Location: Deep Desert — Pre-dawn
Charges Banked: 12
The desert before sunrise was neither hot nor cold.
It was waiting.
Wind moved across the dunes in long, patient strokes, smoothing the sand as though the world were being erased and redrawn with every breath. A thin blue light sat on the horizon, too faint to be called dawn yet, but enough to outline the ridges of distant dunes in pale shadow.
Ren opened his eyes into that stillness.
He did not stand immediately.
A breakthrough meant nothing if the foundation beneath it shifted. Strength gained too quickly had a habit of fracturing from within, and the desert was not a forgiving place for instability.
Good thing Dragon Vein Blood Vine fixed his foundation for his Dou Master realm.
He remained seated where he had finished refining, legs folded, spine straight, breath steady.
One circulation of Dou Qi.
Then another.
The energy moved differently now—denser, heavier, more obedient. Where it had once flowed like a current, it now moved like pressure through reinforced channels. The effects of the Dragon Vein Blood Vine had already settled into his bloodstream, but traces of excess power still lingered. Each full cycle smoothed them, compressing the last remnants into something usable rather than volatile.
By the fourth circulation, his aura stopped fluctuating entirely.
By the sixth, the new realm no longer felt new.
Only then did he exhale fully and let the last thread of tension leave his shoulders.
His ability responded quietly in the background of his awareness.
[Feat Acquired: Bloodline Awakening]
[Reward: +3 Charges]
Twelve became fifteen without ceremony.
Moments later, the horizon brightened. Dawn edged closer, and with it came the steady, predictable return of daily charge recovery.
+1 Charge
Fifteen became sixteen.
He accepted the increase without reaction. Numbers mattered. Stability mattered more.
Ren pushed himself to his feet and rolled his shoulders once, testing the weight of his body. The sand beneath his boots shifted slightly, but his balance held without effort. His breathing remained even. No lingering strain. No backlash.
Dou Great Master.
A realm achieved cleanly.
His blood moved differently now. Not faster—stronger. Each heartbeat carried weight, like a hammer striking something being forged rather than something merely alive. The Sovereign Flame resting within him responded to that change with quiet resonance. No instability. No rejection. The two forces aligned rather than clashed.
He let his awareness drift inward for a moment longer, confirming the obvious.
Qi circulation: smooth.
Meridians: reinforced.
Soul: clear.
No deviation.
Good.
He focused on the faint patterns beneath his skin and allowed them to surface.
Golden lines appeared along his forearms first, branching upward toward his shoulders and across his chest. They did not flare or burn. They settled into place with a calm inevitability, as though they had always been there and had merely been waiting to be acknowledged.
Qi output increased instantly. Muscle tension aligned. Even the ambient heat in the air felt easier to push against.
He let the state hold for three slow breaths.
Thirty minutes of sustained activation before strain began. Cooldown roughly half a day. Not a passive enhancement—something to be used deliberately.
He dismissed it.
The lines faded, sinking back beneath the surface until only ordinary skin remained.
A flicker of violet appeared above his palm when he lifted his hand. The Sovereign Flame formed without effort, contained and obedient. Its presence pressed outward just enough to remind the air who held authority. The core burned deep and steady, no longer wild or reactive. Control had sharpened with the breakthrough. More importantly, compatibility had improved.
He rotated his wrist slightly. The flame followed, precise and responsive.
No instability from the earlier modification. The new trait lay within it, quiet but present—authority rather than force. Something that denied rather than overwhelmed.
Satisfied, he dismissed the flame. The heat vanished with it, leaving only the natural warmth of the desert's early morning.
Wings formed next.
They unfolded from his back in a ripple of condensed Dou Qi—violet, structured, efficient. He gave a single measured beat. Lift came easily. The strain was negligible compared to before. He folded them away again without taking off.
No need to waste duration before departure.
He retrieved a small cauldron from his storage ring and set it on a flat stretch of stone half-buried in sand. The desert was not an ideal place for refining, but the pills he intended to make did not require perfection. They required reliability.
