Chapter 284: Heading to the Nether Cavern, Molten Elder Dragon

Is there anything you can do……

Chi Yun licked her red lips, revealing a hint of contemplation.

I want to leave this place, so I need to consume more things containing fire elemental energy. If I could also have another thirty or fifty Blazing Flame Dragon Fruits, that should be about enough. Moreover……

Pausing slightly in her speech, she glanced Su Hao up and down; even a soft exclamation escaped her, and a flash of shock crossed her face.

Your strength has improved so quickly—your physique and mental power have actually reached the top tier of the Fourth Rank!!

The last time Su Hao came, Chi Yun didn't observe him too closely; she merely noticed his supernatural rank was Second Tier.

But this time, she was astonished to discover that Su Hao's physique and mental power had both reached the Fourth Rank of the supernatural, and they were both at the pinnacle of the supernatural world, only a step away from the Fifth Rank.

In just a few days, his physique and mental power have changed so drastically—this is something she cannot comprehend no matter how she tries.

She suddenly realized that this cheap younger brother of hers seemed even more extraordinary than she had imagined.

When they first met, Su Hao revealed his identity as a Divine Chosen, forcing her to abandon her plan to kill and loot, making him the first person to walk out of this cave alive.

The second time they met, Su Hao brought a large quantity of Second-Rank Blazing Flame Dragon Fruits, astonishing her once again.

After all, it is difficult for even plant‑skilled supernatural beings in peaceful times to cultivate so many Second‑Rank supernatural fruits, let alone such a huge amount of Second‑Rank Blazing Flame Dragon Fruits.

The reason is simple: even ordinary plants have specific growth requirements, and supernatural plants are no exception.

Generally, supernatural plants have extremely high growth requirements; although their vitality is stronger, they can survive a long time even in unsuitable environments.

However, if the surroundings are unsuitable for growth, the supernatural plants planted there will certainly grow extremely slowly, possibly stopping growth altogether, making flowering and fruiting impossible.

Precisely because of this, Su Hao producing so many Blazing Flame Dragon Fruits is what astonished Chi Yun.

At that time she thought Su Hao was a supernatural being skilled at planting, capable of altering plant growth environments and summoning undead creatures, but he himself did not possess much combat strength.

When Su Hao arrived this time and produced a large quantity of Fourth‑Rank Blazing Flame Dragon Fruits, Chi Yun became even more convinced of her hypothesis.

But now she discovered that Su Hao's supernatural rank had only risen from Second Tier to Third Tier, yet his mental power and physique had absurdly reached the pinnacle of the Fourth Tier.

Moreover, the speed of this increase is so fast that it simply surpasses her comprehension.

But……

If he had Fourth‑Rank supernatural mental power and physique, and his combat ability were decent, perhaps he could……

Thinking of this, Chi Yun's expression became somewhat torn.

In her view, Su Hao was a long‑term, super‑expensive meal ticket; if possible, she truly did not want him to undertake anything risky.

But without external intervention, even with enough Blazing Flame Dragon Fruits, she could not free herself from this place's bonds in just a week or two.

Observing the change in Chi Yun's expression, Su Hao could guess that there was indeed a way to speed up her escape, and it was very likely something he himself could accomplish.

After advancing, Su Hao dared not claim how strong his combat ability was, but he had great confidence in his survivability—even against a Fifth‑Rank supernatural being, it would be difficult to kill him completely.

With the confidence to survive, Su Hao gave a slight smile and said:

"Older sister, if there's anything I can do, just tell me straight—I won't act recklessly."

"……Since you said that, I actually have a matter that I need to trouble you with."

After a moment of silence, Chi Yun finally decided to let Su Hao give it a try—she really did not want to stay in this place any longer……

"Under this mountain range lie three huge caverns, each containing a Flame Crystal."

"These three Flame Crystals constitute the main component of this seal and also contain abundant fire elemental energy; as long as we retrieve them and I absorb them, I need at most another ten or so Blazing Flame Dragon Fruits to be able to leave this place."

"However, each of these three caverns is guarded by a Molten Elder Dragon, each possessing pinnacle Fourth‑Rank supernatural strength—ordinary Fourth‑Rank supernaturals don't even qualify to approach the caverns."

