Chapter 241: The Fire Dragon
Yang Potian flew swiftly toward the northwest of the Heaven Dou Empire, reaching a vast desert in less than half a day. This was the Tarim Desert, the largest desert on the Douluo Continent, with the Flowfire Range situated right at its heart.
Upon entering the Flowfire Range, Yang Potian chose to walk instead of flying. In this desert, flying could lead to easily missing things due to the sheer expanse. Even in the outer regions of the Flowfire Range, temperatures were already over fifty degrees Celsius, and the ground was completely blackened, devoid of vegetation except for a few heat-resistant plants like the Red Flame Thorn.
As Yang Potian ventured deeper, the temperature steadily rose. Near the base of a volcano, the ambient heat had reached two hundred degrees Celsius, and violent fire elements roiled in the air. These fire elements weren't suitable for spirit masters to absorb—trying to do so would destabilize their own spirit power. No wonder there were no settlements nearby, not even for spirit masters.
Closer to the volcano, the ground was dotted with deep red fissures and gorges, a result of past eruptions and tremors. Despite the harsh conditions, fire-attributed spirit beasts thrived here. There were fire lizards, flame spiders, fire bats, fire cloud leopards, and even firebirds and fire lions—ideal beasts for fire-type spirit masters. He even encountered a forty-thousand-year-old Flame Azure Wolf, the same species as Qin Ming's spirit at Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
However, none of these spirit beasts met Yang Potian's standards—he was after beasts at least ninety thousand years old.
Suddenly, a rumbling filled the Flowfire Range as volcanic eruptions detonated across multiple craters. Rivers of molten lava spewed forth, shrouding the area in ash and casting the landscape into an apocalyptic scene. Yang Potian, unfazed, found a small ravine to wait out the eruption, where he was protected from the worst of the blasts. The surrounding magma created an impression of being engulfed in flames.
Surprisingly, several spirit beasts huddled in this same ravine, trembling and ignoring their usual rivalries or hunting instincts. Yang Potian didn't pay any attention to these smaller beasts; as soon as the eruption subsided, he resumed his journey toward the deeper parts of the Flowfire Range.
With each step, the temperature spiked. By the time Yang Potian neared the core, the air was a blistering five hundred degrees Celsius. The surrounding heat alone would incinerate the clothes and hair of any ordinary person. Only a spirit master with significant spirit power could survive here, ideally at the Spirit Emperor level or above.
Yang Potian found even more impressive fire-type spirit beasts here, including a sixty-thousand-year-old One-Horned Fire Dragon, known for its immense strength and fire affinity.
After an entire day of trekking, he finally arrived at the innermost section of the Flowfire Range, where the temperature reached a staggering eight hundred degrees Celsius. In the center lay a vast lake of lava, churning and bubbling, with molten rock heated to over fifteen hundred degrees. Here, even the sensory abilities of spirit masters were dulled by the oppressive heat, and the intense fire element in the air distorted vision and seared the lungs.
However, Yang Potian's physical resilience was far beyond that of an ordinary spirit master. His Golden Body spirit awakening, combined with his training at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, had granted him unmatched heat resistance.
Yang Potian scoured the lava lake's edges for days but found no sign of the hundred-thousand-year-old spirit beast he was tracking. He had sensed its presence earlier but hadn't found any evidence of it in the surroundings.
"Could it really be hiding in the lava?" he thought, staring at the lake. But even his golden body would be tested in the searing fifteen-hundred-degree heat.
After another day of fruitless searching, Yang Potian decided to take the risk. Preparing himself, he coated his body in a protective layer of spirit power and leapt into the lava.
As he swam deeper, the heat intensified, reaching levels that would incinerate most beings within seconds. Yet the spirit beast's aura grew stronger. After several kilometers, the path turned upward. Yang Potian surfaced to find himself in a massive stone chamber—like a hidden sanctuary within the mountain.
The chamber spanned several kilometers, with dense spirit energy filling the air and even a vibrant life essence. It was like stepping into a sanctuary, an ancient hidden lair.
At the chamber's heart, Yang Potian's gaze fell upon a colossal fire dragon, at least forty meters long, slumbering beside a towering spirit tree. The tree stretched a hundred meters high, its branches shading the entire cavern, and pulsed with a unique energy.
