Innate Marrow-Cleansing Treasure!

After making his decision, Qian Shengyuan did not delay.

Early the next morning, he summoned Mo Yuan to the study.

This level ninety-three Title Douluo had become his first choice for handling core matters. Mo Yuan had accompanied Li Long when he went to hunt for his second soul ring last time, and now that they were heading deep into Sunset Forest in search of heavenly treasures, Qian Shengyuan thought of him first as well.

After listening to Qian Shengyuan's explanation while standing before the long desk, Mo Yuan did not ask further questions. He merely nodded. "I entered the outer reaches of the Earthfire Lava Cavern in Sunset Forest once when I was younger, but I never explored its depths. According to ancient records, that Aptitude Cleansing Fruit Tree is in the deepest layer, near the edge of a lava lake. The soul beast guarding it is at least ten thousand years old."

Qian Shengyuan gave a hum. "I'll go personally. You'll accompany me. Keep the group to no more than three people. We can't alert the outside world."

Mo Yuan accepted the order, turned, and left to prepare their gear.

Qian Shengyuan leaned back in his chair, fingers resting on the armrest as his gaze fell upon the map of Sunset Forest spread out before him.

The entrance to the Earthfire Lava Cavern was marked beneath a fractured volcanic rock range in the southeastern corner of the forest. After entering, one had to descend several miles to reach the core region.

The temperature there was terrifyingly high. Ordinary soul masters would dehydrate in less than half an incense stick's time, but the protective Soul Power of a Title Douluo was enough to withstand it.

The true trouble was the guardian soul beast.

At least ten thousand years old... perhaps even close to a hundred thousand years. Qian Shengyuan estimated the range inwardly.

A soul beast capable of surviving in such an extreme environment would not be weak.

Not to mention the advantage granted by the terrain. It would only make it stronger.

He rose, rolled up the map, stored it in his storage ring, and headed outside.

As he passed the East Courtyard, his steps paused briefly. The courtyard gate was shut, and the steady sound of a staff cutting through the air came from within.

He did not knock and interrupt. After standing there for a moment, he continued onward.

Three days later, at the entrance to the Earthfire Lava Cavern in the southeastern corner of Sunset Forest.

Qian Shengyuan and Mo Yuan stood before a fissure roughly ten feet wide, its edges melted by the heat into an obsidian-like texture.

Scalding waves of heat continuously surged from the depths of the fissure. Sulfur-laden air rushed toward them, causing visible distortions in the surrounding air.

Not a blade of grass grew around the cave entrance. The surface of the scattered stones was coated in a layer of dark-red volcanic ash that rustled softly beneath their feet.

"The temperature below is very high." Mo Yuan crouched beside the entrance and tested the airflow with his hand. The skin on his fingertips was slightly reddened by the heat, but was instantly repaired by his Soul Power. "It exceeds the limit of what an ordinary Soul Elder can withstand. I'll be fine, but if Li Long came here alone, he wouldn't last half an incense stick's time."

Qian Shengyuan nodded and leaped into the fissure first.

His six wings unfolded after entering the cave, golden light illuminating the surrounding rock walls and allowing him to see the structure below.

The fissure extended downward from the surface. It was narrow at first, but after several dozen yards, it rapidly opened into a vast underground space.

The rock walls on either side were covered in dark-red mineral crystals that emitted a faint red glow amid the heat. The entire underground space seemed buried within an enormous furnace.

The two traveled downward along the passageways of the Earthfire Lava Cavern.

Qian Shengyuan led the way, while Mo Yuan maintained a body-length distance behind him. The two moved silently through the narrow passage, avoiding the cracks in the ground that continuously spewed hot air.

The temperature continued to climb. Mo Yuan's protective Soul Power began to show slight signs of depletion, while the glow of Qian Shengyuan's six wings remained as steady as ever.

After descending for nearly two hours, the space ahead suddenly opened up.

A dark-red river of lava wound its way from the end of the passage, the glow on its surface dyeing the entire area crimson.

A few unfamiliar plants grew sporadically on the rock walls along both banks. Their leaves were crimson or gold, surviving on geothermal heat and the radiation from the lava.

Qian Shengyuan's gaze swept across both banks before finally settling on a protruding stone platform across the lava river.

A tree roughly half a man's height grew atop it. Its trunk was black as iron, and its branches and leaves were sparse, but at the very center of its crown hung a fist-sized fruit.

The fruit was entirely crimson-gold, its surface covered in fine patterns that gave off a peculiar sheen somewhere between metal and plant life.

"Aptitude Cleansing Fruit."

Qian Shengyuan's gaze locked onto the fruit.

The thousand-year fruit described in the ancient texts looked exactly like this—crimson-gold, fist-sized, with patterns on its surface.

The older it was, the denser its patterns would become, and the more its color would tend toward crimson-gold.

The patterns on that fruit were as dense as a spiderweb. It was at least fifteen hundred years old, perhaps even older.

But he did not approach immediately.

His gaze shifted away from the fruit and swept through the shadowed areas around the stone platform.

It was too quiet. In an environment like the lava river, as active as a volcano, it made no sense for a heavenly treasure to exist without a guardian.

Mo Yuan sensed the danger at the same moment.

He tilted his head and gave Qian Shengyuan a look. Qian Shengyuan nodded slightly, and the two simultaneously fixed their attention on a recessed rock wall to the right of the stone platform.

Just as Qian Shengyuan took his first step, that section of rock wall moved.

A dark-red, lizard-like soul beast slowly crawled out from the recess in the rock wall. It was roughly twenty feet long, its body covered in scorching scales, with tiny sparks scattering through the air from the edge of every scale.

Its eyes were lava-orange, Qian Shengyuan's reflection visible in its vertical pupils. Its tail swayed slowly behind it, each movement leaving a charred mark on the ground.

The aura of this soul beast was heavier than that of the Bright Winged Dragon from before. Qian Shengyuan quickly estimated its age inwardly. It was at least thirty thousand years old, perhaps close to forty thousand.

A forty-thousand-year earthfire-attributed soul beast would receive a tremendous boost in combat power in the environment of a lava river, while humans would be restricted here. With one side rising and the other falling, even a Super Douluo would not dare be careless.

Qian Shengyuan did not attack in haste.

He observed its patterns of movement. The earthfire lizard did not launch an attack on its own initiative. It coiled before the stone platform, its vertical pupils fixed on the two of them, as though using the standoff to buy time.

Qian Shengyuan noticed dark-red light gathering beneath its body. It was a sign that it was accumulating Soul Power.

"It's charging up." Qian Shengyuan spoke softly. "I'll draw it head-on. Circle around to the flank."

Mo Yuan silently retreated, his body swiftly moving along the shadowed area of the rock wall.

Qian Shengyuan stepped forward instead. The golden radiance of his six wings spread through the confined space as the aura of his angel martial soul abruptly erupted, pressing down upon the earthfire lizard.

The soul beast was enraged. It let out a hoarse roar, opened its mouth, and spat out a crimson pillar of lava straight at Qian Shengyuan.

With a beat of his six wings, Qian Shengyuan twisted through the narrow space and evaded the lava pillar.