The aberrant pulse of terrestrial fire here would surely have drawn unwanted attention. Remaining was no longer an option. Wang Lin rose, his brow furrowed in thought. With a flick of his sleeve, he dispelled the restrictive enchantments he had laid within the cave.

He would leave no trace for his pursuers, especially concerning his mastery of enchantments. On this unfamiliar continent, mystery was akin to self-preservation.

The enchantments vanished without a trace, impossible to discern whether they were the work of a magical artifact or deliberate design. With a final wave of his sleeve, Wang Lin conjured forth roaring flames, incinerating the cave entrance to a depth of over a yard. No vestiges remained.

Having finished, Wang Lin strode from the cave, emerging into the open air. Dawn had broken, painting the cloudless sky a brilliant azure.

Inhaling the air of the Immortal Astral Continent, Wang Lin set off at a rapid pace.

His speed was remarkable, transforming him into a fleeting streak of light that vanished over the horizon. He flew faster than before, covering tens of thousands of miles in the blink of an eye.

Three days after Wang Lin’s departure, a series of luminous trails descended upon the ten thousand mountains. Leading the charge was Du Qing, the venerable ancestor of the Azure Dragon Sect. His face grim, he focused his gaze on a particular peak and thrust his hand towards it.

The heavens reverberated as a wooden arm, thick as a hundred yards, burst forth from the earth. Ablaze with fire, the arm smashed into the mountain peak.

The resulting cataclysmic roar sent the mountain crumbling into countless fragments. “The Wang surname cultivator hid here three days ago, when the terrestrial fire shifted! Curses, even at full speed, I am too late…” A murderous glint flashed in Du Qing’s eyes. He waved his sleeve.

“Disperse and continue the search! I refuse to believe he can escape the Heavenly Bull Continent!” Du Qing inhaled deeply, clenching his fist. “If he hides, he will be difficult to find… it seems I must seek the aid of the Great Soul Sect…”

Wang Lin had no intention of merely avoiding pursuit. Had he truly wished to hide, he could have found a remote mountain and secluded himself for years, ending the issue permanently.

His departure was motivated by something else: the discovery of a potent elixir to fuel the growth of his fire essence!

As he sped through the heavens, Wang Lin spread his divine sense, encompassing the lands below. His eyes gleamed with excitement.

“This Heavenly Bull Continent is rife with terrestrial fire veins, perhaps thousands of them. If I could absorb them all, even the principal vein of the region, would my fire essence… reach the level of the Eastern Pool, and form a true essence body?” At this thought, his breath quickened.

He began to suspect that none had dared to absorb the fire of the Heavenly Bull Continent. Instead, they sought the approval of the elemental fire, attaining enlightenment to become mighty.

If one achieved a high enough realm, and strengthened their essence, perhaps one could become a King of Fire. But this was fundamentally different from Wang Lin’s path.

Wang Lin was not native to the Immortal Astral Continent. His fire essence was not born here, nor did he seek the approval of this land’s flames. This naturally led to conflict.

It was akin to following or opposing the will of Heaven. This conflict was precisely why, upon devouring a branch vein of terrestrial fire, Wang Lin’s fire essence had surged!

“Xuan Luo said that no cultivator from the cave realms had forcibly entered the Immortal Astral Continent, and I was not reborn here, nor raised here!

The Immortal Astral Continent is not a treacherous place for me, but a treasure trove!” Wang Lin’s eyes shone with even greater intensity. He traveled across the land, soon arriving at another mountainous expanse.

The peaks were verdant, showing no sign of terrestrial fire, yet Wang Lin sensed its presence with his fire essence. He perceived a massive fire dragon, slumbering beneath the mountains.

The moment Wang Lin’s gaze fell upon the dragon, it opened its eyes, revealing an inferno within. It glared at Wang Lin through the earth and stone.

*ROAR!*

A deafening roar echoed, shaking the earth and mountains, as if a fierce wind blew. But this roar was inaudible to ordinary ears, and difficult even for cultivators to perceive. Only Wang Lin, with his unique fire essence, could hear this sound of deep animosity.

Wang Lin’s eyes flashed, and he let out a cold snort.

