Chapter 1029: The Terrifying Lava (Part 1)

Looking up, he saw Luo Ruoxi's pretty face flushed red, nearly exploding with anger.

While everyone else was considering how to find the entrance, this guy was staring fixedly at her, sizing her up—clearly not thinking anything good.

"Ahem!"

Unexpectedly caught pondering such an important matter, Zhang Xuan choked on his saliva, straightened his face, and raised his eyebrows: "I was thinking that since the lava is so dangerous, it can't be meant for people to dive straight in—it must be a test!"

"A test?" Seeing him thinking so righteously while she had misunderstood, Luo Ruoxi felt very embarrassed.

"Exactly!"

Zhang Xuan stood in midair, eyes fixed ahead, waving his hand as if commanding the landscape: "If the one who left this relic didn't want later generations to enter, he would never have left a loophole in the formation, allowing people to come in periodically... Since he did so, it means the relic is meant for posterity, and this lava is most likely the first test. Only by overcoming it can one go deeper!"

"This..." Stunned for a moment, Luo Ruoxi nodded.

What he said made sense. If this relic could be entered by brute force, it would have been visited countless times over the years and would no longer exist.

"What use is knowing that? Have you figured out the purpose of this lava? Or... can you find the true entrance to the relic?"

Luo Ruoxi looked over.

"I'm working on it..."

Turning his head, Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, he reacted quickly; otherwise, if she knew what he was thinking, she'd probably want to kill him.

"Forget it, I'll stop thinking about that for now..."

Shaking his head to dismiss the messy thoughts, Zhang Xuan looked down.

The lava below churned endlessly like boiling water. Even before entering, it gave a feeling of scorching heat, as if one would be burned to a crisp at any moment.

Activating his Eye of Insight, Zhang Xuan examined it carefully.

The entire volcanic crater was shrouded in hot air, like a steam-filled sauna, making it hard to see clearly.

After scanning around, he found no trace of formations, not even any sign of spiritual energy.

"Maybe there's a folded space..."

Frowning, he was about to communicate with the Queen Ant to investigate when a voice rang out.

"This doesn't seem like ordinary lava..."

Turning to look, he saw Wu Shi and Han Huizhang standing together, the latter looking astonished.

Everyone was puzzled.

"Look!"

Han Huizhang flipped his wrist, and a mid-grade spirit weapon appeared in his palm. Infusing it with true energy, he shot it straight downward.

Plop!

The weapon merged with the lava, emitting a sizzling sound. In no time, it melted into liquid and vanished.

"Even a mid-grade spirit weapon can melt?"

Everyone was startled.

Earlier, they thought the temperature below was high, but with their strength as Saint Domain experts, they could withstand it for a while without harm. Seeing this, they realized the lava was far more terrifying than they had imagined.

"It's... core lava!"

Yunxu Academy's dean, Wu Tianqiong, hesitated before speaking.

"Core lava?" The others looked at him, confused.

"I've read relevant books. It's said that the deeper the lava, the higher the temperature. The most extreme is core lava—a single drop can melt spirit tools, even saint tools! This might not be that hot yet, but it's already beyond ordinary magma. So... it's very likely that what's below isn't the relic, but the earth's core!"

Wu Tianqiong analyzed.

"This..."

Everyone frowned.

"Whether it is or not, we'll find out!" Wu Shi raised his eyebrows. "Alright, you wait here. I'll go down and take a look..."

"The lava is so hot; it must be even hotter below. Even with your strength, going down will be difficult, right?"

Han Huizhang couldn't help saying.

"I've analyzed it. With my current strength, I can probably dive about a hundred meters. If I encounter danger, I'll come out immediately. Don't worry..."

Wu Shi nodded solemnly. "If we don't go in and just wait here, I'm afraid we won't hold out for long either."

Although they were flying in the air, some distance from the lava below, the seal above trapped the heat, making the temperature here already terrifying. In the short term, they could rely on true energy to resist, but over time, once their true energy was depleted, they would likely be unable to withstand it and be burned alive.

"That's true. Be careful..."

Hearing his words, Han Huizhang knew he was right, nodded, and added a warning.

"Mm, rest assured! If I encounter danger, I'll come out immediately!"

With a smile, Wu Shi said no more. His expression turned extremely grave, and his true energy surged, making him look like a dragon swimming through the starry sky. He twisted his body and plunged straight downward.

Splash!

His true energy parted the lava below, and he dove straight in.

"Uh..."

Unexpectedly, he acted so quickly. Zhang Xuan hesitated but swallowed his words of objection.

