Another half day passed, and Zhong Shan's Heavenly Devil Body Tempering Great Technique aftereffects finally ended completely.
At the Innate Fourth Stage, Zhong Shan felt as if his entire body was filled with inexhaustible strength. That sensation from breaking through in the past surged through him once more.
Could a single Blood Bodhi really do this?
Zhong Shan gently plucked the last two Blood Bodhi.
"Ling Er, one each," Zhong Shan said.
"No need. They're useless to me now. Without ten of them—no, even ten wouldn't be useful to me anymore. You should keep them. Blood Bodhi are medicinal ingredients used to heal injuries. Keep them for yourself," Tian Ling'er said at once.
"Mm." Zhong Shan nodded and did not insist further.
"Can these be preserved in the Storage Bracelet?" Zhong Shan asked.
"It's fine. My father said Blood Bodhi won't spoil. They can be kept in the Storage Bracelet for a year without going bad." Tian Ling'er thought for a moment before answering.
"Mm, that's good." Zhong Shan nodded and waved his hand, storing the two Blood Bodhi away.
"Zhong Shan, are you ready? Let's go into the Mountain Cave and take a look. There are Blood Bodhi right at the entrance, so there might be even better things inside." Tian Ling'er called out excitedly.
"Mm." Zhong Shan nodded.
However, he still gripped his broadsword. During the half day he had spent recovering, Zhong Shan had astonishingly discovered that this Mountain Cave was not natural. Although it had existed for a very long time, allowing Blood Bodhi to grow, Zhong Shan's discerning eye had spotted the cave's strangeness at a glance. It was man-made?
"Be careful. Stay behind me," Zhong Shan said as before.
Hearing the tone with which Zhong Shan shielded her, Tian Ling'er seemed to enjoy it immensely for some reason. She was no longer as headstrong as when they had first come out and merely gave a soft "Mm."
With his broadsword clearing the way, Zhong Shan led Tian Ling'er toward the depths of the Mountain Cave.
Just after rounding a bend, Zhong Shan was surprised to discover that the Mountain Cave led downward. The farther they went, the deeper underground they seemed to travel.
The red glow came from deep underground.
As he advanced, he also watched the cave's structure. Zhong Shan discovered that the Mountain Cave had been excavated extremely unsafely, as if it might collapse at any moment.
Frowning, he slowly descended. The farther down they went, the higher the temperature became. The faint red glow had now turned into a blazing red expanse. For some reason, Zhong Shan suddenly felt uneasy. What was going on?
Zhong Shan still very much wanted to enter the depths. After all, what lay before them could very well be a great opportunity. But what else might be waiting for him?
They had already descended nearly a thousand meters—not a thousand meters along the path, but a thousand meters vertically. This Mountain Cave... this was a massive undertaking. A thousand meters?
By this point, Zhong Shan felt that the surrounding temperature had reached a terrifying level. His clothes were scorching hot, already as hot as boiling water—no, even hotter. Zhong Shan took out a bowl of water from the Storage Bracelet, and in the blink of an eye, the cool water boiled, sending out great clouds of steam.
After storing the bowl away, Zhong Shan heard faint popping sounds coming from below. Magma? Yes, it was definitely magma.
He could already hear the magma churning. But that was not all. Zhong Shan also noticed something strange. Partway down, the surroundings suddenly became misty, filled with steam—the kind produced when boiling water evaporated.
Vast amounts of steam sprayed from the cave walls, only to be sucked downward in the blink of an eye.
"Zhong Shan, what's happening?" Tian Ling'er asked in astonishment, pointing at the steam constantly erupting from the stone walls of the cave.
How could steam spray out of stone? How was that possible? Tian Ling'er's eyes widened, her face full of utter disbelief.
"This is groundwater. It happened to pass through this part of the Mountain Cave, leaked out, and was evaporated." Zhong Shan immediately saw through the mystery.
"Groundwater?" Tian Ling'er stared at the scene in amazement. She had heard her father mention it before, but groundwater was rarely encountered. She had never expected to see it today.
"However..." Zhong Shan narrowed his eyes, a trace of solemnity flashing within them.
"However what?" Tian Ling'er interrupted at once. Why had he suddenly stopped walking?
"However, why is the airflow here moving toward the bottom of the cave? It's drawing all the water vapor downward." Zhong Shan frowned in thought.
According to Zhong Shan's understanding, generally speaking, if a deep cave had airflow, it could only mean that the cave had another exit. But this Mountain Cave kept descending, making the existence of another opening rather peculiar.
"Why don't we go down and see?" Tian Ling'er said excitedly before darting downward.
"Hey, wait!" Zhong Shan frowned and hurried after her.
They ran at most twenty meters farther down before completely passing through the passageway.
