Chapter 42 Acquiring the True Fire of Southern Ming

Fallen Immortal Secret Realm, Scarlet Flame Rift.

The dark red rock walls were scorching from the volcanic steam, and the air was thick with the scent of sulfur and searing stones.

Xiao Yi and Su Wan could feel the scorching heatwaves rising from beneath their feet with every step they took.

The temperature here was already high enough to cause ripples in the protective spiritual light of ordinary Void-Refining cultivators.

"This is the place." Xiao Yi pointed toward the churning lava lake deep within the rift.

Atop a stone platform in the center of the lake, a lotus-shaped flame floated quietly. Its outer layers were crimson like the wings of a firebird, while its core shimmered with the luster of deep blue ice crystals.

"That is the aura of the Southern Ming Separation Fire, there is no mistake."

Su Wan gazed at the bottom of the lava lake, where bubbles were bursting at an eerie frequency, and faint, massive shadows could be seen shifting beneath the water. "Be careful, something in this rift is watching us."

Before her voice faded, the lava lake suddenly erupted!

"Roar—!"

A figure that blotted out the sky leaped from the lake—it was a ten-zhang-long magma behemoth.

Its entire body was covered in obsidian-like scales, sharp rock spines grew thickly along its spine, its eyes burned with raging fire, and its four limbs stepped upon the lava as if walking on flat ground.

It was none other than the guardian beast of the Scarlet Flame Rift, the Flame Prison Dark Turtle.

Opening its massive maw, the turtle spewed a pillar of crimson magma. Wherever it passed, the air cracked and popped under the intense heat, and even the space warped with distorted ripples. Its deep, rumbling voice sounded like grinding stones: "What despicable wretches dare to trespass upon my domain? The Southern Ming Separation Fire is an ancient spiritual treasure; how could you mere mortals presume to covet it!"

"Ancient spiritual treasures naturally choose the wise to serve them. Do you, a mere tortoise, think you can monopolize it?" The Burning Heaven Emperor Flame in Xiao Yi's palm suddenly surged, the golden-red flames making his pupils glow brightly. "Today, I will take the Separation Fire, and I would like to see what you can do to stop me!"

"A mere cultivator of the seventh layer of Void-Refining, utterly ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth! Then go and die with me!"

The giant turtle opened its maw again, spitting out another crimson column of magma, scorching the air so fiercely that it crackled and warped the very fabric of space.

"The aura of the ninth layer of Void-Refining!" Xiao Yi's pupils constricted, but instead of retreating, he stepped forward. "Su Wan, launch your attack from the flank!"

"Understood!" Su Wan tapped the tips of her toes, her figure drifting like willow catkins toward the left side of the giant turtle as her Flowing Light Purple Lightning Sword hummed out of its scabbard. "Sword Breaks Floating Clouds!"

Pale golden sword qi poured down like a waterfall, precisely striking the giant turtle's left front leg.

The moment the blade collided with the scales, sparks flew—the turtle's defense was actually strong enough to withstand a lower-tier Heaven-grade magical treasure!

Taking advantage of the opening, Xiao Yi summoned the Burning Heaven Emperor Flame, condensing the golden-red flames into a three-zhang-wide fire wheel in his palm: "Flame Wheel Severs Mountains!"

Carrying the momentum to incinerate mountains and boil seas, the fire wheel smashed fiercely against the turtle's dorsal shell.

With a deafening crash like a giant bell, the turtle was sent stumbling backward, kicking up waves丈-high from the lava lake, yet its shell was left with only a charred smudge.

"Such a hard shell!" Xiao Yi thought inwardly, startled. "Its spiritual power fluctuations are of the same origin as the Southern Ming Separation Fire; no wonder it can survive in the magma."

Stung with pain, the Flame Prison Dark Turtle violently whipped its body around. The rock spines at the base of its tail suddenly grew rapidly, shooting toward Su Wan like javelins.

Su Wan tapped her sword tip, her figure tracing an eerie arc through the air. The moment she dodged the spines, the ridge of her sword blazed with lightning: "Thunder Dragon Emerges from the Abyss!"