Precisely because these three Molten Elder Dragons are so powerful, Chi Yun is reluctant to let Su Hao take the risk.

Compared to losing a long‑term meal ticket, she would rather stay here a few more days; but since Su Hao has said so, and she has wanted to leave this place for more than a day or two, she therefore brings it up.

But in the end, she still couldn't help but advise:

"If you're not sure, just forget it—even if you don't get those three Flame Crystals, at most another week or two and older sister can still free herself."

"Don't worry—I'm waiting for older sister to free herself so she can protect me; no matter what, I'll be fine."

Su Hao laughed, waved his hand, and strode out; soon he found a passage leading underground at the base of this mountain range.

Walking down this passage for about a hundred meters, three forks appeared ahead.

If nothing unexpected happens, these three passages lead to those three caverns.

According to Chi Yun, each of these three caverns is guarded by a pinnacle Fourth‑Rank Molten Elder Dragon, so there's no need to choose.

Su Hao's steps halted; after summoning a few Pale Skeleton Warriors, he had them lead the way toward the left passage.

"Roar!"

After walking another two hundred meters or so, a cave appeared ahead, and a deafening roar erupted from within.

Immediately after.

Then a huge blazing fireball flew out of the cave and smashed toward the Pale Skeleton Warriors in front.

"Bone Spur!"

Su Hao felt no panic; as he gave the command, the soul‑fire in the heads of the Pale Skeleton Warriors flared up violently.

Sharp bone spurs jutted from the ground, forming a bone wall around their bodies.

Almost as soon as the bone wall formed, a "Boom—" sounded as the blazing fireball slammed into it, triggering a violent explosion that completely destroyed the wall.

Scorching flames spewed from the breach, engulfing the Pale Skeleton Warriors behind and raising the temperature in the passage by hundreds of degrees.

After the flames died, the once‑towering Pale Skeleton Warriors were reduced to just two feet standing on the ground, the rest of their bodies completely melted away.

"Tsk tsk tsk, no wonder it's pinnacle Fourth‑Rank—this flame's temperature is truly high."

Watching the Molten Elder Dragon remain hidden while a single fireball reduced numerous Third‑Rank Pale Skeleton Warriors to just two feet, Su Hao gained a more intuitive grasp of its power.

Had this happened before his advancement, being hit by that blazing fireball wouldn't have killed him instantly, but it would certainly have been unpleasant.

But now, Su Hao has a decent chance.

He slowly walked toward the cave, and with a turn of his thought, a large amount of Fourth‑Rank Scarlet Essence Blood surged from his Blood Sea Robe.

Wherever he passed, everything was covered in blood; the passage behind him filled with bright red blood, like a crimson cloak draped over his back, looking mighty. "Roar!"

Watching Su Hao so utterly fearless, a roar came again from the cave ahead, and a huge figure emerged from the magma below.

This monster is huge in size, nearly fifty meters long, and overall looks somewhat like a giant centipede.

Its entire body is covered in a hard lava shell, resembling a walking volcano.

The shell is deep red, with some spots even flickering orange-yellow firelight, as if lava flows slowly beneath it.

Moreover, its tail bears a huge lava hammer, looking extremely aggressive.

In the light, the Molten Elder Dragon's shell reflects a dazzling radiance, making it hard to look directly at it.

After the Molten Elder Dragon emerged from the magma below, it raised its huge lava hammer and slammed it down hard into the magma.

The next moment.

The magma in the cave suddenly surged in temperature by thousands of degrees, like a raging tsunami, rushing toward Su Hao.

The temperature of this magma far exceeds that of a single fireball, and it also contains supernatural power; even the hardest material on Earth would instantly melt at this temperature.

Even supernatural items, once caught in the magma, meet the same fate: rapid melting.

To resist this magma, only fourth-grade supernatural power can do it.

Coincidentally, Su Hao possesses exactly this power.

After advancing, he gained deeper control over bone and blood elements.

Watching the surging magma and feeling the scorching heat around him, Su Hao's expression remained unchanged as he slowly raised his right hand; with a snap, he snapped his fingers.

