Chapter 277

"Is this the Qinglian Earth Core Fire?" Elder Su Qian rushed in right behind him, beneath the Tian Fen Lian Qi Ta.

When Su Qian entered, he saw Xiao Yan battling the Fallen Heart Flame!

"H-How many Infernal Flames do you even have?!" Su Qian had lost all composure of a Grand Elder, his eyes wide with shock as he stared at Xiao Yan, whose entire body blazed with cyan flame.

He counted on his fingers—Xiao Yan had already used three Infernal Flames!

One Fallen Heart Flame had made Jia Nan Academy renowned throughout the Black Horn Region, propelled the Inner Court to prominence, and birthed countless Dou Wangs and Dou Huangs. Now Xiao Yan alone possessed three Infernal Flames! What immense Qi Circulation!

Sssss!! A screech rang out—the moment the Invisible Fire Serpent was seized by the lava Giant Beast, it opened its mouth and vomited an endless torrent of Heart Fire, instantly surging toward Xiao Yan to drown him.

The terrifying Heart Fire descended like an ocean, instantly submerging the entire Di Xia Shi Jie.

Just as Xiao Yan was about to be swallowed by the Heart Fire, a seven-colored glow rose in the distance; as multicolored light shimmered, it glowed crystal-clear, transforming into a rainbow that slammed into the wave of flame the Invisible Fire Serpent had unleashed.

In that instant the rainbow pierced through, even the Invisible Fire Serpent's flame wave halted—rings of light pulsed and sank, making the entire Earth Core world dazzlingly brilliant.

Xiao Yan knew who had intervened; seizing the moment Mei Du Sha was holding back the attack, he said nothing, activated Three Thousand Thunderbolts, and in a flash of lightning, shot to Mei Du Sha's side.

Boom!! Even Mei Du Sha could not withstand the terrifying Infernal Flame assault—the Invisible Fire Serpent's flame wave drowned out her seven-colored radiance, but by then Xiao Yan had already fled far away.

"What's your plan?" Mei Du Sha glanced at Xiao Yan with her beautiful eyes; even though her body had been reforged into a Three-Flame Serpent Body, her power likely still fell short of this Spirit Flame—after all, the Fallen Heart Flame had existed far too long.

It probably had been absorbing the power of this Earth Vein's lava since Jia Nan Academy's founding.

Grand Elder Su Qian also flew to Xiao Yan's side. Since he had already promised to give the Fallen Heart Flame to Xiao Yan and let him resolve this internal catastrophe, he could only trust him.

Xiao Yan's eyes flickered with a flash of flame; through the power of the Infernal Flames, he saw the location of the Infernal Flame's origin.

"What plan? Just charge straight into its body, seize its origin, and swallow it for Refining—that's all." Xiao Yan spoke bluntly; this was his first time facing a hostile Spirit Flame, but as an 'Infernal Flame Master,' his method remained unchanged.

Find the origin, swallow it whole, and force it down with the Burning Decree's Baba!

He had no plan—or rather, his plan was to swallow the Infernal Flame with the Burning Decree! Against Infernal Flames, the Burning Decree was Xiao Yan's greatest reliance.

Not just Grand Elder Su Qian—even Mei Du Sha gave him a look as if he were an idiot, stunned he planned to swallow it raw!

As if sensing the slow-spreading killing intent and greed in their gazes, the Fallen Heart Flame instantly roared in fury, emitting a piercing, shrill shriek.

Xiao Yan lazily stretched his body, looked up at the Fallen Heart Flame, and grinned: "Today, let's see whether you swallow me—or I add another Infernal Flame!"

No sooner had Xiao Yan spoken than terrifying Soul Force erupted from his body; the Qinglian already rooted in the lava instantly blazed with emerald light—this moment, the once crimson lava slowly turned emerald-green!

When Xiao Yan first captured the Qinglian Earth Core Fire, he had seen the lava around the Qinglian as green—even after the Qinglian Earth Core Fire had already been removed.

The eerie green glow intensified; Xiao Yan knew his Heavenly Flame Three Mysterious Changes were nearly exhausted, so he wouldn't rely on Dou Techniques or Dou Qi to fight the Fallen Heart Flame—he'd conserve his remaining Dou Qi to maintain his Dou Qi Wings and use Three Thousand Lei Dong to dodge attacks.

His Complete Common Realm Soul Force and Fire Control Power commanded the Qinglian Earth Core Fire; those cyan lava flows were his 'soldiers'—he was now the king of the Earth Core world!

"Asura Soul Severing Technique—Soul Chase!" Xiao Yan roared inwardly, his eyes flashing cyan light.

Enter the Flame with the Soul!

BOOM!! At that moment, the entire Earth Vein trembled, followed by a thunderous roar—as if a volcano erupted here, spewing endless lava, a scene of utter apocalypse.

The volcano erupted, spewing endless cyan lava; from the ocean of lava crawled a cyan demon!

"What is this?!" Su Qian's face paled as he stared at the cyan demon—its Spiritual Pressure was no weaker than his own?

