Thick smoke billowed, rushing into the nostrils, leaving a scene of devastation, like entering the eighteenth level of hell.
Lu Zhaozhao held her sword in her hand and walked through the winding passageway that resembled a honeycomb.
Just now, when she left the boundary of the third level, she heard that Jiu Fengruo was using the Nine Heavens Fire that she needed for body tempering. At that moment, countless thoughts surged in her mind, but in the end, they were all defeated by one thought: to turn back, even if there was a bottomless abyss ahead.
The moment Lu Zhaozhao turned around, she was certain that Jiufeng had noticed her, clearly meeting her gaze, but had not attacked her. Throughout her journey, she could feel eyes watching her from behind, but when she turned around, there was nothing there. And in someone else's territory, she was afraid that using her spiritual power to investigate would alert the enemy.
After many twists and turns, she arrived at a mountain ridge that was burning the most intensely. This must have been the dwelling place of some kind of demon beast. The roads were well-connected and neatly constructed, but unfortunately, it was now filled with raging flames. She wondered whether the original owner had escaped or been swallowed by the spatial black hole.
The air grew thinner and thinner as she walked, and her chest felt increasingly tight. Despite constantly being on guard, an inopportune thought popped into her head: Could it be carbon monoxide poisoning? The moment this thought crossed her mind, even Lu Zhaozhao herself froze. Having been in the book for so long, and constantly on high alert, she seemed to have forgotten how to think like she used to.
"Is this considered...doing as the Romans do?"
Lu Zhaozhao let out a sneer, squinted her eyes and exhaled, feeling as if she were much more awake than before.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, we finally reached the center of the passage. A wave of heat hit us, even hotter than the raging fire that had leveled the forest outside.
Ahead, churning lava flows like a crimson river, spewing out magma from time to time under the intense heat, creating cracking sounds and burning grooves into the surrounding thick stone walls.
"I just touched the fire, but it doesn't seem to be working. Should I go into the lava?"
Lu Zhaozhao squatted by the lava and muttered to herself. Lava splashed around her from time to time, leaving her somewhat puzzled.
"Ah—why isn't this book more detailed?!" Lu Zhaozhao shouted, then frowned and fixed her gaze on the flowing lava.
Having already cultivated the first level of body refinement, ordinary flames outside could not harm her. Before entering the back mountain, she drank the Ice Vine Bamboo Juice, thoroughly integrating it into her bone marrow. If it was just ordinary lava, it would be no different from a hot spring to her. If it was not ordinary, then wouldn't that be just what she wanted?
Thinking of this, Lu Zhaozhao closed her eyes, steeled her resolve, gritted her teeth, and jumped into the lava in front of her.
The moment I leaped, a burning sensation surged through me like a heatwave, instantly engulfing my entire body and suffocating me. The searing heat on my skin felt like being licked by flames, and every inch of my skin seemed to groan in agony.
The burning sensation, like a needle piercing the skin, penetrates deep into the bone marrow, making it impossible to ignore. The heat of the flames seeps through the skin and into the bone marrow, bringing intense pain.
"hiss."
Lu Zhaozhao gasped for breath, the scorching and sharp heat of the flames filling her lungs through her nostrils. Despite her best efforts to use her spiritual power to maintain a barrier against the magma, the lava still managed to break through and torment her body and mind.
"Huff, huff, huff..."
The air inhaled into the lungs became increasingly hot and thin. The protective shield formed by the condensed true qi thinned layer by layer under the erosion of the lava. The deeper one went, the higher the temperature became, and the faster the protective shield was worn away.
"Looks like I've found the right place." Lu Zhaozhao muttered to herself. The ice vine bamboo juice she had taken earlier began to take effect, and the cold air emanated from the inside out, forming a thin layer of frost on her skin.
With a crack, the protective shield formed by condensed true energy was finally burned away. At the moment it shattered and melted, the skin made direct contact with the lava.
The burning sensation on my skin felt like being cut by a sharp blade, the intense heat piercing straight to my heart. The initial touch was like the flames gently licking, bringing a sharp pain. Then, the flames spread rapidly, as if countless tiny needles were dancing wildly on my skin, the pain shooting through my body like an electric current.
The frost brought by the ice vines and bamboo sap was working continuously to resist the external scorching, but it seemed like a drop in the ocean in the face of the vast lava fields.
Her skin began to burn, as if she were placed on a scalding pot of oil, every inch of her skin being slowly tortured by flames. Endless molten lava rolled over her skin, like being pierced by an endless rain of fiery needles. These fiery needles, like thin, sharp arrows, carrying intense heat, shot at her from all directions, each piercing making her skin feel as if it were being roasted over a fire, causing unbearable pain.
The bones and flesh that had undergone the first forging were incredibly tough. Although they were scorched and covered in charred black, they only looked frightening. Just as Lu Zhaozhao secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that she could get through this if she just held on, something terrifying happened.
The magma fire spirit, which silently penetrated the skin and entered the body, attempted to attack from the inside. It launched a fierce attack on the internal organs. Under this stimulation, the ice vine bamboo sap that had been scattered throughout the internal organs after being ingested was fully activated, as if wound up and enthusiastically fighting against the invader.
If it were just a normal confrontation, that would be fine, but they seemed evenly matched, fighting more and more fiercely inside Lu Zhaozhao's body, giving her a feeling of being torn apart.
"Aaaaaahhhhhh—"
Lu Zhaozhao clutched the outer garment in front of her chest, the dense pain in her chest was extremely obvious, the intense pain caused her to lose focus, allowing more fire spirits from the magma to take advantage of the situation and enter her body, but this only excited Bing Teng Zhu Li even more.
In a daze, Lu Zhaozhao suddenly remembered the origin of the Ice Vine Bamboo Sap.
Ice Vine Bamboo Sap is a famous treasure in the cultivation world. Legend has it that it is a supreme treasure formed from vines and bamboo growing under the ten-thousand-foot ice layer in the far north, and only a few drops are produced in ten years. It is said that a Nascent Soul stage cultivator once accidentally fell into the extreme region. Although he was rescued in time, his meridians were all severed, his internal organs were mostly burned, and his breath was very weak, only able to take in but not out.
Everyone thought he was beyond saving, but his father refused to believe it and spent all his wealth to find two drops of Ice Vine Bamboo Juice. After the cultivator took it, the poisonous fire in his body dissipated, and his meridians began to be rebuilt. However, the Ice Vine Bamboo Juice was very potent, and in the process of colliding with the poisonous fire, it damaged the cultivator's body. Although he survived, he was unable to continue cultivating for the rest of his life, and his body was even weaker than that of an ordinary person.
Thinking of this, Lu Zhaozhao began to consider in her mind. The cultivator had entered the Extreme Domain, and no one knew what it looked like inside. However, what was known was that the poisonous fire covering the outside was extremely domineering. But she was currently in the heavenly fire brought by the Nine Phoenix. The Nine Phoenix was an ancient beast, and although it was only a remnant soul at the moment, its strength should not be underestimated. Moreover, she still had some strength left and was conscious. Even though she was in a dangerous situation, she might as well give it a try.
If that's the case, then let's give it a try!
Lu Zhaozhao made up her mind, gathering all her true energy to cover her internal organs. At this point, she completely withdrew the true energy that had been protecting her skin. She exhaled and laughed at the vast sea of lava and fire before her.
"If that's the case, let's see if I survive this ordeal, or if you will devour me!"
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