Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 176 Destruction of the Golden Flame
When she actually started looking for something, Sheng Yuanyao realized she had become a slacker again.

Anuo was practically like a top-tier expert with divine sense; wherever there were flowers and plants, there she was. Exploring the vast mountain belly would normally take a day or two, but Anuo ran around like a whirlwind, and no matter how well the flowers and plants were hidden, they couldn't escape her gaze.

Sheng Yuanyao watched as A Nuo dug through the black soil and pulled out a dark mushroom... The color was exactly the same, and you couldn't tell there was anything there at all.

There were even some that grew under lava. Ah Nu beat up the Flame Demon and made it burrow down to get them.

Finally, they found a magma-colored mushroom, and no one knows how Ah Nuo discovered it.

Wait, why are there mushrooms all over here?

"This is a good thing, Sister Yao, do you want to eat it?" Anuo asked, holding up the lava mushroom.

Sheng Yuanyao was dumbfounded: "Eat it raw?"

"Yes, these mushrooms are all rare and precious herbs that can be eaten directly, providing energy to boost cultivation. However, if you're making pills, adding some of them would probably make them even more effective."

Sheng Yuanyao stroked her chin, somewhat speechless.

As expected, Lu Xingzhou was right to say that if you want to try your luck, you should come to the second floor. If you think about it carefully, this is a great thing that the country has created and given away. A third-grade monster creates a third-grade fortune, but the strength is only fourth grade. If you have any ambition, why are you waiting to come here?
However, ordinary people really can't come here. Even Sheng Yuanyao, who is on the Rising Star Ranking, would be considered a hindrance if she came. What's the point of the other young people playing here...? Only freakish figures like Lu Xingzhou and A Nuo, who can transcend their ranks, can come. Besides, most people wouldn't find much anyway; how can you find anything under lava...?

Sheng Yuanyao didn't know what she could do, so she leaned against a rock and looked at the dual cultivation method that Lu Xingzhou had given her, pondering it to herself.

A loud bang suddenly came from behind us in the distance.

Turning around in astonishment, Lu Xingzhou delivered a powerful downward kick, slamming his foot viciously into the largest mass of lava in the center of the mountain.

A large vortex of magma rose up, and a deep hole formed in the center of the vortex.

The sight of lava swirling around was so intense that most people would find it difficult to even get close... Lu Xingzhou simply took out his wheelchair.

With a wheelchair cover in place, it darted into the bottom of the lava.

Sheng Yuanyao: “…”

He wanted to go with them, but felt he would still be a hindrance. That wheelchair was practically a magic bullet; no wonder he couldn't bear to give it up.

Lu Xingzhou had already dived to the bottom, and sure enough, there was a cluster of red flames burning fiercely. Even before getting close, one could feel the intense heat, as if the small flame contained the surging power of a volcanic eruption.

The landscape within the Demon-Slaying Domain is not natural; it was formed after a demon was suppressed and destroyed by the domain, its unique properties causing the terrain to become habitable. For example, the desert on the first level was created over time by the heat of the fire and the water absorbed by the tortoise shells.

The reason why volcanic landforms are believed by everyone to contain the spark of fire is because they are not natural volcanoes. The fact that they have become like this must be caused by something. Most likely, some powerful fire demon died here and left behind the last spark of fire.

This kind of fire is bound to be explosive and intense, extremely difficult to control, and theoretically, it may not be something that Lu Xingzhou can subdue in his current state.

But Lu Xingzhou still felt it was worth a try.

If someone carries a semi-innate spiritual object like the essence of fire as their bone, and still doesn't dare to touch a spark of fire, then what's the point of playing?
His left leg flew down, and flames burst forth on his leg the first time it was in mid-air, which looked surprisingly cool.

It was as if a crippled foot had descended from the sky, completely stomping on the tiny flame.

The next moment, flames erupted violently, and with a "boom," Lu Xingzhou was engulfed in flames.

Sheng Yuanyao arrived at the edge of the lava and drew her sword, ready to rush down, but A'nuo held her back tightly: "Don't send Sister Yao off, you can't withstand this temperature..."

Sheng Yuanyao: "...Aren't you worried about Master?"

Anuo said, "Master has his own judgment. If he assesses it and decides it's not the right time, he won't act no matter how much he wants it. He didn't even bring the Soul Banner; he plans to subdue it himself. Hmm... maybe I'll need your help then?"

Just as Sheng Yuanyao was about to ask what help she needed, she saw Lu Xingzhou use some kind of magic to make the burning flames disappear, and the embers seemed to be drilling upwards along his left leg.

Unable to climb up, it was confined to the area of ​​its shinbone, struggling left and right. From the outside, one could see that its leg was burning fiercely, a horrifying sight.

Then, the water elemental power from the right leg came through the dantian to support and suppress the chaos of the fire seed, while the affinity and containment of the fire essence from the left leg slowly smoothed out the fire seed.

Visible to the naked eye, two streams of energy, water and fire, swirled upwards, converging into the dantian, and then swirled from the dantian into the spiritual platform.

The flames in his spiritual platform flickered, seemingly poised to break through, but ultimately failed, swirling and suppressing him under the influence of Yin and Yang energies.

Sheng Yuanyao suddenly felt a sense of familiarity. She opened the dual cultivation technique that Lu Xingzhou had taught her before and realized that this routine of harmonizing yin and yang for one's own use was clearly dual cultivation!
So the current situation is... an excess of fire and an imbalance of yin energy?
Just then, Lu Xingzhou, using his wheelchair as cover, burst out of the lava and landed somewhat disheveled on the ground: "Give me a hand..."

