Zhao Li looked at the swaying green Flame on the Lotus Pedestal and felt an extraordinary harmony between them, as if they were originally one entity.
This struck him as somewhat unbelievable. While the Lotus Pedestal was a decent treasure, compared to a Heavenly Flame, it really wasn't much.
But now, with them together, the presence of the Green Lotus Core Flame couldn't make him ignore the Lotus Pedestal. In fact, it even sparked a rather absurd thought in Zhao Li's mind – that the Green Lotus Core Flame was merely a seed birthed by the Lotus Pedestal!
"If it can truly birth a Heavenly Flame, its own origin is absolutely extraordinary. It seems I must personally visit the place where it was born."
Although Zhao Li found his own idea a bit preposterous, he couldn't dismiss it. He had already decided to investigate the birthplace of the Green Lotus Core Flame. His eyes flickered as he calculated in his heart:
"It would be great if there's a gain, but even if it's just a wasted trip, I won't lose anything. In any case, that single wisp of Creation true intent alone makes this trip worthwhile."
While Zhao Li felt this green lotus was no ordinary object, his rationality told him not to hold too much expectation for it. After all, the Dou Qi Continent was just a Pocket World beneath the Great Thousand World; it was almost impossible for divine objects similar to the Chaos Green Lotus or Creation Green Lotus to be born there.
He lowered his expectations but didn't abandon the idea of investigating. It's better to be prepared for the unexpected than to assume everything will be fine. What if there really was an Opportunity where it was born?
With this thought, Zhao Li looked at Xiao Yan and said:
"Take me to the place where you found this Heavenly Flame."
Xiao Yan was puzzled. Why would Zhao Li casually discard a Heavenly Flame that was clearly stronger than the Green Lotus Core Flame, yet be so interested in this Green Lotus Core Flame?
He subconsciously looked at Yao Chen. The years of interaction had given him an ineffable trust and dependence on Yao Chen. Seeing his Teacher nod subtly, he then nodded himself. After looking around, he realized he didn't recognize the Route!
He raised his hand and rubbed his nose, looking at Zhao Li, and said awkwardly:
"Senior... Grandmaster, I haven't been here before and can't figure out the direction. How about you take me to the Snake People Royal City first?"
Although he could see that his Teacher was very respectful towards Zhao Li, and although he himself greatly desired to become a strong expert like Zhao Li who could easily suppress Heavenly Flames, none of this changed the fact that he didn't know Zhao Li at all before today. A little nervousness was unavoidable.
Zhao Li said nothing upon hearing this, but simply reached out and grabbed Xiao Yan, causing him to subconsciously blink. When he opened his eyes again, he found that in the blink of an eye, the surrounding environment had changed. He looked around and identified his location from several landmark buildings – the place where he had picked up the Nine-Colored Sky Swallowing Python.
"Gulp, this..."
Xiao Yan was dumbfounded, subconsciously swallowing a mouthful of saliva. He wanted to say something but didn't know what.
This feeling was like being in math class, picking up a pen using a Cultivation Technique, and then being completely unable to keep up with the Teacher's train of thought, as if listening to celestial scriptures.
"Now, which way?"
Zhao Li's voice interrupted Xiao Yan's thoughts, making him jolt and snap back to reality. He then pointed in a direction. Zhao Li didn't wait for him to hesitate, waving his hand to create a passage, giving Xiao Yan another fast ride.
Upon reaching the destination, Zhao Li was momentarily taken aback. He had originally thought that in the birthplace of the Green Lotus Core Flame, no matter how capable Yun Shan was, he wouldn't be able to improve the environment of this place. It was likely to form a Desert area centered around it.
But upon actually arriving, Zhao Li found that this place was surprisingly the core of a Mountain Range that had already reached a considerable scale.
"When things reach an extreme, they reverse; when things are at their worst, they improve. New life is born from destruction. This Green Lotus Core Flame is indeed uniquely blessed..."
Zhao Li murmured in his heart. Thinking of the Creation true intent within the Green Lotus Core Flame, Zhao Li quickly accepted this fact. However, it also made him regard this Heavenly Flame, which in the original story seemed to have no remarkable qualities other than high temperature and strong destructive power, in a much higher light.
Xiao Yan found that his half-month journey, with Zhao Li, was just like before – a mere blink of an eye. He couldn't help but yearn for such speed even more, and his determination to absorb the Heavenly Flame was strengthened.
He pointed to a bottomless Mountain Gorge and said to Zhao Li:
"Senior, the initial trace of the Green Lotus Core Flame is here. There is a Passage in the Mountain Gorge that connects to the underground, and I found this Lotus Pedestal in the Magma below."
Upon arriving here, Zhao Li had already discovered the Passage Xiao Yan mentioned. It was strange; before this, although he had also found the Passage, he hadn't sensed any unusual aura, causing him to subconsciously ignore it.
Zhao Li was deep in thought. After becoming a Dou Sheng, while traveling the Continent, although he didn't deliberately search, he would still dedicate some effort to finding information about Heavenly Flames. However, the results were meager. Apart from the Xuanhuang Flame he accidentally discovered, there had been no other news of Heavenly Flames.
"Divine objects conceal themselves. Is this a natural self-protection mechanism of these Heavenly Treasures?"
They seemed to have a built-in invisibility function, capable of blocking the Soul Power detection of powerful individuals...
Zhao Li didn't easily dismiss this situation. He didn't know about others, but his own Soul Power had definitely surpassed the Emperor Realm. He himself didn't know what could affect his perception without him noticing.
"Is it because of the Heavenly Flame, or something else? If it's the Heavenly Flame, is it only the Green Lotus Core Flame, or all Heavenly Flames?"
One Doubt after another popped up in his mind. Before this, Zhao Li had resigned himself to the idea that his Opportunity wasn't enough and that he was not destined to find Heavenly Flames. But after personally experiencing this, he began to speculate:
"Is it possible that because Heavenly Flames are born from the differentiation of the Plane Embryo and are miraculous objects born by chance, although they manifest on the Dou Qi Continent, their essence is actually due to the World Origin?"
Just as Zhao Li was contemplating, Yun Shan and Yao Chen finally arrived and asked:
"Teacher, have you found anything?"
He noticed that after Zhao Li brought Cailin back, he seemed to have discovered something. Later, he even found a Heavenly Flame in the Snake People Tribe Ancestral Land, and now he had left in a hurry, seeming very busy along the way. This worried him, so he followed.
As for Yao Chen, he came along because Little Yan was here.
Zhao Li's thoughts were pulled back. He casually explained a couple of things, then specifically instructed Yao Chen and Xiao Yan not to Devour any Flame before he returned. After that, he leaped down, falling into the Passage.
The Passage was pitch black. Zhao Li relaxed his body, no longer resisting gravity, and slid down along the slope of the Passage. As he slid down, Zhao Li's gaze swept across the surroundings, but he didn't find anything unusual in this smooth Passage that resembled a specially carved slide.
After sliding down for nearly two or three minutes in a near-freefall, some red light was reflected in the Passage. Zhao Li knew that below was Magma. With a thought, his downward Momentum stopped abruptly, ending his slide game.
Then, he stepped out, finally arriving in the Underground Space, standing above the Magma, suspended in the air with his hands behind his back.
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