The eruption of volcanoes, spires of magma blasting skyward, revealed a power in nature that was stunning; the searing heat was perceptible to Teng Qingshan even from hundreds of miles away.

"This, this—" Fu Dao’s eyes were wide with disbelief.

"Rumble~~"

Niutou Mountain lay just south of the Eight Hundred Li Flame Ridge, and the two were quite close. Furthermore, the intensity of this particular volcanic eruption was something rarely seen in centuries. Niutou Mountain itself trembled under the force of the blast. Centered on the Flame Ridge, a deep seismic tremor could be felt across a thousand-mile radius.

"Burst!" Teng Qingshan felt as if his very spirit had been ignited by the violent eruption.

Boom!

Fire Element Fist. Teng Qingshan had reached the sixth punch, unable to advance further. An invisible, impossibly thin barrier blocked his progress. Yet, the sight of multiple volcanoes erupting simultaneously sparked a profound, intuitive understanding of the Way of Fire within him.

Fu Dao, Mu Yunji, Duan Shijin, Li Jun, Teng Shou, Yang Dong, Fu Yuping, and the others were utterly mesmerized by the spectacular phenomenon of the simultaneous eruptions.

It was breathtaking!

After a long while, the volcanoes of the Flame Ridge finally ceased their fury. Molten rock covered every corner of the region. The immediate elevation in temperature across the Flame Ridge was needless to state, but even at Niutou Mountain, in mere moments, the heat spiked significantly, as if summer had suddenly arrived.

"In all my life, I have witnessed the eruptions of Flame Mountain... I don't know how many times, but never, ever have I seen so many volcanoes erupt at once!" Fu Dao exclaimed in awe.

"Magnificent," Mu Yunji’s eyes gleamed.

Teng Shou, Yang Dong, Fu Yuping, and Li Jun remained utterly invigorated by the scene they had just witnessed.

"How many volcanoes erupted simultaneously just now?" Duan Shijin asked.

"It looked like seven or eight," Yang Dong replied, but Teng Shou shook his head beside him. "Counting the smaller ones, I think there were ten."

"You are all mistaken. The major Flame Mountains also have smaller vents. When they erupt, they often blast out two or three jets of magma at the same time... Based on the larger peaks, there were exactly nine volcanoes erupting this time!" Fu Dao, having grown up in the Donghua Domain and not far from the Flame Ridge, possessed the most accurate judgment.

Mu Yunji narrowed his eyes and murmured, "What we saw was overwhelmingly spectacular, and given the direction we were facing, inaccuracies in counting are understandable. However... one thing is certain: at least seven volcanoes erupted at once."

"Everyone should know what this scene implies," Mu Yunji looked toward Fu Dao, Duan Shijin, and Teng Qingshan.

But at this moment, Teng Qingshan’s eyes were closed.

"Brother Mu, are you suggesting... the Flame Red Lotus!" Duan Shijin and Fu Dao’s eyes lit up simultaneously.

"The Flame Red Lotus? What does this have to do with the Flame Red Lotus?" Li Jun asked innocently.

Mu Yunji quickly explained, "Miss Li Jun, you must know that the Duanmu Continent possesses three great spirit treasures: the 'Cloud Dream White Fruit' of the Cloud Dream Marsh, the 'Flame Red Lotus' of the Flame Ridge, and the 'Sky Wind Water Bead' of the Sky Wind Canyon. The effects of all three are miraculous. However, in terms of rarity and the fervor they incite, the foremost of the three spirit treasures is undoubtedly the Flame Red Lotus!"

"The Flame Red Lotus? The one that can elevate someone to the Innate Realm?" Li Jun gasped, holding her breath.

In the millennia-long history of the Duanmu Continent, only nine Red Lotuses had ever been discovered.

Among these nine, there were three-leaf, four-leaf, and five-leaf varieties, with the tallest recorded being a seven-leaf Red Lotus. The most crucial aspect of the Flame Red Lotus was its 'seed,' and the number of leaves corresponded to the number of seeds. The original nine Red Lotuses yielded a total of 42 seeds. Among all the masters who consumed a seed, only one failed to reach the Innate Realm; all others succeeded!

"A single Flame Red Lotus is enough to allow several late-stage Houtian experts to break through into the Innate Realm!" Mu Yunji exclaimed excitedly. "Currently, there are only a few dozen Martial Saints across the world; one can imagine the difficulty of reaching the Innate Realm. Every time a Flame Red Lotus appears, it sparks competition among all under heaven."

Fu Dao nodded beside him. "Miss Li Jun, historically, the appearance of all nine Flame Red Lotuses has been heralded by volcanic eruptions! Furthermore, we have observed a pattern: whenever more than seven volcanoes erupt simultaneously, a Flame Red Lotus is guaranteed to emerge!"

"Seven volcanoes erupting means a Flame Red Lotus will definitely appear?"

Li Jun exclaimed, "Does that mean there will absolutely be a Flame Red Lotus in the Flame Ridge this time?"

"Yes."

Fu Dao, Duan Shijin, and Mu Yunji all nodded in agreement.

"Moreover, judging by this eruption, we estimate that the Flame Red Lotus emerging this time will be at least a five-leaf variety," Fu Dao stated solemnly.

"Mr. Teng," Mu Yunji called out to Teng Qingshan.

But... Teng Qingshan remained with his eyes closed.

"What's wrong with Uncle?" Fu Yuping was startled. She had been so overwhelmed by the spectacle of the eruption that she hadn't noticed Teng Qingshan behind her with his eyes shut.

"Don't disturb Brother Teng," Li Jun said, adding with a slight smile, "Brother Teng always closes his eyes to meditate when he gains some understanding, savoring the insights."

