Chapter 5: Heart of Fire
The Stone Serpent Gorge lived up to its name. Narrow, winding, with walls that rose like petrified serpents coiled around each other. The "hidden ledge system" Zhang Bo had mentioned was exactly that—a series of barely-there projections on the gorge wall, invisible from below unless you knew where to look.
Qin Feng moved carefully. One misstep would mean a hundred-foot drop onto jagged rocks. But with his spatial sense and Void-Step, he navigated with a confidence that would have astonished Zhang Bo.
As he moved deeper, the air grew warmer. A faint sulfur smell began to permeate everything. He was getting close.
The gorge opened suddenly into a wider valley, and there it was—the volcano.
It wasn't actively erupting, but it wasn't completely dead either. Steam rose from fissures in its sides, and the ground was warm even through his boots. The volcano rose like a slumbering giant, its peak hidden in clouds.
According to the Nine Dragons Devour the Heavens Art, Earth Core Fire Essence would be found deep within—in the heart of the mountain where geothermal energy was most concentrated.
He circled to the side Zhang Bo had indicated—a collapsed section of the crater wall that provided relatively easy access to the interior. As he climbed, he felt the second dragon soul stirring within him. The World Burning Inferno Dragon recognized its home.
The climb was arduous. The rock was sharp and unstable. Twice, handholds crumbled, and only quick applications of Void-Step saved him from falls.
Finally, he reached the rim and looked down into the crater.
It was like peering into another world. The walls dropped vertically for hundreds of feet before sloping inward to a bowl-shaped depression at the bottom. In the center of that bowl was a pool of lava, glowing orange-red, bubbling sluggishly. The heat was intense even from the rim.
But Qin Feng's attention was drawn not to the lava pool, but to a ledge about halfway down the crater wall. There, partially hidden behind a curtain of steam, was the dark mouth of a cave.
That was his destination. He could feel it.
Descending into the crater was even more dangerous than climbing the exterior. The interior walls were smoother, with fewer handholds. The heat grew with every foot descended, becoming oppressive, sapping his strength.
He reached the ledge panting, his clothes soaked with sweat. The cave mouth beckoned, slightly cooler air flowing from it.
Inside, the cave narrowed quickly, then opened into a larger chamber. And there, in the center of the chamber, was what he had come for.
A cluster of crystals, each about the size of his fist, glowing with internal fire. They pulsed with light, synchronized with some deep, geothermal rhythm. Earth Core Fire Essence, crystallized.
But between him and the crystals stood a guardian.
A Fire-Scale Lizard, just as Zhang Bo had warned. But this wasn't just any Fire-Scale Lizard. This one was enormous—ten feet long from nose to tail, with scales that glittered like rubies in the crystal-light. Body Tempering Level 9, at least. Maybe even brushing against Foundation Establishment.
The lizard had been sleeping, curled around the crystal cluster protectively. But as Qin Feng entered, it opened eyes that were pools of molten gold.
It uncoiled slowly, rising to its full height. A forked tongue flicked out, tasting the air. Then it hissed, a sound like steam escaping under pressure.
Qin Feng had faced assassins. He had redirected a Stone-Tusk Boar. But this was different. This was a true spirit beast, one that had cultivated in this fire-rich environment for who knew how long.
The lizard charged.
Qin Feng dodged, Void-Step carrying him to the side. The lizard's claws gouged stone where he had been standing.
He needed a plan. Direct confrontation was suicide. But he needed those crystals.
As the lizard turned for another charge, Qin Feng focused on his spatial sense. He examined the chamber. The crystals were on a raised dais. The lizard was between him and them. The chamber had few features—some stalactites, a small thermal pool in one corner.
An idea formed.
He ran, not toward the lizard, but around the chamber's perimeter. The lizard followed, surprisingly fast for its size. Qin Feng led it on a chase, always staying just out of reach.
As he passed the thermal pool, he did something unexpected—he jumped in.
The water was hot, nearly scalding, but bearable. More importantly, it hid him momentarily.
The lizard reached the pool's edge, confused. It peered into the steaming water, trying to see its prey.
That was when Qin Feng emerged—not from where he had entered, but from the opposite side of the pool. While underwater, he had used a series of quick Void-Steps to cross beneath the surface.
He was now between the lizard and the crystals.
He sprinted for the dais. The lizard realized the trick and roared in fury, turning to chase.
Qin Feng reached the crystals. He grabbed the largest one—it was hot, almost too hot to hold, but he endured. As his blood touched the crystal, something happened.
The crystal melted, not into liquid, but into pure energy—a stream of crimson light that flowed into his hand, up his arm, and into his chest.
The World Burning Inferno Dragon awoke.
---
The Dragon's Trial
Fire. Everywhere fire.
Qin Feng stood in a world of flame. Not the gentle fire of a hearth, but the primordial fire of creation—the fire that had burned at the dawn of the universe, that still burned in the hearts of stars.
Before him, the World Burning Inferno Dragon materialized. If the Celestial Void Star Dragon had been vast and cold, this dragon was concentrated fury. Its scales were molten rock, its eyes volcanic eruptions, its breath the solar wind.
"MORTAL WHO BEARS THE DRAGON-SEAL."
