Volcano

Lu Heng leaned against the rock wall, his back soaked with sweat, which was then dried by the high temperature, leaving a layer of white salt stains. He closed his eyes and breathed very softly, but the energy in his body still could not be completely calmed down— the Gold Tier mental lock was like a brand, engraved deep in his consciousness. Even though the energy had receded, the lingering oppressive feeling still made his scalp tingle.

He cannot go out.

The wasteland surrounding the volcano was too peaceful, offering no cover whatsoever. Once he left this high-temperature zone, his opponent's mental energy could lock onto him again at any moment. He didn't know if that Gold Tier King was still nearby, nor did he know if the opponent would chase after Su Meng —but he could only gamble that Su Meng had already run far away, and that the opponent's real target was him.

Staying here is at least safe for the time being.

But you can't stay there forever.

Lu Heng opened his eyes, his gaze sweeping across the depths of the cave. Dark red light flowed along the rock walls, like magma slowly seeping into the cracks in the rocks, and the air was filled with the smell of sulfur and scorched earth. He stood up, stretched his stiff limbs, gripped his Star Blade, and walked deeper into the cave.

Since we can't get out, let's go deeper into the volcano.

The intense heat served as his cover, and the energy fluctuations of the magma masked his presence. More importantly, he needed to find something—any resource that could force him to leave this world. Although the Portal wasn't completely closed, he didn't know its exact location or what materials were needed to repair it. But since that fiery red building existed within the volcano, it must contain something special.

He walked further into the cave.

The cave grew narrower and the temperature rose. The dark red light streams on the rock walls became more concentrated, and the ground beneath his feet was so hot that he could feel it even through his shoes. Lu Heng suppressed his energy to the extreme, and the Blood Taisui formed an extremely thin film on his skin to insulate him from the high temperature, but even so, every breath felt like inhaling fire, and his throat was dry and sore.

After walking for about ten minutes, a glimmer of light appeared ahead.

It wasn't the grayish-yellow of dust and mist, but a dark red glow—the cave exit had been reached.

Lu Heng stopped at the cave entrance, pressed himself against the rock wall, and slowly poked his head out.

Outside was a wide, open rocky platform, below which lay the edge of the crater. Dark red magma churned within the crater like a pot of boiling iron, with bubbles constantly bursting and splashing scorching droplets of magma. Heat waves rose from the crater, distorting the surrounding air and reducing visibility to very low levels.

But Lu Heng's gaze did not fall on the lava.

He saw living things.

At the edge of the rock platform, less than twenty meters away from him, lay a lizard-like creature.

It was different from the one we encountered before on the outskirts of the volcano.

This one was much larger, nearly three meters long, and covered entirely in dark red scales, with molten lava-like light flowing between the scales. Its limbs were thick, its claws deeply embedded in the rock face, and a cluster of burning flames at the end of its tail swayed gently with its breath. Most striking was its head—two curved horns on its head, the tips of which shimmered with a dark red light, and its eyes were a pure lava color, without pupils, only constantly flowing firelight.

It lay motionless on the edge of the rock platform, as if it were hibernating.

Lu Heng held his breath and didn't move.

He raised his left hand and activated the Wristband's scanning function. A faint blue light flashed across the Wristband's surface, and several lines of data were projected into the air:

[Lava Dragon Lizard]

Grade: Silver Tier

Description: A volcanic giant lizard with a thin lineage of dragon blood. Its scales can withstand extremely high temperatures, and its tail flames can spew lava breath. It is also sensitive to fluctuations in mental energy.

Lu Heng stared at the line "Silver Tier," his brows furrowing slightly.

It's at the same level as him, but the opponent possesses the scales and armor resistance of dragon blood, so he wouldn't have an advantage in a direct confrontation. Moreover, this thing is sensitive to fluctuations in mental energy—if he uses the power of the Blood Taisui, it might immediately alert it.

He slowly retracted the Wristband, without continuing the scan.

The Lava Dragon Lizard remained lying there, the flame at the tip of its tail flickering gently, as if sensing the movement around it. Lu Heng moved slowly along the rock wall, trying not to make any noise. He needed to bypass the giant lizard and descend along the rock passage inside the crater wall; perhaps the resources he needed were there.

The path was narrow, allowing only one person to pass sideways. Lu Heng moved his feet carefully, the rocks beneath his feet so hot he could feel them even through his shoes. After walking about ten meters, a low hiss suddenly came from behind him.

Lu Heng suddenly turned around.

The Lava Dragon Lizard woke up.

It raised its head, its lava-colored eyes locking onto Lu Heng's direction. The flames at the tip of its tail suddenly surged, their dark red light illuminating the surrounding rock walls. It didn't pounce immediately, but instead lowered its body, emitting a low growl from its throat, as if issuing a warning.

Lu Heng gripped the Star Blade tightly, without retreating.

His retreat was blocked; behind him were steep rock walls, and ahead lay the crater. He had no choice but to move forward.

