64: Burning Heaven Purgatory 1

In the extreme south, the Burning Sky Purgatory.

The moment Xiao Bing stepped out of the spatial passage, a bone-chilling wind mixed with scorching sparks assailed him. He instinctively activated his Extreme Ice Shield, and ice-blue Qi circulated around his body. Beside him, Ling Xiao's silver hair fluttered, and a seven-colored stream of light formed a barrier, blocking the sudden heatwave.

"Is this the Burning Sky Purgatory?" Xiao Bing squinted, surveying the strange scene before him.

Rather than a purgatory, it was a bizarre Fusion of ice and fire—in the distance, volcanoes erupted, and magma flowed like blood across the land; yet nearby was a glacier, exuding biting cold. At the boundary between ice and fire, white mist rose, forming twisted pillars of Qi that pierced the gray-red sky.

Ling Xiao squatted down, lightly touching the ground with his finger, and immediately pulled it back: "The temperature is constantly changing. One second it's absolute zero, the next it can melt steel." He looked up at the erupting volcano in the distance, "The Heart of Chaos should be at the bottom of that volcano."

Xiao Bing nodded, taking out an ice-blue cloak from his storage ring and putting it on: "Let's go, watch your step."

The two proceeded cautiously, testing the ground with each step to see if it could bear their weight. Ling Xiao walked ahead, his seven-colored light sweeping the path like a searchlight, avoiding ice layers that appeared solid but were actually fragile.

"Brother, do you feel it?" Ling Xiao suddenly stopped, his silver hair moving without wind, "The spatial rules here are chaotic."

Xiao Bing closed his eyes to sense it, and indeed found that his Qi circulation was sluggish, and his Soul perception was compressed to less than a hundred zhang: "It's like it was forcibly twisted by some power."

"It was caused by the energy explosion when Flame Lord fell." Ling Xiao pointed to a particularly twisted area in the distance, "That should be the center of the explosion."

As he spoke, the ground beneath them suddenly shook violently! A stream of magma erupted from beneath the ice, rushing towards the two!

"Careful!" Xiao Bing pushed Ling Xiao away, but he himself was grazed on the back by the magma, and his ice-blue cloak instantly caught fire. He grunted, and his Extreme Ice Power erupted, extinguishing the flames, but his back was already charred black.

"Brother!" Ling Xiao rushed over, seeing Xiao Bing's injury, a flicker of distress appeared in his silver eyes. He unhesitatingly tore off a strand of his silver hair, gently twisting it between his fingers. The strand of hair transformed into a shimmering, colorful gauze, which he gently placed over the wound.

Xiao Bing was surprised to find that the burning pain immediately lessened by more than half: "This is..."

"A Spirit of the Plane's hair has healing effects." Ling Xiao simply explained, then frowned, looking at the magma eruption point, "This isn't a natural phenomenon, something has targeted us."

As if to confirm his words, a figure slowly rose from the magma—a bizarre humanoid composed of molten rock and ice, without facial features, but giving a sense of being "watched."

"Intruders..." Its voice was a mixture of cracking ice and boiling magma, "Leave... or be destroyed..."

Xiao Bing stepped forward, shielding Ling Xiao behind him: "We came for the Heart of Chaos."

The monster suddenly became still, then its body violently twisted, emitting a piercing noise: "Sacrilege! Flame Lord's holy object! Die!"

It lunged forward, shooting magma and ice cones at the two simultaneously! Xiao Bing formed hand seals, and nine Ice Dragons burst forth from his body, colliding with the ice cones; Ling Xiao, meanwhile, unleashed a seven-colored stream of light, scattering the magma.

"This thing isn't strong, but it's hard to completely eliminate in this environment." Ling Xiao analyzed, "We need to bypass it."

Xiao Bing nodded, then suddenly had an idea: "Wait, what did you say it's made of?"

"Magma and ice... Oh!" Ling Xiao suddenly understood, "Brother, you're so smart!"

The two stopped attacking and changed their strategy—Xiao Bing used his Extreme Ice Power to freeze the magma parts of the monster, while Ling Xiao used his seven-colored light to melt its ice body. Sure enough, the monster let out a painful roar, and its body began to collapse!

"Impossible..." It roared unwillingly, finally turning into a puddle of sludge and seeping into the ground.

Xiao Bing let out a long breath, but the injury on his back again caused sharp pain from the exertion. Ling Xiao supported him: "Take a rest first, your injury..."

"No time." Xiao Bing shook his head, looking at the distant volcano, "Xiao Yan and the Source World can't wait."

Ling Xiao looked at Xiao Bing's resolute profile and suddenly smiled: "You and Big Brother are so alike, both so stubborn."

After a brief rest, the two continued forward. As they approached the volcano, the environment became increasingly harsh—sometimes they had to cross boiling magma lakes, and sometimes they had to climb vertical ice cliffs. Several times, Ling Xiao had to use spatial teleportation to take them across impassable areas, and each jump made his face a bit paler.

"Your power consumption is too great." Xiao Bing looked worriedly at Ling Xiao's increasingly transparent body, "Next time, let me do it."

Ling Xiao shook his head: "A Spirit of the Plane's power is more suitable for dealing with spatial turbulence. It's you, though..." He pointed to the wound on Xiao Bing's back that was bleeding again, "Don't try to be strong anymore."

Xiao Bing didn't argue, but before the next magma lake, he unceremoniously carried Ling Xiao on his back: "Hold tight."

Extreme Ice Power condensed an ice path beneath his feet, and Xiao Bing walked on the ice. The magma roared below, and hot steam rose, curling the black hair on his forehead. Ling Xiao lay on his back, clearly feeling his brother's tensed muscles and increasingly rapid breathing.

"Brother, if..." Ling Xiao suddenly spoke, his voice very soft, "If only one of us could live, how would you choose?"

Xiao Bing's steps did not falter: "I would let you live."

His answer was without hesitation, as if it were a matter of course. Ling Xiao fell silent, a complex light flickering in his silver eyes.

Finally, they reached the foot of the volcano. This volcano was unusual; half of its body was covered in thick ice, and half exposed dark, rocky terrain. Magma slowly flowed from the junction of ice and rock, forming a bizarre scene.

"The entrance is there." Ling Xiao pointed to a cave entrance halfway up the mountain, where a faint blue light was visible, "I can feel... Flame Lord's aura."

The climb was more difficult than imagined. The mountain's temperature changed in an instant; one moment it was bone-chillingly cold, the next it was scorching hot. Xiao Bing's hands were frostbitten and burned, bleeding profusely; Ling Xiao was not much better, his silver hair had lost its luster, and his face was as pale as paper.

When they exhaustedly crawled into the cave entrance, the sight before them made both of them hold their breath simultaneously—

In the center of the cave, a gigantic heart floated, entirely crimson like a crystal, its surface covered in golden patterns, beating with a slow yet powerful rhythm. With each beat, a visible wave of energy spread out, influencing the environmental changes of the entire Burning Sky Purgatory.