively low ranking among Heavenly Flames, refining it posed no real threat.
Once the refinement was complete, Xiao Yan's strength surged to the level of a five-star Dou Zun. Of course, that leap wasn't due solely to the Green Lotus Core Flame—part of the energy came from the Windfury Dragon Flame he had previously consumed.
At the same time, Nalan Yanran had finally broken through to a six-star Dou Zhe.
Still, Xiao Yan was slightly disappointed. The Flame Mantra hadn't advanced to the mid-tier Heaven rank. It remained perched at the peak of the lower Heaven tier. But that wasn't surprising. Evolving a Heaven-tier technique required enormous energy, and two low-ranked Heavenly Flames simply weren't enough.
'Looks like I'll have to head to Central Plains to find higher-ranked flames…' Xiao Yan sighed. At his current level, advancing further via Heavenly Flames would require ones ranked in the top ten. But such flames either had owners or were incredibly difficult to locate. Finding them was easier said than done.
He opened his palm, and a deep cyan flame rose into the air. Currently, Xiao Yan had merged eight different flames, and the result was this newly birthed, deceptively plain fire—yet one that contained terrifying power.
He had named it the Phantom Heart Lotus Flame. The addition of multiple flames made it far superior to the previous Nine Nether Illusion Flame. Still, in his perception, this evolved fire was not yet a match for the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame he once possessed in his past life.
Perhaps this was due to the disparity in his current strength, or perhaps the top three flames on the Heavenly Flame Ranking were simply in another league altogether. Either way, it made sense. Even the strongest flame he had absorbed so far, the Bone Spirit Cold Flame, was only ranked outside the top ten. No matter how many flames he merged, there was a limit to how much they could compensate for quality with quantity.
Nevertheless, the destructive power of eight fused flames was not to be underestimated. If he were to unleash a Demonic Wrath Flame Lotus using it, even Dou Sheng experts might be reduced to ashes. Of course, Xiao Yan wasn't reckless. With his current strength, launching such a powerful attack would carry a huge risk of self-destruction.
Just as he was about to withdraw the Phantom Heart Lotus Flame, he noticed the cyan fire suddenly stir. In the next moment, a delicate lotus blossom bloomed in the flame's center, forming a miniature lotus seat. Atop this glowing platform stood a young girl with large, luminous cyan eyes, gazing at him curiously.
The girl was petite, seemingly only thirteen or fourteen years old, dressed in a robe woven from flickering cyan flames. She resembled a fairy from a mythical tale. The moment she spotted Xiao Yan, she flew into the air and hugged his hand, rubbing her smooth little cheek against his palm in a childlike show of affection.
'What…' Xiao Yan blinked, taken aback by the sudden appearance. He hadn't expected to become a father figure. But then realization struck.
'A Fire Spirit… could this be the spirit born from the fusion of eight Heavenly Flames?'
(End of Chapter)
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