The Scorchwind Plains lived up to their name—a hellscape of swirling ash and geysers that belched pillars of molten rock. Li Tian's group trudged through the inferno, their Voidsteel armor glowing faintly as it repelled the worst of the heat. Above, the Sky Shrikes screeched warnings, their feathers singed by ember-laden winds.
"Keep moving!" Goran barked, his bone staff smoldering where it touched the cracked earth. "If we stop, we cook."
Xia's healing qi wove a fragile shield around them, her face slick with sweat. "The Shrikes can't take much more. We need shelter."
Li Tian's corrupted hand pulsed in time with the Primal Core's erratic rhythm. He pointed to a jagged outcrop ahead. "There. Regroup."
---
**The Fire Drake's Wrath**
Shelter became a trap.
As the group huddled beneath the rocks, the ground trembled. A colossal fire drake erupted from the earth, its scales dripping magma, eyes like smelted iron. Its roar scattered the Shrikes, their panicked cries lost in the tempest.
Yan Mei lunged first, daggers glinting with Lira's frost venom. "Aim for the joints!"
The venom sizzled against the drake's hide, freezing patches of molten scale. Goran's staff struck like a comet, shattering the brittle armor. The drake retaliated, its tail whipping a gout of flame that forced Xia to redirect her qi into a barrier.
Li Tian's obsidian hand seized the creature's throat, primal energy surging. The drake's essence flooded him—a torrent of fire and rage. The Hollow Star's voice laughed through the connection:
*"More. Take more."*
The drake collapsed, desiccated to ash. Li Tian staggered, veins glowing crimson.
"Control it," Xia pleaded, her qi brushing his arm.
He shoved her away. "I *am* in control."
---
**The Lava Fields**
Beyond the outcrop lay the Searing Step—a labyrinth of floating stone islands suspended above a lava lake. Heat rippled the air, distorting the path ahead.
"Illusions," Yan Mei muttered, eyeing the shifting stones. "One misstep…"
Goran tested the first island with his staff. It held. "Move fast. Don't look down."
The group leaped in tandem, their movements precise. Halfway across, the islands began to sink.
"It's reacting to our weight!" Xia shouted, her shield faltering under the heat.
Li Tian channeled the Core, blackening the stones beneath his feet to stabilize them. "Go! Now!"
They reached solid ground as the final island melted, the lava below roaring in frustration.
---
**The Rival's Gambit**
The ambush came at dusk.
Flame Emperor remnants—scarred survivors of Xuan Ji's defeat—emerged from the ash. Their leader, a hulking cultivator branded with the Hollow Star's sigil, sneered. "The Bastion's puppet. The Star promised your heart."
Li Tian's corruption flared. "Come claim it."
The battle was brutal. Yan Mei's daggers clashed with flame-wreathed swords, Goran's staff shattered limbs, and Xia's qi mended wounds as fast as they were inflicted. Li Tian fought at the center, a maelstrom of primal energy and shadow.
When the leader lunged, Li Tian seized his arm. The man's flesh withered, his scream cut short as the Hollow Star's mark consumed him.
"They're not just followers," Xia realized, staring at the dissipating shadow. "They're *vessels*."
---
**The Breaking Point**
That night, Li Tian's control slipped.
A phantom drake materialized in his watch—a Hollowborn illusion. He unleashed the Core's fury, incinerating the vision… and part of their supplies.
Xia confronted him, her voice trembling. "You're killing yourself. And us."
Goran cleaned his staff, eyes hard. "If you turn, I'll put you down myself."
Li Tian's star-flecked eye dimmed. "Then we'd better reach the Expanse first."
---
**The Forest's Edge**
At dawn, the plains yielded to an obsidian forest, its trees twisted into claw-like shapes. The air hummed with distorted qi, and shadows writhed where light dared not touch.
Yan Mei spat. "The Silent Expanse. Looks like a graveyard."
Li Tian's corruption surged, the Hollow Star's whisper a lover's caress:
*"Welcome home."*
---