Magma—roiling magma. At the other end of the cave lay a peculiar environment: a gigantic Magma Pool, surrounded by a ring of terraces. Above them was a huge cavern that seemed to lead to a distant volcanic crater.
This was subterranean molten rock.
The vast steam entered the chamber and shot toward the straight-upward opening, flowing toward the surface.
The Magma Pool below was roughly a hundred meters in diameter, an enormous pool connected to even deeper parts of the earth. The magma churned, perhaps because of its composition, producing masses of bubbles that burst with sharp popping sounds.
The open terraces surrounding the pool also seemed to have been made by human hands. They were incredibly smooth, and their presence in this deepest part of the cave was extremely abrupt.
The instant Tian Ling'er rushed inside, she quickly retreated.
It was not because of the heat. The heat was still within Zhong Shan's tolerance, and Tian Ling'er naturally was not afraid of it. It was because... because there was a figure inside.
"A ghost!" Tian Ling'er recoiled, retreating straight into Zhong Shan's arms.
"You finally came down?" an extremely gentle voice drifted over.
Zhong Shan looked over, and his scalp suddenly prickled.
What kind of person was this?
He was human-shaped, but from his lower half up to his waist, he was firmly encased in ice. His entire lower body was frozen solid. The ice was black, and despite being near the magma, it emitted wisps of cold air. Through the black ice, Zhong Shan saw the man's legs—or rather, they could no longer be called legs.
His legs had been frozen to pieces, each section crystallized into shattered fragments, a sight of unparalleled horror. Around his right leg in particular, even the bones had frozen and protruded from the flesh.
Below the waist was one extreme; above the waist seemed to be the complete opposite—scorching, unbearably scorching. His body was bright red all over. Yet what frightened people most was his hair.
Billions upon billions of strands of hair on his head were glowing bright red. They connected into the magma, each strand like a vast net cast into the roiling pool. Just looking at it made every hair on one's body stand on end.
Only after seeing all this did Zhong Shan notice the man's appearance: an old man, an ugly old man. One glance at him was enough to leave people with an indescribably tangled feeling in their hearts.
"Do I look that much like a ghost?" the terrifying old man asked with a faint smile.
Furrowing his brows, Zhong Shan pointed his broadsword at the neither-human-nor-ghost thing before him, remaining on guard.
"When did you discover us?" Zhong Shan asked, keeping his composure.
"When you were eating the Blood Bodhi." The old man's ugly face revealed a frightening smile.
By now, Tian Ling'er also knew that it was not a ghost. From within Zhong Shan's arms, she turned her head to look at the man.
"Sorry to have disturbed you, Senior. We'll leave now." Zhong Shan spoke at once, holding Tian Ling'er as he slowly retreated.
"I, this old man, haven't seen a living person in a hundred years. Can't you stay and talk with me?" A trace of sorrow suddenly appeared on the ugly old man's face.
Seeing the old man like this, Tian Ling'er's initial terror instantly turned into a hint of pity. He had not seen a living person in a hundred years—how lonely must he have been? Perhaps they should stay and talk with him.
"I'm sorry, Senior, but we still have important business outside. We'll come visit you next time if we have the chance." Zhong Shan continued retreating, not wavering in the slightest because of the old man's pitiful appearance.
Seeing that Zhong Shan still intended to leave, the old man's expression turned stern. His eyes widened, and in an instant, Zhong Shan could no longer move.
Zhong Shan stared at the scene in horror. He could not move? What was happening? Had that old man... had that old man attacked them? Tian Ling'er likewise widened her eyes, filled with disbelief. She also seemed unable to move.
"I only wanted to find someone to talk with," the old man said again.
Then Zhong Shan and Tian Ling'er slowly floated upward, gradually leaving the ground and flying toward the old man.
"Ah! What are you going to do?" Tian Ling'er cried out.
"Senior, we won't leave. Just put us down," Zhong Shan shouted at once.
"Thud!"
The two of them fell near the old man.
Looking at the old man, at this overwhelmingly powerful old man—merely one glance, merely one glance, had made him and Ling Er unable to move. A powerhouse. An absolute powerhouse.
Zhong Shan was exceedingly cautious. Before the old man, he flipped his hand and stored the broadsword in the Storage Bracelet, dispelling the old man's wariness.
Sure enough, when the old man saw Zhong Shan's action, a trace of satisfaction flashed through his eyes. But had Zhong Shan really given up resisting? Storing the broadsword was merely a temporary expedient. At this moment, Zhong Shan was more cautious than ever.
"You used your divine sense to seal my movements? Even my father can't do that. Are you stronger than my father?" Tian Ling'er immediately got to her feet and looked at the old man.
"Perhaps." The old man's withered face revealed a very ugly smile.
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