83: The vinegar sea is churning, and everyone is displaying their unique abilities.

The star-boat sped under the burning sky, temporarily leaving the pursuers behind. However, the atmosphere inside the boat was even more scorching than the flowing fire outside.

Lin Xuan knelt halfway in the cabin, carefully and continuously transferring his gentle and mellow Golden Core magical power into Qu Feiyan's body. Her injuries were extremely severe; Guixu Death Qi and demonic energy had eroded her Meridians. Even with her foundation from the Azure Wood Origin Pool and Lin Xuan's desperate efforts to save her, her charming and stunning face remained transparently pale. Lin Xuan's brows were tightly furrowed, his eyes filled with heartache and self-reproach.

Su Wanqing sat quietly at the stern of the boat, seemingly meditating with her eyes closed, but the chill emanating from her body was almost tangible. Her mind uncontrollably replayed the scene of Wangshu and Lin Xuan standing side-by-side, activating the Star Core, as well as Lin Xuan's undisguised concern for Qu Feiyan at this moment.

Gongsun Yu sat next to Su Wanqing, looking at the heavily injured and unconscious Sister Qu, then at Senior Sister Su, who was radiating cold Qi, then secretly glancing at that white-robed Senior Wangshu, and finally her gaze fell on Big Brother Lin, who was wholeheartedly treating Sister Qu. Her small mouth pouted repeatedly, feeling an inexpressible sourness in her heart. She quietly took out a Spirit Fruit from her Storage Pouch, wanting to give it to Lin Xuan, but dared not disturb him, so she could only nibble on it in small bites, finding it tasteless.

Wangshu, meanwhile, stood alone at the bow of the boat, her white veil fluttering in the strong wind, her posture still tall and solitary. She silently circulated her Cultivation Technique, calming the exhaustion brought on by activating the Star Core.

Just in this eerie silence, the star-boat suddenly lurched violently! A dormant volcano below erupted without warning, sending scorching magma soaring into the sky!

"Be careful!"

Lin Xuan reacted extremely quickly. With one hand, he maintained the transfer of Qi to Qu Feiyan, while with the other, he slammed it onto the star-boat's control core. Golden-red magical power erupted, forcefully pulling the star-boat upward. A scorching wave of heat rushed towards them.

However, an exceptionally scorching golden flowing fire, stirred up by the volcanic eruption, cunningly bypassed the star-boat's main defenses and shot directly at Wangshu, who was at the forefront due to her position!

Wangshu had just expended energy, and her aura had not yet recovered; her Taiyin Moon Essence protective halo clearly paused.

In a flash of lightning, Su Wanqing, sitting at the stern, opened her icy eyes. Almost instinctively, her ice sword was already unsheathed by half an inch, and Taiyin Moon Essence was ready to be unleashed! But her movement suddenly stopped, a hint of struggle flashing in her eyes.

In the instant of her hesitation, Lin Xuan, who had been observing the entire situation, had already made his move! Unable to move, he pointed two fingers like a sword, and from a distance, an incredibly condensed, scorching sword Qi, containing the power of a newly acquired "chapter of the blazing sun" fragment, struck the golden flowing fire from behind, hitting it precisely!

"Sizzle!"

The flowing fire was dispersed by the sword Qi.

"Senior, are you alright?" Lin Xuan withdrew his fingers and looked at Wangshu.

Wangshu slightly turned her body, avoiding the splashing sparks, and her clear, cold gaze fell on Lin Xuan's face through her white veil, "I'm fine."

This scene completely ignited the flame in Su Wanqing's heart.

She sheathed her sword with a "clang" and her voice was icy cold: "Junior Brother Lin is quite the tender-hearted one, so attentive even to this Senior he's just met."

Lin Xuan was startled by her words and looked at Su Wanqing, meeting her eyes that seemed to condense ten thousand years of cold ice, and was momentarily speechless.

"Junior Sister Su, you speak incorrectly." Qu Feiyan, who had somehow slightly opened her eyes, said. Though her aura was weak, her voice carried a charm that lingered even in illness, "Little Brother Lin has a chivalrous heart; he can't just stand by and watch someone die, can he? Moreover... Senior Wangshu possesses such grace, even I feel pity for her..." As she spoke, she deliberately leaned closer into Lin Xuan's embrace.

Su Wanqing's face grew even colder, and the chill around her surged.

"Senior Sister Qu, say less and focus on healing." Lin Xuan's head ached terribly as he quickly restrained Qu Feiyan, who was trying to "fan the flames."

Gongsun Yu watched the tense scene, shrinking her neck in fright, and mumbled softly, "Everyone, please don't argue..."

Wangshu took in the entire commotion and spoke calmly: "The space in the core area of the River of Flowing Fire is unstable, and similar eruptions will become more frequent. The top priority is to quickly find a stable area, treat her injuries, and determine our next destination." Her gaze swept over the unconscious Qu Feiyan, then looked at Lin Xuan, "You have newly acquired a fragment; your power is not yet fully controlled and needs to be stabilized quickly."

Her words were rational and calm, instantly diluting the ambiguous and sour atmosphere within the boat.

Lin Xuan took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in his heart: "Senior is right." He focused his mind and fully controlled the star-boat.

Su Wanqing also snorted coldly, saying nothing more.

The star-boat traversed with difficulty above the continuous volcanoes and surging rivers of lava. After the previous eruption, the surrounding space was indeed more unstable, with new volcanic eruptions or spatial ripples appearing from time to time.

"Big Brother Lin, that floating rock on the left seems to be moving!" Gongsun Yu, who had been nervously staring ahead, suddenly pointed to a seemingly stable flaming floating rock to the left front and shouted.

Lin Xuan's Divine Sense immediately swept over it, and indeed found that the energy inside the floating rock was extremely unstable, on the verge of eruption! He hurriedly steered the star-boat to turn, narrowly avoiding it.

"There's something crawling on that iron chain on the right!" After a while, Gongsun Yu pointed to the thick iron chain connecting two floating islands on the right and exclaimed. They saw the iron chain covered in dense, fingernail-sized, crimson ants. Wherever they crawled, the iron chain was corroded with sizzling sounds!

"They are Gold-Eating Fire Ants!" Wangshu glanced at them, "Once entangled, they are extremely troublesome."

Lin Xuan immediately made the star-boat ascend, moving away from that area.

Two consecutive warnings had avoided unnecessary trouble. Su Wanqing's gaze towards Gongsun Yu softened slightly, and Qu Feiyan also uncharacteristically refrained from teasing. Lin Xuan even cast an approving look: "Xiaoyu, you observe very carefully."

Receiving Lin Xuan's praise, Gongsun Yu's small face flushed slightly, and her heart felt sweet. She became even more focused on helping Lin Xuan observe the path ahead.

Wangshu watched this scene, and the corner of her lips under the white veil moved imperceptibly. This team was more interesting than she had imagined.

With Gongsun Yu's auxiliary warnings, the star-boat passed through the most unstable area without mishap. Ahead, a Crimson Flame Phoenix Tree Forest burning with warm, golden-red flames appeared. In a clearing within the forest, there was a hot spring steaming with misty Spiritual Qi.

"Crimson Flame Phoenix Tree Forest... The fire spirit here is gentle and mellow; it's a good place to heal," Wangshu's clear, cold voice sounded.

The star-boat slowly descended into the forest clearing. They were temporarily safe, but the subtle atmosphere within the boat and the "shadow" lurking in the dark still hung over everyone's hearts like a sharp sword.