Starting from Douluo Continent, I've become a god through daily check-ins.

Chapter 542 The Vanishing Aura

Jing Chen chuckled softly, carefully cradling the seven-colored snake in his hand. The snake did not resist his gentle and handsome demeanor. With a flick of its tail, it coiled around Jing Chen's wrist and swung its body as if it were swinging on a swing.

"Little one, come with me, okay?" Jing Chen said with a smile as he placed the snake in front of him. His expression was as if he had met a lost little girl on the roadside and was trying to trick her into buying him a lollipop.

With its purple snake eyes wide open, the seven-colored snake stared at the boy's face in front of it, a rather human-like bewilderment flashing across its face. It stood up and stared blankly at Jing Chen.

Seeing the seven-colored snake's strange behavior, Jing Chen's heart skipped a beat, and his smile became slightly awkward. He wondered if it was just his imagination, but he seemed to vaguely sense that within the seven-colored snake's body, a mature and proud soul was coldly watching his poor performance.

Jing Chen coughed lightly, his eyes darting around. He flicked his fingers on his storage ring, and a bottle of companion amethyst reappeared in his palm. He took out a small white jade stick, dipped a few drops of amethyst into it, and then gently shook it in front of the seven-colored snake.

The moment the Purple Crystal Source appeared, the eyes of the seven-colored snake shone brightly, and the human-like bewilderment quickly disappeared. It opened its mouth and flicked its tongue at Jing Chen, as if asking for something.

"Hehe." With this action of the seven-colored snake, the mature and proud soul within it seemed to fall silent once more. At that moment, Jing Chen smiled. Regardless of whether the Medusa Queen's soul truly existed or not, at least the current seven-colored Devouring Python was not yet able to resist the temptation brought by the Purple Crystal Source.

He handed the amethyst source into the little snake's mouth, and the snake smacked its lips as it moved around. After a moment, the snake's tail wrapped around Jing Chen's wrist, then slipped into his sleeve and gradually fell into a deep sleep.

"Haha." Seeing the Seven-Colored Sky-Swallowing Python's actions, Jing Chen grinned and burst into laughter. With the help of the Purple Crystal Source, at least his relationship with her was rapidly becoming closer. Based on this, Jing Chen believed that before she matured and acquired human intelligence, their relationship would be solidified and reliable.

Jing Chen gently patted his sleeve, his joy barely concealed. He licked the tiny bit of amethyst essence clinging to the white jade staff, letting the intense energy surge through his body. Jing Chen grinned, took a few steps forward, then looked up at the azure flame in the sky and smiled slightly. After many twists and turns, the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame had finally returned to him once more.

Although his eagerness was intense, Jing Chen did not act rashly. This strange fire was like explosives; the slightest carelessness could unleash a devastating force, just like before. He wasn't Queen Medusa, and he didn't possess absolute power. Under the destructive power of this strange fire, he would be reduced to nothingness in an instant.

"Master Yao, how do we collect this thing?" Jing Chen asked, gazing at the strange fire in mid-air.

"Collecting a strange fire isn't easy either. It incinerates anything that comes near into nothingness, including energy. Except for some special items, the only way is to forcibly envelop it with a continuous supply of energy and then take it away. I think Queen Medusa probably used this method back then." Yao Lao pondered, "However, the energy consumption is just too great. With your current strength, even if you used all the battle qi it selected, you probably wouldn't be able to move it off this island."

"Uh, what should we do?" Upon hearing this, Jing Chen's face fell, and he asked with a bitter expression.

"Hehe, of course we can't use Queen Medusa's method, we can't afford it." Yao Lao said with a smile, "What I said before was for others, but you are different. You have this tool that can easily take away the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame."

Startled, Jing Chen blinked, and after a moment, suddenly realized, "You mean the Azure Lotus Throne?"

"Hehe, that's right. The Azure Lotus Seat and the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame are from the same lineage. Using it to contain the latter can not only suppress the temperature of the doubtful flame from overflowing, but also ensure a much higher safety factor than directly enveloping it with energy," Yao Lao laughed.

Nodding slightly, Jing Chen flicked his fingers quickly across his storage ring. Instantly, azure light slowly rose from the ring, finally hovering in front of him. Within that azure light, a lotus throne, as perfect as a work of art, rotated slightly, releasing a faint energy.

Holding the azure lotus seat in his palm, Jing Chen lightly tossed it towards the strange fire in mid-air. After the azure lotus seat reached the ground beneath the strange fire, a faint azure light barrier spread out from it, eventually silently enveloping the azure lotus core fire.

As the azure light barrier slowly shrank, the strange fire fell back into the lotus heart without any resistance. Instantly, an eerie azure flame rose from the empty lotus heart.

"Success!" The successful collection of the strange fire exceeded Jing Chen's expectations. Looking at the Azure Lotus Earth Core Fire that had been collected into the Azure Lotus Seat, Jing Chen was filled with joy and carefully reached out to grasp the bottom of the Azure Lotus Seat.

"Next, leave this city as soon as possible. Find a quiet place and devour the strange fire! Remember, during this time, you cannot put the strange fire into your storage ring, otherwise everything inside will be burned to nothingness," Yao Lao reminded him in a deep voice.

"Hmm." Jing Chen nodded heavily, his body trembled slightly, and his Angel Wings shot out. He grabbed a handful of Qi-restoring pills and stuffed them into his mouth. Then, with a solemn expression, he looked up at the purple light shield that was about to dissipate.

The purple light shield appeared and disappeared intermittently, and at a certain moment, it finally burst into countless tiny sparks of light and electricity.

The moment the purple light shield shattered, Jing Chen slammed his foot hard on the ground, his body shooting straight into the sky. Then, dragging Qinglian along, he ran desperately towards the outside of the city.

"What happened?" Gu He, who had retreated a distance earlier, returned to the black-robed man's side somewhat nervously after the terrifying aura dissipated, and cautiously asked, "Didn't she successfully evolve? What happened?"

"There must be something wrong with Jin Hua. That aura has completely disappeared," the man in black robes said softly, shaking his head slightly.

"Failed?" Upon hearing this, Gu He was taken aback, then let out a slightly regretful, yet secretly pleased sigh of relief. His gaze lingered on the temple where the blue smoke was gradually dissipating. Suddenly, his brow furrowed, and he said, "Why has the aura of the strange fire also disappeared?"

"The energy fluctuations inside have calmed down. As for that strange fire, could it have been destroyed by Queen Medusa?" the black-robed man asked with slight hesitation.

"It's probably impossible. Although Queen Medusa is incredibly powerful, she's still a step short of destroying the Strange Flame." Gu He shook his head. As an alchemist, he naturally knew the power of the Strange Flame best.

"Let's search more carefully after the smoke clears," Guhe said with a slight frown.

"Old He, how's it going?" Two streaks of light flew into the city from outside the city walls, finally stopping beside Gu He and the other man. Their gazes swept across the temple below, and Yan Shi said in a deep voice, "That aura from just now?"

"It's the aura of Queen Medusa, but it seems there was some problem with its evolution. Perhaps it has already dissipated," Guhe pondered.

"Phew!" Upon hearing this, Yan Shi and Feng Li both breathed a long sigh of relief. The terrifying aura they had just witnessed had completely extinguished any will to fight in their hearts. That level of powerhouse was beyond their reach and ability to contend with.

"What do we do now?" Feng Li's gaze swept across the city. Countless hateful eyes made him frown slightly. He looked up at the sky in the distance. Yue Mei and Mo Bas were coldly watching them. Occasionally, their eyes would glance at the temple with a hint of anxiety.

(End of this chapter)