Mei Du Sha's eyes flickered with surprise; she turned to Xiao Yan, whose face had grown pale from exhaustion—this was created by a Dou Wang?!

"Don't stare—it's the Qinglian Earth Core Fire's trait. Only in a volcanic Earth Vein can it unleash such Heavenly Might. I'm merely borrowing the Earth Vein's power." Xiao Yan's face was pale, his body weary, but his eyes shone with delight.

He hadn't expected the Qinglian Earth Core Fire's power to be so terrifying when unleashed in the lava Earth Vein!

The Fallen Heart Flame can forge the body and refine the bones, accelerate Cultivation—that's its inherent trait. But that also means it's not built for battle. The Qinglian Earth Core Fire, however, can harness the Earth Vein's power to unleash Heavenly Might!

So Xiao Yan activated a Soul Technique, entered the flame with his Soul, and summoned this cyan flame demon.

Ooooh!! The cyan flame demon emerged as if crawling from the ninth layer of the Earth's hell, ordered to harvest the Fallen Heart Flame's life.

Whoosh! The cyan flame demon coalesced a heavy cyan flame sword in its hand and struck the Invisible Fire Serpent with crushing force, in its terrified gaze.

BOOM!! The Invisible Fire Serpent took a heavy blow; its invisible Heart Fire scattered—this strike's power was no weaker than a Dou Zong's!

The cyan flame demon lunged at the Invisible Fire Serpent; two colossal Spirit Flames battled like monsters from a film.

Seeing Xiao Yan so ferocious, the two true Dou Zongs were stunned—how do you have Dou Zong power?! Are you the Dou Zong or am I?!

Although Xiao Yan possessed Seventh-Rank Alchemist Soul Force, Soul Force is not the same as Dou Qi Cultivation Realm—adding a Soul Technique to Seventh-Rank Soul Force doesn't grant Dou Zong power.

Soul Force needs a vessel to manifest power; with Xiao Yan's Dou Wang body and Dou Qi, even his extraordinary Soul Force couldn't produce Dou Zong strength.

But now was different—now the Qinglian Earth Core Fire controlled this sea of lava, maximizing the power of Xiao Yan's Soul Force!

The Elders at the edge of the Tian Fen Lian Qi Ta, who had joined hands to form a Sealing Array to weaken the Fallen Heart Flame, stared in stunned silence.

"What kind of Dou Technique is this?!" Xiao Yan's move stunned everyone—even the Old Generation couldn't identify it. Such power made many hearts leap.

Sssss!! As the furious shriek sounded again, the Fallen Heart Flame's surface suddenly shimmered with a jade-like glow; the jade light flowed gently, as if sentient. Soon after, clusters of blazing, invisible flames erupted from the flame walls, surrounding Xiao Yan from all directions.

"Break it open!" As the Invisible Fire Serpent unleashed another torrent of Heart Fire, Mei Du Sha's eyes hardened; countless seven-colored lights transformed into seven-colored light snakes, surging forward one after another, as if overturning all existence—the flame waves shattered, the spectacle utterly magnificent.

Grand Elder Su Qian, the highest in Cultivation Realm among the three, rapidly formed hand seals and roared: "Frost Heaven Spear Array!"

"Yes!"

All Elders at the entrance of the Tian Fen Lian Qi Ta instantly formed hand seals, their Dou Qi converging into one stream; Su Qian's aura guided them—he opened his hands, and instantly a spear of ice coalesced in the sky.

At this moment, the entire Inner Court's temperature plummeted sharply—imagine the power of Jia Nan Academy's Dean, who had left behind numerous Sealing Arrays to combat the Fallen Heart Flame.

Boundless cold surged from the entire Inner Court; in this instant, lines of energy interwove, guided by the Elders, and the spear in the heavens grew larger and larger.

Boom! Boom! Boom!!! The ice spear descended—under such an ice spear, no one could escape or resist its power.

Sssss! Seeing the terrifying Sealing Array and the ice spear hurtling toward it, the Fallen Heart Flame sensed grave danger and tried to dive into the Di Xia Shi Jie to hide.

Ooooh! The cyan flame demon, formed from the Qinglian Earth Core Fire and controlled by Xiao Yan, seized it—cyan flame engulfed the sky, tightly entangling the Invisible Fire Serpent.

Mei Du Sha's eyes hardened; seven-colored rainbow light appeared, forming a blade that pierced straight through the Invisible Fire Serpent.

Puff! As Mei Du Sha and Xiao Yan held the Invisible Fire Serpent in place, Grand Elder Su Qian and the Elders, as the main force, unleashed the invincible ice spear.

The ice spear pierced the Invisible Fire Serpent; a terrifying cold spread—this chilling force even caused some lava to freeze!

Under the terrifying ice power, even the Invisible Fire Serpent slowly froze, encased and immobilized.

Xiao Yan's eyes narrowed, his brow furrowed—Sss! The Invisible Fire Serpent's body was now spewing other Infernal Flames!

