45: Chapter 45 The Terrifying Molten Abyss

Inside the cave, the firelight flickered.

Everyone sat in a circle, their faces showing fatigue, but excitement was hard to conceal in their eyes.

The battle against the Earth Fire Scorpion King, though perilous, had yielded huge gains.

Not only did they obtain the valuable Earth Fire Scorpion King Materials and Fire Flame Crystals.

More importantly, the terrifying strength Ye Chen displayed had greatly boosted the team's morale.

Liu Yiyi carefully helped Chen Feng bandage the wound on his arm corroded by the scorpion venom, but her gaze frequently drifted toward Ye Chen, who was sitting cross-legged alone not far away.

The youth's profile was sharp and well-defined under the firelight; when he closed his eyes to regulate his breath, his aura was as calm as water, a stark contrast to the sharpness he displayed when slaying the Earth Fire Scorpion King.

Her heart was filled with surging emotions, a mix of relief from surviving the ordeal and an indescribable palpitation.

Ye Chen was currently immersed in Cultivation.

Holding the demon core of the Earth Fire Scorpion King in his palm, pure and majestic Spiritual Qi poured continuously into his body, slowly being absorbed and converted by the black tortoise armor.

On the surface of the earthy-yellow armor, that faint red light became increasingly distinct, emitting a warm and heavy aura; its defensive power had clearly improved by another notch.

At the same time, a gentle, neutralized heat flow fed back into his body, nourishing his Meridians and forming a subtle cycle with the Profound Ice True Essence within his Dantian.

The combination of ice and fire made him feel that his state was better than ever before.

"At this speed, perhaps before entering the Molten Fire Abyss, the black tortoise armor will be able to reach the Peak of High Grade Yellow Rank, or even touch the threshold of the Profound Rank," Ye Chen mused inwardly.

Every improvement in strength gave him a bit more confidence when facing unknown dangers.

After resting for about two hours, the group had mostly recovered.

Scarface spread out the somewhat rough mining area map, his finger pointing toward a region in the center marked in deep red.

"This is the Molten Fire Abyss," he said with a solemn expression.

"It is said to be a bottomless rift that leads directly to the Earth Core Fire Vein. It is filled with raging flames and rolling magma all year round; ordinary Meridian Opening Realm Cultivators would be roasted dry just by approaching the edge. The environment inside is not only extremely harsh, but it is also inhabited by powerful fire-attribute Yao Beasts, and may have even birthed Fire Essence Spirits."

He paused and looked at Ye Chen. "Young Master Ye, are you sure you want to go? Those old foxes like Black Wind Fiend, Wang Mang, and Grand Elder Ye Rushan have probably already taken their people inside. It's a place where dragons and snakes mix, filled with hidden dangers."

Everyone's gaze was focused on Ye Chen.

Ye Chen slowly opened his eyes, and a light where ice and fire intertwined seemed to flash and vanish in the depths of his pupils.

Sensing the faint but persistent sense of summoning from the jade booklet in his Sea of Consciousness pointing toward the abyss, he nodded, his tone calm yet firm.

"I must go. There is something I need there." He did not explicitly state what it was, but everyone was already accustomed to his mystery and decisiveness.

"Good! Since Young Master Ye has decided, we will accompany you to the end!" Lin Dong was the first to state his position; after fighting side by side repeatedly, he was completely convinced by Ye Chen.

Liu Yiyi and Chen Feng nodded without hesitation.

Seeing this, Scarface no longer tried to dissuade them and said in a deep voice, "In that case, we need to make thorough preparations. The edge of the abyss is unbearably hot, so we need to prepare enough fresh water and cold-attribute Medicinal Pills. Also, here are a few 'Breath Concealing Talismans' and 'Spirit Movement Talismans'; they might save your lives at critical moments." He took out several Talismans and distributed them to everyone.

Ye Chen took the Talismans and thanked him. These preparations were certainly important, but his true reliance remained his own strength.

The next morning, the group left the cave and set off toward the direction of the Molten Fire Abyss marked on the map.

The closer they got to the central area, the more violent the Spiritual Qi of fire in the air became. The ground was scorching, and stepping on it caused the soles of their shoes to emit a burnt smell.

The surrounding vegetation had long since disappeared, replaced by crimson bare rock and solidified lava flows. The air was filled with a heavy smell of sulfur, making it burn when inhaled through the mouth and nose.

