"That's right!"
Han Yue seemed to have guessed what Yan Qingshan meant. Her eyes lit up slightly, and she nodded with a smile, "If you and Junior Sister Xian'er are planning to go to the Central Plains, I can be your host!"
Zi Yan spoke up, not wanting to be left behind, "Me too, me too! I want to go with you guys too."
"Of course you'll go. I was planning to take you to the Central Plains this time!"
Yan Qingshan smiled and patted Zi Yan's little head. Her soft and beautiful purple hair felt nice to the touch, and Zi Yan's slightly awkward but not-avoiding facial expression was quite amusing.
"Xian'er, some powers in the Central Plains are hostile to your unique physique. We don't have the strength to deal with them yet, so... I'm afraid you'll have to stay at the academy and help me watch over the Black Corner Region and the Jia Ma Empire."
Yan Qingshan turned to Xiao Yi Xian and said with an apologetic look. Disappointment flashed in Xiao Yi Xian's eyes, but she still nodded obediently.
"Zi Yan, come with me for a moment."
Yan Qingshan talked to Xiao Yi Xian for a while longer and discussed some serious matters with Han Yue. He then gently tugged on the purple strand of hair in his hand that he had been playing with, signaling for Zi Yan to follow him outside.
Yan Qingshan led Zi Yan to the backyard. With a wave of his hand, a massive black shadow appeared on the stone table in the yard. A pair of bone wings that looked like jade were the first to catch the eye. They reflected a faint fluorescence in the sunlight, looking extraordinarily strange.
When Zi Yan saw this, she couldn't help but frown. "This is that ugly thing we found from the Black Emperor Sect. It's so ugly; it gives me a really unpleasant feeling as soon as it appears."
Yan Qingshan's gaze was first drawn to the jade-like bone wings. The wings were slightly transparent, and with his naked eye, he could clearly see the strange energy flowing within them like plankton. When stimulated by spiritual power, they would also reflect a faint jade glow.
"Wind and fire, Heaven Demon Phoenix!"
Yan Qingshan squinted at the mummified magical beast in front of him. It was one of the treasures he and Zi Yan had obtained when they forced their way into the Black Emperor Pavilion during the chaos in the Black Corner Region. A mummy of unknown origin and without a magical core.
It was said that this mummy was likely a Tier 7 magical beast, but Yan Qingshan knew it wasn't that simple. This magical beast mummy came from one of the three great magical beast clans, a descendant of the ancient Heaven Phoenix that once contended with the Ancient Void Dragon—the Heaven Demon Phoenix clan.
Yan Qingshan took out a long sword and dismembered the mummy. He kept the two bone wings for himself. After he took off the ten pale claws, a pure cyan flame rose from his palm.
The originally mud-like pale claws gradually shrank under the intense heat of the Green Lotus Core Flame. The pale color silently dissipated, replaced by a cyan-red color. The tips of the claws became even more terrifyingly sharp.
About fifteen to sixteen minutes later, the pale claws turned into cyan-red spikes the length of a finger joint. The cyan and red were mixed and blended, like a combination of wind and fire, exuding a sense of whistling heat.
"Here! They're for you."
After forging the ten bone claws, Yan Qingshan threw them all to the little girl. Zi Yan seemed to not believe it at first but then cheered excitedly.
Zi Yan couldn't put the ten bone claws down. She said happily, "This is great! I'm going to use them to make a knuckle-duster. This weapon will definitely suit me."
After dealing with the bone claws, Yan Qingshan began to work on the mummy's flesh. The pale white chunks of meat were wrapped in a pure cyan flame, constantly letting out sizzling sounds, and gradually took on a cyan-red color.
After more than half an hour, five drops of cyan-red essence blood were collected by Yan Qingshan into a jade bottle. These five drops of essence blood seemed very little, but they were refined from the flesh and blood of a Heaven Demon Phoenix, and were called Phoenix Blood Essence, which was extremely valuable.
"A Heaven Demon Phoenix's magical essence!"
Yan Qingshan continued to work. He dripped a drop of the cyan-red Phoenix Blood Essence onto the remaining hide of the mummy, and the Green Lotus Core Flame continued to burn.
As soon as the cyan-red blood landed on the withered hide, the gray-white hide of the mummy was stimulated as if by a jolt. It writhed like a snake, and a cyan-red color immediately spread from where the blood had landed.
In just a few blinks of an eye, the gray-white hide was replaced by a strange cyan-red color and began to emit an astonishing energy fluctuation.
Under the high-temperature refinement of the Heavenly Flame, the withered hide slowly began to ooze out wisps of cyan-red mist. As the mist grew thicker, a powerful energy fluctuation gradually intensified, and a terrifying energy pressure spread from within.
"Sizzle..."
The Heavenly Flame burned for a long time, and the piece of magical beast hide finally turned into ash. As the hide dissipated, a vortex appeared in the center of the cyan-red cloud, and streams of powerful and violent energy began to continuously drill into the vortex at the center.
After a flash of strong light, a cyan-red magical core with a slightly irregular shape floated in mid-air. As it slowly rotated, it radiated a cyan-red light, causing the surrounding space to slightly warp.
