Volcano Cave

The magma lake was like a golden-yellow glass bead, embedded in the center of the dark red rock disc, dazzling and magnificent.

Orange-red and golden-yellow magma slowly flowed and churned in the lake, with huge bubbles appearing from time to time.

Waves of scorching heat radiated outwards from the magma lake. After being blocked by the mountain wall, the heat waves surged upwards.

Ning Zhuo and Ning Yong stood on top of the mountain wall, their bodies swaying violently from the impact of the surging heat waves. Although Ning Zhuo had circulated his magic power to protect his mouth and nose, the heat waves still singed the tips of his hair.

Ning Zhanji glanced at the somewhat disheveled newcomers and ordered indifferently, "Give each of them a set of magic robes."

His subordinates immediately threw the spare magic robes to the two of them.

Ning Zhuo took a look and found that the entire set of magic robes covered them from head to toe, including a helmet, upper garment, lower trousers, outer robe, outer armor, and boots.

A large number of talismans were depicted on the magic robes, mainly Frost Talismans.

"Talisman Treasure," a thought flashed through Ning Zhuo's mind.

Talisman Treasures were different from magic tools. They would wear out with repeated use. They were consumables.

The advantage of Talisman Treasures lay in their cost. After inscribing talismans on some basic materials, they could become Talisman Treasures, and their usage value would skyrocket.

The Small Wooden Hammer Ning Zhuo had designed in the basement earlier was a Talisman Treasure. Ning Zhuo could use it to easily handle the Soot Mud.

These magic robes were standard equipment for the Ning Family's cultivator brigade and should have been specially developed by the Ning Family as combat readiness for their pursuit of the Magma Immortal Palace.

As soon as Ning Zhuo and the others put on the full set of magic robes, they immediately felt the temperature return to normal, no longer scorching hot. The previously pungent smell of sulfur also completely disappeared.

At the mountain wall, several descending platforms were hung. Each descending platform was guarded by personnel from the city guard, partly for protection and partly for charging fees.

Ning Zhanji led the group and chose a descending platform, officially stepping into the crater depression from the mountaintop.

Ning Yong stomped his feet excitedly, looking around with great curiosity.

A look of excitement and caution also appeared on Ning Zhuo's face.

Ning Zhanji's target was directly the magma lake in the center.

The movement of a cultivator team of over fifty people immediately attracted the attention of others.

Inside the volcano crater, it wasn't just Ning Zhuo's group; many teams or lone cultivators were scattered across this crater depression.

From time to time, cultivators would also descend from the top of the mountain wall.

Some used the official descending platforms, but more often, they would set up their own ropes and climb down from the top of the mountain wall. However, due to the constant impact and blowing of the heat waves, the process of descending was generally very difficult for the cultivators.

Cultivators who climbed down by themselves saved the usage fee for the descending platform.

The city guards saw these rogue cultivators descending and did not stop them, their gazes indifferent, mainly acting as if they saw nothing.

Ning Zhuo gradually approached the magma lake.

As he got closer, he discovered that there was still life activity in the magma lake.

Another huge magma bubble burst, and a red brocade-furred rat used the hot air current to soar upwards, rushing into the white smoke high in the sky to hunt.

If the hunt was successful, one could see this red-furred brocade rat carrying a Smoke Cloud Sparrow in its mouth and smashing it towards the ground.

Because the heat waves were constantly generated, greatly reducing the force of the fall, the red-furred brocade rat could always land gently on the rocky ground each time, without suffering any harm.

Some cultivators specifically waited for these crimson-haired brocade rats to land after hunting.

Once they landed, they would act, using special tools to capture them.

Ning Zhuo's heart stirred slightly.

"Fire Velvet Rat, it has extremely strong fire resistance and can swim in magma."

"It preys on birds."

"The most valuable part of the Fire Velvet Rat is its fur. By collecting hundreds of pieces and refining them through sewing and other methods, one can create a Velvet Fire-Repelling Robe, which has excellent effects."

