216: southern fire hills

Lin Feng adjusted his state to the Peak, his hands changing through a series of hand seals, and he let out a low shout: "Condense!"

The liquid sword embryo in the air suddenly contracted, solidifying into a physical sword shape.

"Zheng—!" A clear and long sword hum resonated throughout the cave.

The kui su sword erupted with blinding silver light. On the sword body, specks of starlight slowly rotated like stars, and a Sword Intent containing the sharp Qi of Geng Metal spread out, carving fine sword marks into the cave walls.

The clear hum of the kui su sword gradually subsided, and the fierce Sword Intent within the cave slowly withdrew.

Lin Feng let out a long breath, and just as he was about to carefully nourish this newly formed life-bound sword, his peripheral vision caught movement from the Little Beast in the corner.

The Little Beast, shaped like a young leopard, had quietly awakened at some point and was staring at him silently with a pair of clear, purple-gold eyes.

It stood up carefully, shook its soft, milky-white fur, sniffed the intermittent Sword Intent in the air, and tilted its head to look at Lin Feng, seemingly trying to judge something.

Lin Feng reached out his hand, wanting to put it into the spirit beast pouch.

However, as soon as the faint light from the spirit beast pouch enveloped it, the Little Beast immediately shrank back, emitting an extremely faint, resistant "woo" sound from its throat, its purple-gold eyes clearly expressing reluctance.

It even stretched out its tiny paw and gently pushed away the light of containment.

Lin Feng was slightly taken aback, surprised in his heart; the spiritual intelligence of this Little Beast far exceeded that of ordinary Spirit Beasts.

He thought for a moment, then tried to convey a trace of friendly intent using his Divine Sense, signaling that it was a safe place to stay.

But the Little Beast simply turned its head away, pointing its butt toward the direction of the spirit beast pouch, its slender tail gently sweeping the ground; its attitude was very firm.

Just as Lin Feng was feeling a bit helpless and considering whether to be a little firmer, the Little Beast moved on its own.

It leaped lightly, its steps nimble as it avoided the scattered gravel on the ground, and in a few bounds, it dashed to Lin Feng's side.

Then, under Lin Feng's slightly stunned gaze, it bent its hind legs slightly, leaped gently once more, and landed steadily on his shoulder.

The little fellow adjusted its posture, found a comfortable position to lie down, its warm little body pressing against Lin Feng's neck, and even rubbed its furry head against his cheek, emitting a faint purring sound.

The five-colored fur occasionally brushed against his skin, actually bringing a strange, warm, and comfortable sensation.

"..." Lin Feng's body stiffened for a moment. He turned his head and saw the little fellow's slightly trembling ear tips and the faint Chaos rune on its forehead.

This little thing sure knows how to find a place for itself.

Lin Feng smiled bitterly in his heart, but looking at its appearance of complete trust and peaceful sleep, the helplessness in his heart gradually melted away.

Very well, since it is unwilling to enter the pouch, let it be.

Having this little fellow lying on his shoulder, although a bit inconvenient, also seems... not too bad.

He composed his mind; the top priority was to decide where to go next.

Return directly to the Tianxuan Sect? As soon as this thought popped up, he suppressed it.

With such a big commotion caused in the Ten Thousand Demon Abyss, the people from the Blood Fiend Sect and the Heavenly Demon Palace would definitely not let it rest.

They had likely already deduced his connection to the Tianxuan Sect and might even have set up an inescapable net on the few paths leading back to the Sect.

To go back now would be no different from throwing himself into a trap.

The little fellow sleeping soundly on his shoulder, with its unknown Origin, was an even bigger variable; bringing it back to the Sect rashly would make it hard to predict whether it would be a blessing or a curse.

Fragments of information he had previously collected flashed through his mind.

Refining the fire-attribute kui su sword required a core material called nether iron.

This item's nature is extremely Yin, yet it is rumored that it must undergo ten thousand years of burning in a place of extreme Yang to gestate a trace of pure Yin Origin, making it extremely rare.

