Where are you going!

Three days later, at the bottom of the Sky Burning Qi Refining Tower.

Scorching aura surged within the enclosed space, and dark red light danced upon the stone walls, stretching shadows into distorted shapes.

Su Qian stood at the edge of the Seal's Formation, gazing solemnly into the bottomless lava passage, faint beads of sweat seeping from his forehead.

It wasn't entirely due to the high temperature; it was more the irrepressible tension in his heart.

"Young Friend Shen, do you truly not need Elder Cai Lin or Miss Cao Ying to accompany you?" Su Qian couldn't help but confirm once more, his gaze sweeping past Shen Wen's side. "That Fallen Heart Flame has, after all, developed intelligence and has harbored resentment for many years. In case..."

Shen Wen, dressed in black robes, stood amidst the scorching heat waves yet remained untainted by a single speck of dust. Hearing this, he smiled slightly and waved his hand. "Elder Su, there is no need to worry. To me, suppressing this beast is not a problem."

He wasn't Xiao Yan.

Furthermore, his Flame Ancestral Symbol was the Origin of all fires, and his Crimson Emperor Fire Sovereign Qi was the pinnacle of fire Dao Divine Ability. Coupled with the devouring ancestral talisman for protection and a Physical Body tempered by the Azure Heaven Hegemon Body and True Phoenix Treasure Technique... if the Fallen Heart Flame could truly overturn the heavens, it wouldn't be trapped here.

These words were spoken plainly, yet they sent a tremor through Su Qian's heart.

Why did a problem that seemed almost unsolvable in their eyes appear to be something Shen Wen could resolve at will?

Recalling the world-shaking scene seven days ago in the back mountains where the Eight-Colored Pill Thunder was devoured, he swallowed the words at the tip of his tongue and could only nod. "In that case, this old man will act as a Protector for you here. If there is any unusual movement..."

"If there is any unusual movement, Elder Su just needs to guard the gap in the Seal." Shen Wen cut him off, his gaze turning toward the passage surging with dark red light, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes. "Leave the rest to me."

He said no more and took a step forward.

The space rippled slightly; the Seal's light barrier, which required six Dou Huang Elders to maintain with all their strength, seemed like nothing more than a thin curtain of water before Shen Wen.

His figure pierced through as easily as a fish entering water, vanishing into the depths of the lava passage in the blink of an eye.

Su Qian watched him disappear with wide eyes, his Adam's apple bobbing as his hands unconsciously clenched.

Behind him, Qian Mu and Bai Lie, who had rushed from the depths of the Inner Academy, also revealed themselves. The three exchanged glances, each seeing the same shock and worry in the others' eyes... The lava passage wound downward, the temperature climbing at an alarming rate.

A faint layer of Chaos halo rose around Shen Wen's body. Wherever he passed, the crimson, viscous magma parted automatically to both sides as if meeting a natural enemy, forming a straight vacuum path downward.

This was a Domain he propped open with the power of the space ancestral talisman. Although not as free as on land, it was enough to keep him safe in this world of magma.

The further down he went, the deeper the color of the magma became, turning from dark red to nearly pitch black, with wisps of colorless flame flowing within it.

Those were the embers of heart-fire dissipated by the Fallen Heart Flame; merely looking at them made one feel irritable.

Shen Wen's expression remained normal, but his mind was highly concentrated.

His Heavenly Realm Soul power spread forward like mercury spilling on the ground, sensing the massive and violent energy core below.

Suddenly—

"Boom!!!"

The entire magma world shook violently!

In the depths below, a hiss sharp enough to pierce the Soul exploded! Immediately after, countless amounts of magma spun frantically as if stirred by an invisible giant hand, forming a massive vortex.

In the center of the vortex, a giant python formed entirely of colorless flames suddenly raised its head!

The giant python was a hundred zhang long, its body semi-transparent, with heart-palpitating multicolored light flowing inside.

It had no eyes, but Shen Wen clearly felt a cold, violent intent filled with a desire for destruction firmly locked onto him.

Their eyes met.

If that head of churning flames could even count as having "eyes."

The Fallen Heart Flame clearly recognized Shen Wen.

The flame pressure that had made it instinctively tremble a few days ago appeared once more, and it was clearer and closer!

"Hiss—!!!"

Another shriek, filled with anger and wariness. The giant python's massive body writhed uneasily in the magma, kicking up towering waves of fire, yet it hesitated to launch an attack.

Its simple intelligence was frantically sounding alarms.

