172: Chapter 172 Soaking in lava and then scorpions! This volcano is my bathtub!

Movement quickly came from inside the cave.

First, there was a dense hissing sound.

Then, the sound of fireballs exploding.

Then, Lin Fan's voice.

"Come on, come on! Everyone attack! Don't be polite! Bite here! Yes, right there! Harder!"

Immediately following were even crazier hissing sounds and more intense explosions.

Then came Lin Fan's even more excited voice.

"Hahahaha! Now this is interesting! Come again, come again! This temperature is decent!"

Mu Qing listened to the commotion coming from inside the cave, her expression shifting from nervous to bewildered, and then from bewildered to a kind of resignation.

She put down the detector, leaned against the rock wall at the cave entrance, and took out an energy bar to gnaw on.

Beside her, Xia Wanqiu opened her tablet and began organizing data on the volcano.

Murong Yan found a relatively less hot rock to sit on, crossed her legs, and scrolled through her phone.

The three women waited at the cave entrance with different expressions, but they shared one commonality.

None of them were worried about the barefoot man inside the cave.

Deep in the cave.

Another muffled roar came, louder than any of the previous ones.

The ground shook.

Mu Qing nearly dropped her energy bar.

"The Lizard Emperor is moving." She straightened her posture slightly.

Lin Fan's voice came from the cave, full of vigor and undisguised excitement.

"The boss has finally come out? Let me see what you're made of!"

Immediately after, a pillar of scorching white fire shot out from deep within the cave, passing directly over the entrance. The heat wave blew Mu Qing's hair up. The temperature soared instantly.

Mu Qing subconsciously stepped back two paces.

"1500 degrees." She glanced at the thermometer on her wrist.

Inside the cave, Lin Fan's laughter grew louder.

"Refreshing! This is exactly the temperature! Keep burning! Burn harder!"

Mu Qing, gnawing on her energy bar, suddenly felt that everything she had known in her life was collapsing.

She recalled what Principal Rakshasa had said to her on the phone.

"This student is very special. Just lead him like a normal team; don't worry about what he does, and don't try to understand him."

At the time, she thought Rakshasa was exaggerating.

Now, she felt Rakshasa was being conservative.

This wasn't just 'special'; this was a different species.

About ten minutes passed.

The commotion in the cave gradually subsided.

The flames went out as well.

Then, Lin Fan's figure walked out of the cave.

He was barefoot, the hem of his clothes had been burned off, and the tips of his hair were still smoking, but he looked refreshed and vibrant, his smile bright enough to blind someone.

In his left hand, he carried a fist-sized, dark red Inner Core with crystalline patterns on its surface.

In his right hand, he held two slightly smaller Inner Cores.

"Done," Lin Fan said, shoving the Inner Cores into Xia Wanqiu's hands. "The Lizard Emperor's flame temperature is truly powerful; my Defense increased quite a bit."

He took out his system panel and scanned it.

Defense Level: LV43.

The experience bar had moved forward a bit, but there was still quite a distance to reach level 44.

"Still quite a bit to go," Lin Fan smacked his lips. "Level 4 monsters really give too little experience; I need to move on to level 5s."

Mu Qing stuffed the energy bar wrapper into her pocket and walked up to Lin Fan.

"You're done?"

"Done."

"Seventy-three lizards plus one Lizard Emperor?"

"Yep, cleared them all."

"How long did it take?"

"Less than fifteen minutes, I think."

The corner of Mu Qing's mouth twitched twice.

The strongest team she had ever led, an elite squad composed of five level 5 mid-tier Martial Kings, had taken two hours to clear this nest.

Lin Fan, alone, barefoot, took fifteen minutes.

"Guide Mu," Lin Fan patted her on the shoulder. "How do we get to the middle layer?"

Mu Qing snapped back to reality and pulled a map from her pocket.

