Fortunately, the Snow and Ice Banshee before him did not seem particularly intelligent and could not grasp the profound intricacies of human language.
The Snow and Ice Banshee turned back toward the ice cave, but before leaving, she said, "You can fuse this Lava Heart into that low-tier magical beast to improve its strength. It seems very attached to you."
Jiang Hao had only heard that beast crystals could improve a beast pet's quality and strength. He had not even figured out what the Lava Heart actually was.
Jiang Hao hurried after the Snow and Ice Banshee, unashamed to ask, "Senior Ice and Snow, what exactly is this Lava Heart? If even you're afraid of it, could it be some heavenly treasure?"
The Snow and Ice Banshee said, "You guessed correctly. Gold essence, immortal vine wood, seven-tribulation earth essence, the Lava Heart, and black crystal stone are the purest substances under heaven. Obtain any one of them, and you can destroy all things."
Jiang Hao asked, "Senior Ice and Snow, how can I fuse it into my beast pet without causing any side effects?"
He did not believe Big Hen could withstand something that insanely powerful.
The Snow and Ice Banshee did not find Jiang Hao's endless questions annoying. She enjoyed showing off her knowledge. "The Lava Heart's essence is extremely gentle, but if the light it emits comes into contact with light from the outside world, it triggers an intensely hot reaction capable of burning all things to ashes. The Fire Demon Magic Beast Crystal in your hand can help your beast pet fuse perfectly with the Lava Heart."
The Snow and Ice Banshee offered no explanation for why the Fire Demon could feed on the Lava Heart's light.
Looking at the Lava Heart and uncommon beast crystal in his hands, Jiang Hao hesitated. His original plan had been to win first place in the Beast Pet Tournament, then use the Top-Grade Beast Crystal for his beast pet's first quality upgrade. That would ensure the greatest possible increase in its quality grade. If he used this uncommon beast crystal now, Big Hen's quality would reach uncommon at best.
He resisted the temptation. Waiting until Big Hen had fused with the Top-Grade Beast Crystal before fusing her with the uncommon beast crystal and Lava Heart should maximize the benefits.
Jiang Hao shamelessly asked a few more questions about the precautions involved in fusing with the Lava Heart, making certain nothing could go wrong.
Finally, he said, "Senior Ice and Snow, look, I've already completed the task you gave me. Shouldn't you... heh heh..."
Honor your promise?
The Snow and Ice Banshee plucked three white hairs from her head and tied them around Jiang Hao's left wrist. "If you encounter trouble you cannot resolve in the future, you can snap one of the hairs I've given you. If I'm not asleep, I will sense your summons."
Three hairs, three favors.
The moment those three white hairs were tied around Jiang Hao's wrist, they turned transparent and slowly sank into his flesh.
Jiang Hao: ???
How am I supposed to snap these things?
Jiang Hao looked blankly at the Snow and Ice Banshee, hoping she would tell him how to use them properly.
The Snow and Ice Banshee would never answer such a stupid question. Whether he knew how to use them was his own business, not hers.
"All right, you can leave."
"Senior Ice and Snow, I want to go to the Wuji Peak Summit. Could I trouble you to take me there?"
"No. I'm going to sleep. But you can look for a shortcut through the Fire Demon Cavern. As far as I know, there's a hidden passage inside that leads straight to the summit. Whether you can find it depends on your abilities."
"Senior, if you're going to do a good deed, see it through! If you're escorting Buddha, take him all the way to the Western Paradise..."
"If you don't leave now, you can stay and sleep with me!"
"Thank you for your guidance, Senior! I'll take my leave. No need to see me out."
Jiang Hao hurriedly gathered up his large backpack and left, afraid the Snow and Ice Banshee would force him to sleep with her.
To be safe, Jiang Hao deliberately wrapped two more pieces of clothing around the Lava Heart, covering it even more tightly.
"Wait."
Just then, the Snow and Ice Banshee pointed at his wounds, and an icy chill flowed into Jiang Hao's wounds. The searing pain in his burns gradually faded, while the wounds that had pierced his body healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Thank you, Senior!" Then, under the Snow and Ice Banshee's gaze, he fled in a "sorry state."
When he returned to the Fire Demon Cavern, Jiang Hao had expected it to be scorching hot. Instead, the outermost lava pools had already begun to cool. With the pools no longer erupting, the temperature inside the Fire Demon Cavern had dropped considerably as well.
He waited three whole days for all the lava pools to cool. He wondered how Wen Ruxue, Chubby, and the others were doing. With him missing, his squadmates must have been terribly worried.
The Fire Demon Cavern was enormous. Apart from the densely packed lava pools, the lava that had erupted from them had cooled into bizarre rock sculptures of every shape and size. Finding that hidden passage in such a vast place with such complicated terrain was truly difficult.
Jiang Hao searched for an entire day and night. At last, perseverance paid off: he found a three-foot-wide crack in a rock wall. However, a huge rock sculpture blocked more than half of it. To get through, he would have to widen the crack enough to squeeze inside.
Taking out his only sharp tool, the Folding Axe, Jiang Hao toiled for another half day. By the time he finished, he was as exhausted as a dog.
