179: Second Heaven

The void storms cut through the spatial barriers like sharp blades, and with a deafening thunderclap, the teleportation array in the Yunmiao Sect Forbidden Ground erupted with a blinding dark-gold radiance.

Lin Chen stood with his hands behind his back, his figure as steady as Mount Tai under the pressure that was enough to tear apart an ordinary Earth Immortal. To his left, Su Qingge was blindfolded, her white runic ribbons dancing wildly in the void turbulence as her slender hands tightly gripped the corner of Lin Chen's robe; to his right, Little Demoness Dragon had already transformed into her semi-dragon form, with fine golden dragon scales covering her petite fists and her golden pupils filled with restlessness.

"Go!"

Lin Chen shouted softly, and the three of them instantly vanished into that crimson vortex.

When their vision cleared again, a heatwave that could almost ignite the Soul rushed toward them. The air here was no longer the gentle Spiritual Qi of the First Heaven, but a dry heat mixed with a heavy scent of sulfur and violent fire elements.

"Bang!"

The moment their feet touched the ground, the dark red rocks beneath them actually made a muffled sound like a heavy hammer hitting a drum.

"Ten times gravity..." Lin Chen's eyes flickered slightly.

He could clearly feel that the spatial density of this Second Heaven, "Crimson Bright and Yang Heaven," far exceeded that of the Lower Realm. Every inch of air was as heavy as mercury; a normal breath felt like pulling a worn-out bellows in the lungs, accompanied by a scorching sting.

"Ugh... Brother, it's so uncomfortable here, like taking a hot bath in a swamp," Little Demoness Dragon groaned, her long legs slightly bent, clearly feeling some discomfort from this sudden pressure.

Su Qingge's situation was even worse. Her originally delicate Ethereal Holy Physique made a tooth-aching bone-grinding sound under the ten times gravity. Her fair forehead was instantly covered in fine beads of sweat, and her jade legs, which had just regained sensation, showed signs of stiffness again.

Lin Chen extended his long arm and pulled Su Qingge into his embrace. The Chaos Qi Sea within him instantly expanded, and a thin layer of dark-gold energy enveloped the three of them.

"Adapting to this place is the first step for you to become stronger."

Just as Lin Chen finished speaking, several mocking sneers came from behind a pile of rocks not far away.

"Hehe, look, what kind of goods did we catch this time?"

With a series of messy footsteps, a group of Body Cultivators clad in dark red animal skins with knotted muscles emerged from the shadows. There were about twenty of them, each with a fierce aura and unnaturally charred brown skin—a sign of being eroded by fire poison for many years.

The leader was a bald brute over two meters tall. He was shirtless, with a roaring fire lion tattooed on his chest, and he carried a heavy sword covered in barbs.

His murky eyes greedily scanned Su Qingge's curvaceous figure before finally landing on Lin Chen's excessively handsome face, his gaze instantly turning cold and perverse.

"Oh? A pretty boy from the Lower Realm? With such tender skin, after seven days of burning in the 'Burning Fire Mine,' the meat will surely be crisp and tender." The bald brute licked his lips, his voice raspy. "Leave that little girl to help the brothers blow off some steam. Chain the man with tempered steel and take him back as a mine slave!"

The raiders burst into laughter. In their view, those who had just ascended from the Lower Realm often couldn't even adapt to the gravity and fire poison here, leaving them at their mercy.

"You..." Su Qingge's silver eyes gleamed with cold light under the ribbons as she was about to activate the Eye of Delusion Breaking.

"I'll do it."

Lin Chen took a step forward. Surprisingly, he not only didn't deploy his protective immortal essence but instead withdrew all his defenses. He spread his arms and took a deep breath.

The violent fire poison, which was enough to incinerate the Meridians of an ordinary Earth Immortal, now surged into his nostrils.

"Hiss—ha."

Lin Chen exhaled a breath of scorching turbid air, and his eyes turned as red as blood at that moment. The originally dry and hot air that entered his body was forcibly devoured by the overbearing Ancestral Dragon Bloodline, turning into strands of pure energy that repaired the minor fatigue left from traveling through space.

"He didn't explode after the fire poison entered his body? This kid's Physical Body is strange!" The bald brute's expression changed slightly, followed by a cruel smile. "I love smashing hard bones the most!"

He suddenly exerted force with his feet, and the ground instantly cracked. The bald brute was like a rampaging rhino; aided by the terrifying gravity of the Second Heaven, his fist created a piercing sonic boom as it slammed toward Lin Chen's head.

"Die! Mountain-Splitting Punch!"

Lin Chen stood in place, not even lifting an eyelid. He simply raised his right hand in a palm shape and met the attack seemingly effortlessly.

"Thud—!"

The moment fist and palm collided, a visible shockwave swept out, forcing the surrounding raiders to retreat repeatedly.

The bald brute's smile froze. He felt like his punch hadn't hit a person, but had instead struck an eternal immortal mountain. The opponent's slender fingers didn't budge an inch, while his own bones let out a groan of being overwhelmed.

