With each step you take from the slope, the temperature will rise a few points more. Tian Jihong, who had not walked a hundred steps, had no choice but to take off the only rope that was used to save his life. This was not because the rope was not long enough, but if it went further, even the thick hemp rope on his arms would be burned by the high temperature. The bottom was set on fire. Leave one end of the rope here for now. It may be useful during the retreat later.
After descending about a hundred meters along the steep slope, the path in front of Tianjihong could no longer be regarded as a passage. Its nearly vertical angle was almost the same as the cliff outside. He had to use his hands and feet to grab the stalactites around him and climb down before he could continue to move forward deeper into the cave.
At this time, the temperature around him was no different than being scorched in flames. Even Tianjihong, who had spiritual protection, gradually began to feel tightness in his chest. When the cave cannot maintain the absorption of spiritual energy, more than half of the spiritual energy in his Dantian will soon be consumed. No matter how hard Tianjihong works to complete the task, his own life is the most important after all. Tianjihong immediately decided that if he couldn't see the shadow of Huo Guo within two minutes, he would give up the plan and retreat quickly.
But at this critical moment, when Tianjihong leaned down and looked at the soles of his feet, he suddenly discovered that there was a wide platform sunk into the stone wall less than ten meters away to his lower left; he could still see through the thick steam. It seems that a small corner of red magma is exposed on the edge blocked by the top stone wall. According to the master, such a realm must be an excellent area for the growth of fire elixirs, and the chance of finding fire fruits there is also quite high.
Now that we have reached this point, Tianjihong will definitely not let go of this opportunity that is so close at hand. Facing the increasingly terrifying high temperature below, Tianjihong immediately adjusted his body shape and climbed towards the side platform like a dexterous gecko. At this point, even the stalactites tightly held in his hands were burning Tianjihong's palms like red-hot coke. However, he endured the pain in his palms and finally managed to reach the target position after a lot of hard work.
The sunken platform did isolate the steam rising below the cave, allowing Tianjihong to temporarily have some breathing time. However, as he slowly approached the magma lake in the distance, the temperature in the air still did not drop at all. The consumption of spiritual energy in his body shows no signs of slowing down. Tianjihong knew very well that every minute and second at this time could not be wasted; he made a decision early on. After he arrived on the platform, he would directly ignore any opportunities around him that required time and effort to obtain, and concentrate on looking for them. The fire fruit in the mission is his only goal.
However, even though he was in a life-and-death situation, Tianjihong couldn't help but sigh at the magnificent scenery in front of him. When he had an incomplete view from above, the red area under his feet that he observed was just the tip of the iceberg. It was only when Tian Jihong was actually in this area that he realized that this place was not as simple as a platform at all. It is almost a vast magma lake.
Because it is not affected by external air currents, the magma lake in front of it appears very peaceful. Except for the occasional bubbles churning from the bottom of the lake, no waves can be seen on the calm lake surface. Of course, this does not mean that Tianjihong can easily relax his vigilance. Not to mention that the terrifying temperature around him is already too much for Tianjihong. If there are elixirs growing in this area, it is absolutely impossible that there will be no other living beings. . At this moment, while taking action immediately, one must also always pay attention to the surrounding environment.
The more peaceful the area was, the more uneasy it made De Tianjihong feel. There is such a strange lake in the underground world hundreds of meters deep in the mountains. If there are no other dangers hidden behind it, Tianjihong will definitely not believe it. What he wants at this time is to quickly complete the task and leave here. . Fortunately, all his efforts were not in vain. Within a few steps, Tianjihong had already discovered many rare ores around him. If they were mined, they could be used to cast many magical weapons on the market.
It's a pity that he doesn't have so much time to waste in this ore field at this time. Tianjihong, who has very little spiritual power left, can only focus on the first task. Finding the elixir he needs first is the main business. Therefore, he could only temporarily retract his greedy gaze and continue to travel further along the path along the lake.
The only light provided in the dark cave was the hot magma beside him. In order to see the path under his feet, Tianjihong had no choice but to brave the high temperature and explore step by step along the edge of the lake. Although the top of the platform is not very high, Tianjihong can even reach out and jump up to touch the rock wall at the top, but the road in front of him seems to have no end in sight, extending all the way towards the lake.
