15: Burning! An unknown change.

The moment!

Li Ao's eyes burst forth with sharp light, like cold lightning streaking across the dark night!

Activating the Thunder Sound Steps to its maximum, thunder seemed to explode beneath his feet, blasting a shallow pit in the sand. His figure transformed into a streak of light tearing through the scorching air, not retreating, not dodging, but charging directly toward the beautiful figure in mid-air—who was spitting blood, falling, and whose purple energy was chaotic and dissipating—straight into the face of the uncontrollably erupting, destructive energy overflowing from the Green Lotus Core Flame!

His target was not the strange flame, but—Queen Medusa!

This sudden turn of events was faster than thought!

Queen Medusa was currently exerting all her strength to suppress the churning blood and the nearly collapsing energy within her body. The backlash from the strange flame far exceeded her estimation; the violent fire-attributed energy raged through her meridians like countless red-hot steel needles. Her cultivation at the Peak Dou Huang level seemed incredibly fragile at this moment. Looking at the out-of-control azure fire lotus, a hint of unwillingness and determination flashed in her purple eyes. Just as she was about to risk damaging her foundation to forcefully use a secret technique, the corner of her eye caught sight of the blue-robed figure charging fiercely toward her!

He... shouldn't he be taking the opportunity to seize the strange flame, or perhaps fleeing far away? Why is he charging toward me? Seeking death?

The moment the thought arose, Li Ao had arrived!

He did not slow down at all. Just as he was about to collide with Medusa, his right hand shot out like lightning. It was not an attack; instead, his five fingers spread open, a dark black iron luster flowing in his palm, carrying a force as heavy as a mountain yet incomparably refined, striking Queen Medusa's dim, energy-disrupted back with extreme precision!

"You...!" Queen Medusa's purple eyes turned cold, thinking he was taking advantage of her precarious situation. The remaining Dou Qi in her body instinctively prepared to counterattack.

However, when that palm landed, the expected impact of immense force did not arrive. Instead, an extremely domineering yet strangely soothing warm power, like a breached flood, rudely surged into her nearly depleted meridians, which had been severely damaged by the strange flame's energy!

This power was not Dou Qi, yet it was more solid and heavier than Dou Qi! It carried a pure sense of heat and strength originating from the essence of life itself. Wherever it passed, the residual strange flame energy that had been rampaging was forcefully suppressed, dispelled, and even... devoured, like ice meeting the sun?!

"Mmm..."

Queen Medusa couldn't help but let out a muffled groan, her delicate body trembling violently. The sensation was extremely bizarre, as if a sleeping primeval fierce beast had invaded her body, domineeringly clearing out all "foreign matter." The intense pain was still present, but the destructive feeling, stemming from the strange flame's backlash and threatening to incinerate her from the inside out, was forcibly restrained by this sudden power!

She raised her head, looking incredulously at Li Ao, who was right beside her. His expression remained calm; only in his deep eyes did a calm and focused light flicker, as if he were performing a delicate task.

"Don't move. Gather your mind and guide my power." Li Ao's voice sounded in her ear, carrying an undeniable tone of command—brief and direct.

Queen Medusa's mind was greatly shaken. He... was saving her? In such an unbelievable way? Who exactly was he? And what was this power?

Countless questions flooded her mind, but the situation was critical. The clash between the two powers within her body left her no time for other thoughts. Subconsciously, perhaps driven by the instinct for survival, she followed his instruction, suppressed all thoughts of resistance, and attempted to guide that external, domineering yet warm power to sort out her chaotic meridians.

Just at this moment—

[Warning! Intense fluctuation of unknown energy detected! The core energy of the Green Lotus Core Flame has entered a berserk state due to external stimulation! Energy level is rapidly climbing! Estimated to reach the critical point in three breaths!]

[Urgent Alert: The host's current strength cannot forcefully absorb the Green Lotus Core Flame while it is in a berserk state. Immediate withdrawal is advised! Repeat, immediate withdrawal is advised!]

The system's warning tone sounded sharply in Li Ao's mind.

Almost simultaneously with the system warning, the light of the floating azure fire lotus surged once more! The lotus petals trembled violently, and the deep azure point at the center abruptly contracted, then burst forth with a roar! An azure fire pillar, condensed to the extreme and only the thickness of an arm, descended with devastating precision toward the two nearest targets below—Li Ao and Medusa—like an awakened primeval fire dragon, carrying the terrifying will to incinerate all things and cleanse everything; it was no longer spreading heat waves, but focused destruction!

The energy contained within this fire pillar far exceeded all previous bursts! Wherever it passed, the space was scorched, leaving twisted black traces and emitting a grating sizzling sound!

The aura of death instantly enveloped them!

A hint of despair flashed in Queen Medusa's purple eyes. In her peak condition, she might have barely been able to resist, but now... she could even feel the purple crystal in her arms, which served as the Snake-People Clan's inherited token, emitting a groan under the strain.

In the nick of time!

