326: The Heart of Lava and the "Living Flame"

The "Hidden Dragon" glided silently through the starry sky like a silver phantom.

The modified stealth System reduced its energy fluctuations to nearly zero, making it difficult for even the most sensitive detectors to capture its presence from ten miles away.

Inside the cockpit, Wen Youyi and Aila Xinghen - Deputy Captain sat side by side, the holographic screen in front of them displaying the star map ahead—a huge red dot was rapidly enlarging.

That was the Heart of Lava.

From a distance, it looked like a slowly burning star, its surface churning with dark red lava and erupting flames.

But in reality, it was not a star, but a planet completely "ignited" by some kind of power—the entire planet's crust had melted into a vast ocean of magma, with only a few "floating islands" made of special high-temperature resistant Materials drifting above the magma.

According to the intelligence provided by Luo Chen, the fourth star key fragment was in the core area of this planet, protected by some unknown defense mechanism.

"Temperature readings indicate that the surface magma temperature is between two thousand and three thousand degrees." Aila Xinghen - Deputy Captain stared at the data, the red light of the screen reflecting in her indigo eyes. "The outer armor of the 'Hidden Dragon' can withstand a maximum temperature of five thousand degrees, but it can only stay inside for twenty minutes; beyond that time, the armor will begin to soften."

Wen Youyi's memory confusion symptoms had completely subsided, but they left behind some sequelae—occasionally, there would be momentary trances, as if another version of himself was speaking in his mind. Mu Wanqing said this was a normal phenomenon and would take time to recover.

"Twenty minutes..." Wen Youyi calculated. "From entering the atmosphere to reaching the core area, it will take at least fifteen minutes. That means we only have five minutes to find the fragment and evacuate. That's not even counting the trouble we might encounter."

Aila Xinghen - Deputy Captain pulled up the detailed intelligence given by Luo Chen: "The intelligence shows that there is a type of 'native life form' in the Heart of Lava. They can survive in the magma, and their form is like... a mixture of liquid metal and fire. An expedition team from the Sky Patrol once tried to enter, but two out of three people died. The survivor said that those creatures have 'group consciousness' and will actively attack intruders."

"Fire creatures, huh." Wen Youyi rubbed his temples. "I hope they don't like eating iron."

The "Hidden Dragon" continued to approach. As the distance shortened, the details of the Heart of Lava became clearer—it was not a planetary surface in the conventional sense, but a churning, boundless sea of magma. Huge bubbles rose from the depths, and when they burst, they spewed columns of fire dozens of miles high. Occasionally, one could see some black "islands," which were landing points formed by cooled metal or special minerals.

The most eerie thing was that there were actually "creatures" swimming in the magma sea.

Wen Youyi saw a "giant snake" made of flowing lava lift its "head" from the magma. It had no eyes, but there were several glowing holes on its head, like sensory organs. It "looked" in the direction of the "Hidden Dragon" and then slowly sank into the magma.

"Mental fluctuations detected." Aila Xinghen - Deputy Captain pointed at the screen. "Those creatures... seem to be communicating with each other. They have discovered us."

"Can you determine their aggression?"

"Not sure. The records of the Sky Patrol say they only attack units that enter the magma sea, and seem to have little interest in targets in the air." Aila Xinghen - Deputy Captain paused. "But we have to go down. The fragment is deep in the magma sea, we must dive in."

The "Hidden Dragon" began to descend.

The moment it entered the atmosphere, the area outside the portholes was dyed a deep red. Even with the heat shield, the temperature inside the cabin began to rise. The air conditioning System ran at full power, emitting a low hum.

"Temperature three thousand two... three thousand five... three thousand eight..." Aila Xinghen - Deputy Captain reported the readings. "The armor is in good condition, but energy consumption is 20% faster than expected."

Wen Youyi piloted the "Hidden Dragon," flying cautiously over the magma sea. He deliberately avoided areas where those "creatures" gathered, but soon discovered—the entire magma sea was their territory.

Below, more and more fire creatures emerged from the magma. They came in various forms: some looked like giant crabs, using pincers made of lava to pick up cooled metal blocks; some looked like jellyfish, floating in the air, with golden flames flowing under their caps; and others were simply a mass of constantly changing lava, with no discernible shape.

They showed curiosity at the appearance of the "Hidden Dragon" but did not attack immediately. A few fire jellyfish even floated to the porthole, gently touching the glass with their tentacles, leaving trails of melted marks.

"They are... studying us," Wen Youyi said.

"More like confirming our threat level." Aila Xinghen - Deputy Captain pulled up the scan data. "The energy structure of these creatures is highly consistent with the magma sea. They may be part of the planet's self-defense mechanism—like white blood cells attacking invading viruses."

"Then we are the viruses." Wen Youyi smiled bitterly. "I hope they are not too sensitive."

According to the guidance of the master key, the fragment was located at the bottom of a "crater" in the central area of the magma sea. That crater was over a hundred miles in diameter, and the erupting column of fire shot straight into the sky, visible even from space.

The "Hidden Dragon" flew towards the crater.