The human before it was dangerous! Extremely dangerous!

But the resentment from being imprisoned for centuries, the humiliation of having its power constantly drained, the longing for freedom... various emotions corroded its already chaotic consciousness like poison.

That trace of fear was quickly submerged by an even more surging madness.

"Afraid to attack?" Shen Wen hovered above the magma vortex, watching the restless Fire Python below, his lips curling into an indifferent arc. "Then I won't be polite."

Before his voice had even faded, his hands suddenly formed Seals!

"Buzz—"

A low but infinitely majestic hum suddenly erupted from within Shen Wen's body!

In the next moment, a massive phantom slowly emerged behind him. The phantom was in the shape of a mysterious rune, entirely crimson, with countless fine flame patterns flowing on its surface, as if it condensed the Origin truths of all fires in heaven and earth.

The Flame Ancestral Symbol phantom!

The moment the phantom appeared, every flame in the entire magma world—whether the crimson earth-fire or the milky-white heart-fire—shuddered violently!

Then, as if worshipping a monarch, they all bowed slightly toward the phantom!

"Roar!!!"

The giant python transformed from the Fallen Heart Flame below let out a roar of pain and shock.

The colorless flames around its body flickered wildly, actually showing signs of dissipating!

The suppression of the Flame Ancestral Symbol over all fires was a rank crushing originating from the Origin; even if it had developed intelligence, it could not fully resist!

But this wasn't over.

A brilliant light burst from Shen Wen's eyes. He made a grasping motion in the air with his right hand and growled, "Crimson Emperor Fire Sovereign Qi, Suppress!"

"Boom—!"

Crimson sovereign flames gushed from his palm; the fire was noble, domineering, and blazing, as if an emperor among fires had descended!

The Crimson Emperor Fire Sovereign Qi merged into the Flame Ancestral Symbol phantom, causing the phantom's light to explode and its pressure to increase several times over!

Under the double pressure, the Fallen Heart Flame giant python finally couldn't hold on.

It let out a shrill wail. Its massive body actually began to contract and wither involuntarily, its originally hundred-zhang-long body quickly shrinking to less than thirty zhang, and its colorless flames dimmed considerably.

Flee!

Instinctive fear finally overwhelmed everything! The giant python suddenly twisted its body and, without further hesitation, fled frantically toward the deeper parts of the magma!

"You want to leave now? Too late."

Shen Wen sneered, and his figure suddenly moved!

"Roar—!!!"

A vast and ancient Dragon's roar resounded through the magma world!

Shen Wen's entire body was instantly covered in fine, majestic purple-green Dragon scales, and the phantoms of a True Dragon's head and True Phoenix's wings appeared behind him simultaneously!

Blood and Qi as vast as the sea surged into the sky, forcing the surrounding magma back several zhang!

A humanoid True Dragon!

He stomped hard in the Void Realm, his figure turning into a purple-green streak of light that tore through the viscous magma, shooting downward at a speed several times faster than the Fallen Heart Flame!

Wherever he passed, the magma parted automatically, leaving behind a straight vacuum channel.

"Where are you going!"

In the blink of an eye, Shen Wen caught up to the giant python. His right hand, covered in Dragon scales, spread its five fingers and clawed fiercely toward the withered mass of colorless flame!

"Hiss—!!!"

Sensing a fatal crisis, the Fallen Heart Flame let out a desperate shriek. It stopped fleeing and suddenly turned around, its remaining flames exploding to form a beam of colorless fire condensed to the extreme, blasting toward Shen Wen head-on!

This was its deathbed strike, condensing centuries of resentment!

Wherever the fire pillar passed, even space was scorched into fine black cracks, and the heart-fire power contained within was aimed directly at the Soul, enough to make a Dou Zong lose their composure!

"Trivial tricks."

Shen Wen's expression remained unchanged, his outstretched right hand not slowing down, but in his palm, a speck of deep darkness quietly emerged.

The devouring ancestral talisman, activate!

"Devour!"

The violently attacking colorless fire pillar, the moment it touched Shen Wen's palm, was like a clay ox entering the sea; without making a single sound, it was entirely swallowed by that speck of darkness!

Even the heart-fire attack contained within quietly annihilated when it touched the layer of golden scriptures on the periphery of Shen Wen's Sea of Consciousness.

"Puff!"

Shen Wen's palm finally firmly grabbed the core of the Fallen Heart Flame!

It was scalding to the touch; the mass of colorless flame struggled and crashed frantically in his palm, letting out unwilling shrieks.