To be honest, he still hadn't figured out what was going on. Perhaps Wu Shi's descent would reveal new clues.

Gurgle, gurgle!

Bubbles rose from where Wu Shi had entered, and the lava converged again, as if no one had gone down.

"Will he... be okay?"

Seeing the scene below and feeling the heat in the air, a battle master couldn't help asking.

"Wu Shi has reached the fourth level of the Saint Domain, and as a master teacher, he has many life-saving tricks. It should be fine!" Han Huizhang paused, then said.

Though his words were confident, worry crept into his eyes.

Clearly, even he wasn't absolutely certain.

"Don't worry. Although Wu Shi isn't the strongest in the Qingyuan Empire's Master Teacher Academy, his escape skills are definitely the best. That's why he was sent to this relic!"

Mu Shi from the side smiled.

"Escape skills?"

Everyone was taken aback.

"That's right. Wu Shi has a unique technique called the 'Cocoon Star Step.' Once activated, his speed rivals that of a Saint Domain Fifth Layer Primordial Spirit expert. Though it consumes a lot of true energy, it's an unparalleled life-saving move!"

Mu Shi nodded. "Although the lava below is scorching, with his strength and various means, staying alive shouldn't be a problem! Besides, since the seal has a life gate, it can't be a death trap from the start!"

"That's true..." Everyone's eyes lit up, and they breathed a sigh of relief.

Indeed, if a top-tier seven-star master teacher could be burned to death just by entering some lava, this relic would be far too difficult!

If that were the case, how did that You Xu manage to come out alive?

What would be the point of the senior who left this relic designing these tests?

Zhang Xuan nodded.

It was similar to what he had thought earlier.

Since this relic was meant for people to enter, the challenges might be tough, but they couldn't completely bar entry.

Whoosh!

After waiting seven or eight minutes, just as everyone was getting anxious, the lava below suddenly roared, and a figure shot straight up.

"Wu Shi..."

Everyone hurriedly looked over. One glance, and their eyebrows jumped.

Wu Shi was now completely different from before. His clothes were mostly burned away, leaving him stark naked. If not for the dragon formed by true energy covering him, he would have been mortified.

Of course, the burned clothes were nothing compared to his heavy panting and pale face—he looked half-dead.

Moreover, some exposed parts of his body had large burn marks, blackened and terrifying.

"What happened?"

Han Huizhang rushed over.

Quickly swallowing a pill to restore true energy, Wu Shi took out a change of clothes and put them on before breathing a sigh of relief.

"The lava inside is even hotter than I imagined..."

With a bitter smile, Wu Shi explained: "After I went in, I descended straight down. I thought with my stamina and true energy, I could go a hundred meters easily. But... at thirty meters, the temperature became unbearable, and my true energy consumption more than doubled!"

"I barely made it to forty meters when I realized most of my true energy was gone. Knowing I couldn't go further, I flew back up... and still nearly exhausted all my true energy and died inside!"

"You only went forty meters?"

Wu Tianqiong was shocked.

Wu Shi was the strongest among them, yet he could only go so shallow—a testament to the lava's terror.

"Did you find anything?"

He couldn't help asking further.

Wu Shi shook his head: "It's all lava down there—nothing to see. The pressure is immense. Even my spiritual sense can only cover a dozen meters; beyond that, it's too much... At forty meters, the temperature is even higher, and from what I could tell, the bottom is still far off..."

"Your spiritual sense... only extends a dozen meters?"

"Far off?"

Everyone's faces changed color.

Though Wu Shi wasn't the highest in rank, he was definitely the strongest in combat—even Han Huizhang was no match.

For such a strong expert to only observe ten meters... How could they explore a volcanic crater over ten miles in diameter?

Even if the relic entrance was down there, they couldn't reach it, right?

"Yes. Up here, my spiritual sense can cover hundreds of meters, but the deeper I go, the tighter the constraint. Forty meters is my limit; any deeper, I can't hold on..."

Wu Shi shook his head.

"You can only manage forty meters, and it's still unknown how deep it goes... What do we do?"

Everyone looked at each other.

With Wu Shi's combat strength, he could only go forty meters; the rest of them certainly couldn't enter... Could it be that the seal had finally opened, only for them to be trapped here, unable to do anything?

"Oh no... the seal is closing..."

Just as everyone was stunned by the news, a voice rang out from the crowd. They all turned to look, and saw that the light membrane they had passed through had turned back to its original white color, and the rainbow bridge had vanished, as if the entrance had completely closed.