Breaking the Masked Man

My gaze fell upon the root system, which stretched for over ten meters.

"As for the stem and leaves, they are even more domineering. Ordinary cultivators will have their battle qi completely devoured just by touching them. They are an excellent material for refining weapons. However, if they are taken away, the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame here will never be able to condense again... There is no need to be so ruthless."

Yao Yan didn't consider himself a good person, but he still possessed some of the qualities of an alchemist. He had already taken most of the ingredients, and if he took even the roots, it would be too much of a waste. Besides, he didn't need any more materials for refining weapons.

Upon hearing this, Cai Lin looked at the slender root and said softly, her red lips slightly parted: "You are really willing to part with it. If this were taken to the outside world, it would definitely be a rare and precious spiritual object. Even if you don't use it, you would probably get a lot of people to offer a high price for it."

"One should still have some bottom line. I'm already very satisfied with what I've gained from this trip. Let's go."

Yao Yan smiled and said nonchalantly.

Cai Lin remained noncommittal, glanced at Yao Yan, and silently followed beside him. She showed no attachment to the roots and leaves. Having grown up in a resource-scarce place like the Tagor Desert, she knew better than anyone the importance of protecting the roots of spiritual plants, because it meant that they could be harvested again in a few years.

If you keep destroying everything, you'll only end up cutting off your own path.

The fighting spirit surrounding the two transformed into two streaks of light, flying towards the magma.

Only a slender root remained, quietly absorbing the surrounding fire-attribute energy, undergoing another millennium of gestation.

……

"This place is really unfriendly to me!"

At the entrance of the passage, Hai Bodong sat cross-legged, his eyes fixed on the lava lake below. A hint of helplessness appeared between his brows. As someone who cultivated ice-attribute battle qi, he could hardly absorb any of the energy of heaven and earth here. He could only sit and wait, a feeling even more helpless than that of the Tagh Desert.

At least outside, he could barely get some replenishment, unlike here, where even earth elemental energy was pitifully scarce, except for fire elemental energy.

"嘤嘤~"

Ling'er was standing beside Hai Bodong. She raised her soft paw and patted Hai Bodong, signaling him to release some cold air to cool her down. Her emerald green eyes showed no fear or timidity. To her, Hai Bodong was just a temporary caretaker that her master had found for her, just like the previous butterfly.

Hai Bodong's lips twitched as he looked at the second-tier Green Wood Fox. He couldn't understand why Yao Yan would keep such a pet with little combat power. However, not understanding didn't stop him from raising his hand and conjuring a block of ice to hand it over. The temperature here was too high, and the wood-attribute Green Wood Fox couldn't withstand it for long. If this little guy died here, he really wouldn't know how to explain it to Yao Yan.

"But this little guy is indeed strange. An ordinary second-tier Green Wood Fox wouldn't be this energetic after staying here for so long."

He watched Ling'er frolicking with the ice cubes and couldn't help but mutter to himself.

Just then, two sounds of water breaking echoed through the cave. Hai Bodong looked over and saw Yao Yan covered in golden flames. Beside him floated a dark medicine cauldron, inside which a blue flame was constantly swaying. Beside him, Cai Lin had a seductive figure, and some lava was slowly sliding down her slender purple tail along with her battle qi, like a beauty who had just emerged from a bath.

However, the combination with the scorching lava below makes the scene quite frightening.

Yao Yan glanced at the golden-red magma below, and with a slight tremor of his Purple Cloud Wings, he floated to Hai Bodong's side with the Black Demon Cauldron containing the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame. He smiled and said, "Elder Hai, thank you for your hard work. Everything went smoothly, we can go out now."

Seeing Yao Yan return, Ling'er instantly forgot about holding the ice cube, and with a light leap, climbed up Yao Yan's clothes into his arms.

Yao Yan reached out and touched the little guy, then skillfully took out a bottle of herbal essence from her storage ring and handed it over.

"Young master, your strength..."

