The magma-churning, fiery heart of the earth was permeated by the Difei Fire, vast and cloud-like. Rolling magma bubbled in a low lava pool, spitting "oily" fiery blisters, the heat wave staggering beyond measure.

The surrounding rocks were like red-hot branding irons, crimson in hue—this was a vast cavern deep within the earth's core. Untouched for millennia, many celestial masters who communicated with the Vermilion Bird of the Four Symbols might faintly sense some subterranean anomaly when passing by, yet none could ever reach this place.

Yet today, suspended directly above that churning lava pool, hung a single figure. Sweat poured down his body like rain. His flesh was a startling crimson, matching the color of the cavern's rocks.

This man was none other than Ji Changkong, who had traveled a thousand li from the heavens.

Following the subtle guidance of his spirit towards the Sacred Beast Vermilion Bird, he had flown from the Heavenly Mountains to the south, arriving at this miraculous place where the heat scalded the heavens. He had stretched his body through a minute subterranean fissure to enter the underground, finally reaching the heart of Fire Flame Mountain and discovering this strangely extreme, high-temperature locale.

The Sacred Beast Vermilion Bird could command the power of flame throughout heaven and earth, its nature being supremely fiery. Hovering above the lava pool, he opened his mind and distinctly sensed, far beneath the thousand zhang depth of the earth's core, an impossibly vast life force lying dormant.

Without needing further thought, he immediately confirmed that the colossal life form slumbering ten thousand zhang below must be the Sacred Beast Vermilion Bird, one of the Four Great Guardians of the Five Elements Continent.

However, the man was now above the lava pool. He could find no further method to descend deeper into the earth. Looking around, he realized that perhaps the only way to penetrate deeper was to submerge his body into the lava pool, using the magma flow as a conduit until he could behold the Vermilion Bird with his own eyes.

Alas, this beautiful thought was fated never to be realized; the astonishing heat waves rising from the lava pool seemed capable of melting everything in the world.

He had tried taking out the Calcium Steel Stone from his Mustard Seed Pouch, which was reputed to be incredibly hard, and even some solid stones he had acquired from the Big Dipper Star Domain, tossing them one by one into the lava pool. To his dismay, he found that every solid stone, upon falling into the magma, melted like steamed buns, vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

Such high temperatures were utterly beyond his imagination. He attempted to slowly approach the pool, only to discover that once his body neared it within ten meters, all the moisture would be completely evaporated, threatening even the very blood within him.

At that proximity, his skin would become cracked and fissured, his meridians throbbing violently—every sign indicated that even his Xuanyuan Body could not withstand the assault of such heat.

Therefore, he did not rashly plunge his body into the magma. Instead, he tried releasing his spiritual consciousness, attempting to search for a path deeper into the earth using his divine sense.

However, the moment his spirit consciousness entered the lava pool, it was immediately invaded by a force mixed with extreme heat. Even his nebula-like spirit felt overwhelmed and had to instantly retract all consciousness from the magma.

He perceived that the lava pool was effectively an almost insurmountable defensive barrier. The flame power within the pool was a hundred times more ferocious than the earth-core fire found anywhere else. Under such terrifying fiery might, even a powerhouse at the Nine Palaces Celestial Realm would hesitate to sink their body within.

Furthermore, the pool contained a power capable of incinerating the soul. That force would be triggered the moment another soul descended into the lava, its purpose clearly being to prevent celestial masters from spying with their divine sense.

With this lava pool restriction in place, any reckless intrusion by a celestial master was virtually impossible, ensuring that the Sacred Beast Vermilion Bird, located thousands of zhang deep in the earth's core, could remain undisturbed and rest peacefully.

After repeated setbacks, Ji Changkong was forced to abandon the idea of entering the depths of the earth to seek the Sacred Beast Vermilion Bird to resolve the secrets hidden within his body. He began to hover above the pool, sending his spiritual sense into his body again and again, trying to use his soul to locate the essence blood of the Vermilion Bird hidden within him.

Again and again, he sat serenely in the void, Ji Changkong calming himself, meticulously probing every acupoint, every meridian of his body, attempting to coax out the Sacred Beast Vermilion Bird's blood hidden inside.

Time slipped by, and he didn't know how long it had been before Ji Changkong slowly awakened from his deep focus. He couldn't help but offer a wry smile and shake his head, his eyes filled with dejection.

He had exerted his utmost, fully deploying all his soul power, having scrupulously searched every corner of his body. He was certain he had examined every acupoint, every single meridian, even the capillaries, yet he still found nothing.

He began to wonder if the Azure Dragon had been mistaken—was there truly no Vermilion Bird blood within him?

