Lin Feng hadn't descended even halfway before he began to feel the strain becoming unbearable. The heat below was far more intense than he had anticipated, far exceeding that of any ordinary volcano. This anomaly meant only one thing: an incredibly potent fire-attribute spirit treasure must be exerting its influence deep below.
Initially, Lin Feng had his true essence circulating according to the 'Water Spirit Chapter' of the Stellar Spectrum Art, hoping to counteract the oppressive heat with its opposing elemental nature. The results, however, were disappointing. Hovering mid-air, he pondered for a moment before deciding to try a different approach. He switched his cultivation method to the 'Fire Spirit Chapter'. Instead of resisting the ambient fire spirit energy, he began to absorb and channel it. To his delight, testing this method immediately alleviated much of his discomfort. The scorching energy pressing in on him seemed to part ways; some was absorbed directly into his system, while the rest, as if encountering a curved barrier, was diverted away before it could touch him.
Another cultivator practicing a common cultivation technique would find achieving this nearly impossible. Although the fire spirit energy here was potent, it was exceptionally chaotic and difficult to absorb or control. But the Stellar Spectrum Art Lin Feng cultivated was extraordinary, allowing him to effectively 'tame' the fierce energies swirling around him.
Relieved of the immense pressure, Lin Feng cautiously increased his descent speed. Soon, he reached the bottom, hovering a mere ten meters above the violently churning lava lake below.
His gaze swept the surroundings and immediately locked onto a fiery-red plant growing from a crevice in the right-hand wall. "Scorch Vermilion Fruit!" he exclaimed, unable to contain his joy.
The plant stood about a foot tall, growing slantwise from a rock fissure. At its tip hung a single, egg-sized fruit, shaped like a teardrop and blazing a vivid crimson. It looked precariously ripe, as if ready to drip at any moment. The Scorch Vermilion Fruit, a Tier 4 spirit herb, was immensely valuable. It could be used to refine the 'Fire Infant Pill', which significantly increased the success rate of forming a Nascent Soul for fire-attribute cultivators, or the 'Scorch Pill', offering immense cultivation benefits to fire-attribute Nascent Soul cultivators.
Lin Feng swiftly flew closer. Pulling out a specialized jade box designed to preserve such spirit fruits, he carefully used his true essence to pluck the ripe fruit and seal it securely inside.
After storing the precious cargo, Lin Feng meticulously scanned the surrounding rock walls once more. Finally, his gaze settled on the seething lava beneath his feet.
Finding a Scorch Vermilion Fruit here was already a tremendous boon. However, the restless Magma Flame within him clearly signaled that the treasure it sensed was not this fruit. The powerful pull persisted, emanating distinctly from within the molten rock below.
Lin Feng stared down at the bubbling expanse, a frown creasing his brow. "You can't be serious," he muttered to himself, disbelief coloring his voice. "Do I actually have to go down there? This isn't exactly taking a dip in a lake..."
He wrestled with the dilemma for a long while. Finally, gritting his teeth with a look of grim determination, he resolved to take the risk. With a flick of his right hand, a sphere of deep crimson flame materialized before him – the Magma Flame itself. The moment it appeared, the flame seemed to pulse with excitement, almost straining to fly down towards the lava of its own accord.
"Foomph!" At Lin Feng's mental command, the Magma Flame suddenly dispersed, spreading out like a fiery net across the surface of his protective spirit light barrier. It was a spur-of-the-moment idea: hetero-flames were unique treasures of nature; surely, they could offer superior protection against molten rock.
Controlling the Crimson Soul Flying Sword carefully, Lin Feng began to descend into the lava. Like an air bubble sinking into water, the spirit light barrier, sheathed in the Magma Flame, carried him slowly downward into the roiling inferno.
He descended with extreme caution for about ten meters. Relief washed over him; the situation was marginally better than he'd feared. He felt no crushing pressure. The surrounding lava seemed almost to recoil from the Magma Flame, parting like a curtain to grant him passage. The drain on his true essence to maintain the barrier was significant, but still within his capacity to bear.
Enveloped on all sides by surging, glowing magma, Lin Feng felt his sense of direction begin to waver. His divine sense could only penetrate about three hundred meters into the molten sea, revealing nothing but more molten rock. Yet, the crucial pull from the Magma Flame remained, tugging him insistently further down.
As he mentally calculated the depth of his descent, Lin Feng kept scanning his surroundings. While the likelihood of encountering danger seemed low, he dared not drop his guard. Legends told of demonic beasts capable of thriving within lava; encountering one would be disastrous.
To his growing dismay, the descent stretched on for nearly a thousand meters. Lin Feng's expression darkened considerably. They were now far below the surface. The pressure steadily increased; the rate of his true essence consumption had multiplied several times over compared to the start. Even with Restoration Pills replenishing his reserves, the drain was outpacing his recovery. Continuing like this would leave him too depleted to make the return journey.
"Hmm?!" Just as Lin Feng was seriously contemplating retreat, his eyebrows shot up. He jerked his head up, looking forward in surprise, then glanced down at his feet with confusion. "What's happening?" he murmured. "Did the location shift? Or was my initial sensing wrong?"
