Battle Through the Heavens: Top Talent

Chapter 94 Subduing the Fallen Heart Flame

In the magma world, Xiao Yun sat cross-legged, suspended in mid-air, his mind sinking into his body.

As soon as the Fallen Heart Flame entered his body, it immediately erupted with terrifying high temperatures. Even though Xiao Yun's body had already absorbed a strange fire once, it was still somewhat unable to withstand such temperatures.

The intelligent little snake born from the Fallen Heart Flame had been knocked unconscious, but it was awakened the moment it entered his body. Its snake eyes flashed with a fierce light as it rampaged through his meridians.

"Um?"

Seeing that the Fallen Heart Flame refused to submit, Xiao Yun immediately had a thought. The azure lightning in his lower abdomen received the command, flashed, and instantly passed through his meridians, arriving in front of the small fire snake.

Just as the Fallen Heart Flame tried to escape, its speed was no match for the lightning. Before it could even move, Xiao Yun had already controlled the azure lightning to completely envelop it, trapping it within a meridian.

"I know you can understand human speech. If you obediently let me subdue you, I won't erase your intelligence, how about it?" Seeing the look of fear in the little snake's pupils, Xiao Yun's mind stirred, and he sent a soul message.

Subduing a strange fire, especially one that has developed sentience, is neither particularly difficult nor particularly easy.

The difficulty lies in the fire's intelligence. If it resists wholeheartedly, the subjugator can only expend a great deal of battle energy and effort to erode its intelligence, returning it to its original state. The simplicity, however, also lies in intelligence. If the subjugator can win the fire's heartfelt submission, the subjugation process will be twice as effective and exceptionally smooth.

Just like the ancient clans' inherited strange flames, the Golden Emperor's Burning Heaven Flame and the Soul Emperor's strange flame, the Void Devouring Flame, they all submitted to their tamers. The former was tamed by Gu Xun'er when she was a fighter, and the latter even provided billions of sub-flames for the Soul Clan to use.

Therefore, Xiao Yun sent a soul message to the Fallen Heart Flame. He could directly erase its intelligence, but such subjugation would not achieve the maximum benefit.

"grumble!"

Upon hearing Xiao Yun's words, the little fire snake's eyes flashed with ferocity, and its body twisted as it tried to escape the blockade of the azure lightning.

"snort!"

Seeing the Fallen Heart Flame's actions, Xiao Yun was not surprised. After all, they had been fighting to the death, and it was unlikely that it would submit immediately. With a wave of his soul power, the azure lightning immediately transformed into a lightning dragon, which tightly wrapped around the small flame snake.

Streams of azure lightning surged from the Thunder Dragon's body and then plunged into the small fire snake, drawing energy from it like tree roots taking root in the earth.

As its internal energy dissipated, the Fallen Heart Flame sensed the danger and immediately began to thrash violently, seemingly trying to shake off the Thunder Dragon, but to no avail. Under Xiao Yun's mental control, the more the flame snake thrashed, the tighter the Thunder Dragon contracted.

A moment later, realizing that it could not break free from the Fallen Heart Flame, it finally stopped churning. The fierce light in its snake eyes disappeared, replaced by a trace of fear. At the same time, a wave of flames emanated from its body.

Sensing this fluctuation, Xiao Yun understood that he had tamed the Fallen Heart Flame. He immediately stopped the erosion of the Azure Lightning, but the Thunder Dragon still tightly bound the Flame Snake.

Now that the Fallen Heart Flame has submitted, the subjugation work is halfway done. Xiao Yun only needs to let it circulate through the entire body according to the cultivation technique, and then introduce it into the Spirit Absorption Center to successfully subjugate it.

"Be good, I will help you grow in the future." Soul power surged out, and after making a promise to the Fallen Heart Flame, it controlled it to travel through the meridians.

Perhaps because it possessed sentience, the Fallen Heart Flame did not disperse throughout its body, but remained in the shape of a small snake. Therefore, Xiao Yun did not need to collect the scattered Heart Flame from all over the place, making this subjugation much simpler than the first time.

The underground magma world returned to complete calm as Xiao Yun began to subdue the Fallen Heart Flame. The only disturbance was the occasional heat waves surging from the magma river below.

……

Time slowly passed, and at a certain moment, the Fallen Heart Flame inside Xiao Yun's body finally merged perfectly with his soul, and was then absorbed into the Soul Absorption in his lower abdomen.

The boy slowly opened his eyes, which gleamed with an unusual light. He felt his power constantly increasing, as if he had gained a new life.

