Nalan Yanran had calmed down.
Xiao Yan exhaled slowly, relief flooding through him.
He looked at her.
"Why are you here?"
She blinked.
Why am I here?
She had been cultivating—peacefully, normally—in her palace within the Eternal Heaven Realm.
Then, inexplicably, she had been transported. A surge of energy enveloped her, rendering her unable to speak, unable to move.
Then—she had flown directly into this cave entrance.
Then… that had happened.
"I… I don't know." Her voice was small, lost. "I just… appeared here. Inexplicably."
She stood rooted to the spot, utterly at a loss.
Xiao Yan's hand rose.
He patted her shoulder gently.
"Don't rush. Speak slowly."
His touch was warm. Steady.
Some inexplicable sense of security flooded through her. The panic in her chest dissolved.
She gathered her thoughts and recounted everything—carefully, completely.
Xiao Yan's brow furrowed.
"Could something have happened to Tian Ge?" His voice was low. "Is that why this anomaly occurred?"
"I don't know."
Nalan Yanran's voice was barely audible.
Useless. I'm useless. I don't even know what's happening to me.
"Then I'll go up with you." Xiao Yan's gaze sharpened. "I need to see Tian Ge. If something has happened to him—if my life can be exchanged for his—I will not hesitate."
His voice was absolute.
Tian Ge is my benefactor. Without him, I cannot imagine how much suffering I would have endured in those early years.
When I was at my most helpless, he stood before me. He protected me. He gave me the Heavenly Flame—a treasure beyond measure.
Before, Heavenly Flame had been merely a concept.
Now, it was the foundation of his strength. His cultivation. His alchemical skill. His techniques—Burning Technique, Three Mysterious Transformations of the Heavenly Flame, Fire Lotus.
All of it, possible because of that flame.
All of it, a gift from Tian Ge.
I owe him everything.
Purple Cloud Wings unfurled behind him.
He reached for Nalan Yanran—
"Yan'er."
Yao Lao's voice echoed in his sea of consciousness.
"You cannot leave. The cave entrance was resealed after you entered. With your current strength, you cannot break it."
Xiao Yan froze.
"…I can't leave?"
A pause.
"Then what do I do?"
"Have you forgotten why you came here?"
Yao Lao's tone was dry, almost amused.
"You haven't been blinded by beauty, have you?"
Xiao Yan glanced at Nalan Yanran.
Beauty.
…She is beautiful.
But the memory of her breaking off their engagement remained—a thorn, still embedded.
Nalan Yanran caught his gaze.
"What's wrong?" Her eyes were puzzled. "Is something the matter with me?"
"No." Xiao Yan shook his head. "It's just… we cannot leave for now. The cave entrance is sealed."
A pause.
"Stay here. Do not wander."
Nalan Yanran studied his serious expression.
She knew nothing of this place. She was utterly ignorant of its dangers.
She nodded obediently.
Xiao Yan looked at her.
This Nalan Yanran… is so different from the arrogant, haughty girl who stood before me that day and declared our engagement void.
I can barely reconcile the two.
He shook off the thought.
He approached the edge of the stone platform and gazed down at the churning, exploding magma below.
"Teacher. What should I do?"
"Jump."
"…Jump?"
"Into the magma."
Xiao Yan stared at the roiling crimson sea.
"I feel like I would be melted."
If Nalan Yanran were not present, Yao Lao would have manifested solely to smack his disciple upside the head.
"You possess the Green Lotus Core Flame! Envelop yourself in it and jump!"
His voice was strained with exasperation.
"That magma's temperature is nothing to a Heavenly Flame. And time is of the essence. The Fallen Heart Flame is wounded—if you delay, it will recover."
Where has my former Yan'er gone?
The one who declared, "I don't care who you are—get away from him immediately!"
That Yan'er.
Xiao Yan nodded.
He prepared to jump.
Arms wrapped around him from behind.
"What are you doing?!"
Nalan Yanran's voice was desperate, her grip fierce.
"I already said I forgive you! You don't need to be this depressed!"
Xiao Yan felt the softness pressed against his back.
Depressed?
She thinks I'm… depressed?
Suicidal?
He gently pried at her fingers. Her grip tightened.
He applied a thread of Dou Qi—gently, carefully—and loosened her hold.
He turned to face her.
Her eyes were already brimming with tears. Her gaze was utterly anguished.
She's genuinely worried.
His heart softened.
He sighed.
His hand rose, and he gently wiped the tears from her cheek.
"Have you forgotten?" His voice was quiet. "I am an alchemist. I possess a Heavenly Flame."
A pause.
"I am not seeking death. I am going down there to accomplish something. Nothing will happen to me."
Nalan Yanran blinked.
Oh.
Right.
Heavenly Flame.
Magma.
…I panicked.
Her face flushed.
"Then… be safe." Her voice was barely audible. Her fingers picked nervously at her nails. "I'll wait for you here."
Xiao Yan nodded.
His fingers brushed a stray strand of hair from her face, tucking it gently behind her ear.
"Stay here. Do not wander. Other areas may be dangerous."
He turned.
He jumped.
Green flames erupted from his body, enveloping him completely.
Splash.
He plunged into the magma.
"Teacher. This place is enormous. How do I find it?"
The underground world stretched endlessly in every direction—an infinite sea of red. It would be easy to lose all sense of direction here.
"Dive left. Continue diving left."
Yao Lao's voice was immediate, certain.
"I sense its lingering aura in that direction."
Xiao Yan dove.
Nalan Yanran stood alone on the platform.
The magma had already swallowed him from sight.
She stared at the spot where he had disappeared.