Its twin heads lifted high, eyes blazing with hatred. From its massive body, dark crimson flames began to pour forth, spreading until they filled the cavern.
The air itself ignited.
At the center of the swirling inferno stood Xiao Jian.
Even Xiao Yan, watching from afar, felt his brow tighten. The heat rivaled the flames of legendary fire beasts—and in this environment, it was even stronger.
"Beast fire," Xiao Jian murmured, amused. "Against me?"
The crimson flames suddenly began to spin.
From them emerged ten massive serpents of living fire, each nearly as large as the original. Twenty blazing eyes locked onto Xiao Jian as they screamed in unison and charged.
Xiao Jian opened his arms.
He closed his eyes.
The explosion was cataclysmic.
Fire serpents detonated simultaneously, waves of destructive energy slamming into the cavern walls and shaking the earth itself.
At the heart of the blast, Xiao Jian coughed blood—but his gaze burned brighter than ever.
Instead of fading, his presence grew stronger.
The raging flames reversed course, surging into his body like a tidal flood.
He absorbed them greedily, forming a massive vortex of fire around himself.
When the flames finally vanished, Xiao Jian hovered unscathed.
A thin layer of black-and-white fire clung to his skin—the serpent's power reduced to nourishment.
He smiled down at the stunned beast.
"Come on," he called lightly. "Is that all?"
The serpent roared in fury, unleashing magma pillars in a desperate assault—then suddenly turned and fled toward the tunnel.
Toward Qing Lian.
"A clever move," Xiao Jian said coldly.
In a blur, he appeared before the tunnel entrance, placing himself between her and the charging monster.
The serpent burst forth, launching a final molten strike.
With no time to evade, Xiao Jian pulled Qing Lian into his arms and raised a shield of twin flames before them.
The barrier shattered.
The impact slammed into his back, hurling him into the stone wall with brutal force.
Pain exploded through his body.
But Qing Lian remained unharmed.
As Xiao Jian staggered upright, blood at his lips, Qing Lian stepped forward.
Her jade-green eyes locked onto the serpent.
Within them, three emerald lights bloomed fully—like flowers opening to the sun.
Hmph!"
As the three green dots within Qinglian's azure lotus pupils transformed into three extremely tiny green flowers, a cold snort rang out from her rosy lips.
With the appearance of those strange green blossoms, a powerful, eerie glow suddenly burst forth, bathing the twin-headed Fire Spirit Snake in its light.
The instant its massive body was struck by that bizarre glow, the Fire Spirit Snake froze completely. Its two enormous eyes were filled with fear as they stared straight at the little girl before it.
The cerie light slowly swept across the snake's body, eventually stopping at the center of the foreheads of its two heads.
Once the glow came to a halt, it began to shrink. As its range grew smaller and smaller, the brilliance contained within it grew ever more intense.
When the glow had condensed to about the size of a palm, it flashed sharply. Two tiny green flowers were forcibly branded onto the foreheads of the Fire Spirit Snake's two heads.
After the flowers appeared, the glow gradually faded away. Moments later, the faint flowers within Qinglian's eyes rapidly dispersed, and in an instant, her pupils returned to their normal state.
Immediately afterward, Qinglian's body swayed. Her eyelids drooped, and she fell backward, collapsing into a familiar, warm embrace.
"Young Master, what just happened?"
Held in Xiao Jian's arms, Qinglian's delicate face flushed slightly as she blinked her jade-green eyes.
"You've subdued the twin-headed Fire Spirit Snake."
Xiao Jian raised his brows slightly, casually wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. With a smile, he placed a healing pill into Qinglian's mouth.
She wasn't injured, but forcibly forming a contract with the Fire Spirit Snake had completely drained her strength.
Although the Azure Snake Three-Flower Pupils could forcibly establish contracts with serpent-type magical beasts, if the beast's strength far exceeded that of the pupil's owner, the chances of success were extremely slim—and backlash was even possible.
"Ah? Me?"
Qinglian blinked blankly and turned her head to the side.
The massive twin-headed Fire Spirit Snake stood there motionless.
Yet when its gaze landed on Qinglian, the ferocity and savagery within its eyes vanished without a trace, replaced instead by deep obedience.
"Oh… it's really true!"
Qinglian quickly realized in astonishment that a strange connection truly existed between herself and the terrifying beast. She could clearly sense its thoughts.
"Wait—Young Master, are you alright?"
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