The Great Crimson Heaven Flame was nothing like the Evil Spirit Dragon Breath Flame. It possessed no intelligence and would instinctively strike back at the slightest provocation. Luring it out was a simple matter.
Not long after the Myriad Snake Queen dove into the magma lake, the entire lake began to boil. Waves of fire crashed against the shores, splattering drops of blood-red liquid that hissed and smoked upon hitting the ground nearby, sending chills down everyone’s spines.
Yun Xiu and Jiu Youyue hurriedly pulled Yan Zhen back.
Boom!
A blood-colored serpentine shadow—the Myriad Snake Queen—burst out from the magma, pursued closely by a roaring blaze that seemed to embody all the crimson fury of the world.
The surrounding temperature spiked in an instant. Even Yan Zhen, who had refined two extreme flames, found it unbearable at his current level. He quickly circulated his energy to ward it off.
Too scorching—er, no, too hot!
An ordinary mystic cultivator would be medium-rare in seconds flat. Only someone at the Mystic General level could withstand it.
The moment the Great Crimson Heaven Flame emerged, Yun Xiu and Jiu Youyue struck almost simultaneously.
“Wind Lock Mist Bind!”
“Yellow Springs Death Seal!”
Two restraint seals powerful enough to bind a Mystic Ancestor expert clamped down on the Great Crimson Heaven Flame, instantly crushing its momentum. Its wild flames shrank to the size of a human head.
But in the blink of an eye, the Great Crimson Heaven Flame struggled free. Tongues of fire leaked from the seals.
Boom!
The two restraints shattered one after another. Flames surged outward like tidal waves, the terrifying heat melting even the stone walls long battered by magma.
Yun Xiu and Jiu Youyue were both forced back several steps. Fixing their gazes ahead, they saw the blood-red Great Crimson Heaven Flame gradually taking on a humanoid form.
Its features were indistinct, with long hair flowing freely. The figure was curvaceous and tall—an alluring older sister type.
Yun Xiu was taken aback.
“It actually turned into a person?”
Jiu Youyue shook her head.
“It’s just mimicry… That’s the form of its previous owner.”
“Its previous owner?”
“A female Martial God from the Yellow Turban Continent.”
“A Martial God!?”
Yun Xiu was astonished.
Not a saint, but a god.
Gods were beings from ancient times.
In the old era, those who surpassed Mystic Saints ascended to godhood, not Emperors.
“The Great Crimson Heaven Flame followed that female Martial God for many years and absorbed her aura, so it mimics her appearance on its own.”
“I feel like its aura has grown even stronger.”
“Once it mimics, it gains some of her abilities. Right now, it’s essentially an incarnation of one of that female Martial God’s extreme flames.”
A god’s incarnation was ridiculously powerful for them at their current level.
The Myriad Snake Queen looked grave as well. In her previous life, she had used her Snake God bloodline to forcefully suppress the Great Crimson Heaven Flame, hoping to complete her bloodline evolution with its power.
Unfortunately, halfway through the evolution, she lost control. The flame tormented her mercilessly, nearly killing her.
Fortunately, Yan Zhen had arrived just in time to subdue the rampaging Great Crimson Heaven Flame for her, allowing the evolution to succeed.
Seeing its humanoid form again stirred faint psychological trauma in the Myriad Snake Queen, paling her face slightly.
“Mother Concubine, don’t be scared! Baby and Father Emperor will protect you!”
Her daughter’s energetic voice rang out in her sea of consciousness. The Myriad Snake Queen smiled faintly, her tension easing a bit.
She was no longer the her from her previous life, and besides—
She glanced at Yan Zhen, who met her eyes and nodded.
A Mystic sense of security filled the Myriad Snake Queen.
“Let’s attack together!”
The four of them joined forces against the Great Crimson Heaven Flame. Less than half an hour later, they successfully suppressed it and stored it away in the Fire Refining Starry Sky.
