22: Chapter 22 Fire Spirit Guardian, Joining Forces to Overcome Tribulation

The system's sharp alarm was like a bucket of ice water poured over his head, instantly cooling the blood that had been boiling from Lin Yan's cultivation.

A peak Rank 4! A magical beast equivalent to a peak human Dou Ling! And in such an environment with extreme geographical advantages! This was absolutely not an existence he could contend with right now; even escaping might be a luxury!

"Xiao Yi Xian! Retreat quickly!" Lin Yan shouted sharply. Having no time to explain, his figure erupted from the edge of the stone pit. At the same time, he grabbed Xiao Yi Xian, who was still regulating her breathing and bewildered, and retreated madly toward the outskirts of the stone forest!

The earth heart fire magma beneath their feet churned violently like boiling water. Bubbles burst densely, and dark red magma splashed high into the air, emitting scorching heat waves. The ground in the entire area where the stone pit was located began to tremble, rocks cracked, and thick fissures spread out with the stone pit as the center. Crimson light shone from the depths of the fissures, as if the gates of hell were opening!

"Roar—!!!"

A low, deep roar, as if coming from the depths of the earth, erupted suddenly from underground, carrying an incomparable, scorching pressure! Wherever the sound wave passed, the air distorted, gravel fell rustlingly, and even Xiao Yi Xian in the distance felt her blood churning and her eardrums stinging.

Just as Lin Yan pulled Xiao Yi Xian out of that open area, a loud "boom" sounded behind them!

The ground in the center of the stone pit exploded completely, and dark red magma shot into the sky like a fountain! A behemoth, wrapped in scorching magma and hot sulfur steam, burst out from underground!

It was a magical beast shaped like a giant lizard, yet even more ferocious. Its body length exceeded five zhang, and its entire body was covered in thick, dark red armor plates, with magma-like light flowing through the gaps. Its head was huge, with three vertical, crimson-gold eyes that shot out flames when opened and closed. Fangs were interlaced in its mouth, dripping with scorching saliva that burned holes into the ground where it fell. Its thick limbs were covered in volcanic rock-like keratin, and the tip of its tail was hammer-shaped, also burning with flames. Most eye-catching was its back, which actually had three pairs of translucent crimson light wings that looked like they were condensed from magma. They were not fully unfurled yet, but they already emitted a terrifying pressure.

A peak Rank 4 fire-attribute magical beast—Magma Earth-Walking Dragon! Moreover, judging by the nascent light wings on its back, it seemed to carry a trace of weak dragon bloodline, and its potential was far more terrifying than ordinary Rank 4 magical beasts!

The Magma Earth-Walking Dragon's three crimson-gold vertical pupils instantly locked onto the fleeing Lin Yan and Xiao Yi Xian. More accurately, they locked onto the aura of the Exotic Fire sub-flame on Lin Yan that had not yet fully converged, as well as... the earth heart fire lotus in the stone pit that was shining brightly!

Clearly, this fire lotus was a treasure it had guarded for a long time. Lin Yan's previous cultivation and his battle with the Red Refining Fire Viper had awakened it, and the mutation caused by the earth heart fire lotus sensing the Exotic Fire aura (condensing fire lotus seed dew) had made it completely furious!

"Humble thieves! How dare you covet this deity's holy lotus! Leave behind your flesh and souls as the price for disturbing this deity's slumber!" A violent, chaotic, yet clearly angry mental fluctuation directly impacted the consciousness of Lin Yan and Xiao Yi Xian! This Magma Earth-Walking Dragon had actually initially opened its spiritual wisdom and was capable of mental communication!

Before the words had finished, it opened its giant mouth, and a crimson lava fire pillar, half a zhang in diameter and condensed into substance, erupted like a volcanic eruption. It crossed a distance of several dozen zhang at an astonishing speed, bombarding toward the two of them! Wherever the fire pillar passed, the air crackled from the heat, and the rocks in its path instantly melted and vaporized!

"Can't dodge it!" Lin Yan's pupils constricted. The coverage of this lava fire pillar was too large, and its speed was too fast! He gritted his teeth fiercely, pushed Xiao Yi Xian toward the side and back, and turned around himself. The Dou Qi in his body circulated crazily, and the auras of the Green Lotus Core Flame sub-flame and the Fallen Heart Flame sub-flame were simultaneously triggered, forming a thin, double-layered fire screen in front of him, interwoven with cyan-red and invisible fluctuations!

