It was a faint, elderly voice that stirred Xiang Yan from his meditative state. Upon hearing that voice, the closed eyes of Xiang Yan gradually opened, and as his gaze fell upon the increasingly translucent, pale flames dancing upon his body, a subtle sense of concern settled in his heart. "Young one, I'm nearing my limit now..." seeming to sense Xiang Yan's awakening, Yao Lao's breath of relief gently drifted out. Xiang Yan nodded slightly, speaking softly, "Master, thank you for your effort..." "Hehe." "The elder pharmacist smiled, his voice carrying an unmistakable frailty: 'Just a few more minutes, and you'll have to face off against the incinerating flame of the Fallen Heart Fire on your own. I hope you can make it through...' Xiao Yan remained silent, only breaking into a wry smile after a while: 'Do our best, and accept what fate brings...' In such a dire situation—where even the pharmacist himself felt his chances of survival were slim—Xiao Yan, no matter how confident he was, no longer held great hope for escaping. All he could do now was give everything he had to prolong his endurance against the refining power of the Fallen Heart Fire. The elder pharmacist too fell into silence, knowing that this sleep might well mark a final farewell. Though his soul could retreat into the specially crafted ring he had created, the Fallen Heart Fire proved to be its natural adversary. Under its relentless blaze, even the soul itself would inevitably be consumed and reduced to nothing." As the old doctor remained silent, Xiao Yan slightly raised his head, gazing at the massive, formless flame before him—hard to imagine that this flame possessed its own intelligence. As Xiao Yan's gaze swept across it, two faint green glimmers suddenly emerged at a certain point, resembling pupils, fixed intently on Xiao Yan's position with a greedy gaze. The green glimmers flickered once, and instantly, a large mass of formless flame surged forth, adhering itself to the subtly visible, pale white flame on Xiao Yan's body, gradually burning and eroding it. As the Qinglian heart-fire emerged, the outer layer of pale, forest-like flames gradually faded, and after a moment, suddenly vanished. With its disappearance, the intangible flame at the outermost layer surged rapidly inward, nearly engulfing the person within—only to be halted by a surge of jade-green flame. "Little one, from now on, it will all depend on you. I hope you can make it through. Our lives as master and disciple rest entirely in your hands..." The elderly pharmacist's voice grew weaker and weaker, eventually fading completely. As the pharmacist's voice faded, Xiao Yan sensed his consciousness rapidly withdrawing from within him. At the very moment it fully departed, a powerful surge of energy quietly rose from within the pharmacist's body, greatly enhancing Xiao Yan's own aura. "Master, I won't let you down." Feeling the robust force flowing through him, Xiao Yan bit his lips, his eyes glistening with moisture. He knew clearly that the elderly pharmacist had poured all of his remaining strength into him, while himself, depleted of his spiritual energy, had once again retreated into his ring and fallen into a deep sleep. Only now, having taken over the pharmacist's responsibilities, did Xiao Yan fully grasp the immense toll required to resist the fallen Heart Flame. Moreover, perhaps due to the gap in their own strength, although both the Qinglian Earth Heart Flame and the Bone Spirit Cold Flame were unique flames, the protective effects they provided to him were notably different. Previously, Yao Lao had employed the Bone Spirit Cold Flame, which still caused some burning discomfort for Xiao Yan—though it was now bearable. However, as Xiao Yan now relied on his own strength to withstand the Falling Heart Flame, that burning sensation intensified dramatically. Even his robes, under the intense heat, grew increasingly brittle, eventually bursting into a fine powder during a mere shift in Xiao Yan’s body, leaving him bare and seated upon the Qinglian. Struggling to suppress the searing pain, Xiao Yan managed to withdraw a vial of Qi-restoring pills from his storage ring and swallowed them all. Surrounded by the encircling Heart-Flame, although fire-energy still drifted around him, it was largely controlled and difficult to absorb under the influence of the flame. Thus, to endure any longer, he could only rely on the pills. "Never