Chapter 231

Sunset Volcano.

This is a volcano in the literal sense, not the kind where only the crater contains fire.

The entire body of Sunset Volcano is covered in scorching flames; not a single green plant can be found, making the mountain look completely bald.

Besides earth and stone, there is nothing but scorching flames.

Creatures able to survive in Sunset Volcano are either fire-attributed beings, for whom the scorching flames cause no discomfort but instead make them feel more comfortable.

Or they possess a sufficiently high Supernatural Grade to ignore the flames' scorching.

Sunset Volcano is vast, not a simple peak but a massive mountain range.

Trying to find a specific creature here is no simple task, especially since Su Hao doesn't even know what the other party looks like.

He merely glanced at Sunset Volcano below and abandoned the idea of seeking out that buyer.

That would take far too much time; moreover, with such a large army in tow, the other side would likely spot it from afar and hide, daring not to show themselves.

Thus Su Hao had the Bone Dragon wait before Sunset Volcano, took out the communication bracelet, and intended to have Ling Xue'er send the buyer's contact information over.

At that very moment, he realized that Ling Xue'er had sent a message with an attached picture half a day earlier, as agreed.

【Ling Xue'er: Boss Su Hao, the other party also has a trade module; we've received the blueprints and sent them for you to look at.】

……

"Not bad efficiency."

Su Hao gave a faint smile, then lightly tapped his finger to open the picture attached to the message.

【Blueprint for the Mechanical Vehicle Manufacturing Factory】

Materials required for construction: Intelligent Mechanical Core ×1, any Supernatural material of Second Rank or higher ×1, wood ×5,000,000, stone ×5,000,000.

Once the materials are ready, place the blueprint together with them into the Construction Platform to complete construction.

Introduction: A factory capable of producing any mechanical Supernatural furniture; later, by refining the mechanical program and adding appropriate Supernatural materials, the factory's Supernatural Grade can be raised.

……

"Good; once I return this time, I can start having this factory built."

Before this outing, after seeing the blueprint's description, Su Hao wondered whether Ling'er could manufacture that mechanical core.

As expected, not long after, Ling'er emerged from the experimental base carrying an Intelligent Mechanical Core.

That is precisely the main material needed to construct the Mechanical Vehicle Manufacturing Factory.

Now, if we just obtain five million units of wood and stone, the materials for building the Mechanical Vehicle Manufacturing Factory will be fully gathered.

Five million units of wood and stone, while not a small number, would likely take an ordinary person one or two years to collect if working alone.

But if a group of people helps gather them, five million units may seem large, yet in practice it does not take much time.

Calculating at ten thousand units per person, one only needs to trade with five hundred people to obtain five million units of wood and stone.

As long as Su Hao offers a suitable price, five million units of wood and stone will not take long at all.

Subsequently, Su Hao had Ling Xue'er accelerate the collection of wood and stone, aiming to gather the five million units before his return.

Finally, Su Hao had Ling Xue'er share the contact information of the fire‑storage bag trader with him.

Perhaps Ling Xue'er had mentioned it to the seller before sharing the contact, so when Su Hao just added that person as a friend, the friend request was quickly approved.

Immediately Su Hao sent a message explaining his purpose and informing the other party that he was already near Sunset Volcano, asking them to reveal their location.

Following the location given, Su Hao found an inconspicuous cave at a mountain base.

"Fond of living underground, this must be a dwarf, perhaps even a relative of Iron Lump."

Since the cave is too small for the Bone Dragon's massive frame to enter, Su Hao led two or three hundred White Bone Warriors and White Bone Mages inside.

As Su Hao went deeper, the temperature inside the cave kept rising.

Soon the surrounding temperature reached five to six hundred degrees, making it hard for ordinary First‑ or Second‑Rank Supernaturals to survive.

Fortunately, Su Hao now possesses a Supernatural Fourth Rank physique and spirit; this heat merely makes him sweat a bit more, with no other effect.

The White Bone Warriors and White Bone Mages are undead creatures, naturally not afraid of high heat; moreover, their Supernatural Grade is Third Rank, so they are likewise unaffected by the surrounding temperature.

