Here, it seemed, resided a mysterious force so potent that even He Yiming’s keen eyesight could not penetrate the gloom ahead.

He took a deep breath. The very moment he stepped across the threshold, He Yiming felt a distinct power envelop him—a strange, almost alien energy.

He gently closed his eyes. After a long moment, when he opened them again, he found himself slightly adjusted to the oppressive environment.

A hint of surprise crossed his face. With his current strength, not only could he disregard mere darkness, but he could withstand the immense, inconceivable pressure of the deep ocean floor.

Yet, in this pitch-black space, he felt profoundly uncomfortable and disoriented.

After a brief moment of consideration, He Yiming slowly extended his hand. Instantly, brilliant light burst forth from his palm, illuminating the path before him.

It was a narrow passage. Along the surrounding rock walls were clusters of bulbous growths, shining with a mirror-like sheen. The entire cavern tunnel was composed of these strange formations.

He Yiming observed them carefully. To his astonishment, the light he generated seemed woefully weak, barely piercing the gloom three zhang around him.

Furthermore, the instant his light manifested, the strange pressure permeating the area seemed to intensify slightly, actively suppressing the power of his illumination to its bare minimum.

Musing for a long time, He Yiming’s eyes shifted slightly. He sensed it—Li Yajing had already left this place.

However, his expression instantly contorted into one of oddity, for concurrent with Li Yajing’s receding footsteps, he heard another, far more familiar sound.

Baozhu! The little fellow had stealthily followed him.

A bead of cold sweat instantly traced a path down He Yiming’s forehead. This little creature had trailed him into a forbidden zone. If discovered, even immediate execution would leave him with no grounds for complaint.

A peculiar sound scraped against the stone door at the entrance—the sound of a pig’s hoof kicking it. Yet, Baozhu was remarkably intelligent; it seemed to understand that loud noises were forbidden here, so the action was less a kick and more a deliberate, measured knock.

With a swift movement, He Yiming was at the stone door, gently pulling it open just a crack.

As soon as a sliver of space appeared, a shaft of white light instantly shot inside.

The little piglet, drawn to the light energy emanating from He Yiming’s hand, cautiously peered around, its tiptoeing demeanor utterly hilarious.

He Yiming quickly pulled the door shut, shooting an irritated glance at Baozhu before whispering, “Why did you come?”

Baozhu immediately broke into a wide, toothy grin. It trotted to He Yiming’s feet, affectionately rubbing against him twice, then raised both front hooves to wrap around his leg. Its little snout twitched slightly, wearing an expression that clearly communicated: I was worried, so I followed.

He Yiming looked down at the little pig with helplessness. Suddenly, a thought struck him: “Is there treasure in here?”

Given Baozhu’s inherent nature, only an object worthy of its attention could motivate the naturally lazy creature to follow him to such a place.

Baozhu’s small eyes darted around, and its face settled into a vacant, goofy smile.

He Yiming shot it an exasperated look. “This is the territory of the Glazed Cave, the very place where their founding ancestor once entered seclusion. Whatever you fancy, you are forbidden to take.”

The warning was sharp and laced with clear admonition.

Baozhu’s face instantly crumpled. Since starting to follow He Yiming, this was the first time it had been scolded. But given the sternness of He Yiming’s tone, the little pig understood exactly what was required.

He Yiming gently stroked the top of Baozhu’s head. “Little one, the Glazed Cave and our Tianchi lineage have shared friendship for thousands of years; we cannot allow our actions to cause a rift. Moreover, the Li father and daughter once helped me. We do not repay kindness with enmity.”

Baozhu blinked its small eyes, nodding as if it understood, then very cleanly hopped up into He Yiming’s arms.

Since treasure hunting was off the table, Baozhu’s lazy disposition immediately took over.

He Yiming shook his head slightly, refocusing his attention, quietly sensing the mysterious power within the chamber.

Slowly, a look of sudden realization dawned on his face. This power was clearly the Energy of Fire, but it seemed to have something extra infused within it.

He Yiming struggled to name this addition—perhaps it was the Spirituality of Fire. This energy felt strangely similar to the Life Force released by the Divine Tree he had encountered in the Grotto-Heaven blessed land.

There, he had encountered the spiritualized power of Wood; here, he found the spiritualized power of Fire.

He brought his palms together, and the light energy in his hands vanished, plunging the surroundings back into darkness. However, in an instant, the Five Elements Ring appeared on his hand, and immediately, a Fire Dragon surged forth from the multicolored radiance.

This Fire Dragon was something He Yiming had condensed using the sacred blood of the Vermillion Bird via the Divine Artifact, the Nine Dragon Furnace—it was the very essence of concentrated Fire Energy.

