Btth: The Rise of Qingshan

"That old fellow is really dead. What a pity for this Mountain-Breaking Arm. Being burned like this, its value is greatly reduced!"

Yan Qingshan shook his head and walked to Mo Cheng's charred corpse. A high-level Dou Spirit was indeed powerful; even a fifth-rank magical beast's breath couldn't completely incinerate him.

But perhaps it was because Mo Cheng had modified himself with a bunch of magical beast organs, making his body tougher than ordinary people.

Yan Qingshan carefully removed Mo Cheng's storage ring and then took out a knife to cut off Mo Cheng's entire left arm.

The Blazing Mountain-Breaking Rhinoceros's forelimb was fiery red. Although it had been transplanted and thus considered contaminated and damaged, it was still a fifth-rank magical beast material, and its price would still be high.

After Mo Cheng, it was the turn of the other dead fellows. The lava eruption Yan Qingshan designed wasn't too powerful, but these people were unlucky to be trapped in the lava pit.

After the lava receded, charred corpses were everywhere, with hardly anyone still breathing.

Yan Qingshan obtained some storage rings from the corpses of several Dou Master and Dou Grandmaster.

Storage rings weren't easily damaged; they wouldn't malfunction unless soaked in lava for a long time.

"Your life is quite big! You're still alive!"

Yan Qingshan walked to a person's side. Next to the lava sand pit, a person with half a leg charred and his whole body red was gasping for breath, his forehead covered in fine sweat.

"A Mo family member. Since you're still alive, then..."

Yan Qingshan's eyes turned, and he didn't kill him. Instead, he stuffed a healing pill into his mouth. After dealing with the other charred corpses and survivors, he took Qing Ling to the sand pit.

"Qing Ling, tell the Flame Spirit Serpent to..."

Yan Qingshan looked at the lava fire domain before him, turned his head, and whispered in Qing Ling's ear. Qing Ling then communicated with the Flame Spirit Serpent through their contract.

"Hiss..."

The Flame Spirit Serpent hissed and nodded, then submerged its entire body into the lava. Soon, the entire lava lake shook violently, boiling as if it was about to erupt again.

But perhaps Yan Qingshan had triggered an eruption beforehand, and the lava lake couldn't erupt a second time in a short period. Although ripples and bubbles appeared, fortunately, no lava eruption occurred.

"Hiss hiss..."

The Twin-Headed Flame Spirit Serpent's hiss suddenly came from the lava lake, and a green light appeared before Yan Qingshan and the others. A deep green lotus seat wrapped in fiery red magic power, like the most beautiful treasure in the world.

In a ball of green light, a green lotus stood gracefully.

The green lotus had eight leaves, each as perfect as the finest natural green jade. At first glance, it was crystal clear, making people want to hold it.

In the lotus, there was a small lotus platform about two or three feet wide. In the holes of the lotus platform, glowing spots emitted light.

These were the lotus seeds of the green lotus, containing rich energy, extremely precious and rare, a treasure that even Dou Emperor would go crazy for.

Below the green lotus, there was an extremely slender stem, more than ten meters long. On the stem, densely packed tiny tendrils were spread. As these tendrils swayed, the fire-attribute energy in the surrounding lava was constantly absorbed.

On the lotus's heart, a small cluster of deep green flames burned quietly. The seemingly tiny lotus heart flame contained extremely terrifying energy.

Green Lotus Core Flame, ranked nineteenth on the Heavenly Flame rangkings... Ten years to form a spirit, a hundred years to take shape, a thousand years to form a lotus.

When the thousand-year lotus fully matures, its color is bluish, and a cluster of green flame grows in its heart, named Azure Lotus Flame, also known as Green Lotus Core Flame.

This seemingly tiny Green Lotus Core Flame actually contained extremely terrifying power. In the original story, Queen Medusa, who was close to Dou Ancestor strength, came to retrieve the Heavenly Flame and paid a heavy price, not starting her transformation breakthrough until half a year later.

This was still because the Green Lotus Core Flame's spirit was a low-intelligence plant form. If it were an animal form like the Fallen Heart Flame and Three Thousand Burning Flame, with high intelligence and ferocity, Queen Medusa's current strength would definitely not have a good outcome if she confronted it head-on.

