Absolute Affinity for All Elemental Attributes

Star Dou Great Forest, lava region.

Atop a red mountain, three figures stood at the summit, gazing into the distance.

Ma Xiaotao pointed at the land of black rock and reddish-brown flows and said:

"Martial Ancestor, Little Martial Uncle, that is where fire-element Soul Beasts frequently appear. We call the relatively safe area there—the outer region of the volcanoes—the Black Lava Zone.

"Further in lies the Red Flame River Zone. At its heart are slowly flowing, scorching liquids, surrounded by extinct volcanic ranges. Most life can no longer survive within it.

"At the deepest point is naturally the cluster of active volcanoes. They are extremely unstable and may erupt at any moment, turning dozens of miles around into a red Purgatory. Much of the scorching liquid in the Red Flame River flows out after those active volcanoes erupt."

However, the moment he stepped into the Black Lava Zone, Su Qingfeng felt a scorching breath surge out from within on the wind.

It felt like having a hair dryer set to maximum heat blowing straight into his face.

Life here was exceedingly scarce. Whether plants or animals, both struggled to survive in this place. Deeper into the Black Lava Zone, the land was entirely barren. If an ordinary person remained here for three to five hours, their skin would turn red as though burned, then crack as discomfort spread throughout their body. It was hard to imagine what the Red Flame River Zone would look like. Perhaps it was enough to make ordinary civilians rapidly dehydrate to death.

Su Qingfeng had no choice but to use his Soul Power to summon Ice Element over the surface of his body, protecting himself.

He had also taken off his mask. There were few people here, so there was no need to conceal his looks. Besides, the mask was made of metal, and heat gathered on it. Given enough time, it would become scalding hot.

The instant he removed his mask, Ma Xiaotao's heart began pounding.

The hot wind swept past Su Qingfeng's face and came into contact with the Ice Element, making the space around him somewhat hazy. The Immortal Realm radiated from within, forming its own natural aura. Even amid the volcanic region, he was like the child of an immortal. He did not avoid fire; fire avoided him.

As the saying went: when an immortal crossed a sea of flames, not a speck of dust touched him.

"Be careful. Although this black rock looks safe and isn't very hot, the surface of lava cools the fastest and turns black first. But beneath it, it is still scorching hot and just as dangerous. Watch your step."

Ma Xiaotao still held Su Qingfeng's hand, clearing dangerous obstacles from his path as she asked:

"Martial Ancestor, how old a Soul Beast should Little Martial Uncle hunt for his Second Soul Ring? Little Martial Uncle's first Soul Ring was already a thousand years old, so his second should be at least two thousand years old. We should be able to find one deep in the Black Lava Zone."

She had only seen that Su Qingfeng's first Soul Ring was purple and knew nothing about Snow Empress.

Mu En walked at the very front. He did not want to turn around and look at Su Qingfeng and Ma Xiaotao; an old man could not endure that sort of stimulation. He said calmly:

"Let's go into the Red Flame River Zone you mentioned and take a look. Qingfeng's physique is extraordinary, and he also has Ultimate Ice protecting his body. Absorbing a fire-attribute Soul Beast may bring remarkable benefits. Soul Beasts three to five thousand years old are all within consideration. Most importantly, we need to find one with a relatively powerful bloodline. That is what matters most to Qingfeng. There's no need to rush."

For Su Qingfeng's Second Soul Ring hunt, the Soul Beast's age was only the second consideration. The quality and potential of the fire element within the Soul Beast came first. This would determine the starting point of Su Qingfeng's Second Attribute, just as Snow Empress's sacrifice had.

"Alright."

Ma Xiaotao's sixth Soul Ring had been hunted in the Red Flame River Zone, and she had only succeeded with her teacher Yan Shaozhe's assistance.

That place was extremely dangerous. Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts occasionally appeared there.

Ma Xiaotao was naturally unafraid. She only feared that her weak Little Martial Uncle might encounter danger!

(í_ì)

The three figures ventured deeper into the Black Lava Zone. Along the way, they gradually discovered some Soul Beasts that lived here. Most were entirely blackish-brown, including Flame Rats, Black Flame Worms, Earth Fire Scorpions...

They had all evolved high resistance to lava and flames. They could quickly dig or locate their own burrows in such harsh environments, and replenish their energy by absorbing fire element, achieving the miraculous feat of surviving more than ten days without food.

