Fire-element energy from the magma kept pouring into Evan Cole’s body. Anyone else who fell in here would’ve been incinerated in seconds, nothing left but ash. But Evan was different—his fire-element affinity was actually higher than the magma’s itself.
The fire element in this magma was just earth-fire, a far cry from true Heavenfire. That’s the only reason Evan survived—and not just survived, but kept having his body tempered and strengthened by the flames.
Right now, it was like Evan was being refined inside a pill cauldron—every second in the lava made his defenses tougher. If this were any normal day, he’d never have dreamed of such a freakish opportunity, but at this moment, he couldn’t help but enjoy the rare blessing.
Time crawled by. Deep in Evan’s dantian, that drop of God’s Blood was working miracles. The first time it stirred was back at Skyflight Terrace, when he sensed the sealed corpse of an ancient fiend. Now, it was acting purely on instinct to protect its master.
The divine power from God’s Blood flooded Evan’s body, and with his injuries as a catalyst, he actually broke through—miraculously advancing to Starforge Body, Eighth Layer! If Evan were awake right now, he’d be so stunned he wouldn’t know what to say.
But he was completely out cold, unable to feel any pain—instead, he just kept breaking through, right there in the earth-fire magma. If this wasn’t a true blessing in disguise, what was?
Up above, the Heavenly God Old Ancestor and the other Old Ancestor—whose physical body had been destroyed—were waiting anxiously. “Why don’t you go down and check if that brat’s finally dead? Just sitting here isn’t getting us anywhere,” grumbled the bodyless Old Ancestor.
“Guess I have no choice. But I’m pretty sure he’s toast. My full-power strike isn’t something anyone can survive—even you, at your peak, would’ve been cut down. Now that I’ve broken through to the Heavenly God Realm, my strength is more than ten times what it used to be. You’ll see soon enough—it’s insane,” boasted the Heavenly God Old Ancestor.
With a flash, he wrapped himself in an energy barrier and dove into the magma. Lava and fire everywhere, and his divine sense couldn’t spread through the earth-fire—he had to search slowly. It didn’t take long before he saw something that left him utterly speechless.
Evan Cole was lying there in the earth-fire, totally unharmed, eyes closed, all his wounds healed. Even scarier, a faint golden light shimmered around him, radiating a terrifying aura that made the Heavenly God Old Ancestor’s skin crawl.
Even with his current Heavenly God Realm power, he couldn’t resist the force at all. The shock hit him hard—was this kid really alive? Was the earth-fire in the magma actually healing his wounds?
Once that thought clicked, the Heavenly God Old Ancestor’s heart turned ruthless. If this brat really managed to recover, it’d be a disaster. Surviving something like this was unheard of—he had to make sure Evan was finished, no matter what.
He whipped out his longsword and swung it with all his might at Evan Cole. He thought for sure this strike would finish the job, but the instant the devastating sword-qi touched the golden light around Evan’s body, a monstrous backlash erupted—he was blasted straight out of the magma and flung into the sky.
Seeing the Heavenly God Old Ancestor come flying back, the bodyless Old Ancestor rushed up. “Well? Is he dead or not?” he demanded.
“Dead? That kid’s alive and kicking—he’s just using the earth-fire to heal up! My last strike didn’t kill him at all. Instead, that golden light around him sent me flying! The force was unreal,” the Heavenly God Old Ancestor spat.
The bodyless Old Ancestor shuddered. “How is this even possible? What kind of freak survives something like that? This is just insane!”
“He’s always been insane! With just late-stage Nether Emperor strength, he destroyed your physical body. Would you ever have believed someone like that could exist? This kid’s no ordinary cultivator. When he climbs out of that magma, we’re in for a brutal fight. We need to stay sharp.”
“Especially now that you’re stuck in Nether Core state. You really ought to bail while you still can—might be your only shot at surviving,” warned the Heavenly God Old Ancestor.
“Don’t underestimate me! Sure, I’m just a Nether Core now, but nobody can match my evasion speed. You know that better than anyone!” the bodyless Old Ancestor shot back.
“Suit yourself. Just don’t come crying to me later. We can’t touch him while he’s in the magma—the golden light’s defense is way too strong. All we can do now is wait for him to climb out and fight him head-on!” the Heavenly God Old Ancestor said with a bitter sigh.
The two Old Ancestors hovered in the air, waiting for Evan Cole to show himself. Down below, black impurities started oozing from Evan’s body—a sure sign that Starforge Body, Eighth Layer was about to break through.
Two days later, Evan’s eyes snapped open, every inch of him humming with power he’d never felt before. The fact that he was lying in earth-fire magma was a shock, but when he checked his wounds, he found he was completely healed. Even crazier—his cultivation had silently broken through to late-stage Immortal Emperor.
He couldn’t make sense of any of it, but a breakthrough was a gift from the heavens. He had no idea he’d hit Starforge Body, Eighth Layer—he just knew he was way stronger than before.
With a thought, Evan shot out of the magma and into the sky. Spotting the two Old Ancestors still lurking above, he was genuinely surprised, then broke into a cocky grin.
“Well, well! Didn’t expect to see you two old fossils still hanging around. Guess what? Today’s the day you die!”
“Kid, you’re tough, I’ll give you that. But your luck runs out here. Time to show you what real Heavenly God Realm power looks like!” the Heavenly God Old Ancestor roared.
A crushing pressure slammed down on Evan—this was the Heavenly God Old Ancestor’s spatial domain. The force was intense, but this time, Evan realized he could actually withstand it.
He knew this guy’s strength was leagues above the bodyless Old Ancestor’s, so the pressure should’ve been overwhelming. But somehow, Evan could handle it, which left him scratching his head.
Still, that kind of pressure was no fun. Evan focused, reaching out to the elemental particles inside the spatial domain. Within a few breaths, he resonated with one element, and the pressure eased up a ton.
Then he hit a second, then a third element—each time, the pressure faded. Evan laughed. “What’s wrong, old man? Looks like your spatial domain is useless now. I can’t feel a thing! Why not fight me with martial skills instead?”
Before the words even finished, Evan blurred into a streak of motion, lunging straight at the nearby Nether Core—attack mode, full throttle.