Early the next morning.
Gu Changyuan and Feng Jiuli stood at the edge of the Core Lake, their gazes fixed on the small island right in the center.
Bathed in the morning light, the Golden Spirit Tree radiated a soft, mesmerizing glow. Its golden leaves swayed gently in the breeze, releasing waves of a refreshing, incredibly pure fragrance.
"What is the plan?" Gu Changyuan asked.
Feng Jiuli pulled a yellowed talisman paper from her robes and handed it to him.
"This is a Beast Trapping Talisman I found in the Scripture Pavilion," she explained. "It can temporarily bind a Rank 3 Demonic Beast, but the effect will only last for about the time it takes an incense stick to burn."
"One incense stick?" Gu Changyuan frowned deeply. "That's far too short."
"Which is why we must end the battle quickly," Feng Jiuli said. "I have carefully observed the Rank 3 Demonic Beast guarding this lake. It is a Profound Water Flood Dragon."
"A Profound Water Flood Dragon?"
"Yes." Feng Jiuli nodded. "The Profound Water Flood Dragon is a water-attribute demonic beast; within the lake, its strength is amplified to the absolute limit. But it has one fatal weakness—it fears fire."
Gu Changyuan's eyes instantly lit up.
"The Heaven-Burning Art."
"Exactly," Feng Jiuli said. "The flames of the Heaven-Burning Art naturally perfectly suppress its water attribute. As long as we can lure it onto the shore, your Heaven-Burning Art will be able to unleash its maximum destructive power."
"How do we lure it out?"
"I will do it," Feng Jiuli declared. "The aura of the Divine Phoenix Bloodline possesses an innate, fatal attraction to demonic beasts. I will use the power of my bloodline to bait it onto the shore."
Gu Changyuan's frown deepened.
"That's too dangerous."
"There is no other way," Feng Jiuli said with perfect calmness. "A Profound Water Flood Dragon will not leave the water easily. Only the alluring scent of the Divine Phoenix Bloodline can force it onto dry land."
Gu Changyuan fell completely silent.
He knew Feng Jiuli was right.
But the thought of letting her take such a massive risk made a heavy knot form in his chest.
"I will go with you," he finally said.
"No," Feng Jiuli shook her head decisively. "You must prepare on the shore. The exact microsecond the Flood Dragon leaves the water, you must use the Beast Trapping Talisman to bind it, and then strike with absolutely everything you have."
"This is our one and only chance."
Gu Changyuan looked at her, his heart churning with complex emotions.
"Are you absolutely certain?"
"I am certain." Feng Jiuli nodded, a flash of immovable resolve in her eyes. "Trust me."
Gu Changyuan remained silent for a long moment before giving a heavy nod.
"Alright."
He took the Beast Trapping Talisman and gripped it tightly in his hand.
"Be careful."
"Don't worry," the corners of Feng Jiuli's mouth turned up in a sharp, confident arc. "I won't let myself die."
Feng Jiuli walked right up to the water's edge. The pale golden light around her body began to violently surge.
It was the majestic aura of the Divine Phoenix Bloodline.
Although her true strength was heavily sealed, the innate aura of her bloodline could never be masked. It was an overwhelmingly noble aura descending straight from the Divine Realm, carrying a fatal, maddening attraction for all demonic beasts.
"Come."
She whispered softly, completely releasing the aura of the Divine Phoenix Bloodline.
A pillar of pale golden light erupted from her body and shot directly toward the center of the lake.
The calm surface of the water instantly began to churn violently.
BOOM—!
A massive, terrifying figure exploded from the depths of the lake, sending torrential waves crashing into the sky.
It was an absolutely colossal Flood Dragon, its serpentine body covered in pitch-black scales that shimmered with a deadly luster. Its eyes glowed with an eerie, spectral blue light. Measuring a full hundred feet long, it exuded a suffocating, horrifying pressure.
The Profound Water Flood Dragon.
A Rank 3 Demonic Beast, equivalent to a human expert at the Golden Core Realm.
ROAR—!
The Flood Dragon let out an earth-shaking roar, its massive, glowing blue eyes locking instantly onto Feng Jiuli.
It had sensed the aura of the Divine Phoenix Bloodline.
That supreme, noble aura from the Divine Realm filled it with both explosive fury and bottomless greed.
If it could devour this human woman, its strength would undergo an unimaginable, heaven-defying evolution!
"Come on," Feng Jiuli stared coldly at the colossal beast, the pale golden light around her burning even brighter.
"Come and catch me."
ROAR—!
The Profound Water Flood Dragon bellowed in fury and lunged directly at Feng Jiuli.
Feng Jiuli immediately spun around and sprinted desperately toward the treeline.
The Flood Dragon pursued her relentlessly. Its massive body completely leaped out of the lake, crashing heavily onto the rocky shore with a deafening boom.
"NOW!"
Feng Jiuli roared.
Gu Changyuan was already perfectly positioned.
He hurled the Beast Trapping Talisman directly at the colossal dragon and roared, "TRAP!"
The talisman violently exploded in mid-air, transforming into a massive, glowing golden net that instantly completely enveloped the Profound Water Flood Dragon.
ROAR—!
The Flood Dragon let out a furious bellow and thrashed madly, but the golden net bound it tightly to the earth, rendering it temporarily immobile.
"Heaven-Burning Art—Wrath of the Burning Heavens!"
Without a microsecond of hesitation, Gu Changyuan unleashed the ultimate, apocalyptic killing move of the Heaven-Burning Art.
A terrifying sea of golden-red flames erupted from his body, violently sweeping forward and completely engulfing the trapped Flood Dragon.
Awoo—!
The Profound Water Flood Dragon let out a bloodcurdling, agonizing shriek.
The Heaven-Burning Flames were its absolute nemesis.
