Chapter 80

It could even be said that there was no road left, so the Shield Guards simply dismounted and swung their machetes to clear the way.

This clearing of the way lasted for a week.

Half of the one-month assessment time had already passed, and the competition on the point leaderboard was becoming increasingly fierce.

Saldo, who was in second place, had caught up to Chen Ping's points, tying for first.

But what comforted Chen Ping was that the team led by Chen Ya had good results, and everyone's points were continuously rising.

Now all members had exceeded three hundred points, only two hundred away from safely passing the line.

It was precisely because of Chen Ya's efforts that he was not surpassed by Saldo.

Just as Chen Ping was considering whether to find a mysterious faction to kill and farm some points, the environment finally changed.

The impenetrable primeval forest finally came to an end.

The first feeling Chen Ping had after walking out of the forest was heat.

Ahead was a boundless Gobi desert, the ground crisscrossed with gullies, and the occasional trees were black and withered.

The Gobi and the forest formed a sharp contrast, as if an invisible line had fallen here.

But Chen Ping became excited instead.

Because such an environment was very likely caused by the Heart of the Flame.

He suspected that this Heart of the Flame appearing in the trial must have been modified by the power of the Supreme Dimension.

Otherwise, in just half a month, it wouldn't have caused such a big impact.

This looks more like it was accelerated or had its power enhanced.

Chen Ping used magic energy sensing, quickly determined the direction where fire elements were most dense, and led everyone to rush toward that side.

This time, everyone rode horses, and in less than half a day, they arrived before a basin.

The basin covered a vast area, looking like the Great Rift Valley of East Africa he saw in his previous life at a glance.

The scorching temperature even caused the air to distort, making it impossible to see the full picture of the valley, only some vague shadows.

"It seems this is the place."

Chen Ping let out a light breath; with such a bizarre phenomenon, if one said there was no problem here, even a ghost wouldn't believe it.

"Spread out the formation, ten meters between each person, start searching!"

Chen Ping nodded at Milan, and Milan immediately began to arrange for the Shield Guards to conduct the search.

There was no path down the basin, so they climbed down along the cliff.

Chen Ping was simple; he pulled Milan, rode the Silver-White Qilin, and arrived at the bottom in a few moves.

The Silver-White Qilin was not repulsed by Milan; Chen Ping and Milan were the only two people who could ride it.

After reaching the bottom, the environment was even worse.

The rolling heat waves almost made it impossible for people to open their eyes; Alchemist Mai Er was teary-eyed, feeling like his eyes were about to burn.

Chen Ping invoked magic power and cast a simple airflow isolation to alleviate this phenomenon.

But in this environment, there was no way to expand the search.

If he wanted to use magic energy sensing, the surroundings were all fire elements, and the results returned were just chaotic.

"Forget it, move forward in a straight line, the secret must be in the depths."

Since entering the basin, Chen Ping keenly felt that everything here was changing very quickly.

It was as if someone had pressed the fast-forward button.

Perhaps for others, this effect was useless.

But for Chen Ping, it was different.

Because his lord talent also passively gained acceleration in this place.

The Shield Guards had just arrived at the bottom, and at first, they had to grit their teeth to support themselves, resisting the high temperature and heat waves.

But in just a short while, the expressions on their faces actually began to relax.

Chen Ping glanced at one of them.

【Heaven Rewards Diligence: 100% energy invested in adapting to the environment, gained High-Temperature Resistance trait】

【Heaven Rewards Diligence: 100% energy invested in adapting to the environment, High-Temperature Resistance trait upgrading 100/1000】

【Heaven Rewards Diligence: 100% energy invested in adapting to the environment, High-Temperature Resistance trait upgrading 150/1000】

Seeing that everyone, including Alchemist Mai Er, who had the weakest physique, had gained high-temperature resistance, a smile appeared on Chen Ping's face.

Even the warhorses were no exception; biological instinct made them also try to adapt to the environment, invisibly meeting the conditions of Heaven Rewards Diligence.

Originally, in such an environment, everyone's strength would be suppressed.

But the bizarre acceleration met Chen Ping's Heaven Rewards Diligence, and unexpectedly gained more benefits.

Once the subordinates' high-temperature resistance level increases, their strength will no longer be suppressed, and might even improve instead.

All doubts were gone.

Chen Ping and Milan led everyone to kill their way into the interior of the basin.

79: The Ultimate Land, a desperate situation encountered in advance!

Inside the high-temperature basin, there were occasionally some trees with bizarre shapes scattered on the ground.

These trees appeared to be dead.

But once someone approached, they would transform into fierce beasts, uprooting themselves to attack humans.

【Heart-Fire Tree Demon, LV30, Fire Attribute】

【A magic beast born from dead corpses eroded by high-density fire elements; it looks like a tree, but is actually a flesh-and-blood animal】

The blacksmith Polo smashed a Heart-Fire Tree Demon into pieces with one hammer.

Although the dwarf's level was not as high as the tree demon, his strength was not weak at all.

The dwarf race is also born warriors.

The Shield Guards held their shields in defense, forming a square formation, protecting Chen Ping in the center.

And Alchemist Mai Er took out the alchemy bombs he had refined, adjusting the energy ratio inside.

He wanted to change the effect of the alchemy bomb from fire explosion to water-type burst, so that he could effectively fight in the basin.

The strength of the Heart-Fire Tree Demon was average, mainly because the quantity was too small.

But Chen Ping and Milan still saw some clues.

In the information of the Heart-Fire Tree Demon seen through detection, it introduced how the Heart-Fire Tree Demon was born.

It must have a corpse to undergo mutation and transformation.

"In other words, in this basin, there should have originally existed a mysterious faction."

"But because of the influence of the Heart of the Flame, this mysterious faction suffered erosion."

Chen Ping looked at Milan, and Milan nodded.

"It should be so, but be careful, there might be more than one mysterious faction here."

"I sensed different kinds of auras from the fragments of the Heart-Fire Tree Demon."

Hearing Milan's reply, Chen Ping also fell into deep thought.

According to the scale of the orcs encountered before, the number of a mysterious faction upon appearance would fluctuate around one thousand.

This basin is so large that it is enough to accommodate three to four mysterious factions, which would be three to four thousand enemies.

And they only have fifty Shield Guards here, plus Chen Ping, Milan, Polo, and Alchemist Mai Er.

The gap in numbers between the enemy and them is too large; once surrounded, they might fall into a crisis.

At that time, let alone finding the Heart of the Flame, whether they can get out alive is a problem.

Well, Chen Ping has the Silver-White Qilin, so he is not afraid.

But the fifty Shield Guards under his command, along with Polo and Alchemist Mai Er, are likely to be in danger.

But just as Chen Ping was thinking of countermeasures, a violent energy fluctuation suddenly came from the front.

The distorted air became even more agitated at this moment, and even the Shield Guards noticed something wrong.

"Defensive Link!"

Milan made a prompt decision and shouted.

The Shield Guards clattered their large shields into the ground, connecting them to each other, forming a huge defensive shield wall.

Alchemist Mai Er threw out two alchemy bombs, which exploded with blue light upon landing, and a bone-chilling coldness burst out suddenly.

With cold and heat intersecting, the air in front suddenly stabilized.

The blurry vision in front briefly returned to clarity.