Upon summoning the panel, Xiao Yun breathed a sigh of relief upon discovering that his age had simply changed to seventeen. This meant that he hadn't spent too much time subduing the Fallen Heart Flame, and the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower above should still be able to accelerate his cultivation, though the effect might be somewhat weakened.

"Elder Yao, I have successfully subdued the Fallen Heart Flame." Xiao Yun chuckled, raised his palm, and an invisible flame appeared at his fingertips. The magma below also began to surge violently with the appearance of the flame.

At this moment, he seemed to become the master of the fire, able to control the Fallen Heart Flame at will. With a gentle wave of his hand, the Fallen Heart Flame transformed into a small snake, coiling in mid-air.

Upon hearing this, the old doctor emerged from the Bone Flame Ring, looked at the docile little flame snake, and chuckled, "It seems you were right. Not erasing the intelligence of the strange fire does indeed make subduing it a little easier."

"Back then, it took me a whole year to subdue the Bone Spirit Cold Flame and erode its intelligence. Subduing it afterward almost cost me my life. If I hadn't prepared enough pills, I would have really died there."

"However, why is your aura that of a nine-star Dou Huang? According to my calculations, even if you absorbed some of the strange fire's energy, you should still be able to break through to the Dou Zong level."

Xiao Yun smiled slightly, and the small fire snake instantly swelled into a giant fire python, exuding a terrifying aura. He said in a calm tone, "That's because I didn't absorb its energy. The Fallen Heart Flame has accumulated energy for thousands of years and also possesses intelligence, which is enough to make it unleash the strength of a Dou Zong."

"My current cultivation speed is too fast, and my foundation is probably a bit unstable. I will break through to the Dou Zong level after I solidify all my Dou Qi."

In any case, for him, all he needed to break through to the Dou Zong realm was energy, and he didn't need a Breakthrough Pill.

Because the Breakthrough Pill does not provide battle qi energy, but rather protects the whole body with medicinal power. If the breakthrough fails, this medicinal power can also protect the meridians of the whole body, preventing them from being harmed by battle qi backlash.

With his bottleneck-free interface, he only needs to consume the Royal Extreme Pill, which provides battle qi energy, and when the battle qi in his body reaches the standard for breaking through to the Dou Zong level, he will automatically enter the Dou Zong level.

However, he cannot eat it yet because his cultivation level has broken through too quickly. In just one year, he jumped from a five-star Dou Huang to a nine-star Dou Huang, and he was even going to break through to the Dou Zong level.

The battle qi gained from such a breakthrough is too weak. It might be able to bully some Dou Huangs, but if it encounters a Dou Zong of the same level, it will only be able to get beaten up.

After all, the fighting spirit in other people's bodies is like sand, while the fighting spirit in Xiao Yun's body is all water. In terms of both quality and quantity, it cannot compare with other Dou Zong.

"Yes, you're right." Hearing Xiao Yun's explanation, Yao Lao also recalled the former's cultivation progress and slowly said, "Indeed, you can't break through directly yet. Otherwise, with your current state of Dou Qi, you'll most likely fail to break through to Dou Zong."

Old man, you're thinking the wrong thing. I'm not worried about failing to break through.

Shaking his head somewhat helplessly, Xiao Yun skipped the topic, waved his hand, and the giant fiery python disappeared. In its place, an invisible small snake appeared in mid-air, hissing at him, its gaze constantly looking down.

"Master Yao, the Fallen Heart Flame tells me that something in the magma below is calling to it."

"Oh? Summoning a different kind of fire? Could it be like the accompanying blue lotus of your Blue Lotus Earth Core Fire? Does it also have a companion?"

No! It's another fallen heart flame, but I just can't tell you directly.

"Perhaps." Xiao Yun nodded slightly, unleashing a bolt of azure lightning with a wisp of soul imprint attached to it, marking the location.

"I'm going down to take a look, Elder Yao, shall we come together?"

"Hehe, I've never seen anyone summon a strange fire before, so of course I'll go along." As he spoke, Yao Lao transformed into a streak of light and disappeared back into the Bone Flame Ring.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Yun's mind stirred slightly, and the invisible flames suddenly surged, enveloping his entire body. Then, with a "plop," he plunged headfirst into the viscous lava river.

Upon entering the lava again, the little fire snake swam around happily, like a fish entering the sea. After a while, it paused slightly, then aimed at the depths below and suddenly plunged down.

Xiao Yun unleashed his power, his majestic battle aura shielding him from the intense heat and pressure, and then quickly followed.

"Be careful, there are unfamiliar auras!" Suddenly, the old doctor warned, his soul power had detected two unfamiliar and powerful auras rapidly approaching them.

