68: A sudden change at the bottom of the tower

On the seventh floor of the Heaven Burning Qi Refining Tower, heart flames surged like a tide, and energy pulsed mightily. Xiao Chen sat cross-legged in the center of the cultivation chamber, enveloped in a faint golden aura. His Spirit Realm Great Perfection soul power, like the most precise instrument, guided the scorching heart flames to temper his soul's origin again and again, removing the last trace of impurities.

Within his Qi Sea, the cracks on the surface of his Dou Crystal grew more numerous, spreading like a spiderweb, and a new, even more immense power was brewing within it.

"It's time!" Xiao Chen roared inwardly, adjusting his state to its peak. The Myriad Souls Returning Flow Art and the Soul Emperor Canon simultaneously operated to their maximum, and the pure energy within the tower surged into his body like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, crashing fiercely against that solid barrier!

"Crack!"

A subtle yet clear sound of shattering echoed from within his body! The Dou Zong (Fighter Rank) barrier shattered in response!

In an instant, Xiao Chen's Qi Sea expanded dramatically, and his Dou Crystal completely shattered, transforming into an even more vast ocean of energy! A powerful force, far surpassing anything before, filled his entire body, and his limbs and bones sang with joy! His cultivation officially stepped into the One-star Dou Zong realm! Although his soul realm had not broken through to the Heaven Realm, it became even more condensed, his perception range expanded to nearly a thousand zhang, and his control over the energies of heaven and earth skyrocketed!

However, just as Xiao Chen had broken through and his aura had not yet fully stabilized, an anomaly suddenly occurred!

"Rumble—!"

The entire Heaven Burning Qi Refining Tower suddenly shook violently! As if a land dragon had turned over, the tower swayed, and cracks appeared on the walls of the cultivation chamber! A terrifying aura, a hundred times more violent and scorching than the heart flames, erupted from deep within the tower's base, like an ancient beast awakening from its slumber!

"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!"

The heart flames within the tower instantly became incredibly violent, their color changing from light red to deep red, and even taking on a hint of eerie milky white! The temperature rapidly soared, and even space began to distort! Some weaker students cultivating on lower floors, caught off guard, were instantly severely injured by the sudden violent heart flames, and some were even incinerated into ashes in an instant! Screams and shouts rang out in a cacophony!

"This is bad! The fallen heart flame is rioting!" Xiao Chen's face changed dramatically, and he instantly understood what had happened. The fallen heart flame sealed at the base of the tower had erupted prematurely! And this riot was far more intense than any recorded one!

The seventh floor, where he was, bore the brunt of it! The milky-white heart flames gushed out from the cracks in the floor like lava, instantly filling the entire space! The terrifying high temperature could easily melt even a Dou Zong (Fighter Rank) expert's Dou Qi armor!

"Soul Emperor Bell!"

Xiao Chen reacted extremely quickly, unleashing his Spirit Realm Soul power with all his might. A solidified, ancient giant bell phantom instantly enveloped his body, and soul runes flowed on the bell's wall, struggling to resist the scorching of the milky-white heart flames. But the bell phantom fluctuated violently under the terrifying high temperature, flickering on and off, clearly unable to last much longer.

"I must leave immediately!" Xiao Chen made a decisive decision, his figure transforming into a streak of light, rushing towards the passage leading to the sixth floor. However, the passage entrance was sealed by even more violent heart flames, and space had become extremely unstable, making forced passage extremely risky.

Just then, his powerful soul perception captured a faint soul fluctuation, tinged with despair and unwillingness, flashing and disappearing deep within the tower's base, in the rioting primordial sea of fire!

"Is someone else trapped down there?" Xiao Chen's heart sank. Anyone able to reach such a place must be an Inner Academy elder or a top student.

Should he take advantage of the fact that the tower's restrictions had not yet completely collapsed and risk breaking through upwards? Or... go downwards, to rescue that soul fluctuation?

