Southern Heaven's Volcanoes Formed a Sea, and the Grand Void Sky Whale Covered Half the Fire Clouds
The Primordial World Southern Heaven.
A continuous, crimson mountain range stretches across the land, with Ancient Volcanoes towering into the clouds, their craters constantly spewing out scorching heat. Large swaths of lava flow slowly along the valleys, turning the surrounding rock layers a fiery red. Thick, fiery Fire Clouds float in the sky year-round, and even the gale-force winds blowing across the mountain peaks carry a touch of heat.
Lu Yuan slowly swam into the outer edge of Southern Heaven. His golden eyes swept over the mountains and rivers below, and he immediately became interested. He had previously witnessed the ferocity of the Northern Land and the Profound Waters of the Eastern Sea. Now, seeing such a large area of volcanoes with his own eyes, he truly understood how significant the differences were between the innate Spiritual Qi of different regions in the prehistoric Primordial World.
Especially the crimson mountain range ahead, stretching for hundreds of thousands of miles, with interconnected underground fire veins, from time to time a crimson-gold pillar of fire would spew out from the mountain pass. Although the fire was far less intense Innate Lihuo that Feng Ling had previously displayed, the energy it contained was extremely abundant.
Lu Yuan took a deep breath, and a wisp of Fire Spirit Qi floating in the clouds was drawn into his mouth. The familiar power of transformation quickly circulated, and the originally warm fire energy gradually merged into his flesh and blood, making the slowly flowing Qi and Blood and qi in his body more active.
"This place is indeed quite nice; even the air is filled with a lot of fire energy." Lu Yuan felt satisfied for a moment, then slowed his breathing. He was still digesting the flesh and blood of the Chaos Demon God. Absorbing ordinary Fire Spirit Qi was easy enough, but if he continued to increase the amount, he would need to pay more attention to his body's ability to withstand it.
Feng Ling, who was flying ahead, turned around and laughed when she heard this, "Fellow Daoist, what you are feeling now is only the outer fire energy. When you really get to the depths of Southern Heaven, the Innate Lihuo is much denser. Even we Phoenix Clan have to be careful when we approach some Ancient Volcanoes. Don't think that the temperature here is suitable and just absorb it at will after you go in."
"Don't worry, I'm not planning on roasting myself." Lu Yuan replied casually, but his gaze was already on his back. As the temperature in the vicinity continued to rise, the moisture in the woods was slowly decreasing, and several rocks that were originally very damp were beginning to dry.
A white cub was drinking water by the stream when it suddenly noticed the air around it getting hotter and started panting with its tongue lolling out. The older white cub next to it was also clearly uneasy and led its cubs into the shade of a tree, its ears constantly perked up.
Lu Yuan did not continue to move deeper into the Fire Domain. He first reinforced the pale golden light barrier on his back, and then mobilized the remaining gentle Profound Water Essence Qi in his body, allowing a layer of cool water vapor to slowly spread along the surface of his scales. The temperature that had been gradually rising finally began to drop.
Several white beasts in the forest quickly noticed the change. The cubs that had been panting earlier approached the stream again, stretched out their front paws to test the water temperature, and only after confirming that there was nothing wrong did they lower their heads to continue drinking. Lu Yuan saw this scene through his Divine Sense and finally felt relieved.
Feng Ling noticed that Lu Yuan had stopped, so she waited ahead. When she realized that the forest on his back had returned to normal, she couldn't help but feel more admiration. Being able to control the regional temperature of such a large body so meticulously while traveling required quite a bit of control over one's Qi and Blood.
"How are you doing now? Are those little guys getting used to carrying you, fellow Daoist?" Feng Ling asked proactively, her tone much more casual than when they first met.
"The outer perimeter is alright, but if it gets even hotter later, I'll have to put in a lot more effort." Lu Yuan swung his giant fins again, his massive body slowly swimming through the clouds. Large swathes of fiery Fire Clouds were pushed apart by the air currents, spreading out to both sides along the dark golden scales that stretched for over 100,000 miles.
On a crimson mountain peak on the outskirts of Southern Heaven, several Phoenix Clan members on patrol were inspecting the nearby fire veins. The crimson-feathered spirit bird at the front suddenly looked up and noticed that the originally bright sky on the mountaintop was rapidly darkening, so it frowned.