"I see them, they can't catch up." Xiao Yun turned his head to look in one direction, where two figures were also diving down. Their bodies were crimson red, the same as the surrounding magma. If you only looked at them with the naked eye, you really wouldn't notice them.

Its crimson body was covered with red scales, and its round head had a pair of small, fierce eyes. Its huge mouth was slightly open, revealing a dense array of sharp teeth.

Looking down, one could see a tail about two meters long swishing back and forth behind it, and its two legs standing upright with equally enormous feet.

The two figures together looked like two huge, upright, fiery red lizards.

"What kind of creature is this? How can it survive in magma?" Even the well-informed Yao Lao didn't recognize it at first. Judging from its appearance, this thing was neither human nor magical beast. It was definitely a new species from the Dou Qi Continent.

"I don't know either, let's just call them lizardmen!" Xiao Yun said, a layer of blue lightning appeared on his body, and his speed suddenly increased, leaving the lizardmen behind in an instant.

A moment later, the lizardman was completely left behind, and the speed of the Fallen Heart Flame gradually decreased. With a glance, a transparent bubble-like light shield appeared in front of Xiao Yun.

Xiao Yun was overjoyed. He grabbed the Fallen Heart Flame and then darted down like lightning to the transparent light barrier. He then enveloped his entire body in the Fallen Heart Flame and passed through it without any hindrance.

As Xiao Yun passed through the transparent light barrier, an unusual fluctuation came over him, but it quickly dissipated the moment it came into contact with the Fallen Heart Flame, and then Xiao Yun successfully entered the space inside.

This transparent light shield can isolate the external magma. Once inside, the crimson color fades, and a misty fog envelops the space within the light shield.

"It seems this is what summons the Fallen Heart Flame." Xiao Yun glanced around casually, then looked at the center of the light shield space, where there was a mysterious skeleton, and on the skeleton was a nascent Fallen Heart Flame!

"Tsk tsk tsk, this place is quite unique, actually managing to grow two Fallen Heart Flames." Yao Lao also emerged from the Bone Flame Ring, stroking his beard as he said, "However, this Fallen Heart Flame is only in its juvenile stage, while yours is in its mature stage."

"You agree, right, my friend?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a dazzling white light suddenly burst forth from the mysterious skeleton. The white light then slowly writhed and finally transformed into a phantom image of an old man.

The figure was dressed in a white robe, with snow-white hair and beard. His face was aged, and a faint glint of light flickered in his calm eyes. As soon as this illusory figure appeared, a sense of oppression enveloped the space within the light barrier.

"Heh, that's right, it certainly can't compare to the one in his hand." The illusory figure glanced at the small fire snake, a complex expression in his eyes, and slowly said, "My name is Yao Tianhuo, and others also call me Venerable Tianhuo!"

"My apologies, so you are Venerable Tianhuo." Xiao Yun and Yao Lao both cupped their hands in respect to the Dou Zun. Then Yao Lao said, "My name is Yao Chen, and others used to call me Venerable Yao. His name is Xiao Yun, so he is my junior."

"The Medicine Venerable?" Yao Tianhuo lowered his head and pondered. After a moment, he said in a low voice, "Perhaps I have been trapped here for too long, and my soul memories have been greatly damaged. I do not have any memory of the Medicine Venerable."

"It's not that I've lost my memory, but rather that I'm younger than you, sir." Yao Lao smiled slightly and said slowly, "Back when I was just a Dou Huang, I had already heard of the name of Venerable Tianhuo when I was traveling across the continent."

"I see." Yao Tianhuo nodded, then said with burning eyes, "I see that you are a soul body like me, but your soul power has not been diminished at all. It must be because of the young man beside you, right?"

"My current state is quite dangerous. My soul has been completely consumed, leaving only a trace of its remnant. So I think..."

"Senior wants me to help you repair your soul?" Xiao Yun smiled slightly and took over the conversation, saying with a smile, "Senior doesn't need to say anything more. As long as you are willing to give me this nascent Fallen Heart Flame, I will help you repair your soul and take you away from this place."

Although he could directly seize it, Xiao Yun preferred a transaction, after all, Yao Tianhuo was an extremely loyal and righteous character in the original story. If he could help repair Yao Tianhuo's soul and refine his body, he would become a Dou Zun-level fighter in the future.

"Not only that, I also have a method of resurrection that I can share with Venerable Tianhuo. What do you say?" Yao Lao added, giving a helpful assist.

"resurrection?!"

Upon hearing about the method of resurrection, Yao Tianhuo's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and his breathing became rapid!

(End of this chapter)