The Fire Refining Starry Sky and the Emperor Flame Technique held absolute dominance over extreme flames, like a king over his subjects.
None of them suffered serious injuries, though they looked a bit disheveled—especially Yan Zhen, whose hair had exploded into a wild afro.
The three women couldn’t help but want to laugh at his appearance. They all pulled out combs, eager to fix his hair for him, leaving Yan Zhen flustered as he awkwardly pushed them away.
According to plan, the next step was for the Myriad Snake Queen to enter the Fire Refining Starry Sky and complete her bloodline evolution using the Great Crimson Heaven Flame’s power.
With the Fire Refining Starry Sky’s constraints taming its ferocity, plus her daughter’s fire control talent, the evolution should go smoothly.
“We shouldn’t linger here. Let’s leave first.”
Because people from the Demon Domain would arrive soon.
Sure enough, as they made their way back through the passage to the Red Sand Scorpion Lord’s cave, they ran straight into the Demon Domain group entering.
Leading them was the Evil Consort’s other secondary body: the Infant Spirit, a poker-faced little loli with Nine Star Mystic Ancestor cultivation.
Beside her was a Mystic Lord powerhouse draped in a black cloak, his face obscured—but his hooked nose stood out sharply.
This Mystic Lord powerhouse was the one who had secretly incited the Red Sand Scorpion Lord to attack the City of Water and advised him throughout. A native of the City of Water, he was the renowned former chief of the Snake General’s Eight Guards, the Python Guard Mang Huang.
In the script, the Demon Domain group included the Infant Spirit and Mang Huang, plus the infiltrator An Zi lurking in the City of Water and Jiu Youyue—two Mystic Ancestor experts and two Mystic Lords.
Against Yan Zhen, a mere Mystic Master, such a lineup offered no chance of victory. His only option was to flee into the Fire Refining Starry Sky with the weakened Myriad Snake Queen and hide in the magma lake.
But now, An Zi had been eliminated days ago, and Jiu Youyue was on their side.
The Demon Domain had one Mystic Ancestor and one Mystic Lord left, while Yan Zhen’s group had one Mystic Ancestor, two Mystic Lords, and one Mystic Master (pfft). They held the clear advantage.
Unless Jiu Youyue backstabbed them.
Yan Zhen looked at the Demoness expectantly.
Jiu Youyue’s expression remained calm, showing none of Yun Xiu or the Myriad Snake Queen’s wariness.
—Could this actually work!?
“Jiu Youyue,” the Infant Spirit said indifferently. “Where’s the Great Crimson Heaven Flame?”
Jiu Youyue’s lips curved. She slung an arm around Yan Zhen’s shoulders, pulling him into her embrace with a laugh.
“It’s right here on this little brother beside me.”
Whoosh.
In a flash, she darted to the Infant Spirit’s side, dragging Yan Zhen along while casting a sealing spell to lock him firmly in her arms.
—She really backstabbed us. Awesome!
It seemed Jiu Youyue had arranged with the Infant Spirit to wait until they subdued the Great Crimson Heaven Flame, then snatch him away.
Yan Zhen was thrilled inside, but he feigned shock on his face.
“Jiu Youyue, what are you doing? Let me go!”
He struggled “fiercely” as he spoke, though he couldn’t break free, putting on a desperate show.
Jiu Youyue didn’t reply. She covered his mouth with her other hand, silencing him.
Yun Xiu and the Myriad Snake Queen’s faces darkened. Their beautiful eyes bored into Jiu Youyue; it was clear they were furious.
“Jiu Youyue, let Yan Zhen go now, and I can forgive you one more time.”
Mystic power roared around Yun Xiu as “sword momentum” spread from her feet. She was preparing a Saint Mystic Technique.
The Myriad Snake Queen’s blood-red slit pupils blazed. Fine snake scales emerged slowly on her cheeks as she pushed her Snake God bloodline to the limit. Even her voice was icy cold.
