"I'll help you refine it, alright?"
Hong Lian's eyes widened. As a Nascent Soul cultivator, she knew refining an Otherworldly Flame like Purple Heart Void-Burning Flame was a deadly gamble, yet here was Lan An, a mere Golden Core, offering to join her. How could she not be shocked?
Seeing her surprise, Lan An pinched her cheek, grinning confidently. "It'll be tough, but we'll pull it off."
His assurance sparked an odd trust in Hong Lian. She nodded firmly. Purple Heart Void-Burning Flame would vastly boost her combat power and cultivation.
Spirit Power surged, coating her hand as she reached for the hovering flame.
"Ah!"
A terrifying heat scorched her as she neared the purple fire. She yanked her hand back, but patches of tender skin had blistered.
"Fool!" Lan An chided, heart aching. He caressed her injured hand, blowing gently.
Her smile bloomed at his care, affirming that entrusting herself and her sister, Die Qing, to him was no mistake.
Suddenly, Lan An scooped her up, his hardened length finding her flushed, tight heat, thrusting deep in one powerful stroke.
"Mmm! Rogue! What's that about?" Hong Lian teased, shuddering at the sudden thrust, a mix of thrill and jolt.
"Joining as one to refine it," Lan An murmured, locking lips with her fiery ones.
Chup.
Kissing to distract her, he channeled his Earth Spirit Herb Essence and Mysterious Water Essence, wrapping his arm in Spirit Force. Without hesitation, he seized Purple Heart Void-Burning Flame.
Hot.
Blazing-hot.
His arm ignited, protective layers shredding like paper, flesh charring to expose bone.
Roar.
Gritting his teeth against the agony, Lan An broke the kiss, opened wide, and consumed the flame whole.
"AAAH!"
Hong Lian, snapping back, screamed as he swallowed the terrifying fire, tears streaming. "Little An, what are you doing? Are you mad?"
Lan An couldn't reply. His body swelled, skin glowing red, as if about to burst. Flames ravaged him, seeping from his pores, turning him into a human torch.
Hong Lian realized he'd done this for her, taking the flame's torment to spare her.
Their intimate connection held tight. Heart swelling, she clung to his burning, bare body, resolved to share his pain.
Yet she only felt intense heat—the flame was too busy battling two forces within Lan An.
In his dantian, Spirit Earth Cauldron and Mysterious Water Cauldron spun wildly, unleashing Spirit Force to suppress the flame.
Purple Heart Void-Burning Flame, enraged, expanded, spewing violet fire, its heat warping space.
Lan An's body charred, flames raging, but his mind stayed eerily calm. Seeing Hong Lian cling to him, her fair skin blistering as the fire spread, he rasped through heavy breaths, "Run your technique. We refine it together."
Hong Lian nodded, pain so intense she wished for death. She saw how naive her plan to refine the flame was—without Lan An, she'd have died instantly.
Their naked bodies fused, blood-soaked, hair burned to ash, scalps bare in a grim, comical sight. Faces pressed close, their eyes locked with deep affection, as if becoming one.
Lan An's scorched face twisted into a fierce grin. His lips found hers, tongues entwining, while his rigid length thrust below.
Burned by fire, joined in passion—an unforgettable ordeal for Yan Hong Lian and Lan An.
"Mmm, hmph!" She moaned through pain and pleasure, the flames relentless. But with him holding her, fear vanished.
Their flesh melted, exposing bones, yet their joined parts, shielded by some mystic force, moved fiercely.
Immortal Genesis Scripture – Cauldron Condensation! Lan An roared inwardly.
Hong Lian instinctively ran her own technique, Blazing Flame Art.
BOOM.
Ancient runes thundered within. Facing the forbidden scripture's might, Purple Heart Void-Burning Flame trembled, intensifying its blaze in desperate defense, the room's heat unbearable.
Outside, Yan Die Qing had awoken. Seeing her man and sister battle the flames, their bodies half-consumed, the searing heat reddened her bare skin, sweat pouring.
Biting her lip until it bled, each moan from the flames tore her heart, pain choking her.
"Refine it!"
Die Qing heard their defiant roars. Tears streamed, the flames swelling, nearly reaching her.
Lacking a Fire spirit root, she couldn't help. Suppressing her anguish, she retreated far, her only task to stay safe from the fire.