"Go south for seven kilometers, cross a magma river, and you'll enter the middle layer. The Beast levels in the middle layer range from level 5 to level 7, and the temperature will climb from the current six or seven hundred degrees to over two thousand degrees."

"Two thousand degrees, that's interesting."

"The outermost part of the middle layer is home to level 5 Lava Giant Scorpions. They are about three meters long, and their tail stingers have the dual effect of paralyzing toxin and high-temperature burning, making them quite tricky opponents."

"Level 5, the experience should be decent enough."

"Moving further in, there are swarms of level 6 Flame Demon Beetles. Their numbers are vast; you'll encounter at least a hundred at once."

"A hundred?" Lin Fan rubbed his hands together.

"Deeper inside is the territory of three level 7 Beasts: the Flame Prison Flood Dragon, the Thunder Flame Giant Python, and the Lava Demon Ape. Their territories overlap, so it's possible to encounter two at the same time."

"Is it possible to encounter all three at once?"

Mu Qing looked up at him.

"You want to fight three level 7 Beasts at the same time?"

"Not fight, I want them to hit me at the same time."

Mu Qing folded the map back up.

She felt this map was drawn too simply; it should have a note added: 'This area contains a creature more perverse than any Beast, codenamed Lin Fan.'

"Let's go," Mu Qing started walking first. "But I'm saying this in advance: once we reach the middle layer, if I say a place is dangerous, you must listen to me."

"Fine, fine, fine."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Can your word be trusted?"

Lin Fan patted his chest. "My word, Lin Fan's word, is always worth its weight in gold."

Behind him, Xia Wanqiu and Murong Yan snorted simultaneously.

Mu Qing looked at their reactions, and the little bit of trust she had felt instantly vanished.

The four of them continued south.

The further they went, the wider the passage became. Large patches of flame moss began to appear on the rock walls on both sides, emitting a dark red glow.

The ground temperature continued to climb, rising from 600 degrees to 800 degrees, and then from 800 degrees to 1000 degrees.

Xia Wanqiu had already used Healing Technique to apply a protective buff on herself and Murong Yan, but it was still unbearably hot.

Murong Yan's face was roasted bright red, and her forehead was covered in beads of sweat.

Mu Qing took two thin heat-insulating cloaks from her backpack and tossed them to Xia Wanqiu and Murong Yan.

"Put these on; they can block most of the heat."

"Thanks, big sister guide." Xia Wanqiu took it and draped it over herself. Murong Yan also put hers on, and immediately felt much cooler.

Lin Fan looked back. "What about me? Don't I get one?"

"Do you need one?"

"True, I don't need one."

Lin Fan took off his shirt directly, walking forward with his bare torso.

"This temperature is just over a thousand degrees; I'm treating it like air conditioning."

Mu Qing stared at his bare back for a moment.

The muscle definition was very nice—not the exaggerated bulk of a bodybuilder, but a toned and solid type. Every muscle had a clear outline without looking bulky. There was a faint golden luster on his skin. Those were the marks left by high-temperature burning, yet there were no signs of any burns.

She withdrew her gaze and walked a few steps faster.

A low rumble came from ahead.

The ground began to shake violently.

A twenty-meter-wide magma river appeared before the four of them.

Boiling magma bubbles rolled on the river surface, and the heat wave made people's faces hurt.

"A magma river," Mu Qing pointed to the other side of the river. "That side is the middle layer."

"How do we get across?"

"There's a natural stone bridge three hundred meters to the right, but the bridge surface is unstable and could collapse at any time, so you need to be quick when crossing."

"Why take the detour?" Lin Fan glanced at the magma river. "Can't we just jump across?"

"This river is twenty meters wide. Are you sure you can jump across?"

"Why jump across?" Lin Fan smiled. "I didn't say jump across; I meant jump in."

Mu Qing, "...What?"

"The magma temperature should be around thirteen hundred degrees, right? Soaking in it might just grind a lot of Fire Resistance."

Mu Qing's expression finally cracked.

"You want to soak in magma?"

