Chapter 989 Fire Demon Vine Flame Heart Lotus

The group exchanged glances, their eyes revealing shock and joy.

Yunmiao Sanren said excitedly, "In all the information I have received, I have never heard of a volcanic eruption in the Vast Ocean Realm."

Now everything makes sense: the aura of the sun's power was sealed, resulting in the abundant water elemental power in the Vast Ocean Realm.

This was likely intentional; dragons are skilled at controlling clouds and rain, and naturally dislike the power of fire.

Her family ancestors had entered the Vast Ocean Realm six times, and her forefathers had entered it nine times, without ever leaving a record of a volcanic eruption.

From the time her ancestors first entered the Vast Ocean Realm, there has been no information about fire eruptions in the more than 60,000 years of history, and no one has found any evidence of volcanic eruptions.

Therefore, it is unlikely that the volcanic eruption occurred before the cultivators entered the Vast Sea Realm.

Crescent Moon Hermit's eyes shone brightly as he spoke with great enthusiasm:

"The volcano that has sealed the power of the sun must contain many fifth-tier fire-elemental spiritual materials."

He turned to look at Ji An, "Fellow Daoist, you should be able to obtain a lot of materials to upgrade the Sunrise Flag."

Many cultivators speculate that the reason why the Vast Ocean Realm has been able to exist for so long is that it seals the power of the sun in a certain place, and then the entire small world maintains the balance of yin and yang.

It now appears that everyone's guesses were correct; the sealed land does indeed exist.

Ji An was equally overjoyed, saying, "Thank you for your kind words, fellow Daoist."

They sped up and flew forward, finally arriving at the outer perimeter of the volcanic eruption area a moment later.

Unlike the world I was in before, the volcanic eruptions here did not spew out volcanic ash that blotted out the sky; instead, they produced only scorching lava.

The explosive fire elemental energy collided with the water elemental energy in the sea, creating a gale with unpredictable wind direction.

The wind howled, carrying with it a rich spiritual energy that made everyone's hair flutter.

Ji An gazed at the majestic mountains and said in a deep voice:

"This mountain range covers a vast area, and many marine organisms such as fish and algae can be seen staying here."

Based on the waves we encountered, these mountains rose from the seabed.

The mountain peaks are devoid of any terrestrial plants, except for algae of various colors, and among the algae are dead or barely surviving fish and shrimp.

He recalled the map in the jade slip and discovered that this area was within the exploration range. It was originally a sea that was neither too deep nor too shallow. Judging from the markings, the seawater depth was between three and four thousand zhang.

If Yunmiao Sanren did not conceal anything when providing the map, no cultivator had ever known before that this sea area actually contained a cluster of volcanoes.

The Crescent Moon Hermit nodded in agreement, "I was quite curious before, wondering why the water depth in this area was so different from the surrounding area. Now I see."

This volcanic cluster has been sealed for an unknown number of years. Judging from the concentration of spiritual energy, it should have surpassed the fifth level and reached the sixth level.

It's unknown how many high-level fire-elemental resources it has nurtured. To put it simply, if everyone could obtain a fist-sized piece of sixth-tier fire-elemental spiritual material, they could exchange it for a massive amount of resources from the Celestial Lord.

The main way for the Celestial Lord to obtain sixth-tier resources is to search in the vast starry sky. Unless one is extremely lucky enough to find a planet rich in resources, the time cost is very high.

The lava blocks falling from the sky were getting faster and faster, like meteors hitting the mountains, raising dust in the air.

Many of the stones shimmered with a crystalline light, indicating that there must be fire-elemental spiritual objects hidden within them.

Yunmiao Sanren observed carefully for a moment and said:

"The volcanic eruption shows no signs of weakening. Everyone can search for spiritual materials in the peripheral areas, but do not go too deep to avoid unknown changes."

In addition, everyone should not be too scattered, and the intervals between searches should not be too far, at most not exceeding thirty miles.

The acquired spiritual items will be kept by each person initially, and will be tallied and distributed equally among everyone after leaving this world.

The current situation is comparable to spirit stones falling from the sky. We can't just stand by and watch. This kind of phenomenon can be detected by cultivators within a radius of hundreds of thousands of miles. The sooner we act, the more we will gain.

The distribution issue had been discussed long ago, and no one had any objections, as this guaranteed everyone's rights.

Wuyue Sanren can also get a share. Although he is a beast tamer, he is the only beast tamer at the Three Flower Realm.

Everyone sprang into action; this was a chance to make money, and everyone cheered with excitement.

