"Go ahead, push it open." Zhiwei encouraged softly.
Jin’er nodded vigorously.
She no longer hesitated and stepped closer to the bronze gate.
The blue flame spiraled out from her dantian. Although the hue seemed weak, it carried an overwhelming dominance over all fire.
Crack—crack—
The heavy, ancient sound of grinding suddenly emerged.
This bronze gate, which even middle to late period Foundation Establishment cultivators found insurmountable, slowly opened under the blue glow.
"Rumble!!!"
As the gate fully opened, an intimidating heatwave surged forth as if to melt the heavens and earth!
But just before this fiery force could spread, the blue divine fire around Jin’er formed a natural barrier.
The earth fire struck the barrier and remarkably calmed down, turning into pure fire element spiritual light.
As the three of them saw the scene behind the door, they all gasped.
Before their eyes lay an underground abyss entirely constructed of flames!
Beneath the abyss was a roaring, dark red sea of lava.
Numerous thick pillars of fire shot into the sky.
After being sealed for a millennium, the earth veins fire had grown extremely dense here, with bits of red fire element crystals forming in the air, like a dazzling meteor shower of fire.
"Roar!!!"
Sensing the presence of the living, the fiery wrath accumulated for millennia in the abyss was provoked, transforming into a ferocious fire serpent tens of feet high, roaring and rushing toward the three girls by the gate!
"Ah! There’s a big worm in the fire!"
Qing Jun was startled and instinctively clenched her small fist.
This big worm was definitely not just at the Foundation Establishment Stage!
Damn it...
She hadn’t even realized her dream yet; was she to perish here?
"Senior sister, don’t be afraid."
Jin’er raised her small hand. The blue flame swirling around her gathered in her palm and floated out.
"Swish—"
The fire serpent rolled over and retreated to both sides.
In the sea of flames, a wide and smooth black rock path emerged, leading straight to the heart of the sea of fire.
On both sides of the path, dark red flames tens of feet high soared.
Occasionally, exotic beasts formed by fire spirits peeked out from the fire walls but hesitated, letting out hissing cries without advancing.
"Wow—"
Qing Jun’s eyes widened, reflecting the astonishing scene of the parted sea of fire. She couldn’t help but clap her hands in excitement,
"Jin’er is so awesome! From now on, we can walk sideways! The great task of challenging our master will have Jin’er as the vanguard!"
The little white fox on her shoulder was also watching, gulping.
This was the third-tier earth veins fire!
Yet in front of this little girl, it acted as tame as a grandson!
Could this divine fire possibly be fourth-tier?
Where did that wicked human Chen Ye find these monstrous disciples?!
"Ah... Senior sister, what are you talking about... what vanguard? Jin’er doesn’t want to challenge Master."
Jin’er’s little face turned red. She looked back at her senior sister and Qing Jun, then proceeded down the path the earth fire had made for her, heading towards the center of the sea of fire.
Zhiwei and Qing Jun followed closely behind.
Once they stepped into the path, the heat intense enough to roast a person vanished. Instead, they were enveloped in a warmth similar to soaking in a hot spring, courtesy of the fire element spiritual qi.
At the end of the path.
In the heart of the sea of fire, the earth veins fire had coalesced into a blooming red lotus.
Suspended silently in the lotus’s core was an ancient jade scroll, brilliantly radiant, with a flowing scarlet hue!
"No, it’s not a jade scroll. To be precise, it’s a fire scroll... No wonder it remained intact within the thousand-year earth fire; it was, in fact, a part of the earth fire."
Zhiwei concentrated and realized that the jade scroll, forged from flames, was essentially a manifestation of fire, impervious to being burned.
"Chirp chirp..."
The little white fox mused.
This didn’t seem to be the creation of the Human Race.
Legends spoke of extraordinary treasures born in harmony with the grand way, often found in precarious places.
Among these, "cultivation techniques" were included.
It’s said the most ancient cultivation techniques of the Human Race originated from the heavens and earth.
No... to be more precise, it wasn’t the cultivation technique but a projection of the law!
...
Luoxiao Grotto Heaven, on the edge of the withered stone forest.
"Crack."
A hand wrapped in black iron armor emotionlessly crushed a low-tier demon rat trying to flee.
The owner of this hand was a remarkably tall young man.
He had no whites in his eyes, the sockets entirely black as if insects scurried within.
Behind him stood a boy, looking down at some black ashes beneath his feet:
"Reduced to ashes... not even leaving a bone, and even their life-bound corpse puppets were incinerated into ash. Tsk, late Foundation Establishment? How did it deceive the array? No, this setup was based on the remnant array of the Songyang Sect, impossible to elude... was it some kind of overextending technique?"
Yang Qiu crouched down, rubbing some of the blackened ash between his fingers.
An overbearing and pure fire element spiritual power surged through his fingertips, causing him to retract his hand reflexively, his fingertips now scorched black.
"Heh... Luckily, I had these four test it first. Had I encountered this fire unwittingly, I might have suffered in silence."
Yang Qiu chuckled lightly.
A technique of such power could not be easily wielded.
He lifted his gaze, scanning the chaotic battle traces around, particularly those sword marks,
finally resting his eyes on a part of the mountain wall that had been smashed through by sheer force.
"A punch driven his corpse puppet into the mountain... Such physical strength, at least a middle period body cultivator. Ha, did Zhong Yue know or was he purposely hiding it?"
A middle period body cultivator, their strength was remarkable.