The flame returned in a narrow stream.
He worked quickly and without wasted motion. Ingredients entered the cauldron in measured amounts. Heat adjusted. Cycles repeated. The Sovereign Flame's control allowed for batch refinement without fluctuation. By the time the first line of sunlight crested the horizon, several jade bottles rested beside him, each filled with energy recovery pills—simple, efficient, necessary for prolonged exposure to extreme environments.
He sealed them and stored them away.
Only then did he take out the restored map.
What had once been scrap now carried clarity. Lines were sharp. Landmarks precise. The marked location lay beneath a region of hardened black stone and sunken dunes. Beneath that—sealed heat. A volcanic chamber buried under centuries of sand.
The Green Lotus Core Flame.
Rank nineteen.
Even dormant, its environment would be lethal. The heat alone could strip flesh from bone. Entering without preparation would be suicide for most at his level.
He studied the path again. Approach from elevation. Avoid the main fissures. Enter through the collapsed ridge indicated along the western edge. Minimal exposure before descent.
He folded the map and slipped it back into his sleeve.
Preparation was complete.
Ren stood and summoned the wings again. Violet feathers unfolded behind him, catching the first rays of the rising sun as he stepped off the ridge and lifted into the air.
He did not fly fast.
Measured beats. Controlled ascent. Periodic glides to conserve energy. The desert stretched endlessly beneath him, but the terrain ahead gradually darkened. Sand gave way to hardened earth. Then to cracked stone. Then to patches where heat shimmered upward from beneath the ground even in the early morning.
By the time the sun rose fully, the air had begun to change.
Not hotter.
Denser.
He descended onto a jagged outcrop overlooking a shallow depression in the blackened land ahead. Thin red light pulsed from fissures below, faint but constant, like the slow breathing of something enormous sleeping under the earth.
He stood there without moving for several seconds.
[Location: Underground Magma Caverns]
Ren entered the cave without hesitation.
The temperature changed the moment he crossed the threshold. Outside, the desert heat had been harsh but manageable—something that pressed against the skin. Inside, it pressed into the bones. The air itself felt thick, heavy with dormant fire that had nowhere to escape.
He walked rather than flew.
Wings inside a confined cavern were a liability. Air currents shifted unpredictably near magma vents, and narrow tunnels left no room to maneuver. One wrong beat could send him into a wall of molten stone. He kept the wings dismissed and moved forward on foot, each step deliberate.
The tunnel sloped downward.
Red light pulsed along the rock like a heartbeat beneath the surface. Heat rose through cracks in steady waves. By the time he reached the first bend, the stone beneath his boots had turned dark and glassy, as if it had melted once and cooled without ever fully hardening again.
The deeper he went, the quieter everything became.
No wind. No shifting sand. Only the distant, low churn of something vast and liquid moving below.
The tunnel opened suddenly into a wide cavern.
Ren stopped at the edge.
A magma lake stretched across the chamber beneath him, glowing red-orange in slow, rolling currents. Heat shimmered upward in visible waves, distorting the air. Occasional bubbles rose to the surface and burst with soft, violent pops that sent molten droplets splashing against the surrounding rock.
The ceiling arched high above, blackened and cracked. Stone pillars jutted from the magma like the ribs of something long dead. At the far end, partially submerged and half-collapsed, stood the remnants of a structure—an ancient crypt carved into the rock, now filled with molten fire.
"A place like this…"
He exhaled slowly.
If a Heavenly Flame were to be born anywhere in this region, this would be it. The environment was perfect. Sealed heat. Constant pressure. Isolation. All the conditions required for something like the Green Lotus Core Flame to take root and mature.
But perfect locations did not guarantee presence.
He studied the magma below for a few seconds longer.
'Would it really be here?'
There was only one way to find out.
Violet-white fire poured from his body, forming a controlled mantle around him. The Sovereign Flame settled close, dense and layered, wrapping him in authority rather than raw heat. The air around him warped as the flame stabilized, creating a thin barrier between his body and the surrounding temperature.
