They walked quietly for about fifteen minutes before stopping. “This is the core,” Bu Yang announced.
Lu Yaoyao looked ahead. They stood before a large magma crater, so massive it made their group tiny in comparison. Within the crater, the blazing magma swirled and sometimes expelled fiery tongues, casting red flames on the surrounding walls, giving the impression that the entire place was engulfed in flames.
Wen Zixing, who stayed far back, suddenly felt dizzy at the sight. Forgive his low tolerance; It appeared as if the scene was straight out of hellfire, sending chills down the spine, with sinners rolling and wailing in the magma.
The flames were reflected in Wen Zixing’s eyes, seeming like two clusters of fire burning within them. Though he should have felt scared, his feet moved forward unconsciously.
No one noticed Wen Zixing’s strange behavior. Lu Yaoyao was carefully observing the walls and then asked in confusion, “I think I see flowers on the walls?” Could it be a mirage? How could any plant survive near such a massive magma crater?
Bu Yang confirmed, “Those are Hehe Spark Blossom.”
Speaking of Hehe Spark Blossoms reminded Lu Yaoyao’s group of the Spark Blossom Wine, which tasted better than sweet spring water. Not only was the wine delicious, but it also had an intoxicating effect without causing a hangover, all while being beneficial for the body and cultivation. They were surprised to find that Hehe Spark Blossoms grew on the cliff wall next to a volcanic crater.
“Where are they? I don’t see any,” Du Qianshan said, squinting his eyes and staring hard, unable to spot any flowers on the cliff.
“I see them,” Chao Muxue pointed ahead. “There, a big cluster of flowers!”
“Where?” Du Qianshan followed the direction pointed by Chao Muxue, but still couldn’t see anything. He rubbed his eyes, suspecting they had gone bad.
“It’s normal if you can’t see them.” Lu Yaoyao said, “The flowers blend in perfectly with the color of the cliff, so it is hard to tell them apart.”
She pondered the idea of picking some Hehe Spark Blossoms herself, then learned how to brew the wine and gave it to her Father and Daddy. They definitely would enjoy this wine—anyone would, since they could indulge as much as they want without worrying about nasty hangovers or other negative side effects. Truly a delight for drinkers!
“Excuse me…” Lu Yaoyao began to speak but suddenly noticed Wen Zixing, who had been staying back, walking forward, passing her, and continuing onward. She instinctively reached out and pulled him back.
“Xingxing, why are you going so far forward? You’re about to fall…” As she looked up, she saw that Wen Zixing’s eyes were vacant, staring blankly ahead.
“Xingxing, what’s wrong with you?!”
The rest had also noticed Wen Zixing’s odd behavior. Yan Zihui and the others quickly held him down, retreating to the cave entrance. “Zixing!”
“Wen Zixing?!”
Bu Yang’s face changed dramatically, feeling a surge of panic. What was happening? He and his fellow disciples had gone in and out countless times without ever encountering such a situation.
“How can this be?” It looked like Senior Brother Wen had fallen into an illusion and was bewitched!
“Let’s go!” Yan Zihui decisively ordered, and they quickly pulled Wen Zixing back to the cave entrance and up to the mountaintop.
Wen Zixing remained in a trance-like state.
“Xingxing!” Lu Yaoyao stomped her foot anxiously. She had been careless! Dangers could be lurking even in seemingly safe environments, just like the encounter in the Cold Mountain Forest. They thought it was safe since the place was so close to the Guiyuan Sect’s territory, with many novice disciples like them having gone in and out without ever encountering life-threatening danger. Yet, the first time they visited the area, they encountered a dangerous devil cultivator and almost lost their lives.
Here, they had also been lulled by the same sense of security—the Tianyan Sect had been patrolling around the clock for more than two months, and the thing lurking in the core had remained dormant, but as soon as they arrived, Xingxing got caught! If she hadn’t pulled him back, he would have jumped into the magma!
Lu Yaoyao used her spiritual aura to probe Wen Zixing’s body and found no abnormalities. Worried about his trance-like state, she quickly fed him some pills, while Yan Zihui continued to channel aura into him.
The three disciples of Tianyan Sect looked pale and hurried to explain, “We didn’t deliberately hide anything. We really didn’t know the core could confuse the mind. We’ve never encountered this situation before…”
“We’ve been coming in and out of the core countless times for a thousand years, and nothing like this has ever happened. Otherwise, our sect would have been more strict in allowing entry…”
“Please believe us…”
Bu Yang was sweating profusely with anxiety. If the Guiyuan Sect disciples misunderstood that they had intentionally concealed information, leading to Senior Brother Wen’s demise, their sect would have completely offended the Guiyuan Sect. Being just a small sect, offending the number one sect would leave them with no good outcome!
They truly didn’t know that the core could bewilder the mind!
But in the face of this situation, any excuse seemed feeble, so they kept repeating, “We really didn’t know…”
Yan Zihui paid no attention to the anxious Tianyan Sect disciples; he was focused on finding ways to wake Wen Zixing. Finally, with their efforts, Wen Zixing slowly regained consciousness. He blinked in confusion, looking around blankly as his vacant eyes slowly returned focus, gazing at the small waving hands in front of him.
“Xingxing, wake up! Are you awake yet?”
“Zixing, you wake up!”
“Yaoyao?” Wen Zixing’s voice was hoarse.
“Xingxing! You’re finally awake?!” Lu Yaoyao was on the verge of tears, her voice trembling with emotion. “You scared us to death!”
“What… what happened to me?” Wen Zixing looked around at his friends, who were crouched around him with serious expressions, looking both relieved and excited.
Based on how they reacted, he could have believed he had narrowly escaped the grip of death. No, wait a minute—weren’t they at the core just now? How did they get back outside? What happened?
Wen Zixing’s blank mind began to process, and whatever he recalled made his face turn pale. He couldn’t speak for a moment.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” Chao Muxue said, holding one of Wen Zixing’s hands, tears glistening in her eyes. Seeing him finally regain his senses, she couldn’t help but smile in relief, looking very beautiful. “Really, really glad.”
“Xingxing, how did you suddenly get bewitched? What exactly happened?” Lu Yaoyao asked with concern. Wen Zixing had been walking behind her, but he moved to the back when he felt uncomfortable with the view of the magma pool. While they were closer to the crater, they hadn’t noticed anything unusual.
Bu Yang, while looking relieved, remained cautious as he explained again: “Senior Brother Wen, we truly didn’t know the core could confuse minds. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have been unprepared.”
There was a lingering fear in Bu Yang’s voice. Numerous elite disciples from their sect had ventured in and out countless times, collecting Hehe Spark Blossoms, which grew abundantly at the perimeter of the core. They would come to harvest the flowers whenever they matured, and nothing like this had ever happened before. Following the initial disturbances, even the sect leader and elders had come to investigate, and yet nothing of the sort had happened. Or rather, if the ruling members of the sect had been bewitched like Senior Brother Wen, their Tianyan Sect would have been destroyed by now!
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