Qing Ming, who was standing beside Jiang Yun, looked at him. Compared to moments ago, Jiang Yun now had an ethereal quality, as if what stood there wasn't a physical body, but a soul.
Seeing this, Qing Ming's eyes showed a look of relief: "Congratulations on entering the Spiritual Realm Soul!"
Jiang Yun smiled at Qing Ming's congratulations. Although there was still a huge gap to his goal, shouldn't every bit of strength gained be celebrated?
With a thought, Jiang Yun, whose soul power had greatly increased, sensed a strange fluctuation in the lava below. This fluctuation gave Jiang Yun a familiar feeling.
It was the feeling of the Fallen Heart Flame. After entering the Spirit Realm, Jiang Yun could sense it without relying on the attraction between different Heavenly Flames.
This small Fallen Heart Flame would eventually be his, so Jiang Yun didn't rush to find it. Instead, he turned his gaze to the gigantic Heaven Demon Phoenix mummified corpse.
This corpse's strength in life was only at the peak of the seventh rank, and it had died in that secret realm. Jiang Yun had also seen many other Magical Beast corpses, and many were more powerful than it.
Perhaps they were all once part of those who protected this continent!
Due to the long time since its demise, the corpse no longer resembled the Magical Beast overlord, the Heaven Demon Phoenix. Only the pair of ten-zhang wide, jade-like bone wings on its back indicated its identity.
"These wings are quite good. They would be a decent treasure even for a Dou Zong."
"What?"
"You have an idea?"
Watching Jiang Yun examine the bone wings, Qing Ming glanced at them and offered his opinion and question.
Jiang Yun withdrew his gaze and shook his head: "These are indeed good for a Dou Zong, or even a Dou Zun, but for me, they're a bit redundant."
The Heaven Demon Phoenix wings were indeed a good item, but Jiang Yun himself possessed a Heaven-tier movement technique, and with the added boost of spatial power, his speed was no worse than a Heaven Demon Phoenix. There was no need for an extra effort.
"In ancient times, the Magical Beast World saw the emergence of numerous Supreme Magical Beasts, such as the Ancient Void Dragon, Ancient Heaven Phoenix, Nine-Colored Sky Swallowing Python, Nine-Headed Sky Serpent, and so on. However, as time passed, now only the Ancient Void Dragon remains, while the others have vanished into the long river of time."
Jiang Yun spoke eloquently as he looked at the Heaven Demon Phoenix before him. Qing Ming, however, appeared calm. To him, the Ancient Void Dragon and Ancient Heaven Phoenix were not worth mentioning; only the Divine Beasts of the Divine Beast World in the Great Thousand World could move him.
Jiang Yun wasn't surprised. As an Immortal Rank peerless sacred artifact, it was normal for it to have high standards.
"The Magical Beast World once produced two true Supreme Magical Beasts: the Supreme Dragon Phoenix. It simultaneously possessed the characteristics of both the Ancient Void Dragon and the Ancient Heaven Phoenix, making it a true Supreme Magical Beast!"
Upon hearing 'Dragon Phoenix,' even Qing Ming was moved. Even he had never heard of a Dragon Phoenix appearing in the Great Thousand World.
The Dragon Phoenix was said to be created by the Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit, which in turn had an extremely small chance of forming only when both a Ancient Void Dragon and an Ancient Heaven Phoenix perished simultaneously.
The combination of bloodlines from two different Supreme Magical Beasts was indeed a fated event. Perhaps the Dragon and Phoenix races of the Great Thousand World had never produced a Dragon Phoenix because their bloodlines were too dominant and incompatible.
As a result, the Dragon Phoenix had always remained a legend. Qing Ming truly hadn't expected that this small Dou Qi Continent would have Dragon and Phoenix races capable of creating a Dragon Phoenix, and that it had even appeared twice.
Even if the bloodlines of these two were not top-tier among the Dragon and Phoenix races of the Great Thousand World, once combined, the resulting Dragon Phoenix would certainly possess a top-tier bloodline, no worse than the top Divine Beasts on the Divine Beast Ranking.
However, how far it could ultimately grow still depended on itself. But this did not prevent the Dragon Phoenix from being the number one bloodline on the Dou Qi Continent.
"You mean..." Qing Ming understood immediately, grasping Jiang Yun's idea. There was already a Ancient Void Dragon with the most terrifying bloodline in this world outside, but even so, Qing Ming had to admit Jiang Yun's bold idea.
"How is that possible!" Jiang Yun, who knew Qing Ming's thoughts, shook his head with a wry smile. If the Dragon Phoenix were so easy to appear, it wouldn't have only appeared twice in the history of the Dou Qi Continent.
Indeed, Zi Yan eventually became the third Dragon Phoenix!
