Chapter 98: Chapter Ninety‑Six: Blazing Triple Tribulation Fruit

A surging, tumultuous river of magma flowed past.

The rock walls tightly confined the channel; the hundred-li-wide lava river baked the walls crimson, and the walls on both sides had been forged over countless years by the magma's high temperature into a scarlet vitreous state.

Hard, smooth, mundane strength could not damage it in the slightest.

Along an unknown length of the riverbank, the rock wall suddenly had a canyon opening over a hundred zhang wide.

A squat, heavy, ancient-looking stone hill rose several hundred zhang high, its base spanning about a hundred zhang, standing upright exactly in the middle of the canyon. On the stone hill, three ancient seal-script characters were faintly visible: the three words 'Stone Guardian'.

Because of the Stone Guardian's presence, only two fissures, each several zhang wide, remained on the left and right sides of the stone hill.

Scorching magma roared into the canyon, yet before this Stone Guardian stone hill it became tranquil and gentle.

Not a trace of magma could pass the Stone Guardian; an invisible force field enveloped the entire canyon, and from the magma river continually seeped droplets of scarlet, translucent fluid, like molten crystal, which formed a clear, see-through hot river that flowed along the canyon.

These transparent fluids extracted from the magma by the Stone Guardian were named 'Magma Stone Milk' by the Yan Family's Elder experts.

Hot, scorching, yet pure in nature, without any of the impurities and toxins mixed in the magma.

The Magma Stone Milk, carrying its heat, flowed along the passage behind the canyon; after traveling a dozen li, it reached the edge of a flat plain spanning a dozen li.

In the roughly triangular plain, the soil was crimson, with tiny crystals faintly visible mixed within.

Lava grass and various strange origin grasses were densely planted here; occasionally a hot wind blew from the direction of the magma river, tens of thousands of lava grass swayed in the breeze, and droplets of 'dew' sparkled with charming light.

At the far end of this plain rose a towering rock wall, inlaid with large chunks of red crystal. These crystals absorbed the violent heat in the air and continually emitted dazzling red light.

The red light bathed the small plain in a crimson hue, and the origin grass planted there was all fire-attributed, its color likewise red.

This plain was like a hell of fire, crimson everywhere, each inch of land radiating heat that made people irritable and uneasy.

Ga Lu panted as he clambered out of the Magma Stone Milk river; the heat turned his whole body's dark-red scales crimson, the scales nearly becoming translucent.

Immense heat continually seeped from outside into his body, nourishing his viscera and greatly easing his hunger.

After hopping a few times on the riverbank and shaking off the Magma Stone Milk clinging to him, Ga Lu rubbed his emaciated belly; his stomach gurgled, and the hunger he had just suppressed rose again.

Then the unbearable hunger spread like wildfire, burning Ga Lu's eyes bloodshot.

He looked back at the Magma Stone Milk river; his ninety-nine subordinates, ninety-nine fire crocodile people over two meters tall, were lazily soaking in the hot river, each emitting a soft hum that could be either pleasure or pain.

Fire crocodile people are a kind of crocodile person, innately drawn to fire, with thick skin and flesh, possessing extreme resistance and absorption of fire.

Ordinary fire crocodile people can briefly enter magma, extracting various strange and precious gems and ores from within.

This temperature is lower than that of magma, yet the Magma Stone Milk contains even purer fire energy, allowing Ga Lu and his comrades to soak in it for extended periods.

Soaking in Magma Stone Milk tempers the scales, making them harder; it also increases strength, so now Ga Lu and his subordinates can each easily handle seven or eight fellow fire crocodile warriors.

Of course, soaking in Magma Stone Milk is not merely for cultivation…… more importantly, it alleviates the unbearable hunger.

"Eat meat!" Ga Lu said with a grim face, donned a crude armor made of iron plates, and strode toward the storage cavern carved into the rock wall at the plain's far end.

Hunger made Ga Lu especially irritable; his running speed was much faster than usual.

He strode into the storage cavern and kicked a dry animal-skin bag flying; the bag's mouth opened, and a piece of jerky, already dried as hard as firewood, fell out.

About half a foot long, as thick as a child's wrist, this piece of jerky.

Ga Lu pressed one hand against his belly, grimaced, and glanced at the vast storage cavern.