He stepped forward.
And jumped.
The world vanished in a violent splash as he entered the magma.
For an instant, there was nothing but pressure and red light. Molten rock surged around him, heavy and suffocating. Then the Sovereign Flame expanded slightly, partitioning the heat away. The magma still pressed against him, still moved around him in slow, crushing currents—but it did not touch his body directly.
He sank.
Everything below was red. Not bright, not blazing—dense. The kind of red that felt like it had weight. Currents moved through the molten lake in slow spirals, occasionally surging into violent underflows that twisted through the depths.
Ren did not rush the descent.
Magma surged past his shoulders in slow currents. Bubbles rose beside him, swelling into large air pockets before bursting with dull, concussive pops. Each burst sent streaks of molten rock toward him, only for them to dissolve into nothing the moment they touched the violet mantle surrounding his body.
He let himself sink deeper.
Even with the Sovereign Flame separating the heat from his body, Ren could feel the temperature rising steadily as he descended.
The deeper he went, the stranger the environment became. The red glow around him began to shift, gradually taking on a faint greenish tint. Not bright—subtle. But unmistakable.
Temperature rising. Pressure rising.
The magma here moved differently. Faster. More volatile. Underflows surged from unseen directions, packed with dense energy that twisted the currents into violent spirals. If one of those struck directly, even a Dou Grandmaster would be battered into paste.
Ren adjusted his descent, weaving between the currents with measured precision. The wings behind him formed and dismissed in short bursts—used only when necessary to shift direction or accelerate through calmer pockets of magma.
Then something large moved below.
A shape cut through the molten lake with alarming speed. Two elongated heads emerged first, followed by a massive body coiled in deep red flame. Its scales glowed like heated metal. Fire wrapped its form in constant motion.
Two-Headed Flame Spirit Serpent.Rank 4 (Dou Spirit equivalent).
Ren exhaled slowly as both heads turned toward him at once.
"…Of course there's a guardian beast."
The serpent's eyes burned with dull intelligence. It did not hesitate. Both heads opened wide, drawing in surrounding magma as if inhaling the environment itself. Flame compressed between its jaws, condensing into multiple spheres of dense energy.
Ten streams of fire formed at once.
They launched toward him in a converging pattern.
Ren's expression did not change.
Nine Stroke Tattoo along with Golden lines ignited beneath his skin as the bloodline state activated.
Power surged through his limbs—dense, reinforced, stable. The Sovereign Flame thickened around him, its presence pressing outward like quiet authority.
The incoming fire slowed. Suppressed.
The serpent's control over its own element wavered as his bloodline asserted dominance. The attacks still struck—but with less cohesion, less force.
He moved once.
A single strike cleaved through the first wave, dispersing it into harmless currents. The second wave broke apart before reaching him, its structure collapsing under the pressure of the opposing flame.
The serpent recoiled, both heads hissing in unison.
Then it lunged.
Its massive body surged through the magma, coils cutting through the molten currents with frightening speed. One head snapped toward him while the other gathered flame again, forming a spiral of compressed fire that crackled even within the liquid environment.
He twisted aside, letting the first head pass, then drove a controlled burst of flame forward. The Sovereign Flame did not explode outward—it pressed. Suppression rolled through the serpent's body, dulling the fire clinging to its scales.
The second head's attack destabilized mid-formation. The spiral of flame unraveled into scattered streams that vanished into the magma.
The serpent thrashed once, coils churning violently. Magma surged in turbulent waves around them. Underflows twisted through the chamber, sending heavy currents crashing against the stone walls of the crypt.
Ren watched it for a moment.
Then ended it.
A final, concentrated strike, reinforced by the golden circuitry of his bloodline, forced the creature downward into the densest currents below. It did not rise again. The magma closed over the disturbance slowly, as if swallowing the evidence of the encounter.
Silence returned.
Ren let the bloodline state settle. The golden lines faded beneath his skin. The Sovereign Flame remained, steady and controlled.
'I should have activated that Trait: Deepsea Abyss before diving'
He exhaled, shaking his head slightly.
