Staring at Xiao Yan charging straight toward Qinglian, Yao Lao shook his head helplessly. It seemed that today the boy had indeed taken a serious beating—did he really think Qinglian could be simply cut through like that? Taking a deep breath, Yao Lao waved his hand, and an invisible pull instantly froze Xiao Yan's body above Qinglian. Then, he pulled him back and set him down beside himself. "Idiot," Yao Lao murmured, turning to gaze at Xiao Yan's bewildered expression. A smile tugged at his lips as he reached into his storage scroll and pulled out a steel sword, tossing it casually toward Qinglian. As the sword neared Qinglian's surface, a pale blue flame suddenly erupted from within the plant. In the blink of an eye, the sword was reduced to a swirling mass of molten iron. Watching this unfold, Xiao Yan's brow beaded with cold sweat. He swallowed hard and offered a nervous, embarrassed smile at Yao Lao. "This Qinglian is a rare wonder of heaven and earth; any iron that comes into contact with it will be transformed. To cut it cleanly without compromising its efficacy, one must use jade of the purest quality. "The old pharmacist said calmly, then withdrew from Xiao Yan's naga-wardrobe several high-grade lotus-jade bottles. With a surge of pale, crystalline flames from his palm, he melted the small jade bottles into a gentle, pale green liquid, which, as it swirled, eventually solidified into a long, slender jade ruler. Carefully, the old pharmacist removed any impurities from the ruler, making it transparent and luminous, as beautiful as the leaves of the Qinglian. "Use this jade ruler to cut the part of the lotus connected to the stem." Thanks to the special effect of the bone-cold flame, the ruler cooled completely within moments. The old pharmacist gently shook it before handing it to Xiao Yan. Xiao Yan took the jade ruler, feeling a refreshing coolness in his hands, which was extremely comfortable. He couldn't help but purse his lips, growing more envious of the strange fire, and clutched the ruler tightly before carefully moving toward the blue lotus. With a gentle stroke at the junction where the stem connected to the pedestal, the lotus detached perfectly, like an artwork. As the lotus fell, the elderly physician beside him swiftly waved his hand, drawing it in and causing it to float before him, slowly rotating. He scanned it with wide-eyed admiration. After removing the lotus, Xiao Yan observed the stem, which was greedily absorbing fire energy from the surrounding lava, and licked his lips, smiling, "Master, this stem is absorbing energy so vigorously—doesn't that make it a rare treasure as well? Why don't we take it too?" "No," came the unexpected reply. The elderly physician, who had been admiring the lotus, gently shook his head. "Huh? What?" Xiao Yan was taken aback, asking in surprise. "These delicate spiritual beings, which take centuries to form, are best left undisturbed—perhaps it will bring a favorable omen for you. Though you have taken the Qinglian today, as long as it has a thousand years to grow, it will naturally regenerate a new Qinglian. But should you remove this stem and root entirely... then perhaps the Qinglian heart-fire of this place will forever vanish, and its revival may become exceedingly difficult, if not impossible." The elderly pharmacist gazed intently at the stem, which continued to sway, and sighed. In the realm of alchemy, removing a spiritual being's or medicinal plant's root and stem is the most frustrating act—one that deeply angers practitioners, for the conditions required for such beings to flourish are truly stringent. Hearing the pharmacist's words, Xiao Yan paused, then gently nodded, placing the Qingchi he held into his storage amulet. He glanced once more at the long stem, then turned to face the pharmacist, his eyes filled with delight, his face eager and yearning for the Qinglian. "One, two, three... There are a total of eleven earth-fire lotus seeds here. Hah, quite fortunate, isn't it?" Counting the small glimmers within the green lotus, the herbal elder couldn't help but chuckle. "I'm actually quite puzzled—why did the Medusa Queen leave these treasures here when she came to collect the unique flames? Did she perhaps not find them valuable?" Looking at the green lotus, Xiao Yan suddenly expressed his confusion. "As I mentioned before, don't think that it was easy for you to lift the green lotus with your jade ruler earlier. In fact, if you tried to cut it with any other object using sheer force, it would be absolutely impossible. And such a subtle technique—how could the Medusa Queen, who isn't even a pharmaceutical alchemist, possibly know about it?" Moreover, when she withdrew the hetero-flame, she must have sustained considerable injuries from it—add to that the intense heat and pressure of the surrounding magma—and she simply didn’t have the time to waste lingering...” The Yeold smiled gently, once again retrieving