Battle Through The Heavens : I Am The Thunder Emperor

Chapter 143: The Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Flame and the Mysterious Voice

The high-pitched scream echoed through the air, growing louder and louder. As it did, the three green dots in Qing Lin's eyes began to glow intensely. In an instant, the dots transformed into three tiny green flowers, which emitted a strong, eerie light that shot out and enveloped the massive Rock Snake Lizard Beast.

As the eerie light shone on the Rock Snake Lizard Beast, its large body suddenly stiffened, and its two huge eyes, filled with fear, locked onto the small girl nearby.

The eerie light slowly moved across the Rock Snake Lizard Beast's body until it stopped right in the center of its snake-like head. Once the light halted, it began to shrink, growing more concentrated and intense as it did.

The light shrank down to about the size of a palm before stopping altogether. As it did, a small green flower appeared, imprinted on the Rock Snake Lizard Beast's forehead.

Once the flower appeared, the eerie light began to fade, and the three small green flowers in Qing Lin's eyes quickly disappeared, leaving her eyes their usual green.

As her eyes returned to normal, Qing Lin's body wobbled, and her eyelids grew heavy. Finally, she collapsed to the ground.

After Qing Lin fell, the massive Rock Snake Lizard Beast remained motionless, but whenever its gaze fell on the unconscious girl, its previously fierce and savage demeanor softened, replaced by a surprising gentleness.

"It worked," Mo Yu muttered, quickly rushing to support Qing Lin as he watched the Rock Snake Lizard Beast's strange behavior with a raised eyebrow.

The Jade Snake Three Flower Pupils were indeed powerful. Even though they could only control beasts with serpent bloodlines, and couldn't be used as widely as Mo Yu's Soul Imprint, the fact that Qing Lin, who hadn't even reached the Fighter level, had managed to control a fourth-tier magical beast was simply astonishing.

"Zi Huo, stop!" Mo Yu shouted, noticing that Zi Huo was about to attack the dazed Rock Snake Lizard Beast to avenge the earlier tail strike.

Now that the Rock Snake Lizard Beast had bonded with Qing Lin, it was her battle pet. If Zi Huo were to kill or severely injure it, it would be a huge loss.

Zi Huo hesitated, its beastly eyes filled with confusion as it looked at Mo Yu. However, it obeyed the command without question, even if it didn't understand.

As Zi Huo ceased its attack, the Rock Snake Lizard Beast didn't retaliate. Instead, it looked at the unconscious Qing Lin with a gentle gaze.

Seeing this, Mo Yu knew the Rock Snake Lizard Beast was no longer a threat. He patted Zi Huo's head, praised it, and then returned it to the Beast Ring.

Mo Yu placed a healing pill into Qing Lin's mouth. After a moment, the girl slowly regained consciousness, shaking her groggy head. When she looked up at Mo Yu, who was holding her, her cheeks flushed with a hint of red.

As she massaged her temples with her slender fingers, Qing Lin noticed the now-docile Rock Snake Lizard Beast nearby. She smiled brightly and said, "Master, I did it."

Mo Yu patted her head and replied with a gentle smile, "Yes, Qing Lin, you did great."

Hearing Mo Yu's praise, Qing Lin smiled shyly, got up from his embrace, and walked over to the Rock Snake Lizard Beast. Because of the strange connection they now shared, the little girl was no longer afraid of the terrifying creature.

Trying to sound stern, she said, "You were so fierce just now, so I'm going to call you 'Xiao Guai' (Little Obedient). I hope you'll behave from now on."

Satisfied with the name she gave it, Qing Lin smiled and then pointed to Mo Yu. "He is my master, so he is your master too, Xiao Guai. You must listen to him, okay?"

The Rock Snake Lizard Beast looked at Mo Yu with a hint of reluctance in its eyes, but under the influence of their bond, it let out a low growl and lowered its massive head in submission.

Seeing this, Mo Yu shook his head. With Zi Huo as his battle pet, another fourth-tier beast wasn't necessary for him, but since this was important to Qing Lin, he didn't refuse it.

However, the name Qing Lin chose amused him.