Time dragged. The flames roared like a dragon, pillars of fire cracking the reinforced chamber.
A violet fireball burned, its destructive aura twisting space.
Within, two entwined figures were faintly visible, their auras steadily rising.
Adapting to Purple Heart Void-Burning Flame's torment, Lan An and Hong Lian's charred bodies burned and healed under Spirit Force, each new layer stronger, only to burn again. This brutal cycle forged them into Body Cultivators.
In Lan An's dantian, a new entity condensed from the flame's energy.
Hong Lian's Blazing Flame Art shifted, its crimson hue turning violet.
Their bodies and Spirit Force surged in the fire.
Die Qing wasn't idle. Facing the flame's outer heat, she used her Spirit Force to resist, purifying and strengthening it. A golden pill formed in her dantian—she was breaking into Golden Core.
Her sharp mind turned the heat into a training ground.
Time passed in silence, the trio in a trance, their auras growing richer, signaling progress.
Outside the cave, word of its treasures spread, drawing greedy cultivators.
A black-robed, wrinkled old woman sat calmly at the entrance.
Countless cultivators faced her, wary, none daring to act.
She seemed mortal, yet her presence chilled them.
"Senior, an unclaimed cave is for the fated. You can't claim it alone, ignoring us," a white-robed middle-aged man, Yang Li, said, his Late Golden Core aura flaring. Cunningly, he rallied the crowd, knowing even a strong figure wouldn't dare offend all—many from factions like Qing Mao Crew and Sha Hai Crew.
"Right, too domineering!"
"Leave, old woman. We don't want trouble."
"Senior, go. The cave's for the fated."
Voices rose, pressuring her.
"This old one dislikes killing. My young mistress is inside. Leave," she said slowly, scanning them.
"Hmph, you spurn courtesy!" Yang Li, enraged, roared, conjuring a golden Metal-element palm.
"Metal Spirit Palm."
A Mysterious-Grade low-tier skill, powered by Late Golden Core, its force was fierce. The crowd retreated.
The old woman stayed calm, her cloudy eyes glinting with fire.
Sizzle.
The palm dissolved, vanishing before reaching her.
Silence.
The crowd gasped. Neutralizing a Late Golden Core attack with a glance? They froze.
Wiser cultivators, like Chen Lin, fled wordlessly.
She'd mentioned her mistress inside. Who could command such a guardian? Could they provoke her?
"I was rash, offending you, Senior. I'll leave," Yang Li stammered, pale, bowing.
She glanced at him. "If I were weaker, I'd be dead. To kill, be ready to die."
Raising a withered hand, she summoned a fiery palm.
His face paled. Golden light burst as he fled.
"Blazing Flame Palm."
Her faint voice echoed.
The fire locked onto him, pursuing relentlessly.
Sizzle.
He ignited, a burning smell spreading as he turned to ash.
Gulp.
The crowd swallowed, stunned. A Late Golden Core, reduced to dust?
"Gods, that's Blazing Flame!" Uncle Ji, a knowledgeable cultivator, gasped, terrified.
"Blazing Flame? From that clan?"
Murmurs spread, bodies retreating, some fleeing toward Lin Hai.
A handsome youth, 18 or 19, in blue robes with green hair, stepped forward calmly. "Which Yan Clan senior? Han Qing of the Han Clan greets you."
"Han Clan? Not bad, Late Golden Core at 18," she nodded. The Han Clan, a seventh-grade power near the Yan Clan, was familiar.
"Which Yan Clan genius is training here?" Han Qing asked, feigning curiosity, though he knew only one of two young ladies could warrant a guardian above Spirit Transformation.
"None of your concern. Leave," she said flatly, unmoved by his status.
"I'll take my leave," Han Qing bowed, departing smoothly, though his eyes lingered on the cave, glinting with fervent admiration.
Either Yan Clan lady was a dream for countless men, himself included.
"If I could catch their eye…" Han Qing's body trembled with excitement.
"Gods, even the Han Clan was dismissed?" a cultivator muttered.
"Idiot, she used Blazing Flame, signature of the Yan Clan, an eighth-grade power. Run, or we're dead!" his companion hissed, dragging him away.
"Gods, flee!"
In moments, the cave's entrance was deserted.
The old woman's cloudy eyes flickered with worry, muttering, "With their talent, why is it taking so long?"