The Void Furnace's Test
Ren Anran and Xu Lu's symptoms were simple, belonging to the aftereffects of mental energy confrontation and depletion.
These symptoms would gradually recover over time, so he wasn't in a hurry. It wasn't until Zhang Xuezhou wanted to use the power of the Void Furnace that he awakened it ahead of schedule.
"Wow, you're amazing!"
Hearing Zhang Xuezhou use the dead souls to conquer and subdue all the dead souls in the entire black stone pillar, Xu Lu couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.
Xu Lu also had his own pride, believing that he was never inferior to others. He thought that some beings had better conditions, which led to them having stronger abilities and status than himself.
But Ren Anran, who possessed a physical body, entered this place only to end up covered in dirt and nearly die. She is still not fully conscious, while Zhang Xuezhou has already waged war here and conquered everything in it.
By comparing the same things in pairs, it is easy to arrive at the conclusion.
While Xu Lu can admit defeat and submit, it is extremely difficult to earn his genuine praise.
After some discussion, Xu Lu understood the situation. With the help of the Yin Entity Tracking Technique, he couldn't help but touch those dead souls that were enough to restrain him.
"Sizzle!"
The meaningless voice of the dead soul was emitted, and the void furnace leaped out and approached Zhang Xuezhou.
"This thing is pretty dangerous, they almost beat me to death!"
Xu Lu made a sarcastic remark, to which Zhang Xuezhou responded with an awkward laugh.
"You seem to have some health problems. Can you still keep going?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.
"This place is full of toxic fumes, which is making me feel a bit uncomfortable!"
Xu Lu nodded, then his eyes quickly lit up again.
"But I love it here," Xu Lu said. "This is simply the Sacred Land I've always dreamed of cultivating in!"
For someone like Xu Lu, who is skilled in fire, he does indeed prefer an environment with a fiery atmosphere.
The fire here is not simply burning; it possesses a special quality.
This flame has a very strong corrosive power; once it touches something, it is very difficult to extinguish and will continue to burn, even burning stones.
If one could obtain this power of poisonous fire, one wouldn't need to fight to the death in battles within the void furnace. After unleashing the flames, one could retreat and wait for the opponent to die or cut off flesh to preserve the weakness caused by the attack.
He was finding it difficult to adapt to this place at the moment, but Xu Lu was confident that he could overcome his physical discomfort and even learn the special power of this abyssal poisonous flame.
"Then... are you hungry?"
Zhang Xuezhou thought for a moment, then added another question.
It would have been better if he hadn't said those words. As soon as he did, Xu Lu felt an emptiness in his stomach, and a feeling of hunger and weakness quickly overwhelmed him.
"How long have I been here?" Xu Lu asked belatedly.
"It should take about twenty days," Zhang Xuezhou said.
"It's been that long?"
Xu Lu was startled, feeling as if time had passed in the blink of an eye.
If Zhang Xuezhou hadn't come, he might have starved to death in a daze and become one of these dead souls.
He could only be thankful that he had eaten a hearty meal before setting off, as the Ferocious Beast's body was far more resistant to hunger and thirst than an ordinary human body.
"It seems I need to go back and recuperate," Xu Lu said, clutching his stomach and frowning.
"That's absolutely right!"
Zhang Xuezhou nodded and then gestured towards the surrounding dead souls.
"I can control these dead souls now, but what happens after I leave is unknown," Zhang Xuezhou said. "I think I should figure out the rules of these dead souls before leaving, so as not to suffer greatly when I enter again!"
"That's right!"
Upon hearing that Zhang Xuezhou had only temporarily taken control of these dead souls and was unsure if the effect would persist after he left, Xu Lu immediately became anxious.
It's rare to find such a suitable area for cultivation, and it might even possess flames more powerful than one's own body. If one comes here and gets beaten every time, Xu Lu feels that no matter how good this place is, he can't stay here.
"What do we do? Kill them one by one?"
Xu Lu asked Zhang Xuezhou, then looked at the endless stream of dead souls pouring into the main hall.
Just thinking about the countless, overwhelming number of dead souls made him feel that this was an impossible task.
"I discovered the throne and treasures of the master of this base, but I'm unsure if I can use these treasures to control these undead!"
Zhang Xuezhou pointed to the withered wooden throne and the long staff.
The Demon Thought duck, perched atop the wide-sleeved, robed dead soul, opened its mouth, seemingly wanting to complain, but dared not utter a sound.
"In this state, I am not in a physical body, so I cannot exert any strength. It is difficult to detect any changes by touch. I can only see if you can react," Zhang Xuezhou said.
"If the owner of this place were here, I would have to kowtow to him upon seeing him, daring not to have any other thoughts. But now... humph!"
Xu Lu said a couple of things, then let out a cold snort.
But he only spoke to encourage himself; in reality, he was extremely cautious in his actions.
There might be no danger for Zhang Xuezhou, but for Xu Lu, it might be a different story.
He was torn between wanting to leave as soon as possible and fearing that he would face the same situation if he went back in, leaving him with no way to solve the problem.
Whether you do it sooner or later, it's still something that needs to be done. As long as he has an idea in his mind, some things are bound to happen.
"Do you think the owner of this place is very powerful?" Zhang Xuezhou asked casually.
"I knelt before even meeting the master of this place; his power must far exceed my imagination," Xu Lu cautiously replied. "I think someone as powerful as him shouldn't need to explore the wilderness; he'd be a big shot anywhere!"
The master here did not appear; a single powerful undead soul was enough to restrain the Void Furnace.
Leaving aside the master of this place, it's difficult to guess how powerful the dead souls here were in life.
Xu Lu felt that only Hu Yu and Hu Hao, who held the Ding Kui, were capable of exploring such a dangerous place. However, if the two brothers encountered the owner of this place, Xu Lu would definitely not be optimistic about Hu Yu and Hu Hao, even if they held the Ding Kui.
This is what a virtual furnace feels like.
Xu Lu was also puzzled as to why such a master would come to this world to explore.
Compared to the Voidstone base that he had spent all his savings to acquire, the other party's base was as large as a city. This was even the fragmented remains after being cut down; when it was intact, it must have been even larger.
Xu Lu could hardly imagine all of this; it was like the Zhufu Yan's existential crisis in the Shanglin Garden.
He approached the staff and the withered wooden throne with extreme caution.
"This thing is so heavy!"
When Xu Lu reached out and grabbed the long staff lying on the ground, his face flushed red.
He felt he had used every last bit of strength he had left, but he couldn't even pick up the owner's staff, or move even the slightest distance.
Feeling somewhat dizzy, Xu Lu quickly gave up on picking up the staff.
Compared to the long staff that required considerable effort to pick up, the throne was far less troublesome.
Xu Lu stood up and shook his aching bones and muscles.
Has Ren Anran woken up too?
When he looked at Zhang Xuezhou to tell him that he had done his best, Xu Lu noticed that Ren Anran had already stood next to Zhang Xuezhou at some point.
"I'm awake!"
Ren Anran nodded in response.
She looked at Zhang Xuezhou, but saw that he didn't convey any information. Then she looked at Zhang Xuezhou Lu, who had spent nearly an hour bending down to pick up the long staff.