Chapter 188: Earth Core True Flame

The Earth Core True Flame lies a few hundred zhang beneath the Alchemy Hall's refining chamber; the chamber is linked to the surface by a jade stone passage.

The Alchemy Hall designed it this way to use the Earth Core True Flame for refining; thus many Alchemists can waste less True Essence and produce more pills.

Qiong Qi had already dug a tunnel from afar; when Ye Liuyun and the others arrived, they entered the tunnel, reached the jade stone passage, and then continued digging downward along it.

They turned back to seal the entrance with the excavated earth.

"You must have done a lot of sneaky work, otherwise how are you so professional!" Ye Liuyun said, impressed by Qiong Qi's orderly arrangement.

"It's all for a bit of resources! Do you think the Fire Emperor would agree? Back then, the Emperor had to dig tunnels himself! You're just too poor!" Qiong Qi complained, but his digging claws did not slow.

The deeper they dug, the hotter the ground became. Fortunately, both of them possessed fire‑type True Essence, so it didn't trouble them.

After about half an hour, Qiong Qi's pace began to slow.

"We're almost there; a Formation blocks the flame to prevent leakage. Activate your True Essence Body Shield and use your Golden Crow Holy Fire to protect yourself," Qiong Qi reminded Ye Liuyun.

Ye Liuyun hurried to comply. Qiong Qi did the same, cloaking his whole body in a layer of fiery True Essence before beginning to break the Formation.

When the Formation shattered, a torrent of flame surged forward.

"Enter!"

At Qiong Qi's call, Ye Liuyun flashed forward and rushed in, with Qiong Qi following; the Formation behind them closed again.

If the Formation weren't resealed, the fire would burn to the surface after a night's work.

Beneath the Formation lay a huge cavern‑like space filled with flame, and a deep‑red lava river flowed across the ground.

The two of them landed on the ground and carefully surveyed the surroundings.

Ye Liuyun suddenly noticed a deep‑red carp leaping out of the lava, then melting back into it and disappearing.

"Did I see that right? Was that a fish just now, or was it an illusion?" Ye Liuyun stared at the flowing lava, searching for the fish but could not find it.

"Not an illusion, but not a real fish either. Some nascent intelligence forms in the lava and occasionally takes animal shapes, though its Divine Sense is weak. We should still be cautious; higher‑intelligence beings may appear," Qiong Qi said solemnly.

They followed the lava upstream for about half an hour and came upon a low Volcano Crater continuously spewing lava outward.

The temperature here was even higher; anyone not practicing fire‑type cultivation would likely never reach this spot.

"Ha ha, we've found it. The deepest part of that little Volcano Crater is the Earth Core True Flame," Qiong Qi exclaimed excitedly.

"Are you sure we won't be turned to ash if we jump down?" Ye Liuyun frowned at the raging lava.

"Your Golden Crow Holy Fire, though not fully refined, is enough to block the lava. You can try going down first; if it fails, we'll think of another way," Qiong Qi was already eager to try.

Ye Liuyun immediately leapt onto Qiong Qi's back; if danger arose, Qiong Qi could still lend a hand.

Qiong Qi transformed into a streak of light and charged straight toward the Volcano Crater.

Boom—, the two of them plunged headfirst into the lava, sending molten spray everywhere.

Upon entering, Ye Liuyun was shocked; his True Essence was being consumed rapidly. At this rate, he couldn't last even half an hour.

"Absorb the lava's heat for use," Qiong Qi reminded Ye Liuyun.

Ye Liuyun instantly activated the Mysterious Origin Breathing Technique, drawing the flame's power from the lava into his True Essence.

Surprisingly, the method worked; his True Essence quickly reached a balance of output and input.

Just as the two had adapted to the Illusion Realm and were diving full‑force, an anomaly erupted.

Two Demon‑like flame monsters screamed, looking like hellish demons, and charged at them.

"What are these? Demons from hell?" Ye Liuyun quickly communicated with Qiong Qi via Divine Sense.

"These are the spirit beasts you need for the next stage of body refinement. Born from the Earth Core True Flame and long‑term fire incubation, they have a hint of intelligence. Their intellect is low, so they only know killing. Attack them with Divine Sense and you can easily extinguish their Souls."

Qiong Qi's diving speed did not falter as he surged toward the two flame spirit beasts.

Ye Liuyun unleashed two soul swords, instantly annihilating the Souls of those spirit beasts.

The Souls of the two spirit beasts were merely a form of flame, never forming a true creature; the soul swords shattered them instantly.

Qiong Qi rushed forward, snatching the two bright flames with his claws.

After losing their Souls, the two spirit beasts reverted to flame shapes, but they did not merge with the lava, and the flames did not extinguish.

Qiong Qi handed one to Ye Liuyun. "Keep this for future body refinement. I'll keep this one! Insert a strand of Divine Sense so the spirit beast doesn't die from prolonged time!"

Saying so, Qiong Qi infused a strand of Divine Sense into the flame and then stored the flame into the Storage Ring.

Ye Liuyun did the same, inserting a strand of Divine Sense and sealing the flame spirit beast into the Storage Ring.

The subsequent descent went smoothly, but Ye Liuyun's True Essence consumption grew larger, forcing him to fully activate the Mysterious Origin Breathing Technique to replenish it.

The lava color before their eyes grew brighter, shifting from deep red to red, then to gold.

Ye Liuyun's Illusion Pupil far ahead saw a bright white glow deep below.

"That's the Earth Core True Flame!" Qiong Qi explained, "Your Golden Crow Holy Fire is stronger than this Earth Core True Flame, so the amount you absorb must not exceed the Golden Crow Holy Fire, or it will swallow it."

"Understood," Ye Liuyun replied, jumping off Qiong Qi's back, and the two began absorbing the flame on the spot.

As Ye Liuyun absorbed more of the refined Earth Core True Flame, the surrounding lava seemed less hot, and the consumption of his Protective True Origin lessened considerably.

Yet Ye Liuyun felt that Qiong Qi was absorbing even faster.

"No wonder you're the Fire Emperor; your flame control far surpasses mine! This will boost his strength dramatically. I wonder how strong he'll be once his power fully recovers!"

Ye Liuyun sensed Qiong Qi's flame‑absorption speed was almost twice his own and grew eager for Qiong Qi's potential.

After about a day, Ye Liuyun stopped. The Earth Core True Flame he had absorbed was now close to two‑thirds of his Golden Crow Holy Fire.

He dared not absorb more, lest he reverse‑swallow the Golden Crow Holy Fire. The amount was just right to supplement and strengthen the Golden Crow Holy Fire.