Molten Wasteland

Black gravel stretched out beneath their feet, and the air was filled with a dry, pungent, and strange scent. Dark red hills rolled on under a distorted sky, desolate and deathly silent.

This place was the "Molten Wasteland" marked on the map.

According to ancient scrolls, during the Great War of antiquity, this land had been repeatedly scorched by lava spells, causing the ley line energy to become violent and chaotic.

"We must cross the wasteland as quickly as possible and find a shelter."

"Cough..." Su Muxue coughed up a mouthful of stagnant blood and slowly opened her eyes.

"Don't speak, save your strength." Lin Ye said in a low voice. He walked over to Chen Feng and carefully examined his injuries. The saber wound on Chen Feng's chest was deep enough to see bone, and combined with excessive blood loss and the exhaustion of his True Qi, he had fallen into a deep coma.

Lin Ye tore off a piece of his own clothing and re-bandaged Chen Feng's wound, temporarily stopping the bleeding.

He then walked over to Su Muxue and said in a deep voice, "Can you walk? We must leave this place."

Su Muxue gritted her teeth and nodded, struggling to stand, but her body went limp and she nearly collapsed.

"Chen Feng..." Her gaze turned toward her still-unconscious companion with worry.

Lin Ye said no more; he bent down to hoist Chen Feng onto his back, steadied Su Muxue with one hand, and began to walk with heavy, measured steps into the Molten Wasteland.

Every step felt like treading on the tip of a blade.

Sweat poured from his forehead, dripping onto the scorching gravel where it instantly vaporized and vanished.

After walking for who knows how long, the three finally stepped into the edge of the Molten Wasteland.

Lin Ye forced himself to stay alert, following the guidance of the scroll map to avoid areas where monsters frequently appeared, moving along a relatively safe route.

As they rounded a crimson rock wall, a monster resembling a giant scorpion was coiled in the center of the path!

The monster had been dozing, but the moment the three approached, its presence startled it awake. Its compound eyes snapped open, coldly locking onto the three uninvited guests.

True Qi Realm late-stage!

Its crimson carapace shimmered with a cold light, its tail hook was wreathed in a dark green deadly poison, and its entire body was surrounded by a faint aura of earth-fire, making it extremely ferocious.

Lin Ye's pupils constricted. He first helped Su Muxue lean against the rock wall, then gently set Chen Feng down, gripped his Star-Shattering Sword, and stood across the center of the path.

Su Muxue struggled to rise to assist in the fight, but a stern look from Lin Ye stopped her.

"Take care of him." Lin Ye's voice was low, his eyes locked firmly onto the crimson giant scorpion.

The monster seemed wary of him and did not pounce immediately, instead slowly swaying its body, preparing to strike.

Lin Ye was also patiently waiting for an opening.

The seed within his body spun frantically, channeling all the energy he had devoured into the tip of his sword in a manner that bordered on self-destruction.

The crimson giant scorpion clearly sensed a fatal threat; it hissed incessantly in agitation but dared not approach easily.

Just as Lin Ye's focus wavered for a split second—

"Hiss—!!!"

The giant scorpion seized the opening, its body jolting violently as it lunged forward, accompanied by a scorching, foul wind!

At the same time, its high-raised, venomous tail hook struck toward the back of Lin Ye's heart at an incredibly tricky angle!

Su Muxue's beautiful eyes widened, her heart tightening, but she couldn't even manage a sound.

A cold light flared in Lin Ye's eyes!

He poured the last remnant of his willpower into the strange point of light at the tip of his sword.

Facing the giant scorpion's gaping maw, he thrust his sword forward!

The sword light, condensed to the extreme, plunged straight into the depths of its throat.

The crimson giant scorpion's forward momentum froze abruptly, its eyes filled with terror.

"Hiss—!!!"

A shrill, miserable howl erupted from within its body as it thrashed wildly, kicking up a storm of gravel and sparks.

"Boom—!!!"

With a dull, thunderous roar, the giant scorpion's massive body exploded from the inside out.

