Yan Zihui, unable to shake his worry, finally said, “I’ll go down and take a look.”
“Senior Brother Zihui!” Wen Zixing and the others shouted in alarm. They couldn’t let him take such a risk!
“Martial Nephew, think carefully,” Bu Biekuang also advised.
However, Yan Zihui had made up his mind, and no one could dissuade him. Having no other choice, Wen Zixing, Chao Muxue, and Du Qianshan could only repeatedly warn him to come back immediately if anything felt wrong. They were also very worried about Lu Yaoyao, but unfortunately, there was nothing they could do; if they were stronger, they would have followed her from the beginning.
Under their concerned gazes, Yan Zihui leaped into the magma crater.
“I’m so anxious.” Wen Zixing tightly held Du Qianshan’s hand.
Du Qianshan also nodded, looking at the crater with a burning desire to jump in as well, but knowing his own strength, he had to regretfully abandon the idea.
With Lu Yaoyao and Yan Zihui down in the magma, the remaining three were not in the mood for chatting. Eyes glued on the crater, they anxiously waited for the two to return. Less than the time it takes to burn half a stick of incense later, a burning figure suddenly leaped out of the magma, landing on a rock protruding from the mountainside. With a few more jumps, the figure ascended, still engulfed in blazing flames, carrying the smell of scorched fabric that wafted through the air.
“Senior Brother Zihui!” Wen Zixing and the others shouted as they rushed over without hesitation, intent on putting out the fire.
“Stay back!”
“Senior Brother…”
After a chaotic struggle, the flames on Yan Zihui’s body were finally extinguished, but his exposed skin was covered in burn marks.
Chao Muxue’s eyes immediately welled up with tears. “Senior Brother Zihui, does it hurt a lot?”
Despite his disheveled appearance, Yan Zihui showed no sign of pain as he reassured her, “It’s nothing, just some surface wounds.” He quickly swallowed two pills.
“Martial Nephew!” Bu Biekuang approached, holding a bottle of ointment in his hand. “This is a special salve for treating burns. It’s very effective; you should try it.”
“Thank you, Sect Leader Bu.” Yan Zihui didn’t refuse. His hair was half-scorched, his eyebrows were gone, and his clothes were half-destroyed. His exposed neck, shoulders, and hands were covered in burns. The ointment that Bu Biekuang provided was perfect for treating these injuries, and Chao Muxue, with tear-filled eyes, carefully applied it to Yan Zihui’s burns.
Wen Zixing winced at the sight—Ouch, it must have been very painful!
“Don’t worry, these external wounds will heal quickly,” Yan Zihui assured them. After taking the two pills, the burns on his exposed skin had already begun to heal slowly.
Once Yan Zihui managed to soothe his three junior brothers and sister, who were on the brink of tears, he began to recount his experience. “I was too careless…” After descending into the magma, he dived deeper and deeper. Without the protection of the Ruyi Brocade, he had to rely on various defensive artifacts to shield his body, but even the best artifacts couldn’t last long when surrounded by this magma.
He thought he could hold out for longer, but the deeper he went, the faster his artifacts and talismans were consumed. He was so preoccupied with protecting himself that he didn’t have the capacity to search for any trace of Lu Yaoyao.
Before he knew it, many of his most treasured artifacts had been destroyed in the magma. Realizing that if he continued, he would run out of protection and be unable to return, Yan Zihui made the decision to turn back. Just as he was about to escape, his last artifact was consumed by the magma. Thinking he was almost out, he didn’t want to waste another artifact, but in that brief moment, he was burned. Even his Golden Core-tempered body had no resistance against the magma.
The fire poison here was indeed formidable.
Yan Zihui now regretted it—if he had been the one who dived in instead of Yaoyao, he might have spared them all this worry.
Thankfully, although his injuries looked severe, they were only surface burns caused in a split second. With the help of pills and ointment, the burned areas quickly scabbed over and began to peel away. Wen Zixing and the others watched in amazement as the tender pink skin emerged from beneath, feeling their hearts ache even as Yan Zihui remained calm.
Seeing that even Yan Zihui had no choice but to retreat, the remaining three came to the realization that they had no chance of surviving if they attempted the same thing—they had lower cultivation than Yan Zihui and would likely never make it back up. With no other options, they could only wait. But sitting idly by made them anxious, and every minute felt like an eternity.
