With the intensity of these attacks, to say nothing of a mountain, even a planet should have been destroyed.
Something was strange about this mountain.
“Hurry!” Nong Zaitian was sprawled across the ground, but he quickly moved to crawl towards the entrance, afraid to attract attention from the two powerhouses.
Lu Yin looked at something nearby where the colors of black and white were continuously interchanging. The intensity of these attacks made his scalp go numb, but Mr. Bai seemed to be completely unconstrained, and the struggle in the void caused a great deal of destruction as the attacks fell like raindrops.
Lu Yin knew that the two of them could not remain in this place, or else they would be caught up in the battle and killed sooner or later.
The two youths ran along the underground tunnel in an attempt to escape, but the ground quivered. Suddenly, a strange fire appeared from underground that rapidly spread out until it covered the entire mountain. The exit in front of Lu Yin and Nong Zaitian was also caught up in the blaze.
The conflagration was not only burning the mountain, but even the void, causing it to distort. The void had been set on fire as though it was paper, and a dark space of nothingness appeared.
Lu Yin and Nong Zaitian exchanged glances, and they headed back through the tunnel without any hesitation. This sort of inferno was not something that they could withstand.
They returned to the space with the natural treasures, and upon entering, they saw a bright roof, as Nightking Zhenwu’s battle against Mr. Bai had pierced through the top of the mountain.
It was very easy to break through a mountain for cultivators like them, but this mountain was different. Nong Zaitian was very clear how durable this particular mountain was, as otherwise, he would not have dug his way inside. His face turned deathly pale as soon as he saw that the top of the mountain had been broken through. These two were monsters.
Mr. Bai suddenly dropped down, and he landed solidly on the ground. He looked up, only to see Nightking Zhenwu towering high in the sky, aiming downwards with the posture of an archer.
Lu Yin was overwhelmed with shock, and he felt an unprecedented sense of crisis, as if the entire area had been locked down.
“Wu Taibai? I’ll let you die to one of your Sixth Mainland’s Progenitors’ battle techniques,” Nightking Zhenwu shouted as he released his right hand. The phantom image of an arrow with three glistening tail feathers mysteriously appeared in front of him. As he loosed the arrow, it flew directly at Mr. Bai.
Mr. Bai’s face looked solemn as he stepped forward and raised a palm, causing an imprint to appear above it. Under the shocked sights of the few people watching, he actually grabbed a hold of the arrow and then charged towards Nightking Zhenwu. “Arbiter of the Fifth Mainland, you have still underestimated me.”
Nightking Zhenwu’s eyes narrowed, and he quickly shot out another arrow. Mr. Bai waved a hand, as another surprising collision released a tremendous amount of pressure upon the area. Lu Yin and Nong Zaitian were sent sprawling onto the ground, and since Lu Yin had already been severely injured to begin with, this pressure caused him to immediately pass out.
Nong Zaitian was not in a good state either, and his organs seemed to have been pulverized. He spat out a mouthful of blood and strained to look up at the sky. He could no longer see the silhouettes of Mr. Bai or Nightking Zhenwu, so he stood up with great difficulty. He didn’t bother with Lu Yin anymore, and he rose up to flee. However, he was forced back down again by a surge from the inferno.
Nong Zaitian gave up. “I’m doomed. I’m going to be cooked.”
The appearance of this large mountain was very peculiar, and the inferno continuously surged up from beneath the surface of the ground to envelop the entire mountain. As the fire continued to burn, the form of the mountain gradually collapsed, until finally, a golden lustre was revealed beneath it.
When the body of the mountain completely collapsed, a furnace appeared within the blaze, and it looked like a furnace used to refine medicine. This was not actually a mountain; rather, it was a refining furnace, and these natural treasures had been growing within it.
A refining furnace naturally needed flames to refine its medications, and Nightking Zhenwu’s battle with Mr. Bai had dug up a fire that had been buried for countless years. They had already left the region, but the blaze continued burning Lu Yin and Nong Zaitian alive.
Nong Zaitian did not know that the two of them were currently being refined like pills. He could only feel his body becoming hotter and hotter, and the heat was quickly becoming unbearable.
Beneath the ground, the natural treasures also began to ignite one by one.