Ji An reminded the five-colored deer, "Be careful."

The volcanic eruption lasted for a full day, and everyone reaped a rich harvest.

Everyone was busy picking up the windfall, and they would tacitly avoid other cultivators when they encountered them.

Such an opportunity is rare, occurring only once in tens of thousands of years. Even if there are significant conflicts among cultivators, they will temporarily set them aside.

No one would be so unwise as to believe that a battle would only benefit others.

Ji An met Bai Ye Shengjun again, but neither of them intended to clash. Ji An merely exchanged a cold glance with Bai Ye Shengjun before continuing their search.

During the process of collecting spiritual items, none of the cultivators encountered any fire-elemental demonic beasts, but they did discover a few rare fire-elemental spiritual herbs.

We don't know what kind of growing environment these medicinal herbs have, nor how they survived the volcanic eruption.

Ji An alone picked up three spiritual herbs: Fire Demon Vine, Flame Heart Lotus, and Crimson Blood Grass.

What pleased him most was the age of the medicinal herbs. The Fire Demon Vine was 46,000 years old and could be classified as a top-grade fifth-rank herb; the Flame Heart Lotus was just 40,000 years old and was classified as a high-grade fifth-rank herb; and the Crimson Blood Grass was over 50,000 years old and could be considered a sixth-rank herb.

The Fire Demon Vine and Crimson Blood Grass have no seeds, but the Flame Heart Lotus is quite well preserved, with both its lotus root and lotus pod intact.

Unfortunately, the seeds in the lotus pods are not yet mature. I wonder if they can be ripened before planting.

Ji An was searching for spiritual objects when he suddenly felt the mountains shake violently a few times, and then begin to slowly descend, plunging back into the sea.

He immediately let out a soft whistle as a warning, for this sealed land had never been discovered before, and there might be unpredictable dangers in the process of it being buried by the sea again.

Wu Yue Sanren and several teammates joined him, and he explained his concerns.

His principle is that he can be less profitable, but he must ensure safety.

Even if his concerns are wrong, at worst he can go into the sea to search for spiritual objects after the situation stabilizes.

The Recluse of the Crescent Moon, somewhat reluctant, pointed to some cultivators still flying low and searching, and said:

"What problems could possibly arise! I believe we can continue the search."

He obtained a sixth-grade low-level Flame Dragon Crystal the size of a human head, which stirred up his greed.

Yunmiao Sanren gently shook his head, "I think Fellow Daoist Xuanqing's concerns are valid. The sealed land is so vast yet it has never been discovered. There must be some mystery behind it."

Besides, these things are right there; they won't grow legs and run away. Unless something bad happens, we can continue searching.

Having hunted sea monsters for many years, she understood all too well that one should not attempt to approach a sea monster unless it was certain that it was dead.

The same applies to exploration; ensuring safety is the most important thing, and when given the choice, one should stay away from potential dangers as much as possible.

She had heard of many demon hunters and thought she had all sorts of substitute treasures, so she wasn't vigilant enough about the dangers and never saw one again.

Xuan Shuang Sanren agreed, saying:

"I agree with Fellow Daoist Xuanqing and Miaomiao's suggestion. Let's leave this sea area and observe for half a day."

After spending this time together, she came to a conclusion: in terms of combat power and endurance, she was the weakest among them.

Because of her clear self-awareness, she understood that taking risks would be most disadvantageous for her.

Everyone flew away. With the three agreeing, it was pointless for Queyue Sanren to object. He followed behind the group, leaving reluctantly.

Throughout the area, some cultivators made the same choice, but a third of them were reluctant to leave and continued their search.

After escaping the volcanic eruption area, Ji An and the others hovered high in the sky, overlooking the mountains.

His gaze was sharp as he stared at the mountains, and he said softly:

"These mountains are sinking into the sea at an accelerating rate."

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly noticed golden runes appearing between the mountains, forming a chessboard that covered the entire mountain range.

Immediately afterwards, golden light shot straight into the sky.

The light was so intense that Ji An felt a blinding white light in his eyes, which stung painfully, and he reflexively closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again after the light faded, he found that the mountains that had been four or five hundred feet above the sea level had disappeared.

The sea was very calm, without a ripple, whereas there should have been waves.

The astonished voice of the Crescent Moon Hermit came from behind him: "Uh, where are those cultivators who were just in that area?"

Just seconds ago, there were about sixty monks still searching, but now not a single one has been found.

Yunmiao Sanren frowned and said:

"Let's see if there are any traces of those people in the ocean."

