And all the deaths would be high-level cultivators who dared to snatch the treasure – people at the Golden Core or Nascent Soul level, and even Ji Rong, who had completed his Nascent Soul stage.

When he obtained the power within the extreme of the Eastern Sea, enough to protect himself during the upheaval, all these people would die here. Then they would transform into “time,” becoming a stronger power that would continue to merge with his lifespan.

Li Cangyan felt a chilling sensation all over his body. His lips trembled, wanting to stop, but countless voices in his mind told him that his lifespan was noble and should be like this.

Ji Rong calmly said, “Stop.”

Then Li Cangyan looked at the already cracked ancient stone, knowing that it was already too late.

The black giant snake’s tail swept heavily, emitting a fierce hissing sound.

Wen Yu wanted to kill this foolish human.

By forcibly activating the key and prying open the ancient stone, Li Cangyan was able to open the extreme of the Eastern Sea. However, at the same time, the power that had been submerged in the sea for millennia would also be unleashed.

The deep sea path, along with the fractured ancient stone, ignited a raging fire.

Once the fire erupted, they would destroy the deep sea.

The fire had only erupted once before Wen Yu was born, and he had only heard his mother snake talk about it but had never seen it. It was said that his snake grandparents had died in the fire.

Wen Yu was the god of the deep sea, hidden and powerful enough to dominate this simple realm. However, he didn’t possess the power to contend with the surging fire.

The black giant snake’s tail viciously attacked Li Cangyan, but the vibrations in the sea grew more intense.

The ancient artifact in the Lost Sea had never encountered such high water temperatures before, causing them to stir restlessly. However, their enormous size intensified the shaking of the crust.

The flames had already emerged.

For the first time, Wen Yu felt fear. He had hardly interacted with outsiders and thought that everyone was as kind as little pearls, but he was wrong.

In the face of disaster, a snake could do very little. All he could do was swing his proud and magnificent snake tail, gathering all his strength to shatter the underwater rocks and try to block the expanding mouth of the burning fire in the Lost Sea.

More and more people realized that something was wrong.

But beneath the deep sea, they couldn’t escape.

“Sword… Sword Saint.”

“What if the seabed shakes? We’ll be burned to death here too.”

Li Cangyan had already gone against the current and reached the ancient stone, with Su Yilin clinging tightly to him. Li Cangyan swallowed hard and said, “Do not fear, for the sake of demon extermination, our righteous path must obtain that divine power.”

Finally, everyone became aware that something was wrong. Li Cangyan could escape with the divine power, but they couldn’t.

Demons deserved to be killed for their sins, but they couldn’t sacrifice themselves just to exterminate demons.

Soon, a dark red scar appeared in the depths of the Lost Sea, then began to flow continuously, erupting.

Everyone would be burned to death.

The homes of all the sea creatures would become ruins.

But at that moment…

A blue-green flame surged out from behind the ancient stone.

Li Cangyan, who was about to pass through, had almost no chance to cushion the impact and was blasted thousands of meters away.

A ghostly extreme freezing aura pervaded, and the blue-green flames swept like wildfire beneath the ground, instantly lowering the scorching temperature of the fire.

Though it was clearly a burning flame, it was incredibly cold.

Flames without warmth, with a blue-green flowing light.

“That is…?”

Everyone witnessed the blue-green ice flame violently suppressing the surging fire, but no one dared to say it.

But it really was…

Someone almost kneeled down.

That creature, the one they had just discussed killing, had actually saved them.

The ice flame of the ancient demon was enough to calm the fiery ground and instantly freeze the seabed for thousands of miles.

In the surging dark currents, Chong Yan withdrew his hand expressionlessly and held the unconscious girl tightly in his arms.

Chong Yan didn’t want to save those people.

It was just that Yao Yao was here.

She couldn’t stand the heat.

That was all.

He only cared about her.

Chong Yan glanced at the Great Black Snake and Ji Rong from a distance.

Then, carrying Yao Yao, he turned and left the deep sea.

