Raiding the Lair

The membrane contracted rapidly like a living thing, revealing a mouth full of sharp teeth beneath the water—there was something else in the pool! Lu Heng abruptly withdrew his hand; the Star Blade was already unsheathed, and he slashed at the water's surface.

The blade sliced through the membrane, and dark red liquid splattered out. Something underwater let out a sharp screech and leaped out of the pool.

More than one.

Lu Heng's pupils contracted.

As soon as the first leech landed, four or five more sprang out from under the water. They were dark red, about half a meter long, and covered in a layer of mucus. They had no eyes on their heads, only a round mouth filled with tiny teeth. They landed on the rock wall, the mucus corroding the rock with a sizzling sound.

Lu Heng raised his Wristband and quickly scanned:

[Lava Leech]

Grade: Bronze Tier

Description: A gregarious volcanic parasite that feeds on energy in high-temperature liquids. Its body surface mucus can corrode rocks, and it can absorb water-based energy to strengthen itself.

Bronze Tier, and they live in groups.

Without hesitation, Lu Heng swept his Star Blade horizontally, the blade carrying the energy of the Blood Taisui as it slashed at the nearest leech. The blade sliced through its body, and dark red blood splattered out—but the leech did not die immediately; the muscles at the cut writhed rapidly, slowly healing.

Other leeches swarmed at the same time.

Lu Heng dodged one leech, his blade piercing the body of another and pinning it to the rock wall. But the pinned leech writhed violently, its slime spreading along the blade and beginning to corrode the Star Blade. Lu Heng frowned and abruptly pulled back—a layer of dark red corrosion had already appeared on the blade.

Just then, a leech pounced from the side. Lu Heng had no time to dodge and raised his left arm to block. The leech hit his arm, and its slime instantly stuck to it.

The moment the dark red armor formed by the Blood Taisui came into contact with the slime, it made a soft "hiss" sound. A hole the size of a thumb was quickly corroded into the surface of the armor, exposing the skin underneath. A burning pain came, as if being splashed with strong acid.

But the next second, the surrounding Blood Taisui surged rapidly, and dark red fleshy buds extended from the edge of the armor, quickly filling the hole. A few seconds later, the armor was restored to its original state, without even leaving a trace.

Lu Heng glanced down at his arm, his brows furrowing slightly.

The Blood Taisui heals very quickly, but the corrosiveness of this sap is stronger than he expected—it can even burn holes in the Blood Taisui's armor. If it gets directly on the skin, the consequences would be unimaginable.

What's more troublesome is that he discovered these leeches draw energy from the pool when they attack—each time they approach the water's surface, the dark red glow on their bodies intensifies, and their movements become faster. They are absorbing energy from the water.

Lu Heng gripped the Star Blade tightly, his mind racing.

A direct confrontation won't work; their regenerative abilities are too strong, and they are numerous and live in groups. He needs to find their weakness.

His gaze fell on the pool.

These leeches can absorb water-related energy to strengthen themselves—but what if it were the other way around?

Thermal expansion and contraction.

This is deep inside a volcano, in an environment of extreme heat. These leeches have adapted to extremely high temperatures. If they were suddenly subjected to extremely low temperatures...

He closed his eyes and directly activated his Talent.

A surge of icy energy erupted from his body, flowing along his arm and converging on the Star Blade. A layer of white frost quickly condensed on the blade's surface, the surrounding air temperature plummeted, and water droplets on the rock wall instantly froze.

The leeches seemed to sense the danger and retreated, emitting sharp hissing sounds.

Lu Heng didn't give them time to react.

He took a sudden step forward, his Star Blade sweeping across the water. A chilling Frost spread out from the blade's edge, instantly enveloping the entire pool area. The dark red water surface quickly froze, the leeches' bodies were frozen in the ice, their movements stiffened, and the mucus on their surfaces lost its activity.

A leech struggled to break free from the ice, but its body had become fragile in the low temperature, and cracks appeared on its surface with the slightest force.

Lu Heng stepped forward, flicked his Star Blade, and pulled the leech out of the ice. Its body was frozen solid, and it crumbled into pieces with the slightest touch.

