The meeting with Ancestor Phoenix was held inside the Immortal Volcano, since Ancestor Phoenix could Immortal Volcano stray too far from its depths.
Kong Xuan, acting as the guide, led Jiang Yun to the crater of the Immortal Volcano with ease.
The two stood side by side on the crater of the immortal volcano, shrouded in Immortal Volcano. The scorching heat waves gushing from the crater rushed towards them, making their robes flutter in the wind. The pungent smell of burning sulfur made Jiang Yun slightly uncomfortable, and he unconsciously frowned.
Looking down into the crater, the surrounding mountain walls are made of black and red rocks formed by cooled magma, in various shapes. From a distance, they look like a dark, gaping maw, ready to devour any living thing that enters it.
The crater is hundreds of millions of miles above the ground, and with the caves eroded by underground magma, its depth is unknown. Even with Jiang Yun's eyesight, he could only vaguely see a red patch underground, but not clearly.
This place was once considered a dangerous spot in the Primordial World, but since the Ancestor Phoenix was suppressed here, it has now become an excellent place for the Phoenix Clan to cultivate.
"Stay close to me." Kong Xuan's expression was solemn. He made a hand seal, and a Five-Colored Divine Light surged from his palm, transforming into a Shimmering with light protective shield that enveloped the two of them. "The Earth Fire emanating from this volcano contains intense Fire Poison. Even a trace of it will burn the Primordial Spirit of Primordial Unity Golden Immortal."
Jiang Yun nodded, World Power quietly began to circulate. The phantom of the Kunlun Wood appeared and disappeared behind him. The Life Force and the Five-Colored Divine Light merged, causing green patterns to appear on the surface of the protective shield.
Kong Xuan glanced at it and scoffed, "Your internal World Power is quite cleverly manipulated."
Jiang Yun glanced at him sideways. "Didn't you use the origin of the Five Elements to evolve the Five Elements space? Why don't you think about taking it a step further and transforming it into Five Elements World? That way you can also take shortcuts?"
Kong Xuan listened without saying a word.
Is this a matter of not wanting to?
He was already exhausted from trying to catch up with Jiang Yun's cultivation progress, so he had no energy left to devote to the evolution of the Five Elements World.
The evolution of a world requires an unimaginable amount of resources, not to mention the Laws governing that world.
If Jiang Yun hadn't possessed the Dao Derivation Disk, he wouldn't have been able to comprehend all the Laws necessary for the World Evolution in a short time, let alone the various resources he had invested in it, such as the Xirang, the Three Lights Divine Water, and various Innate Spiritual Root...
The two walked through the reddish clouds that enveloped the inside of the crater, and along the way they could see holes in the surrounding rock walls.
Those were cultivation sites established by the Phoenix Clan and Phoenix Clan affiliated cultivators, all for the sake of the fiery spiritual energy within this Immortal Volcano.
The closer you get to the bottom of the volcano, the more terrifying the temperature in the air becomes.
However, because few people in these places can withstand the scorching heat of the fire elemental energy, one can often see many fire-attribute Spirit Plants and some special spiritual beasts that depend on this environment for survival.
Although Jiang Yun and Kong Xuan discovered these creatures, they paid them no heed. Given their current level of cultivation, they no longer considered these Spirit Plants and beasts worth their attention.
In the passage formed by the eruption of magma, the two flew for a long time without realizing it, and gradually their surroundings changed considerably.
First, the rock walls were no longer uniformly black and red, but gradually transitioned to purplish-red and crimson. Under high temperatures, the rock walls seemed to no longer cool to black, but instead maintained the burning flames inside, like a red-hot iron rod.
Upon arriving here, what could be described as a rock wall was no longer a rock wall, but a ring of red fire-attribute spirit jade that had been tempered to remove impurities, both hard and beautiful.
After venturing countless miles underground, the two finally arrived at their destination.
Below, clusters of eerie blue flames occasionally leaped from the lava river; these were "Soul Devouring Fire," formed from the essence of Earth Fire, specifically designed to burn the souls of cultivators.