Gone, empty, clean—this was the last piece of jerky in the entire Origin Cave's storage cavern.

Ga Lu cursed, opened his mouth, and swallowed the jerky whole. The hunger fire in his belly temporarily subsided, but like adding water to stop boiling, the hunger flame instantly rose higher…… Ga Lu covered his belly with both hands, grimaced, and walked out of the cavern.

Instinctively, Ga Lu's fearsome crocodile head turned toward the other side of the plain.

Over there, a hazy red light swayed; beneath a small tree about three meters tall stood a girl with a pure, clean appearance—not particularly pretty, but with a pristine demeanor, as clear as a blue crystal soaked in clear water.

"I really want to take a bite." Ga Lu gritted his teeth, saliva continually dripping from the corner of his mouth.

Damn Warblade City…… that violent madhouse of the Yan Family, they always forget to send supplies to this Origin Cave. Over and over they forget……

Although a fire crocodile person can go a month on a full meal, when was the last time supplies were sent here?

Was it half a year ago?

The fresh meat sent that time had all turned into jerky…… a shipment should have arrived three months ago, but the bastards of Warblade City forgot again……

"I'm starving…… I feel like gnawing off her thigh." Ga Lu's ghastly-green eyes darted left and right, dangerous thoughts constantly popping into his mind.

But he was also a bit hesitant.

As a vassal tribe of the Yan Family, the fire crocodile people ranked far above slaves, yet compared to the Yan Family's direct kin, they were likewise objects that could be slaughtered at will.

The Yan Family's battle‑madmen—whoever dares to provoke their status and dignity faces terrible consequences.

This girl seems to hold considerable status within the Yan Family as well.

At least five or four months ago, when she came to this Origin Cave, she was actually personally escorted by two Yan Family Elders.

"I'm starving…… why not discuss with her and gnaw off an arm?" Ga Lu's vision blacked out from hunger; he glanced at the origin grass growing on the plain, saliva continually dripping.

Origin grass is also edible, and eating it staves off hunger even better than meat.

But the origin grass here is limited; each type's quantity is meticulously recorded. Missing one stalk earns Ga Lu a hundred lashes; missing ten earns him a thousand lashes violently; if more than ten origin grasses go missing, Ga Lu is as good as dead.

With both hands patting his emaciated belly, Ga Lu whistled to his comrades soaking far away in the Magma Stone Milk.

A dozen or so equally famished, dazed fire crocodile warriors crawled out slowly, too lazy to don their cumbersome armor, each arriving heavily at Ga Lu's side.

A dozen or so fire crocodile people furtively glanced at the girl standing under the small tree, gave a few mysterious, sneering laughs, and then Ga Lu shook his head: "We're law‑abiding…… hungry, let's go outside and catch a few rats to gnaw……"

A group of fire crocodile people, listless, nodded weakly, hung their hands, swayed their tails, and followed Ga Lu, heads bobbing, toward the nearby passage entrance.

This Origin Cave is very hidden; outside lies an extremely complex maze of mines and grottoes.

No outsiders will come in here; only cute little rodents will emerge in burrows. When starvation leaves no choice, these plump little mice and such become a feast……

"Since being assigned to guard this place, we've hardly ever eaten our fill." Ga Lu walked, muttering low: "Next time a Yan Family Elder comes, I'll tell them to send someone else…… I really don't want to……"

Wu Tie led the main combat unit, sneaking along the passage.

Ahead, scorching winds kept blowing; the stubble that had just sprouted on Wu Tie's head was scorched to a crisp, and the thick hair of the iron dwarves and gray dwarves beside him began to curl, making each look like a mangy lion‑dog.

Ahead, red light surged, and immense heat roiled in the air.

The air's heat was too turbulent; Wu Tie's invisible force field was thrown into chaos, he could now sense only movements within a dozen meters around himself, and releasing the field outward would just be scrambled by the heat.

The further inward one goes, the more oppressive the invisible force becomes under the heat wave.

Nobody in the group uttered a sound; they simply gripped their weapons and pressed forward.

Suddenly, amidst a red light and heat wave ahead, a dozen or so listless fire crocodile people abruptly emerged from the corridor's turn.

Wu Tie's group froze, and Ga Lu's group also froze.