The purple sword Qi transformed into a thunder dragon, winding its way up the turtle's right front leg. Wherever the thunder dragon passed, the scales were scorched black and fell off.

"Now is the time!"

"Blazing Fire Spear!"

Seizing this fleeting opportunity, Xiao Yi triggered the aura of the Burning Heaven Emperor Flame in advance. The moment he pushed his palms forward, the flames transformed into a spear that accurately pierced into the turtle's wound.

The moment the Burning Heaven Emperor Flame touched the spiritual power within the turtle's body, it burned wildly like dry firewood meeting raging fire, generating a violent resonance with the turtle's own fire-attribute energy.

A muffled explosion echoed from within the turtle's body as its inner core was instantly detonated by the strange fire.

"Roar—!"

The Flame Prison Dark Turtle let out a final, mournful cry, its massive body disintegrating inch by inch in the flames before finally turning into a sky full of sparks that merged into the lava lake.

Seeing this, Xiao Yi darted like a released arrow toward the stone platform in the center of the lava lake.

The moment his fingertips touched the lotus-shaped flame, the Southern Ming Separation Fire suddenly erupted with dazzling brilliance.

The outer layer of the flame was crimson like the wings of a firebird about to take flight, while the deep blue ice crystals at its core radiated a bone-chilling cold. Two extreme forces intertwined and collided in his palm.

Xiao Yi calmed his mind, circulating the "Burning Heaven Fire Scripture" to guide this violent strange fire as it slowly flowed into his body.

The Burning Heaven Emperor Flame and the Southern Ming Separation Fire were of the same origin to begin with. Encountering each other now was like old friends reuniting after a long separation, surging and circulating through his meridians. Wherever they passed, even the tiniest impurities in his spiritual power were burned to nothingness.

"It is done." He clenched his fists, feeling an unprecedented surge of power within him as an excited glint flashed in his eyes.

The integration of the Southern Ming Separation Fire not only increased the power of the Burning Heaven Emperor Flame by thirty percent, but it also condensed a dual-colored fire core within his dantian, faintly radiating a profound aura of returning to simplicity.

Su Wan landed beside him, stepping on sword shadows. Looking at the golden-red flames circulating around his body, she softly said, "Senior Brother, this Southern Ming Separation Fire truly suits you."

Just as her voice faded, a golden light suddenly emerged from the bottom of the lake. A completely pristine, translucent jade slip slowly rose from the magma. The moment it appeared, it resonated strongly with the dual-colored fire core inside Xiao Yi's body, causing the spiritual power in his dantian to surge violently.

"This is...?" Xiao Yi reached out and caught the jade slip. The moment his fingertips brushed the pristine jade surface, countless profound runes flooded into his mind like a tidal wave.

This was actually the natal inheritance of an ancient fire-controlling cultivator, and the "Southern Ming Separation Fire Art" recorded within it could perfectly fuse two types of strange fires, with a power that rivaled upper-tier Heaven-grade divine abilities.

He closed his eyes to digest the knowledge for a moment, and when he opened them again, the dual-colored flame in his palm had condensed into a crystal-clear fire crystal capable of both incinerating mountains and freezing the void.

Watching the increasingly refined fire essence surrounding him, Su Wan suddenly let out a soft exclamation: "My sword..." The Flowing Light Purple Lightning Sword had started trembling for some unknown reason, pointing in a specific direction.

"That direction is the Netherworld Cold Pool. Could there be a treasure there?" Su Wan said.

"It is very likely, otherwise the Flowing Light Purple Lightning Sword would not resonate," Xiao Yi said, gazing in the direction pointed by the sword.

"The Netherworld Cold Pool is famous for its bone-chilling cold; ordinary cultivators would have their meridians frozen solid just by approaching it."

"Yet there is no hostility in its sword hum; instead, it's as if... it has encountered something of the same origin?"

Frowning, Su Wan gently stroked the sword body as the purple lightning sword trembled with increasing urgency.

"Regardless of what it is, since the sword points the way, we shall go and see. It just so happens that I have newly mastered the 'Southern Ming Separation Fire Art'; if there are indeed any dark and evil entities there, I can test its power."

The two exchanged a glance and tacitly darted toward the direction of the Netherworld Cold Pool.