Sheng Yuanyao rolled her eyes. She didn't need to ask to know what kind of help she could offer at this moment.

She simply reached out and lifted Anuo behind the rocks, then gracefully turned around and sat in Lu Xingzhou's lap.

You can feel that Lu Xingzhou's whole body is burning hot, as if he has a fever.

Lu Xingzhou didn't stand on ceremony; he simply hugged her and lowered his head to kiss her.

Both of them slightly opened their mouths, and the excess flames in Lu Xingzhou's body were directly transferred into Sheng Yuanyao's body. Sheng Yuanyao tried to follow the guidance of the dual cultivation technique, using the yin energy in her body to intertwine and rotate with this flame, and then sent it back to Lu Xingzhou.

After several repetitions, the intense flames gradually subsided. During their dual cultivation, Sheng Yuanyao, who shared the other's inner vision, could almost see a small flame obediently squatting on her spiritual platform, surrounded by two powerful auras, one red and one blue, forming a Tai Chi symbol and circling around it.

The intense heat emanating from Lu Xingzhou's body finally subsided. At the same time, the spiritual energy that Lu Xingzhou had shared with her was also growing, and almost simultaneously, the two of them broke through to the upper stage of the fifth rank.

Sheng Yuanyao: “…”

Isn't that cheating?
No wonder Pei Xiaoxiao was so hot-tempered, always snuggling into his arms and kissing him. It turns out it's not just comfortable, it's also a place for cultivation! You should have said so earlier... So only your maid can cultivate, but we brothers can't?
Neither of them wanted to end their dual cultivation for a moment. Lu Xingzhou was still internally observing and analyzing the fire seed he had just obtained.

After the fire was subdued, the name of the fire automatically came to mind: Destruction Golden Fire.

Its fire contains a trace of golden elemental power, giving the flames a certain degree of physical penetrability, which is the fundamental factor attracting the Iron Demon to recuperate here. This type of fire is best suited for weapon forging, but it's not suitable for this; the prefix "annihilation" dictates that it can only be destructive.

Its greatest value lies in multiplying the destructive power of one's fire spells, making it a pure combat fire. With this fire within, fire-type talismans become meaningless; no matter how sophisticated the talisman, it lacks the effect of a special fire seed, and one must figure out the spells oneself.

As for how to combine it with ham, or whether it's more suitable for use on fire demons, further research is needed.

Overall, obtaining this spark makes this trip a complete success. Ah Nuo should have also obtained quite a few rare and precious materials; refining some more of them might allow everyone's strength to leap forward.

While he was engrossed in his research on the fire seed, a voice came from above: "There are signs of their battle here! They should be nearby!"

The two were stunned. Before they could even withdraw from their dual cultivation, the array barrier in the volcano was pierced by a sword, and a white-haired girl instantly appeared before them.

Dugu Qingli's expression shifted from surprise at finding someone to a cold look as she crossed her arms and looked down at them.

Sheng Yuanyao jumped up from Lu Xingzhou's arms: "It's not what you saw!"

Dugu Qingli's expression remained unchanged, still bearing that "you speak, I'm listening" look.

Several subordinates of the Demon Suppression Division flew down from above, and when they saw Sheng Yuanyao standing there, they all breathed a sigh of relief: "Commander, we're so glad you're alright! You scared us to death!"

Luckily, the white-haired guy was quick and got down first... If others had witnessed that scene, it would have been disastrous.

Sheng Yuanyao coughed lightly, her face solemn: "This is a matter I, the commander, am personally in charge of. What are you afraid of? What is the situation outside now?"

"Uh, it's like this, all the other students from the Pill Academy have finished their trials. When we were taking a headcount, we found that the three of you were missing. We searched for a long time before someone found traces of a battle in the center of the desert. Miss Dugu deduced that you came to the second floor, so we came down to search for you..."

"I'm asking about your situation; you don't need to tell me how you found us."

"Our situation..." The subordinate hesitated for a moment, then said, "Mr. Wang from the Pill Academy was killed by Miss Dugu, and Daoist Xuanqing was found dead without a complete body, with only a few fragments of flesh and blood discovered. Now, Dean Qin has come in person to inquire, and everyone is waiting for the three of you to go up."

Sheng Yuanyao nodded and flew towards the crater: "I understand this matter, I will go and explain it to them."

Lu Xingzhou dared not look into Dugu Qingli's eyes, and quietly pulled Anuo along, flying upwards stealthily.

Dugu Qingli looked up at Lu Xingzhou's hasty retreating figure, took out a few hairs from her ring, and plucked them out viciously.

She verbally told her master and Sheng Yuanyao that the hair belonged to Pei Chuyun, but in her heart she knew it belonged to Lu Xingzhou. If she didn't use the hair-plucking punishment now, when would she?

I was up here frantically searching for you, and you were down here hugging a girl and kissing her, huh?! I'll make sure you die!

Unexpectedly, Lu Xingzhou didn't react to having his hair pulled. Instead, he arched his back, clutching his groin and nearly tumbling off his wheelchair: "Damn it, it's happening again! Did Madam Ye's shield fail? Who's so vicious!"

Dugu Qingli blinked her eyes. What was wrong?
Is "hair" something else than hair? But I don't have any hair anywhere else on my body.

(End of this chapter)