"Fighting beasts..." he muttered. "Good for testing suppression and raw output. Useless for technique refinement."
It was a simple stat check. His flame was superior. His bloodline was superior. The beast never stood a chance. It didn't teach him anything about fighting a human cultivator who could think, adapt, and use strategies other than 'bite' and 'burn'.
Still, the environment had served its purpose. His defenses held. His flame remained stable. His body showed no sign of strain despite the rising temperature.
He summoned the wings again.
Within the magma, they formed as condensed projections rather than full extensions—short bursts of propulsion that allowed him to maneuver more efficiently through the thick currents.
He descended further. With occasionally taking Energy Recovery pills to sustain his movement.
Soon the magma shifted color more dramatically. Red gave way to a deeper orange, then to a faint green glow that spread through the depths like submerged moonlight. The temperature rose sharply with every meter.
Even with the Sovereign Flame's protection, he could feel the difference.
He continued.
Time lost meaning in the descent. There was only movement. Heat. Pressure. The steady glow growing brighter ahead.
Then the magma opened.
Ren did not reach for the flame immediately.
He hovered just beyond the stone platform, suspended within the dense, green-lit magma while the Sovereign Flame pressed outward in a calm, territorial halo. The temperature here was absurd. Even with his protection, the heat felt layered—like standing inside a furnace placed within another furnace.
His gaze shifted to the structure beneath the flame.
A green lotus floated in the molten sea.
It was not large. Perhaps two to three feet across. Yet its presence made the surrounding magma feel like background noise. Eight leaves spread outward in perfect symmetry, each one resembling translucent jade carved by a master artisan. Light passed through them in soft gradients, refracting across the magma until the entire cavern shimmered in green-gold tones.
Within those leaves sat a lotus platform—dense, circular, and perforated by small openings. From each opening, faint fluorescent light pulsed steadily. Lotus seeds. Not ordinary ones. Condensed fire-attribute energy formed into solid cores, glowing like miniature stars trapped inside stone.
Below the platform, a long, narrow stem extended into the magma. Its surface was covered in countless tiny tendrils that drifted and swayed through the molten currents. They absorbed fire-type energy greedily, pulling it inward and feeding the lotus above. The entire structure floated freely in the magma like duckweed on an endless ocean, drifting yet never straying far from this chamber.
If not for the serpent that had guarded this place, he would never have found it.
He focused.
Appraisal responded.
[Appraisal]
[Item: Green Lotus Platform]
[Tier: 4 (Natural Treasure)]
[Quality: 95%]
[Enhancement: 0/4]
[Description: A platform born of earth and fire. Can increase cultivation speed by 300-400% when used for training. Naturally calms violent flames and mental demons.]
Ren exhaled quietly.
"…Useful."
He stepped forward.
The Sovereign Flame parted the magma ahead of him like a current yielding to a stronger tide. Heat thickened as he approached the lotus. The space within the eight leaves felt strangely calm—like the center of a storm. Temperature remained high, but stable.
And at the center—
A small flame flickered above the platform.
Green. Pure. Compact.
It burned with a quiet, ancient steadiness that radiated outward through the magma in layered pulses.
He approached, his Sovereign Flame flaring with authority, creating a bubble of safety around him.
[Appraisal]
[Item: Green Lotus Core Flame]
[Tier: 6 (Heavenly Flame - Rank 19)]
[Quality: 95% (Mature)]
[Enhancement: 0/6]
[Description: Born from the underground magma. Requires a thousand years to form, a thousand years to coalesce, and a thousand years to mature. Known for unpredictable eruptions and earth-shifting power.]
Ren's lips curved faintly.
He extended his hand.
The Sovereign Flame thickened around his palm. Authority pressed outward—not aggressively, but undeniably. The smaller green flame flickered in response. It did not resist immediately. It recognized hierarchy. Or at least… something similar.
He activated Gluttony.
