The Sneaky Snack Plan

Around the smaller piles of Fire Marrow Crystal, there were now quite a few Lava Monsters gathered, busy feeding.

Although those smaller piles were far inferior in quantity to the massive heap in the center, even the smallest pile contained tens of thousands of units of Fire Marrow Crystal.

The Star Level Lava Monsters were typically around several dozen meters in size; a single mouthful could swallow hundreds of units of Fire Marrow Crystal, and one feeding session could sustain their activity for over a month.

Su Zhe began to suspect that this place was merely a cafeteria for the Lava Monsters, rather than the actual storage site for the Fire Marrow Crystals.

After all, deep within the lair, there was an even wider passage leading further into the depths of the earth.

And those eight hundred thousand-plus units of Fire Marrow Crystal seemed to be nothing more than a few meals for the Universe Level Lava Monsters.

Su Zhe followed several other Star Level Lava Monsters, approached one of the smaller piles, and imitated their movements, reaching out with his front claws to rake in the crystals, immediately consuming them with the Nihility Devouring Flame the moment they entered his mouth.

Soon, Su Zhe discovered that the appetite of each Lava Monster seemed to be different.

The larger the Lava Monster, the greater its food intake, especially those defensive types that could swallow thousands of units of Fire Marrow Crystal in a single gulp.

Additionally, strength was also a significant factor affecting appetite.

The Lava Monster Su Zhe was camouflaged as was relatively small, with its aura simulated to be at the fifth rank of the Star Level, so its intake was not particularly large.

Not wanting to expose himself, Su Zhe chose to leave after swallowing nearly a thousand units of Fire Marrow Crystal.

After eating their fill, some Lava Monsters chose to leave the lair to continue searching for more Fire Marrow Crystals, while others picked an empty spot to lie down and rest; the area of this cavern was quite vast, enough to accommodate a small city.

Su Zhe carefully observed the Lava Monsters, and a sudden idea struck him.

Perhaps this could work?

Su Zhe thought to himself. The number of Lava Monsters here was immense, and as ferocious beasts, their intelligence was extremely low; they didn't even remember the auras of their companions.

At the very least, Su Zhe, having blended into this lair, had not been discovered.

Under these circumstances, there was plenty of room to maneuver.

Half a day later.

"Roar?"

A Universe Level Lava Monster guarding the pile of Fire Marrow Crystals opened its eyes in contentment and scanned the surroundings—a few Star Level Lava Monsters were feeding, and further away, others were resting.

Everything was as usual; there were no abnormalities.

The Lava Monster yawned, closed its eyes, and prepared to rest for a while.

"Hmm?"

It suddenly opened its eyes again and looked at the feeding Lava Monsters.

Why did it feel like the Fire Marrow Crystals were being consumed so quickly today?

The Universe Level Lava Monster was somewhat puzzled, but since there was nothing unusual happening around it, it could only lie back down on the ground and fall asleep, filled with confusion.

"Phew..."

Not far away, the Lava Monster Su Zhe was camouflaged as let out a long breath, not daring to even breathe heavily.

The plan was feasible!

He hadn't been discovered by those Universe Level Lava Monsters!

Su Zhe was extremely excited. By repeatedly entering and exiting the monster lair, camouflaging himself as different Lava Monsters each time, he had already swallowed nearly one hundred thousand units of Fire Marrow Crystal!

This massive amount of Fire Marrow Crystal had caused his Domain of Fire, which had only recently reached the third level, to show signs of breaking through once again.

Even the Nihility Devouring Flame had its power enhanced after consuming such a vast quantity of Fire Marrow Crystal.

If he could keep devouring here, Su Zhe's domain might even be pushed all the way to the ninth level.

It was a pity that those Universe Level Lava Monsters seemed to have already sensed something.

If he continued to devour recklessly, he would likely soon attract the vigilance of those Universe Level Lava Monsters.

It was time to stop.

Su Zhe turned his gaze toward the deeper parts of the lair.

There was a passage over there, leading to who knows where.

Occasionally, he could see some ninth-rank Star Level Lava Monsters heading toward that passage, yet he never saw them come back out, and he had no idea what lay in the depths of that tunnel.

Su Zhe intended to go over and take a look.

As it happened, he was currently camouflaged as a massive ninth-rank Star Level Lava Monster, so even if he walked over, it wouldn't arouse the suspicion of those Universe Level monsters.

With that thought, Su Zhe acted quickly.

He took a step and slowly headed toward the passage; the Lava Monsters around him, whose strength was inferior to his, didn't dare to resist even if they were accidentally stepped on by Su Zhe, and could only let out a whimper as they retreated into the corners.

Soon, Su Zhe arrived at the entrance of the passage.

Looking down, all he saw was pitch-black darkness, with only the faint light emitted by the Lava Monster ahead barely illuminating the surroundings of the passage, making it impossible to see what lay at the end.

Su Zhe continued to walk downward along the deep passage.

As he descended further, the surrounding temperature climbed sharply, soon reaching a terrifying heat that a human Star Level could absolutely not withstand, nearing the temperature of a star's surface. If not for the Lava Monster's innate, powerful heat resistance, it would likely have perished right here.

Su Zhe, however, felt perfectly fine.

The Blacklight Virus could acquire the superior genes of different life forms and integrate them; in terms of pure survival capability, it was absolutely unrivaled.

At this moment, Su Zhe was curious: what exactly was down at the bottom of the passage?

The mission briefing from the Universe Mercenary Alliance hadn't mentioned such a situation.

Could it be that because this mission was only open to Star Level, they didn't believe a Star Level could ever reach this depth?

Su Zhe pondered to himself. In any case, he didn't believe that those people at the Universe Mercenary Alliance hadn't discovered the existence of these passages. The strongest entity in the Lava Secret Realm was only at the Universe Level; any Domain Lord could have turned this place upside down.

The deeper he went, the greater the pressure in the surrounding space became.

The air was filled with a pungent smell of sulfur. After reaching a certain depth, large amounts of magma began to flow from the rock walls on both sides of the passage, providing a certain degree of illumination.

The few Lava Monsters ahead walked with a limp, their movements incredibly stiff.

Su Zhe carefully observed them; the environment here seemed somewhat eerie.

As the fire-attribute energy saturating the surrounding air grew denser, Su Zhe felt the Nihility Devouring Flame within his body become active in this environment, beginning to proactively devour the external energy to enhance itself.

If he were to remain in this environment for long-term cultivation, even without consuming Fire Marrow Crystals, Su Zhe's comprehension of the Domain of Fire would slowly deepen.

He did not know how long he had been walking.

The path ahead suddenly opened up.

An unimaginably vast underground space presented itself before Su Zhe's eyes.