Battle Through the Heavens: Oh no, I've become the succubus Xiao Yan!

Deep in the Tagor Desert, the surface temperature is high enough to cook an egg.

Xiao Yan led Little Fairy Doctor and Qing Lin through the yellow sand. He didn't leave them in Stone Desert City—firstly, subduing the strange fire wasn't dangerous, so he could just let them follow him, and he wouldn't feel at ease if they were too far away from him; secondly, Qing Lin's Jade Serpent Three-Flower Pupil had a natural ability to restrain serpentine magical beasts, and having Qing Lin with him was the safest approach.

Of course, there was another reason he didn't mention.

In the original story, a two-headed fire spirit snake, a fourth-tier magical beast, lives at the location of the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame. The Azure Serpent Three-Flower Pupil has an extremely high success rate in taming snake-type magical beasts. This fire spirit snake possesses combat power at the Dou Ling level; if Qing Lin can tame it, it will greatly guarantee her safety and combat strength.

"Brother Xiao Yan, it's so hot... But I can hold on, I won't hold you back." Qing Lin's face was flushed red from the sun, but she gritted her teeth and didn't complain.

Xiao Yan stopped and squatted down in front of her.

"Get on, I'll carry you."

Qinglin paused for a moment, then obediently climbed onto his back. Xiao Yan stood up, his Dou Qi and Fire God Flame forming a thin temperature barrier on his body, insulating him from the scorching heat outside. Qinglin felt as if she were leaning against a heater against his back—not hot, just warm and comfortable.

"Sister, come too." Qinglin reached out her hand to Little Fairy Doctor.

Little Fairy Doctor glanced at Xiao Yan, who didn't say anything but simply turned his back slightly.

The Fairy Doctor smiled slightly and walked over to support his shoulder.

The three of them continued walking deeper into the desert, chatting and laughing.

-

From the moment he entered the desert, Xiao Yan felt a calling from the depths of the earth. That calling was like an invisible thread, pulling his soul downward, downward, and downward again.

The Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame was calling to him. He seemed to see an azure figure there, eagerly beckoning him.

No, it's not just a summons. It's more of an expectation.

  

It's like a child who has been imprisoned outside for a thousand years finally hearing the sound of his mother's footsteps.

Xiao Yan quickened his pace. The Wings of the Fire God unfolded, carrying the two of them at low altitude. He unleashed his full soul perception, locking onto the source of the summoning.

The deeper you go, the higher the temperature becomes. The air begins to distort, and the distant scenery ripples like water. The sand underfoot becomes scorching hot; an ordinary person would be burned after just a few steps.

But Xiao Yan's Fire God Body didn't care about any of that. His body was like a walking furnace; the surrounding temperature was just lukewarm to him. Little Fairy Doctor, protected by Xiao Yan's flame barrier, didn't feel uncomfortable either. Qing Lin, with Xiao Yan's protection, was even more energetic than usual.

Finally, he stopped in the middle of a huge sand pit.

The sandpit was dozens of meters deep, with a dark red rock layer exposed at the bottom. Countless cracks ran through the rock layer, from which scorching air currents surged, the temperature so high that even the air itself seemed to be burning.

Deep within the rock strata, Xiao Yan sensed a ball of cyan flame burning quietly.

The Fire of the Green Lotus Core.

The Nineteenth Strange Flame on the Strange Flame Ranking was born deep within the earth and took thousands of years to condense. Its shape resembles a blooming lotus flower, with transparent cyan petals and a deep blue flame core at its center.

As Xiao Yan gazed at the blue lotus, his heart began to race involuntarily; this was his first strange flame.

He could sense the emotions of the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame—yes, emotions. It wasn't a mindless flame; it had its own desires. It longed to be tamed by a master it liked, to no longer burn alone underground, and to be embraced by Xiao Yan's hands.

"Little Fairy Doctor, take Qinglin upstairs and wait for me." Xiao Yan put Qinglin down.

"Go down by yourself? Won't it be dangerous?" Little Fairy Doctor frowned.

"I can handle the strange fire myself more quickly. It's not safe for you down there—the magma temperature is too high, and I can't spare the time to take care of you."

Little Fairy Doctor wanted to say something, but seeing Xiao Yan's gaze, she nodded.