The Heaven Demon Phoenix was a descendant of the Ancient Heaven Phoenix, and the Heaven Demon Phoenix's essence blood was not very useful to him. He just wanted to see if he could extract the blood of the Ancient Heaven Phoenix.
If he could, then...
"Whoosh—"
Two cold gleams flashed, and a pair of jade-like bone wings landed in Jiang Yun's hands. They felt cool to the touch, yet this coolness was mixed with a hint of warmth.
The bone wings were slightly transparent, and one could clearly see the unusual energy flowing within them.
This was the essence of the Heaven Demon Phoenix race; most of their inherited Dou techniques required the use of their wings.
Putting away the bone wings, Jiang Yun waved his right hand, and the black and white Holy Heavenly Demon Flame surged from his palm, forming a green light curtain that enveloped the entire Magical Beast mummified corpse.
Enveloped by the flames, the seemingly fragile Magical Beast's withered skin did not instantly turn to ash. Instead, it slowly curled up.
The flames drilled into the two large openings at the corpse's wings, scorching the pale white flesh inside.
As the flames scorched, one could see the exposed pale white flesh continuously erupting with sizzling sounds, and its volume also continuously shrank within the flames.
As time passed, the flames continued to refine, and the Heaven Demon Phoenix's corpse slowly disappeared, eventually condensing into a drop of reddish-green blood.
Finally, Jiang Yun obtained a cluster of light red Heaven Demon Phoenix essence blood, and a crystal of two colors, green and red, which was its Magical Core.
However, Jiang Yun did not stop the flame's calcination. Instead, he continuously increased the flames, scorching this cluster of essence blood.
A moment later, Jiang Yun frowned and stopped the flames. In his perception, the essence blood had indeed been purified a little, but it was negligible. If he continued to calcine it like this, it would probably take an eternity.
Moreover, Jiang Yun also realized that this small amount of Heaven Demon Phoenix essence blood was not enough to extract the Ancient Heaven Phoenix's bloodline.
It seems he needs to find another way!
The Snake-People Tribe can awaken ancient bloodlines within their bodies through the calcination of Heavenly Flames. What exactly is the principle behind this?
Is this method applicable to all Magical Beasts?
It seems necessary to visit the Snake-People Tribe. If the principle can be clarified, then perhaps those vanished Ancient Magical Beasts can reappear on the continent?
Putting away the Heaven Demon Phoenix essence blood and Magical Core, Jiang Yun let out a long breath, circulating his cultivation technique to recover the depleted Dou Qi in his body.
"It seems it failed!" Qing Ming looked at Jiang Yun, who had opened his eyes, and said in a low, teasing voice.
Jiang Yun, however, showed no discouragement, shaking his head with a smile: "It was just an experiment; failure is fine!"
Seeing that Jiang Yun wasn't disheartened, Qing Ming also nodded reassuringly. As long as his spirit wasn't broken, nothing was a problem!
Afterward, Jiang Yun proceeded to fashion the dead Bodhi Tree into a small spherical object, tied with a red string.
"What are you going to do next?" Qing Ming asked Jiang Yun, who had finished his tasks, essentially asking about his future plans.
Jiang Yun put away the remaining items and took out a black token engraved with the character'Soul'. On the back of the token was another character, 'Human'. This was one of Protector Xuan's inheritances.
The Soul Palace' Protectors were divided into Heaven, Earth, and Human grades. Protector Xuan was a Human-grade Protector, the lowest level. This indirectly showed the immense power of the Soul Palace.
Looking at the token before him, a flickering light flashed in Jiang Yun's eyes.
Hearing Qing Ming's question, Jiang Yun put away the token, stood up tall, looked at the lava underground, and said, "Let's go see that senior who has been calling out!"
A smile flashed in Qing Ming's eyes. "That fellow is persistent. He's almost dissipated, yet he's still using his soul power without reservation."
"Perhaps he sees me as his last straw of hope!"
"However, what's down here isn't simple!" Looking at Jiang Yun, Qing Ming's expression suddenly became serious, and he said meaningfully, "This might be the greatest opportunity on this continent!"
Jiang Yun's heart stirred. Qing Ming had discovered the Tou She Ancient Emperor Cave underground. Indeed, although Qing Ming had not yet fully recovered his peak strength, he was essentially an Immortal Rank peerless sacred artifact capable of contending with a Heavenly Sovereign.
"What is it?" Jiang Yun asked curiously. This was somewhat beyond Jiang Yun's scope of knowledge, so he rarely played dumb this once.
"It's not time yet; you'll know when the time comes!" Qing Ming, however, shook his head. He had already discerned the bloodline relationship between Zhu Kun and Zi Yan. Unfortunately, his current strength hadn't recovered much, so he couldn't rescue the other party.
Otherwise, given Zi Yan's relationship with Jiang Yun, he wouldn't mind letting her out. This way, Jiang Yun would also have a safety guarantee in this world!