"Is this all the strength you have? These Second Heaven raiders aren't even qualified to massage my wife's back."

Lin Chen's voice carried a heart-palpitating demonic quality.

He suddenly stepped forward half a step, tilted his body slightly, and slammed his shoulder into the bald brute's chest like a dragon whipping its tail.

Mountain Lean!

This was the purest contest of physical bodies.

"Boom—!"

With a loud bang, the bald brute's two-hundred-plus-pound body flew backward like an ignited cannonball. He smashed through several hundred-ton rocks along the way and finally crashed into a small volcano that was spewing smoke.

The volcano collapsed with a roar, lava splattered, and the once-arrogant leader didn't even manage to let out a scream before his fate became unknown.

"This... how is this possible!"

The remaining raiders were dumbfounded, their weapons slipping from their hands. That was a Body Cultivator at the Early Stage of the Heavenly Immortal realm! He was an invincible existence in this part of the heaven, yet he was casually sent flying by a pretty boy from the Lower Realm?

Lin Chen brushed the dust off his sleeves, his gaze like lightning as he scanned the area.

"Plop!"

The raiders knelt down in unison, their foreheads slamming heavily against the scorching rocks.

"My Lord, have mercy! Have mercy! We were blind to your greatness!"

Lin Chen withdrew his gaze and looked at Su Qingge, who was hiding behind him. At this time, due to the dual stimulation of gravity and fire poison, the Saintess's exquisite face had developed an unusual flush; her breathing was rapid, and her chest was heaving violently.

"Lead the way to the nearest city." Lin Chen casually grabbed a raider, his tone flat but unquestionable. "Find the best Artifact Refiner, and the best... inn."

...Half an hour later, at the border of a place called "Red Fire City."

This was a strange city built against a volcano, with all the buildings appearing dark red.

Under the guidance of the raider, Lin Chen booked the most luxurious inn in the entire city—"Flowing Fire Residence." The walls here were embedded with Fire-Avoiding Beads, and the gravity had been reduced by thirty percent through a Formation.

Inside the room, Su Qingge slumped on the soft couch covered with Fire Silkworm Silk. Her originally plain white robe was completely soaked with sweat, clinging tightly to her exquisite body and outlining breathtaking curves like rolling mountains.

"Master... Qingge... is so hot..."

She murmured, her silver eyes losing their usual coldness and filling with a misty haze. The environment of the Second Heaven was like a slow fire cooking oil for someone with her Stainless Physique. Under the suppression of that terrifying fire elemental power, the Saint Yuan in her body produced an extremely strange chemical reaction, causing her originally dormant desires to be infinitely magnified.

Lin Chen sat by the couch, watching the once-sacred and untouchable Saintess huddle before him like a fish gasping for water. Her long jade legs trembled slightly from the previous pressure, her toes curled as they pressed against the dark red silk cushion; the visual impact of white against red was breathtakingly beautiful.

"I told you before, this Second Heaven... isn't that easy to survive in."

Lin Chen reached out, his fingertips grazing her sweat-dampened collarbone.

"Hiss—!"

Su Qingge let out a short gasp. Lin Chen's fingers were cool and powerful; to her, currently suffering in extreme heat, they were like the best poison in the world.

"Master... please... help me..."

She took the initiative to lean in, her trembling hands undoing the cumbersome white robe.

As the clothing slipped away, the immortal body that had been baptized by the fire elemental power of the Second Heaven and was now emitting a faint, translucent luster was fully revealed to Lin Chen. Unlike her innocence in the First Heaven, Su Qingge's skin now had an extremely faint silver divine radiance flowing over it, as if it had become even tougher through this tempering of cold and heat.

Those peaks were as alluring as ripe fruit, vibrating violently in the air with her rapid breathing, every inch of her skin emitting a sweet fragrance.

"Since this fire poison makes you so uncomfortable, I'll use my 'Chaos Primordial Yang' to help you expel it."

Lin Chen leaned down and pressed a mark belonging to him firmly onto her swan-like neck.

"Ah—!"

Su Qingge let out a sharp cry that pierced the night sky.

In this fiery red bedchamber, two figures were entangled—a clash of power and the ultimate sublimation of desire.

"Master... I'll die at your hands... I really will..."

Meanwhile, in the side hall, Little Demoness Dragon was feasting on a piece of newly bought "Scarlet Flame Divine Iron." Hearing the sweet, cloying cries coming from next door, the little girl tilted her head and muttered, "Why does Sister Qingge scream so loudly every time we go to a new place? Is the bed here too hard?"

[Congratulations to the host! Successfully adapted to the Second Heaven environment, Physical Body strength has advanced again!] [Su Qingge's "Fire Concept" has awakened, current compatibility: 95%!] [Reward obtained: Red Fire City reputation reached "Famous Throughout the Land"! Triggered follow-up quest: Find the missing "Ten Thousand Year Smelting Furnace"!]