"Eight Extremities Fire Defense!" This was his attempt at a critical moment to hastily combine the hidden force defense concept of Eight Extremities Collapse with the characteristics of the two Exotic Fire sub-flames!

"Boom—!!!"

The lava fire pillar slammed heavily against the double-layered fire screen! Amidst the deafening explosion, the cyan-red fire screen trembled violently, its light fading rapidly. Lin Yan was hit hard as if struck by a heavy blow, spraying a mouthful of blood. His body flew backward like a kite with a broken string, slamming heavily into a thick stone pillar, causing spiderweb-like cracks to appear on the surface of the stone pillar.

But he had ultimately blocked this terrifying blow! Although the double-layered fire screen collapsed, it had also neutralized most of the power of the lava fire pillar. The remaining impact, while causing him significant injury, was not fatal.

"Lin Yan!" Xiao Yi Xian, who had been pushed away, saw this scene, and her heart almost stopped beating as she cried out. She saw Lin Yan's face pale and blood overflowing from the corner of his mouth; he was clearly severely injured.

"Don't worry about me! Quickly find a place to hide! Its target is mainly me and the fire lotus!" Lin Yan endured the churning blood and severe pain in his chest and shouted hoarsely. He struggled to stand up, his eyes staring fixedly at the Magma Earth-Walking Dragon in the distance. That blow just now had made him truly feel the aura of death. A magical beast at the peak Dou Ling level had such power in a casual strike!

Seeing that one strike had failed to kill this "thief," and instead had been blocked by the opponent with a strange flame, the Magma Earth-Walking Dragon's anger grew even more intense, mixed with a trace of suspicion. From the dissipated fire screen, it had felt two kinds of flame auras that even made it feel a bit of palpitation! Although weak, their essence was extremely high!

"Interesting... On your body, there is something delicious..." The Magma Earth-Walking Dragon's mental fluctuation came again, carrying greed, "Devouring you, this deity's flames might be able to take a step further!" It no longer spat out fire pillars. Its huge body looked clumsy, but it was actually extremely fast. Its limbs moved, making the ground rumble as it stomped, like a moving volcano, charging fiercely toward Lin Yan! The three pairs of magma light wings on its back flapped slightly, bringing up a scorching hurricane, and its speed increased again!

Close combat! Facing this kind of thick-skinned, terrifyingly powerful magical beast, close combat was even more dangerous!

Lin Yan's eyes were cold, his thoughts racing. Escape? He couldn't escape; the opponent had wings. In a relatively open area like the stone forest, its speed absolutely crushed him. Fighting head-on? There was no chance of winning. He had to take it by wit, or... use the environment to create an opportunity to escape!

His gaze swept toward the earth heart fire lotus. Because of the stimulation from the Exotic Fire aura, the fire lotus had condensed precious fire lotus seed dew. At this moment, it was shining brilliantly, its energy fluctuations were intense, and it had a fatal attraction to fire-attribute magical beasts! Perhaps...

"Xiao Yi Xian! Use your strongest poison to attack the spiritual magma around that fire lotus! Create chaos!" While Lin Yan was fully utilizing "Explosive Step," weaving wolfishly between the stone pillars, dodging the Magma Earth-Walking Dragon's charges and the flaming giant tail that swept over from time to time, he used Dou Qi to transmit his voice to Xiao Yi Xian.

Xiao Yi Xian had already hidden behind a thick stone pillar. Hearing this, she was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood Lin Yan's intention! Attack the fire lotus, enrage this giant beast, and make it distracted! She did not hesitate, taking out a jade bottle she kept close to her body. Inside was the "Bone-Eroding Heart-Corroding Powder" she had preliminarily refined according to the records in the "Seven-Colored Poison Manual," mixing her own poisonous blood with several highly poisonous medicinal materials. Although it was only a prototype, its toxicity was fierce, especially having a certain corrosiveness toward energy bodies.

She bit her fingertip, squeezed out a few drops of poisonous blood containing the origin of the Calamity Poison Body, dripped it into the jade bottle, and shook it gently. Immediately, the color of the medicinal powder in the bottle became darker, emitting a nauseating sweet and fishy smell.

Seizing the moment when Lin Yan led the Magma Earth-Walking Dragon to the other side, Xiao Yi Xian suddenly flashed out from behind the stone pillar and used all her strength to accurately throw the jade bottle, along with the medicinal powder mixed with poisonous blood inside, toward the vicinity of the earth heart fire lotus in the center of the stone pit!

