200: Enter the secret passage

The shrill hissing of the Fire Chicken Snake Beast was gradually swallowed by the thick swamp fog, and an eerie silence returned to the surroundings, accompanied only by the slightly heavy breathing of the group and the bubbling of the mud.

Qin Feng and the other three didn't dare to relax. They quickly tended to their minor injuries and vigilantly scanned their surroundings for any other dangers that might have been drawn by the fierce battle.

"This beast's blood..." Ji Ruxue suddenly spoke, her cold gaze falling on the pool of dark red beast blood slowly seeping into the mud. The residual heat and primal aura within the blood had not yet dissipated, emitting a pressure unique to the king of this swamp.

Qin Feng's heart stirred. "Perhaps we can use this."

He motioned for everyone to approach cautiously. Sure enough, centered around that pool of beast blood, the rustling crawling sounds originally hidden under the mud and rotting leaves completely vanished within a radius of several dozen feet. Even the toxic moths flying blindly in the air seemed to deliberately avoid this area. The residual aura of the Fire Chicken Snake Beast temporarily intimidated the other low-level poisonous insects and Yao Beasts in the swamp.

"Follow the direction the blood trail extends!" Qin Feng decided immediately. The Fire Chicken Snake Beast had fled while heavily injured; the most convenient escape route it chose was likely leading to its nest or a relatively safe area. And the nests of such powerful Yao Beasts often connected to hidden paths.

The four of them immediately followed the intermittent blood droplets and struggle marks, tracking carefully through the mud and fog. The journey was indeed much calmer. Occasionally, rustling sounds would occur, but they quickly receded after sensing the residual beastly pressure.

After traveling for about an hour, the fog ahead thinned slightly, and the terrain gradually rose, revealing a rugged slope piled with giant black volcanic rocks. The bloodstains became denser here, finally disappearing into a rock crevice about two people high, half-hidden by thick, charred vines at the base of the slope.

The inside of the rock crevice was pitch black, with a faint warm wind blowing out, carrying a purer scent of sulfur and minerals.

"This is it." Qin Feng compared the map in his hand and recalled the description from the System's intelligence: 'Passing through the Boiling Mire area allows one to bypass most of the outer Lava Beast habitats and cut directly into the middle zone.' He was eighty percent certain. "The passage behind this rock crevice is likely that shortcut."

Xia Ya stepped forward, swung her great sword, and severed the hanging tough vines. The rock crevice was fully revealed, showing a tunnel inside that sloped downward—a mix of man-made excavation and natural karst caves. The tunnel walls were dry, and the temperature was significantly higher than outside.

"Be careful." Qin Feng was the first to step in, the ink plum sword's faint light illuminating the path ahead. Ji Ruxue followed silently, hidden in the shadows. Xia Ya held her shield at the rear, while Xiao Chun was in the middle, her yan luo umbrella put away, holding several glowstones for lighting in her hand.

The tunnel was narrow at first but soon became spacious. After traveling barely a hundred yards, several irritable low growls and the sound of stones colliding suddenly came from ahead!

At a relatively open bend in the tunnel, five Yao Beasts that looked like gorillas but were covered in dark red stone skin with lava-like cracks at their joints were entrenched! They were sturdy, with protruding fangs, and were fighting over several glowing Ores. The fluctuations emitted by each one had reached the Grand Martial Master level!

"Fire Source Gorillas!" Qin Feng whispered. These were relatively common Yao Beasts in the Molten Core Secret Realm. They had low intelligence, were violent by nature, and loved to eat various fire-attribute minerals.

Their presence was immediately detected. The five Fire Source Gorillas turned their heads in unison, their crimson eyes locking onto the intruders. They then let out threatening roars, abandoned the Ores, and pounced forward using both hands and feet! Their heavy bodies made the ground thud, and their sharp claws brought a scorching, fishy wind as they swung.

"Finish this quickly!" Qin Feng shouted.

There was no need to form a formation; dealing with a small number of low-intelligence Yao Beasts like these, it was more efficient for the four of them to fight individually.

Xia Ya snorted coldly, her great fang broadsword being the first to meet them with a heavy whistling sound! A single strike sent the foremost Fire Source Gorilla staggering back, its stone skin cracking. Ji Ruxue's figure flitted like a ghost, her purple moon dagger flashing with cold light as she precisely stabbed into the eye sockets and throats of another gorilla, ending it instantly. Qin Feng's sword light fell like rain, the Sword Qi from his Finger Sword Among Flowers enveloping two of them, cutting them until they were covered in wounds and collapsed. Xiao Chun didn't engage in close combat; instead, she opened her yan luo umbrella, and with a click of the mechanism, several Shadowless Needles shot out, pinning the last Fire Source Gorilla attempting a flank attack to the ground. The anesthetic took effect quickly, causing it to go limp.

The battle ended within a few breaths. The five Grand Martial Master level Fire Source Gorillas hadn't even truly pressured the four of them.

"It seems that after our equipment improved, dealing with Yao Beasts of roughly the same level is much easier," Xia Ya laughed, flicking non-existent blood off her sword.