“A mere branch vein of terrestrial fire dares to growl at me? Such insolence!” Wang Lin descended upon one of the peaks, and thrust his right hand downward.

“Extract the Soul of Terrestrial Fire!”

The mountains trembled as his hand moved, and seas of fire erupted from the earth, reaching for the heavens. The mountain beneath Wang Lin’s feet crumbled, and a fire dragon with a head a thousand yards across burst forth from the ruins.

As it emerged, the azure sky turned crimson, as if scorched by the flames. The ground hissed and cracked open, revealing rivers of molten fire.

The dragon was larger than the one Wang Lin had previously devoured, and its fiery power was comparable to a full-force strike from a Soul Formation cultivator.

With a roar, the dragon’s massive head bore down on Wang Lin, as a fiery meteor descended from the sky. Its formidable aura would have caused weaker cultivators to pale in fear.

But Wang Lin remained calm, his eyes glinting with cold light. As the dragon lunged, he raised his right fist and struck!

A heaven-shattering explosion ensued. Wang Lin stood firm, unmoved, while the fire dragon emitted a mournful shriek, its head collapsing and bursting outward.

In the explosion, the dragon’s head turned to fire, attempting to reform, its eyes blazing with fury as they re-emerged from the fire.

But Wang Lin did not allow the dragon’s head to fully reform. He stepped forward, and a crimson light flashed in his left eye, conjuring a Vermillion Bird. The bird emerged from his pupil and lunged at the dragon, inhaling deeply.

“Soul of the Terrestrial Fire Branch, return to your place!” Wang Lin’s authoritative voice echoed across the land as the Vermillion Bird devoured the flames.

The fire dragon shuddered, and its crumbling head was drawn into the Vermillion Bird’s mouth. The suction grew stronger, until the entire dragon’s body was consumed, leaving behind only a sea of fire.

Having absorbed two branch souls of terrestrial fire, the Vermillion Bird swelled, becoming tens of thousands of yards in length, seeming to obscure the sky.

Flames raged, and the Vermillion Bird let out a sky-rending cry.

The cry rippled outward, with the Vermillion Bird as its epicenter. Wang Lin stepped forward, standing atop the Vermillion Bird’s head, engulfed in the fiery sea.

With a cry the massive bird flew forward and disappeared.

Wang Lin could feel his fire essence growing stronger, filling him with excitement. In the cave realms, his fire essence had ceased to grow, reaching a plateau that Wang Lin thought was the pinnacle of achievement.

He had always felt something was missing, but could not define it.

The events in the Five Elemental Core within the Eastern Pool had opened a door to a higher realm.

He learned that his fire essence could manifest as a true essence body! He would never forget the raw power of that form.

The simplest change was in his spells. Rather than casting them once, they were superimposed twice, resulting in a power beyond his comprehension.

Now, on the Immortal Astral Continent, his fire essence grew once more, rapidly nearing the true essence body.

Here in the Immortal Astral Continent, where powerful cultivators roamed, nothing was more exhilarating than increasing his cultivation. Without hesitation, Wang Lin rode the giant Vermillion Bird onward, his divine sense searching for the next vein of terrestrial fire.

Two days after Wang Lin’s departure, a luminous trail hurtled through the sky. Within was none other than Du Qing, the ancestor of the Azure Dragon Sect. This time, he arrived even faster, his face grim.

“Something is amiss. One or two shifts in terrestrial fire could be coincidence, but three? He is clearly doing this deliberately. But why?” Du Qing frowned, unable to understand.

He descended and landed upon a peak, spreading his divine sense to examine the earth, even delving deep underground.

What he saw caused him to gasp and pale.

“The terrestrial fire vein is withered, the fire extinguished. This branch is dead! He is absorbing the terrestrial fire! This is impossible! No cultivator, even those with fire essence, would dare to absorb terrestrial fire, as it would cause a backlash and invite the rejection of the Heavenly Bull Continent’s flames… How is he doing this? What is he planning?” Terror filled Du Qing’s eyes.

He had never heard of anyone absorbing terrestrial fire veins. The fire essence experts of the Immortal Astral Continent typically offered tribute to the terrestrial fire, seeking its approval to gain enlightenment. They would never dare, nor be able, to devour it!