Unable to sit still, Wen Zixing began pacing briskly. Suddenly, he caught sight of the Hehe Spark Blossom on the cavern walls, and his eyes lit up with excitement. “Let’s pick those flowers! Yaoyao will definitely want them!”
Chao Muxue nodded in agreement. “Yes, Yaoyao would be really happy.”
Having something to do was certainly better than standing around anxiously. Seeing his junior brothers and sister suddenly energized, Yan Zihui smiled and said, “Alright, let’s pick them.”
However, they weren’t the only ones there; the members of the Tianyan Sect were also present. It wouldn’t be right to keep the flowers all to themselves.
Bu Biekuang noticed Yan Zihui’s gaze and laughed heartily. “We’ve lived here for generations, so we can easily wait for the next bloom. To be honest, the spark blossom wine we brew in our sect is mostly made from the flowers we harvest here around the core.”
The Hehe Spark Blossom requires very specific conditions to grow, but once they find a suitable spot, they would grow well on their own and could be harvested every ten or twenty years. The longer these flowers grow, the better the wine they produce, so the Tianyan Sect did not harvest all the flowers as soon as they mature. The flowers on the cavern walls were left for this reason.
Wait, does Sect Leader Bu mean that these flowers belong to the Tianyan Sect? If so, how could they accept them? Wen Zixing and the others exchanged awkward glances.
Bu Biekuang assured them that he was happy to gift the flowers. Seeing that Yan Zihui and his group were interested, he didn’t hesitate to be generous with a few flowers and even kindly instructed his disciple, “Yang’er, go help them with the harvest.”
“Yes, Master,” Bu Yang responded respectfully. He then lightly stepped off, gliding like a swift swallow to the other side, where he steadily landed on the wall and expertly began harvesting the flowers.
Seeing this, Yan Zihui also flew over to help. With the two of them working together, they quickly harvested all the Hehe Spark Blossom in the vicinity.
“Keep these flowers in this box, and they can be preserved for a long time.” Bu Yang instructed.
Yan Zihui readily accepted the box, and his smile became more genuine. “Thank you.”
“Since we can’t do anything at the moment, why don’t we wait outside?” Bu Biekuang suggested, “It’s not good to stay too long here.” Although the Tianyan Sect members were used to dealing with the core and were naturally resistant to its effects, the Guiyuan group had just arrived and wouldn’t be accustomed to the environment. Staying too long at this extreme temperature could harm their bodies, and they might even get afflicted by the fire poison.
Enduring this temperature for too long, even with the aid of fire-avoidance pearls, did indeed make Yan Zihui’s group uncomfortable, but it was still within the tolerance range. “We appreciate Sect Leader Bu’s concern, but our junior sister might come out soon, so we’ll wait a bit longer,” Yan Zihui politely declined.
The two elders also tried to persuade them, but seeing that Yan Zihui and the others were determined to stay, they didn’t push further.
For a moment, no one spoke. Silence engulfed until suddenly, the crater started to churn violently, resembling boiling water. Amid the roiling, countless white bones emerged, rising and falling in the magma, causing the entire mountain to tremble.
Yan Zihui and his group quickly became alert.
Recognizing the familiar tremor, Bu Biekuang confirmed, “It’s that thing!”
Chao Muxue exclaimed, “What is that?!”
Everyone looked over to see countless bones floating in the crater, clearly belonging to massive beasts, their sheer number enough to send shivers down their spines. These were the remains of creatures that had fallen into the core and were melted down by the burning lava, leaving only their bones.
Wen Zixing was deeply worried. Had Yaoyao encountered that thing?
The tremors lasted for a while before gradually subsiding. Before they could react, several powerful presences rapidly approached. Yan Zihui’s brow furrowed as he subtly positioned himself in front of his three juniors.
Bu Biekuang also sensed the approaching auras—clearly belonged to powerful cultivators—and said in a low voice, “Someone’s coming!”
Bu Yang and the others quickly readied themselves.
In no time, the presences stopped at the entrance of the cavern, seeming to realize that another group had already arrived before them. After a brief hesitation, they quickly entered.
“Well, isn’t this a coincidence, Fellow Daoists!” A man appearing in his middle age scanned the group, eventually settling his gaze on the disciples of the Guiyuan Sect.
Wen Zixing noticed that the newcomers were wearing uniforms trimmed in light green and silently muttered—It’s the people from the Wentian Sect! What are they doing here?
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