Enhancement

The roar of the Lava Dragon Lizard erupted from the depths of the crevice, sending dust flying from the rock walls. When Lu Heng emerged from the crevice, a large chunk of the fungal membrane armor on his back had been rubbed off, revealing the dark red fleshy buds of the Blood Taisui beneath. The buds wriggled a few times, and the damaged area closed up again, leaving not even a scar.

He didn't dare stop, crawling forward for more than ten meters using both hands and feet before leaning against the rock wall, panting heavily.

The hot wind from the crater, carrying the smell of sulfur, filled his lungs, making him cough twice. He glanced back—the entrance to the fissure was completely blocked by several collapsed boulders, making it impossible to see any passage from the outside. Deeper into the cave, the cries of the Lava Dragon Lizard grew fainter and fainter, clearly out of reach.

We're safe for now.

Lu Heng propped himself up on his knees and dusted himself off. He looked down and checked his backpack—two Volcanic Crystal, seven Lava Leech Carapace, and one Dragon Rock Fruit were all there. He breathed a sigh of relief; these were things he had risked his life for, and losing them would have been a huge loss.

He found a relatively flat rock platform to sit on, closed his eyes, and began to meditate.

At the edge of the scorching volcano, the light from the lava cast flickering shadows on his face. The Lava Dragon Lizard in the distance was still roaring in its lair, but it could no longer find him.

The meditation lasted for about half an hour. The energy in the body slowly recovered, and the Blood Taisui quietly lay dormant under the skin. The hole that had been corroded earlier had been completely repaired, leaving not even a trace.

Lu Heng opened his eyes and took out the two Volcanic Crystal from his backpack.

Holding the crystal in his hand, warm energy flowed from his palm into his body, as if something was calling to the Blood Taisui within him. He looked down at the crystal in his hand, then at the Star Blade —its blade was entirely black, without any visible patterns, as still as an ordinary piece of metal.

He hesitated for a second before pressing one of the Volcanic Crystal onto the blade.

The next second, the dark red light on the surface of the crystal suddenly shone brightly.

Lu Heng instinctively tried to let go, but the crystal seemed to be drawn to the Star Blade, clinging firmly to the edge and remaining motionless. He could feel a surge of scorching energy emanating from the crystal and spreading along the blade—not destructive, but rather fusion and permeation.

The Star Blade was vibrating.

He closed his eyes, trying to sense the knife.

At this moment, he clearly felt the Star Blade devour the Volcanic Crystal. The fire-attribute energy was absorbed, stored, and transformed by the blade, then fed back into his body. The fire-attribute power within him—energy that could originally only be used to heat the air and melt ice—had become much more condensed, as if it had been purified by something.

He raised his hand, and a dark red flame condensed at his fingertips.

This ball of fire was more stable and hotter than any flame he had ever conjured before. With a flick of his wrist, the flame landed on a rock in front of him, instantly turning its surface red-hot and sizzling.

The Star Blade is enhancing his fire-based powers.

He opened his eyes, gripped the hilt of the sword, and tried to channel the energy within his body into the blade. A scorching heat emanated from the sword, causing the surrounding air to distort slightly.

He swung his knife at a rock in front of him.

Without any contact, with the blade still half a meter away from the rock, a dark red blade light flew out from the blade and accurately struck the rock. The rock surface was instantly cut open with a deep gash, the cut glowing with a dark red light, as if it had been melted by high temperature.

Lu Heng sheathed the sword, and the light on its blade dissipated, returning it to its original state as a piece of black metal, showing no signs of abnormality.

This new feature is very useful.

But he soon noticed something amiss—when he tried to infuse the Frost energy into the blade, the blade felt a sense of rejection, as if the Star Blade was resisting this icy power.

Lu Heng frowned slightly and withdrew the Frost Energy.

He understood. The Star Blade absorbed the Volcanic Crystal, strengthening its fire-attribute energy, but at the cost of conflicting with ice-attribute energy. Abilities like Frost were not suitable for application to the blade—at least not now.

He carefully stored the remaining Volcanic Crystal, refraining from further enhancement—the two crystals had already allowed the Star Blade to undergo a transformation, and further enhancement might disrupt this delicate balance.

Lu Heng took the Dragon Rock Fruit out of his backpack.

The fruit was only the size of a fist, with a dark red skin that felt warm to the touch, as if it had just been pulled out of lava. Without hesitation, he stuffed the whole fruit into his mouth, chewed it, and swallowed it.

The fruit melts in your mouth, a warm, burning sensation slides down your throat into your stomach, and then quickly spreads throughout your body.

He closed his eyes, feeling the changes within his body.

The energy of the Dragon Rock Fruit is much gentler than that of the Volcanic Crystal. Unlike the crystals, it is not directly absorbed by the Star Blade, but slowly integrates into his body, strengthening his fire attribute energy. He can feel his High-Temperature Talent being further stimulated—originally, around the volcano, he couldn't feel the heat because of his Talent, and his body temperature was just right. But now, he feels that even the air he breathes has become comfortable, as if this high-temperature environment has finally become one with him.

He opened his eyes, gripped the Star Blade tightly, and tried to swing it again.

This time, the blade's aura was more condensed and hotter than before. When a rock in front was struck by the blade's aura, the cut instantly melted, and dark red magma slowly flowed down the crack.

Lu Heng nodded in satisfaction.

The effects of Dragon Rock Fruit are better than expected.

He stood up and looked around.

The terrain on the other side of the crater was more complex than he had imagined. Below was churning lava, and on both sides were steep rock walls. The only path was a narrow trail along the edge of the rock wall, covered with dark red volcanic ash and sulfur crystals, making it somewhat slippery. A few clumps of drought-resistant short grass grew sparsely in the crevices of the rock wall, their leaves already yellowed and curled at the edges.

Lu Heng took a deep breath and stepped onto the path.

He didn't know where the road led, but it was better than waiting to die in the crater.

After walking for about ten minutes, the path began to descend, gradually moving away from the high-temperature area of the crater. The surrounding temperature slowly decreased, the sulfur crystals on the rock walls lessened, and the pungent sulfur smell in the air also faded considerably.

Lu Heng breathed a sigh of relief.

He continued walking, his steps light. The path grew narrower and narrower, with steep rock walls on the left and a bottomless chasm on the right. Occasionally, muffled sounds came from the depths of the chasm, like magma flowing underground. Lu Heng walked close to the rock walls, confirming his footing with each step, making no unnecessary noise.