The Great Black Snake, which was now covered in soot and didn’t look as beautiful, looked up and bid farewell.

The ancient ice flame violently suppressed the fire that was about to destroy the seabed, and the Great Black Snake’s home remained intact.

And Wen Yu seemed to finally understand why the little pearl chose that “Chong Yan.”

He watched as their figure disappeared, knowing that, no matter what, Chong Yan had saved his home.

The underwater scene was chaotic, but none of the ancient artifact had died, and the water temperature gradually decreased.

Even the speed of the currents seemed to slow down, becoming gentle.

The large black snake shook its charred tail and looked to the left, seeing the person who pried open the ancient stone had been blasted to pieces. Looking to the right, it saw that the others were also unable to make a difference. So, out of kindness, it coiled up with little Pearl’s “father” (Ji Rong, the black snake just thought that he was Yao Yao’s Father because they have facial similarity) and swam away together.

Indeed, Pearl’s father had passed out due to the continuously heated and stirred seawater.

As the large black snake swam, it wondered if it would be possible for little Pearl to stay in the Eastern Sea in the future.

It would probably be difficult.

Outside, little Pearl had a father and strong friends.

The large black snake twisted its body but didn’t mind.

It could go out and have some fun.

The underwater earthquake stirred up the entire Eastern Sea domain.

News would quickly spread throughout Spirit Continent and reach the high halls of the capital.

However, Chong Yan didn’t care about any of that.

Carrying Yao Yao in his mouth, he arrived at a nearby shore. Her blood was hot and would boil when heated, which was a problem.

Chong Yan wanted to cool her down with his cold flames, but while he could suppress his own fire, he didn’t dare release sparks to roast her.

She was a fragile little thing, and he was afraid of accidentally hurting her.

Feeling helpless for a moment, Chong Yan finally did what he did the first time she told him she wanted to plant roses when her blood was hot. He let her lean against his chest, her forehead against the cold flame mark.

She nuzzled against him drowsily.

After an unknown amount of time, the sunset by the seaside gradually faded away, and Yao Yao’s high fever finally subsided.

She blinked in confusion, took a few seconds to remember where she was, and then suddenly called out, “Brother.”

Chong Yan supported her. “He’s fine.”

Yao Yao remembered again, “Little Black Snake.”

Chong Yan pursed his lips. “He’s fine too.”

Yao Yao knew Chong Yan wouldn’t lie, so she breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back against his chest.

The seaside was filled with smoke and colorful clouds, as if molten gold.

Yao Yao pondered how to deal with the huge hourglass. If she were to crush it directly, time and spiritual power would be released, and Little Black Snake would age ten times faster. He loved looking beautiful, so he wouldn’t cry, right?

Meanwhile, Chong Yan lowered his head to look at her.

His amber eyes were drooping, and his eyelashes were long.

Yao Yao lifted her head and saw his quiet yet slightly confused pupils.

He pursed his lips. “Still, nothing.”

Amidst the turmoil of the underwater world, there was still no heart.

It remained incomplete.

Yao Yao blinked.

When she was hot just now, she felt her forehead against Chong Yan’s chest. Now, she reached out her little hand and softly pressed it there.

At the extreme of the East Sea, her cultivation speed had increased, and her spiritual flow seemed to have become stronger. So, she carefully released a shallow golden light, gently melting into his chest where his heart should be.

Chong Yan stiffened but resisted the urge to dodge, allowing her warm and gentle spiritual flow to enter.

There was a piece of ancient ice.

It froze the remaining heart of a deity.

Let her fill it up bit by bit, Yao Yao thought.

Her warm spiritual flow enveloped his chest, melting it warmly. Finally, at the moment when the sunset touched the sea surface, she felt that the ice had slightly melted, creating a crack.

Chong Yan’s eyelashes trembled.

When he raised his eyes again, he saw her eyes shining with a brilliant light, smiling.

“Now you have a heart, Chong Yan.”

In that instant, genuine emotions surged in the heart of the ancient demon.

Chong Yan hurriedly covered it.

But he couldn’t.

This was the warmth she gave to him.