The giant lizard opened its mouth, and a dark red flame spewed out, rushing towards Lu Heng along the rocky path. The flame was extremely hot, burning the rock walls red-hot and distorting the air wherever it passed.

Lu Heng pressed himself against the rock wall, flames grazing his shoulder, the scorching heat making his hair curl. He waited for the flames to pass, then immediately rushed forward—there was a depression ahead in the rocky path where he could take temporary cover.

Seeing that its first attack had missed, the monitor lizard strained its limbs and charged towards the rocky passage. Its size was too large, and the passage was too narrow for it, but it forced its way in, its scales scraping against the rock walls with a screeching sound, and loose stones clattered down.

Lu Heng didn't fight head-on, and continued running forward.

At the end of the rocky passage was a wide platform, below which lay the crater. Dark red lava surged within the crater, and waves of heat washed over them. Lu Heng rushed to the edge of the platform and glanced back—the giant lizard had caught up to the exit of the passage and was slowly squeezing out of the narrow passage.

He seized the opportunity and turned to rush to the other side of the rock platform.

There was a recessed rock wall with a cave behind it. Lu Heng slipped inside, leaned against the rock wall, and slowly exhaled. The giant lizard didn't follow—the cave entrance was too narrow for its massive body to squeeze in.

But it didn't leave either.

Lu Heng could hear it pacing outside the cave, its claws scraping against the rock wall, making a harsh sound. It stood guard at the entrance, as if waiting for him to come out on his own.

Lu Heng frowned.

Being trapped here is not an option. He looked around the cave and noticed that the rock walls were covered with dark red crystals, which shimmered faintly in the light of the lava. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that energy flowed within these crystals, making them appear to be some kind of mineral.

He raised his Wristband and scanned again:

[Lava Crystal]

Grade: Silver

Description: An energy crystal formed deep within a volcano, containing pure fire-attribute energy, which can be used for forging or energy replenishment.

Lu Heng reached out and touched one of them.

The crystal was scalding hot to the touch, but it didn't burn him. He could feel a pure fire-attribute energy inside the crystal, much more concentrated than that of the Crimson Rock. Absorbing this crystal would be a good replenishment for the Blood Taisui.

He didn't act immediately, but continued deeper into the cave.

At the end of the cave was a fissure, from which came the faint sound of flowing water. Lu Heng frowned—how could there be water deep inside a volcano? He walked along the fissure, which grew narrower and narrower, but the temperature dropped slightly. After walking about ten meters, a small underground space appeared ahead.

In the center of the space was a pool of dark red water.

It wasn't lava, it was water—but a thin, dark red film, like some kind of fungus, floated on the surface. The rock walls surrounding the pool were covered with dark red moss, and scattered among the moss were some white skeletons, shaped like the bones of some small creature.

Lu Heng stopped by the pool, his gaze sweeping over a plant growing in a crevice in the rocks beside it.

The plant was strange. Its stem was only as thick as a little finger, and its entire body was a translucent dark red, as if it had been cast from magma. It stretched obliquely out of a rock crevice, and at the top was a fruit the size of a fist. The fruit was shaped like a longan, and its skin was covered with fine, scale-like patterns. A faint, dark red light flowed between the scales, as if it were alive and slowly pulsating.

Lu Heng crouched down, raised his Wristband, and aimed it at the plant:

[Dragon Rock Fruit]

Description: An unknown plant that grows in the high-temperature environment deep within a volcano. Its fruit contains a trace of dragon bloodline energy. Using it can purify the dragon bloodline within the body or greatly enhance physical strength, but there are certain risks associated with consuming it directly without processing.

Lu Heng stared at the line of "Dragon Bloodline Energy," his heart skipped a beat.

This thing is related to the Lava Dragon Lizard outside—the Lava Dragon Lizard possesses a faint dragon bloodline, and this Dragon Rock Fruit contains the same energy. It grows here, absorbing the bloodline energy emanating from the depths of the volcano and the Lava Dragon Lizard clan, which is why it bears this fruit.

He reached out to pick it, but the moment his fingertips touched the fruit's scales, a scorching heat surged through his fingers, almost making him pull his hand back. The fruit's temperature was even higher than the surrounding magma, and even the thin membrane formed by the Blood Taisui couldn't withstand it.

Lu Heng frowned, took out a piece of Lava Crystal from his backpack, wrapped the fruit in the crystal, and then plucked it from the stem. The moment the fruit left the plant, the stem withered rapidly, turning into a wisp of dark red smoke and dissipating into the air.

He put the Dragon Rock Fruit into his backpack and didn't keep it any longer.

Something was glowing at the bottom of the pool. Lu Heng looked down and saw a fist-sized transparent crystal with a dark red flame slowly burning inside. He raised his Wristband to scan it, but found that the Wristband did not react—this thing seemed to be unrecognizable.

Just as he was about to reach out and grab it, the dark red film on the water's surface suddenly moved.