And the Southern Fire Hills in the southwest of the continent, due to its unique geothermal environment, is precisely one of the few possible places of Origin.

The Southern Fire Hills... where geothermal fires rage and the environment is harsh; Righteous Path Cultivators rarely set foot there, and Demonic Path forces are relatively weak, making it a suitable place to hide while also continuing to search for Materials.

He glanced at the Little Beast on his shoulder; the little fellow was still sleeping soundly. Very well, he would just treat it as carrying extra luggage.

Several days later, Lin Feng was steering the wine immortal gourd, concealing his tracks, and flying toward the southwest.

The originally moist Spiritual Qi became dry and scorching, and the land below gradually changed from lush green to tones dominated by crimson and grayish-brown, as if it had been scorched by a raging fire.

The Little Beast, which had been staying quietly on his shoulder, moved at this moment, its small nose twitching slightly, appearing somewhat uncomfortable with this dry heat, yet also carrying a bit of curiosity as its purple-gold eyes examined the crimson land below.

When Lin Feng flew over a huge magma lake with dark red bubbles constantly surging, the Little Beast's reaction became obvious.

It suddenly stood up on its hind legs, placing its two front paws on Lin Feng's collar, its head thrusting forward, its nose sniffing rapidly at the pure and scorching geothermal Spiritual Qi coming from the center of the lake, emitting a "woo-woo" sound from its throat, and one small paw even swiped at the scorching lake surface.

Lin Feng immediately stopped his Escaping Light, hovering in mid-air, surprised in his heart.

This little thing seems to be exceptionally sensitive to pure fire-elemental Spiritual Qi? He had only felt that it was miraculous before, but did not know its characteristics.

Seeing that it was not only unafraid of this magma lake, which would be enough to make ordinary Yao Beasts retreat, but actually showed such a longing posture, Lin Feng couldn't help but look at it a few more times.

This Little Beast seems to be hiding quite a few secrets.

But now is not the time to delve into it.

He composed his mind and probed the surging magma lake below with a trace of his Divine Sense, carefully sensing the possible existence of extreme Yin aura deep within the geothermal fire.

The Little Beast on his shoulder also seemed to notice his focused state and quieted down a little, though its nostrils still twitched from time to time, its purple-gold eyes fixed tightly on the center of the lake.

A moment later, Lin Feng frowned slightly; although the fire-elemental Spiritual Qi in this magma lake was abundant, it was too violent and did not seem to be the ideal environment for gestating nether iron.

He was just about to turn and leave to search elsewhere when a few tiny black dots appeared on the distant horizon.

The black dots enlarged rapidly; they were three streams of Escaping Light, revealing the figures of three Cultivators, all dressed in crimson athletic wear, with flame patterns embroidered on their cuffs and lapels, and their cultivation levels were all in the middle to Late Stages of Foundation Establishment.

The leader was a man with a sharp and tough face, and the other two, a man and a woman, looked slightly younger.

The three Disciples steered their Escaping Light to land; initially, they did not notice Lin Feng's presence, as their attention was entirely drawn by the surging magma lake.

The man leading them, referred to as Senior Brother Zhou, instructed his companions: "The map indicates this is the place; everyone be careful. Not only is there fire poison in the center of the lake, but Fire Scale Crocodiles also reside there..."

Before he could finish, the younger Disciple beside him shuddered violently, turned his head in horror, and finally saw Lin Feng standing in mid-air not far away.

He saw the other person with his green robes fluttering, his aura as deep as the sea; he was clearly standing right there, yet he gave a feeling of emptiness, as if he had merged with the surrounding environment. Especially when those eyes swept over, the young Disciple felt a chill shoot straight from his spine to his crown, and his legs felt a bit weak.

"Senior... Senior Brother Zhou!" His voice trembled, and he hurriedly tugged at the sleeve of the man beside him.