Wanfa Daojun, starting from the Little Cloud and Rain Technique

Chapter 523 Spirit Fish in the Lava Lake

It was early morning, just as dawn was breaking.

Zhang Xuening placed the spiritual food on the stone table, tapped the seal on the second-grade top-quality pine nut wine jar, and filled a cup.

The crimson liquid shimmered in the wine, reflecting the flush on her cheeks.

Upon noticing someone enter, she immediately went to greet them, "Grand Ancestor, breakfast is ready, you can eat now."

These days, the old lady has been eating a lot of different foods, which surprised her greatly.

For Golden Core cultivators, absorbing Qi is a very easy thing; at least on Crimson Flame Peak, absorbing Wood Qi and Fire Qi is not a problem at all.

Ji An nodded slightly, "Thank you for your hard work."

You should be polite to the chef, regardless of his or her status.

He sat down and sipped the wine, its fragrance spreading between his lips and teeth, its smooth taste lingering in his throat.

After a hearty meal, Ji An rode a cloud to the lava cave near the Crimson Cloud Pine Forest.

He entered the lava pool and retrieved dozens of first-tier top-grade fire corals, intending to explore the interior of Crimson Flame Peak and plant them directly in suitable areas.

He flew to the top of Crimson Flame Peak, where the Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner and the Lidi Flame Banner sensed his intention and flew out from his dantian.

The deep roar of the Qilin and the high-pitched cry of the Fire Phoenix complemented each other perfectly, like a harmonious melody.

A yellow aura enveloped his entire body, with golden flowers shimmering on the outermost edge.

The Flaming Banner, imbued with fire elemental energy, conjured a phoenix that hovered around him.

Ji An looked down at his feet. At this moment, the inspiration had not yet begun to emerge, nor had the mist burst forth. He saw the dark passage winding downwards, with a faint crimson color visible.

He took a step forward and immediately plummeted down, a smile playing on his lips as he listened to the whistling wind in his ears.

The feeling of freefall is quite nice.

Just as they were about to touch a protruding rock, crimson clouds rose from beneath their feet, drifting away to avoid the impending danger.

Ji An swooped down, the light grew dimmer, but it did not affect his vision.

As they continued to fall, the temperature rose higher and higher.

To conserve his magical energy, Ji An took out the fire-avoiding pearl and held it in his hand.

A crimson aura burst forth, and as it passed through his body, it felt like passing through a soap bubble.

With the high temperature insulated, the body felt much more comfortable.

Golden Core cultivators have extremely high tolerance, and a little high temperature is not a big problem for them, but there is no need to give up the comfort.

He took out a blank jade slip and placed it on his forehead, recording the map as he fell.

After about two hundred zhang, Ji An saw that the main passage began to branch off, and the thicker branch was his destination.

He would go inside and explore any building that was five feet in diameter.

If you see an environment with a lava pool, place a fire coral and cast the Azure Sky Yangming Technique.

At the same time, he would make markings on the jade slip.

He doesn't deliberately tend to the fire corals he grows in the lava areas inside the volcano, but he checks on them every few months.

In addition, it is necessary to ask someone to refine a sealing formation.

In a few years, the improvement of the spiritual vein grade of Crimson Flame Peak will inevitably lead to a volcanic eruption. If a sealing array is not set up, Fire Coral will probably not be able to withstand the gushing lava.

There's no rush to refine the sealing array yet. He'll monitor the growth of the fire coral, and only if things go well will there be a need to refine the sealing array.

Although he had no shortage of spirit stones, he would not waste them on refining meaningless things.

As they ventured deeper into the volcano, more and more branching passages appeared, and the temperature began to rise sharply.

Ji An saw golden-red mist spreading upwards, knowing that the sunlight had already reached Crimson Flame Peak.

His eyes could see through the thick fog, and he could easily see through the fog created by the Golden Fire Spirit Machine, so he did not choose to leave, but continued to explore downwards.

The fire-repelling bead could not withstand the continuous impact, and the protective shield shattered.

Ji An activated the magical artifact again, but the protective shield was destroyed once more before long.

After repeated attempts, the surface of the fire-avoiding pearl suddenly became covered with cracks, and this top-quality magical artifact that had been with him for many years "died of its lifespan".

Ji An sighed softly and decided to ask Zhu Xiangrong to refine a water-repelling bead and a fire-repelling bead of spiritual weapon quality before leaving the sect, because he might need them sometime.

He continued downwards against the surging spiritual energy. The once bone-chilling and skin-scraping spiritual energy was now completely ineffective against him, as the defense of the Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner was sufficient to withstand everything.

The golden phoenix sang sweetly, enjoying the environment and feeling as if it were bathed in a spring breeze.

Most of the fire corals that Ji An brought out have already been planted, and he has now gone deep underground.

The rocks had turned crimson, and the bluish-red mist resembled a surging river flowing upstream; every ten feet of descent brought immense pressure.
Ji An's breathing became rapid; the environment made him feel extremely uncomfortable, but he had already reached the finish line.

This is a lava lake, the magma resembling molten iron, looking incredibly alluring.

The lake was not calm; it resembled a boiling cauldron, with reddish "bubbles" constantly churning.

Ji An took out the remaining fire coral, wanting to try planting it. As soon as he placed the spiritual plant on the edge of the lava lake, the fire coral burst into flames with a "bang," turning into torches before quickly sinking.

