Chapter 013: The Heart of the Flame Demon

“I’ll go take a look in the magma.” Du Fan nodded slightly at the eldest priest before him and in an instant appeared where he had previously observed the Blood Demon Mud.
“As expected, it’s extremely hot.” Du Fan snorted coldly, waved his hand to cast a restriction, then descended another 500 meters underground.
Unlike what Du Fan had imagined about underground areas, the air here was not only rich but also filled with abundant magical and combat energy elements. If he could establish a training ground here, everyone under his command would likely see significant improvements in their strength.
With this thought, Du Fan moved further underground. Instantly, his clothes became soaked with sweat. Even with his domain power, his skin couldn’t withstand the heat here, indicating just how dangerous the deeper layers must be.
At that moment, the mud around him emitted a strong red light, and the intense heat made Du Fan feel a sense of danger.
“Is this domain power? So pure?” Du Fan exclaimed in shock. The domain power contained in the mixture of demonic blood mud and sludge far exceeded his expectations.
A suffocating sensation spread through Du Fan’s body as the domain power around him was overwhelming. To stay safe, he immediately cast a spatial restriction around himself, and only then did the suffocating feeling gradually subside.
It should be noted that they were still only a kilometer underground. Though deep, it was still a considerable distance from the magma. Yet, the domain power here already surpassed all his previous understanding of such powers. When they reached the actual magma, it would likely surprise him even more.
“What lies below?” Du Fan looked at the red-lit demonic blood mud beneath him and licked his lips excitedly. If he could obtain some of this mud, he could easily get fire seeds on his next visit.
If the dwarves could truly create divine artifacts, it would greatly enhance his own abilities, serving as another trump card.
Shaking his head sharply, Du Fan rushed toward the magma area this time without using his domain power. Clearly, the domain power in the surrounding demonic blood mud provided a significant boost to him.

Now, the range I can move within is only about 500 meters. But with the enhancement from the Magic Blood Mud around me, even a range of 1,000 meters would be easily covered in the blink of an eye.
…
“This is the underground world?”
Du Fan looked around in confusion at the red light raging everywhere. The red light emanating from the rock walls, stones, and magma was like lights. Outside, the scorching heat of the underground world seemed unbearable to ordinary people, but inside, not a trace of heat could be felt.
“Really comfortable,” Du Fan moaned as all the pores on his body automatically expanded to absorb the fire and earth elements in the air.
The fire and earth elements around him also eagerly rushed into Du Fan’s body.
It should be noted that these elements living underground were extremely pure. Moreover, there was a domain power that originated from the Magic Blood Mud. Although it was very thin, it had a significant effect on Du Fan.
At that moment, a thumb-sized red stone flew out of Du Fan’s storage ring and headed toward the interior of the cave.
“What’s going on?” Du Fan watched the flying stone in surprise and rushed after it.
This stone was no ordinary stone. It was the one produced from the body of the Flame Demon after Du Fan had slain it. The fire and earth elements contained within these stones were extremely pure. Moreover, without any external control, they could enter and exit the storage ring. If he told others about this, they would probably think he was a liar.
Following the flying stone, Du Fan arrived at the entrance of a cave. Looking inside, there was nothing but a stone platform.
The concentration of fire and earth elements in the cave was several times higher than when he first entered the underground world. Not only that, but the fire elements on the stone platform were likely over a hundred times stronger than those outside.
Such intense elemental energy might not be useful to Du Fan right now, but if it could be brought outside, it would be an excellent training ground. Anyone practicing here with the same elements would gain benefits beyond imagination.
Du Fan stepped into the cave one by one, looking at the stone platform. The Flame Demon Stone lay quietly on it, with its pure energy forming visible threads like hair strands that flowed toward the platform.
Feeling the strangeness of the Flame Demon Stone, Du Fan stepped closer to the platform. The fire energy around him instantly surged toward him like a barrage.