"Damn, it's the strange flame energy he just absorbed!"

It felt like the end of the world—combined with Fallen Heart Flame, the four strange flames exploded like Buddha Fury Lotus, a staggering wave of flame ruptured through the lava world!

Boom! At the last possible moment, Xiao Yan unleashed his strongest Blue Lotus Earth Core Fire; the blue flame demon transformed into a wall of fire blocking the three before them.

Flame waves roared in all directions, surging with blazing strange flames—spiritual pressure like a raging torrent—yet even Mei Du Sha's seven-colored light and Su Qian's defensive barrier, even Xiao Yan's Blue Lotus Earth Core Fire, were shattered by the impact.

The sheer might of Fallen Heart Flame's full eruption was terrifying—even more frightening than Xiao Yan's Buddha Fury Lotus! If this strike had erupted within the Inner Court, the entire Inner Court would have been obliterated in an instant!

Boom boom boom! Three figures, linked together, flew backward like kites crashing into the distant wall. Xiao Yan, the weakest of them, spat out a mouthful of blood with a puff.

All three defenses failed to hold!

"So strong—it must be at least High-Level Dou Zong power!" Xiao Yan wiped blood from his lips, his gaze sharp as he stared at the distant Fallen Heart Flame.

Even after being surrounded and suppressed by the Inner Court's Elders, even after breaking through the Dean's Flame Sealing and draining much of its strange flame energy, it still unleashed such a terrifying attack—if fully restored, wouldn't it reach Dou Zong Peak—or even Half-Step Dou Zun?

Even Mei Du Sha, usually cold, calm, and composed, now showed a trace of gravity. This was far stronger than the Blue Lotus Earth Core Fire she had once subdued—no comparison at all.

But it wasn't surprising—the Blue Lotus Earth Core Fire Mei Du Sha subdued had been newly born, while this Fallen Heart Flame had existed for countless years; the difference was naturally immense.

Xiao Yan slowly flew forward a bit and whispered to Su Qian and Mei Du Sha: "I'm going straight into Fallen Heart Flame's core. Hold it off for me for a moment."

!!!!!!

"You're insane! Charging straight into strange flame? That's no different from suicide!" Su Qian cried out—he knew Xiao Yan was reckless, but not this reckless!

He finally understood how Xiao Yan had gained such power—this man didn't even care about his life.

"Do you have confidence?" Mei Du Sha's beautiful eyes fixed on Xiao Yan's back. For some reason, she felt his obsession with power had grown even stronger than before.

Xiao Yan shook his head: "No. But I have to try."

Mei Du Sha's delicate brows furrowed slightly, then she slowly flew beside Xiao Yan and whispered: "Don't die."

Xiao Yan turned to glance at her. Mei Du Sha's face remained expressionless, coldly saying: "If you die, where will my Elixir come from?"

Xiao Yan smirked, a line of black sweat appearing on his temple. "Fine, fine, fine—if I can refine Fallen Heart Flame, I'll make you a Pill right away."

Xiao Yan wasted no more words—he knew time was running out. Once the Heaven Fire Three Mystical Changes faded, he'd immediately enter a weak state, his Dou Qi unable to flow. If he couldn't refine Fallen Heart Flame by then, he'd have to wait for another chance.

Or there might be no next chance—once they left, Fallen Heart Flame would immediately slip into the Earth Vein and vanish. After all, there was no longer any Flame Sealing.

Boom boom!! Mei Du Sha and Xiao Yan both transformed into streaks of light, charging toward Fallen Heart Flame. The Elder sighed, formed another seal, and shot out chains of Spiritual Energy Sealing Chains to clear a path for Xiao Yan!

Mei Du Sha condensed seven-colored light in her palm and slammed it forward—terrible seven-colored energy struck the invisible fire serpent, scattering much of its invisible heart flame and leaving a gaping hole.

Xiao Yan's eyes glowed with Black Flame. In his vision, the flames on the invisible fire serpent shifted—within its transparent body, a palm-sized, slightly milky-white flame serpent flickered constantly, its eyes filled with invisible flame, its gaze shifting with uncanny liveliness. Clearly, this serpent possessed Spirit.

As Xiao Yan stared at the flame serpent, it seemed to notice him too—its serpent eyes instantly flared with ferocity, and waves of terrifying invisible flame slowly rose from its body.

"Is this the origin of Fallen Heart Flame?"

After being surrounded and attacked by the three, Fallen Heart Flame finally revealed the location of its origin!

Sssss!! As if frightened by being discovered, the invisible fire serpent abandoned its intent to devour Xiao Yan and tried to burrow into the Earth Vein and flee.

"Trying to run?!"

A massive blue lotus suddenly rose from the lava beneath Fallen Heart Flame, engulfing it in blue flame and sealing it within!

Eyes locked on Fallen Heart Flame's origin, Xiao Yan channeled his last Dou Qi into Three Thousand Thunderous Steps—once he seized the origin, Fallen Heart Flame would truly be captured!

(End of Chapter)