On the other side, after entering the secret realm, Shu Lan landed near a swamp.

Before entering the secret realm, Shu Lan used a secret technique to suppress her cultivation level. Therefore, Shu Lan now appears to be just an ordinary Foundation Establishment stage disciple.

As soon as Shu Lan reached the edge of the swamp, she was attacked by a dark shadow. The shadow suddenly darted out of the swamp and rushed straight towards Shu Lan.

The incident happened suddenly. With a thought, Shu Lan summoned the Yun Yao Sword, which was nurtured in his dantian. With a single slash, the dark figure was cut in half at the waist, quickly solidifying into two ice sculptures before hitting the ground.

The severed black shadow turned out to be a poisonous crocodile from the swamp. In its frozen eyes, disbelief remained, as if it did not know that it would be killed so easily.

Shu Lan shook the Yun Yao sword, wiping away the bloodstains on it. The Yun Yao sword trembled as if expressing its displeasure.

Sure enough, a little girl's voice appeared in Shu Lan's mind: "Master, don't you know I hate the smell of fish the most? It's disgusting!" It turned out that the sword spirit of Yun Yao Sword couldn't help but speak up.

"I'm so sorry, I'll definitely be more careful next time." Shu Lan smiled apologetically.

"I don't care, I don't care! I want to take a shower right now. Now, immediately, right now!" Yun Yaojian started acting like a rogue.

"Alright, alright." Shu Lan helplessly summoned the flowing water and had it wash the Yun Yao Sword.

"That's more like it!" Yun Yaojian muttered.

After being cleaned, the Yunyao Sword shook itself, broke free from Shu Lan's grasp, and flew a short distance away. A flash of white light appeared, and a lovely little girl with a fair complexion appeared where the Yunyao Sword had been.

It turns out that the spirit of the Yunyao Sword has already taken human form.

"Ah Yao, why did you run out?"

"How long has it been since you took me out? Can't I even go for a walk?" Yun Yao puffed out her cheeks angrily.

"Alright, alright, let's go out for a stroll." Seeing Yun Yao reminded Shu Lan of her younger cousin when she was little. So she treated her with exceptional kindness, already regarding her as a cousin.

"Hmph." Yun Yao turned her head away haughtily, leaving Shu Lan somewhat amused and exasperated.

"Tell me, where are we going now?"

"I'm here to find the Fire Spirit Essence, and I pretty much know the route." The moment he landed in the swamp, Shu Lan had already determined his location. Based on the plot in his mind, he deduced how to reach the location of the Fire Spirit Essence.

"Fire Spirit Marrow! That stuff is hard to find. It's mostly found in places with very high concentrations of fire element, or even inside magma."

"That's right, the Fire Spirit Marrow is probably inside the magma this time."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Yun Yao was eager to try and couldn't wait to go and see.

And so, the human and the spirit walked side by side toward their destination, the Fire Spirit Marrow.

After slaying many monsters along the way, Shu Lan and Yun Yao finally arrived at their destination.

The destination turned out to be a barren mountain, where nothing grew and the trees withered, a truly desolate place.

Yun Yao looked at the desolate mountain and then at Shu Lan with suspicion. "Are you kidding me? There's no way there could be Fire Spirit Essence here?"

Shu Lan smiled mysteriously at Yun Yao and put a finger to her lips: "Shh, don't make a sound. Just watch, you'll find out in a bit."

Shu Lan recalled the plot in his mind. He remembered that in the story, the protagonist came here by accident. At that time, the protagonist stepped on a red stone, accidentally stepped on the eye of the formation, and then stepped into the interior of the desolate mountain.

The red stone was under a withered, crooked tree.

"Oh, found it!" Shu Lan glanced around and quickly located the crooked, withered tree.

Shu Lan led Yun Yao to the withered tree, and Shu Lan immediately spotted the red stone. He pulled the unaware Yun Yao and stepped onto the red stone.

Suddenly, a formation flashed across the bottom of the desolate mountain for a fleeting moment. Then, Shu Lan and Yun Yao fell into the interior of the desolate mountain together.

Yun Yao cried out in alarm when a black hole appeared beneath her feet. She then plummeted down with Shu Lan.

As they fell, Shu Lan used magic to gradually slow their descent.

After a while, their feet finally touched solid ground.

Yun Yao looked up and realized that there was a hidden world here.

The temperature here was extremely high, and everything around was red—red rocks, red ground. Not far from them lay a vast lava lake, its lava shimmering with a bright, golden-red light that intensely burned the eyes.

Although Shu Lan had seen descriptions of this place in the story, this was the first time she had seen it with her own eyes. Yun Yao, on the other hand, was like a curious child, looking around endlessly.

Shu Lan led Yun Yao towards the lava lake. The closer they got to the center, the higher the temperature rose. Shu Lan's face gradually turned red from the heat.

Suddenly, Yun Yao tugged at Shu Lan's sleeve and pointed ahead: "Look! What's that?"

Shu Lan looked closely and saw a small black island in the center of the lava lake, on which a piece of fire spirit marrow was being nurtured. The fire spirit marrow was golden-red in color and radiated a dazzling luster.

"Be careful!" Shu Lan pulled Yun Yao back. If she remembered correctly, "There should be a guardian beast here!"

Just as Shu Lan finished speaking, the entire lava lake suddenly trembled violently, and a colossal creature emerged from the lakebed. It was none other than the guardian beast of the Fire Spirit Marrow—the Fiery Rock Lizard.

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