Su Qingyan's rationality and struggle

The firelight inside the cave still flickered.

Su Qingyan nestled in Lin Yuan's arms, feeling a sense of peace and warmth she had never experienced before.

After a long while, Lin Yuan took out the medicine bottle containing the muscle-generating and bone-mending pill, took one out, and handed it to Su Qingyan.

"Give him this medicine. With this Medicinal Pill, he should wake up soon."

Su Qingyan looked at the Medicinal Pill, her outstretched hand pausing slightly.

A trace of unconcealed hesitation and struggle flashed in her eyes. The image of that man using her as a human shield was branded in her mind like a scar.

But finally, the turmoil in her eyes gradually subsided, turning into cold numbness. She took the Medicinal Pill, walked over to Wei He, and silently placed the Medicinal Pill into his mouth.

Having done all this, she did not spare him another glance. Instead, she sat down against the cave wall, her gaze fixed on the flickering flames, lost in thought.

The next morning, the first ray of sunlight shone into the cave.

"Ugh..."

With a suppressed groan, Wei He's eyelids trembled violently, and he suddenly opened his eyes!

His eyes were initially blank, then turned wary. He instinctively sat up, enduring the sharp pain in his chest, and scanned his surroundings with vigilance.

Only when he saw the composed Lin Yuan and the expressionless Su Qingyan did he let out a heavy sigh of relief.

"We... survived?" Wei He's voice was hoarse. He stared intently at Lin Yuan, "What about that Thunder Cultivator?"

"Dead."

Lin Yuan calmly uttered the two words, then shook his head with a wry smile, timely displaying an expression of deep distress.

"I used a yin sha pill."

"Otherwise, how could an old man like me be a match for that kind of expert?"

Looking at Lin Yuan's expression, Wei He believed him seven or eight parts out of ten.

He had heard of the power of the yin sha pill; it was indeed capable of a one-hit kill.

"So that's how it is... It was my Corpse Puppet that leaked its aura this time, attracting such a powerful enemy. That is my fault."

"I have noted this favor. I will find a way to compensate Brother Lin later."

Lin Yuan waved his hand noncommittally.

"There is no need for compensation."

"If we can successfully retrieve the Earth Core Nether Fire this time, then it won't be a loss."

Thanks to the miraculous efficacy of the muscle-generating and bone-mending pill, and after two days of rest, Wei He's injuries had recovered about seventy to eighty percent.

Although the Corpse Qi of his Bronze Armored Corpse was scattered quite a bit by the power of the lightning, its Foundation was not damaged, so its strength was not greatly affected.

"We've been delayed for two days, let's go retrieve the Earth Core Nether Fire as soon as possible!"

Wei He moved his body, and after confirming he was fine, he spoke in a deep voice.

The three people immediately left the cave.

Led by Wei He, they soon arrived before a seemingly ordinary small hill.

The hill was not tall, sparsely covered with a few withered cypress trees, making it inconspicuous in the wilderness.

Wei He slapped his waist and produced a palm-sized, Blood-Colored Token.

Without hesitation, he bit his finger and dripped a drop of Essence Blood onto the token.

The token instantly absorbed the blood.

His hands quickly began forming Hand Seals, and he chanted continuously, uttering a series of obscure syllables.

"Chì!"

Following his low shout, the token in his hand immediately burst forth with brilliant blood light.

At the same time, the space above the small hill violently fluctuated, and a blurry mass of blood light also appeared.

The two masses of blood light echoed each other in the air, connecting together.

A blood-red Light Gate, taller than a person, appeared out of thin air on the mountain wall.

"This is the entrance. Follow me!"

Wei He did not hesitate at all. His figure flashed, and he was the first to disappear into the Light Gate.

Lin Yuan and Su Qingyan exchanged a look and quickly followed him inside.

The moment they passed through the Light Gate, the scene before their eyes changed drastically.

The desolate small hill vanished.

In its place was a massive, unimaginably large caldera.

They were on the mountainside, standing on scorched black rocks. The air was filled with the pungent smell of sulfur and suffocating heat.

At the center of the caldera was a massive, bottomless crater, from which wisps of scorching Qi continuously diffused, causing the air above to distort.

"Let's go!"

