On this side, Mo Ya, who had also found nothing, looked grim. All their efforts this time had once again paved the way for Han Feng. He really couldn't swallow this.
"Young Sect Master, the three Yao brothers are still missing." At this moment, a Dou Wang came to report, respectfully, not daring to offend the other party in the slightest.
"They probably escaped during the chaos just now. They were lucky this time," Qi Shan said in a deep voice after a moment of thought.
Waving his hand to dismiss the Dou Wang who dared not move, Qi Shan looked at the gloomy Mo Ya in front of him and said, "Han Feng is already a Dou Zong. We cannot contend with him, so Young Sect Master need not dwell on it."
"The most urgent matter is to inform the Sect Master. From what this old man observed, that fire cauldron only contained a sub-flame of the Fallen Heart Flame. Presumably, the three discovered the main body of the Fallen Heart Flame, but lacking the ability to subdue it, they only managed to obtain a sub-flame."
"Han Feng will definitely be able to use that sub-flame to locate the main body of the Fallen Heart Flame. Judging by the power displayed by that sub-flame just now, the main body is not simple, and Han Feng may not be able to subdue it. By then..."
Qi Shan's words made Mo Ya's expression lighten considerably, and he hastily said, "Yes, the Fallen Heart Flame is only one rank higher than the Sea Heart Flame. Han Feng may not risk replacing his Heavenly Flame. His actions will definitely backfire."
After being enlightened by Qi Shan, Mo Ya also sobered up quite a bit. He cupped his hands to Qi Shan and said, "Thank you, Elder Qi. I will definitely persuade my father to fully assist Elder Qi in subduing the Fallen Heart Flame."
Qi Shan smiled and nodded, his eyes filled with eagerness. As long as the Heavenly Flame had not been refined, he still had a chance. Han Feng couldn't possibly refine two Heavenly Flames, could he?
Maple City!
In a secret room, Han Feng opened the Fire Gathering Cauldron with fervent eyes, looking at the small fire snake swimming inside, his eyes filled with zeal. This was the second Heavenly Flame he had dreamed of.
"Hmm?" Soon, Han Feng frowned, looking at the flame in the cauldron, a look of realization appearing in his eyes. "So that's it. It's just a separated sub-flame, no wonder its power is so weak."
At this moment, all the doubts in Han Feng's heart vanished. Just now, he was still somewhat puzzled as to why the aura of this Heavenly Flame was so weak. At the time, with wolves all around, his mind was entirely focused on the joy of finding the Heavenly Flame, and he hadn't delved into it carefully.
Now, everything made sense. Otherwise, with the three Yao brothers, three Dou Wangs, what strength would they have to capture the Fallen Heart Flame, ranked fourteenth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking list?
When he obtained the Sea Heart Flame back then, his strength was even greater, yet he was still burned half to death. If not for the Flame Mantra activating in the end, he would have long turned into a pile of ashes.
Now, every time he recalled it, he still felt a lingering fear! If it weren't for the Flame Mantra, he wouldn't want to experience the taste of this Heavenly Flame a second time.
Now, he had no retreat!
His gaze shifted, Han Feng stared intently at the small snake in front of him, a smile of anticipation appearing at the corner of his mouth.
"Let me see, where exactly are you hiding?"
Swallowing the opponent in one gulp, with the Sea Heart Flame protecting him, and with this sub-flame having already consumed a lot of power, Han Feng easily refined it and felt the abnormal movement from the Flame Mantra within his body.
His anticipation for the Fallen Heart Flame grew even more fervent!
Carefully sensing, suddenly, Han Feng abruptly opened his eyes, looking brightly into the distance. There, he felt a faint call coming.
"The east side of the Black-Corner Region!"
"If I remember correctly, that place used to be a group of volcanoes. After the volcanoes were extinguished, after countless years of changes, a dense forest formed."
"It must be that the formation of the Fallen Heart Flame absorbed too much energy, causing the volcanoes to extinguish."
Thinking of this, Han Feng stood up impatiently, almost unable to suppress the fervor in his heart, about to go and investigate.
However, in the end, reason prevailed. He did not set off immediately. Now, countless eyes were staring at Maple City. His movement would be equivalent to telling the entire Black-Corner Region the location of the Heavenly Flame.
"Han Beng."
On the eastern side of the Black-Corner Region, in the lush dense forest, magical beasts occasionally soared into the sky, displaying a primitive posture.
And at this moment, on a hidden branch, several figures stood quietly. Among them, a purple figure sat bored on the branch, swinging her long, fair, slender legs.