Finally, enduring heat sufficient to kill some Third‑Rank beings, Su Hao reached the cave's end, entering a cavern filled with scorching flames.

He saw a young woman sitting on a rock, casually draped in a crimson outer garment, holding a pair of white socks, about to put them on her bare feet.

The fair skin on her feet glowed, forming a stark contrast with the surrounding crimson flames.

When she saw Su Hao enter, her body tensed slightly and her expression turned a bit embarrassed.

"Ahaha, I was just about to go out to meet you..."

The fire‑spirit‑like woman gave a dry laugh, eased her embarrassment, and quickly slipped on her shoes.

"No problem, no problem; I was already nearby and just happened to pass by—I didn't give prior notice before coming to your dwelling, so please don't take offense."

Su Hao hastily waved his hands, lowered his gaze to his nose and then to his heart, not daring to look at the woman at all.

"Damn it, who can tell me why there's a Fifth‑Rank Supernatural here?! And why would a Fifth‑Rank Supernatural want to trade some First‑ or Second‑Rank fire‑attribute materials—what's the point?"

Although Su Hao couldn't discern the woman's true realm, he could be certain her Supernatural Grade was definitely above Fourth Rank—meaning it must be Fifth Rank…

Su Hao really just wanted to turn around and leave, forgetting about that fire‑storage bag.

Who would have thought that a mere fire‑storage bag trade would lead to encountering a Fifth‑Rank Supernatural?

Such odds are lower than winning the lottery jackpot.

At this moment Su Hao had prepared himself to call on Xue Nv for help, ready to endure a beating from the other party.

However, the woman's subsequent actions greatly exceeded Su Hao's expectations.

After putting on her shoes, she quickly tidied her clothes and, from the messy cavern, hauled out a stone table and two stone stools.

Then, with a casual flick, the scorching flames engulfed the disordered scene, covering it completely.

"Ahaha, actually this isn't my dwelling; I hope you'll believe me, right?"

The woman gave a dry laugh, produced a set of stone tea ware, poured a pot of magma into two tea cups, left one before herself and pushed the other across to him.

"Come on, drink, tea, drink tea."

Su Hao: … Tea? You call this lava with a temperature of several thousand degrees tea? Are you sure you're not trying to use this to silence me? Looking at the scorching lava in the tea cup, Su Hao's eyes twitched involuntarily.

Although even if he drank the lava given his current condition, it wouldn't be a big problem.

But drinking this cup of lava would likely be like drinking from the top and leaking from the bottom; his stomach couldn't withstand such heat.

However, this cup of lava was handed over by a Supernatural Fifth Rank; if I didn't drink it, wouldn't that be terribly rude? The other party's attitude is still decent; if I refuse this cup of lava and make them unhappy, forcing them to pour it down my throat, neither side would save face.

"Thank you for the hospitality."

After some thought, Su Hao picked up the tea cup and gulped down the lava inside in one swallow.

The next moment.

Su Hao then felt a terrifying heat burst forth from that mouthful of lava.

Scorching flames erupted from every pore of his body.

"Ah, sorry sorry, I forgot you weakling can't eat this."

The woman saw Su Hao's whole body on fire, her face instantly turned anxious, she hurriedly rose from her chair and vigorously patted the flames on his body.

Unfortunately, this had no effect; the flames showed no sign of dying down.

But soon she remembered who she was, what abilities she possessed, and how she could possibly let this fire escape her control.

However, before she could act to extinguish the flames on Su Hao, she saw him shake his head, interrupting her action.

"I'm fine; I'll get used to it shortly."

Su Hao's voice was hoarse, as if his vocal cords had been scorched dry, sounding like two pieces of dry wood rubbing together, yet his face showed no pain; instead, a hint of joy flickered in his eyes.

The temperature of that cup of lava is indeed extremely high, possessing terrifying energy capable of incinerating Su Hao's body.

But this is not a bad thing; while that cup of lava burns Su Hao's body, it also releases a terrifying energy.

As this energy is gradually absorbed, Su Hao's resistance to the fire element is steadily increasing, and his affinity for the fire element is rapidly rising.

Increased elemental resistance reduces the damage caused by skills of that element.

Increased elemental affinity increases the damage dealt by skills of that element.

