Even someone as well-traveled and knowledgeable as Lou Gao felt his scalp go numb at this moment. A cold, crushing despair instantly seized his heart.
Bullets were far less effective against these flame monsters, his defensive line was on the verge of collapse!
And behind him… Xiao Xia…
At last, Lou Gao's peripheral vision drifted in utter despair toward the depths of the mineral vein.
The radiance there seemed slightly dimmer than before, yet it still resembled the core of a furnace.
He saw Larvitar, that little monster with nearly half its body embedded into the mineral vein flowing with golden light, gnawing at it like a mad thing!
The rocky carapace covering its body had completely turned into a semi-transparent, molten state. Red-gold magma-like patterns surged and roared beneath it. With every bite, visible streams of golden light poured down its throat and into its body, making its tiny form resemble a luminous cocoon on the verge of exploding!
And beside Larvitar…
Lou Gao's pupils shrank to pinpoints!
Th-That… what was that?!
A charred humanoid silhouette lay curled atop the scorching ore!
No, this could no longer be called "humanoid"! The skin and muscles of the entire body had almost completely carbonized and peeled away, exposing vast stretches of ghastly internal structure like burned charcoal!
Only the skeleton remained…
That skeleton, bathed in the flowing golden light, displayed a heart-stopping red-gold sheen!
This red-gold was not flames clinging to it—it was the bones themselves emitting light!
As if cast from the purest red-gold divine metal, faintly visible upon them were profound and intricate natural patterns, greedily devouring the scattered energy motes leaking from the Sun Essence!
Within the ribcage of that skeletal frame—where the heart should have long since stopped, a weak yet stubborn golden flame flickered, slowly pulsing as energy flowed into it!
And within the hollow eye sockets of the charred skull, two points of pure golden flame—like two miniature suns, were silently ignited amid boundless pain and destruction!
"X… Xiao Xia…"
A hoarse rasp escaped Lou Gao's throat. Overwhelming grief and absurdity nearly suffocated him.
His disciple… was actually devouring the Sun Essence!
And had turned into… a burning skeleton?!
At the instant his mind was violently shaken and his movements faltered—
BOOM!!!
That blazing Lava Earth Dragon giant, carrying a firestorm capable of incinerating everything, smashed through the last few flame corpses blocking its path. Its massive, burning head descended like a meteor, accompanied by temperatures so intense they warped the air, savagely lunging toward Lou Gao, who stood dazed in the center of the tunnel!
A scorching, sulfur-reeked stench blasted into his face! Lou Gao could even see the churning golden flames and magma-like fangs inside the beast's blazing maw!
It's over!
The thought flashed through his mind.
Lou Gao instinctively closed his eyes, preparing to meet the final impact and incineration.
The AK in his hands was searing hot. The magazine was empty, there wasn't even time to reload.
Yet the expected annihilating collision never came.
Instead, an indescribably scorching wave—more violent, more pure than the flaming behemoth before him, erupted violently from the core of the mineral vein behind him, like a slumbering star awakening!
Humm—!!!
The air was instantly drained away! Time itself seemed to freeze for a brief moment!
Lou Gao's eyes snapped open.
He saw the ferocious flame giant charging toward him slam into an invisible barrier—one formed purely of extreme heat!
Its enormous burning body abruptly halted just a few meters from Lou Gao, as if the pause button had been pressed!
For the first time, a fear born of pure instinct—deep to the marrow, appeared in those blazing golden eyes!
It did not dare advance even an inch further!
Lou Gao's heart thundered as he spun around!
Deep within the mineral vein, at the core where golden light flowed, a figure slowly—struggling, stood up.
It was no longer that shriveled, charred skeletal form.
Beneath the peeling, charcoal-like shell, red-gold bones shone as if cast from divine metal, flowing with eternal radiance.
Countless fine streams of golden light, like living creatures, were forcibly stripped from the surrounding Sun Essence mineral vein, from the air itself, and even from the burning Soul Beasts, then crazily surged toward that skeletal body!
Wherever the light streams passed, the blackened carbonized matter was completely stripped away and annihilated!
Hiss—hiss—hiss—
Amid the spine-chilling sounds, brand-new tissue began to grow at a visible speed upon that red-gold skeleton!
This was not soft flesh, but a viscous, flowing, lava-like gold-crimson substance radiating terrifying heat!
It spread and covered the bones along their contours, as if the earth itself were shaping new mountains!
Within the texture of these newly formed "muscles" flowed ancient, profound red-gold patterns similar to those beneath Larvitar's carapace—yet even older and more mysterious. With every pulse, the surrounding violent fire-element energy resonated in response!
When the figure finally stood fully upright, the two points of golden flame deep within the eye sockets of the charred skull suddenly surged!
Like two true suns being ignited!
BOOM!!!
Two beams of golden light, condensed to the absolute extreme and carrying the will to incinerate all things, burst violently from those eye sockets, instantly piercing the scorching air!
Where the beams swept past, the air emitted explosive shrieks as it was torn apart, even space itself warping into visible ripples!
The flaming Lava Earth Dragon giant standing rigid before Lou Gao was lightly grazed on a forelimb by the edge of one beam.
There was no deafening blast.
No explosion.
In utter silence, that forelimb—thicker than a pillar of refined steel and wreathed in golden flames—simply vanished, vaporized like melting snow!
Not even a wisp of smoke was left behind!
The giant beast let out a soundless, agonized howl. Its massive burning body staggered backward in terror and pain, crashing into a swath of flame corpses behind it!
The AK-47 in Lou Gao's hands clattered onto the scorching rock with a sharp clang.
He stood there like a petrified statue, his mouth hanging open unconsciously, bloodshot eyes locked rigidly onto the figure slowly turning around in the depths of the mineral vein.
Red-gold bones.
Molten lava as flesh.
Golden flames as eyes.
Destruction and rebirth flowed together across its entire body. With every step it took, the scorching rock beneath its feet groaned under the strain, leaving behind molten footprints.
Rampaging fire-element energy gathered around him like subjects paying homage to their king, forming howling vortices of power.
Th-This… was this still a human?
A primal terror born from instinct when facing a higher form of existence, instantly seized Lou Gao's heart, chilling him to the bone, nearly freezing his blood.
Only one absurd yet terrifyingly fitting thought remained in his mind.
A Flame… Demon God?!
At that moment, Larvitar, which had been "welded" halfway into the mineral vein and crazily devouring the Sun Essence, finally ceased its heart-stopping feeding frenzy.
Its small body jolted violently, then slowly detached itself from the ore flowing with liquid golden light.
Its form had undergone a dramatic transformation as well. Though its outline was still recognizably Larvitar, it was now completely different from before!
The rocky carapace covering its entire body had turned fully semi-transparent, a red-gold hue resembling cooled magma!
Beneath the armor was no longer the color of black rock, but surging, roaring molten gold-crimson lava, thick and tangible!
Countless red-gold runes—far more complex and ancient than before—flowed and flickered across both the surface and interior of its molten armor, radiating the same source as Lin Xia's power, yet far more restrained and profound in its terrifying heat.
Deep within its crimson pupils, condensed golden flames were also ignited. Unlike Lin Xia's violent outward blaze, they resembled the core of the earth itself, concealing endless magma.
An invisible pressure spread from its small body, intertwining and resonating with Lin Xia's aura. In an instant, the oppressive force within the mine cave surged several levels higher, the air becoming so viscous it felt like solidified magma.
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