Vermilion Demon Lord clicked his tongue as Lindsay’s slim silhouette melted into the seething red haze at the tunnel’s far end.
“That girl thinks the world of you,” he murmured, amused. “She even went so far as to smuggle you into a forbidden area.”
Jared offered no reply. He simply folded his legs at the very rim of the magma pool, its molten glare rippling across his face like living bronze.
From that vantage, felt the chamber breathe. Fire spiritual energy, thicker than molten gold, swirled in every breath, laced with an ancient, pristine strand of the Law of Fire, perfect for mending wounds and refining power.
“Mr. Vermilion, I intend to enter the Pentacarna Tower to heal my wounds. One hundred days within the tower is equivalent to one day outside. Therefore, you’ll only need to give me a few days for me to fully heal,” said before drawing the Pentacarna Tower from his sleeve. “You may stand guard outside or join me within to work on your cultivation.”
Vermilion Demon Lord shook his head, scarlet locks swaying like embers. “My body is fine. I’ll keep watch out here and commune with the Law of Fire.”
Jared nodded and flicked the tower skyward.
The artifact met the heated air, unfurled, and swelled to a thirty-foot tower that hovered directly above the magma’s roiling skin.
Its weathered stone exhaled a primeval aura that resonated with the cave’s unseen threads of the Law of Fire.
Drawing a steady breath, Jared stepped through the entrance and vanished into the tower’s depths.
Inside stretched a vast realm where time crawled, a cosmos wholly distinct from the outer world.
He reached the cultivation chamber, crossed his legs, then produced the Ninefold Scarlet Flame Pill and the Earthfire Spirit Fruit Lindsay had given him, ready to pour everything into recovery.
Chaotic celestial energy began to circulate, like rain reviving a drought-stricken riverbed.
Jared’s Golden Dragon Bloodline awakened of its own accord, ribbons of gilded vitality weaving through torn meridians, knitting flesh and spirit alike.
The pill dissolved the instant it touched his tongue, releasing a heat both fierce and gentle that surged into every bone. Meanwhile, the Earthfire Spirit Fruit’s pure fire essence folded into that current, merging with the chaos and hastening the mend.
***
Time flowed in silence within the tower’s walls.
One day soon became three in the outside world, yet inside the tower, three hundred days had unfurled like the pages of a well-read chronicle.
Jared’s wounds healed with breathtaking speed, shattered channels re-fused, cracked bones joined seamlessly, and the well of lost blood refilled, richer than before.
The aura around settled, darker, deeper, like a volcano finally finding its core.
Finally, Jared exhaled, eyelids lifting. For an instant, bright sparks danced in his pupils before vanishing.
Power coursed beneath his skin, and a thin smile curved his mouth.
My wounds are gone, and my cultivation has advanced. Looks like the Heart of Earthfire truly deserves its legend…
With that, rose, left the cultivation chamber, and strode toward the tower’s exit. Yet the very Instant his foot crossed the threshold, the cavern beyond shuddered.
Something, vast and unseen, twisted In the darkness. A sudden anomaly had erupted within the cave.
The magma pool shuddered like a beast awakened from nightmare. Scarlet columns burst skyward, then folded inward until they sculpted a towering shadow of molten flame.
Its body was nothing but seething fire and liquid stone. No face, only a pair of eyes, twin suns of molten gold that blazed with an age-old, sovereign menace.
At that very heartbeat, the entire cavern‘s Law of Fire seemed to bend the knee, rushing toward the apparition in silent worship.
Jared’s pupils shrank to pinpoints. “What is that?”
The fiery apparition began to speak, his voice ancient and far-reaching, as if had traveled through countless ages of time.
“Ah… It’s the Pentacarna Tower… I never imagined the dying embers of my soul would behold this legendary item again…”
Young man, you carry the Golden Dragon Bloodline and have the Pentacarna Tower in your hand, yet you sought refuge in the tower to tend to your injuries. Looks like the outside world still knows no peace, huh?” His gaze settled on Jared, his golden, flame-like eyes seemingly able to see through all things.
Every warning bell inside Jared screamed. Chaotic celestial energy flooded his meridians, and the Dragonslayer Sword snapped into his grasp.
“Who are you?”
Flames rippled Into a weary laugh, part scorn, part sorrow. “Who am I? Merely a ghost who should have perished long ago, clinging to the final spark. You may call me Great Elder Gerald Earthfire.”
“Great Elder Gerald Earthfire?” Jared replied as furrowed his brows. “Founder of the Earthfire Pavilion?”
Gerald’s fiery apparition quivered, memory stirring embers into brief frenzy. “Indeed… The Earthfire Pavilion was founded by me… Unfortunately, I was far too arrogant back then… I believed I could suppress the Earthcore Demonic Flame with my own strength alone. In the end, my physical body was destroyed, my divine soul severely wounded…”
“And… All that remains is this wisp of a remnant soul, hiding within the Heart of Earthfire, barely clinging to existence.”
With that, his burning gaze returned to the Pentacarna Tower. “However, fate seems to have taken pity on me by letting the Pentacarna Tower appear before my eyes… Young man, do you think you can let me use it?”
Jared’s gaze went icy. “Planning to steal it, sir?”
Gerald shook his head. “Steal? Look at me. I am merely a soul remnant, one thousandth the strength I once commanded. Theft is beyond me… That said… How about we do a trade?”
“What kind of trade are we talking about?”
“I give you the precise location of the Jadeheart Marrow. In return, you let me use the tower to temper my soul and rebuild my flesh. You’re desperately in need of the Jadeheart Marrow, aren’t you?”
A jolt shot through Jared’s chest.
Jadeheart Marrow… That’s my main goal of coming to level eleven!
But I’ve never mentioned that here before, so how does this person know what I desire?
Despite that, steadied his voice. “You truly know where the Jadeheart Marrow lies?”
“Of course,” Gerald answered, his tone carrying the effortless surety of a map etched into memory. “In all of level eleven, no one knows the Chthonic Abyss better than me…”
“The Jadeheart Marrow pulses within the Magma Heart at its deepest throat, guarded by Earthcore Demonic Flame, which, unfortunately, is untouchable to ordinary cultivators. However, with my guidance, your Golden Dragon Bloodline, and the Pentacarna Tower, we may have a solid chance at this.”
Jared hesitated. “And why should I trust you?”
“Of course. you are free not to,” Gerald replied plainly. “But this is the only chance you will ever get… As you know, Jadeheart Marrow produces one drop every ten millennia…”
“The Earthfire Pavilion may have some information on it, but they will never find its exact location. Besides, do you truly believe Ignatius Flameheart would hand such valuable information to an outsider barely trusts?”
The words landed where Jared’s armor was thinnest. Doubt pricked like embers under the nail. Yes, Earthfire Pavilion might hold clues, but they would never part with them for love nor mercy.
Meanwhile, that single drop meant life or death for the woman the Vermilion Demon Lord treasured above all, and waiting was a luxury the latter no longer possessed.