“Hmph.” Du Fan snorted coldly, waving his hand to create a barrier. The moment the fire elements rushed toward the barrier, they were scattered instantly.
“This… is a heart!?” Du Fan stared in astonishment at the object emitting red light, slowly rising above the stone platform, hardly believing his eyes.
Indeed, it was a heart—formed from the purest fire elements. Moreover, it had two layers: the front layer contained the purest red fire energy, while the back layer held the purest green earth energy. A faint layer of interchanging yellow and green flames covered the entire heart.
Perhaps sensing the appearance of this heart, several Flaming Demon Stones flew out of Du Fan’s ring one after another, heading straight for it at such speed that even Du Fan couldn’t catch them.
“Pfft!”
Along with the faint flames on the heart, all the Flaming Demon Stones were instantly refined into extremely pure thread-like energy, slowly wrapping around the heart like blood vessels. Then, the heart began to beat slowly.
“Could this be…?” Du Fan’s pupils contracted as he gazed in shock at the heart beating in mid-air before him.
If he wasn’t mistaken, this heart was the Flaming Demon Heart—the source of all the Flaming Demons’ energy. All the Flaming Demon Stones stored in his ring originally came from this heart.
No wonder they were drawn uncontrollably toward it. Realizing this, Du Fan’s eyes lit up.
After all, the Flaming Demon Heart was the origin of all its energy, containing vast amounts of fire and earth elements. If used to craft weapons, it would greatly increase the chances of success. Even if unsuccessful, the results would still be nearly perfect.
“Well then, you belong to me.” Du Fan smiled faintly at the Flaming Demon Heart in mid-air, unleashing his fierce energy toward it.
At that moment, flames erupted from the heart, resisting Du Fan’s energy. Not only that, but all the fire and earth elements in the cave also rushed at him violently.
“Quiet down!” Du Fan shouted, releasing his domain power. All the fire and earth elements immediately calmed down, except for the Flaming Demon Heart, which continued to resist.
Watching the heart continuously emit energy, a glint appeared in Du Fan’s eyes, filled with fervor.

The current Heart of the Flame Demon hadn’t transformed into a Flame Demon yet, but its energy was already formidable. Coupled with its ability to rival Du Fan’s energy, this alone piqued Du Fan’s great curiosity.
“Hmph! I don’t believe I can’t take you down!”
Du Fan snorted coldly and unleashed the power of his domain without reservation toward the nearby Heart of the Flame Demon. The energy it generated distorted the surrounding space significantly.
Seemingly sensing Du Fan’s energy, the Heart of the Flame Demon dared not move again, and its red and yellow flames also subsided instantly.
“That’s much better.” Feeling that the Heart of the Flame Demon had given up resisting, Du Fan smiled broadly. With a wave of his hand, the Heart of the Flame Demon entered his storage ring without any resistance.
As the Heart of the Flame Demon entered Du Fan’s storage ring, the fire elements in the cave thinned out considerably, no longer raging as before.
“This… is the Heart of the Flame Demon?” The Grand Elder exclaimed upon seeing the heart formed purely from energy in Du Fan’s hands.
Hearing the Grand Elder’s shout, all the elders stared at Du Fan with extremely strange expressions. After a while, they lowered their eyes to the Heart of the Flame Demon in his hands, their eyes filled with intense desire.
“Indeed, this is the Heart of the Flame Demon,” Du Fan said with a slight smile, then recounted his experiences underground to the six elders before him.
Hearing about his struggle against the Heart of the Flame Demon, everyone present clenched their fists in worry. After all, although the Heart of the Flame Demon lacked intelligence, the fire and earth elements it could control were beyond the power of ordinary strongmen to counter.
It wasn’t until Du Fan obtained the Heart of the Flame Demon that the six elders truly recognized his status as lord.
“Lord, I think we could take care of refining this Heart of the Flame Demon for you, to create a divine artifact for you,” the Grand Elder said, turning to Du Fan.
“There’s no rush for a divine artifact,” Du Fan replied with a smile. “My abilities aren’t sufficient yet. Even if I had one, I couldn’t fully utilize it. Besides, we still don’t have the fire seeds. It’s better to wait until everything is ready before considering that.”
“Lord!”
As soon as Du Fan finished speaking, the six elders and the leader knelt before him simultaneously, their eyes fixed on the Heart of the Flame Demon.

“Please, Lord, give us a chance to craft a divine artifact,” the seven dwarves in Du Fan’s presence shouted at the same time. At that moment, upon hearing their words, thousands of dwarves put down their work and knelt down as well.
“Are you… threatening me?” Du Fan looked at the seven dwarves before him, sighed inwardly in exasperation, and helped them up one by one before continuing, “It’s not that I’m stingy about the Heart of the Flame Demon. I just prefer to have everything ready before proceeding.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Du Fan took out the Magma-Extending Blood Mud from his storage ring and handed it to the eldest dwarf, asking slowly, “How many days will it take to complete it?”
“Three days,” replied the eldest dwarf. Seeing the Blood Mud in Du Fan’s hand and sensing its pure yang energy, his eyes burned even brighter. The energy contained in the Heart of the Flame Demon was already extremely fierce, and with this pure yang Blood Mud, if he couldn’t create a top-tier fire vessel in three days, it would be better for him to die.
Seeing the eldest dwarf’s expression, Du Fan smiled cheerfully before looking into his eyes and saying calmly, “Very well, I’ll give you three days. After three days, I want to see the fire vessel. If it can truly hold the underground flame seeds, then you may use this Heart of the Flame Demon to craft it.”
“As you command!” The eldest dwarf bowed his head and slowly led the others away. All the dwarves quickly returned to their workstations and began working tirelessly.
“Hehe,” Du Fan chuckled softly as he watched the backs of the elders, murmuring to himself, “Don’t doubt those you trust, and trust those you doubt not. Elders, don’t disappoint me.”