Otherwise, why had he come to such an intensely hot region, drawing so near to the Sacred Beast Vermilion Bird, yet his internal blood showed no reaction whatsoever?

This caused him great confusion, leading him to doubt both the Sacred Beast Azure Dragon and himself.

Sitting cross-legged in the void, Ji Changkong stared blankly at the lava pool beneath him, lost in thought, contemplating how to resolve this issue.

After pondering for a long time, Ji Changkong gritted his teeth and fiercely declared, "I have to take the risk!"

About ten zhang away from the lava pool, Ji Changkong summoned the primal energy within his body, manifesting an electric-blue shield of light, and slowly began descending towards the pool below.

Hissing and popping, the primal energy condensed on the shield was rapidly consumed. The shield crackled like beans being fried, and even began to show faint cracks, with tiny fissures appearing.

Under such terrifying heat, any form of power would be incinerated and destroyed; even the shield formed by condensed primal energy was no exception.

As he descended closer to the lava pool, Ji Changkong continuously poured the primal energy from his body into the shield, maintaining it against the scorching waves rising from below.

Finally, through his strenuous effort, he was just one meter away from the lava pool.

Terrifying heat waves billowed up from beneath him. Ji Changkong had to expend his primal essence every second to sustain himself; it was only through the massive influx of heaven and earth primal energy that he could endure the torment inflicted upon his physical body.

The shield sank further, now only an inch from the lava pool. The "oily" bubbles were almost touching the base of the shield. At this critical moment, Ji Changkong extended his left middle finger. The finger pierced through the shield and plunged instantly into the lava pool.

A searing, piercing pain flashed for only a moment, but as he watched, the flesh of his middle finger submerged in the magma completely melted away.

Only the finger bone, white as jade, remained, scorched bright red like the surrounding rocks, yet it seemed capable of resisting the corrosive and melting force of the lava pool.

Unable to suppress a cry of pain, Ji Changkong grimaced as he looked at the segment of bone that remained unmolested even within the lava—pain mixed with exhilaration!

He suddenly realized that the bones throughout his entire body were even sturdier than the hardest stones in this deepest realm. The stones he had brought from the Big Dipper Star Domain had all dissolved, while a segment of his middle finger bone remained intact—this proved just how tough his bones were.

While rejoicing, he still had to unleash all his strength to counter the colossal fiery energy that hammered toward his body through that single bone segment.

That fiery energy originated from the lava pool, as if finding an outlet after being confined for years. It surged through Ji Changkong's finger bone, rushing madly toward his body, intent on completely melting him away.

Here, a thousand zhang beneath the earth, above the lava pool where no one could see him, Ji Changkong sweat profusely and cried out in agony, spurring forth the power within him to create layers of obstruction to block the invasion of the lava's fiery force, preventing himself from being utterly destroyed before he could understand the matter of the Vermilion Bird Blood.

Primal energy flowed ceaselessly from his body into his left arm, clogging the point of his middle finger. A small bone fragment unleashed an earth-shattering torrent of energy. The clash between these two forces caused the lava pool to seemingly begin boiling slightly.

Ji Changkong inwardly uttered a bad feeling, hesitating whether to retract the finger submerged in the lava. He noticed waves forming in the magma, rising and falling. He feared those magma waves might engulf him. While enduring the heart-piercing pain, he also had to divert his attention to other matters, and gradually began to falter.

Just as he was about to give up, his acutely sensitive divine sense suddenly detected a minuscule hard lump within his Baihui acupoint on the back of his head, which began slowly melting open.

It was a single drop of blood!

The congealed blood, upon melting, flowed rapidly through his body like a living thing, mixing into his limbs and bones.

Suddenly, Ji Changkong felt as if he had drunk a potion a hundred times stronger than the Fire Dragon Burn; he felt as though he had plunged into the magma itself, scorched by intense fire, swallowed by the lava.

As this thought arose, with a loud splash, he genuinely fell into the magma!

The lava, capable of incinerating and dissolving all things in the world, instantly swallowed his body.

Extremely strangely, the event he most feared did not occur. His body was scalding hot, like molten iron in the lava, yet it did not melt. Apart from the hair on his body instantly vanishing, his flesh and blood remained unharmed.

Not only that, but the fiery energy emanating from the magma poured into all his pores, entering his body. His internal organs were safe, though merely unaccustomed to such immense fiery power.

"I'm fine?" Ji Changkong was stunned. Closing his eyes within the lava pool, he sensed the changes occurring in his body, somewhat bewildered and at a loss.

After a while, Ji Changkong suddenly detected an anomalous change in his body. A brief induction sent a surge of wild joy through him; he almost shouted out in excitement. If you wish to know what happens next, please log in for more chapters, support the author, and support genuine reading.