In other words, the higher one's fire resistance, the less damage taken from fire-element skills.

The higher one's fire affinity, the stronger the damage dealt by the fire-element skills one uses.

With such benefits, even if the process is painful, Su Hao has no reason to give up.

According to Su Hao's estimate, this cup of lava is likely a Supernatural Fourth Rank item!

If he could obtain a few more cups of this lava, combining it with Blazing Flame Dragon Fruit might yield a supernatural plant with the same effect as this lava.

However, this cup of lava belongs to a Supernatural Fifth Rank; even though that fifth‑rank supernatural being appears very friendly, Su Hao isn't sure he can actually acquire it through trade.

After about three minutes, the energy in the cup of lava was completely absorbed by Su Hao's body, and the flames on him died down accordingly.

Having absorbed the energy of this cup of lava tea, Su Hao's fire affinity has noticeably increased; henceforth, using Bloodthirsty Soul Fire will boost its power by roughly twenty percent.

At the same time, the damage he takes from fire‑attribute skills will likely be reduced by about twenty percent.

"Thank you for the hospitality; I came this time to trade a Fire Storage Bag with you. Since your requirements are fairly broad, I've brought all the items that meet them for you to pick from personally."

As he spoke, Su Hao's mind stirred; he took out some fire‑attribute materials he had previously collected, along with Blazing Flame Dragon Fruit, Purple Gold Coiling Dragon Bamboo, and Spirit Rice—all supernatural plants—from his Storage Bag, placed one of each on the stone table, and left them for her to choose.

Even though she appears friendly, she is ultimately a Supernatural Fifth Rank, so the respect due must be given.

"Ahaha, you're really nice—not like other supernaturals who, as soon as they trade with me, try to take advantage and haggle; it's really annoying."

Looking at the supernatural items on the table, the woman's face broke into a meaningful smile.

"……"

Faced with the woman's words, Su Hao momentarily didn't know how to respond.

You're a Supernatural Fifth Rank, after all—who would be so foolish as to dare haggle with you? Wait, she only said that someone dared to haggle with him, but she didn't say what ultimately happened to those who dared to haggle with him.

If nothing unexpected happens, the corpses of those who dared to haggle with her are probably lying quietly in some corner right now.

No, that's not accurate either; the woman before us surely has fire‑related abilities, and if we offended her, even leaving some ashes behind would be fortunate.

The woman behind him didn't notice the odd expression on Su Hao's face; after sighing, she began to inspect the items on the stone table.

Those first‑ and second‑rank fire‑attribute supernatural materials, she merely glanced at before losing interest.

Obviously, she didn't regard those first‑ and second‑rank fire‑attribute materials as noteworthy; her request was likely just meant to confuse and distract.

Next, she picked up a honey‑peach, sniffed it twice, then somewhat disdainfully set it aside.

Water‑attribute supernatural fruits just don't taste good when smelled.

Afterwards, she picked up a segment of Purple Gold Coiling Dragon Bamboo and sniffed it similarly.

This smell is quite nice, lacking the unpleasant odor of water‑attribute things.

Relative to the others, the Purple Gold Coiling Dragon Bamboo satisfies her a bit more.

Next, she took each supernatural fruit on the stone table in turn and sniffed it.

Any supernatural fruit containing water attribute she put back in its original place; those without water attribute she placed before herself.

And when she picked up the Blazing Flame Dragon Fruit, her face instantly lit up with delight; without hesitation she took a bite, then a second, then a third…

Before long, she had eaten the entire Blazing Flame Dragon Fruit.

"Mmm—!"

"This is delicious, this is delicious—just this outer layer feels a bit odd in flavor."

"That outer layer is the skin; you have to peel it off to eat it."

Su Hao shook his head with a smile, took another Blazing Flame Dragon Fruit from his Storage Bag, peeled off the skin, and handed it over.

"Now try it again and see how the taste is."

"Mmm! This time the taste is even better—I want this, I want this; however much you have, I'll take it all!"

The woman devoured that Blazing Flame Dragon Fruit in just a couple of bites, her gaze fixed intently on Su Hao's Storage Bag, the smile in her eyes deepening once again.

(End of Chapter)