Hai Bodong sensed the fighting spirit surrounding Yao Yan and said with some surprise, "Compared to before, Yao Yan's fighting spirit is now several times stronger, as if it has undergone a qualitative change, but the opponent's fighting spirit level seems to still be at the level of Dou Ling."

Yao Yan smiled and said, "I'm lucky, I've broken through to the Dou Ling level."

"...Young Master, weren't you fighting spirits before?!"

Hai Bodong looked at Yao Yan with some shock. The level of fighting spirit that the other party had shown before did not seem like that of a Grand Master.

Yao Yan nodded, but didn't explain anything. People are different. Right now, his Burning Technique is only at the advanced Yellow Rank. If he were to absorb the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame and advance to the Profound Rank, his fighting spirit would become even more exaggerated, and his cultivation speed would increase further.

However, he had no interest in discussing the matter of the Burning Execution with Hai Bodong.

"Let's go."

Cai Lin remained aloof and seemed uninterested in the matter. He uttered a few words and his battle aura wings fluttered slightly as he flew out of the cave first.

Yao Yan smiled at Hai Bodong and followed him.

Hai Bodong was silent for a moment, then couldn't help but mutter, "What a monster!"

……

The three broke through the desert one after another, ignoring the cave below that was gradually being covered by quicksand. If someone were to enter it by chance, or even delve into the lava cavern, they might be able to see the strange fourth-order magical beast, the two-headed fire spirit serpent.

Nothing unexpected happened along the way. Both Queen Cai Lin, the Medusa, and Emperor Hai Bodong, the Ice Emperor, were renowned powerhouses in the Gama Empire and the Tagor Desert. No one would be so bored as to cause them trouble.

In less than half an hour, the three arrived at the palace of the snake people. Inside, everything was as it had always been, and nothing had changed since Cai Lin left.

Sensing the presence of the three, Cai Die, who had taken over control of the snake-people from Cai Lin, rushed forward in a flash. If her sister hadn't been watching closely, she might have already thrown herself into Yao Yan's arms. At the same time, her azure eyes also looked at the Black Demon Cauldron beside Yao Yan. Just looking at that cyan flame, one could feel its allure.

"Young master, is this the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame you spoke of?!"

Cai Die excitedly grabbed Yao Yan's hand and asked.

Yao Yan nodded and flew towards the secret chamber with Cai Die. However, she was stopped halfway by Cai Lin, who looked at her with cold eyes and reminded her, "The strange fire is too terrifying. The previous secret chamber is not suitable for you. Let's find another place."

If Yao Yan fails to devour the strange fire and it erupts, its destructive power will be enough to destroy the entire Snake-Man Royal Palace.

This is something that Cai Lin has to consider.

Yao Yan wanted to offer some words of comfort, but considering that the other party was Queen Medusa and that she had to consider her people, she could only nod and let the other party lead the way to a small island in a lake behind the palace. This place was obviously an oasis, with many exotic flowers and plants growing there, all of which were extremely beautiful. It seemed that many poisonous snakes lived there.

It seems that this is where the Rainbow Scales evolved in the original work.

"If you need anything, let Cai Die let me know. I need to take care of things outside first."

Cai Lin gave a brief explanation and then flew outside.

Cai Die watched her sister's departing figure with some surprise, then tugged at Yao Yan's arm and asked curiously, "My sister's attitude towards you has changed. This is the first time I've ever seen her speak so gently to a stranger!"

In the past, even though her voice was gentle, the killing intent in her tone was extremely strong. This was the first time her sister had spoken to Yao Yan like this.

"Perhaps it means you've acknowledged our relationship."

Yao Yan was talking nonsense with a straight face, but he had some guesses in his heart. Perhaps the time they spent together had made the other party completely recognize his talent and strength. Sometimes, the relationship between men and women depends on who has strength, such as appearance, money, background, talent and hard work.

No matter how strong Queen Medusa was, she was still just a woman. As a woman, she naturally had weaknesses, as long as you could find those weaknesses.