Xuan Shuang Sanren waved his hand, forcing himself to remain calm, and said:

"We'd better not put ourselves in danger. Let's send out a few sea fish to explore instead."

The situation was strange, and she felt a little guilty, but dared not show it for fear of being laughed at.

Yunmiao Sanren smiled faintly, "Of course I won't risk my life. Everyone, please stay further away. I'll lower the altitude and send out a few sea fish later."

The group flew about thirty miles away from the volcanoes before landing on the sea. Yunmiao Sanren released three strange fish at the early Nascent Soul stage.

If it's just for exploration, these sea fish are enough.

Even if the fish dies in the event of danger, it won't be too painful.

About 15 minutes later, the three fish returned one after another and communicated with their owner.

Yunmiao Sanren's face turned deathly pale. Without saying a word, she released two more late-stage Nascent Soul monster fish.

Two shadows swept across the sea like black lightning.

Sensing the shock in his friend's eyes, Xuan Shuang Sanren tentatively asked:

"What strange thing happened?"

Yunmiao Sanren nodded slightly, "I will inform you fellow Daoists after my beast has investigated again."

The situation was very abnormal. She was unsure of what was going on, or rather, she was unwilling to believe the results of her investigation.

Not long after, two sea fish at the late Nascent Soul stage returned together.

After communicating with them, Yunmiao Sanren took a deep breath and looked at everyone:

"Those mountains have now disappeared, leaving only a huge 'plain' on the seabed of the volcanic area, at a depth of about 3,400 feet."

Ji An's eyes narrowed sharply. "Not a single trace was left?!"

That massive volcanic cluster simply vanished without a trace, a situation he could never comprehend.

If he were to use magic to bombard that mountain range, it's unknown how long it would take to level it to sea level.

Yunmiao Sanren nodded and said with a wry smile:

"Yes, there was no trace left, only a 'submarine plain' with very slight undulations."

Isn't it unbelievable? This humble Taoist priest cannot explain the reason for this phenomenon.

Crescent Moon Hermit pursed his lips and suggested:

"We'll dive down, circle the seabed plain, and take a look from a distance. There shouldn't be any danger."

"OK."

Everyone agreed, because they also wanted to witness it with their own eyes.

An hour later, Ji An and the others returned to the sea, still shaken.

Crescent Moon Hermit solemnly bowed to the others and said sincerely:

"Thank you, fellow Daoists. If it weren't for your insistence, I would have harmed you all."

It can now be confirmed that all the cultivators who did not leave in time have disappeared.

The ability to make dozens of cultivators at the Three Flowers Realm disappear silently must require the intervention of a power at the Cave Heaven level.

At this moment, he truly felt the malice left behind by the fallen black dragon.

Yunmiao Sanren quickly waved his hand, "You're too kind. We've all come here together, so we're all one."

Now is not the time to weigh gains and losses; let us leave quickly.

After saying that, she immediately used her escape technique and headed towards the sea.

The others immediately activated their escape techniques and fled the sea area as if escaping, continuing their flight according to the original plan.

The setting sun, like blood, stretched their shadows and cast them onto the sea.

The next day, the team members discovered a rocky island that resembled a tortoise shell, and then landed there.

After a night of flying, everyone was exhausted. Their magical power was almost depleted, and their spiritual power was also mostly consumed. Continuing to fly would be extremely dangerous.

Despite his exhaustion, Yunmiao Sanren said:

"You all hurry up and recover your mana and spiritual power. Fellow Daoist Xuanqing will take over for me in two hours."

She was worried about letting either Queyue Sanren or Xuanshuang Sanren be the first to guard her, as their condition was far too poor.

The others didn't stand on ceremony either, and all sat down cross-legged.

Ji An took out a low-grade fifth-order Earth Spirit Fruit and swallowed it. Based on previous verifications, the effect of taking the Lightning-Struck Wood Spirit Fruit was particularly good when one was extremely tired.

After a day and a night of rest, everyone had recovered to a fairly good state, and their tense nerves had gradually relaxed.

Everyone took out the spiritual items they had obtained during the volcanic eruption, and Queyue Sanren took out a sixth-grade low-rank Flame Dragon Crystal.

This is a smooth, oval-shaped spiritual object containing a golden dragon aura that periodically gathers and disperses, resembling a giant dragon in appearance.

When the dragon's energy gathers most intensely, one can clearly see details such as the dragon's eyes, whiskers, and scales, making one marvel at the wonders of creation.

(End of this chapter)