258: Walking on fire

Under the incredulous gazes of everyone, Li Ao's foot landed steadily on the dark golden lava, which was bubbling and exuding destructive aura.

The anticipated burning and sinking did not occur.

The moment his foot touched the lava, the invisible Domain of Gui Xu around him resonated mysteriously with the lava beneath his feet. The terrifying lava, capable of incinerating refined gold, had its violent Law of fire instantly “pacified” when it came into contact with the Power of Gui Xu, becoming docile and stable. He was not standing on the surface of the lava, but rather as if standing on an invisible, energy film that isolated all heat and corrosion.

He walked as if on flat ground, his steps steady, moving towards the opposite bank. The dark golden lava parted beneath his feet, leaving ripples that quickly resumed boiling after he passed.

Medusa and Xiao Yi Xian followed closely. Medusa's body was enveloped in colorful light that condensed at her feet, forming two exquisite colorful lotus platforms. With each step, the lotus platforms gently touched the lava, skillfully deflecting and transforming the scorching heat. Xiao Yi Xian, on the other hand, had gray-purple poisonous mist swirling around her feet. The mist, upon contact with the lava, emitted faint “hissing” sounds, corroding and neutralizing each other, allowing her to stand steadily on the lava.

The three of them moved at a leisurely pace, yet with a composure that was captivating.

“This… how is this possible?!” On the bank, a Loose Cultivator Dou Zun widened his eyes, almost believing he was hallucinating. That was dark gold lava! Even he wouldn't dare to touch it lightly!

The Red-haired Elder of Burning Flame Valley's pupils contracted sharply. He stared intently at the strange scene beneath Li Ao's feet, murmuring in disbelief, “He… he can actually directly pacify the violent fire Qi in the lava? What kind of method is this?!” His Burning Flame Valley was renowned for its fire control, but they would never dare to treat this terrifying lava as nothing, like Li Ao did. This had completely exceeded his understanding of fire control.

The Black Robed Man of the Hall of Souls's face beneath his hood grew even more somber. He had originally planned to secretly use his methods to incite the fire alligators in the river to attack and create chaos when Li Ao and the others crossed the river. But this scene completely disrupted his plan. The opponent completely ignored the threat of the lava!

“Follow the path they took!” A Three-Star Dou Zun Loose Cultivator, who reacted quickly, roared, and a powerful earthy yellow Dou Qi erupted from his body, forming a thick armor. Imitating Li Ao, he rushed towards the path Li Ao had taken.

However, as soon as he stepped onto the lava, the seemingly “pacified” dark golden fluid instantly reverted to its violent nature!

“Boom!”

The viscous lava surged like a living creature, and a huge dark golden fire wave crashed down, instantly breaking through his Dou Qi defense! At the same time, the river surface exploded, and three massive dark golden fire alligators opened their fanged mouths, bringing a foul wind and extreme high temperature, biting at him from different directions!

“No! Save me!” The Three-Star Dou Zun turned pale with fright, frantically activating his Dou Technique to resist, but under the siege of the lava and fire alligators, his defense was torn apart like paper in an instant.

“Pfft!”

A flash of blood appeared, then was evaporated by the high temperature. Accompanied by a short, shrill scream, a Three-Star Dou Zun was dragged into the lava before everyone's eyes, disappearing without a trace, leaving only a few rolling bubbles.

Silence!

A deathly silence!

The others, who had just been eager to move, instantly felt as if a basin of ice water had been poured over them, chilling them from head to toe. They no longer dared to harbor any thoughts of imitation. They finally understood that Li Ao's ability to walk through fire was by no means luck, but an essential difference that they simply could not comprehend!

The Red-haired Elder of Burning Flame Valley's face was ashen, and he gritted his teeth, saying, “Form the 'Blazing Dragon Body Protection Seal'! We'll force our way through!” He called to his fellow disciples, and together they unleashed a powerful fire defense Dou Technique. A solid giant fire Dragon enveloped them, and they forcefully charged into the lava river, immediately drawing the siege of the fire alligators. The river surface boiled violently. Although it was difficult, they were indeed moving forward slowly, but the consumption was enormous.

The Black Robed Man of the Hall of Souls, on the other hand, sneered coldly and took out a small black banner inscribed with countless resentful souls. As the banner swayed, strands of black Qi emanated from it. These black Qi, upon touching the lava, emitted sizzling corrosive sounds, temporarily repelling the lava and forming a narrow black path. They also began to cross the river in a strange manner, their speed even a bit faster than the people from Burning Flame Valley, though the sounds of the black Qi resisting the lava and the wails of the resentful souls were chilling to the bone.

Seeing this, the others also displayed their Divine Abilities, either working together or using their most treasured items, and began to cross the river with various difficult methods. The entire lava fire river instantly became a huge meat grinder, with people constantly having their defenses breached, screaming as they were swallowed by the lava or devoured by fire alligators.

At this moment, Li Ao and the other two had already walked calmly to the central area of the lava fire river.

Here, the pressure of the forbidden air Domain was strongest, and the fire energy contained in the river water was the most pure and violent. Li Ao could even feel that deep beneath the river, there seemed to be a more powerful, more ancient aura lurking, like a sleeping Vicious Beast.

Suddenly, he paused, his sharp gaze fixed on a seemingly calm but actually turbulent section of the river ahead and to the side.

“Be careful, something is coming.”

Before he finished speaking, that section of the river surface suddenly bulged upwards, and then, an incomparably massive shadow broke through the dark golden lava and slowly rose!

It was not a fire alligator, but a massive creature over fifty zhang long, entirely composed of dark golden crystals and lava, shaped like a giant turtle but with a Dragon head and a snake tail! On its turtle shell, mysterious fire runes formed naturally, burning with unextinguishable dark golden flames. On its Dragon head, a pair of crimson eyes the size of carriage wheels coldly locked onto Li Ao and the other two, exuding a pressure that had reached the Peak of the eighth-grade, comparable to a human Peak Dou Zun!

“Lava Dragon Turtle… It seems this is the true overlord guarding the fire river.” Li Ao's eyes narrowed slightly, feeling a threat more powerful than all the previous fire creatures combined.

The Dragon Turtle opened its huge mouth and let out a dull, thunderous roar. A highly condensed, dark golden flame breath, like a destructive beam of light, instantly tore through the air and blasted towards the three of them! Wherever it passed, even space was scorched, twisted, and collapsed!

This single blow was enough to severely injure or even kill an ordinary Peak Dou Zun!

Facing this sudden terrifying attack, Li Ao took a deep breath. His previously restrained aura was finally no longer suppressed, and the Saint-Grade level pressure mixed with the true meaning of annihilation from the Guixu Great Dao soared into the sky!

He slowly raised his palm.