"Hiss," he gasped, "a lava lake in its non-erupting state is not a place where first-tier spiritual plants can survive."

Second-tier spirit plants rarely survive after transplantation, so Ji An didn't think this was a good place to grow them. "It's a pity I can't think of any way to utilize this good place."

Ji An let out a long sigh; he couldn't bear to see valuable places lying idle and neglected.

Just as he was feeling sentimental, a five-foot-long, crimson-gold "carp" suddenly leaped out from the center of the lava lake.

It is called a carp, but it only has some resemblance to one; it has a small, pointed, reddish horn on its lip.

The giant carp fell back into the lava lake, and although it was only a fleeting glimpse, Ji An was captivated by its dazzling crimson-gold scales.

He unconsciously swallowed, thinking to himself:
"What kind of monster is this! I never expected that there would be living creatures in Crimson Flame Peak. It's unbelievable."

He had never tasted what a spirit fish living in magma tasted like, which successfully whetted his appetite.

Although the giant carp leaped out of the lake for a very short time, he could still sense its level from the spiritual pressure it emitted: the fourth stage of the Chaoyuan realm.

Ji An became interested and tried to dive into the lava lake by performing the fire control technique. However, he found that he could only stay there for a very short time, otherwise he would not be able to withstand the temperature in the lake and the pressure of the lava flow for long.

He rode a cloud to the center of the lake, hoping to see the carp with its crimson-gold scales again, or perhaps another spirit fish of the same species.

He was confident he could catch the spirit fish again; the Spirit Roar was no joke.

Two hours passed, and Ji An had gained nothing.

At this moment, he felt his soul beginning to tire, and he experienced a dizzying sensation of lightheadedness.

He knew he couldn't stay there any longer, so he flew upwards on a cloud, looking back every few steps.

He was much faster than when he came, and it only took him a little over half an hour to fly out of the crater.

With a lingering look down, Ji An knew he would come often in the future; he wouldn't be able to sleep until he caught that kind of spirit fish!

He didn't have many opportunities to think while he was at the lava lake, but now doubts are creeping into his mind.

Crimson Flame Peak has erupted many times. Logically, since the spirit fish live in the lava lake, some of them should have been spewed out, but he had never seen any before, which is illogical.

A bold guess formed in Ji An's mind: there were other passages connecting to the lava lake.

If this is the case, perhaps the lava lake is connected to an area that nurtures high-level fire-elemental creatures.

Thinking of this, his heart burned with excitement, and he immediately rode the clouds down to the foot of the mountain and stepped onto the teleportation array.

His two senior brothers have returned to the sect, and he needs to have a serious talk with them.

Chaoyang Peak, Wuji Palace.

Master Zhengyang, sensing the spiritual energy emanating from his two disciples, burst into laughter:

"Good, very good, excellent!"
"You have already grasped the divine meaning of the Five Elements' mutual generation. Next, as long as you complete the Five Qi Convergence and open up the middle dantian, you can begin your attempt to break through to the Golden Core realm."

Master Yuxiao was also beaming. “Sit down and tell us about your journey.”

Lin Jiuxiao and Lin Qiubai cupped their hands in thanks, saying, "Thank you for the seats, Ancestor."

They sat down and recounted what they had seen and heard during their travels and what had happened when they received divine guidance.

After listening to his disciples' accounts, Master Yuxiao sighed:

"You two are having bad luck; you've spent too much time on the road and waiting."

If you're lucky, you should be able to grasp the divine meaning of the five elements' mutual generation a decade or two earlier.

Junior Brother Ji was very lucky; he didn't spend much time searching for the Spirit Realm.

Lin Qiubai frowned, and asked somewhat uncertainly:
"Ancestor, who is this Junior Brother Ji you just mentioned?"

He had a vague guess in his mind, but he also felt it was utterly absurd.

Lin Jiuxiao was equally bewildered, staring intently at the ancestor, awaiting his reply.

Master Yuxiao raised an eyebrow and said:
"You two don't know? You haven't had any contact with anyone else since you returned to the sect?"

"Yes, we came to Chaoyang Peak to report to the ancestor as soon as we returned to the sect."

"So that's how it is," Master Yuxiao muttered to himself, then continued:

Six years ago, Ji An of Crimson Flame Peak successfully broke through to the Golden Core stage by taking the Golden Core Pill, becoming the sect's third Golden Core cultivator.

His words struck Lin Qiubai and Lin Jiuxiao like a bolt of lightning, leaving them utterly stunned.

The two looked at each other in bewilderment. During their travels, they often joked about one thing: who would become the sect's third Golden Core cultivator.

They all felt it would be them, and their cheeks were burning with pain.

Lin Jiuxiao scratched his head. He still remembered that when the two of them left the sect to travel, Ji An was still a cultivator at the fourth level of the Chaoyuan stage.

How did the other party become a Golden Core Ancestor in the blink of an eye?!

Master Zhengyang couldn't help but chuckle at the expressions on his disciples' faces. He himself had been utterly shocked when he first heard the news.

He coughed, changing the subject:

"The Five Qi Gathering to the Origin Realm is relatively simple. You just need to cultivate step by step, and you will be able to open up the middle dantian naturally."

Now I will explain to you both how to cultivate next.

(End of this chapter)