The voice wasn't heard; it was felt, like standing too close to a forge.
"YOU SEEK THE POWER OF PRIMAL FIRE. PROVE YOU CAN WITHSTAND ITS TOUCH."
The trial began.
Fire surrounded Qin Feng, not just externally, but internally. It burned in his veins, in his organs, in his mind. It was the fire of passion, of anger, of destructive impulse. It whispered to him of power—burn your enemies, burn your obstacles, burn the world that rejected you.
It was tempting. So tempting.
But Qin Feng remembered the Zhang family's kindness. He remembered his uncle's conflicted protection. He remembered that not everything deserved burning.
He didn't fight the fire. He didn't try to extinguish it. Instead, he accepted it as part of himself, but not the ruling part. Fire could warm as well as burn. It could cook food as well as destroy forests. It was a tool, not a master.
He focused on that aspect—the nurturing fire, the creative fire. The fire that had allowed humans to rise above beasts.
The internal fire calmed, becoming not a raging inferno, but a controlled burn.
The dragon watched. "INTERESTING. MOST SEEK TO DOMINATE FIRE. YOU SEEK TO UNDERSTAND IT."
"Fire is part of nature," Qin Feng said, though he had no mouth in this place. "To dominate nature is to fight an endless battle. To understand it is to gain an ally."
"WISDOM UNEXPECTED IN ONE SO YOUNG. BUT WISDOM ALONE IS NOT ENOUGH. SHOW ME YOU CAN WIELD WHAT YOU UNDERSTAND."
A figure formed from fire—a mirror of Qin Feng himself, but made entirely of flame. It attacked.
This was a test of combat, but not physical combat. It was a test of fire against fire, of understanding against brute force.
Fire-Qin struck with flaming fists. Real-Qin didn't dodge. He let the fists connect, but where they touched, he didn't resist—he redirected. He took the fire energy and channeled it, not into destruction, but into creation.
Where Fire-Qin's strikes landed, flowers of crystal bloomed. Where its kicks connected, patterns of cool stone formed.
Fire-Qin grew frustrated, attacking more fiercely. Real-Qin continued to redirect, to transform.
Finally, Fire-Qin gathered all its energy for a final, overwhelming blast. Real-Qin didn't try to block it. He opened his arms, accepting it.
The fire entered him, but he didn't burn. He contained it, refined it, and then released it—not as destruction, but as light. Pure, brilliant light that filled the fire-world, not extinguishing the flames, but illuminating them, showing their beauty rather than just their danger.
The fire-world faded. The dragon nodded.
"THE CRIMSON SUN PALM—FIRST FORM: KINDLING SPARKS TO PRAIRIE FIRE. COMPREHENDED."
Knowledge flowed into Qin Feng:
· Crimson Sun Palm (赤阳掌): A palm technique that channeled extreme yang fire energy.
· Flaming Golden Eyes (火眼金睛): Eyes that could see heat signatures, energy flows, and truth through illusion.
· Art of Fire Refinement (炼火术): The ability to refine materials using spiritual fire.
"THE WORLD BURNING INFERNO DRAGON ACKNOWLEDGES YOU. BUT REMEMBER—FIRE SERVES THOSE WHO RESPECT IT, NOT THOSE WHO FEAR IT."
The dragon faded, and Qin Feng returned to the cave.
---
Awakening
He opened his eyes. The remaining crystals were dark, their energy absorbed. The Fire-Scale Lizard was gone—fled, perhaps, when the dragon energy had erupted.
But Qin Feng had changed.
His skin glowed faintly with inner heat. His eyes, when he focused, could see temperature variations—the cooler rock of the cave walls, the residual heat where the lizard had been, the geothermal energy flowing deep beneath him.
And within him, the second Dragon Vein had opened. No, not just opened—it had multiplied. Where before he had nine Dragon Veins from the first dragon, now he had eighteen. Nine silver, nine crimson. They intertwined, complementing each other, space and fire in harmony.
His power had surged. He was now at what normal cultivators would call Body Tempering Level 6. Maybe even brushing Level 7.
Three days. He had gone from a cripple to matching his "genius" half-brother Qin Yue in three days.
And he still had seven more dragons to awaken.
He left the cave, climbing out of the crater with new strength and confidence. At the rim, he looked back at the volcano, then at the direction of Linyuan City.
He had a month and a half until Su Qinghan's deadline. He had already met the requirement.
But he wouldn't return yet. Not until he was stronger. Not until he could face whatever his family—and the Shadow Kill Pavilion—threw at him.
He looked deeper into the mountain range. Zhang Bo had warned of dangers deeper in. But Qin Feng needed those dangers. He needed pressure to refine his newfound powers. He needed battles to test his techniques.
And according to the Nine Dragons Devour the Heavens Art, the third dragon—the Heavenly Frost Crystal Dragon—required a catalyst of extreme cold to balance the extreme heat he now carried.
Somewhere in these mountains, there had to be a place of cold to match the volcano's heat. A glacial cave, perhaps. A peak that never lost its snow.
He adjusted his pack and started walking, not back toward civilization, but deeper into the wilderness.
Behind him, the volcano seemed to rumble approvingly.
Ahead, mountains rose like the spines of ancient dragons, waiting.