Chapter 174: Annihilation Golden Fire

When it came time to truly search for things, Sheng Yuanyao found she had become a slacker again.

A'nuo was just like those top-tier experts with divine sense; wherever there were flowers and grass, there was A'nuo. The vast mountain belly, which would normally take a day or two to explore, saw A'nuo sprinting around the whole place like she was playing, and no matter how well-hidden the flowers and grass were, none escaped her gaze.

Sheng Yuanyao watched with her own eyes as A'nuo dug through the black soil and pulled out a pitch-black mushroom... the color was exactly the same; looking at the surface, you simply couldn't tell there was anything there, okay?

There were even some growing beneath the lava; A'nuo beat up an Flame Demon and ordered it to drill down and fetch them.

In the end, she pulled out another lava-colored mushroom; no one knew how A'nuo actually found them.

Wait, why is it all mushrooms here?

"These are good things, Sister Yao, do you want to eat?" A'nuo asked, holding up the lava mushroom.

Sheng Yuanyao was dumbfounded: "Eat it raw?"

"Yes, these few mushrooms belong to the category of heavenly treasures that can be eaten directly; they can directly provide a surge of energy for cultivation. However, if refined into pills, adding some pairings should yield even better effects."

Sheng Yuanyao stroked her chin, somewhat speechless.

Indeed, Lu Xingzhou was right that if one wanted a trial, coming to the second floor was the correct choice; thinking seriously, this was a pure gift created by the nation, a third-grade creation forged by third-grade demons, yet their strength was only fourth grade; if you had any ambition, why not come here to mix and match, and what else were you waiting for?

However, ordinary people truly couldn't come; she, Sheng Yuanyao, was also a figure on the Newcomer List, and coming here even felt like dragging the team down; what could other young people even do... only freakish figures like Lu Xingzhou and A'nuo, capable of breaking through realms, could come. Furthermore, even if ordinary people came, they mostly wouldn't find anything; how could you possibly find things beneath the lava...

Sheng Yuanyao didn't know what she could do, so she simply leaned against a nearby rock, looking at the dual cultivation method Lu Xingzhou had given her earlier, pondering it silently.

Suddenly, a loud explosion came from behind in the distance.

She turned in shock to look; Lu Xingzhou kicked down from mid-air, viciously kicking a huge pool of lava in the center of the mountain belly.

The lava vortex surged greatly, and a deep hole formed in the center of the vortex.

Just this scene of chaotic dancing lava would be hard for ordinary people to even approach... yet Lu Xingzhou simply took out his wheelchair.

The wheelchair's shield spread out, and it shot down into the depths of the lava.

Sheng Yuanyao: "..."

She wanted to follow, but felt she would only drag the team down. That wheelchair was simply an all-purpose war chariot; no wonder he was reluctant to give it up.

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

The terrain in the Demon Suppression Domain was not natural terrain; it was all formed posthumously because a certain demon had been suppressed and perished there, and the demon's special attributes caused the terrain to form. Just like the desert on the first floor, it was formed over time by the heat of the Fire Seed combined with the water-absorbing nature of the Turtle-Tortoise.

The reason why the volcanic terrain is universally believed to definitely contain a Fire Seed is exactly this; it is not a natural volcano, so for it to become this way, something must have triggered it, and the high probability is that a powerful Flame Demon once died here, leaving behind its final Fire Seed.

Such Fire Seeds are inevitably explosive and scorching, extremely difficult to control; theoretically, they might not be something the current Lu Xingzhou could subdue.

But Lu Xingzhou still felt he could give it a try.

If he carried a semi-innate spiritual object like the Essence of Flame on his body and still didn't dare to touch a Fire Seed, then what was the point of playing?

His right leg flew down in a kick, and for the first time, flames ignited on his leg while still in mid-air, looking unexpectedly cool.

Like the Heavenly Crippled Leg descending from the sky, he stomped the small flame down completely.

In the next moment, the flame rose in a rage, and with a "Boom," Lu Xingzhou was engulfed in a sea of fire.

Sheng Yuanyao arrived at the edge of the lava at this moment, drew her blade, and was about to charge down, but A'nuo held her back tightly: "Don't throw yourself away, Sister Yao, you can't withstand this temperature..."

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

A'nuo said: "Master has his own judgment; if he assesses that it is not the time, even if he wants to, he won't act. He didn't even bring his Soul Banner; he intends to subdue it himself. Hmm... maybe he'll need your help a little bit later?"

Sheng Yuanyao was just about to ask what help, when she saw Lu Xingzhou use some kind of spell technique; the burning flames vanished, and the Fire Seed seemed to be drilling up along his right leg.

Then it didn't drill up; it was confined within the range of his shin bone, rushing left and right; from the outside, one could see that leg burning fiercely, the sight quite terrifying.

Then, the Water Spirit power from his left leg supported through his dantian, suppressing the chaos of the Fire Seed, while the affinity and containment of the Essence of Flame in his right leg slowly smoothed the Fire Seed.

Visible to the naked eye, two auras of water and fire spiraled upward, merging together into the dantian, then spiraling again from the dantian, rushing into the Spirit Platform.

The flame on the Spirit Platform flickered dimly and brightly, as if poised to burst forth, yet it was utterly suppressed by the swirling Yin and Yang auras surrounding it.

Sheng Yuanyao suddenly felt a sense of familiarity; she opened the dual cultivation method Lu Xingzhou had taught her earlier, and this tactic of harmonizing Yin and Yang to use both for oneself was clearly dual cultivation, okay!