Along the way, more traces of battle began to appear—broken weapons, charred corpses, and dried bloodstains—indicating the brutal slaughter experienced by those who had arrived here before.

Occasionally, one could see some abandoned camps and makeshift fortifications, but they were all deserted.

"It seems quite a few people have already broken in." Scarface observed the surroundings vigilantly. "Everyone be careful, beware of ambushes."

After traveling another few dozen miles, the scene ahead suddenly changed. A huge, boundless abyss appeared before their eyes!

The edge of the abyss was crimson as blood and bottomless. Below, dark red magma rolled, and scorching heat waves surged into the sky, distorting the air above.

The rumbling sound of rushing magma was like the roar of a giant beast, deafening. This was the Molten Fire Abyss!

Just standing on the edge, the terrifying heat made people sweat profusely, and the consumption of True Essence accelerated rapidly.

"What a terrifying sight!" Liu Yiyi's face turned pale; she had to circulate her Azure Wood True Essence to barely withstand the heat waves.

Chen Feng and several guards needed to continuously take Medicinal Pills to hold on.

On Ye Chen's body surface, the black tortoise armor shimmered with a faint light, isolating most of the heat waves. Instead, he felt that the dense Spiritual Qi of fire here was greatly beneficial for tempering the black tortoise armor.

His gaze swept across the edge of the abyss, and he discovered several narrow plank roads and rope ladders that were clearly carved by human hands leading downward; it seemed these were the paths to enter the abyss.

"Which way should we take?" Lin Dong asked. Ye Chen closed his eyes to sense the guidance of the jade booklet and pointed to a relatively concealed plank road on the left. "This way."

The group climbed carefully downward into the abyss along the steep plank road. The further down they went, the higher the temperature became, and the rock walls were frighteningly hot.

From below, the roars of Yao Beasts and faint sounds of fighting could be heard occasionally, showing that it was not peaceful beneath the abyss.

After descending about a thousand zhang, they finally stepped onto relatively flat ground. This seemed to be the waist of the abyss, where a relatively wide magma terrace appeared.

The terrace was filled with jagged rocks and holes, and scorching magma flowed slowly like streams between the crevices, with deadly toxic smoke permeating the air.

"Watch out for ground fire eruptions and toxic miasma!" Scarface warned.

Before the words had even faded, a piece of ground not far ahead suddenly exploded, and a scorching column of magma shot into the sky! Fortunately, the group reacted quickly and dodged in time, but the splashing magma still ignited the hem of one guard's clothes.

"Ah!" The guard hurriedly patted it. Ye Chen flicked his finger, and a wisp of cold qi swept past, instantly extinguishing the flames. The guard thanked him with lingering fear.

Continuing forward, they hadn't gone far when the sounds of weapons clashing and shouting came from ahead. The group concealed their figures and quietly approached.

They saw two groups of people fighting on the side of a relatively open magma river. One group was dressed in black and masked, their Cultivation Technique sinister and ruthless; they were the killers of "Shadow Fiend"!

The other group was the coalition of the Wang family and the Ye family, led personally by Wang Mang and Grand Elder Ye Rushan, with Tiger Wang and several Elders of the Ye family among them, but everyone was injured, clearly having experienced a bitter battle.

A dozen corpses already lay on the ground, some from the Wang and Ye families, and some from the "Shadow Fiend" killers.

"It's Wang Mang and Grand Elder Ye Rushan! They have clashed with 'Shadow Fiend'!" Lin Dong whispered.

"It seems they also just came down not long ago and encountered an ambush," Scarface analyzed. "'Shadow Fiend' is truly relentless; they actually chased them all the way here!"

Ye Chen watched the wretched figures of Wang Mang and Grand Elder Ye Rushan with cold eyes, feeling not a shred of sympathy. The situation between him and these two families was already one of life and death. He was happy to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight.

The battle was extremely intense. Wang Mang's Wheel Sea Realm cultivation exploded with full force, his Fire Flame Palm fierce and peerless; Grand Elder Ye Rushan's sword technique was tricky, and they cooperated tacitly.

But "Shadow Fiend" killers had the advantage in numbers and were skilled in combined attacks and concealment, making them impossible to guard against. Constantly, disciples of the Wang and Ye families were injured by hidden weapons or collapsed from poisoning.