Without knowing whether there were any other exits deep inside the platform, the somewhat anxious Tianjihong was already silently calculating the time to turn around. According to his estimation, this place should be close to a hundred feet deep from the entrance of the cave. He still doesn't know where the end of the lake in the distance leads, but if he wants to open a road between the rocks above his head, it will take three to five years. It is definitely impossible to carry it out, so the only way out is to return the same way.
Fortunately, hard work paid off. Tianjihong finally saw signs of elixir growing at the lakeside two hundred meters away from where the platform landed. He was overjoyed and hurried to identify it. However, after yesterday's lesson, he was cautious this time. In order to ensure that there was no spiritual beast like the newt guarding him secretly, he chose to change his body shape between the rocks to protect himself. When the time comes, we retreat to find a suitable path, while not forgetting to stare nervously at the magma lake in the distance, always on guard against possible sneak attacks from around us.
However, Tianjihong, who was on full alert, still didn't find any other movement around him until he reached the lake. When something goes wrong, there must be a monster. Looking at the lake without a ripple in front of him, Tianjihong's worry not only did not decrease, but instead he frowned more and more. But now that he was close to the place where the elixir grew, he couldn't care less about it, so he decided to complete the task first no matter what, and then turn around and leave this ominous place after getting the fire fruit.
Returning his gaze to the elixir in front of him again, Tianjihong couldn't hide the joy in his heart. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would never have imagined that such a harsh environment deep in the earth's core could produce such rare and exotic fruits. At this time, although the vegetation growing at Tianjihong's feet was not as large as the amount of spiritual grass in the medicine field yesterday, it was by no means barren: nearly twenty or thirty strange plants with reddish-brown rhizomes were born around the magma lake. The appearance is quite different from the vegetation in the outside world. The scattered and twisted branches are more like vines clinging to the rocks than vegetation. But upon closer inspection, unlike the vines, these dozens of plants are not entirely dependent on the rock wall to grow. The parts of their branches that are in contact with the rock do not bear much force. After they are peeled off the rock surface, these branches Still able to stand upright in mid-air.
The most peculiar thing is that due to the particularity of the region, these elixirs cannot absorb water from the ground. Their growth depends entirely on absorbing the fire-attribute aura that pervades the soil. Therefore, in addition to the original brown color, the branches and trunks are also constantly permeated with a strange red light, as if you can see the spiritual energy flowing among them constantly stimulating the growth of the fruits at the top. Due to the thinness of the air underground and the shielding of sunlight, there are basically no leaves growing on the plants of this elixir; except for the underground rhizomes, they absorb spiritual energy in the same way as some amphibians, and can also do so through the epidermis of the branches. breathe.
Of course, what Tian Jihong is really interested in is the red fruit that is only connected by a very thin stem segment between the branches. In fact, from the appearance point of view, such a bare and leafless plant looks like it is sick and withered when placed in the external environment. In theory, it cannot support a fruit at the top that is half the size of my fist. .
But the facts are right in front of us. The spiritual fruits at the top of many plant branches are not only bright in color and growing well, but even the branches supporting them are standing straight upwards, as if they are not affected by gravity, and even show signs of being bent. None were revealed. After several inspections, Tianjihong could only conclude that the elixir did have many incredible miraculous effects compared to ordinary plants, and the strength of its branches was far beyond what ordinary plants could match.
Among the twenty or thirty elixir plants, about half had fruits. Tianjihong didn't even recognize most of them. In the end, he relied on his own memory to tell that four of them grew the fire he needed. fruit. After picking out the unripe fruits, Tianjihong put the six round fire fruits into the package with satisfaction. After all the hard work and risking his life to go deep into the cave, his efforts were finally in vain. With the fire fruits in hand, at least tonight He can go back and meet his master. As for whether he can find the remaining earth fruit in the remaining half day, it depends on his luck.
After completing the task, Tianjihong suddenly felt that most of the pressure on his body had been relieved. At this moment, even his breathing felt easier in the depths of the earth. But driven by his nature, Tianjihong will definitely not give up. The color and quality of the other spiritual fruits growing in front of him are no less than those of the fire fruits he has already obtained, and picking them is far less troublesome than ore mining. Since I have gone through so much effort to get here, of course I have to put these spiritual fruits into my bag and identify them one by one after I go back to find my master.