"What's going on? Are the Fire Clouds so thick today?" The Crimson Feather Spirit Bird subconsciously released its Divine Sense, but as soon as it reached the sky, it froze on the spot, forgetting to fold its wings that had already spread out on its back.
Another member of the Phoenix Clan looked up in the direction of her gaze and saw a huge, dark golden scale slowly passing through the clouds. The surface of the scale was decorated with silver-white and gray-gold patterns, and a single scale was already astonishingly large.
"What is this thing!" the Phoenix Clan member exclaimed in shock, nearly losing his footing. He quickly flapped his wings to regain his balance, but the horror on his face was completely unconcealed.
They soon discovered that the dark golden mountains above them were still moving. As the clouds dispersed, a huge fin appeared from the sky. The edge of the fin swept across the thick Fire Clouds and pushed a gap in the thousands of miles of crimson clouds.
The crimson-feathered spirit bird's eyes widened, its voice trembling slightly. "That's a living divine beast? My god, how many tens of thousands of miles must that be!"
Several members of the Phoenix Clan released their Divine Senses, but they could only see a part of the enormous body within their field of vision. When they realized that the shadow in the sky belonged to the same giant beast, the originally orderly patrol team suddenly became restless.
A young Phoenix Clan even began to retreat, gripping the Red-Gold Feather Token she used to check the fire veins tightly in her hand. Her eyes constantly shifted between the enormous fins in the sky and the patrolling and Restraining Patterns on the mountain peaks, clearly ready to issue a warning at any moment.
Just then, a clear phoenix cry came from ahead, and Feng Ling wrapped in crimson-gold firelight descended swiftly. Seeing the nervous look on the faces of the young Phoenix Clans, it explained that it was leading the Grand Void Sky Whale Lu Yuan to the Southern Heaven Fire Region.
"Everyone, put away your Fire Vein Restraining Patterns. This Fellow Lu Yuan is a guest I invited. He just came from the Eastern Sea. Let's take him to a suitable place to stay on the outskirts first." After Feng Ling finished speaking, she reminded everyone to avoid the direction Lu Yuan was swimming in, so as not to get too close and be hit by the air waves.
Upon hearing the name Lu Yuan, the Crimson Feather Spirit Bird was slightly taken aback, and then her expression changed again. Recently, news of the Myriad Sha Abyss in the Northern Land had reached Southern Heaven, so she naturally knew that a giant beast had once fought against Shen Ni, but she never expected that the True Person would be so powerful.
"Lord Feng Ling Feather, are you referring to Senior Lu Yuan, who took the Demon God's flesh and blood from the Beast King?" The Crimson Feather Spirit Bird couldn't help but ask, its gaze involuntarily returning to the sky.
Feng Ling nodded in agreement, and several young Phoenix Clan gasped in unison. One of them even instinctively raised his wing to shield his forehead, looked up for a long time, and then whispered, "No wonder just passing through here pushed aside the Fire Clouds on our mountaintop."
Lu Yuan naturally heard the conversation below. He slowed down his swimming speed slightly, allowing the air currents around his fins to gradually subside. Then he turned his attention back to the volcano ahead. When he passed one of the peaks earlier, he smelled a rich fragrance that was distinctly different from ordinary Fire Spirit Qi.
The aura emanated from deep within the mountain, its intense heat carrying a highly refined Heavenly Dao essence. Even through the thick layers of rock, Lu Yuan could still clearly discern it, finding it quite similar to the Innate Lihuo that Feng Ling had previously had him test.
Lu Yuan slightly adjusted his direction, slowly lowered his head, and looked at the Ancient Volcanoes in front of him that was spewing out crimson flames with his golden eyes. His Divine Sense probed downwards along the volcanic rock layers and soon sensed a slowly flowing underground fire vein.
"Feng Ling, the fire energy inside that volcano seems much denser than the surrounding area," Lu Yuan said, looking down at the mountain pass with increasing interest.
Feng Ling glanced in the direction of his gaze and then explained that the volcano was connected to an important fire vein on the Southern Heaven. It was usually guarded by the elders of the Phoenix Clan, and it did indeed nurture high-quality Innate Lihuo. To absorb it, one had to first obtain confirmation from the Pulse-Guarding Elder.
After listening, Lu Yuan did not urge him. He simply withdrew his Divine Sense and stopped his massive body in the Sea of Clouds, which was far from the Li Fire. Inside the crimson mountain, the aura of a Phoenix Clan that had been meditating was slowly awakened by the commotion coming from the outside.