He crouched down, used the tip of his knife to pry open the shattered body, and picked out a piece of hard shell about the size of a fingernail—dark red all over, with fine lines on its surface. He raised his Wristband:

[Lava Leech Carapace]

Grade: Bronze Tier material

Description: The only heat-resistant core shell in the Lava Leech's body, it is hard and can be used to forge protective equipment or make refractory agents.

Lu Heng put the shell into his backpack.

He looked up and glanced around. The pool was completely frozen, and the other leeches were frozen in the ice, motionless. He walked over and took out the shells one by one, scanning each one with his Wristband to check its grade. He collected seven shells in total.

After doing all that, he turned back to the pool and looked at the transparent crystal again.

He reached into the water—the surface beneath the ice was as still as a mirror. He grasped the crystal and pulled it from the bottom of the pool.

The crystal felt warm to the touch, and a dark red flame flowed slowly within it, as if it were breathing. Lu Heng raised his Wristband and pointed it at it:

[Volcanic Crystal]

Grade: Silver Tier Material

Description: Naturally formed fire-attribute energy crystals within volcanic ley lines, often found in areas of frequent magma activity. Containing pure fire elements, they can be used to enhance equipment or as an energy source.

Silver Tier.

Lu Heng's eyes flickered slightly. This thing wasn't a product of the Lava Dragon Lizard, but rather a natural formation of the volcanic ley lines—no wonder that dragon lizard chose this place as its nest; it wasn't guarding any treasure, but rather the most energy-rich ley line node in this area.

He looked around, his gaze settling on the bottom of the pool. Beneath the ice, he could vaguely see several similar crystals scattered on the bottom, their dark red light shimmering faintly through the ice.

More than one.

Lu Heng glanced in the direction of the cave entrance—the Lava Dragon Lizard hadn't returned yet. He hesitated for a second, then reached under the ice again and quickly pulled out a second crystal. Two were enough; taking more would make too much noise, and it would be troublesome if the dragon lizard came back.

He put the two crystals into his backpack and prepared to leave the cave.

A low hiss suddenly came from outside the cave.

Lu Heng froze.

Footsteps. Heavy footsteps, the sound of flames scorching the air, were rapidly approaching from a distance.

The Lava Dragon Lizard is back.

Without hesitation, Lu Heng turned and rushed toward the crack in the rock wall. He squeezed into the narrow passage and crawled inside, trying to move as quietly as possible, but the rock wall was so hot that he could feel the burning pain even through the blister membrane, and every breath felt like inhaling fire.

An angry roar came from behind, causing rubble to fall from the cave ceiling. The dragon lizard had discovered that someone had intruded into its lair.

Lu Heng dared not look back and desperately crawled forward. The crack was getting narrower and narrower, and his shoulders were almost stuck, so he could only move forward little by little. Behind him, the hissing of the dragon lizard grew closer and closer, and the crackling sound of flames burning the air was clearly audible—it had chased him into the cave.

But the crack was too narrow for the dragon lizard's massive body to squeeze through. It angrily pounded against the rock wall, shaking the entire passage, but it still couldn't get closer.

Lu Heng gritted his teeth and continued crawling forward. A dozen seconds later, a glimmer of light appeared ahead—the exit of the crevice had been reached.

He poked his head out, panting heavily. Outside was the other side of the crater, far from where he had entered before. Below, the lava was still churning, but the rock walls on this side were covered with dark red moss and some translucent red plants, as if they had been cast from lava.

Lu Heng climbed out of the crevice and glanced back. The entrance to the crevice was blocked by several boulders, making it almost invisible from the outside. Angry hiss of the dragon lizard echoed from the depths of the cave, but it was too late to catch up.

He is safe for now.

His backpack now contained two Volcanic Crystal, seven Lava Leech Carapace, and a Dragon Rock Fruit. These items might help him repair the Portal, or they might not, but they were at least a glimmer of hope.

He closed his eyes and began to meditate.

At the edge of the scorching volcano, the glow of lava illuminated his face. The Lava Dragon Lizard in the distance was still roaring in its lair, but it could no longer find him.