Chapter 141 - 106: Frenzied Consciousness and Eye of Truth

Chapter 141: Chapter 106: Frenzied Consciousness and Eye of Truth

"As a reward, I will send a wisp of pure Fire Element Origin into your body. It will help you control flames much faster."

Chen Shang remained silent for a moment, judging the other party’s credibility. He looked down at the sword in his hand. The cyan and crimson lights on the blade shone unnaturally bright under the glow of the Heart of Fire.

"Alright, I agree."

The light of the Heart of Fire softened slightly. "Then begin. Place the sword on the stone pedestal, and I will help you speed up the cleansing process."

Chen Shang walked over to the stone pedestal and gently set the sword down. Crimson patterns of light instantly spread outward like an ignited net. The orb of light from the Heart of Fire slowly descended over the pedestal. The cyan threads inside the orb throbbed violently a few times, as if sensing danger, but they could not break free.

Above the Lava Lake, Evelyn suddenly stood up. "Chen Shang has been down there for fifteen minutes." She took a few steps toward the edge and peered into the magma. However, without the Eye of True Sight, she could see nothing.

Holding her little bear, Ella kept her Spiritual Force Field expanded, covering a radius of five hundred meters around the entire crater. Suddenly, her body stiffened.

"Someone is coming... No, not people. Fire Elemental Spirits. A lot of them!" she whispered, keeping her voice low. "Tier Four Lords, several of them. And there’s one aura that’s very familiar... It’s that Lord we fooled. They’ve surrounded the crater."

Twilight’s Black Fog shrank sharply. Evelyn turned her palm over, flames dancing at her fingertips. "How is that possible? How could it find this place?"

Ella closed her eyes as her Spiritual Force Field silently spread further out. A few breaths later, she opened them. "I’m certain it’s that one. But they aren’t coming in. They seem to be wary of this place and are merely standing guard outside."

The three exchanged glances. The crater was the territory of the Heart of Fire, and those Lords dared not enter, but they were waiting.

Evelyn gritted her teeth. "Something might have happened down there. Let’s go down and tell Chen Shang!" She turned and walked to the edge of the Lava Lake, activating the Flame Heart Talisman. Ella and Twilight followed close behind, and the three of them sank into the magma.

Inside the cavern, Chen Shang stood before the stone pedestal. The cyan patterns on his sword were being burned away layer by layer by the crimson flames.

The orb of the Heart of Fire rotated slowly at the top of the pedestal. The cyan threads inside struggled more and more fiercely, but with every struggle, the crimson flames suppressed them back down.

Chen Shang heard footsteps behind him. He turned his head and saw Evelyn, Ella, and Twilight walking in through the barrier of light. None of them looked well.

"Bad news. We’re surrounded outside," Evelyn said. "Tier Four Lords, several of them... and the one we tricked is out there too."

Chen Shang remained silent for a moment before looking up. His gaze pierced through the pale gold halo of the Heart of Fire, fixing on the wisp of cyan thread inside. In the vision of the Eye of True Sight, the structure of that thread was far more complex than the Heart of Fire itself. It was not a simple elemental residue, but a conscious weaving of energy. It had been entrenched in the Heart of Fire for over a millennium, rooting itself deeply into the crevices of the Fire Element Origin like a parasitic vine.

"Is this your doing?" Chen Shang asked, his voice low and utterly freezing.

The spiritual fluctuations of the Heart of Fire trembled violently. "What doing? I really didn’t lie to you! I—"

It was cut off mid-sentence. A face suddenly surfaced on the exterior of the pale gold orb. It was not a human face, but a bird’s face. It had a sharp beak, sunken eye sockets, and cyan-white pupils that looked like two heavily compressed tornadoes. The face was only the size of a palm, bulging out of the orb of light as if something was pushing outward from the inside. Its beak curled upward, revealing a highly unsettling smile.

"Boy, who told you to meddle in others’ business?" Its voice was not gentle like the Heart of Fire, but sharp and hoarse. "Trying to cleanse me? Then you can go down with me."

The consciousness of the Heart of Fire was shocked, its spiritual fluctuations shaking violently. "You—you haven’t dissipated all this time! Why didn’t you speak before?"

The Cyan Bird Face tilted its head, much like an eagle cocking its neck to observe its prey. "What is there to discuss with you?" Its tone carried undisguised contempt. "Even though your body was naturally born of heaven and earth, you yourself are just a native. What could I possibly discuss with you? How to steal your body?"

It sneered, then turned toward Chen Shang, its cyan-white pupils shrinking. "Boy, you have experience interacting across Planes. You aren’t a native, are you? You guessed right—I summoned those Fire Elemental Lords."

Chen Shang did not speak.

The bird face continued, "Now you have two choices. First, help me kill this flame consciousness. Once it dissipates, the shell belongs to me, and I will let those Lords leave." Its voice lowered, carrying a hint of a threat. "Second, destroy me along with this flame consciousness. But if you do, I will drag you all down to perish with me."

The Heart of Fire grew frantic, its pale gold light flashing brilliantly. "Don’t listen to it! With me here, I won’t let those Fire Elemental Lords come in and hurt you!"

The Cyan Bird Face sneered. "You? You can’t even protect yourself. The moment you sever me, I will self-destruct and disrupt the Flame Elements. When that happens, those Lords will be able to charge right in." Its smile deepened. "Moreover, even if they can’t charge in, I can have them stand guard indefinitely. Fire Elemental Lords have exceptionally long lifespans. How many years can you four little ones stay here? How much longer can your Protective Talismans hold out?"

Chen Shang’s gaze fell on the Flame Heart Talisman. The dark red glow on the talisman’s surface was no longer as stable as when they first arrived and was slowly fading.