"Yeah, it's the same principle as soaking in a hot spring."

"Hot springs are 40 degrees; magma is 1300 degrees."

"That's why it's exciting."

Mu Qing turned to look at Xia Wanqiu and Murong Yan, pointing at Lin Fan, her expression saying: Aren't you going to do something about him?

Xia Wanqiu spread her hands. "Can't control him, don't struggle."

Murong Yan was more direct. "Last time, he took a bath in the Netherfire of a Level 6 Beast in the Abyss Zero and came out without losing a single hair. For him, 1300-degree magma really is just a hot spring."

Mu Qing opened her mouth, but ultimately said nothing.

She suddenly understood the tone Principal Rakshasa had used when saying that line.

"Don't try to understand him."

Yes, no more understanding; from now on, she would completely stop trying to understand him.

Lin Fan didn't wait for her response and jumped straight into the magma river.

"Splash!" Orange-red magma splashed high into the air.

"Mmm! Not bad, not bad! A bit hot!" Lin Fan's voice of enjoyment echoed through the cave.

The corner of Mu Qing's mouth twitched one last time, and then she turned and walked toward the stone bridge three hundred meters away.

"You guys go across the bridge first."

"What about him?"

"Let him soak."

...

Lin Fan soaked in the magma river for five minutes.

To be precise, he was lying down while soaking.

He lay on his back, hands pillowing his head.

His whole body floated on the surface of the 1300-degree magma, the posture no different from sunbathing in Sanya.

The system notification sounds kept ringing.

[Ding! Fire Resistance experience + 25!]

[Ding! Fire Resistance experience + 22!]

[Ding! Defense + 1!]

[Ding! Fire Resistance experience + 20!]

The experience gain was decent.

But just decent.

After all, a temperature of 1300 degrees was no longer a severe test for him with his level 43 Defense.

"That's about it."

Lin Fan stood up from the magma river, the orange-red magma sliding off his body.

He brushed the volcanic slag sticking to his arms and walked onto the opposite bank with his bare torso.

There were no burns on his body.

It didn't even turn red.

The three women had already crossed the stone bridge and were waiting on the opposite bank.

Xia Wanqiu handed him a towel.

"Wipe yourself off; you're covered in the smell of magma."

"What's wrong with the smell of magma? It's an all-natural volcanic mud spa; doing it outside would cost thousands."

"Spas outside use volcanic mud masks, not real magma."

"That's because they don't have the conditions."

Murong Yan held her nose nearby. "Can you find a way to get rid of that sulfur smell on you? It's choking me to death."

"Bear with it; we'll find a place to wash up after we finish fighting the level 7s."

Mu Qing stood in front and raised the thermal detector to scan the entrance of the middle layer.

The screen of the detector lit up with dense red dots.

"Within one kilometer ahead, I've detected at least twenty level 5 heat signals, scattered in the rock caves on both sides of the passage."

"Level 5, what species?"

"Judging by the signal characteristics, they should be Lava Giant Scorpions."

"The ones you mentioned with tail stingers that have paralyzing toxin and high-temperature burning?"

"Yes."

"Perfect," Lin Fan rubbed his hands together. "The paralyzing toxin is perfect for grinding Poison Resistance, and the high-temperature burning is perfect for stacking Fire Resistance—killing two birds with one stone."

Mu Qing no longer wanted to comment on his reactions.

She put away the detector.

"Follow me closely. The Lava Giant Scorpion's attack pattern is to first use its tail stinger for long-range shooting, then close in to use its pincers to attack. The pincer strength is very strong; a level 5 early-stage Awakened caught by them will basically end up with broken arms or legs."

"Very strong pincer strength? How strong?"

"About... 30,000 kilograms."

"30,000 kilograms," Lin Fan nodded. "Not bad, much stronger than that group of lizards. Let's go."

The four of them entered the middle layer.

The temperature instantly jumped from 1300 degrees to 1800 degrees.