Yang Potian's eyes gleamed with excitement. "A three-hundred-thousand-year-old fire dragon…"
This was no ordinary beast—such an advanced spirit beast was extremely rare, rivaling the Bear Lord of Star Dou Forest and far surpassing beasts like the Hellhound.
Without hesitation, Yang Potian summoned his spirit, the Break Soul Spear, and charged forward, unwilling to risk the dragon escaping.
Sensing danger, the fire dragon opened its eyes, raising its massive claws in an attempt to block Yang Potian's attack.
As the Break Soul Spear clashed with the dragon's claws, it punctured straight through, wounding the beast. Judging by its strength, this fire dragon was only around the peak of level 98, not quite at level 99.
The fire dragon roared in anger, "Human! How dare you ambush me! I'll tear you apart!"
With this proclamation, the entire space seemed to shift. The air was filled with an oppressive, fiery energy, creating a domain of searing flames. In this volcanic environment, the dragon's power only seemed to grow stronger.
This was clearly the dragon's flame domain, where the energy in the air became ferociously violent, making the entire place feel like a sea of fire. The dragon opened its jaws, spewing a crimson blaze that seemed capable of incinerating everything in its path.
But Yang Potian was undaunted. His body turned a radiant gold, as did his Break Soul Spear. Activating his fifth spirit skill, Tyrant Dragon Annihilation Strike, he charged forward with his spear, splitting the scarlet flames in two as he advanced.
The fire dragon, witnessing Yang Potian's attack, erupted in fury. "Human! You dare slaughter my dragon kin? You court death!"
Yang Potian responded coldly, "You're nothing more than a mutated sub-dragon with a trace of dragon blood. To claim yourself as a true dragon is laughable. Even if the Black Dragon King himself were here, I'd face him without fear."
With those words, Yang Potian's figure flickered, and he appeared right in front of the dragon, aiming his spear at its head. The dragon tried to intercept with its massive claws, hoping to halt Yang Potian's attack. But with his immense strength and the cutting edge of his spear, Yang Potian drove the weapon through one of the dragon's claws with a single strike.
Yet the dragon's defenses were remarkably tough. Despite the injury to its claw, it held fast to Yang Potian's spear, spewing a torrent of flames from its mouth that even he felt pressured by. It was clear this dragon had reached the pinnacle of flame mastery, wielding the power of ultimate fire.
Yang Potian remained fearless, channeling energy into his right arm as his first arm spirit bone skill, Divine Bull Strength, activated. His strength multiplied, and he gripped the spear with both hands, bringing it down in a powerful swing that severed one of the dragon's claws.
He immediately followed up with his second arm spirit bone skill, Divine Bull Charge. His right arm thrust forward, cleaving through the incoming flames with a punch. It was a clash of ultimate fire against ultimate strength, but Yang Potian's power prevailed, scattering the flames.
The dragon let out a piercing scream as one of its claws was cut off. Desperate, it lashed out with its massive tail in a move akin to a Dragon's Tail Sweep. The tail, imbued with ultimate fire and devastating force, seemed ready to tear the space itself apart.
But Yang Potian was unfazed. His eighth spirit ring flared to life, and with his Break Soul Spear, he unleashed a golden arc that seemed to split the very heavens. This was his eighth spirit skill, Golden Behemoth Slash. The enormous golden strike cleaved off a section of the dragon's tail, prompting another anguished howl.
The fire dragon, realizing the enormous gap in strength between itself and this foe, felt a chill of fear. With one claw severed and part of its tail missing, it knew that continued fighting would mean certain death. Its only hope lay in retreating into the lava, where it might have an advantage. In the depths of the molten sea, it could leverage its innate powers and possibly survive.
Summoning its remaining strength, the dragon made a desperate dash toward the lava. But Yang Potian had no intention of letting it escape. His ninth spirit skill, Sun-Shooter, activated, causing the Break Soul Spear to radiate a brilliant golden glow, pulsing with blinding light as it flew toward the dragon.
The spear shot forward like a beam of light, piercing straight through the dragon's skull and pinning it against the wall, leaving it with no chance to detonate itself in a final act of defiance.
A massive, blood-red spirit ring appeared above the fire dragon's corpse, three golden lines circling it, marking it as a spirit beast that had lived over three hundred thousand years.
(End of Chapter)
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