134: Chapter 134 Fire Attribute Crystal Ore

Ye Tianhao's gaze narrowed as he gripped his sword tightly, his peripheral vision sweeping over Ye Tianyao.

"Tianyao, I'll pin it down from the front; find an opportunity to circle around the back!"

Before his voice had even faded, that Middle Stage First-Order Red-Armored Lizard lunged forward manically. Its heavy red armor crashed against the cave wall, causing rubble to cascade down as a wave of sweltering heat, thick with a fishy stench, rushed toward them.

The fireball it spat out was even larger than those of the previous three combined. The core of the flame surged with crimson-gold light, exploding into a ring of fire the moment it hit the ground, narrowing their path of retreat significantly.

"Good timing!" Ye Tianhao leaped onto his sword, channeling spiritual power into the blade. The sword light condensed into a single line; instead of clashing head-on with the fireball, he slashed diagonally at the Red-Armored Lizard's front claw.

Although the scales there were also hard, they were several degrees thinner than the back armor.

With a crisp "clang," the blade slid off the scaly armor, sending sparks flying half a foot high.

Stung by the pain, the Red-Armored Lizard slammed its front claw down and reared up on its hind legs.

Using the force of the recoil, Ye Tianhao narrowly dodged the fiery wind from the claw, though the hem of his robe was already charred and curled.

These ordinary mortal clothes were simply too fragile; they were ruined after being lightly brushed by the flames.

Seizing the opportunity, Ye Tianyao used the stalactites to maneuver, her figure moving like a swallow as she circled behind the Red-Armored Lizard.

She flourished her sword, thrusting it directly toward the lizard's underbelly. However, even that soft flesh was covered in fine scales; her full-strength strike barely penetrated a few inches, only serving to further enrage the beast.

"It's actually this hard!" Ye Tianyao was shocked. Killing the three Early Stage First-Order Red-Armored Lizards earlier had been easy, but this Middle Stage one was so difficult to deal with!

The Red-Armored Lizard's long, spiked tail swept across like a steel whip, its wind, infused with fire spiritual power, bearing down directly on Ye Tianyao's face.

In her haste, she crushed a Swift Movement Talisman. Her figure staggered as she dodged, but her chest was still struck by the long tail, and blood instantly gushed out.

"Tianyao!" Seeing his sister injured, Ye Tianhao immediately charged forward frantically, ruthlessly slashing at the lunging Red-Armored Lizard. A series of sword techniques sent sparks flying everywhere, forcing the lizard to retreat.

With blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, Ye Tianyao pulled out several Explosive Talismans and said, "Brother! I'm fine, it's just a scratch. I'll use Explosive Talismans to blast its underbelly; take the chance to attack with everything you've got!"

"Alright!" Ye Tianhao responded. He proactively closed the distance, his sword striking at the lizard's eyes, mouth, and other vital points, deliberately drawing all of its attention to himself.

Infuriated, the Red-Armored Lizard spat fireballs in rapid succession, its claws striking and tail sweeping with ruthless precision.

Ye Tianhao dodged left and right. Most of his clothes were burned away by the waves of fire, yet he remained stubbornly locked in combat at the lizard's front.

Seeing the beast raise its upper body again to attack Ye Tianhao, Ye Tianyao immediately stacked the Explosive Talismans in her hand and hurled them fiercely at its belly.

"Boom! Boom!!"

Violent explosions erupted beneath the Red-Armored Lizard. Flames and shockwaves surged; no matter how strong its belly armor was, it could not withstand the combined blast of several stacked Explosive Talismans.

The entire cave began to shake. The Red-Armored Lizard let out a shrill, miserable howl as several scales were blown off its belly, oozing dark red blood.

"Now!"

Ye Tianhao let out a low shout and leaped forward like an arrow from a bow. Taking advantage of the moment the lizard hunched its body in pain, he condensed spiritual power into his longsword, transforming it into a giant blade that he thrust ruthlessly into the wound.

With its scales already broken, the sword pierced into its belly without resistance, striking a vital point.

Its whole body shuddered, the fireball in its mouth cut short, and the fire spiritual power surrounding it dissipated like a receding tide.

The massive body finally collapsed, making the ground tremble violently as its breath faded completely.

