The moment Lin Qin stepped out of the Chaotic Stone Forest, the sight before him made him pause slightly.
It was not danger, but sheer vastness.
For the past three days, he had been moving through narrow gaps between enormous boulders, his view never extending beyond a hundred zhang. But now, before him lay a massive underground expanse stretching several hundred li in every direction. Its ceiling soared beyond sight, as though an entire mountain range had been hollowed out.
The ground was flat black stone, stretching endlessly into the distance. Its surface was smooth as a mirror, reflecting the faint blue light above and making it impossible to tell solid ground from reflection. The air had become even more scorching, the stench of sulfur so thick it seemed almost tangible. Every breath felt as though it were burning his lungs.
In the distance, he could vaguely see a patch of golden light.
The light was dazzling and blazing, clearly visible even from hundreds of li away. It came from the far end of the underground space—there lay a vast lake whose waters were golden, radiating searing light.
The black stone ground was not as flat as it appeared. Only upon approaching did he see that its surface was covered in fine cracks. Scorching streams of air occasionally burst from them with hissing sounds. In some places, the airflow was powerful enough to send an ordinary Highgod flying.
Lin Qin avoided the larger cracks and continued onward.
After traveling a hundred li, he saw the first person.
It was a Six-Star Fiend sitting atop a rock, his entire body charred black, clearly burned by the heat waves from Core Lake. He was applying some medicinal pill to his wounds. When he saw Lin Qin, wariness flashed through his eyes, but