"Then be careful."

"Um."

Qinglin held Little Fairy Doctor's hand and looked up at Xiao Yan. Her snake eyes reflected the blue flame, and her pupils contracted slightly—she could feel that the flame was summoning Xiao Yan.

"Go, Xiao Yan!"

Xiao Yan smiled and leaped into the sand pit.

-

The rock strata at the bottom of the sandpit were already glowing red from the intense heat, and Xiao Yan's feet sizzled as he stepped on them. He descended deeper into the cracks, where the temperature rose higher and higher, and the oxygen content in the air decreased—but these were no problem for the Fire God Body.

The deeper they went, the stronger the call of the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame became. It wasn't a resistance or rejection, but a yearning pull.

Finally, deep underground, he saw a lava lake.

Red lava churned and surged, waves of heat washing over you, even the air itself seemed to be burning. In the center of the lava lake, a blue lotus flower floated serenely. Its petals were a translucent blue, with a deep blue flame at its center. It drifted gently on the lava, like a flower blooming on water.

But Xiao Yan knew that the temperature of this "flower" was many times higher than the scorching magma around it.

On the surface of the lava lake, a two-headed fire serpent was swimming. Its two heads swayed back and forth, its body several meters long, covered with dark red scales, from which scorching flames seeped.

Fourth-tier magical beast.

The Fire Spirit Serpent sensed the intruder, and both its heads turned towards Xiao Yan simultaneously, its vertical pupils filled with ferocity. It opened its mouth, and two pillars of fire shot out at the same time!

Xiao Yan didn't even lift his eyelids.

The flames of the Vulcan silently spread from his body, and two pillars of fire collided with the flame barrier, evaporating instantly like water splashed on an iron plate. The Fire Spirit Serpent was stunned—it had reigned supreme in the lava lake for so many years and had never encountered such a being before.

That aura was terrifying. It wasn't just simple power; it was an overwhelming dominance at the bloodline level.

The Fire Serpent's two heads drooped simultaneously, its body trembling in the lava.

Xiao Yan glanced at it but didn't kill it. A thought flashed through his mind—Qing Lin's Jade Serpent Three-Flower Pupil.

"I'll take you up there later, behave yourself." He said to the fire spirit snake, then ignored it and walked towards the center of the lava lake.

He walked onto the lava lake. A thin layer of flame formed beneath his feet, and the lava dispersed upon contact, as if paving a path.

One step, two steps, three steps.

He walked up to Qinglian.

He stretched out his hand.

The Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame stirred. It wasn't a struggle, nor a test—it simply floated up, like a bird that had waited too long finally seeing its nest. One by one, the azure petals pressed against Xiao Yan's palm, warm, soft, and trembling slightly.

Like a stray cat finally being picked up and meeting its destined owner, it was still trembling with excitement.

After Qinglian left, its base was revealed on the surface of the lava lake—a fist-sized azure lotus platform, its surface smooth and warm like jade, with the grooves left by the fall of eight petals still visible. Scattered beside the platform were eleven thumb-sized dark red lotus seeds, faintly glowing in the lava.

The Earth Core Lotus Platform and the Earth Fire Lotus Seeds. These items are extremely valuable in alchemy and cultivation, and Xiao Yan casually put them into his storage ring.

The moment the flame merged into his palm, Xiao Yan's body shuddered violently.

It wasn't pain, but rather feeling completely filled.

"Ah, that feels good."

The power of the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame surged through Xiao Yan's meridians into his entire body, the sensation was immense. It was like a river suddenly pouring into a pipe, pushing his meridians to their limits. Azure flames erupted from Xiao Yan's skin, a section of his sleeve was burned off, and ripples spread across the magma beneath his feet.

Then the Burning Technique was activated.

Xiao Yan hadn't actively activated it yet; it was the Burning Technique that sensed the strange fire and automatically initiated the absorption. His dantian was like a mouth, trying to swallow all the power of the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame—but the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame was also expanding, and the two forces collided within his body, causing violent fluctuations in his fighting spirit.

It felt like there was an earthquake inside my meridians.

But after the Flame of the God of Fire was added, everything changed. The Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame suddenly became like a sycophant, obediently preparing to be refined.