A fierce light flashed in Li Ao's eyes! Abandoning the rescue and using the Thunder Sound Steps alone might allow him to evade this fatal blow, but the severely injured Medusa would surely die!

In a flash of lightning and flint, he made his decision!

"Hmph!"

With a low roar, the arm Li Ao had wrapped around Medusa's waist (soft to the touch, yet cold as jade) suddenly exerted force, pulling her behind him! Simultaneously, the power of his entire Black Iron Hegemon Body erupted without reservation! His skin instantly transformed into the deepest dark black iron color, his muscles bulging. His entire body seemed to swell, resembling an ancient metal colossus, firmly shielding Medusa behind him!

His empty left hand clenched into a fist. Upon the dark black iron fist, all his strength was concentrated, along with the 'momentum' originating from the Black Iron Hegemon Body that suppressed all things. Without dodging, he met the descending pillar of destructive fire with a single punch!

Hegemon Fist, Shaking the Mountain!

"BOOM—!!!!! "

A massive sound, indescribable in words, suddenly exploded in the lava cave!

The fist edge collided fiercely with the azure fire pillar!

There was no stalemate!

The dark black iron fist, which concentrated all of Li Ao's power and was enough to kill a low-level Dou Ling, instantly turned crimson and bright at a visible speed upon contact with the azure fire pillar! Terrifying high temperatures and destructive energy surged madly into his fist, spreading up his arm meridians like billions of red-hot steel needles!

"Crack..."

A faint yet heart-stopping sound of bones cracking came from his left arm!

Li Ao's face paled, he let out a muffled groan, and a trickle of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth. But his gaze remained fierce as a wolf, and he did not retreat half a step! The mysterious power originating from the system within his body (the same power previously injected into Medusa's body) seemed to be completely activated, operating frantically, combining with the power of the Black Iron Hegemon Body to firmly resist the impact of the destructive fire pillar!

Medusa, standing behind him, stared blankly at the figure blocking her—a back that was not broad but stood like a mountain. She watched the gruesome sight of his arm instantly charring, skin splitting open, even revealing white bone; she watched the blood continuously spilling from his lips; she felt the subtle, uncontrollable trembling of his body due to the immense pain he was enduring... An unprecedented and extremely complex emotion erupted like lava in the lake of her heart, which had been cold for countless years! Shock, confusion, bewilderment, and a trace of stirring—a corner of her frozen heart being violently pried open—that she herself couldn't define... Why?

Just to save an enemy who had just tried to kill him?

"Buzz—!"

The eruption of the azure fire pillar finally reached its end, and the energy slowly dissipated.

Li Ao's left arm hung limply, his fist and forearm a charred mess, emitting the smell of burnt flesh. He swayed, barely stabilizing himself, breathing rapidly, each breath aggravating his internal injuries.

[Warning! The host's left arm is severely burned, bones are extensively fractured, and meridians are damaged by over 40%. Internal energy is over-depleted. Immediate treatment is advised.]

The system's prompt carried a hint of urgency.

Li Ao, however, seemed not to hear it. He slowly turned around to look at Queen Medusa, who was still half-embraced in his arms and whose expression was dazed.

Her face was still pale, but her light purple eyes were no longer cold; instead, they were filled with extremely complex emotions, staring fixedly at him, as if trying to see through him, inside and out.

"You..." Medusa's red lips parted slightly, her voice carrying a hint of hoarseness and... trembling that she herself hadn't noticed.

Li Ao looked at her. On his face, slightly pale from the intense pain, there was no expression, only his deep eyes, which remained calm, even carrying a hint of scrutiny.

"Now," he spoke, his voice somewhat low and hoarse due to his injuries, yet carrying an undeniable power, "we can talk."

He did not release the hand wrapped around her waist, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Queen Medusa's body stiffened slightly, but she neither struggled nor reprimanded him. Her purple eyes, capable of making countless experts in the Jia Ma Empire tremble, merely stared blankly back at him.

Inside the lava cave, only the gentle bubbling of the Earth Core Body Tempering Fluid pool and the slightly hurried breathing of the two people remained.

And just at this moment, thousands of miles away in Wutan City, at the back mountain of the Xiao Family.

Xiao Yan, submerged in the pitch-black poisonous fluid, suddenly opened his eyes. The aura within his body instantly became violent and chaotic at this moment. A power far colder and more tyrannical than before uncontrollably erupted from him!

"Pfft!" He spat out a mouthful of black poisonous blood, yet his eyes flickered with madness and excitement.

"Teacher! I... I seem to feel... the Burning Technique... has reacted!"

Yao Lao's soul body materialized. Looking at his disciple's state, which was close to becoming possessed yet radiated a strangely powerful aura, an extremely solemn expression appeared on his aged face for the first time.

"Something's not right... Xiao Yanzi, the poisonous energy in your body... seems to be... mutating?"

The trajectory of fate, in a corner unnoticed by anyone, diverted once again. And deep within Li Ao's mind, the cold system prompt seemed to flicker very faintly:

[...Detected... faint interference from the same origin... Authority... Unknown...]