Chapter 45: Seclusion Ends!
As if realizing something, Su Qian's expression tightened. In a few flashes, he arrived at the black well in the center of the tower's bottom.
Seeing this, Zi Yan hurriedly followed.
The two looked down into the well. Their pupils suddenly contracted at the scene below.
There, in the calm magma world, the originally enormous invisible fire python had vanished without a trace.
"???"
At this moment, Su Qian was full of question marks. How could the Fallen Heart Flame, such a huge presence in my Inner Academy, just disappear?
"Xiao Yun!"
Zi Yan, however, covered her lips with one hand, her eyes moist as she gazed at the figure in the center of the magma.
It was Jiang Yun.
But his appearance now greatly exceeded their expectations. He was completely emaciated. Even with his eyes closed, they could see deep exhaustion between his brows.
He no longer looked anything like the handsome, spirited young man from a year ago.
Seeing this, Zi Yan's heart ached. Her figure stirred as she prepared to leap down and fly to Jiang Yun's side.
"Wait." Su Qian reacted quickly, grabbing Zi Yan's arm. He hurriedly said, "Jiang Yun is fine. He is at a critical moment now. Are you sure you want to disturb him?"
"Mm..." Zi Yan stopped herself upon hearing this. But her teeth clenched tightly on her lower lip. Her eyes were red as she stared at Jiang Yun's furrowed brows. Her heart twisted in pain.
"Sigh." Seeing that Zi Yan had regained her composure, Su Qian sighed. He looked at Jiang Yun and scolded him with a soft laugh, "I never thought that in the end, it would be you, brat, who benefited."
"Make sure you treat her well."
Although Jiang Yun was emaciated and covered in bloodshot veins, Su Qian could still see the steady rise of his dense and powerful aura. He knew that Jiang Yun had already passed the dangerous stage.
What followed would be the step-by-step refinement of the Fallen Heart Flame. Su Qian had not expected that the problem which had troubled the academy for so many years would be solved by this young man.
Protected by a heavenly flame, Jiang Yun would no longer be in danger. Wait... a heavenly flame?
Jiang Yun could actually absorb two heavenly flames?
Coming back to his senses, Su Qian turned his head and looked at the cross-legged figure with a hint of shock. He marveled inwardly, feeling a trace of envy as well.
What a lucky kid.
Thinking this, Su Qian turned to Zi Yan, whose beautiful eyes had not left Jiang Yun for a moment. He said gently, "Jiang Yun is fine. He has also obtained a great opportunity. Now you can rest assured, right?"
Zi Yan did not answer. Her teeth gently bit her tempting lips. Her palm gripping the edge of the well applied slight pressure. Behind her, under the horrified gazes of the two elders, cracks slowly appeared on the stone.
Their hearts pounded with fear.
Looking at the figure seated in the magma, Zi Yan's usually carefree eyes showed something they had never displayed before: a look of heartache.
Su Qian looked around and frowned slightly. Ever since Jiang Yun had set up the Spirit-Gathering Array, although the energy of heaven and earth here had become much denser, the surrounding fire poison had also deepened considerably.
Staying here for a long time was even more dangerous than before.
"Zi Yan, staying here is useless. It will also harm your body. Let's wait for Jiang Yun outside?" Su Qian reached out and patted Zi Yan's shoulder, his tone filled with concern.
"No."
"I am staying here to watch Jiang Yun and make sure he is safe."
A clear, firm voice rang out. Zi Yan's gaze remained fixed on Jiang Yun, ignoring Su Qian's advice.
"You..." Su Qian was at a loss for words for a moment. He looked deeply at Jiang Yun and Zi Yan, then sighed. "Sigh. Be careful yourself. If you cannot hold on, come out. You do not want Jiang Yun to come out and see you suffering from fire poison, do you?"
Zi Yan hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded her little head lightly.
Receiving her answer, Su Qian left the bottom of the tower with Elder Huang and Elder Shi. He had to handle the aftermath. The two elders also needed to change shifts and periodically cleanse the fire poison from their bodies.
After the three left, Zi Yan slowly unfolded her purple Dou Qi wings behind her back. Then she leaped up and flew straight toward Jiang Yun in the center of the magma at the bottom of the tower.
Rumble.
Countless magma jets erupted, shooting toward Zi Yan with terrifying heat. But none of them could penetrate the thin purple barrier around her.