The closer they got, the more intense the reactions of those fire creatures became. They began to gather, swimming around the "Hidden Dragon" like a school of fish. A few of the larger ones even tried to ram the hull, but were repelled by the shield.

"Warning: Shield energy consumption accelerating," the ship's artificial intelligence reminded. "Current energy reserves are estimated to last for seventeen minutes."

"Three minutes less than expected." Wen Youyi frowned. "Aila, is there a way to communicate with them? Like using energy frequencies to simulate their fluctuations?"

"I'll try." Aila Xinghen - Deputy Captain quickly operated the console. "They are communicating using some kind of mixed signal of thermal radiation and electromagnetic pulses... parsing... okay, sending a friendly signal."

The "Hidden Dragon" released ripples of energy at a special frequency from its exterior.

Those fire creatures suddenly stopped.

They "looked" at the "Hidden Dragon," the glowing holes on their heads or torsos flickering as if in response. A few seconds later, most of the creatures slowly backed away, clearing a path to the crater.

"It worked!" Aila Xinghen - Deputy Captain breathed a sigh of relief. "They understood our 'harmless' signal."

The "Hidden Dragon" flew into the crater smoothly.

The scene inside was even more shocking.

It was like a huge, inverted funnel, surrounded by vertical lava walls, with a bottomless abyss below. Flames surged out from the abyss, forming a column of fire tens of miles in diameter. The signal of the fragment was coming from the deepest part of the fire column.

"We must go down." Wen Youyi stared below. "But the temperature there... the reading is already over four thousand degrees."

"The armor limit is five thousand degrees, we still have room." Aila Xinghen - Deputy Captain said. "But we must be fast. I suggest diving directly, getting the fragment before the armor softens, and then rising immediately."

"Agreed. Fasten your seatbelt, prepare for overload maneuvers."

The "Hidden Dragon" adjusted its posture, bow facing down, thruster power increased to 120%.

The dive began.

The acceleration pinned the two of them tightly to their seats. Outside the portholes, the crimson lava walls swept upward rapidly, and the flames rushed towards them like a solid wall. The temperature readings skyrocketed: four thousand two, four thousand five, four thousand eight...

"Five thousand degrees! Reaching the critical value!" Aila Xinghen - Deputy Captain shouted.

But it was already too late to stop.

The "Hidden Dragon" pierced into the core area of the fire column like a silver javelin.

At that very moment, Wen Youyi saw the fragment.

It was suspended in the center of the fire column, wrapped in a mass of pure, golden flames. The flames were not as violent as the surrounding magma; instead, they exuded a calm and ancient atmosphere. The fragment itself was reddish-gold, with patterns like liquid fire flowing on its surface.

"That's it!" Wen Youyi operated the mechanical arm, reaching towards the fragment.

But as soon as the mechanical arm touched the golden flames, a sudden change occurred!

The entire crater suddenly shook violently!

The surrounding lava walls began to squeeze inward, and the fire column below expanded violently. Even more frightening, those fire creatures seemed to have received some kind of order, rushing madly towards the crater, instantly blocking the exit!

"A trap!" Aila Xinghen - Deputy Captain's expression changed drastically. "The 'friendliness' of those creatures just now was faked! They were waiting for us to enter the core area!"

Wen Youyi gritted his teeth and continued to control the mechanical arm. The mechanical arm had grasped the fragment, but it was as if it was welded into the golden flames, not moving at all.

"I can't pull it out!" he roared.

"Use the master key!" Aila Xinghen - Deputy Captain reminded. "There should be resonance between the fragments!"

Wen Youyi immediately took out the master key. As soon as the master key appeared, it resonated strongly with the fragment—two golden beams of light erupted from the two, intersecting in the air.

The fragment began to loosen.

But the crisis around them was also intensifying. The fire creatures had flooded into the crater; they were no longer feigning friendliness but were directly attacking the "Hidden Dragon." Tentacles made of lava and blades condensed from fire smashed crazily against the shield.

The shield energy reading plummeted: 70%... 50%... 30%...

"The shield can only last for one more minute at most!" Aila Xinghen - Deputy Captain said anxiously. "Wen Youyi, hurry up!"

Sweat beaded on Wen Youyi's forehead. He could feel the fragment being attracted by the master key, but the speed was too slow. At this rate, it would take at least three more minutes to completely detach it.

One minute versus three minutes.

Certain death.

Just at this critical moment, Wen Youyi suddenly remembered what the seven guardians taught him when he was in the Sea of Illusory Shadows—not a specific technique, but a kind of "state of mind."

Using memory and will to resonate with the fragment.

He closed his eyes, no longer using the mechanical arm to pull forcibly, but extended his consciousness through the master key to "communicate" with the fragment.

He "saw" the history of the fragment—it had been suspended here for tens of thousands of years, witnessing the process of this planet being ignited. Those fire creatures were not born naturally, but were "accidental life" spawned by energy leakage after the Star People's experiment failed back then. They regarded the fragment as "mother," guarding it and obtaining the energy to sustain their lives from it.

They attacked intruders not because of malice, but because of fear—fear of losing their "mother."

Wen Youyi understood.