"Oh."

Mu Yunji, Fu Dao, and Duan Shijin sighed internally. They too had witnessed the eruption, yet Teng Qingshan was capable of gaining insight where they could not... But perhaps it wasn't entirely their fault. The reality was that Teng Qingshan had hit a bottleneck in his cultivation of the Way of Fire.

Today's event was precisely what he needed to shatter that barrier.

...

In Teng Qingshan's mind, the defiant, world-shaking aura of the volcanic explosion replayed vividly. At that moment, heaven and earth seemed to tremble. Simultaneously, diagrams of four consecutive axe forms from the Thirty-Six Forms of Mountain Splitting—the seventeenth through the twentieth—flickered in his mind.

These four forms embodied the Ways of Earth, Metal, and Fire.

Among these three elements, Teng Qingshan's attainment in the Way of Fire was currently the lowest. His Earth Element Fist had reached the eighth punch, and his Metal Element Fist had advanced to the seventh punch just this past month.

...

In the courtyard atop the mountain, the others discussed the Flame Mountain eruptions, careful not to disturb the meditating Teng Qingshan.

Then suddenly—

Teng Qingshan, who had been deep in thought with his eyes shut, abruptly began practicing his martial arts in the courtyard. Whoosh! Whoosh! His fists instantly caught fire, delivering powerful, continuous blows that left Mu Yunji, Fu Dao, and Duan Shijin utterly stunned.

"This boxing technique..." Mu Yunji was shocked.

"This is..."

Fu Dao and Duan Shijin were dumbfounded.

In their eyes, the practicing Teng Qingshan was channeling distinct states of profound intent through his movements: one moment like fire consuming the earth, the next like sparks spreading across a plain, or like a flame passed down through kindling... Each technique conveyed a different meaning. As Teng Qingshan executed the final punch—

Boom!

The entire space seemed to detonate violently. Fu Dao and the others felt as though a volcano had suddenly exploded, its towering plume of magma threatening to tear heaven and earth apart.

"What kind of fist technique is this?" Mu Yunji and the other two were completely flabbergasted.

"Yoo~ Yoo~~" The Green Phoenix, which had appeared in the courtyard at some unknown time, chirped excitedly. It fixed its gaze on Teng Qingshan's fire-element practice, its beautiful eyes shining with intense light.

Teng Qingshan opened his eyes, a faint smile touching his lips.

"A pity..." Teng Qingshan shook his head.

"Brother Teng," Li Jun said, clearly excited.

"Congratulations, Sir," Fu Dao said first, while Mu Yunji and Duan Shijin offered their congratulations as well. They all knew that Teng Qingshan had achieved another breakthrough.

Teng Qingshan was indeed happy. He looked toward the Flame Ridge in the north and mused, "This volcanic eruption truly brought me sudden enlightenment. Many things I hadn't grasped suddenly became crystal clear. Leveraging my attainments in the Earth Element Fist and Metal Element Fist, combined with the adjacent four forms, and cross-referencing them with my insights from watching the eruption, I managed to create two new forms in one go."

Teng Qingshan felt a slight regret; in that moment of the eruption, he had expected to touch upon the absolute pinnacle of the Fire Element intent.

However, that surge of intent only allowed him to forge the eighth punch of the technique.

"Now, my Earth Element Fist and Fire Element Fist have both reached the eighth punch, the Metal Element Fist is at the seventh, and the Water Element Fist is only at the sixth," Teng Qingshan thought, feeling deeply satisfied. Observing the volcanic eruption and gaining this sudden realization had significantly elevated his realm.

"Mr. Teng, since more than seven Flame Mountains erupted simultaneously, a Flame Red Lotus will obviously appear!" Mu Yunji looked at Teng Qingshan. "Do you intend to search for it?"

"The Flame Red Lotus?"

A spirit treasure capable of creating an Innate expert—while the Kyushu Continent had the 'Black Fire Spirit Fruit,' its effects could not compare to the Flame Red Lotus. Teng Qingshan harbored great ambition; he wanted his lineage of Inner Family Boxing to flourish across Kyushu and desired for the Guiyuan Sect to surpass Green Lake Island.

Therefore, he urgently needed treasures like the Flame Red Lotus.

"Haha, the Flame Red Lotus appearing, but finding it shouldn't be easy, right?" Teng Qingshan asked Mu Yunji with a smile.

"Indeed. The Flame Ridge spans eight hundred li. This Flame Red Lotus could be growing anywhere within that vast expanse. And it is highly likely to be found within the magma chamber of a Flame Mountain, or deep underground," Mu Yunji explained. "Every time a Flame Red Lotus appears, it attracts tens of thousands of people, but the fastest discovery took at least ten to fifteen days, and the longest took an entire year to locate."

Teng Qingshan smiled.

Now that his Earth Element Fist and Fire Element Fist were poised to take the final step toward the Void Realm, stumbling around blindly across eight hundred li of Flame Mountain to search for something would be too great a waste of time.

By the time others found the Flame Red Lotus, he would probably have already stepped into the Void Realm.

"A treasure like the Flame Red Lotus—with tens of thousands searching—even if I joined the hunt, I might not get it. I won't go," Teng Qingshan said, smiling at Mu Yunji, Fu Dao, and the others. "Alright, I just had a major realization and now desperately need to enter seclusion. I cannot host you further."

"Haha, speaking of which, you haven't even had a proper meal since you arrived," Teng Qingshan glanced down at the wooden table; the tremors from the volcanic eruption had already shattered the bowls and dishes.

"We will visit again another time," Mu Yunji chuckled. "Since Mr. Teng will not go, we will dispatch our people to search."