Chapter 28: Entering the Secret Realm, Encountering the Magma Beast!
“Everyone, stay here and guard the entrance and Xuení, come with me into the secret realm.” Lin Qi’an had no intention of letting the sword guards follow him.
“Yes!” Su Xuení happily followed.
After taking a few steps, Lin Qi’an turned back, smiling as he asked, “I wonder if Ziyou Saintess is interested in joining us?”
Being a girl of purple luck, closely related to Ling Tian, bringing her along could be advantageous.
“Me…?” Zi Lianyou pointed at herself, her clear, beautiful eyes filled with disbelief and was flattered!
“Why are you still standing there? It’s your fortune that the Crown Prince is personally inviting you, hurry up.”
The hundred members of Ziyou Holy Land were all excited. This was a great opportunity falling from the sky!
What does it mean when they say ‘one person ascends to heaven, the chickens and dogs follow’? The Tianchi Holy Land had already demonstrated this well.
They were originally targeted by the Tai’an Royal Family and were on the verge of annihilation, but because the Crown Prince took a liking to the Tianchi Saintess, he intervened and resolved the crisis.
It’s said that he even gifted them a heavenly-tier cultivation technique! If the Ziyou Saintess could receive similar treatment, their faces would surely break from smiling.
“Then I will shamelessly follow the Crown Prince…” Zi Lianyou’s face blushed as she softly replied.
Su Xuení smiled and extended a fair arm: “Come on!”
Inwardly, she thought, ‘Getting a good deal and still acting innocent, aren’t you, sister?’
The three of them stepped into the light gate together, entering the secret realm.
Inside, it was a small world of its own!
The sky was a scorching red, the air filled with a sweltering heat. Without using spiritual power to protect themselves, people would likely be steamed alive.
The ground was filled with cracks, with flowing red-hot magma visible through the gaps. Indeed, this was a fire-attribute secret realm.
There were already many beast corpses on the ground, blood everywhere, showing signs of the previous battles from those who had entered before.
In the distance, several streaks of light could be seen, spiritual energy surging. The secret realm was extremely dangerous.
The deeper one went, the greater the opportunities for fortune, but the challenges were also more severe.
“So hot…” Zi Lianyou’s face was flushed, and she instinctively used spiritual power to resist the heat.
Su Xuení, however, didn’t think of herself first but of Lin Qi’an, “Crown Prince, let me help you cool down.”
She placed her jade-like hand on Lin Qi’an’s chest, channeling spiritual power. A layer of icy energy enveloped them which was cool and comfortable.
It seemed she had successfully refined the Ice Qilin’s blood essence.
“Much better.” Although Lin Qi’an had cultivated the heavenly-tier technique, the Yang Flame Technique, making him at ease in this environment, he wouldn’t refuse Su Xuení’s kindness.
Zi Lianyou inwardly sighed, realizing she still had much to learn and was far behind Sister Xuení.
The three of them flew through the air. Apart from seeing beast corpses, there were also many human cultivators who had perished here. Exploring a secret realm meant not everyone would return safely.
Because others had already passed through, they encountered little resistance from beasts along the way. After flying for about half an hour, a giant volcano appeared before them.
There was an entrance at the base, suggesting many cultivators had already gone inside.
“Let’s go in as well.”
As soon as they entered the cave, an even more intense heat wave hit them. The fire energy inside the volcano was extremely dense, possibly hiding powerful beasts or fire-element treasures!
The interior was spacious and the rock walls were glowing red from the heat, with magma flowing brightly in the cracks on the ground, occasionally bubbling and erupting.
Cultivators with lower cultivation levels could not endure and had to retreat.
In the depths of the mountain, a vast magma lake blocked their path! The air above the lake was distorted by the high temperature. All the rock walls were almost crimson.
Most of the cultivators who entered were stopped at the lake’s edge.
“The Crown Prince?!”
“The Crown Prince is here too!”
“Xiao Yu of the Feiyu Sect greets the Crown Prince!”
Seeing the handsome figure in white arrive, accompanied by two stunning saintesses, everyone hurriedly saluted.
“We’re all here to seek treasures, no need for formalities,” Lin Qi’an smiled amiably.
“Crown Prince, we’ve all been stopped here, unable to cross this magma lake! I suspect that to obtain the treasures in this volcano, we must cross it.”
“Why can’t you cross?”
“Because… there is a terrifying beast in the lake.”
Lin Qi’an was about to inquire further but then…
Ahead, a man in simple cloth shouted, “A mere beast in the lake dares to block me? My Longhu Sect specializes in domineering spiritual power and fears no flames!”
With that, he leaped into the air, trying to cross the lake. Just as he reached the middle, the lake erupted, and several huge tentacles shot up, wrapping tightly around him.
“Vile creature, die!” The man tried to blast the tentacles with techniques, but to no avail. He was swiftly dragged into the magma lake.
“Ahhh!!!”
A heart-wrenching scream echoed which made everyone’s hair stand on end. Soon, there was no more sound from the man. He had likely been dissolved entirely in the magma.
“It seems we can’t cross the lake directly!”
“I propose we join forces to slay this beast, so we can all cross the lake together!”
“Agreed!”
“That seems to be the only option…”
After a brief discussion, all the cultivators turned their eyes to Lin Qi’an.
“What does the Crown Prince think?”
“Agreed.” Lin Qi’an nodded.
After all, he was just here for a casual stroll, to pass the time. For real treasure hunting, he’d rely on Ling Tian.
By sensing the position of the soul devouring worm, Lin Qi’an knew Ling Tian was among the cultivators present. As expected, main characters are always in disguise.