113: Chapter 113 The Woman Under the Lightning

"Lead the way."

Jiang Feng's voice remained devoid of emotion.

Already numb, Xiaomei nodded mechanically and led the way.

She had no hope of dissuading this madman; she only prayed he would survive, so she wouldn't be punished by Young Mistress for failing to look after him.

The two traveled south.

The air grew increasingly scorching and dry. The vegetation along the road turned from verdant green to withered yellow, until nothing remained.

The ground beneath their feet was baked until it cracked, revealing a deathly reddish-brown hue.

Forty miles away, the Flaming Mountain came into view.

It was a solitary peak, entirely crimson and barren, without a blade of grass. The mountain was red-hot, and the air above the summit distorted and warped due to the extreme heat.

Before they even reached the foot of the mountain, Xiaomei's forehead was covered in sweat. Her linen clothes were soaked through, clinging tightly to her body and outlining the young girl's somewhat immature curves.

"My Lord… I can't go on…"

By the time they climbed to the mountainside, Xiaomei's lips were chapped, her legs felt weak, and she was on the verge of collapsing.

The temperature here was no longer something an ordinary person could endure.

Her linen hem brushed against a protruding rock, and with a hiss, it was scorched into a charred little hole.

Jiang Feng turned back, his gaze pausing for a moment on the burnt hole, where a glimpse of snow-white skin was faintly visible.

He grinned, "Little girl, the quality of your clothes is lacking. If you take two more steps, I'm afraid you'll be streaking on the spot."

Xiaomei felt burning hot under his gaze, feeling both ashamed and anxious, tears welling up in her eyes, "My Lord… please don't tease Xiaomei…"

"What are you afraid of? This Old Ancestor has seen it all."

While Jiang Feng teased her, his hands didn't stop, and he took off his outer garment and threw it to her.

"Put it on."

Xiaomei held the outer garment, which still carried the scent of a man, and was momentarily stunned.

Jiang Feng ignored her and cast his gaze toward the summit, where flames flickered.

"My Lord, are you… really going up there?" Xiaomei recovered, her voice trembling with the hint of tears.

"The elders in the tribe say that an ancient Phoenix once fell on the Flaming Mountain summit! The magma there has burned for a thousand years without extinguishing, and there are wandering remnants of the Phoenix's Soul that attack the Divine Soul of anyone who approaches!"

"Oh? There is such a thing?"

Jiang Feng was surprised to hear this, but he had to go to the Flaming Mountain.

"Stay here and wait for this Old Ancestor to return after taking a magma bath. Remember, don't wander off."

As soon as he finished speaking, he strode toward the summit with his upper body bare.

The higher he went, the higher the temperature.

The rocks beneath his feet were dark red; stepping on them, a scorching heat radiated straight through his soles.

If an ordinary person were to step on them, their soles would likely be scorched raw.

Jiang Feng only felt his soles heating up; his Physical Body, tempered by the Cold Ice Pool, already had strong resistance to high heat.

Coupled with his water and fire Origin Physique, this level of heat couldn't cause him any harm.

Soon, he reached the summit.

A massive magma pool appeared before his eyes.

In the pool, crimson magma surged endlessly, bubbling away, while a suffocating smell of sulfur and intense heat rushed toward him.

"A great place!"

Jiang Feng exclaimed in admiration.

With a thought, he mobilized the Profound Ice Origin power within his Dantian Taiji Diagram, transforming it into a cooling aura that wrapped around his heart meridian and Sea of Consciousness.

He leaped up.

Splash!

He submerged his entire body into the boiling magma.

Hiss—

The terrifying heat instantly enveloped him, and a searing pain shot through his skin as if it were being melted inch by inch.

The Profound Ice Origin power within his body guarded his core of life, preventing him from instantly turning into charcoal.

At the same time, he activated the Small Golden Body Art.

"Small Golden Body Art, rotate!"

Jiang Feng sat cross-legged deep within the magma, guiding that violent fire-attribute energy to wash over his Physical Body repeatedly according to the Cultivation Technique's path.

Ice and fire, two extreme forces, one external and one internal, reached a delicate balance.

Just then!

Screech!

A sharp, high-pitched Phoenix cry, filled with resentment and violence, exploded in his Sea of Consciousness!

A phantom of a Phoenix composed of flames, carrying the might to burn the heavens, lunged at his Soul!

The Phoenix's remnant Soul!

Divine Soul attack!