The source had previously felt directly below him. Now, abruptly, the pull seemed to emanate from straight ahead, and the sensation was markedly stronger, as if the target was suddenly very close.
Weighing his options briefly, Lin Feng decided to investigate this new direction. If he still couldn't locate the target, he would retreat to the surface to recover before trying again.
"Eh?" However, after moving forward barely fifty meters, Lin Feng froze again. Puzzled, he turned his head sharply to the right. "No way," he uttered in astonishment. "It's... moving? It's not stationary? Is it drifting with the lava flow?"
Even as this thought formed, he felt the direction of the pull shift once more. He spun around, looking behind him. His eyes widened as realization struck. "That's not right!" he exclaimed. "It's not drifting with the flow... the thing itself is moving! Could it be... alive? Impossible!!"
He realized the movement trajectory didn't match the direction of the surrounding lava currents. This meant the target wasn't passively carried along; it was propelling itself!
"Could it be attached to a demonic beast?!" A terrifying possibility flashed into his mind, sending a chill down his spine despite the infernal heat. He immediately tried to ascend. But at that very moment, a flash of red movement caught his eye from the right. He focused intently. A slender shadow, about half a foot long, darted through the magma currents with the sinuous ease of a loach.
Seeing this slender entity, Lin Feng was stunned. His hetero-flame sense resonated powerfully – its source was this thing! His mind raced, sifting through knowledge of rare treasures. Suddenly, his eyes blazed with recognition. A name surfaced, leaving him momentarily breathless with disbelief. "Heart of Earthfire Essence! It's actually the Heart of Earthfire Essence?!"
True to its name, the Heart of Earthfire Essence was a fire-attribute treasure formed in the planet's deepest depths. One of its defining characteristics was that, once formed, it gained the ability to move, navigating freely through the earth's bedrock and making it notoriously elusive. It was exceptionally rare for one to appear this close to the surface, within a volcano.
Recognizing the treasure, Lin Feng's eyes ignited with unparalleled excitement. The Heart of Earthfire Essence was precisely the ultimate material needed to evolve his Magma Flame!
Overcome by urgency, Lin Feng thrust his right hand forward. A surge of true essence shot out, attempting to grasp the elusive essence. However, within the dense lava, his true essence was severely hampered. It barely extended ten meters before becoming uncontrollable. Simultaneously, the Heart of Earthfire Essence seemed to sense the threat, flickering away through the magma like a startled fish.
Lin Feng instantly gave chase, initiating a frantic pursuit within the molten depths. It felt like trying to catch an impossibly slippery fish. The Heart of Earthfire Essence moved with uncanny agility, far quicker than any loach. Hampered by the need to constantly shield himself and maneuver through the thick lava, Lin Feng couldn't gain ground. The chase only consumed more of his precious true essence. He realized grimly that he risked exhausting himself before ever catching his prize.
"This won't work! I need a better tactic..." Lin Feng's brow furrowed deeply as his mind raced. Suddenly, inspiration struck. He raised his right hand again, not to release true essence, but to command the Magma Flame itself. The crimson flames coating his barrier surged, detaching nearly half their mass to form a large, fiery hand! This hand parted the magma ahead with ease and shot towards the fleeing Heart of Earthfire Essence!
Unimpeded by the lava, the Magma Flame moved fluidly, far more effectively than Lin Feng's true essence ever could. In the blink of an eye, it traversed over twenty meters and clamped firmly around the darting treasure!
"Got it!!"
Triumph flared in Lin Feng's heart, but it was instantly replaced by alarm. As he willed the captured portion of the Magma Flame, along with the trapped essence, back towards him, the Heart of Earthfire Essence vanished without warning from within its fiery grasp. Simultaneously, an intense, searing pain lanced through his divine sense. It took him a stunned moment to comprehend – the Heart of Earthfire Essence had been instantly absorbed by the Magma Flame!
The unforeseen reaction between the hetero-flame and the essence sent a jolt of panic through Lin Feng. This was absolutely not the time or place to attempt evolving his flame! Yet, events were spiraling out of his control. Feeling the remaining Magma Flame around his barrier also beginning to churn violently, he wasted no more time. Pouring every ounce of energy he had left into the Crimson Soul Flying Sword, he launched himself upwards, desperately fleeing the molten depths.
...
"WHOOSH!!!"
A muffled roar echoed within the volcanic crater. A sphere of light erupted violently from the bubbling lava surface. It lacked the force to clear the crater entirely, instead crashing onto a small, jutting rock platform about ten meters across, partway up the inner wall.
The spirit light barrier flickered and dissipated, revealing Lin Feng looking thoroughly disheveled. He let out a long, shuddering sigh of relief and immediately dropped into a cross-legged position. His right hand shot out, fingers curling in a summoning gesture. The Magma Flame, now swirling agitatedly around where the barrier had been, coalesced instantly into a concentrated ball hovering just above his palm.
Drawing on his previous experience evolving his hetero-flame, Lin Feng suppressed his lingering panic. He closed his eyes, taking deliberate, calming breaths. Within moments, his mind was clear and focused. Channeling his consciousness and true essence, he began the delicate, all-consuming task of guiding the Magma Flame to assimilate and integrate the potent energy of the newly devoured Heart of Earthfire Essence...