164: Chapter 163 Earth Fire Cave

Early the next morning, when Jiang Hanzhou walked out of his Immortal Cave, the sky had not yet fully brightened.

He held a palm-sized, crimson token in his hand. The token was as red as fire, with an ancient "Fire" character engraved on the front and a winding, Dragon-like pattern on the back.

That was the totem of the earth fire spiritual vein.

Red Jade Token.

Before Master Xue Mu left yesterday, he had Qing Zhu deliver this object to his Immortal Cave.

Only by holding this token could one enter the Earth Fire Cave.

Jiang Hanzhou tucked the token into his robes and walked westward along the mountain path.

Red Fire Peak covered a vast area, divided into nine levels from the foot to the summit.

Lijian Cliff was located on the east side, while the Earth Fire Cave was in the belly of the mountain on the west side. The two locations were over ten miles apart, requiring him to pass through a crimson maple forest and skirt around several Immortal Caves belonging to Inner Sect Disciples.

Along the way, the number of Disciples he encountered gradually increased.

There were Outer Sect Disciples passing by in a hurry; when they saw him, they merely nodded slightly without stopping.

There were Inner Sect Disciples walking with their hands behind their backs; when their gazes swept over him, they carried a hint of scrutiny and curiosity.

There were also groups of three or five Disciples gathered in stone pavilions by the roadside, talking in low voices about something; seeing him pass by, their voices lowered a fraction.

Jiang Hanzhou did not pay it any mind.

He did not stop his pace and headed straight west.

About half an hour later, the mountain terrain ahead suddenly changed.

The originally gentle mountain path took a sharp turn downward here, with a flight of stone steps winding deep into the mountain's belly.

On both sides of the stone steps, the crimson rocks were covered in fine cracks, from which heat faintly steamed upwards, and the air was filled with a rich scent of sulfur.

The temperature rose sharply.

Jiang Hanzhou stopped and took a deep breath.

The moment that heat was inhaled into his lungs, the Lihuo True Flame within his body gave a slight jump, as if it had caught the scent of its own kind.

"We have arrived."

He lifted his foot and stepped onto the stone stairs.

The stone stairs were extremely steep, winding downwards, getting deeper as he walked.

The rocks on both sides gradually turned from crimson to dark red, and then from dark red to pitch black; that was the color of carbonization after being scorched by the earth fire for millions of years.

The heat grew more and more intense.

At first, it was just warm, then it gradually became scorching, and then searing hot.

Ordinary cloth could not last more than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn here before spontaneously combusting, and even an ordinary Martial Artist in the Viscera Burning Realm would be drenched in sweat and have their True Qi exhausted before walking very far.

But Jiang Hanzhou felt no discomfort.

The Lihuo True Flame within him was dancing joyfully at this moment, greedily absorbing the scattered fire-attribute Spiritual Qi in the surroundings.

With every step he took, the True Flame grew a fraction stronger, as if a fish had entered water or a bird had returned to the forest.

After walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the path ahead suddenly opened up.

A massive karst cave appeared before his eyes.

The cave was about ten zhang high and a hundred zhang in circumference, with walls made of pitch-black, ink-like rock. The surface of the rocks was covered in fine cracks, and within the cracks, one could faintly see dark red light flowing.

That was a branch of the earth fire spiritual vein, winding and flowing deep within the belly of the mountain.

In the very center of the cave, a massive waterfall of magma descended from the sky!

The magma was a blazing orange-red, gushing out from a crack in the top of the cave and pouring down into a bottomless pool below.

The moment the magma hit the pool, it splashed up countless scorching droplets, emitting a suffocatingly high temperature.

Heat waves rushed towards his face.

Jiang Hanzhou stood at the edge of the cave, and the Lihuo True Flame automatically surged out, forming a thin, crimson-gold light film on his body surface.

He looked up and swept his gaze across the cave.

There were people.

More than one.

On the east side of the cave, on a protruding rock, a young man sat cross-legged.

That person was about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with a cold and stern countenance, and a hint of aloofness between his brows that suggested he was not to be approached. He wore a dark cyan robe, and his body was surrounded by a pale cyan light.

Yuan Xiang middle stage.

On the west side, on a flat piece of ground by the magma pool, stood a burly man.

That person was bare-chested, revealing bronze-colored, sturdy muscles covered in crisscrossing scars.

He had his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes closed in concentration, and red light circulated endlessly around his body, merging with the surrounding heat waves.

Late Yuanxiang Stage.

Further away, in the shadows deep within the cave, a slender figure was vaguely visible.

That person had her back to everyone, and her face could not be seen; one could only see a long, fire-red dress trailing on the ground, and a head of ink-black hair cascading down to her waist like a waterfall.

There was no light circulating around her body, nor was there any aura leaking out; it was as if she were just an ordinary woman standing there.

But Jiang Hanzhou only glanced at her once before withdrawing his gaze.

He could not perceive that person's cultivation level.

He knew very well what this meant.

Either that person was an ordinary person.

But that was impossible; anyone who could enter the Earth Fire Cave was at least in the Primal Form Realm.

Either that person's cultivation was far superior to his, or, their method of concealing their aura was far superior to his.

Regardless of which it was, it was not wise to provoke her.

Jiang Hanzhou withdrew his gaze and walked towards the depths of the cave.

His goal was not these positions by the pool, but the place Master Xue Mu had mentioned in his Divine Sense transmission yesterday—the Fire Eye.

The core of the Earth Fire Cave, the place where the earth vein baleful fire was most concentrated.

To the right of the magma waterfall, there was a narrow crack.

The crack was no more than three feet wide and a little over one zhang high, sloping down towards the deeper parts of the mountain's belly.

The rocks at the edge of the crack had been scorched until they crystallized, presenting a glass-like texture, with dark red light faintly visible flowing deep within the crystals.

Jiang Hanzhou walked to the front of the crack and stopped.

He looked back at the few people in the cave.

The youth in the dark cyan robe was still cultivating with his eyes closed, turning a blind eye to his arrival.

The bare-chested man opened his eyes and looked at him, his gaze lingering for a moment on the Red Jade Token in his hand, before closing his eyes again and ignoring him.

The figure in the fire-red dress remained with her back to everyone, motionless.

Jiang Hanzhou withdrew his gaze and took a deep breath.

He lifted his foot and stepped into the crack.

The moment he stepped into the crack, the surrounding temperature rose sharply!

It was not a gradual heat, but like colliding with an invisible wall of fire; his entire body was instantly swallowed by the scorching heat wave!

Jiang Hanzhou let out a muffled groan, his skin turning red and burning hot in an instant!

The Lihuo True Flame on his body surface surged frantically, desperately resisting the heat wave that was almost roasting him alive!

He gritted his teeth and moved forward, step by step.

The crack was extremely narrow, and the crystallized rock walls on both sides were almost brushing against his shoulders.

Those rock walls had been scorched by the earth fire for millions of years and were now emitting an astonishingly high temperature; merely brushing against them caused the Lihuo True Flame to deplete rapidly.

He did not dare to touch them.

He could only carefully move forward sideways, stepping very steadily with every step, fearing that a single stumble would cause him to crash into the rock wall.

He walked about thirty zhang.

The crack suddenly widened.

A circular space about ten zhang in circumference appeared before his eyes.