"By the way, Qing Lin, ask Xiao Guai if it knows anything about the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Flame or if the Black Lizard Demon Serpent King is also in this tunnel," Mo Yu said, suddenly thinking of something.

Qing Lin nodded, took a few steps closer to the Rock Snake Lizard Beast, and closed her eyes, communicating Mo Yu's questions to it.

After a moment, she opened her eyes and said in surprise, "Master, Xiao Guai says it doesn't know anything about the strange fire, but it does know there's something deep within the tunnel that it's very afraid of. As for the Black Lizard Demon Serpent King, it has indeed appeared in this tunnel before, and it's Xiao Guai who was assigned by the king to guard this tunnel. There seems to be something in here that needs to be guarded."

Hearing Qing Lin's response, Mo Yu was taken aback and then began to ponder.

Whatever could frighten the Rock Snake Lizard Beast was likely the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Flame. For a creature with a cold attribute, the strange fire would indeed be a natural enemy.

As for the Black Lizard Demon Serpent King assigning the Rock Snake Lizard Beast to guard this underground tunnel, was it guarding the strange fire, or was there something else of importance inside?

Thinking this, Mo Yu scratched his head. The strange fire was proving to be much harder to obtain than he had anticipated. In the original story, Xiao Yan had relied on Yao Lao's help to barely acquire the Green Lotus Core Flame after much struggle.

Fortunately, Mo Yu had Qing Lin's help; otherwise, this journey would have been even more challenging.

The one piece of good news was that the Black Lizard Demon Serpent King was not in the tunnel. As for Qing Lin's earlier sensation, Mo Yu couldn't quite explain it.

"Let's go and take a look," Mo Yu said to Qing Lin after thinking for a moment, looking toward the deeper part of the tunnel.

Qing Lin nodded and then instructed the Rock Snake Lizard Beast to lead the way.

The tunnel wasn't long. After walking for less than five minutes, they reached its end.

"We're here…" Qing Lin murmured softly as Mo Yu's gaze suddenly fixed on a red glow not far away.

The red glow enveloped the area, and when Mo Yu focused his eyes, he faintly saw a majestic presence within the red light.

"A red flame…"

The Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Flame ranked twenty-second on the Strange Fire Ranking. Its color was red, and it had the appearance of countless beasts. The flame was formed from the souls and bloodlines of countless beasts. It was said to originate either within a beast's fire or from the bones of countless dead beasts, or from flames that consumed one another among beasts.

As this information flashed through his mind, Mo Yu's face lit up with a touch of excitement. His body trembled slightly as he stared intently at the dense red glow not far away.

"Hiss…" The Rock Snake Lizard Beast beside him hissed sharply. Mo Yu glanced back and saw that the beast's massive eyes were filled with fear as it looked at the red glow. Its huge body was trembling slightly.

Ignoring the Rock Snake Lizard Beast's reaction, Mo Yu licked his lips and said to Qing Lin, "Let's go in and take a look."

Qing Lin obediently nodded, glanced at the trembling Rock Snake Lizard Beast that dared not take another step forward, patted its head, and then followed Mo Yu into the cave.

As they moved closer to the red glow, Mo Yu could clearly feel the temperature around him rise sharply.

Upon entering the cave, Mo Yu's eyes scanned the surroundings until they landed on the source of the red glow at the center.

Through the red light, Mo Yu saw a large mound made of countless beast bones, towering three to four meters high.

This bone mound seemed to be made up of the remains of thousands of magical beasts. Even though the bones were dried and brittle, they still exuded an imposing aura.

It was likely that the beasts whose bones formed this mound had all been at least third or fourth-tier, with some possibly reaching sixth-tier.

As Mo Yu drew closer to the mound, he could feel its terrifying presence. It was unclear how many fifth or sixth-tier magical beasts had perished to form this three-to-four-meter-high mound.

Only such a massive accumulation of beast bones, tempered by time and nature, could give birth to the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Flame.

Carefully avoiding the sharp bone spikes, Mo Yu slowly climbed to the top of the mound, his gaze sweeping over it in excitement. But then his body froze.

