“Good… Loyal and true,” Gerald said, a grin cracking the ash on his cheeks. “You are indeed worthy of Earthfire Pavilion.”
His smile shifted to the young woman in scarlet robes. “Lindsay, accompany Jared. You’ve trained behind these walls long enough, it is time you tempered that flame.”
Lindsay’s eyes flashed like twin rubies as excitement thrummed in her voice. “Yes, Great Elder Earthfire!”
“Ignatius,” Gerald ordered. “Send scouts after Soul Devourer’s trail. He may be a soul remnant now, but he was terror itself ten millennia ago. We can’t underestimate him.”
“On it, Great Elder Earthfire,” Ignatius answered, bowing low, ember-plated armor clinking softly.
“And one more thing,” Gerald mused, stroking his beard. “Unleash every thread of our intelligence web and have them watch Malevolent Path Hall. Their sudden retreat to level twelve reeks of a scheme. I’m sure they’re up to no good.”
“Understood!”
Having relayed his orders, Gerald produced a blood-red device and pressed it into Jared’s palm. “This is the map of the Chthonic Abyss. The Magma Heart is marked, as are the danger zones. Study it well…”
Jared’s spiritual sense sank into the device; torrents of symbols, routes, and cautions flooded his mind like molten glass. He inhaled slowly, letting each detail settle into place.
The Abyss lay in the far-southern reaches of the Blaze Region, a bottomless rift that split the land like a scar the world had tried to forget. Beneath its rim churned rivers of lava and the baleful glow of Earthcore Demonic Flame, hungry enough to gnaw through steel, or soul.
The deeper one traveled, the hotter the air, the heavier the pressure, and the more savage the beasts that called that furnace home. At the very bottom lay the Magma Heart, a lake of molten rock stretching three hundred feet, its surface pulsing like the heartbeat of a slumbering titan. Hovering at the very center was a single slab of ten-thousand-year glacial jade, and upon that frozen altar, drop by luminous drop, the Jadeheart Marrow.
“Earthcore Demonic Flame… Even those in the High Immortal Realm back away from something that vicious,” Jared muttered, brow tightening beneath the firelight that danced across his face.
Gerald inclined his ancient, ember-scarred head. “Precisely… The Earthcore Demonic Flame reaches monstrous heat and drags a poison from the planet‘s marrow. It gnaws at celestial energy and corrodes the divine soul itself… That said, the chaotic celestial energy inside you, and the Golden Dragon Bloodline that stirs in your veins, can shield you for a while. Combine that with the mastery of flame you’ve learned from Earthfire True Scripture, and you may carve a path where others simply burn.”
“Understood…”
Jared slid the device away, its glow dying between his fingers, then straightened with sudden purpose. “No sense wasting a heartbeat, let’s move.”
“Wait…” Gerald’s call rasped through the chamber. He produced a token wrought of red-gold metal, the surface alive with tiny runes that simmered like coals. “This is Earthfire Pavilion’s Earthfire Token,” Gerald said. “It grants command of every Earthfire Pavilion resource in the Blaze Region. If peril finds you, show this, and nearby factions will provide assistance, or at least hesitate before striking.”
Jared accepted the token with both hands, its heat pulsing against his palm. “Thank you, Great Elder Earthfire.”
Gerald flicked his wrist in a weary blessing that looked oddly like smoke drifting away. “Go on, then. Come back soon.”
Moments later, Jared, Lindsay, and Vermilion Demon Lord stepped beyond the pavilion’s gates and headed south, shadows stretching across the blackened earth.
***
Three days later, the trio arrived at the edge of the Chthonic Abyss.
From the lip of that scarred world, they stared into a chasm a thousand yards wide, its depth lost to darkness. Molten rock crawled below in sluggish rivers, belching sulfur so thick it clawed the throat. Far beneath even that, coils of dark, red fire rolled and folded, flames unlike any living blaze, exhaling a malevolent pulse that pricked at the heart with nameless dread.