Going up offered a greater chance of survival, but it meant abandoning someone to their fate. Going down was a near-certain death, but perhaps there was a glimmer of hope, and... the primordial sea of fire of the fallen heart flame, for him, who possessed a Spirit Realm Soul and a fragment of the heaven burning furnace, might also be a huge opportunity and a test!

In a flash, Xiao Chen made his decision. His eyes sharpened; instead of going up, he turned around and went against the current, towards the base of the tower where the heart flames were gushing most intensely, descending!

"heaven burning furnace, protect my origin!"

He conjured the fragment of the heaven burning furnace. The fragment emitted a crimson light, forming a weak protective shield that slightly isolated the most primordial milky-white heart flames. At the same time, he combined his newly advanced Dou Zong (Fighter Rank) abundant Dou Qi with his Spirit Realm Soul power, transforming it into a drill-like sharp edge, forcefully breaking through layers of fire waves and diving downwards!

The further down he went, the greater the pressure and the higher the temperature. The surrounding scenery was no longer tower floors, but an endless sea of milky-white fire! Within the sea of fire, some Fire Spirits (of the fragment) with simple intelligence had even condensed, roaring and pouncing. Xiao Chen resisted the Fire Spirits (of the fragment)' attacks while painstakingly approaching the source of that soul fluctuation.

Finally, deep within the sea of fire, he saw an astonishing sight: an old man with white hair (Inner Academy Grand Elder Su Qian) sat cross-legged in the center of a massive energy formation. The formation's light was dim and it was on the verge of collapse. Su Qian's lips were bleeding, his face pale, and he was using all his cultivation to maintain the formation, attempting to re-seal the rioting fallen heart flame. But under the impact of the towering fire waves, the formation was precarious! And even more terrifyingly, in the center of the sea of fire, an enormous, invisible fire python, formed from pure flames, had already taken shape and was frantically crashing into the formation, its crimson serpent eyes filled with ferocity and greed! This was the true consciousness of the fallen heart flame!

Su Qian also saw Xiao Chen, who had come against the fire, and his eyes flashed with shock and anxiety: "Xiao Chen?! Why did you come down here! Get out! It's too dangerous here!"

Xiao Chen had no time to explain, his gaze fixed on the invisible fire python. He could feel that the core of the fire python condensed the most pure primordial power of the fallen heart flame! If he could suppress it or even refine a trace of it... a bold idea arose in his mind. He not only wanted to help Elder Su Qian stabilize the seal, but also wanted to seize this opportunity to try and refine a trace of the fallen heart flame's origin!

"Elder Su Qian, I'm here to help you!" Xiao Chen roared, his Spirit Realm Soul power gushing out without reservation, not to attack the fire python, but to transform into countless delicate soul threads, like weaving a large net, integrating into the sealing formation that Su Qian was supporting! His soul power was pure and unique, carrying a hint of Origin Qi's characteristics, which actually made the originally dim formation light suddenly brighten by a few points!

"Such pure soul power!" Su Qian was both surprised and delighted, and the pressure on him immediately lightened.

At the same time, Xiao Chen controlled the fragment of the heaven burning furnace, enlarging it and suspending it above his head. The runes on the fragment lit up, generating a weak suction force, not to absorb the entire fire python, but to attempt to strip and refine the wisps of the most primordial milky-white flame that emanated from the fire python's surface!

"Roar!"

The invisible fire python seemed to sense the threat and became even more violent, abandoning its assault on the formation. Instead, it opened its massive mouth, and a milky-white pillar of fire, condensed to its extreme, shot straight at Xiao Chen like a light of destruction!

Crisis and opportunity coexist! Can Xiao Chen and Su Qian work together to stabilize the situation? And can he, in such a dangerous situation, successfully refine that trace of the fallen heart flame's origin? What kind of chaos has the Inner Academy outside the tower fallen into at this moment?