Chapter 212: The Power of Pure Heaven Divine Palace
Xiao Tian knocked on the door in front of him, which then opened automatically, and Xiao Tian walked in.
At a table, he saw Elder Su Qian, the Great Elder of the Inner Academy, sitting behind a desk, handling academy affairs.
"Great Elder, what can I do for you?"
Xiao Tian bowed respectfully to Su Qian.
"It's nothing particularly big. I just wanted to chat with you for a bit. Please, have a seat." Su Qian tidied up all the documents in front of him and looked at Xiao Tian with a smile.
Xiao Tian sat down directly in the spot Su Qian indicated. Su Qian waved his hand, and a tea set appeared. With a series of movements that seemed slow but were actually very elegant, he poured Xiao Tian a cup of tea.
"This is Cloud Mist Green Bud. It can calm the mind, relieve fatigue, and increase energy absorption. Cultivating in this state can boost your cultivation speed."
Xiao Tian picked up the teacup and took a small sip. His mind cleared, and he could even more distinctly feel the free-floating energy of heaven and earth.
"Great Elder, taking out such a fine item, I imagine it's not just for a simple chat, is it?"
Su Qian was slightly taken aback by Xiao Tian's directness, then smiled and said, "Then I won't beat around the bush. Is the flame you displayed earlier a Heavenly Flame?"
"Yes, it is indeed a Heavenly Flame. It is ranked ninth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking."
A brown flame with flickering lightning constantly floated on Xiao Tian's palm.
"Your flame looks quite peculiar. On the surface, it is the shape of a dragon and Dark purple in color. It must be called the Three Thousand Burning Flame, ranked ninth on the heavenly flame list.
Su Qian carefully observed Xiao Tian's Three Thousand Burning Flame with envy, because the Three Thousand Burning Flame was much higher in rank than the Fallen Heart Flame.
"Young friend Xiao Tian, I came to you this time to discuss something, or perhaps to try something."
Great Elder Su Qian stroked his beard and smiled.
"What is it?"
Xiao Tian guessed it was about the Fallen Heart Flame and didn't rush to agree.
"Could we move to another location? I'll tell you once we're there, and then you can consider it."
"Alright."
Seeing Xiao Tian agree, Su Qian stood up directly, grabbed his arm, and disappeared from the room, reappearing in another place.
The entire space was a faint red. In the center of the space was a huge, deep pit, and above it was a massive, mysterious-patterned dome. Around them sat many elders from the Inner Academy, mostly of Dou Wang strength. They stood up, bowed to Su Qian, and then returned to their original positions, reinforcing the protective shield. They were very puzzled by the Great Elder bringing Xiao Tian here but were sensible enough not to ask too many questions.
Under Su Qian's lead, Xiao Tian arrived in front of the deep pit. The closer they got to the opening, the higher the temperature inside. Looking into the pit, the entire opening wasn't black but red. Looking down, all that met the eye was scorching, flowing magma.
Xiao Tian knew that the Fallen Heart Flame was within this magma.
"Is this the aura of a Heavenly Flame?"
Xiao Tian feigned surprise and confusion.
"Yes, this is our academy's biggest secret, and also the core foundation of the Heavenly Flame Training Pagoda. What lies within is the Fallen Heart Flame, ranked fourteenth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking."
Great Elder Su Qian looked at the pit below with a complex expression. He both loved and hated this Heavenly Flame. Its existence allowed the Inner Academy to flourish, but it was also a danger. In recent years, it had even been erupting intermittently.
"I came this time hoping to use your Heavenly Flame to see if we can ascertain the current state of the Fallen Heart Flame. If we can suppress it, that would be even better."
Su Qian then briefly explained the origin of the Fallen Heart Flame and its condition over the past few years to Xiao Tian.
Xiao Tian didn't speak, but controlled his Heavenly Flame to appear in his hand. As Xiao Tian's Heavenly Flame emerged, the underground magma suddenly began to surge, churning continuously. A giant, translucent Fire Python appeared below the pit's opening, its massive head looking upwards.
Xiao Tian's Three Thousand Burning Flame seemed provoked, flying from Xiao Tian's hand and forming a giant dragon above the protective shield, roaring continuously at the depths below.
As the two sides stared at each other, the Fire Python suddenly retreated into the magma. Xiao Tian noticed a hint of fear in its eyes. Though it was only for a very brief moment, he still caught it.
As the Fire Python burrowed into the magma, the Three Thousand Burning Flame also reverted to a Heavenly Flame and returned to Xiao Tian's body.
"Great Elder, this Heavenly Flame has already developed sentience. In this magma world, its strength will continuously increase. Given the strength of your protective shield, it might not be able to contain it in about half a year."
Su Qian sighed deeply upon hearing Xiao Tian's words. He was well aware of this, especially in the last year, as the Fallen Heart Flame had been continuously impacting the protective shield, each time stronger than the last. He himself had to come and reinforce the protective shield from time to time, but he was increasingly finding himself powerless, and the Dou Qi he expended was constantly rising.
"Then do you have a solution? Or can your Heavenly Flame forcefully suppress it?"
He looked at Xiao Tian, a hint of hope in his eyes, hoping that this monstrous genius might have a way to deal with it.
"I do have a method. You could have the person who set up this protective shield come and rearrange it, or add a few more. That way, it could at least last for a century. I can tell this protective shield has been in place for a very long time and is clearly severely worn. Its remaining power is probably less than thirty percent of its peak."
Su Qian, beside him, also sighed silently. This protective shield was naturally left by his irresponsible dean, but he had no way of finding him. He was usually nowhere to be seen, and Su Qian hadn't seen him in decades.
"Alas~ I can't find him. If this Fallen Heart Flame erupts, the entire Inner Academy will probably turn into a world of flames."
Su Qian sighed, looking as if he had aged more than ten years. For Su Qian, the entire Jia Nan Academy was his life's work.
"I have another way to solve this problem, but... the Inner Academy might decline from then on. However, it would at least preserve the Inner Academy. It just depends on what you're willing to give up."
Su Qian became very excited when he heard Xiao Tian's initial words, but upon hearing Xiao Tian's latter statement, he froze in place, his expression constantly changing.
"Can you tell me what the method is?" Su Qian looked at Xiao Tian with burning eyes.
"My method is to release the Fallen Heart Flame while it's not yet at its strongest state. Then, I will have people from Pure Heaven Divine Palace come to assist and completely resolve the Fallen Heart Flame problem."
Su Qian stared intently at Xiao Tian. He had interacted with people from Pure Heaven Divine Palace before. Although only two people came that time, they were both core members of Pure Heaven Divine Palace. One claimed to be the Palace Master's wife, overseeing the final decision-making power of Pure Heaven Divine Palace. The other was a Supreme Elder, from whom he felt terrifying strength, and he believed he was absolutely no match for him.