If it were in the water, it could have used its innate water-attribute power to drastically mitigate the fire's damage. But here on dry land, its water-attribute power was severely crippled; it was completely powerless to resist the incinerating fury of the Heaven-Burning Flames.
"Feng Jiuli, strike now!"
"Understood!"
The pale golden light surrounding Feng Jiuli erupted, condensing into a blinding pillar of sacred light that shot directly toward the Flood Dragon's massive head.
BOOM—!
The pillar of light flawlessly struck the dead center of the Flood Dragon's glabella—its most absolute, fatal weak point.
Awoo—!
The Flood Dragon let out an even more harrowing scream, its massive, hundred-foot body trembling violently in sheer agony.
But the effect of the Beast Trapping Talisman was already beginning to wane. Ominous cracks rapidly spread across the glowing golden net.
"Hurry!" Feng Jiuli shouted urgently. "The talisman can't hold it much longer!"
Gu Changyuan gritted his teeth so hard they nearly cracked. He wildly channeled every single drop of spiritual energy left in his body directly into the Heaven-Burning Art.
The golden-red flames burned even more fiercely, the temperature skyrocketing to terrifying extremes.
"Heaven-Burning Art—Incinerate All!"
He let out a guttural roar, pushing the destructive power of the Heaven-Burning Flames to their absolute, catastrophic peak.
The sea of fire violently surged, utterly swallowing the Profound Water Flood Dragon.
Awoo—
The Flood Dragon let out one final, pitiful wail before falling completely silent.
Its massive body burned within the sea of fire. Its pitch-black scales rapidly peeled away piece by piece, exposing the charred, blackened flesh underneath.
"We did it..."
Gu Changyuan fell to one knee, panting heavily, his chest heaving like a bellows.
The spiritual toll of the 'Wrath of the Burning Heavens' was simply astronomical. His spiritual energy was completely drained; he didn't have a single ounce of strength left to even move a finger.
But they had succeeded.
They had miraculously slaughtered a terrifying Rank 3 Demonic Beast.
Feng Jiuli quickly rushed over and crouched beside Gu Changyuan.
"How are you holding up?"
"I'm fine..." Gu Changyuan forced a weak, exhausted smile. "Just... a bit tired..."
Looking at his dreadfully pale face, Feng Jiuli's brows locked tightly together.
"You push yourself too hard."
"If I didn't push myself to the absolute limit, we would be dead," Gu Changyuan shook his head. "Against a Rank 3 Demonic Beast, you have to put your life on the line just to stand a chance."
Feng Jiuli fell silent.
She knew Gu Changyuan was entirely right.
A Rank 3 Demonic Beast was equivalent to a Golden Core expert. For two people at the peak of Qi Condensation to successfully slaughter it... it was nothing short of a heaven-defying miracle.
"Rest for a moment," she ordered softly. "I will go harvest the resources."
"Alright."
Gu Changyuan nodded, crossed his legs, and immediately began meditating to restore his depleted spiritual energy.
Feng Jiuli walked over to the charred corpse of the Profound Water Flood Dragon and extracted a massive, fist-sized Demonic Core.
A Rank 3 Demonic Core.
This was an unimaginably precious cultivation resource, more than enough to guarantee a flawless breakthrough to Foundation Establishment for a cultivator at the peak of Qi Condensation.
She carefully stored the Demonic Core away before turning her attention to the small island in the center of the lake.
The Golden Spirit Tree was waiting.
On the small island.
Feng Jiuli stood before the Golden Spirit Tree, carefully admiring the priceless spiritual plant.
The tree was roughly thirty feet tall, completely golden, and radiated a soft, mesmerizing light. Hanging from its branches were over a dozen golden fruits, each one pulsating with an incredibly dense concentration of spiritual energy.
"Golden Spirit Fruits."
A flash of genuine pleasant surprise crossed Feng Jiuli's eyes.
Golden Spirit Fruits were the primary, most vital ingredient used in refining Foundation Establishment Pills. A single fruit was worth a small fortune in the outside world. And here, there were over a dozen of them—enough to refine several entire cauldrons of Foundation Establishment Pills.
She carefully plucked the Golden Spirit Fruits one by one and placed them securely into her Storage Bag.
Afterward, she meticulously scoured the rest of the small island, discovering a significant amount of highly precious spirit herbs and rare mineral ores.
"An excellent harvest."
She nodded in deep satisfaction and headed back to the shore.
Gu Changyuan had managed to recover a fraction of his spiritual energy and was sitting cross-legged by the water's edge.
"How was it?" he opened his eyes and asked.
"An absolutely massive haul," Feng Jiuli handed the Storage Bag to him. "One Rank 3 Demonic Core, twelve Golden Spirit Fruits, and a substantial amount of rare spirit herbs and precious ores."
Gu Changyuan took the Storage Bag. Sweeping his consciousness over the contents, a flash of profound surprise lit up his eyes.
"These resources... they are more than enough for us to flawlessly break through to Foundation Establishment."
"Indeed," Feng Jiuli nodded. "With plenty to spare."
The two shared a knowing, completely unguarded smile.
This expedition into the Secret Realm had yielded rewards that far exceeded their wildest expectations.
"Rest for a while, and then we will continue exploring," Gu Changyuan suggested. "The Secret Realm doesn't close for another two days. We can search the area and see if there are any other hidden resources."
Feng Jiuli nodded.
"Alright."
The two rested on the shore for a while before deciding to explore the deeper perimeter of the lake.
What neither of them knew, however, was that deep, deep beneath the surface of the Core Lake, an even greater, world-shaking secret remained hidden.
It was an ancient, weathered stone stele, engraved with cryptic runes directly related to the Heaven-Burning Art.
And this very stele was about to unveil a terrifying corner of the true origins of the Heaven-Burning Art.