“This heat is terrifying…” Lindsay uttered as she wiped the sweat beading along her brow, the gesture futile in the furnace wind. “This is hotter than the Heart of Earthfire itself.”
Vermilion Demon Lord’s crimson eyes narrowed. “Earthcore Demonic Flame… It truly is a thing of ultimate evil. Even my demonic techniques are stirring restlessly.”
Jared unfolded the map given to him by Gerald and studied it carefully. “According to the markings, the Chthonic Abyss is divided into three layers. The outer layer is relatively cool, with only low-level fire beasts. The middle layer grows hotter, inhabited by fire beasts of Heavenly Immortal Realm caliber… The deepest layer is the true danger zone… Not only is there Earthcore Demonic Flame, but also all manner of strange traps and formations.”
Then, he pointed to a red dot on the map. “Our target is here, the Magma Heart. We’ll need to pass through the outer and middle layers, descend into the depths, and then find this hidden passage.”
“All right. Let’s make a move then,” Vermilion Demon Lord said.
Together, the three leapt from the brink and into the Chthonic Abyss. Heat slammed them mid-fall, a living wall that tried to peel skin from bone.
Jared summoned chaotic celestial energy; a dim, ash-gray aura blossomed around him, sipping the furnace wind before it could sting. Lindsay whispered lines from the Earthfire True Scripture. Scarlet light curved around her like petals of living flame, forming a shield that shimmered with ritual elegance. Vermilion Demon Lord, on the other hand, let his demonic aura surge. Black demonic mists roared out and hardened into a midnight barrier, sparks racing across its surface like red lightning.
Encased in their three auras, the trio drifted lower, embers swirling past like silent, angry stars. The outer ring of the Chthonic Abyss still blazed like a furnace, yet the swelter remained tolerable for the three of them. From time to time, a low-level fire beast would lunge from the molten cracks, hissing in frantic hunger, only to be cut down with a casual flick of steel or a lazy burst of demonic flame.
Half a day later, they crossed the invisible threshold into the middle sector. Heat spiked without warning. Magma that had glowed bright scarlet moments ago now churned a deep wine-dark red, thick as congealed blood. An acrid miasma of toxic fire hung in the air; if one were to breathe too much of it, their meridians would blacken like scorched parchment.
Jared’s shoulders stiffened. “Be careful… Something‘s coming,” he warned, voice low but razor-sharp.
No sooner had the words left his mouth than three colossal shapes erupted from the magma ahead, geysers of molten rock raining down around them. Each creature looked like a winged lizard forged entirely from living embers: crimson scales, blade-edged wings, and maws that belched smoldering, wine-colored fire. The aura they exuded matched a Heavenly Immortal Realm Level Five cultivator, enough to cow lesser adventurers into fleeing.
Lindsay’s eyes widened. “Crimsonflame Flying Lizards! They’re pack hunters! We’ll be knee-deep in them any second!”
Her fear proved prophetic. Dozens more burst from the surrounding lava, encircling the trio in a tightening ring of snapping jaws and beating wings. The lead lizard shrieked, a grating, metallic screech. Instantly, every beast hurled streams of dark-red fire that wove together overhead, forming a blazing net descending toward the three intruders.
Jared kept his tone calm and clipped. “Lindsay, shield yourself. Mr. Vermilion, let’s finish this quickly.”
With a single resonant clang, the Dragonslayer Sword leapt from its sheath.
“Dragonslayer! Armybreaker!” Jared roared, his strike splitting the fiery net like linen ripped by a gale. A golden-gray arc of sword-force tore through the flames. Jared’s figure vanished within that streak and reappeared before the nearest lizard; one decisive stroke parted scale, bone, and sinew.
A wet thud followed. The severed head rolled into the lava, the massive body sinking after it with a hiss. Not to be outdone, Vermilion Demon Lord brought all three faces into a savage grin. Six arms moved at once, six demonic weapons hammering outward. Two more lizards exploded into steaming pulp before they could even scream.