from his storage talisman ten small jade vials and the jade ruler. With great care, he carefully picked out the eleven earth-flame lotus seeds from Liang Xin’s heart and placed them into the vials. “Seal these items well and don’t display them lightly, especially the green lotus. Use it sparingly, except during meditation or cultivation—otherwise, you might attract unnecessary complications.” After placing all the vials into the talisman, the Yeold handed it back to Xiao Yan, adding a reminder. “Understood.” Wearing the talisman on his finger, Xiao Yan glanced around and noticed that since the green lotus had detached from its stem, the surrounding green glow seemed to be gradually shrinking. “Let’s go.” Observing the changes around him, the Yeold’s body trembled slightly, his form transforming into a serene, pale flame that gently enveloped Xiao Yan’s body, and he softly said, “Yes.” Nodding slightly, Xiao Yan exhaled softly, once more gazing at the jade lotus stem before gently licking his lips. With a step of his foot, his body swiftly moved outward, racing toward the area beyond the shimmering glow. Once outside the glow, he raised his hand toward the fire spirit snake in the distance, then followed closely behind it, hurrying back along the path he had come. "That's it..." Hearing this, Xiao Ding exhaled slightly, walked to the entrance of the passage, glanced down at the molten rock below, bubbling with intense heat, and couldn't help but chuckle. It was hard to imagine that Xiao Yin had actually jumped down like that just moments ago. "Wow, such a formidable one..." His feet firmly planted on the solid ground, the white flames upon Xiao Yan’s body gradually faded, and his back subtly trembled as the purple cloud wings hissed, transforming into dark patterns and once again settling against his back. "Are you all right?" Seeing Xiao Yan, Xiao Ding hurried forward and asked. "Hey, I'm fine," Xiao Yan replied, shaking his head with a smile, then turned his gaze toward the vast underground cavern, its world of molten rock, and sighed lightly. "Have you secured what you were after?" Xiao Ding glanced at Xiao Yan’s expression and asked with a smile. "Not yet," Xiao Yan said, his lips slightly drawn as he chuckled, "someone else got there first." "Hmm?" Xiao Ding paused, pondered for a moment, then said softly, "You mean the one who had that mysterious aura last time?" "Ah, perhaps it would be more accurate to call her the Queen of Medusa," Xiao Yan pulled out the seven-colored serpent scales from his storage ring and held them up toward Xiao Ding, chuckling. "Ah, the seven-colored serpent scales... indeed, it's her." Gazing at the vibrant hues of the scales, Xiao Ding's face softened into a wistful smile, and he sighed. Xiao Yin nodded, pressed his lips gently, and spoke softly, "I've now fully traced the path of the Heterogeneous Fire. From here on, I'll head straight to the heart of the Tagoel Great Desert. If the opportunity arises, I intend to reclaim the Heterogeneous Fire directly from the Queen of Medusa." "What? You plan to seize the Heterogeneous Fire directly from the Queen of Medusa?" Xiao Ding was first taken aback, then his expression turned sharply, and he gasped out in surprise. In the surrounding regions of the Tagoel Desert, the Queen of Medusa's reputation for ferocity was no less impressive than her famed beauty. Indeed, in many cities near the desert, people's fear of her had reached the point of being utterly terrified at the mere mention of her name. Even though Xiao Ding knew that Xiao Yin possessed considerable hidden strength, the very idea of him challenging the Queen of Medusa seemed utterly preposterous to him. After all, unlike Luobu of Shimocun City, Queen Medusa was no ordinary powerhouse—she was a true legend throughout the Gama Empire. When the Empire once dispatched three Duwang-tier warriors to besiege the Serpent Tribes, they were ultimately severely wounded and forced to retreat after being defeated by Queen Medusa. This clearly proves that her formidable reputation wasn't just earned through boasts. Watching the two who turned and walked away, Qinglin quickly blew a whistle into the molten lake. At once, the bright cyan glow on the foreheads of the two-headed fire spirit serpent surged powerfully, and then the massive body rapidly shrunk, transforming into a stream of cyan light that shot straight into the sleeve of Qinglin. With curiosity, she gently tapped the sleeve. A warm smile played on her small face as she softly said, "Don't bother me, or else Master will be angry and I'll simply lose you." "Hmph..." a subtle sigh of discontent escaped, clearly indicating the fire spirit serpent felt some discrimination from her as a master. "Haha," Qinglin smiled lightly, covering her mouth, then carried her small hand over her shoulder and skipped joyfully after the two ahead of her, the three of them gradually fading into the darkness of the corridor.