On the other hand, Xiao Yan looked at El suspiciously. "Hey, what were you talking about just now?"
El only smiled faintly, while Qing Lin laughed softly again, trying to avoid Xiao Yan's curious gaze.
Until suddenly, Qing Lin bowed before El. "Qing Lin is willing to be your disciple, Young Master- I mean, Master," she said with a voice full of sincerity.
El looked at him for a moment before smiling faintly. "Don't call me Young Master."
Qing Lin raised her head, then nodded vigorously. "Alright, Master"
El sighed softly, but did not argue further. On the other hand, Xiao Yan who had been watching their interaction could only stare in confusion.
Xiao Yan's eyes moved from El to Qing Lin a few times before finally asking, "Ji Lan... Actually, why did you hiss earlier? And why does Qing Lin look happy?"
El cast a quick glance at Qing Lin, who hurriedly covered her mouth to stifle her laughter. The girl quickly looked down, trying to hide her expression so as not to further provoke suspicion.
However, for Xiao Yan who was already accustomed to various kinds of strangeness in his life, this kind of thing made him even more curious.
El cast a glance at Xiao Yan before speaking, "Xiao Yan, since you are already in this desert, how about you help me obtain the Heavenly Flame?"
His casual tone seemed to ignore the weight of his words. However, to Xiao Yan, the sentence was like a sudden explosion.
Xiao Yan frowned, looking at El thoughtfully.
Heavenly Fire?
This topic was too sensitive!
Xiao Yan had come to this desert precisely to obtain the Heavenly Flame. If El also wanted it, then sooner or later they could become rivals in the struggle.
However, among everyone, Xiao Yan least wanted to fight with El. This friend of his was full of secrets and was always unpredictable.
The atmosphere in the room slowly changed, a subtle tension spreading.
Xiao Li and Xiao Ding exchanged glances, both sensing that something was not right.
They did not fully understand the Heavenly Flame that was being referred to, but seeing Xiao Yan's serious expression was enough to make them wary.
Xiao Li finally opened his voice, trying to break the ice. "What exactly is the Heavenly Flame in question? Why do you guys look so serious?"
However, both El and Xiao Yan remained silent for a moment, as if considering something. That moment of silence seemed longer than it should have been.
With a forced smile, full of awkwardness, Xiao Yan finally opened his voice, "Ji Lan... don't you already have the Heavenly Flame? Why?"
El looked at him with a relaxed expression. "Because it is important to me. I need it right now," he replied without hesitation. "If I am not mistaken, the Heavenly Flame in this desert is the Blue Lotus Geocentric Flame."
Xiao Yan fell silent again, his mind raging. 'How is this? Ji Lan came here for the sake of obtaining the Heavenly Flame. '
If he wanted El, would they have to fight?
But before the tension could escalate, El chuckled.
"Don't worry about it too much, Xiao Yan," El said in a casual tone. "All I want is the Core-Fire Lotus Seed. You can just take the rest."
Xiao Yan's eyes widened slightly at that information.
El continued in a light tone, "So how is it? There is no problem, right? If Ji takes all the Core-Fire Lotus Seed?"
Xiao Yan stared at El for a while, then finally let out a sigh of relief. 'So that's it... All El wants is the Core-Fire Lotus Seed.' Xiao Yan thought.
"If that is all you need, then just take it all," Xiao Yan said, more calmly this time.
El smiled faintly. "Of course."
The reason Xiao Yan believed him was simple, El was someone full of mystery, even Yao Chen was unable to fully understand him.
However, one thing was certain, El was someone who could be trusted.
Xiao Yan breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that the burden on his shoulders was slightly reduced. "Then, I can rest easy."
However, after a while, Xiao Yan looked back at El with furrowed brows. "But, do you know where the Heavenly Flame is?"
El responded casually. "Ji knows some of the information. But before we do that, there is something you should get first."
"What do you mean?" asked Xiao Yan in confusion.
"Ji will explain tomorrow," El said as he got up from her chair. Before leaving, he greeted Xiao Li and Xiao Ding. "Ji, let me go first, I have something to do."
As he was leaving, El's gaze fell on Qing Lin who was standing not far from his. "Qing Lin, come with Ji. There's something that Ji wants to give you."
"Alright," Qing Lin said, following behind while still carrying the jug in her hand.
***
In the depths of the earth, deep beneath layers of rock that had hardened over thousands of years, there was a giant magma cave that was the birthplace of the Blue Lotus Geocentric Flame.
The heat in this place did not merely burn, but suppressed with an intensity capable of melting metal in seconds.
In the center of the cavern, a lake of blue magma churned wildly, emitting a dazzling light that illuminated every corner of this underground room.
The color of the magma was bright red, as if it had been burning for over thousands of years.
On the other side of the cave, right on the cliff overlooking the blue magma lake, Qing Lin stood still.
Qing Lin's eyes stared at the surface of the turbulent magma, reflecting a reddish light that contrasted with the intense blue color in the center of the lake.
However, what was most striking was not only her serious gaze, but the purple crystal necklace hanging around hisl neck.
The triangular-shaped crystal shone softly, yet behind its beauty, there was an extraordinary ability hidden.
It greedily absorbed Dou Qi from the surroundings, converting it into energy that directly flowed into Qing Lin's body.
In other words, it increased the efficiency of Dou Qi absorption by five times, allowing the wearer to absorb energy faster and more stably than conventional methods.
This thing was not the work of an alchemist, but rather something created directly by the power of Rinnegan El.
Although El has no intention or skill of becoming an alchemist, his ability to create unique items has proven his prowess in a different way.
This necklace was a form of El's care for Qing Lin, not a means of protection, but to help Qing Lin cultivate much more quickly and efficiently.
Behind Qing Lin, El sat in the lotus position, surrounded by purple Dou Qi that shone like clusters of stars in the night sky.
Currently, El was cultivating, absorbing a much more abundant fire-type natural Dou Qi than on the surface of the Tager Desert during the daytime.
From Rinnegan's perception, El could see that the energy in the birthplace of the Blue Lotus Geocentric Flame was much richer, allowing for a faster breakthrough into the Da Dou Shi Realm, other than in the Medicine Valley.
As time passed, his dantian pulsed several times, like a beating heart, sucking in Dou Qi at an incredible speed.
The originally hot and pressing energy suddenly changed, the air around El became cooler, as if this environment was subject to its absorption power.
Qing Lin, who was originally focused on the magma lake, suddenly felt a strange change in the surroundings. He turned around and looked at El with eyes full of confusion.
"What's wrong with Master? Why is the heat here suddenly cooler?" she muttered, confused.