But a strange sight appeared once more. These Soul Beasts seemed to sense that someone had arrived, as if they had received some sort of omen. They became excited upon seeing Su Qingfeng and the others, and some even followed behind Su Qingfeng.

Ma Xiaotao remained highly alert, worried that they would attack Su Qingfeng. But she soon realized she had been overthinking it. These fire-attribute Soul Beasts did not possess the slightest intent to attack!

It was too strange.

Did Soul Beasts judge people by their faces too?

When they reached the end of the Black Lava Zone, the end of the Red Flame River came into view—a crimson river extending from some region deep within the Star Dou Great Forest.

A Flamingo, its entire body burning with flames and its fiery feathers gleaming, stood unharmed on high-temperature black-red stone with its slender reddish-brown legs. It was actually using its beak to drink the flowing lava, sip by sip!

The temperature of lava was no joke. It was at least several hundred degrees hotter than the Dragon Fire Wu Feng unleashed at her strongest. At such temperatures, a human body would be cooked the instant it fell in—and thoroughly cooked at that.

Yet this Flamingo actually dared to swallow lava into its stomach!

"Don't be surprised. It isn't just Flamingos. Many powerful fire-attribute Soul Beasts here feed on lava. First, it tempers their bodies. Second, they can absorb the dense fire element contained within it."

Buzz—

The Flamingo also sensed the humans' arrival, and its face instantly turned ferocious.

Its fiery wings spread wide, reaching three meters across. It flew into the air and screeched at Mu En and Ma Xiaotao.

Only when its gaze fell upon Su Qingfeng did it see that this frail human gave off a strange fluctuation. The fluctuation stirred the surrounding fire element, which seemed to surge toward him and coil around him.

Whoosh—

The Flamingo flapped its fiery wings and dove toward Su Qingfeng.

At that very moment, a pair of fiery red wings spread open. Six Soul Rings instantly appeared around Ma Xiaotao's body: yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black!

Her fifth Soul Ring flashed as she directly unleashed her Soul Skill:

Phoenix Cloud Piercing Strike!

Ma Xiaotao swiftly formed hand seals. A Contract seal released a small flaming phoenix with a wingspan of over a meter, which crashed directly into the diving Flamingo.

The phoenix possessed absolute bloodline suppression over the Flamingo, but the Flamingo had no way to turn back. Ma Xiaotao's little phoenix blasted it apart, scattering fiery feathers everywhere. Its body swayed precariously in midair and nearly fell into the Red Flame River—something extremely dangerous even for a Flamingo.

Mu En sighed inwardly. Xiaotao truly cared about Qingfeng. She had used her strongest single-target Soul Skill right from the start. Still, it had to be said that the girl's strength had improved again. She now possessed the power to instantly kill a nine-thousand-year Soul Beast.

That was right. This Flamingo possessed nine thousand years of cultivation.

Yet the Flamingo was miserable beyond words. Ma Xiaotao had wronged it with that attack.

It had not intended to harm Su Qingfeng at all. It merely wanted to approach and absorb the fire elemental power stirred by him, to remain by Su Qingfeng's side. He was born with absolute affinity for all elemental attributes.

After entering the Red Flame River Zone, the environment became even hotter. The lowest air temperature was likely sixty to seventy degrees, enough to kill someone from the heat.

Here, even Ma Xiaotao had to expend Soul Power to ensure her own safety. Only Mu En, the old man who needed a cane even to walk, did not even flush in the face, as though he had not been affected in the slightest.

Fire-element Soul Beasts over six thousand years old began appearing frequently in the Red Flame River Zone. Moreover, most of them behaved similarly to that Flamingo, keeping Ma Xiaotao constantly on guard.

But before long, both she and Mu En noticed that something was wrong.

These Soul Beasts did not seem to possess much aggression or hostility?!

They seemed more like they were expressing goodwill toward Su Qingfeng.

Ma Xiaotao knew well that these violent fire-attribute Soul Beasts would not react this way when truly facing an enemy.

More and more fire-element Soul Beasts gathered around them, leaving Ma Xiaotao thoroughly confused. She could not help asking:

"Martial Ancestor, what exactly is going on?"

Mu En's eyelids twitched. "Why is it like this again? It can't be, can it?"

Ma Xiaotao asked, "Martial Ancestor, why did you say 'again'?"