However, the plant form Green Lotus Core Flame's low intelligence was a good thing for Yan Qingshan. If the Heavenly Flame's spirit was too high, his current strength wouldn't be able to scheme against it, which would be a pipe dream.

The Green Lotus Core Flame was a plant form with low intelligence and wouldn't erupt unless it sensed a threat. The Twin-Headed Flame Spirit Serpent was like a guardian magical beast of the Green Lotus Core Flame.

When it was fourth-rank, it was still somewhat troubled and fearful of the Green Lotus Core Flame. But after breaking through to fifth-rank, it could actively transfer the Green Lotus Core Flame, which perfectly matched Yan Qingshan's idea.

They had made such a big commotion in Rock Desert City. This place was close to the Tager Desert, and Queen Medusa was currently searching for Heavenly Flames to prepare for her transformation.

With a Dou Emperor's speed, she would probably arrive soon. They had to leave as soon as possible.

With this thought, Yan Qingshan didn't hesitate. After discussing with the other two, they quickly took action.

…

The edge of the Tager Desert, southeast of Rock Desert City, a pit continuously emitting thick smoke appeared in the original yellow sand desert.

The surroundings were scorched black. Through the pit leading directly to the underground, flowing dark red lava could be faintly seen. This desert underground was actually a lava zone.

Amidst the billowing thick smoke, a slight rustling sound rang out, and a charming and seductive snake-woman appeared on the edge of this yellow sand smoke.

Under the noble and elegant purple brocade robe, there was a plump and mature body. The soft and wide brocade robe covered it, but it displayed her perfect figure.

A slightly darker purple ribbon was tied around her waist. Her waist was slender and flexible. The light purple snake tail below was not scary, but instead had a different kind of exotic charm.

Three thousand black hairs were casually tied with a purple ribbon, hanging down her shoulders, the ends just falling on the other side of the S-shaped curve. As she walked, it playfully slapped her upturned bottom.

This woman's delicate and cold face, as well as her noble and seductive temperament, were enough to arouse the deepest desires in every man's heart, wanting to press her down and conquer her.

But no man had ever done this, including all the snake-people, no one dared to have a blasphemous thought, because she was the noble snake-people queen, the ruler of the Tager Desert - Queen Medusa.

Less than a day had passed since Yan Qingshan took Qing Ling and the others away, Queen Medusa had already arrived. At this moment, this mature woman's mood was very bad.

Her eyebrows were slightly furrowed, her red lips were slightly pursed, and her exotic snake-like eyes swept across this pit.

"There was a big battle here, at least hundreds of people and hundreds or thousands of magical beasts fought. High-star Dou Spirit, fifth-rank magical beast, lava eruption, and... Heavenly Flame..."

Queen Medusa gathered this information from the remaining clues. Judging from the rather large volcanic eruption before and the remaining aura of the Heavenly Flame at the pit, the thing she wanted to find had been taken away by someone else.

The aura had been gone for almost a day, and it seemed she wouldn't be able to catch up.

This made her very unhappy.

In recent years, she had mobilized the snake-people clan to search for news of the Heavenly Flame in the Tager Desert. Finally, a clue appeared, but she was one step too late.

"As expected..."

Queen Medusa didn't give up searching. Her figure flashed into the lava cave, and she went deep into the underground lava world in the earth's depths.

Queen Medusa searched for a long time, and finally found a few tiny green shimmering fragments in a corner of the lava world, something resembling tendrils.

These were some of the remaining roots of the Blue Lotus Core Flame that was moved. The roots were absorbing fire energy and continuing to grow and strengthen. Perhaps after another thousand years, another Green Lotus Core Flame would appear here.

"Humans... mixed-blood snake-people..."

Queen Medusa angrily shattered the upper rock wall. A terrifying explosion of fire light reappeared outside Rock Desert City. This huge commotion made the already frightened residents of Rock Desert City even more terrified.

Almost everyone was aware of the commotion that happened yesterday. When the Sand Mercenary Group left, they made a huge ruckus, so who wouldn't know?

After the lava eruption, some daring people in Rock Desert City came to investigate. However, when they arrived, they only saw the scene that had been dealt with by Yan Qingshan, and couldn't find anything useful.

However, a desert that had turned into a smoky lava land, and from the remaining traces, it could be inferred that the Sand Mercenary Group might have been annihilated. How could this not make people terrified?