The jade bottle drew an arc in the air and "clapped" as it shattered on the edge of the dark red earth fire spiritual magma. The deep purple medicinal powder, mixed with dark red poisonous blood, quickly melted into the viscous spiritual magma.

"Sizzling—!"

A teeth-aching corrosive sound rang out! The earth fire spiritual magma contaminated by the poisonous blood and medicinal powder instantly became murky in color, emitting bursts of black smoke. The originally pure and peaceful fire-attribute energy became violent and chaotic, and even began to corrode the central fire lotus in reverse!

"Roar—!!!"

The Magma Earth-Walking Dragon, which was about to pounce on Lin Yan, suddenly sensed that the holy lotus and spiritual magma it guarded were being defiled and corroded, and it instantly became furious beyond measure! It abandoned Lin Yan, its three crimson-gold vertical pupils instantly bloodshot, and it let out an earth-shaking roar. It turned around violently, its huge body bringing up a fierce wind, and pounced frantically toward the stone pit!

It could not tolerate its treasure being defiled! It had to deal with the contamination of the spiritual magma first and save the fire lotus!

Now is the time!

"Go!" Seeing this, Lin Yan forced himself to take a breath, used Explosive Step to rush to Xiao Yi Xian's side, grabbed her, and ran for his life toward the direction opposite to the stone pit, deeper into the stone forest (the direction where the system indicated the fire-attribute energy was more concentrated and mixed)!

The Magma Earth-Walking Dragon rushed to the edge of the stone pit, looking at the small patch of contaminated spiritual magma and the slightly dimmed fire lotus, furious. It opened its mouth and spat out a more scorching golden flame, attempting to purify those poisons. But that poisonous blood, mixed with the origin of the Calamity Poison Body and the specially prepared medicinal powder, had a strange nature and actually eroded and canceled out with the golden flame, making it difficult to clear for a while.

It was hopping mad, but dared not use too much power, fearing it would damage the foundation of the fire lotus. Seeing the two "thieves" running further and further away, one of its crimson-gold vertical pupils stared fiercely in the direction of Lin Yan's escape. Deep within the pupil, a complex crimson rune suddenly lit up!

"Mark! Heart-Burning Seal!" A mental mark, more condensed and more hidden than before, mixed with a trace of the Magma Earth-Walking Dragon's origin fire poison, shot out across the air. It instantly crossed a distance of a hundred zhang and silently sank into Lin Yan's back!

Lin Yan only felt a slight heat on his back, as if bitten by a mosquito, and then a strange burning sensation spread through his body, but it quickly faded away. His heart sank, knowing it was bad; he had likely been planted with some kind of tracking or cursing mark by that beast! But he couldn't care about so much now; running for his life was the priority!

The two ran for their lives in the stone forest, with the Magma Earth-Walking Dragon's furious roar and the rumbling of flames purifying the poison coming from behind. It was temporarily delayed, but it would absolutely not give up!

Not knowing how long they had been running, until they could no longer hear that terrifying roar, the two collapsed in a relatively hidden rock crevice, panting heavily, sweat pouring down like rain, their bodies covered in abrasions and burn marks.

Lin Yan checked himself; the burning mark on his back was seemingly present yet absent, temporarily unable to be dispelled, like a bone-attached maggot. He looked at Xiao Yi Xian; because she had used her poisonous blood and put all her effort into throwing the poison, her face was as pale as paper, and her breath was weak.

"Just now... thank you." Lin Yan's voice was hoarse.

Xiao Yi Xian shook her head, wanting to say something, but suddenly her body trembled. She covered her chest, and a layer of faint grayish-black aura appeared on her face. The poison patterns appeared again, clearer than before! Forcibly using her origin poisonous blood, and having her mind stirred in this fire-poison environment, her Calamity Poison Body seemed to be unable to be suppressed again!

And just as the two were panting, caught between internal worries and external threats, the originally hard, dark red stone wall deep in the rock crevice where they were hiding rippled like water, revealing the entrance to a deep passage that emitted even purer and more ancient fire-attribute energy. A weak yet clear attraction came from the depths of the passage, as if calling to the several restless Exotic Fire sub-flames inside Lin Yan's body, especially... that strand of pitch-black, deep Void Swallowing Flame.