Unfortunately, it was still a bit too early. It was better not to say it now, lest it only add to the trouble!
Presumably, his relative by marriage (Zhu Kun) has waited so many years; a few more years won't hurt, right?
Zhu Kun:??? Is no one going to ask for my opinion? As a doting father, do you know what it feels like to not see your daughter for ten thousand years? I was sleeping soundly and didn't feel much, but then I was startled awake some time ago. How could I possibly sleep anymore? Now, every minute that passes is an torment!
Jiang Yun's heart settled, knowing that Qing Ming probably couldn't get Zhu Kun out, so he stopped pressing the matter.
"Let's go, let's go see that little fellow down below!"
Nodding, Jiang Yun leaped into the lava underground. In mid-air, a faint layer of white flame tightly enveloped him, as if he had put on a pure white gauze dress.
Although there was a Flame Lizardman tribe in the underground lava, brought by Tuoshe Ancient Emperor to guard the outer perimeter of his mansion, with Dou Venerates and Half-Saints in charge, they generally wouldn't appear above the lava, as if under some restriction.
With his Spiritual Realm Soul power, as long as he didn't provoke the Flame Lizardman tribe, he wouldn't be discovered by them.
Although they possessed fire beads that could accelerate cultivation, Jiang Yun didn't think much of these things.
Expending that effort to hunt them down was not as fast as exchanging resources for a pill!
Or, directly use the Holy Heavenly Demon Flame's devouring power to go on a killing spree!
In the vast, endless lava, all that met the eye was crimson. This crimson world was utterly silent, and this monotonous uniformity was the most unbearable aspect.
As time passed, Jiang Yun arrived at a chilling, dark red lava area. He raised his hand and wiped it, and a transparent halo, emitting a faint glow, emerged from the lava vortex.
Jiang Yun's figure flickered, and he arrived inside the space. As far as his eyes could see, he saw a skeleton that had turned into dry bones, emitting a faint phosphorescence. And above the skeleton, a wisp of flame floated, which was precisely the Fallen Heart Flame.
There were only so many wild Heavenly Flames in the world, and this region actually gave birth to two Fallen Heart Flames in succession. One could only say that it truly lived up to its name as the burial ground of Tuoshe Ancient Emperor.
The Heavenly Flame, which was extremely precious in the outside world, did not attract Jiang Yun's attention at this moment. Instead, his gaze fell upon the skeleton.
"Alas—, I didn't expect young friend's soul power to have reached the Spirit Realm. Truly, the younger generation is formidable!"
After a long while, a sigh echoed. A burst of white light suddenly erupted from the skeleton, slowly coalescing into a human form. As the white light dissipated, a clear figure appeared before Jiang Yun.
The figure wore a white robe, with snow-white hair and beard, and an aged face. His calm eyes flickered with a faint glint. As soon as this illusory figure appeared, a faint pressure spread out.
"Six-star Dou Wang, Spiritual Realm Soul. Young friend's talent truly makes one ashamed!" The illusory figure looked at Jiang Yun and said unhurriedly, his voice carrying a hint of envy.
A faint smile appeared on Jiang Yun's lips. He cupped his hands and said with a smile, "Greetings, Senior. Senior has repeatedly emitted soul fluctuations, presumably to guide this junior here!"
Venerable Tian Huo's expression stiffened, and he said in a low voice, "To be honest, young friend, I am Venerable Tian Huo. I perished here several hundred years ago, leaving only this remnant soul to barely survive in the world. In less than ten years, it will dissipate between heaven and earth. A few days ago, I sensed young friend's aura and the Fallen Heart Flame's aura, so I decided to take a gamble!"
"If young friend is willing to help, this scroll of Earth-tier high-grade Dou Technique: Five Ring Flame Expelling Technique comparable with Heavenly-tier Dou Technique, and this Fallen Heart Flame will be yours!"
With that, Yao Tianhuo crooked his hand, and immediately, a white storage ring flew out from the pile of bones, landing in Yao Tianhuo's hand.
A light white scroll was taken out from the storage ring. On the scroll were depicted some flying beasts completely engulfed in flames.
With another casual toss, the Fallen Heart Flame and the Five Ring Flame Expelling Technique on his skeleton successively landed before Jiang Yun's eyes.
To be honest, Jiang Yun was quite interested in this scroll, which was both a fire control method and a formation Dou Technique. Although he inherited the legacy of a Spiritual Array Master, he was still young and hadn't memorized the Spiritual Array Master's inheritance. He was now in the stage of exploring on his own.
Therefore, it was very necessary to learn about the formations of the Dou Qi Continent!
Looking at the somewhat nervous Venerable Tian Huo, Jiang Yun was, after all, the stronger party. His Spiritual Realm Soul was enough to annihilate him.
Jiang Yun chuckled and put away the scroll: "Deal!"