Cai Die spat lightly, rolled her eyes at the somewhat shameless Yao Yan, and said, "Young master, don't you know how to blush? I haven't even acknowledged our relationship yet."

"Isn't that just a matter of time?"

Yao Yan said with a smile.

"I'm ignoring you, young master."

The butterfly twisted its slender waist and flew away as if fleeing.

Yao Yan watched the colorful butterfly leave, smiled, relaxed for a while, then straightened his mind and focused his attention on the Black Demon Cauldron. After pondering for a moment, he opened the cauldron. As the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame came into contact with the outside world, its flickering flames immediately rose higher and became more vigorous, no longer as 'weak' as before.

"How does the young master plan to refine the strange fire?"

Hai Bodong stood beside Yao Yan and asked curiously. This was the first time he had ever seen an alchemist subdue a strange fire. He had never had the opportunity to observe this before, and alchemists would not allow others to watch them refine flames.

"Swallow."

Yao Yan gave a brutal answer.

Hai Bodong was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then fell silent. After a while, he couldn't help but say, "I used to doubt people saying that alchemists were all crazy... Now, I fucking believe it!"

He couldn't help but swear. Although Qi cultivation could strengthen the physical body, its effect on the internal organs was very limited. Even a Dou Huang-level expert would die if their internal organs were severely damaged. Exposing one's internal organs to a strange fire was practically suicide!

What are alchemists thinking?!

I can't understand!

Yao Yan didn't seem to be under any pressure and chuckled, "That's why I need elixirs to help me."

"That's crazy enough, almost certain death."

Hai Bodong said in a deep voice that he did not believe that with the help of pills, he could swallow this thing. The power of pills is not infinite. Once the limit is exceeded, the power of the strange fire would be enough to burn the internal organs with just a little bit, and then the life would be gone.

"To become stronger, one must always take some risks. Truly powerful alchemists almost always control powerful exotic flames."

Yao Yan remained calm and spoke with composure, his gaze fixed on the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame within the Black Demon Cauldron. As he released it, the flame instantly swelled to the size of a human head, and the surrounding icy springs evaporated and vanished under its scorching heat.

As he finished speaking, to Hai Bodong's horrified gaze, he actually reached out and grabbed at the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame.

Without any protection, it was direct physical contact.

This scene made Hai Bodong's eyes twitch, his fragile nerves were somewhat stimulated, and he cursed inwardly: This guy is a madman!

He didn't say anything to stop her, but just held his breath and watched as Yao Yan put his arm inside.

"Chichi!"

Almost instantly, the clothes on Yao Yan's arm turned to ashes. As the raging Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame rose, the power it contained was far beyond what the pale blue flames of the Azure Lotus could compare to. This forced him to activate his Vajra Indestructible Body. His skin, a mixture of silver and bronze, flickered in the blue flames and for a moment withstood the scorching heat of the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame.

"As expected of a true different kind of fire, its power is indeed domineering!"

Yao Yan felt the excruciating pain, but instead of showing any fear, his face showed a hint of fervor. He let out a heartfelt sigh, confident that he could use the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame to temper his body and cultivate the Vajra Indestructible Body to the second level. At that time, he would dare to challenge even a Dou Zong level expert.

Upon realizing that Yao Yan intended to use the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame to temper his body, Hai Bodong couldn't help but gasp. At this moment, he truly understood why Yao Yan could reach this level at such a young age.

As long as you're not afraid of dying!

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 106 Heaven

You don’t know how many years you have spent practicing cultivation.

Since obtaining the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame, Yao Yan has not been in a hurry to refine it. Instead, he has become addicted to cultivation, using it to familiarize himself with his rapidly increasing strength. Every day, he either refines pills, uses the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame to train his body, or spars with Hai Bodong. Time passes by in this way.

In a blink of an eye.

He stayed in the palace of the snake people for nearly three months, during which his strength steadily improved.