At this moment, Ning Zhanji, who was leading the way, stopped.

In front of him was one of the many cave entrances, which was no different from the other caves around it.

But he was certain, and he said in a low voice, "This is it, prepare to enter."

The cultivators listened with awe.

First, a cultivator, after forming a hand seal, pushed with both palms, sending out a plume of frosty white snow mist.

The snow mist poured into the cave, and the edge of the entrance was immediately covered with a layer of frost.

The cold air flowed down, triggering a reaction in the cave and producing a rumbling sound.

The sound grew louder and louder. The next moment, a large amount of mud spewed out from the cave.

These muds shot up into the sky, burning with flames, like fireworks blooming.

Ning Zhuo saw clearly that these burning muds were Soot Mud.

After the mud finished spraying, Ning Zhanji was the first to jump into the cave.

The rest of the cultivators followed closely, entering in a file.

Ning Chen, Ning Yong, and new members like Ning Zhuo were led one-on-one by older members and jumped into the cave entrance.

When he first jumped down the cave, Ning Zhuo shivered, chilled by the surrounding cold air.

As he slid down, the temperature in the passage quickly rose.

By the latter half, the temperature became very high. As Ning Zhuo slid, he keenly observed the changes in the passage walls beside him.

At first, the walls of the passage were covered with frost. By the latter half, this frost had completely melted away.

When he finally landed, his feet stepping on solid ground, Ning Zhuo looked up again and found himself in an underground world filled with fire and rocks.

The rocky ground beneath his feet was slightly soft, and the surrounding rock walls were translucent orange-yellow, constantly radiating surging heat.

Ning Yong, who was beside him, curiously reached out and tried to touch the rock wall.

The next moment, a third of the runes on his glove melted, scaring him into quickly retracting his hand.

Fortunately, a Ning Family cultivator then took action, took out a jade bottle, and released a misty water vapor.

The water vapor condensed into blue and white ribbons, floating in mid-air, surrounding everyone, helping them resist the pervasive heat.

After Ning Zhanji arranged for new members like Ning Zhuo to walk in the middle of the team, he led the Ning Family cultivators to continue forward.

After the initial novelty wore off, the scenery in the Crimson Flame Demon Lava Cave became monotonous.

Ning Yong kept muttering about how nice it would be if a demon beast appeared.

The wariness on Ning Chen's face gradually relaxed a lot.

Ning Zhuo, on the other hand, was secretly amazed by the spiritual energy here. Its concentration was absolutely the highest he had ever seen in his life.

No wonder many powerful cultivators live in seclusion, residing alone in dangerous places rarely visited by people.

It's a pity that my current magic power is Frost magic power, while the spiritual energy here is heavily skewed towards the fire element and mixed with a large amount of fire poison, making it unsuitable for me.

The underground passage was sometimes wide and sometimes narrow, and its direction was clearly downwards.

There wasn't just one passage; Ning Zhuo often encountered forks in the road. However, the Ning Family cultivators were clearly familiar with the route and chose one of the entrances each time without any hesitation.

"Fire Crystal Grass, rooted in rocks, its leaves are transparent like sparkling gems, constantly absorbing geothermal heat and flames, capable of emitting firelight."

"Flame Shadow Flower, absorbing magma and poisonous evil energy, the plant is purplish-black, its leaves are as thin as cicada wings, the main body is still, but its shadow sways like flames."

"Vigorous Ginseng, absorbing earth power, undergoes a qualitative change after one hundred and thirty years. Its roots are slender and possess a natural earth-burrowing ability."

Along the way, Ning Zhuo saw several kinds of spiritual plants.

When the Ning Family cultivators passed by, some of them would also be assigned to pick them.

Ning Zhanji glanced at Ning Zhuo almost imperceptibly, then beckoned to Ning Zhuo and all the other newcomers, testing them by asking, "Do you know why we have to pick all these spiritual plants?"