Jiang Feng's brain buzzed, and his Soul felt as though it would be torn apart by this pressure.

But he was not afraid in the slightest; instead, his Battle Intent soared!

Come on!

He channeled his fire Origin to guard his Sea of Consciousness, allowing the Phoenix's remnant Soul to strike again and again.

With every impact, his Divine Soul shook violently, feeling as if it would collapse the next second.

But each time he withstood it, his Divine Soul became a fraction more solid.

His Physical Body suffered in the magma, while his Divine Soul was tempered in the Phoenix's cry.

This inhuman torment would have driven anyone with a weaker will insane long ago.

Yet Jiang Feng welcomed it gladly!

Three days later.

Boom!

The calm magma pool suddenly erupted.

A figure shot into the sky and landed steadily on the edge of the pool.

Jiang Feng was entirely crimson, his skin surface flowing with a magma-like dark golden luster, and as his eyes opened and closed, it seemed as though flames were burning within them.

He looked down at his fist and clenched it lightly.

Boom.

A circle of invisible ripples spread from his palm, and the surrounding air let out a groan under the unbearable pressure.

His Physical Body strength had reached a new level, and at the same time, his Divine Soul had become tougher under the constant attacks of the Phoenix's remnant Soul.

When he found Xiaomei, the young girl was curled up in the shadow of a boulder, clutching his outer garment. Seeing him return safe and sound, she rubbed her eyes.

The look in her eyes was one of pure disbelief; in just a few days, Jiang Feng's aura had undergone a massive change.

"Next, Hurricane Valley."

Jiang Feng had no intention of resting.

Hurricane Valley was more dangerous than the previous two places.

The wind here was no ordinary wind, but gale winds capable of tearing steel and scattering Souls.

As soon as Jiang Feng stepped into the valley entrance, countless sharp wind blades slashed at him, making even his bones groan.

Fortunately!

His Physical Body had been tempered by both ice and fire, attaining a balance of hardness and softness; otherwise, he would have been stripped to a skeleton the moment he entered.

Even so, Jiang Feng suffered greatly. His body was covered in scars, and every time the gale winds struck, they tore away large patches of flesh.

Jiang Feng could only continuously circulate the Small Golden Body Art, stimulating the power of his flesh and blood, repeating the cycle of cutting and healing.

Jiang Feng endured the pain of having his flesh sliced and bones scraped for ten full days. Only when his body continuously grew new flesh and his Physical Body was strong enough to resist the cutting of the gale winds did he step out of Hurricane Valley.

This time, he spent half a month.

By the time he walked out from the depths of Hurricane Valley, his aura was internalized, yet in every gesture, there was a sharpness capable of tearing the heavens and earth apart.

Having consecutively passed through three dangerous locations, the strength of his Physical Body was more than twice as strong as when he first arrived at Yunmeng Marsh!

"My Lord… are you… even human?" Xiaomei had assumed Jiang Feng had died in the hurricane. Only after seeing him emerge half a month later did she breathe a sigh of relief.

"Let's go, the last place, Purple Lightning Peak."

Jiang Feng was in a great mood and couldn't be bothered to explain.

The two traveled east.

Purple Lightning Peak was a solitary black mountain. The summit was shrouded in dark clouds, with streaks of purple lightning slithering through them, striking down from time to time with deafening roars.

A forbidden zone of thunder.

When Jiang Feng brought Xiaomei to the summit, the sight before him left him stunned.

In the center of the summit, where thunderclouds gathered and lightning snakes danced wildly, a figure stood prominently.

A woman.

A woman with a tall figure, bronze skin, and stunning curves.

She stood there completely naked, allowing streaks of purple lightning capable of melting steel to strike her body.

The lightning flashed, snaking across every inch of her bronze skin and coursing over her muscular lines, which were full of power.

These lightning bolts not only failed to hurt her in the slightest, but instead seemed to be tempering her body.

Jiang Feng stared blankly.

This big sister, going this hard?

What surprised him even more was that the woman's appearance was seven or eight parts similar to Young Mistress Shangguan Wulei, but her aura was colder and more overbearing, like a Dominator queen of all things.

"It's… it's the Great Master!"

Beside him, Xiaomei let out a gasp the moment she saw the woman's face. Her legs went weak, and she knelt directly to the ground, not even daring to lift her head.

Great Master?

Jiang Feng's heart stirred.

In the Chilian Tribe, there was only one person who could be called "Great Master."

Young Mistress Shangguan Wulei's sister, Shangguan Wuqing!