He transmitted a clear message through the master key: "We are not here to take away your mother. We are here to take her home."

The moment the message was transmitted, the entire crater suddenly went quiet.

The fire creatures stopped attacking.

They hovered all around, the glowing holes "looking" at the "Hidden Dragon" in unison.

Then, a shocking scene occurred.

The golden flames wrapping the fragment slowly parted.

The fragment, like a fledgling returning to its nest, flew towards the master key and merged with it.

The fourth fragment, obtained.

"Success!" Aila Xinghen - Deputy Captain said with pleasant surprise.

But the crisis was not yet resolved—the shield only had 8% energy left, and the crater was still blocked by the fire creatures.

Wen Youyi looked at those calmed-down fire creatures and suddenly had a bold idea.

He transmitted a message through the master key again: "We need to leave. Can you help us?"

After a brief silence, those fire creatures began to move.

But they were not attacking, but... making way.

A "passage" made of fire creatures rose on the lava wall, like a rotating staircase of fire, extending all the way out of the crater.

"They are... seeing us out?" Aila Xinghen - Deputy Captain was incredulous.

"It seems so." Wen Youyi piloted the "Hidden Dragon," slowly rising along the staircase of fire.

Wherever they passed, the fire creatures bowed their heads, as if paying respects.

When the "Hidden Dragon" finally rushed out of the crater and flew back into the high altitude, the shield energy was just exhausted.

Outside the portholes, those fire creatures gathered at the edge of the crater, and towards the direction of the "Hidden Dragon," they emitted a long and low "song"—a melody composed of thermal radiation and electromagnetic pulses; the meaning could not be understood, but the emotion within could be felt.

It was a farewell.

The "Hidden Dragon" accelerated and flew away from the Heart of Lava.

When it re-entered the cold starry sky, both Wen Youyi and Aila Xinghen - Deputy Captain slumped in their seats, soaked in cold sweat.

"That was... too dangerous." Aila Xinghen - Deputy Captain gasped. "How did you know you could communicate with them?"

"I guessed it." Wen Youyi looked at the master key in his hand that had already fused with four fragments—it was now over a foot and a half long, and only three blank spots remained on the star map on its surface. "I was thinking, since the fragments can spawn conscious fire creatures, it itself should also retain some kind of 'spirituality.' As it turns out, I guessed right."

Aila Xinghen - Deputy Captain pulled up the data just collected: "These fire creatures... their existence itself is a miracle. Being able to evolve group consciousness and emotions in such an extreme environment, if we can study it thoroughly, perhaps it can help us understand more possibilities of life."

Wen Youyi nodded, but then his expression tightened: "Don't think that far ahead yet. How long did we take?"

"From entering the atmosphere to leaving... twenty-five minutes. Five minutes over the plan."

"Then over at the 'hope'..." Wen Youyi looked at the communication console.

In the communication channel, the anxious voice of Zhao Iron Pillar came through: "Boss! You finally came out! I couldn't reach you just now, I was worried to death!"

"We're fine, we got the fragment." Wen Youyi asked, "How is it over there?"

"It's okay, with the cover of that scout ship from Luo Chen, the journey was smooth." Zhao Iron Pillar said, "But there is bad news—the 'World Devourer' fleet of the Star Devourers has set off ahead of schedule. Luo Chen just received intelligence that they are two days faster than expected, and have now left the Royal Court Star Domain and are jumping towards the direction of the Return Ruins."

Wen Youyi's heart sank: "How much longer until they arrive?"

"According to their jump speed, at most... ten days."

Ten days.

They still had three fragments to collect, and the next nearest one was in the "Silent Graveyard"—just the travel time alone would take eight days.

"It's too late," Wen Youyi muttered.

"Boss, Luo Chen says there is another way." Zhao Iron Pillar lowered his voice. "He says he knows a 'shortcut' that can shorten the journey to the Silent Graveyard, but that road... is very dangerous."

"What shortcut?"

"An abandoned star route marked as the 'Void Corridor.' It is said that the spatial structure there is unstable, and spaceships often disappear inexplicably. But if we can pass through safely, we can save at least four days."

Four days.

That meant there was hope.

Wen Youyi and Aila Xinghen - Deputy Captain looked at each other.

"Tell Luo Chen to send the coordinates." Wen Youyi said. "We'll take the shortcut."

"But Boss, that place..."

"We have no choice." Wen Youyi interrupted him. "Either take the risk or wait for death. I choose to take the risk."

The communication ended.

Aila Xinghen - Deputy Captain looked at the newly marked route on the star map—the "Void Corridor" looked like a twisted scar, spanning across the starry sky.

[Do you know what kind of place that is?] She asked softly.

"I don't know." Wen Youyi answered honestly. "But I know that if we don't go, we will never reach the Return Ruins, nor can we save anyone."

He started the thrusters, and the "Hidden Dragon" sped towards the direction of the Void Corridor.

And behind them, the Heart of Lava rotated slowly, the "song" of the fire creatures gradually fading into the starry sky.

They had sent off a guest who could understand their language.

And had also sent off a hope that might change the fate of the entire Universe.

(End of Chapter)