expected the Heart-Flame to be this formidable—no wonder Master has been so cautious. Yet... with this rate of consumption, I fear I won't be able to last even a week." With his mouth full of pills, Xiao Yan gazed out at the seemingly endless, formless flames, his heart heavy with bitterness. Truly, in this predicament, there seemed to be no way up or down. "Perhaps we can only hope for a miracle..." The dry lips trembled slightly, feeling the almost unbearable burning pain. After a long while, Xiao Yan slowly closed his eyes. He had given everything—he now simply had to wait, seeing whether he would live or die. In this world of endless molten rock, time lost all meaning. Amidst this humanly unbearable suffering, Xiao Yan could no longer focus on the passage of time. All he knew was that at any moment, he might be reduced to powder, like a garment, dissolving into the molten world around him. Even within this intense suffering, a deep sense of loneliness and solitude stirred within him. Deep within the molten world, the only sounds were the gentle murmurs of the flowing magma. Everything else was silent, as if the world were completely isolated from all else. This vast, silent solitude, amplified by the relentless heat, once again brought a weariness and a sense of confusion to Xiao Yan's spirit. Perhaps after such days had passed, he would forget how beautiful the sound of his throat vibrating was, and even, perhaps, he would forget that he was human. Amid the vast stillness of heaven and earth, loneliness would seep into his bones, never to fade. Xiao Yan did not know how long he had persisted, but as time went on, he only sensed the ever-increasing heat of the outside world. Fortunately, after enduring this prolonged exposure, his body had begun to develop a subtle resistance to fire, so that the relentless burning pain no longer drove him mad. The Fallen Heart Flame possesses intelligence and, seemingly, a patience far beyond that of humans. It makes sense—after residing in this place for so many years, one would expect patience to be its defining trait. Precisely because of this, it chose not to eradicate Xiao Yan with the most intense, immediate assault, but instead opted for a slow, gradual refinement. However, this very slowness allowed Xiao Yan to truly experience the agony of living—more so than dying. Under the relentless, continuous heat of the Flame, Xiao Yan remained in a state of drowsy confusion, mechanically summoning his Qing Fire to resist the burning, and then mechanically absorbing the scattered energies around him to meet his own needs. Yet this mechanical performance seemed to gradually refine Xiao Yan's control over the hetero-flames, allowing him to conserve unnecessary flame expenditures. However, beyond that, it didn't seem to offer him any real chance of escape. Under such circumstances, it wouldn't take long before Xiao Yan would be completely assimilated, and his Qinglian Earth-Heart Flame would be consumed by the Fallen Heart Flame. The haze in his mind cleared slightly, and Xiao Yan's spirit surged with renewed energy. He gasped in surprise—perhaps even himself hadn't noticed—his voice had grown noticeably drier and more strained than before. In this place so solitary and quiet that it drove one mad, the sudden appearance of something capable of conversing with him was nothing short of electrifying. Yet, amidst his excitement, as his gaze settled upon the magnificent, vibrant serpent eyes of the Tian-Devouring Python, a sudden jolt struck his heart. The eyes were now constantly shifting in hue—sometimes cold, sometimes vibrant with life—clearly indicating that the two souls within this small body were fiercely vying for control of the physical form. Xiao Yan could do nothing to intervene; he could only watch helplessly. The struggle lasted nearly ten minutes before a brilliant, seven-colored glow surged forth from within the Tian-Shun Dragon. With a powerful甩 of its tail, the slender creature shot out violently and swiftly broke free from Xiao Yan's Qing-Huo envelopment. As soon as the Tian-Shun Dragon emerged from the Qinglian Earth-Heart Fire, the detached Fallen Heart Flame immediately rushed toward it. Just as it was about to make contact with its body, the Tian-Shun Dragon suddenly began to rapidly undulate beneath the seven-colored radiance, and gradually, a flawless, porcelain-like, bare form emerged into Xiao Yan's sight.