Qin Feng nodded, but his gaze was drawn to the Ores the Fire Source Gorillas had been fighting over. He walked over and picked up a piece. The Ore was about the size of a fist, an irregular dark red color with natural flame patterns on the surface. Holding it, he could feel a warm and pure fire-attribute energy.

"Is this... fire Yao stone? The quality seems much better than what's circulated outside." Qin Feng remembered the intelligence stating that Lava Beasts have a special fondness for this item.

"There's more over there!" Xiao Chun pointed deeper into the tunnel past the bend. The glowstone light revealed that the cave walls and ground ahead were dotted with this dark red luster! The deeper they went, the more there seemed to be!

The four of them were invigorated and immediately went forward to collect them. These fire Yao stone fragments varied in size, but the energy they contained was very pure. Apparently, this secret passage near the Fire Chicken Snake Beast's territory had been untouched for years, allowing a considerable amount to naturally condense and accumulate.

They collected them quickly and efficiently. Qin Feng specifically picked out a few pieces with the most abundant energy and most complete patterns for backup. Before long, everyone was carrying dozens of pounds of high-quality fire Yao stone. These were not only 'bargaining chips' that could be used to deal with Lava Beasts later but were also valuable Materials for Artifact Refining and array formations, which could be exchanged for many resources once they left.

Having gained an unexpected windfall, the four felt slightly more relaxed and continued deeper into the tunnel. The temperature continued to rise, the air was dry, and the cave walls began to show obvious wavy textures formed by the cooling of flowing lava.

However, not long after moving forward, they encountered trouble.

The tunnel ahead split into three forks, each deep and unknown in its destination. The marks on the walls and ground were old, making it difficult to judge which was the correct path to the middle zone. The Yunmeng City Lord's map had no markings for this place, and the System's intelligence only said it 'leads directly to the middle region' without mentioning specific branches.

"Three paths... which one should we take?" Xia Ya frowned.

Qin Feng concentrated his senses. The intensity of the hot wind and the concentration of the sulfur smell coming from the three forks were almost identical, making it hard to distinguish. Choosing blindly, if they accidentally entered a dead end or looped back to the outer zone, would not only waste time but also potentially lead to unknown dangers.

While Qin Feng was pondering, Xiao Chun suddenly let out a soft "ah" and carefully took out a palm-sized, fluffy white beast from her bosom. The little beast looked like a hamster but had a pair of crystal-clear pale gold eyes and a pink nose. At the moment, its nose was twitching as it looked around curiously.

"Xiao Bai!" Xiao Chun gently stroked the beast's fur and said to Qin Feng, "Brother Feng, although Xiao Bai is just a cub, it's naturally sensitive to energy flow and the aura of rare minerals. Perhaps... it can help us find the path where energy is most concentrated and most likely leads to the core area?"

Qin Feng's eyes lit up. "Let's try it!"

Xiao Chun placed Xiao Bai on her palm and whispered a few words to it. Xiao Bai tilted its head as if it half-understood, then leaped lightly to the ground. Its pink nose twitched rapidly as it sniffed carefully in front of all three forks.

After a moment, it let out two "squeaks" toward the middle fork, then jumped back into Xiao Chun's hand and pointed toward the middle with its little paw.

"It says that deep within the middle path, the fire-attribute energy is the most active and pure, and... there seems to be a very faint 'Treasure Aura' that's different from ordinary rocks," Xiao Chun translated. She had a sort of spiritual connection with Xiao Bai and could roughly understand its meaning.

"Treasure Aura?" Ji Ruxue's eyebrows twitched slightly.

"It could be a better mineral vein, or it could be... something else." Qin Feng decided immediately. "We'll take the middle one. Xiao Bai, lead the way, and be careful."

Xiao Bai seemed to understand. It leaped down from Xiao Chun's palm and scurried into the middle fork. Its speed was not slow, and its body was small and agile. it specifically chose shadows and rock crevices to walk through, being very cautious.

The four quickly followed. With Xiao Bai's warnings and guidance, they successfully avoided several sections that looked normal but actually hid scorching quicksand or fragile fault lines beneath. They also bypassed two nests inhabited by small colonies of Fire Scorpions.

This fork wound downward, the slope becoming steeper, and fine, hot sand and stones occasionally fell from the cave ceiling. However, the fire Yao stone veins around them indeed became richer, and even a small amount of higher-grade 'Molten Fire Crystals' appeared as associated minerals, their energy fluctuations heart-pounding. They didn't dare to collect them on a large scale to avoid causing geological shifts or disturbing something, only picking up a few top-grade ones along the way.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, a low rumble like muffled thunder came from ahead. The fire elements in the air were so active they were almost about to ignite. The temperature had become unbearable for ordinary Martial Artists, but fortunately, they had Fire Scale Pendants and Ice Silk Linings to regulate it.

Xiao Bai suddenly stopped, turned back, and squeaked urgently, its little paws gesturing repeatedly.

Xiao Chun's face changed slightly. "Xiao Bai says there's a very powerful life force ahead, and quite a few of them... also, it smells a very, very dense 'Treasure Aura' right behind where those life forces are guarding!"

Qin Feng signaled everyone to restrain their auras and stepped forward slowly. Rounding a sharp bend, the view suddenly opened up!