At the center of the mound's peak was a fist-sized hole, but the hole… was empty!

Staring at the empty hole, Mo Yu's expression stiffened as he muttered, "Where's the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Flame? How can it be gone? From the looks of this bone mound, it should have formed long ago. Could it have been taken by the Black Lizard Demon Serpent King?"

As this thought crossed his mind, Mo Yu's expression darkened. Although he had known the Black Lizard Demon Serpent King had been here, the disappearance of the strange fire was still a heavy blow.

"Damn it! Why would the Black Lizard Demon Serpent King need a strange fire? It's a lizard!" Mo Yu cursed in frustration.

After all the effort, was he really going to return empty-handed? Mo Yu thought bitterly.

If it were just the strange fire, with his strong soul power, combined with the Flame Shield and the Vermilion Bird Skyfire, Mo Yu might barely manage to deal with it. But against a sixth-tier magical beast, Mo Yu knew he was no match.

"Forget it. I'll have to find another way," Mo Yu sighed. As someone who had once stood at the peak, Mo Yu had experienced many failures, which had given him a resilient character. Now, he could only try to console himself.

However, as he stared at the empty hole, Mo Yu couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment. To say he wasn't discouraged would be a lie.

After thinking he was so close to acquiring the strange fire, only to find it mysteriously gone, anyone with less self-control might have exploded in rage.

"Huh? What's this?" Qing Lin suddenly exclaimed as her gaze swept across the base of the bone mound. She picked up a black object.

Hearing her surprise, Mo Yu blinked and walked over to her. Looking at the black object in her hand, he said, "A scale?"

The item in Qing Lin's hand was about half the size of a palm, entirely black, with a deep, dark sheen.

"This is… the Black Lizard Demon Serpent King's scale? It seems the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Flame really was taken by it," Mo Yu muttered, confirming his earlier suspicion. The Black Lizard Demon Serpent King was the ruler of the northern part of the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range, with power even more terrifying than the Amethyst Winged Lion King. Combined with the many powerful members of the lizard tribe, its influence was immense.

To reclaim the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Flame from it, Mo Yu would need to summon at least half of the top ten experts from the Jia Ma Empire.

Shaking his head at the thought, Mo Yu knew he wasn't someone like Dan King Gu He, who could command such respect. Even Gu He hadn't been able to gather five strong experts to assist him in the Tagore Desert.

With no other options, Mo Yu resigned himself to giving up. Although his exceptional talent wouldn't be hindered by this setback, it would still slow his progress.

By the time he had the strength to challenge the Black Lizard Demon Serpent King, the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Flame would likely be of little use to him. It seemed the flame was simply not meant to be his.

"Master, are you okay?" Qing Lin asked, noticing something was wrong. The disappearance of the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Flame had not only disappointed Mo Yu but also left the girl feeling dejected. Still, her first thought was to comfort him.

"Silly girl, I'm fine. Besides, this trip wasn't without its gains," Mo Yu said, patting Qing Lin's head. He then shifted his gaze to the bone mound and smiled.

Though the mound was enormous, the bloodline and soul power within the beast bones had been absorbed by the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Flame, making them worthless. What Mo Yu focused on was the small hole at the top of the mound, where several condensed fire beads were scattered.

These fire beads had formed during the creation of the strange fire, as the powerful energy of the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Flame seeped out over decades, each bead taking nearly a century to form. They contained the terrifying essence of countless beasts' bloodlines and souls.

These beads not only accelerated cultivation but also had a significant effect on body refinement.

If Mo Yu consumed one while cultivating his Thunderstorm Body, the process of condensing Thunder Marks would be more than ten times faster, making the beads invaluable for body refinement.

Even if he didn't need them, they could be traded, and even Dou Wang experts would be eager to obtain them.

Although he hadn't succeeded in absorbing the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Flame, the dozen or so fire beads were a small consolation for his wounded spirit.

Just as Mo Yu was about to store the beads in his ring, a strange, alluring voice suddenly echoed through the cave.

"Heh heh, it's been a long time since a human has come here. Young man, are you looking for the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Flame?"

(End of Chapter)

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