The violet mantle shifted, opening slightly. A thin stream of green fire peeled away from the core and flowed toward him like drawn breath. Assimilation began—slow, controlled. He did not attempt to devour the entire flame. Only a fragment. Enough to imprint its properties. Enough to mimic later.
The energy slid into the Sovereign Flame, merging without violent backlash. Heat spiked. His meridians tightened briefly—then stabilized. The assimilation held.
Then the magma surged.
Suddenly, a shockwave tore through the magma.
BOOM.
The currents shattered. The pressure in the cavern spiked violently.
Ren stopped, his head snapping up.
From the tunnel he had just descended, a massive shadow emerged. It wasn't alone.
The Two-Headed Serpent—wounded but alive—was pulling something. Or rather, leading someone.
A figure broke through the magma barrier, protected by a sphere of purple energy.
She was a very beautiful snake woman. She had a graceful, sexy, and all-around lovely body, wearing a graceful, purple-colored gorgeous robe. She was voluminous and exquisite, much like a matured juicy peach, with a faint luring sense seeping out. She had long black hair which extended to her narrow waist.
And below that waist, a purple-colored snake tail swished through the magma.
Queen Medusa.
She landed on the stone platform, her golden eyes narrowing as they landed on him.
"A human?" she said, her voice cool and melodious, carrying an undercurrent of lethal disdain. "And with Dou Great Master strength? In this deep magma... and near a Heavenly Flame?"
She looked him up and down, unimpressed.
"No matter. First, how did you find this?"
Ren's mind raced. He had seconds before she decided he was an insect to be crushed.
He straightened his back, adopting an amiable smile.
"Greetings! You must be Queen Medusa. I'm Tintin."
"Tintin?" She raised an eyebrow.
"As for this location," Ren continued, his voice steady, channeling every ounce of confidence he had. "I'm an adventurer from... a sect in the Central Plains. Yes, the Central Plains. That's how you would recognize the place, right?"
He pulled out the map.
Medusa's eyes shined as she saw the map. She remembered the fragment she possessed—this was the completed version.
Ren didn't let her speak. He went into full sales-pitch mode, using his generic Xianxia knowledge to weave a tapestry of bullshit.
"Our department records phenomena across the continent," he said lightly. "Rare physiques. Bloodlines. Heavenly treasures. Sect rises and collapses. New ascensions. Demon tides. Ancient realms opening and closing."
Medusa did not interrupt.
"We have records of Heavenly Flames appearing once in an era and always dragging calamity behind them. Of unknown youths who obtain one and, within a decade, overturn an entire region. Of ancient tombs that awaken only when the 'right' person walks by. Of sealed experts who just happen to sit in forgotten markets waiting for someone capable of helping them."
He gestured lazily toward the magma around them.
"Bloodlines that sleep for generations and then awaken in a single heir. Physiques that devour their owners. Hidden masters who descend, teach one disciple, and vanish. Sects that dominate for a century and disappear in a night because one wrong treasure surfaced."
His tone remained casual, but the words stacked quietly.
"We've logged immortal caves that fall from the sky once every thousand years. Artifacts that choose their wielder only after killing the first three. Alchemists hunted by their own allies for refining pills too valuable to let them live. Beast tides triggered by a single breakthrough in the wrong place."
A faint smile.
"And Heavenly Flames… always at the center. Every time one surfaces, the surrounding region changes within fifty years. Empires shift. Clans rise. Someone becomes a legend. Someone else becomes a cautionary tale."
He glanced at the green flame in her hand.
"When several rare phenomena appear in one region at once—new ascensions, sealed experts stirring, special physiques awakening, Heavenly Flames resurfacing…"
He tapped the air as if writing an invisible note.
"…we mark it as a turning point."
Medusa looked surprised. "Such a thing exists?" She murmured, "There are always heavens beyond the heavens..."
She moved toward him, a slight suspicion still evident in her slit pupils.
Ren internally panicked a little, but outwardly, he showed an awed expression, looking at a scroll he pulled from his ring.