"We've waited for two days, why hasn't anyone come yet?" Unable to endure the loneliness, Zi Yan leaned against Jiang Yun's thigh, looking up at Jiang Yun's chin and asking.
"I already said that I and Elder Su Qian and a few others would be enough. You insisted on coming along. Now you know the hardship, don't you?"
Jiang Yun reached out to help Zi Yan tidy the hair at the corner of her mouth, lowered his head, and said in a doting tone.
"Hmph—, isn't it because Xiao Yun's strength is too weak? Just a Dou Wang, yet so audacious as to target a Dou Zong. If I don't keep an eye on you, wouldn't all my efforts in training you to be a sixth-grade Alchemist be for naught?"
Although Zi Yan's tone contained some complaints, Jiang Yun heard deep concern. His tone became even softer, and he said seriously.
"No, I won't get into trouble until you've had enough to eat!"
"Then it's a deal!" Hearing Jiang Yun's promise, Zi Yan immediately beamed with joy, smiling carelessly at Jiang Yun.
While Jiang Yun and Zi Yan were laughing and playing, the several figures beside them were filled with resentment.
These figures were Su Qian, and the newly advanced Dou Zong, Hu Gan, Wu Tianlang, Elder Qing, Elder Huo, and others.
It was unclear whether it was because the Po Zong Pill refined by Jiang Yun was of excellent quality, or because their own accumulations were sufficiently profound, but not a single one of them failed.
Looking at Jiang Yun and Zi Yan acting as if no one else was present, their hearts felt a pang of jealousy. Are you here to ambush the enemy or to flirt? And is it really appropriate to be so oblivious to your surroundings?
"Elder Su Qian, aren't you going to do something? Zi Yan, she's only... she's still a child!"
Sure enough, Elder Qing, deeply resentful, complained to the unperturbed Su Qian beside him.
"???" Su Qian looked at Elder Qing with a puzzled expression, sighed, patted his shoulder, and said earnestly, "Zi Yan is a magical beast. Perhaps she's older than you. Besides, when children grow up, how can this old man control them?"
"..."
"Let the young people handle their own affairs. We shouldn't meddle," Hu Gan chimed in from the side. He wasn't like these old bachelors; he had a granddaughter. Having gone through that stage, he deeply understood the sweetness of it.
At the same time, males and females at this stage were also more volatile! If they didn't want to suffer a combined attack from the two, it was best to keep their eyes to themselves.
"Is that what this old man means? This isn't—"
"Someone's coming!"
Just as Elder Qing was about to speak again, Jiang Yun, who had been looking down, suddenly looked up at the sky, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
At this moment, everyone's expression became serious, and their eyes sharply looked at the sky. It was fine for them to joke around normally, but when it came to serious matters, they were all very reliable.
"Whoosh—"
A figure, carrying the sound of rushing wind, swiftly approached, quickly passing over their heads and heading towards a hill in their perception.
"It's Han Feng!" Looking at the passing figure, Su Qian and the others said excitedly. Han Feng was their primary target, and for him to appear so smoothly was somewhat beyond their expectations.
Logically speaking, he already possessed one Heavenly Flame, so he shouldn't be so eager to find a second one, should he?
"The fish has entered the net. Now we'll see how many more will come!" Compared to their excitement, Jiang Yun, the mastermind, was quite calm.
The others nodded upon hearing this, knowing their arrangements. They were not at all anxious. This time, even if a Nine-star Dou Zong came, they wouldn't be able to escape alive.
Han Feng, over there, had already landed at a certain spot based on his senses.
"It's here!" Han Feng looked at the ground beneath his feet with fervent eyes. According to his senses, the target was right here. Although it was well-hidden, Han Feng's soul power still detected that the soil below had been covered later.
Presumably, it was done by the three Yao brothers!
Thinking that the Heavenly Flame was within reach, he could no longer restrain himself and struck out with a palm.
The vast Dou Qi horizontal strike directly blasted off a good portion of the hilltop. With a thunderous roar, countless rocks rolled down, and the huge commotion shook the entire mountain. The magical beasts in the vicinity desperately fled into the distance, sensing that danger was about to occur here.
The hilltop was blasted open, revealing a dark, narrow tunnel glowing with red light. The surrounding air temperature also rose.
Following the tunnel downwards was a sea of scorching magma. The fiery red magma, tinged with gold, churned, occasionally releasing bubbles. When Jiang Yun first found this place, he suspected that it might have formed from the magma flowing out of the Tou She Ancient Emperor Cave.