Nong Zaitian felt a heart-wrenching pain, and he tried to move forward to extinguish the flames, but the temperature of the ground rose ever higher. By now, even the soil was slowly turning red from the heat.
Lu Yin was awakened by the scalding temperature. With the power of his physical body, he would be fine even if he was thrown onto a star, but this subterranean fire was hot enough to actually scorch him.
“What’s going on?” Lu Yin glanced around the area. “Where’s Nightking Zhenwu? Mr. Bai?”
“Why do you still care about them? Take care of yourself first! We’re getting cooked alive!” Nong Zaitian shouted urgently at Lu Yin from a position high up above the ground.
Lu Yin remained standing on the ground, but then he felt the boiling heat beneath his feet. When he looked down, he noticed that his shoes were being charred. He then looked over and saw the inferno blocking their exit. “Where did these flames come from?”
“How would I know? Think of a way to escape!” Nong Zaitian screamed.
Lu Yin leaped up into the air and endured his injuries as he used the Yu Secret Art. He wanted to either shift the fire away or transfer himself out of this place.
However, both attempts failed, as this blaze had scorched even the void, burning space itself. In other words, the two youths had been isolated in a separate space. The Yu Secret Art was restricted by distance, and Lu Yin could not cover the distance that he needed to escape.
Nong Zaitian was agitatedly hopping about even as the temperature rose higher and higher. Soon, the void within the mountain also began to twist and warp as those natural treasures had already begun to burn. The treasures that had reached the stage of instinctively evading danger were also trying to flee, but they were all forced back by the fire.
Lu Yin looked miserable as he panted heavily. He was done, as he might actually die at this time, but he never thought that he would end up being burned to death.
He moved over to the mountainside and struck out with his Skybeast Claw, which left a scar on the mountain and also revealed the golden lustre beneath.
Lu Yin then attacked the metal itself, but that only resulted in a loud bang, the attack unable to leave a single mark left on the metal.
“We’re doomed! We’re going to burn to our deaths,” Nong Zaitian howled in desperation. He had already taken off his outer clothing, as it was too hot in this place.
“Didn’t your ancestors tell you what sort of place this was?” Lu Yin asked.
Nong Zaitian answered bitterly, “Nope. Those ancestors found it by accident.”
Lu Yin continuously tried to probe the other youth in order to find a means of escape, but it proved useless. The best method was most likely to flee straight up, but the flames had blocked off that path.
The ground had turned red, and all around them, the mountain body was collapsing, revealing a golden lustre that was also gradually turning red.
The natural treasures all started to burn, including those that could evade danger.
Nong Zaitian was brimming with sweat, and he panted heavily as he could not take it anymore. He started to mutter incessantly while his gaze slackened.
“Seventh Bro, what’s going on? Why’s it so scorchingly hot?” the Ghost Monkey suddenly spoke up. He had been knocked unconscious by Nightking Zhenwu’s attack, and he had only awakened at this moment.
“Where are we? Why does this look like a furnace?
“There’s something up with this place. With this sort of fire, this is definitely a furnace. This is an inferno that carries some of the strength of a predecessor! Seventh Bro, this Monkey is going to die sooner by being with you.”
Lu Yin had already been injured to begin with, and at this point, he started to feel dizzy. When he heard the monkey speak, he grudgingly responded, “We’re going to die.”
“Wait a minute, this fire only has some of the strength of a predecessor, so it won’t burn for long. Hang on, Seventh Bro! This Monkey doesn’t want to die!” the monkey screamed.
Lu Yin’s eyes went wide. “What did you say? This won’t burn for long?”
“Of course not. This fire came from some powerhouse’s innate gift, so if that powerhouse was still alive, then this fire could burn for however long they wished. However, we’re in the Daosource Sect’s ruins, so this powerhouse can’t still be alive, which means that this fire must have been sealed by that powerhouse beneath this furnace long ago. It was probably released due to some outside pressure, and without the support from that powerhouse, these flames won’t burn for long. So hang on and we don’t die!” the Ghost Monkey shouted.
“How long will it burn for?”
“I don’t know, but definitely not too long.”
Lu Yin gritted his teeth and kicked Nong Zaitian. The youth woke up and looked at him with hazy eyes before dispiritedly asking, “What are you doing? Can’t you let a man die a peaceful death?”