"Who could have guessed this backwater region has so much activity?" he muttered loud enough for her to hear. "I really lucked out selecting this mission. Let's see... A Rank 8 Alchemist recently killed, his Heavenly Flame still missing... A new Woeful Poison Body surfaced near the border... The Sect Master of the Misty Cloud Sect ascended to Dou Zong..."
He looked up at her. "Finally, a Dou Zong in this empire."
Medusa froze. "Misty Cloud Sect? Dou Zong?"
Ren ignored her, turning to the flame.
"And look, now I found the 19th Heavenly Flame. I guess it found a new user."
He pulled out a scroll as if to record the discovery. The parchment ignited instantly from ambient heat and curled into ash.
"Ah. Well, I will note it down later."
He looked at her, circling slightly, acting the part of the observer.
"User... Medusa... Alias... Queen of Snake People. Realm..." He squinted. "Peak Dou Huang... sigh. Not enough. My lady, you should absorb the flame only after breaking through to Dou Zong. The success rate at Dou Huang is... negligible."
He tapped his chin. "And usage... hmm. Let me guess."
He observed her.
"Can't be alchemy... definitely artifact refining? Desert regions are famous for it. Still, I won't judge a lady refining weapons, maybe Snake People have their unique way of using hammers..."
He paused, snapping his fingers.
"Wait! You are a Queen! Absolutely it won't be this. Maybe for your follower then?"
Medusa stared at him, deadpanned.
'This little human from the Central Plains can guess and assume so much without any input from me,' she thought, amused. 'Maybe they are more civilized than the disgusting humans of this empire. And he is not entranced by my beauty. Interesting.'
Ren, seeing her amused expression, continued his act as if he suddenly remembered something.
"Don't worry! These information are redacted for the public. Until you officially announce it to the world. But I would advise against that."
He looked at the Green Lotus Flame with a disdainful expression.
"After all, even if the Green Lotus Core Flame is ranked 19th... it is still a Heavenly Flame. Those crazed alchemists would do anything for it. Annoying bunch."
Medusa was now annoyed that he was still talking.
"Stop," she commanded, her voice regaining its regal edge. "Now move aside. I have more important things to do."
Ren bowed immediately. "Yes, yes. Go on, Your Highness."
He stepped back.
Medusa approached the lotus. She was inexperienced in how to obtain it properly. She used her Dou Qi to sever the flame from the lotus, taking the fire but leaving the Green Lotus Platform behind.
Ren blinked. 'She's leaving the best cultivation tool?'
He waited for her to leave him alone.
But Medusa turned back.
"You are certainly knowledgeable for your age, for a human," she said, her eyes gleaming. "Hmm... from the Central Plains, hah?"
She smiled, a terrifyingly beautiful sight.
"You are coming with me."
Ren froze.
'My shit mouth... I don't know anything about the Central Plains!' Internally, he was crying.
'Maybe she has fallen for my handsome self? I know Yun Yun did.' He hoped, or perhaps deluded himself.
"Huh?" Ren replied intelligently. "Yes, Queen Medusa. Thank you for the invitation. I... I want to know more about Snake People."
He held up a finger.
"But I can't stay more than a month. I have to meet the newly ascended Dou Zong. She planned to return the favor after I helped her to breakthrough."
Medusa's expression sharpened instantly at the mention of helping a Dou Zong breakthrough. The value of this human just skyrocketed.
"Also... Your Highness," Ren gestured to the stone platform. "Can I have this platform as a token of this meeting? For my records?"
Medusa glanced at the empty lotus seat. It was just a seat to her.
She nodded coldly.
Ren pocketed it into his [Item: Spatial Ring (+1)] faster than the eye could follow.
Medusa turned and swam through the magma, the Green Lotus Flame held in a barrier of purple energy.
Ren sighed, unfurling his [Item: Purple Cloud Wings (+3)].
He thought of escaping, 'Will [Trait: Deep Sea Abyss] fool her senses? I don't know how Snake People senses work...'
He watched her graceful form moving ahead.
'But damn, she is hot.'
"Coming, Your Highness!"
He followed the Queen into the depths.