The farther they ventured into the heart of Flamewind Valley, the stranger the surrounding aura became.
The crimson mist and smell of sulfur gradually faded, replaced by a bone-piercing chill. The black stone beneath their feet had also lost its searing heat, instead shimmering with a layer of fine, scattered light.
When the pinpoint of light in the Parting Fire Mirror in Zhao Yan's hand blazed as fiercely as the sun, the four stopped.
The sight before them utterly surpassed their expectations.
There was no erupting lava as they had imagined, nor any savage killing intent from the earth veins. As far as their eyes could see, there was only a perfectly translucent Crystal World.
The ground, the rock walls, even the pebbles suspended in the air had all solidified into semitransparent crystal with a faint, glassy luster. Sunlight passed through the crystals, casting dappled light and shadow across the ground. Even the fire origin power they breathed in had become docile, as though the crystals had filtered out all its violence.
"What is this?"
Su Qinghan stepped forward and lightly touched a nearby crystal. The instant the fiery mist at his fingertip made contact, a pale crimson halo rippled across it. "These are traces left by a strange flame's burning."
His tone grew solemn. He applied a little pressure with his fingertip, but the crystal did not budge. "Ordinary strange flames only burn everything to ash, but this Starfall Flame can actually refine the substances it burns into crystals like these. How bizarre."
Li Lie moved closer as well, raising his hand to cast a wisp of flame onto the crystal.
The moment the flame touched it, the crystal swallowed it without a sound, leaving not even a single spark.
"Well, now! These crystals can swallow fire too?" he