“Hold out for a bit. These flames will be exhausted after a day,” Lu Yin said.
Nong Zaitian’s eyes lit up, and he hopefully asked, “Really?”
“Yes, but we must hold out for a day.”
Nong Zaitian looked around and then directly took off all of his clothes. Keeping them on was pointless since they were just about to burn completely away.
Lu Yin followed Nong Zaitian’s lead.
“How do we last for a day?” Nong Zaitian asked.
Lu Yin shook his head. “Figure it out for yourself.” He had said that the flames would end after a day to trick Nong Zaitian, as Lu Yin had no idea how long these flames would last for. With the current strength of his physical body, he would be able to last for a day or two, but any longer than that would be difficult. He had to first improve his strength. No—first, he had to treat his injuries.
The air was filled with a fragrance released by the many natural treasures currently being refined in this place. The furnace was filled with star energy, and it had actually condensed into a liquid form reminiscent of raindrops as it fell down, only to be revaporized by the high temperature back into a gaseous state. After condensing in the sky, the star energy would once again precipitate, forming a constant cycle.
Inspiration struck Lu Yin, and he quickly sat down cross-legged and began to absorb the ambient star energy.
The natural treasures were being refined by the flames, and their natural energy had infused the air itself. Since the fire had isolated the area and was preventing even a trace of energy from leaking out, Lu Yin was able to absorb the ambient star energy in the furnace’s atmosphere, which also allowed him to absorb the beneficial effects of the natural treasures.
Aside from the various effects of the many natural treasures, there was also an enormous amount of ambient star energy. The growth of all these natural treasures required star energy, and over the countless years, they had absorbed too much star energy. Now that the natural treasures were all being burned apart by the flames, all of their star energy had been released into the atmosphere, filling the furnace. In fact, it had almost condensed into a physical substance. There really was too much of it.
If a normal person took a breath in this place, they might be able to instantly become a cultivator in the Seeker realm. There would be no need for them to cultivate, as the ambient star energy in this place was dense enough to propel them upwards.
Close to Lu Yin, Nong Zaitian also realized what he needed to do, and he also began to absorb the ambient star energy, just like Lu Yin.
These two buck-naked young men continuously absorbed the star energy inside this blazing furnace, and soon enough, the star energy in the furnace formed two vortexes centered around the two of them, though Nong Zaitian’s rate of absorption could not even compare to Lu Yin’s. The youth occasionally peeked over at Lu Yin, and he was frightened by what he saw every time. The star energy revolved around Lu Yin like a hurricane while the vortex surrounding Nong Zaitian was a dozen times smaller than Lu Yin’s.
This left Nong Zaitian speechless. His Nong Family was, after all, a Cosmic Imprinter’s family. Their battle techniques far surpassed those of ordinary people, and their rate of absorption when cultivating was dozens of times faster than the average speed. But despite that, he did not even come close to matching this fellow’s absorption rate. What could his background possibly be?
This person had seemed to recognize that Fifth Mainland’s Arbiter, so could he actually be from the Fifth Mainland? That shouldn’t be the case, as anyone who could come to the Daosource Sect’s ruins from the Fifth Mainland was a monster.
Cultivating in this place allowed both youths to absorb star energy at a rate that greatly surpassed what was possible in the outside world. Lu Yin opened his eyes, as he had realized that, even though his physical body was being burned by the flames, the rate that he was absorbing the star energy was growing even faster. He did not know why, and it was possible that this effect was unrelated to his physical body or that this star energy that had been burned by the flames was somehow easier to absorb.
He glanced over at Nong Zaitian, as this person’s absorption rate was not slow either.
Lu Yin thought about it, closed his eyes, and then revolved his Cosmic Art with his full strength. By this time, he had cultivated his Cosmic Art to sixty five stars, which meant that he could cultivate sixty five times faster than the standard cultivator’s speed. However, in this place, his star energy absorption rate far surpassed a mere sixty five times speed. It had actually reached the point where he felt like he was not absorbing the star energy, but rather devouring it.
Such a terrifying speed caused all of the surrounding star energy to converge around Lu Yin and form a vortex, and all the while, Lu Yin’s injuries were also rapidly healing.