Before Wu Tie could decide what to say, Ga Lu lunged at him, roaring loudly: "Meat? Did you bring meat? Bastards, you're at least three months late… three months!"

Ga Lu, starving to the point of darkness, completely ignored the others behind Wu Tie; he stood before Wu Tie, opened his maw and drooled: "Where's the meat? Where's the meat? Hmm? Got any meat?"

The stone giant behind Wu Tie silently raised his great hammer; with a "Boom," the massive iron hammer shattered the air, like a colossal steam forging hammer, and slammed hard into Ga Lu's head.

With a tremendous bang, Ga Lu's eyeballs nearly popped from their sockets, and two jets of blood shot from his ears; he stared blankly at Wu Tie and muttered: "Ah, you're not from the Yan family…"

The two iron dwarves beside Wu Tie moved at once.

The huge battle axes in their hands traced two arcs of cold light, viciously chopping into Ga Lu's body.

The axe light howled; Ga Lu's body spurted two jets of scalding blood, the heavy blows hurling him backward, his chest torn open with two deep gashes—but on closer look, his chest was merely split skin bleeding, the wound not nearly as deep as imagined.

His crimson scale armor was over an inch thick, and its toughness exceeded what the two iron dwarves had imagined.

The iron dwarves' mighty chopping inflicted only a moderate injury on Ga Lu.

Ga Lu crashed to the ground, then he shook his head, pressed his hands against his bulging eyeballs and shoved them back into their sockets. He staggered to his feet—no one could tell whether his trembling was from injury or hunger.

The stone giant behind Wu Tie let out a bewildered grunt.

In the haste, although he hadn't put much strength into that blow, the stone giant's innate power was such that his hammer weighed two or three thousand catties.

With that strike, even the brain of a giant gray rock lizard would surely be smashed.

Ga Lu seemed to have merely suffered a slight jolt to the brain?

He actually hadn't sustained serious injury?

"What a hard head…" the stone giant stared blankly at Ga Lu: "I've killed fire crocodile people with a single hammer blow… how is your head so tough?"

Ga Lu blinked hard, two lines of blood trickling from the corners of his eyes.

He stared foolishly at Wu Tie twice, then shouted hoarsely: "Enemy… enemy… living enemy… meat!"

Terrible hunger turned into surging flames that spewed from Ga Lu's grim‑green eyes; he howled, clawing at Wu Tie, then turned with his dozen or so companions and strode off toward the Yuan cave.

As he ran, Ga Lu bellowed: "Hey, brothers, there's piles of meat delivered right to our door! Take them down…"

As he ran, Ga Lu roared: "Hurry, grab two handfuls of Yuan grass, eat your fill, then take them on!"

Ga Lu isn't stupid; among the fire crocodile people he ranks as a crafty old fox, exceptionally clever.

He led his crew back to the Yuan cave, rushed to the nearest Yuan grass plot, snatched a handful of lava grass and stuffed it into his mouth. After wolfing it down, a hot surge surged through his innards, his shrunken intestines instantly expanded, and his strength returned.

With foreign invaders present, however much Yuan grass Ga Lu and his crew trample, it counts against the enemy!

As long as they repel the invaders, the lost Yuan grass… they have merit and no fault…

Not only are they blameless, but it also lets the crew replenish themselves nicely—what a bargain!

Who made you three months late delivering the meat?

Ga Lu muttered self‑righteously while gulping down mouthfuls of Yuan grass.

Beneath that small tree, the Yan family maiden was also startled; she whirled around, shook her sleeves, and two oddly curved blades slid out, which she gripped tightly.

"What's going on? How can there be enemies here? Ga Lu, what are you doing?"

The maiden jerked back two steps, instinctively glancing at the small tree behind her and the three fist‑sized crimson fruits on it.

The fruits looked like solidified flame, with vast waves of fire qi rising around them.

Outside the skin, three twisted golden fire lines flickered in and out of sight.

Blazing Triple Calamity Fruit—the highest‑grade Yuan energy plant in the Yan family's Yuan cave; the maiden had waited here many days precisely for them.

"Are you here for the Blazing Triple Calamity Fruit?" the maiden's face darkened: "How would outsiders know the exact location of this Yuan cave?"

"Someone's colluding with the foreign foe…" the maiden bit her lips hard, her normally rosy lips turning pale repeatedly.