A Strange Sight in the Canyon, a Hidden Refuge

Soon after Tieguai Li and his companions entered the depths of the valley, they felt an intense, scorching heat. Then, crimson flames appeared out of thin air, hovering in the air like burning stars, dazzling and magnificent.

"How can there be such abundant fire element here? It's practically a marvel of the cultivation Immortal Realm!"

Tieguai Li couldn't help but think to himself.

Then, Tieguai Li did not linger and headed straight into the depths of the valley.

Soon, Tieguai Li arrived at a canyon.

Tieguai Li discovered that in the center of the canyon, there was a palace carved from a huge rock.

Inside the palace was a huge mural, and in the very center of the palace sat a massive, crimson stone figure, its body covered in crimson flames and radiating a scorching heat.

"Huh? This isn't... a stone statue? No wonder it has such a strong fire element aura!" Upon seeing this, Tieguai Li was secretly surprised. Although the stone statue in front of him looked like it was carved from ordinary stone, upon closer inspection, he discovered that it contained extremely terrifying fire attribute energy, clearly making it a remarkable magical Law Treasure.

"What is this? Could it be the legendary stone statue?"

Upon seeing this, He Xiangu and Tieguai Li's master also curiously examined the stone statue, their expressions immediately turning puzzled.

"This is a volcanic lava stone sculpture, cast from the magma of a volcano. It has existed in this world for tens of millions of years!" Tieguai Li quickly explained after seeing the two people's appearance.

"So, there should be a teleportation portal here? Once we get to the Flame cave abode, we can enter the crater area?" Han Xiangzi frowned and asked after hearing Tieguai Li's explanation.

"That's right! I think it's right. This Flame cave abode should be hidden here, but I don't know exactly where it is yet!" Tieguai Li nodded and said.

Upon hearing Tieguai Li's words, He Xiangu and the other woman's expressions became somewhat solemn.

"No matter what, let's go in and take a look first! I have a feeling there's bound to be a fierce battle going to happen!" He Xiangu said.

"That's right. Now that we're here, there's no reason for us to back down. I can also take this opportunity to test my cultivation level!" Tieguai Li nodded and said.

Tieguai Li had witnessed He Xiangu's true strength before. He Xiangu was a master at the Saint King Realm, and her cultivation was extremely powerful. Tieguai Li also wanted to know what kind of strength He Xiangu could unleash here!

"Okay, let's go!"

He Xiangu nodded without hesitation and walked towards the stone statue with Tieguai Li.

Seeing this, Tieguai Li also walked directly towards the stone statue, and then the three of them entered the stone statue.

"Indeed, there is Daoist Sect inside, and behind that Daoist Sect is a passage."

Upon seeing this, Tieguai Li secretly exclaimed in amazement.

There was an ancient pattern on the stone gate, which was obviously some kind of array pattern, but Tieguai Li did not recognize the form of these array patterns.

However, this stone gate is clearly not simple; it must be a very high-level defensive formation.

"This stone gate is located about ten meters away from the crater!"

Seeing Tieguai Li's expression, He Xiangu was standing to the side, also spoke up.

After hearing He Xiangu's words, Tieguai Li nodded.

Tieguai Li wasted no time and immediately activated the Profound Yin Instruction within his body. Instantly, a terrifying energy of devouring burst forth from the Profound Yin Instruction and absorbed one of the totems on the stone gate.

"Buzz!"

The stone gate suddenly trembled violently, as if a tremor had occurred.

The next moment, the stone door split open from the middle, and Tieguai Li looked directly behind it.

Suddenly, a violent wave of heat surged out from behind the stone gate.

Without wasting any words, Tieguai Li rushed straight out behind the stone gate.

The surrounding environment was extremely desolate, with nothing else at all.

"Is this... the entrance to the Flame cave abode? Why isn't there a single person here?" Tieguai Li asked after scanning the area.

"The fire elemental energy here is quite concentrated, so it should be the entrance to the Flame cave abode. Moreover, there should be flames protecting it inside. And this is definitely not an empty mountain range!" He Xiangu said.

Tieguai Li did not doubt He Xiangu's words. After all, He Xiangu was a master Alchemy Grandmaster, and naturally had a keen sense for medicinal herbs and spiritual objects.

Upon seeing Tieguai Li's appearance, Han Xiangzi and his companion didn't waste any words and headed straight for the back of the stone gate.

Bang bang bang!

Soon, Han Xiangzi and his companion punched the stone wall in front of them, leaving it covered in a dense array of fist marks.

"Huh? What happened? The stone wall is completely unharmed? Could it be that there's something else inside the stone wall?" Seeing that there were no marks on the stone wall, Han Xiangzi couldn't help but ask.

"Hmm? I'll give it a try!"

After hearing Han Xiangzi's words, Tieguai Li tried it, and soon an excited expression appeared on his face.

Because Tieguai Li discovered that the outer layer of this stone wall was not made of hard stone slabs, but of various kinds of refined metals, making it extremely hard. To destroy this stone wall, Tieguai Li would need to possess the strength of Saint Emperor, but that was obviously impossible.

Moreover, Tieguai Li could sense that there was an extremely powerful fire-attribute energy fluctuation emanating from the stone wall. Clearly, this stone wall was the skeleton of some kind of strange beast, otherwise it would not have such an effect.

"I never expected things to be like this here!" Tieguai Li exclaimed.

After saying that, Tieguai Li took out a long sword from his storage ring and slashed at the stone wall in front of him.

At that moment, Tieguai Li's attack produced a crisp sound.

"Clang!"

However, to Tieguai Li's surprise, the long sword only left a shallow sword mark on the stone wall, and could not shake the stone wall at all.

This stone wall was clearly much sturdier than we had initially imagined.

"Hehe, looks like it still won't work! The hardness of this stone wall exceeds my expectations!" Upon seeing this, Tieguai Li's face flashed a meaningful smile. He was clearly very satisfied with the stone wall.