Ye Tianhao pulled out his sword and stabbed the lizard's wound several more times. Only after confirming it was dead did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

After landing, he had quite a few burns on his body, but he didn't have time to care about himself. He rushed to Ye Tianyao's side: "Tianyao! Is your injury serious?!"

Ye Tianyao's face was somewhat pale, but she was not in grave danger. She shook her head and said, "Brother, I'm alright. I was just scratched by that beast's tail. I'll be fine after taking some healing medicine!"

Although her front looked frightening, her condition improved significantly after some simple treatment.

After a brief rest, Ye Tianyao looked at the dark red crystal in the cave and couldn't help but step forward to examine it.

The spiritual crystal was about the size of a washbasin, and one could see fire energy slowly circulating within. Even though the Red-Armored Lizard was dead, it still radiated a fire-attribute spiritual power.

"Brother, this Ore looks extraordinary; we've struck it rich! I heard Grandfather say that such natural spiritual items can be used for forging, ascending Spirit Beasts, and even Body Tempering. It's far more precious than this Red-Armored Lizard!"

Ye Tianyao said with delight.

Ye Tianhao leaned in to look, reaching out to sense the power of the crystal Ore. He nodded and said, "No wonder this Red-Armored Lizard was significantly stronger than normal ones; it turns out it was using this crystal Ore to Cultivate."

Earlier at the inn, he had overheard someone mention a Yao Beast about to Breakthrough to the first order, hiding in a region filled with thunder-attribute energy.

It seemed that Yao Beasts also relied on natural spiritual treasures to improve their cultivation.

Ye Tianyao tucked the crimson crystal into her pouch, her face beaming with joy: "Brother, we've really hit the jackpot this time. Not only is the mission complete, but we also got this Fire-Attribute Crystal Ore and three little Red-Armored Lizards!"

At this point, seeing that her brother's clothes were almost entirely burned away, Ye Tianyao couldn't help but blush slightly: "Brother! Hurry up and put some clothes on. This is simply improper!"

Ye Tianhao rubbed his head sheepishly. Looking at the charred remains of his clothing, he sighed, "It seems I'll have to buy some clothes that Cultivators can use for protection."

After they both changed, they searched the cave. Aside from a few small Essence Spirits, there were no other crystal Ores containing fire spiritual power.

It seemed the conditions for such a crystal Ore to appear were extremely strict; only one could form in a cave filled with spiritual power.

After completing the mission, the two rushed back to the Mission Hall.

The Disciple on duty at the Mission Hall saw that these two Cultivators, who were only at Qi Refining Fourth Layer, had actually brought back a Red-Armored Lizard.

One of the Disciples stared at the Red-Armored Lizard in the Storage Pouch in shock and couldn't help but exclaim, "Good heavens! How did you manage this? Even for someone at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer, this Red-Armored Lizard would be a handful!"

Ye Tianhao said calmly, "Can you give me the reward?"

He only handed over the Middle Stage First-Order Red-Armored Lizard according to the mission. As for the other three and the Fire-Attribute Crystal Ore, they were naturally kept to be dealt with later.

Jarred back to his senses by Ye Tianhao's cold tone, the duty Disciple sheepishly withdrew his gaze. After counting the Red-Armored Lizards in the Storage Pouch and confirming it was indeed the Middle Stage First-Order Yao Beast required by the mission, he asked no further questions.

He took a brocade box and a bag of Spirit Stones from a Storage Pouch and pushed them toward the two: "This is the mission reward: one hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones and a bottle of Qi Gathering Powder for cultivation. You two are quite capable to have taken down a Red-Armored Lizard!"

After checking the items and confirming everything was correct, Ye Tianhao handed them to Ye Tianyao.

Seeing this, Ye Tianyao took the brocade box and the bag of Spirit Stones. Feeling the warmth of the Spirit Stones, the smile on her face never faded.

Just as they were about to leave, the duty Disciple suddenly spoke up: "Fellow Daoists, wait a moment. Recently, Tiangong Market has seen Cultivators vanishing without reason. I hope you two will be extra careful, especially when traveling alone at night."

He continued, "Yesterday, on the west side of the market, a Qi Refining Level 5 Cultivator went missing nearby. The Sect has sent people to investigate, but they couldn't find even a trace of spiritual power fluctuations."