Lin Ye bore the brunt of the blast, sent flying by the violent shockwave. He slammed heavily into the rock wall, spat out a mouthful of blood, and as his vision went completely black, his consciousness plunged into an endless void.

"Lin Ye—!!"

Su Muxue let out a cry of grief, rushing to his side and trembling as she checked his breath.

"No..." Tears instantly blurred her vision. She disregarded everything, channeling the last of her True Qi into Lin Ye's body, desperately trying to protect the final flicker of life in his heart.

Before the aftermath of the explosion had even dissipated, more crawling sounds could be heard from the depths of the wasteland at the other end of the path.

Was this truly where they were going to die?

Through her tear-filled eyes, Su Muxue caught a glimpse of the rock wall beside her.

The impact had shaken off the outer layer of red rock, faintly revealing a set of stone steps underneath.

Stone steps? Where did they lead?

A glimmer of hope reignited in her eyes. Gritting her teeth, she dragged the two of them into the dark, gaping hole one after the other, and quickly scrambled inside herself.

The moment she stepped into the cave entrance, the scorching heat of the outside world was largely cut off, and a chilling aura rushed to meet her.

She dared not venture deeper, only setting Lin Ye and Chen Feng down gently on the stairs just inside the entrance before collapsing beside them, gasping for air.

Su Muxue remained silent for a moment, but eventually, she took out the box containing the Earth Vein Crystal.

She pressed the crystal against Lin Ye's chest, carefully guiding the energy within to flow into him, nourishing the seed inside him that was on the verge of shattering.

"Hum!"

The dim seed within Lin Ye's body seemed to have grabbed onto a final straw, instantly erupting with a powerful will to devour, greedily sucking in the energy transmitted from the crystal.

"Hum!"

The dim seed within Lin Ye's body seemed to have grabbed onto a final straw, instantly erupting with a powerful will to devour, greedily sucking in the energy transmitted from the crystal.

However, Su Muxue's heart sank bit by bit.

She could clearly feel that the way this seed devoured energy carried an intense sense of plunder and destruction. Although it had temporarily stabilized his condition and prevented it from completely collapsing, it was also exacerbating the internal energy conflict, potentially even altering the very essence of the seed and pushing Lin Ye down an unpredictable path.

She wanted to forcibly sever the connection, but at this moment, Lin Ye's body was like a bottomless black hole; that terrifying devouring force had locked onto the Earth Vein Crystal and the true qi she was channeling.

"Lin Ye... wake up... take control..." Su Muxue whispered anxiously.

The light of the crystal dimmed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Crack..."

A faint sound of shattering came from within the crystal.

Su Muxue's expression changed. The crystal's energy was about to be exhausted, yet the chaos within Lin Ye's body had still not subsided.

"Thump..."

A pulsation with a strange rhythm slowly drifted up from the depths of the stairs, echoing clearly through the narrow passage.

"Thump... thump..."

The sound was not loud, but it carried an indescribable weight and heat. With every vibration, the stone steps beneath her feet trembled.

The chilling aura in the air rapidly receded, and a wave of scorching heat began to rise slowly from the depths of the earth.

"Is this the Earth Fire Pulsation?" Su Muxue's beautiful eyes narrowed.

Beneath the Molten Wasteland, there was actually an extremely active Earth Fire Spirit Vein connected to this place.

They had just hidden in this secret passage, only to run straight into the active period of the Earth Fire Spirit Vein.

"Thump!!!"

Another pulsation, heavy enough to make one's heart palpitate, rang out with absolute clarity! This time, the tremors grew increasingly violent...

In the endless darkness deep within the stairs, a faint dark red glow began to emerge, as if something scorching was slowly awakening below.

As the Earth Fire Pulsation continued to intensify, the temperature in the air became unbearable.

Su Muxue felt her mouth and throat go dry, and even breathing brought a burning pain. Although Lin Ye and Chen Feng remained unconscious, their skin was also rapidly turning red and dry.

I cannot stay here! Su Muxue gritted her teeth and thought.