So the current situation was... excess flame, not enough Yin energy to balance it?

Just as she thought this, she saw Lu Xingzhou use the wheelchair as cover, burst out from the lava, and land on the ground somewhat disheveled: "Give me a hand..."

Sheng Yuanyao rolled her eyes; she didn't need to ask to know what help she could provide at this moment.

She simply reached out, grabbed A'nuo, and dragged her to squat behind the mountain rock, then gracefully turned and sat in Lu Xingzhou's lap.

She could feel Lu Xingzhou's entire body was as scorching hot as a fever.

Lu Xingzhou was not polite; he simply held her, lowered his head, and kissed her.

Both parties opened their mouths slightly; the excess flame in Lu Xingzhou's body directly transferred into Sheng Yuanyao's body; Sheng Yuanyao tried to follow the guidance of the dual cultivation method, using the Yin energy in her body to intertwine and rotate with this flame, then send it back to Lu Xingzhou.

Repeated several times, the explosiveness of the blazing fire finally gradually wore away; Sheng Yuanyao, who could see the other's internal state during dual cultivation, could almost see a small flame squatting obediently on the Spirit Platform, surrounded by a red and a blue powerful aura forming a Taiji, circling around it.

Lu Xingzhou's scorching body temperature finally subsided. At the same time, the spiritual energy Lu Xingzhou had shared and left for her was also growing; almost at the same time, both of them broke through to the upper stage of fifth grade.

Sheng Yuanyao: "..."

Isn't this cheating?

No wonder that Demoness Pei was so hot, always curling up in his lap to kiss; turns out it wasn't just comfortable, it could also cultivate? You should have said so earlier... only your maid can cultivate, but we brothers can't?

For a moment, neither was willing to end the dual cultivation; Lu Xingzhou was still viewing internally, analyzing the Fire Seed he had just obtained.

After subduing the Fire Seed, its name automatically rose in his heart: Annihilation Golden Fire.

Hidden within the fire was a trace of Metal Origin power, giving the flame a certain degree of physical penetration; this was also the fundamental factor attracting the Iron Demon to recuperate here. This type of fire is most suitable for forging, but this won't work; the prefix "Annihilation" two characters destined it to be purely destructive.

The greatest value is to multiply the destructive power of one's own fire spell techniques; it is pure combat fire. With this fire in possession, fire-type talismans in the future will have little meaning; no matter how exquisite the talismans, they won't possess the effect of a special Fire Seed; one must figure out spell techniques oneself.

As for how to fuse and utilize it with the Flame Demon, or if it is more suitable for the Flame Demon, further research is needed.

Overall, obtaining this Fire Seed means this journey was a complete and abundant harvest. A'nuo over there should have also obtained quite a few heavenly treasures; refining some things later might allow everyone's strength to achieve a leap.

While her mind was immersed in researching the Fire Seed, human voices came from above: "There are traces of their battle here! They should be nearby!"

Both hearts froze; before they could withdraw from the dual cultivation, the array blocking the volcano's crater was pierced through by a sword, and a white-haired girl instantly appeared before them.

Du Gu Qingli's eyes changed from the joy of finding people to crossing her arms, looking down coldly from top to bottom.

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

Du Gu Qingli's expression remained unchanged, still wearing that "You speak, I listen" look.

Above, figures flickered as several subordinates of the Demon Suppression Bureau swooped down; seeing Sheng Yuanyao standing there, they all breathed a sigh of relief: "Commander, you're safe! You scared us to death!"

Fortunately, that Bai Mao moved fast and came down first... If others had witnessed the scene just now, it would have been a disaster.

Sheng Yuanyao coughed dryly, her face grave: "What are you afraid of? This is a matter I personally oversee. What is the situation outside now?"

"Uh, it's like this: the trials for the other students of the Pill Academy are finished. We counted heads and found the three of you missing. After searching for a long time, someone found traces of battle in the center of the desert. Miss Du Gu analyzed that you had come to the second layer, so we followed the trail down to find you..."

"I asked about your situation. No need to explain how you found us."

"Our situation..." The subordinate hesitated, then said: "Mr. Wang of the Pill Academy was killed by Miss Du Gu. Daoist Xuan Qing died without a whole body; only a few fragments of flesh and blood were found. Dean Qin Yuanzheng has arrived personally and wishes to inquire. Everyone is waiting for the three of you to go up."

Sheng Yuanyao nodded, then soared upward toward the volcano's crater: "I understand this matter. I will go explain it to them."

Lu Xingzhou could hardly bear to look into Du Gu Qingli's eyes; he quietly pulled A Nuo along and stealthily flew upward.

Du Gu Qingli looked up at Lu Xingzhou's panicked fleeing back, pulled a few hairs from her ring, and yanked them viciously.

She had told her master and Sheng Yuanyao that the hairs belonged to Pei Chuyun, but in truth she knew they were Lu Xingzhou's. If she didn't use this hair-plucking punishment now, when would she?

I was up there terrified, searching frantically for you, while down here you're hugging a girl and gnawing on her! I'll pluck you to death!

Unexpectedly, Lu Xingzhou did not react as if his hair had been pulled. Instead, his body arched, and he clutched his lower region, nearly rolling off his wheelchair: "Damn, it's happening again! Did Lady Ye's shield fail? Who is so vicious?!"

Du Gu Qingli blinked her eyes. What was going on?

Could it be that the hairs weren't from his head, but from somewhere else? But I don't have any hairs from elsewhere on my body.

(End of this chapter)