Perhaps, the entire underground of the Black-Corner Region was a sea of magma!
In the fiery red magma world, undercurrents surged, occasionally a wisp of extremely fierce magma undercurrent burst forth from some unknown place.
And in the center of this magma, a small snake quietly coiled. If one observed carefully, they would find that the small snake emitted a faint red glow, echoing the surrounding magma sea.
Clearly, Jiang Yun had tampered with this place as well!
Feeling the pulling force from below, Han Feng could no longer restrain himself. His body moved slightly, and he plunged rapidly towards the cave entrance.
"He went in!" Seeing Han Feng enter, Hu Gan's eyes gleamed, and he said excitedly.
"More people are coming, and quite a few of them!" Just then, Jiang Yun's gaze shifted, looking into the distance. He saw several black dots rapidly approaching from far away.
"It seems Han Feng's methods didn't escape them!" Su Qian looked at the approaching people with a somewhat solemn expression. Although the number of people arriving was relatively small, none of them were easy to deal with.
These people were Mo Tianxing, the Gold and Silver Elders, Fang Yan, and others.
"The Heavenly Flame is there!" The group arrived above the dense forest and immediately saw the cave entrance emitting scorching energy.
"Go!" Several figures followed closely, heading into the passage.
"They've all gone in, let's make our move!" Seeing everyone enter, even someone as calm as Wu Tianlang was somewhat excited.
"Wait, there's still a big guy over there!" Holding back Wu Tianlang, who was about to attack, Jiang Yun looked gravely at an inconspicuous space.
The space there was slightly distorted, and inside, there was an old figure emanating a fierce aura. His sunken eyes, revealing a faint glow like ghost fire, stared unblinkingly at the cave entrance.
Beside him, the space would subtly emit a faint fluctuation, all indicating his profound cultivation.
"What a formidable old fellow!" Following Jiang Yun's gaze, everyone else saw nothing. However, Zi Yan seemed to have seen through something, her expression unprecedentedly grave, and the fist in her sleeve, imbued with immense power, also clenched suddenly.
"Earth Demon Lao Gui!" Amidst the questioning gazes of Su Qian and the others, Jiang Yun slowly uttered the old man's name, making Su Qian and the others' hair stand on end.
"It's him!"
Su Qian and the others frowned. They had also heard of this strong individual, who was from the same era as the Jia Nan Academy's dean. Back then, he was already a Dou Zong expert. After so many years, he had at least reached Five or Six-star Dou Zong, truly a formidable enemy.
"Jiang Yun, are you sure that thing can deal with him? He's at least a Five-star Dou Zong expert." Su Qian, feeling nervous, couldn't help but ask Jiang Yun, who was beside him.
Although Jiang Yun had said that according to his arrangements, they could deal with everyone, this was Earth Demon Lao Gui after all. Su Qian was also a bit worried at this moment.
"Seven-star Dou Zong!"
"What?"
"Earth Demon Lao Gui is a Seven-star Dou Zong."
"Hiss—"
Hearing Jiang Yun's reply, everyone gasped. The strongest among them was Su Qian, a Three-star Dou Zong, a full four star ranks below a Seven-star Dou Zong. Would they be beaten to death by him?
"Elder Su Qian, don't worry. Just follow the arrangements. Even if a Nine-star Dou Zong comes, it will be of no avail!"
Looking at the frightened group, Jiang Yun chuckled, saying confidently.
"I hope so!"
Just as the group was secretly discussing, Earth Demon Lao Gui in the distance frowned, looking at the cave entrance, his brows tightly knitted. Suddenly, he seemed to realize something and muttered.
"Not good!"
Before his words even fell, he had already transformed into an afterimage, streaking towards the cave entrance. In a few blinks of an eye, he arrived at the entrance.
At the same time.
Han Feng, who had just stepped beside the Fallen Heart Flame, suddenly discovered that it was now erupting with dazzling white light. The entire world suddenly revealed countless patterns, echoing the flame.
Even if he didn't understand what these patterns represented, the extreme danger he felt made Han Feng realize that he had been tricked.
"Damn it—"
Accompanied by a roar, in an instant, the Fallen Heart Flame suddenly exploded, and the patterns also seemed to lose their support, collapsing one by one. The entire flame world emanated an extremely terrifying fluctuation.
"Boom!—"
A heaven-shattering, earth-shaking explosion resounded throughout the eastern Black-Corner Region. A towering pillar of fire dyed the entire sky fiery red. Smoke and dust billowed, magma raged, and this forest, formed over countless years, was largely destroyed.