She easily arrived before Jiang Yun. Seeing him looking even more haggard than before, Zi Yan's heart trembled. Unable to help herself, she reached out a hand, wanting to touch Jiang Yun's face.
"Little girl, Jiang Yun is fine. It is best not to disturb him right now." Just then, an aged voice spoke. Qing Ming's figure slowly materialized, looking at Zi Yan with a gentle expression.
Zi Yan was not unfamiliar with Qing Ming, having met him before. In fact, the reason she had been able to regain her composure earlier was that she remembered Jiang Yun still had Qing Ming as a hidden card.
"Senior Qing Ming, how is Xiao Yun?" Even though she had already heard the answer from Su Qian, Zi Yan could not help asking.
"Close call, but no danger. Yun'er has gained a lot this time." Qing Ming looked at Zi Yan with a smile, his eyes soft. He approved of this 'little dragon' who had met Jiang Yun by chance.
"That is good."
"Compared to Yun'er, little girl, you need to be more careful." Seeing Zi Yan breathe a sigh of relief, Qing Ming suddenly looked at her seriously.
"???" Completely relaxed now, Zi Yan had reverted to her usual simple-minded self. She looked at Qing Ming with a head full of question marks.
"If I am not mistaken, your true form has an extraordinary bloodline, among the highest on the entire continent. Earlier, you took Transformation Grass by accident, causing you to take human form prematurely. You also left your clan at a young age, again by accident. As a result, your bloodline has never awakened, and you have never received the various bloodline inheritance skills of your race."
"This time, for some reason, your bloodline has begun to awaken on its own. You should have received quite a bit of inheritance, correct?"
Qing Ming gently explained to Zi Yan. He had noticed something wrong with her the moment he saw her. For races with such powerful bloodlines, like the Emperor Clans, they usually undergo a bloodline baptism to fully awaken their bloodline and obtain its benefits.
But Zi Yan, as a Taixu Ancient Dragon who had grown up outside the clan, had no one to help her awaken. That would not have been a big deal by itself. However, she had accidentally awakened a portion of her bloodline last time, and this breakthrough had completely started her bloodline awakening.
Without any baptism, this was extremely dangerous. If she were careless in the future, it could even lower the grade of her bloodline.
That was why Qing Ming raised his concern.
"Mm... there is indeed a lot more stuff in my head." Zi Yan held her head in confusion. Now that she deliberately recalled it, there was indeed a lot of information.
There was information on the use of spatial power, several Dou Techniques, and... about the origin of her race.
"So... I am of the Taixu Ancient Dragon race." Holding her head and roughly browsing the bloodline inheritance, Zi Yan spoke softly, feeling a sense of loss.
One of the reasons she had longed to grow up was to find out where she came from.
She wanted to know why she had no parents, why she had to be alone, fighting powerful magical beasts for resources, and why she had appeared in that place.
There were so many questions that had troubled her. Now that she knew her race, she suddenly felt... no emotional fluctuation.
Is it because of you?
A look of confusion passed through Zi Yan's eyes. In her amethyst-like gaze, Jiang Yun's figure sat quietly.
"Your bloodline has only just begun to awaken. Your bloodline inheritance may contain many powerful Dou Techniques. But, Zi Yan, remember this: use those Dou Techniques as little as possible. Techniques of that kind often require a powerful bloodline to support. Your bloodline is not yet stable. You cannot squander it."
Hearing Zi Yan's muttering to herself, Qing Ming nodded and earnestly warned her again.
"Okay, I understand." Zi Yan respected Qing Ming greatly. She knew he was Jiang Yun's only family in this world. He was also very knowledgeable. She committed his words to memory.
"Come to think of it, compared to those Dou Techniques, I still prefer solving problems with my fists." Finally, Zi Yan raised her little fist playfully. She chuckled lightly, revealing two cute little fangs.
"Heh heh." Looking at the simple-minded Zi Yan, Qing Ming's mood also brightened.
Having set her mind at ease, Zi Yan began to carefully examine her surroundings. All around was dark red magma. The ubiquitous aura of the Fallen Heart Flame made her wrinkle her delicate nose in distaste.
"Hmm? A familiar, intimate smell?" Just then, Zi Yan looked into the depths of the earth with some confusion.
A very faint trace of aura remained down there. It felt both familiar and foreign to her, yet also very intimate.
It made her want to sense it carefully. But this time, the aura did not appear again, as if it had been an illusion.