Kong Xuan swept away a ball of Soul Devouring Fire that rushed towards him with a wave of his sleeve, and said with a relaxed expression, "In the past ten thousand years, the frequency of the Underground Fire Toxin's agitation has been getting lower and lower, and the pressure on Mother to suppress it has also been reduced a lot, which is not bad."
She must have noticed us as soon as we got close; we'll get news soon.
As they were talking, the magma below suddenly boiled, and a million-foot-tall pillar of fire shot into the sky, from which came a clear and melodious phoenix cry.
A phantom of a Golden Phoenix with a wingspan of a thousand feet descended, its Yuyi scattering golden flames. Wherever it passed, the violent Earth Fire energy became as gentle as Stream. The phantom transformed into a woman in red robes before the two, with exquisite features and a gleaming flame pattern on her forehead.
"Mother." Kong Xuan bowed respectfully.
Jiang Yun also cupped his hands in greeting. "Greetings, Senior Ancestor Phoenix."
Ancestor Phoenix nodded to the two of them, then looked at Jiang Yun: "We cultivators should associate with each other based on our cultivation level."
Now that you have entered the Quasi-Saint realm, we can address each other as fellow Daoists; there's no need to be so formal.
"Isn't this a bit inappropriate? Kong Xuan and I consider each other friends. If I were to address Senior Ancestor Phoenix as a fellow Daoist, where would that leave Kong Xuan!"
"Let each of you do your own thing!"
Jiang Yun chuckled. This Ancestor Phoenix is truly a person who doesn't care about trivial matters; he's a role model for us all!
Before he could respond, Ancestor Phoenix turned and walked into the lava below. "Follow me."
As Ancestor Phoenix walked by, a passage opened up in the magma, seemingly concealing a vast space within.
The two followed Ancestor Phoenix's footsteps inside, and the surrounding scenery seemed to have changed. This place was like the depths of magma, and also the origin of the Immortal Volcano's magma.
A white jade platform floated in front of them.
The true form of the Ancestor Phoenix —a Colorful Phoenix larger than Shanyue —was lying prostrate on the platform, its wings spread to suppress the cracks in the Earth Veins.
With each breath she took, a massive amount of crimson-black Fire Poison surged out from the cracks and was absorbed into her body; when she exhaled, it transformed into pure Nirvana Fire, sprinkling down on the Primordial Desolation Earth like a gentle rain.
When Jiang Yun arrived here, he realized that what they had seen earlier was merely Incarnation of the Ancestor Phoenix, a truly convincing illusion! Even he hadn't noticed anything amiss.
"Sit." Ancestor Phoenix's Incarnation pointed to the jade table and stools at the edge of the platform.
As soon as Jiang Yun sat down, he felt a scorching heat surge from the soles of his feet to the top of his Heavenly Crown. The Kunlun Wood in his Inner World swayed spontaneously, and its roots absorbed the heat and transformed it into pure spiritual energy.
Ancestor Phoenix observed this scene with great interest. "Inner World, using wood to control fire? Interesting."
Kong Xuan stood to the side with his arms crossed, his tone unusually proud. "Although he cultivates the Path of Five Elements, he is broad but not proficient, still lacking the refinement of my Five-Colored Divine Light."
Ancestor Phoenix glanced at her son with a half-smile, "Is that so? Then why haven't you broken through to Quasi-Saint yet?"
Kong Xuan was speechless, unable to utter a word.
Jiang Yun suppressed a laugh and deflated the situation, "Kong Xuan is exceptionally talented; his breakthrough is only a matter of time. I merely benefited from some Fortune."
"Let's not talk about him anymore." Ancestor Phoenix waved her sleeve, and three cups of blood-red tea appeared in mid-air. "Come, try my Phoenix Clan's 'Fire Marrow Tea,' which can temper the Physical Body and meridians, and will be somewhat effective for those of your cultivation level."
As the Spiritual Tea entered his throat, Jiang Yun felt as if his internal organs were on fire. But after a sharp pain, he experienced an unprecedented sense of clarity throughout his body, and even the barriers within his Inner World seemed to solidify a bit.
Knowing how rare such a treasure was, he solemnly expressed his gratitude. "Thank you for your generous gift, senior."