Beyond the crack, the hidden passage stretched upward. It was pitch-black, and he had no idea what strange creatures might be living inside.
But by then, Jiang Hao could no longer afford to worry about all that.
Climbing upward through the hidden passage, he had no idea how long it was. All he knew was that every step was a struggle. Some stretches were so narrow that he could not squeeze through at all, forcing him to take out the Folding Axe and widen the passage bit by bit. Not only did it waste time, it drained his strength. He had not brought much food to begin with, and this was not the outside world. Once it ran out, he would starve to death in this hidden passage.
He was beginning to regret choosing this "shortcut."
But there was no medicine for regret in this world. However difficult the road, he had chosen it himself. No matter what, he had to grit his teeth and keep going.
One day passed.
Five days passed.
Half a month passed.
While Jiang Hao was still struggling to crawl through the hidden passage, Chubby and his five companions finally reached the Wuji Peak Summit. The moment they arrived, they searched everywhere for Jiang Hao, but they were destined to be disappointed.
The so-called Wuji Peak Summit was actually an enormous volcanic crater. In its center stood a nearly three-hundred-meter-wide mass of charred rock formed from lava. It looked as though someone had sliced it flat with a single stroke of a great sword, which was why it was called a flat summit.
Numerous tents had been erected on the summit. Naturally, those who had made it here were the contestants from both brackets who had successfully passed the third stage of the competition, along with the Referee Panel.
Once here, contestants no longer had to worry about food or keeping warm. The Referee Panel would take good care of them. Whoever arrived first could recover to peak condition first, ready for the fourth stage-the Team Competition.
Today was the final day before the third stage of the competition ended.
Yet no matter how long Chubby and his five companions waited, Jiang Hao did not appear.
The six of them saw their morale plunge straight to rock bottom.
The viewers watching the live feed from the Broadcast Studio were also distressed by Jiang Hao's failure to appear.
Viewer A said, "Has that guy called Brother Chicken still not shown up? Looks like the odds are stacked against him. Damn it, I bet several hundred taels on him!"
Viewer B said, "Give it a rest. Everyone thought highly of him at first. Who knew the sky would brew an unforeseen storm, or fortune and disaster would strike overnight? We've only lost some money. He's lost his life."
Viewer A said, "Sigh!"
There was nothing else to be done.
Somewhere in the volcanic crater, a hand covered in scratches suddenly emerged from a crack. From its fingers to its arm, it trembled violently, until a labored yet feeble gasp rose from below.
"I'm Jiang Hao, damn it! I'm not going to die that easily! I'm..."
Slowly, a filthy, disheveled man crawled out of the crack. His distinctive short, spiky hair was gone, and his face was covered in stubble. Not a trace of his former bearing remained!
The moment he saw daylight again, Jiang Hao could not help throwing back his head and laughing in excitement. "Haha! Haha! I'm still alive! Your Grandpa Jiang is still alive! Thank you, heavens! Haha, I'm still alive!"
"Whew... so cold..."
A gust of cold wind blew past, making Jiang Hao shiver in his single tattered piece of clothing.
Jiang Hao was alone. Ten days earlier, after his food ran out, he had been forced to abandon his large backpack in the hidden passage to save time. In its place, he carried a small bundle made from a ragged piece of clothing wrapped around a few important items, along with the Folding Axe. If he had not needed it to clear the way, he probably would have thrown that away too.
Jiang Hao could not imagine how he had survived after his food ran out. All he knew was that he had to live. To survive, whenever his hunger became unbearable, he stuffed any living thing he could feel in the hidden passage into his mouth, poisonous or not. At the time, he had only one thought: Dying of poison is better than starving to death.
He had even considered eating his own beast pet, though it had remained nothing more than a thought. He understood that if he actually did it, his future would be utterly ruined.
During his days in that sunless hidden passage, he had come to understand one thing: Big Hen was important, even more important than his own life. When he was nearly dead from hunger, Big Hen had brought him strange insects in her beak to fill his stomach, allowing him to survive until now.
Big Hen was not just his beast pet. She was his companion, and more than that, his lifesaver.
The moment he crawled out of the hidden passage alive, he felt ashamed for having thought of eating Big Hen.
Carrying that shame, he had to return to the competition no matter what, claim first place, and obtain that Top-Grade Beast Crystal.
The Team Competition officially began today. There were ten competition platforms across the two brackets. Competing teams had to consist of five to ten members, with their captains responsible for drawing lots.
Liao Yunxiao, serving as head referee, announced the rules of the Team Competition.
First: the Team Competition would last five days, with victory determined by a points system in the Team Arena Competition. A team would earn one point for each round it won. Any team could freely challenge a team holding an arena, and the defending team could not refuse.
Second: if a defending team successfully held its arena for ten rounds, it would earn one additional point.
Third: the points a team earned could be freely distributed among its members.
Fourth: each match had a five-minute time limit. Within those five minutes, victory would be determined by the number of opponents defeated. A team would lose if half or more of its members were defeated. Neither side would earn points in a draw. Anyone caught cheating or throwing a match would be immediately eliminated.
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