Finding nothing, Zi Yan furrowed her brows lightly. After a moment, she shook her head gently and muttered.
"An illusion?"
Coming back to her senses, Zi Yan slowly moved toward Jiang Yun.
Qing Ming, who had been watching Zi Yan closely, saw a gleam in his profound eyes. He looked at the magma at the bottom, a flash of understanding passing through his eyes.
"So that is how it is. No wonder I unconsciously brought Yun'er here back then." He looked at Zi Yan and Jiang Yun, and the smile in his eyes grew even warmer, filled with a sense of contentment. "Fate is truly wonderful."
At this moment, Jiang Yun was quietly absorbing the source of the Fallen Heart Flame within his body. He was completely unaware of the outside world.
Zi Yan, on the other hand, sat with her knees hugged to her chest, a smile in her eyes. Her purple eyes stared unblinkingly at Jiang Yun.
The two of them looked like a perfect painting, filled with tranquility and beauty.
No one knew how long passed. Then, as if remembering something, a faint blush appeared on Zi Yan's pretty face. After this advancement, she seemed to have undergone another indescribable change.
"Xiao Yun, no matter what enemies you must face, I will always stand by your side."
Zi Yan was very smart. From the moment Qing Ming appeared, she had sensed that Jiang Yun was no ordinary person. Coupled with all the unbelievable things Jiang Yun had done before...
The unknown heavenly flame, the unknown arrays, and the endless stream of unknown Dou Techniques, and so on.
All of it pointed to Jiang Yun not being an ordinary orphan, but someone with an extraordinary background.
In their daily lives, she had also noticed Jiang Yun's desire for strength. She had vaguely realized that he probably had some terrifying enemy to face.
She did not care about any of that. She only knew that she wanted to stand by his side and help him.
Having made her decision in her heart, Zi Yan's eyes burned with fighting spirit. She looked at Jiang Yun one last time, then furrowed her brows slightly and slowly closed her eyes, beginning to cultivate.
Even though she disliked this environment, she chose to stay and accompany him so that she would be the first thing he saw when he woke up.
As the two entered cultivation one after another, the underground space once again returned to silence. Only the slowly gathering energy of heaven and earth marked that terrible beings were quietly improving here.
Time passed.
The crimson underground magma world remained as lifeless as ever. Apart from the sounds of magma flowing and erupting, this place was as silent as a dead realm.
In this deathly quiet space, deep in the endless depths, two figures sat cross-legged within a green barrier, faintly visible.
Crack.
At a certain moment, a subtle sound of breaking, as if nonexistent, echoed in the depths of a soul.
The sudden anomaly seemed to disturb the graceful figure nearby. Her eyes moved slightly, then a pair of bright, amethyst-like eyes slowly opened.
She sensed the movement of the figure beside her. Intense joy appeared in her eyes. Her figure shifted slightly, and she stared unblinkingly at that figure.
Inside Jiang Yun's body, lingering satisfaction appeared in the dragon pupils of the black dragon. The next moment, as if it had eaten its fill, it let out a burp.
With a belch of flame, an invisible flame slowly emerged. At this moment, it seemed as if it had been drained dry. Even the flames around it flickered unsteadily.
The black dragon, like a heartless scoundrel, gave the Fallen Heart Flame a contemptuous glance and leisurely headed back toward Jiang Yun's dantian.
Left behind, the Fallen Heart Flame could only watch the Saint Demon Flame retreat, not knowing what to do. Now, even its intelligence had been devoured. It was like a newborn heavenly flame. It had already forgotten the pain the other had brought it.
It did not know who had taken everything from it. It could only jump around in place, at a loss.
With the Saint Demon Flame returning to its place, Jiang Yun's aura seemed to break through a barrier. It suddenly surged upward. At the same time, an indescribable feeling of ease spread from within his body, reaching every corner.
It was at this moment that Jiang Yun's eyes, which had been closed for who knows how long, finally trembled slightly and then slowly opened.
Chii.
As his eyes opened, black-and-white flames immediately ignited within them. Two beams of fire shot out from his eyes, forcibly tearing two fissures, a full ten zhang wide, into the underground magma sea.
The beams of fire passed, and the magma sea churned for a moment before slowly beginning to close.
Hoo.
An exceptionally scorching breath slowly exhaled from Jiang Yun's mouth. With this exhalation, the rapidly rising aura on Jiang Yun's body also gradually calmed down.