The next moment.

The huge cloak behind Su Hao, made entirely of blood, surged out from around his body and formed a blood shield before him, blocking the oncoming magma.

This time, no violent explosion sound came, but the disturbance was still significant.

Under the magma's scorching, even fourth-grade supernatural crimson essence blood evaporated heavily, strands of crimson blood steam filling the cave.

By contrast, the magma was hardly affected, remaining just as scorching hot.

If this stalemate continued, the shield made of fourth-grade crimson essence blood would likely be completely evaporated by the scorching magma.

However, Su Hao, as if unaware, calmly watched the scorching magma and gradually evaporated the fourth-grade crimson essence blood.

Until the blood shield had evaporated by about a third, he then slowly nodded.

"Indeed, real combat is the best way to test one's strength."

Although the fourth-grade crimson essence blood suffered heavy losses under the magma's scorching, Su Hao gained a clearer understanding of his own strength.

Now that the experiment's purpose has been achieved, Su Hao does not intend to continue holding out.

After all, these fourth-grade crimson essence blood were painstakingly refined by him; if too much were lost, he would feel heartbroken.

Moreover, his purpose in coming here was to obtain the Flame Crystal, not to get beaten up.

Su Hao's gaze pierced the blood shield and looked ahead; behind the Molten Elder Dragon's massive body stood an altar made of red stone blocks, above which floated a crystal resembling a flame.

【Flame Crystal】

Supernatural Grade: five

"Indeed, this is it; as long as we deal with the Molten Elder Dragon, this fifth-grade supernatural Flame Crystal will be mine."

A cold light flashed in Su Hao's eyes; he had no thieving skills.

Moreover, he had no intention of stealing; his only idea was to defeat the Molten Elder Dragon head-on and then swagger away with the Flame Crystal.

However, Su Hao was not in a rush to act, as the saying goes: know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles.

After all, the Molten Elder Dragon is a fourth-grade top-tier monster; caution is warranted, and besides, it is a new species—killing it outright would be wasteful.

At that moment, Su Hao's mind stirred; he took the Omniscient Magic Book from his Storage Bag and used its recording function.

【Molten Elder Dragon】

Supernatural Grade: four

Racial traits: flesh-and-blood creature; lava creature abilities: Lava Surge, Fire Ball… Heavy Strike.

Introduction: The Molten Elder Dragon is a monster living in magma; its skin and flesh can withstand extremely high temperatures, immune to most fire-attribute attacks.

Their tail is both a weakness and their main attack method, storing most of their internal energy; by using the tail, they can raise the temperature of the surrounding magma and unleash their exclusive skill—Lava Surge.

"A flesh-and-blood creature, with its weakness in the tail—how convenient."

Looking at the information displayed on the Omniscient Magic Book, Su Hao pondered, devised a countermeasure, and also intended to test his new ability after advancement.

Immediately, Su Hao's mental power and qi and blood flowed toward the depths of his soul, and the skill rune for Bodily Metamorphosis gradually lit up.

The next moment.

Before his eyes appeared an image of a Molten Elder Dragon; as the skill's range expanded, second and third images of Molten Elder Dragons also appeared before him.

Since we already know the enemy is a flesh-and-blood creature and understand its weakness, it's perfect to test how Bodily Metamorphosis performs in combat.

Although the Bodily Metamorphosis skill description says it works on all bodies,

but due to the effects of other abilities in the Aberrant Blood Demon sequence, Bodily Metamorphosis is certainly most effective against flesh-and-blood bodies.

Furthermore, knowing the enemy's weakness while the enemy knows nothing of his abilities, Su Hao feels that, with the element of surprise, he might be able to take down these three fourth-grade top-tier Molten Elder Dragons in one fell swoop.

Even if not, it could at least deprive the enemy of some of its attack methods.

Now the only uncertainty is that Su Hao himself is unclear about the exact effects of Bodily Metamorphosis, and he does not know what impact using this skill at full power would have on those three Molten Elder Dragons.

Overthinking is useless; Su Hao narrowed his gaze and looked at the tails of the three Molten Elder Dragons.

(End of Chapter)