The Sand Mercenary Group had been constantly capturing snake snake-people before, and now they seemed to have suffered retribution from the heavens and were annihilated.

Now, rumors were spreading in the city, and everyone was living in fear. Those who were capable had fled Rock Desert City at the first moment.

Queen Medusa spread her wings and stood in the air hundreds of meters above, staring coldly down. Her heart was filled with destructive killing intent.

Her slender fingers clenched into fists, but in the end she didn't attack. There was no need to vent her anger in this way.

The continent also had its own unwritten rules. If a Dou Emperor expert killed indiscriminately, it would easily arouse public anger. She still had the snake-people clan to look after.

Angering humans would bring no good.

Moreover, she also knew something from the discussions of these people, and finally had some clues. It wasn't completely without hope.

…

Tager Desert's edge, a mountain forest that was still lush green in late autumn. Yan Qingshan sat cross-legged under an ancient tree, nearly ten people in circumference, likely thousands of years old, with a broken tendril containing rich life wood energy on his lap.

Around Yan Qingshan, wisps of azure aura enveloped him like green mist. With his breathing, the green aura on his body constantly condensed and strengthened, and the azure tendril, pulsing with his breathing, seemed to shrink and be absorbed.

Countless azure spiritual energy was constantly swept up, forming an energy vortex several meters wide above his head. The Dou Zhe Qi cyclone in his body kept spinning, seemingly condensing and transforming, advancing to another stage.

This was clearly a Dou Zhe about to advance to Dou Master.

Finally, at a certain moment, the azure tendril on Yan Qingshan's lap completely turned into a cloud of green mist and was absorbed by Yan Qingshan through his mouth and nose.

Inside his Qi cyclone, the first drop of liquid energy condensed, and he became a Dou Master.

The moment he completely absorbed the green mist, a strange green light appeared on his body. On the skin of his chest, a vivid azure lotus shape was outlined, which then disappeared in an instant.

The breakthrough was complete. Yan Qingshan opened his eyes, a faint smile appearing on his face.

He finally broke through to Dou Master. With the Green Lotus Core Flame's roots assisting him, he had condensed his Qi cyclone and successfully advanced.

"With my current strength, I should be able to refine the Green Lotus Core Flame energy," Yan Qingshan murmured to himself. The Green Lotus Core Flame was a powerful Heavenly Flame, and refining it would greatly increase his strength.

He stood up, stretching his body, and felt the surging Dou Qi within him. "It's time to start refining the Heavenly Flame energy."

Yan Qingshan took out a jade bottle from his storage ring. Inside the bottle was a small cluster of azure flames, the Green Lotus Core Flame. He had carefully sealed it to prevent it from escaping.

He sat down cross-legged again, placing the jade bottle in front of him. He took a deep breath, calming his mind, and began to circulate his Dou Qi.

The Dou Qi in his body flowed towards his hands, and he carefully opened the jade bottle. The azure flames flickered, emitting a terrifying heat.

Yan Qingshan focused his mind, using his Dou Qi to slowly envelop the Green Lotus Core Flame. He carefully guided the Heavenly Flame energy into his body, starting the refining process.

The refining process was long and arduous, but Yan Qingshan was determined. He knew that once he refined the Green Lotus Core Flame, his strength would greatly increase, and he would be one step closer to his goals.

As he refined the Heavenly Flame energy, his body emitted a faint azure glow, and the surrounding air became distorted by the intense heat. Yan Qingshan's face was flushed, but his eyes were filled with determination.

He continued to refine the Green Lotus Core Flame, pushing his Dou Qi to its limits. He knew that the process was dangerous, but he was willing to take the risk.

After a long time, the Green Lotus Core Flame energy finally merged with his Dou Qi, and Yan Qingshan felt a surge of power within him. He had successfully refined the Heavenly Flame energy.

He opened his eyes, and his pupils flickered with azure flames. He had gained the power of the Green Lotus Core Flame, and his strength had greatly increased.

Yan Qingshan stood up, feeling the power surging through his body. He smiled, knowing that he was now much stronger than before.

"With this power, I can finally start to enact my plans," he said to himself, a determined look on his face.

He knew that the path ahead was still full of challenges, but he was confident that he could overcome them. With the power of the Green Lotus Core Flame, he was ready to face whatever came his way.