"Father! Watch out behind you!" Tiger Wang exclaimed, blocking a poisoned flying dart for Wang Mang, only to be struck in the shoulder, which instantly turned black.

"Tiger!" Wang Mang's eyes were about to split with rage; he slapped that killer to death and hurriedly fed Tiger Wang an antidote pill.

Grand Elder Ye Rushan was also entangled by two killers, struggling to defend himself, and was in constant danger.

Just as the Wang and Ye families were about to be unable to hold on, suddenly, a heaven-shaking roar came from further down the abyss! A terrifying, heart-palpitating pressure spread out!

Even both sides in the midst of the fierce battle couldn't help but stop, looking down in horror.

They saw a huge head covered in dark red scales slowly emerging from the rolling magma below. Cold vertical pupils swept across the people above, full of tyranny and greed!

Immediately following, a second and a third. A total of three huge heads rose from the magma!

"It's the Three-Headed Lava Flood Dragon! A mature Third-Order Yao Beast!" Scarface exclaimed, his face instantly turning pale!

A Third-Order Yao Beast was equivalent to a human existence at the Late Stage or even Peak of the Wheel Sea Realm! Its strength was enough to crush everyone present!

"Roar—!" The Three-Headed Lava Flood Dragon roared simultaneously, shaking the entire terrace!

It seemed provoked by the fighting and the smell of blood above, and its massive body slowly rose from the magma. Carrying an aura of destroying heaven and extinguishing earth, it lunged toward the direction of the Wang and Ye families and the "Shadow Fiend" killers!

"Run!" Wang Mang and Grand Elder Ye Rushan were in a state of Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, no longer caring about the fight, and took their remaining men to flee for their lives toward a cave on the side of the terrace!

The "Shadow Fiend" killers also turned into streaks of black shadows and fled in all directions.

The Three-Headed Lava Flood Dragon clearly did not intend to let these "bugs" that had disturbed its peace go. It twisted its body and spat out three thick columns of magma fire. Instantly, it swallowed several Wang family disciples and "Shadow Fiend" killers who were slow to escape, and they turned to ashes without even letting out a scream!

"Let's go quickly!" Scarface urged; a Third-Order Yao Beast was simply not something they could contend with.

However, Ye Chen stood still, his gaze fixed tightly on the magma area where the Three-Headed Lava Flood Dragon had appeared. The jade booklet in his Sea of Consciousness was emitting an unprecedented burning sensation, and that sense of summoning was clearer than ever before! It was coming from the depths of the magma!

"The thing attracting the jade booklet is down there?" Ye Chen was greatly shocked. But with the Three-Headed Lava Flood Dragon guarding it, how could he go down?

Just then, an unexpected change occurred! From above the abyss, a long whistle suddenly came, and a black shadow swooped down like a giant bird. Before the person arrived, a sharp and peerless blade qi had already slashed toward one of the heads of the Lava Flood Dragon!

"Black Wind Fiend!" Scarface's pupils shrank. The person who arrived was none other than the leader of the Black Wind Stockade, Black Wind Fiend! He had indeed come too!

"Evil beast! How dare you hurt my men, pay with your life!" Black Wind Fiend's voice was hoarse and ferocious. In his hand, a ghost head saber the size of a door panel carried a shrill ghost-wailing sound as it clashed with the Three-Headed Lava Flood Dragon!

The powerful aura of the Late Stage of the Wheel Sea Realm was fully revealed!

At the same time, on the other side, several powerful auras were also approaching rapidly. The leader was an old man dressed in the attire of the City Lord's Mansion, his aura deep and profound—he was actually at the Peak of the Wheel Sea Realm! Behind him followed Zhao Feng and several experts from the City Lord's Mansion.

On the other side, Lin Qingxue, under the protection of a Wheel Sea Realm Elder from the Lin family, also arrived at the scene with a team of Lin family elites. Clearly, the anomaly in the Molten Fire Abyss and the possible existence of treasures had attracted all the top forces of Qingyun City!

For a moment, at the bottom of the abyss, the Three-Headed Lava Flood Dragon, Black Wind Fiend, the City Lord's Mansion, the Lin family, as well as the fleeing remnants of the Wang and Ye families, and the "Shadow Fiend" killers—various forces converged, and the situation instantly became intricate and filled with hidden dangers!

Ye Chen watched this sudden chaotic scene, his eyes flickering. An opportunity! It is only in muddy waters that one can catch fish!