"Zi Yan, help me collect all this remaining energy and refine it."
Yan Qingshan collected the precious magical core in his hand, and then asked Zi Yan to use her innate ability to collect the remaining Heaven Demon Phoenix energy, which was something Yan Qingshan could not do.
"What's the use of these auras and stuff? They're all chaotic energies with malice. There's no benefit in absorbing them; it's better to just let them dissipate!"
Zi Yan was a little puzzled by Yan Qingshan's idea, but she still did as she was told. She was right, of course. The remaining energy that hadn't completely dissipated was not pure enough. If a person absorbed it, it would only harm them. But Yan Qingshan didn't plan to give it to a living person.
…
"What? You want to enter the bottom of the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower?"
In a brightly lit study, Su Qian's movements immediately froze when he heard Yan Qingshan's request. He looked up, his face full of alarm. "Do you know what you're saying? It's very dangerous down there. Don't act recklessly!"
The lowest floor of the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower was also the place where the Fallen Heart Flame was sealed. It was a lifeless world of lava, with scorching lava flowing everywhere, and the energy was filled with a hint of violence.
What was even more dangerous was that the Fallen Heart Flame was sealed on that floor. It was its home turf. Even Grand Elder Su Qian couldn't guarantee that he would be able to come back up if he went down.
Yan Qingshan smiled calmly and said confidently, "Don't worry, Grand Elder. I've always been very careful with what I do. I want to go down and try to solve the Fallen Heart Flame matter once and for all. I won't act recklessly. My life is precious; I won't do anything I'm not confident about."
Su Qian frowned slightly, put the book in his hand aside, and pondered for a moment. He looked at Yan Qingshan's expression again and then nodded. "Alright. Since you insist, I'll allow it.
But I must warn you in advance, that is not a kind place. If you encounter danger, come back immediately. I will arrange for the Inner Academy elders to guard the cave entrance."
Yan Qingshan bowed slightly to Grand Elder Su Qian. "Thank you, Grand Elder."
…
The lowest floor of the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower, the place where the Fallen Heart Flame was nurtured and sealed. Because there had been signs of the Fallen Heart Flame's revival in recent years, with more frequent eruptions, the door to the bottom level had been tightly sealed.
"Although the Fallen Heart Flame has been very well-behaved these days, that guy is probably still waiting for an opportunity. You must be careful after you go in."
While Su Qian was giving his instructions, he slowly pushed open the heavy iron door. With the clatter of the door turning on its hinges, a scorching aura, as if it had been sealed for countless years, immediately swept out.
Yan Qingshan followed Grand Elder Su Qian all the way to the end. What came into his sight was a reddish scene. A scorching aura spewed out from it, just like a volcano. The entrance was still a good distance from the lava world, but even from so far away, the scorching aura was still powerful and undiminished.
"Since you're confident that you can cultivate here, I won't stop you. But you must be careful of the Fallen Heart Flame's eruptions. I will arrange for people to watch, and you must come out as soon as something happens."
Grand Elder Su Qian instructed, "I believe that with your strength, the Fallen Heart Flame should not be able to harm you, but it's better to be safe than sorry. You must retreat immediately if it erupts."
Yan Qingshan nodded and said, "Understood. Thank you, Grand Elder, for everything outside."
Su Qian smiled and waved his hand. "Kid, why are you being so polite with me? I have time now. You go in and try. I'll stand guard for you. If something happens, send a signal, and I'll come down to save you immediately."
Yan Qingshan naturally wouldn't refuse Grand Elder Su Qian's kindness. After seeing the Grand Elder off, he began to carefully explore the lava world.
An invisible fire serpent was not far from him, exuding a fierce aura and scorching fire waves. It was tightly restricted to a certain range within the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower. Even though the lava area that nurtured it was close by, it could not leave.
The 14th on the Heavenly Flame Ranking, the Fallen Heart Flame. Fire is born from the heart, refining Qi and forging bones. It is known as the 'Cultivation Cheating Device'. It can also use its heart flame to affect others' minds in battle and cause great damage to soul-like beings.
Yan Qingshan had not been at the lava entrance for long when he felt the Green Lotus Core Flame inside his body involuntarily trembling. When this happened, he stopped in his tracks and carefully observed the invisible fire serpent.
The invisible fire serpent seemed to be in a deep sleep, but Yan Qingshan could tell that it had already woken up. This was because the Green Lotus Core Flame inside him was trembling violently. This was an instinctive reaction to danger; the guy opposite was targeting it.
The relationship between Heavenly Flames is not a matter of the weak submitting to the strong. Once they clash, it's a battle to the death. Both will want to devour the other to strengthen themselves. Back then, Tuoshe Ancient Emperor devoured twenty-one Heavenly Flames to become the Emperor Flame and eventually became an Dou Di.
The Fallen Heart Flame trapped in the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower had a high level of intelligence. It had been trying to escape ever since the tower was built. After countless attempts, its intelligence had greatly increased, and it now knew to accumulate strength and not act recklessly.