Instantly, the entire cave blazed with light, illuminating a radius of nearly ten zhang.

The Fire Energy within the cavern, imbued with spirituality, began to flow joyously, eagerly surging into the Fire Dragon and then coursing back out from within its body.

With each passage in and out, the Fire Dragon appeared to grow marginally stronger.

He Yiming clicked his tongue in amazement. Such a miraculous application in this place! Looking at this phenomenon, what Li Jiangfeng had said was highly likely to be true.

The Divine Artifact, the Nine Dragon Furnace—perhaps it was genuinely forged into existence here.

He resumed walking forward, and the Fire Dragon dutifully coiled around him, lighting the path ahead.

The tunnel was far from flat; it seemed to incline steadily downward. This realization sent a flicker of trepidation through He Yiming.

They had descended a significant distance from above. If they went much further, they risked plunging straight into magma.

Although he felt secure within the self-contained world provided by the Five Elements Ring, no one willingly sought an immersion in molten rock.

His ears twitched, gathering every sound echoing ahead.

He heard the bubbling of magma, and the sound grew louder the further he advanced.

As he descended, the ambient heat intensified to a degree that even he found difficult to endure.

With a soft sigh, a tangible, fiery red flower slowly floated up above He Yiming’s head.

The Flower of Fire, even when subjected to the searing heat of the Divine Artifact Nine Dragon Furnace, would protect him. The current environmental heat, though fierce, was not yet sufficient to cause his Fire Flower to collapse.

Baozhu, nestled in his arms, let out a lazy yawn. Since He Yiming had forbidden it from seeking treasure, the creature had remained thoroughly listless.

A realization dawned: the little fellow seemed even better adapted to this environment than he was. Such intense Fire Energy caused it no apparent distress whatsoever.

He shook his head faintly. The bloodline of a Divine Beast was truly miraculous; this robust physique was far beyond human comprehension.

Continuing forward, after a long stretch, a powerful, unmistakable red glow finally appeared ahead, and the sound of boiling bubbles reaching his ears grew overwhelmingly loud.

He Yiming narrowed his eyes. He knew he had reached the end of the passage and the threshold of the magma field.

Treading carefully on the searing ground, he stepped out of the tunnel. Outside lay a vast platform, and beyond that platform, just as expected, was the churning, fiery red magma.

Baozhu blinked its small eyes rapidly and suddenly let out a series of excited squeals, as if its energy had been instantly restored.

He Yiming paused, struck by the piglet’s bizarre expression. He asked with surprise, “Is there treasure here?”

In this scarlet world, saturated with heat capable of incinerating a person, hiding treasure here would indeed be an excellent way to keep it from ordinary discovery.

However, contrary to He Yiming’s expectation, Baozhu shook its little head. It tilted its head as if contemplating for a moment, then planted its four hooves firmly and lightly leaped from He Yiming’s embrace.

He Yiming fixed his gaze upon the creature, wondering what mischief it was plotting now.

What followed, however, caused him to freeze in utter shock.

Baozhu spun around, bolted directly toward the edge of the platform, and with a mighty leap, plunged straight into the terrifying magma like a stone.

He Yiming’s heart lurched violently, causing his vision to momentarily dim.

But he quickly regained his composure. Baozhu was far too intelligent to court certain death. If it jumped willingly, it must possess the certainty of surviving being burned or drowned.

Indeed, mere moments later, a white silhouette shot up from the magma. The little creature was joyfully swimming in the crimson, bubbling pool with a triumphant air.

He Yiming watched, speechless, until that moment realizing the sheer depth of mystery surrounding Baozhu.

Yet, something even more astonishing occurred.

After playing in the lava for a while, Baozhu stopped frolicking and quietly sank beneath the surface.

He Yiming hesitated, then extended his consciousness, keeping his mental focus tightly bound to Baozhu’s submerged body, unwilling to break contact for even a second.

In his perception, Baozhu’s body was like a bottomless black hole, frantically absorbing the endless Fire Energy from the magma.

This Fire Energy differed markedly from the energy found elsewhere. This local fire carried a rare trace of spirituality, and it was precisely this spirituality that Baozhu was now consuming without restraint.

Vast quantities of Fire Energy flooded into the little pig’s frame. Its skin turned intensely red, resembling a perfectly roasted suckling pig, even appearing slightly wrinkled.

But the Life Force emanating from the little Baozhu grew exponentially stronger, reaching an almost unbelievable level.

It seemed as if some dormant power within its core was being awakened by the stimulus of this spiritualized Fire Energy…