Wei He took the lead, urging his Spiritual Power, and flew toward the crater below.

Lin Yuan and Su Qingyan followed without a word.

All three of them erected Defensive Shields, isolating themselves from the high temperature that felt hot enough to roast a person alive.

This crater was like a giant inverted gourd, narrow at the entrance and growing wider the further down they went.

As they continued to descend, the surrounding temperature increased exponentially.

The rock walls had turned dark red, looking as if they might melt at any moment.

After flying downward for an unknown amount of time, a massive, boundless Magma Lake finally appeared before the three.

"Gurgle... gurgle..."

The viscous, crimson magma churned like boiling blood, constantly bubbling and releasing huge air pockets.

The bubbles burst, spraying out scorching heat waves.

Lin Yuan narrowed his eyes.

He could clearly sense that besides the extremely dense Fire Spiritual Qi, the area also contained traces of pure Earth Fiend Qi.

This was precisely the nourishment the Earth Core Nether Fire loved most.

"I lurked here for seven days previously and personally witnessed the Earth Core Nether Fire fly out of the lake."

Wei He pointed at the Magma Lake below, speaking with lingering fear.

"Just as I was about to collect it, the Crimson Flame Lizard guarding the fire suddenly appeared. I wasn't careful and was severely injured by its sneak attack."

As he spoke, he patted his Storage Pouch, and several Formation Flags and a Formation Plate appeared in his hand.

The banners were entirely black, inscribed with complex Runes.

"This is the Earth-Binding Dragon-Trapping Formation that I specifically rented."

"Once this Formation is activated, it can temporarily seal this space and prevent the Crimson Flame Lizard from escaping back into the Magma Lake."

With that, he skillfully began arranging the Formation Flags and Formation Plate at several key nodes around the Magma Lake.

Soon, an invisible Formation was set up.

Afterward, the three each found a hidden rock crevice, completely suppressed their aura, and waited silently like three pieces of stone for the prey to take the bait.

Time flowed by, bit by bit, in this oppressive silence and heat.

One day.

Three days.

Five days.

The Magma Lake remained unchanged, with nothing but the monotonous sound of "gurgle."

In a flash, seven days quickly passed.

Lin Yuan's patience was nearly exhausted. He even began to suspect that the Earth Core Nether Fire had already left this place.

Just then, an unexpected change occurred!

The continuously churning Magma Lake suddenly became eerily calm.

Immediately afterward, the magma at the center of the lake suddenly sank, and then a palm-sized sphere of light, burning with an Ethereal Blue Flame, slowly rose from the depths of the magma.

Lin Yuan's heart stirred.

Earth Core Nether Fire!

This Heaven and Earth Spiritual Fire seemed to possess its own life.

It circled above the surface of the Magma Lake like a mischievous sprite, flying and greedily devouring the free-floating Earth Fiend Qi in the air.

The Earth Core Nether Fire had appeared, but the Crimson Flame Lizard guarding it was nowhere to be seen.

If they acted now to collect the Earth Core Nether Fire, they would surely alert the Yao Beast.

But if they waited any longer, once the Earth Core Nether Fire finished consuming the Earth Fiend Qi here and burrowed back into the bottomless Magma Lake, finding it again would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.

No one knew how vast the Magma Lake was beneath the surface.

"Brother Lin!"

Wei He lowered his voice, communicating via Divine Sense transmission.

"You just go ahead and collect the Earth Core Nether Fire. Qingyan and I will act as your Protectors!"

"My Bronze Armored Corpse is tough-skinned and thick-fleshed. While it might not be able to directly withstand the Crimson Flame Lizard, it can certainly hold it back!"

Lin Yuan pondered for a moment, then finally nodded.

His hands quickly formed Hand Seals, and then he fiercely grabbed the air toward the distant, flickering ethereal blue firelight!

A surge of invisible immense force poured out, instantly enveloping the Earth Core Nether Fire tightly.

The ethereal blue fire sphere struggled violently, emitting terrifying high temperatures as it tried to break free from the restraint.

But Lin Yuan exerted the Second-Grade Fire Control Art to its maximum.

He mobilized all his Spiritual Power, firmly tightening the invisible force, dragging the Earth Core Nether Fire toward himself little by little.