Logically, with the magma’s intense heat, the air currents above should exhibit powerful upward buoyancy. Yet, as Chen Feng soared higher, he detected an undeniable, almost tangible downward tearing force.

Air, when heated, naturally rises—that was the principle behind hot air balloons, a fact Chen Feng understood from his previous life, making the current situation all the more peculiar.

"Gurgle..."

The magma beneath him churned relentlessly, radiating waves of heat that felt like invisible, massive hands actively trying to drag him back down.

Chen Feng stabilized his body and drifted slowly to the edge of the molten river. He carefully extracted a shard of Purple Fire Crystal, holding it cupped in his palm.

The purity of the crystal near the magma was extraordinarily high. He sensed that absorbing its energy directly could accelerate his cultivation speed by nine times compared to his normal rate!

Nine times—that was equivalent to the speed he achieved when utilizing the cultivation platform!

Placing this shard into his water flask, he turned his gaze back toward the magma’s surface, a thread of doubt weaving through his thoughts.

The Purple Fire Crystals seemed to spread downward; the magma itself was teeming with these stones, and judging by their appearance, their quality surpassed the one he currently held.

"Why would these Purple Fire Crystals generate within the magma? Is there something strange beneath?" Chen Feng mused. "Perhaps I should descend and investigate!"

His current Earth Soul cultivation level alone was capable of instantly slaying a Fifth-Level Battle Sovereign. Even the surface temperature of the magma, though scorching, was only six or seven thousand degrees. Even plunging in without the reinforcement of his Domain, he wouldn't sustain an injury.

With the Azure Dragon bloodline, possessing the flame power of both Iori Yagami and Kyo Kusanagi from King of Fighters, to be burned to death by fire now would truly be a joke.

With that thought, Chen Feng hesitated no longer. He propelled his body forward, diving straight into the magma.

To prevent his clothing from being incinerated, he deployed his Domain power just before entry, wrapping himself securely within it.

The churning magma did nothing to impede his progress. Inside, he dared not open his eyes; relying solely on his mental perception, he could still "see" everything surrounding him, even clearly discerning the colors of the crystals embedded in the walls.

However, the magma significantly obstructed his mental perception. Even with Chen Feng's exceptionally powerful spiritual force, he could only "see" about ten meters around his body.

"The concentration of these Purple Fire Crystals here is indeed greater than those on the surface!" Chen Feng murmured, swimming downward like a fish. The intense heat of the surrounding magma seemed utterly irrelevant to him.

After descending seven or eight meters, he distinctly felt the downward suction intensifying, akin to being trapped in thick sludge.

"Hmm, why is the temperature increasing the deeper I go? I've barely gone ten meters, and the temperature has risen by nearly a thousand degrees!" Chen Feng noted.

The magma temperature was now over seven thousand degrees, but his Domain, being the Limit of the Five Innate Attributes—dubbed the Endless Fire Domain capable of incinerating all things—meant this temperature posed no immediate threat.

Resisting the massive drag beneath him, he continued to swim down. After another thirty-odd meters, the temperature had already climbed past ten thousand degrees.

"If this magma truly leads to the Earth's core, how immense must its temperature be?" Chen Feng felt a slight jolt of shock.

He hadn't forgotten the knowledge gained in his past life: the Earth's core temperature was only about 6,000 degrees Celsius, and the Sun’s surface was only around 5,500 degrees. Yet, barely forty meters below the magma surface, the temperature here already exceeded ten thousand degrees!

Slowly approaching a wall of crystals, he gently pried one loose and clenched it in his palm, sensing the energy contained within.

"If I cultivate using these crystals, my speed can increase by fifteen times! I’m only forty meters down, and the energy content has increased by nearly ten percent!" Chen Feng exclaimed. "I should probably venture deeper!"

Before long, he was over 200 meters below the initial magma surface, and the temperature within the magma had soared to a staggering thirty thousand degrees!

"Although I possess the Endless Fire Domain, it hasn't reached its full maturity yet. If I go much further, the Domain itself might be burned away!" Chen Feng considered internally.

Over thirty thousand degrees was already his current limit. If the Endless Fire Domain were complete, such temperatures would be insignificant; however, his current cultivation stood only at the Fourth-Level Battle Sovereign, meaning the Domain's resistance hadn't reached its peak.

"I should collect a decent amount of Purple Fire Crystals and ascend. Once my cultivation improves, I can return to investigate the nature of that suction force," Chen Feng quietly resolved. He began harvesting crystals from the walls with both hands, quickly accumulating several thousand Purple Fire Crystals.

"That's enough for now! This should sustain my cultivation for quite a while."

The sound of flowing magma resonated in his ears as Chen Feng controlled his speed, slowly swimming upward.

"Gurgle..."

Just then, the entire mass of magma seemed to be violently stimulated, beginning to churn fiercely. Startled, Chen Feng wasted no time in consideration. He maximized his Domain power and shot straight up.

"Whoosh..." The suction from below behaved like the heavy panting of a massive beast, its force fluctuating wildly. With two swift 'swooshes,' countless crystal shards were ejected.

One crystal shot directly toward Chen Feng’s path. Due to the resistance of the magma, however, its force wasn't overwhelming.

Chen Feng snatched the crystal out of the air, sparing it no time for closer inspection, and rocketed out of the magma layer.

"Hoo..."

He took a deep, ragged breath, slowly floating back onto the shore, where he was met by Whit’s tense and anxious gaze.

"You... you actually went inside the magma?"

He touched Chen Feng’s clothes with a look of intense curiosity. "How is it possible to enter the magma without your attire being destroyed? Are you not just a Gold Armored Warrior, but also a Nether Venerable?"

Warriors of the Gold Armor path cultivated only the physical body, allowing them to jump higher and possess greater strength than normal people, but they could not fly. Those who could fly were individuals at the Nether Venerable level, capable of borrowing from heaven and earth to hover in the air using natural forces.

A seventeen-year-old Gold Armored Warrior who was simultaneously a Nether Venerable...

Even Whit, who claimed to have seen much of the world, found it hard to imagine that such a freakishly powerful individual existed.

Chen Feng ignored his astonishment and pulled out the crystal he had just caught. A sweep of his mental energy immediately stunned him with the power contained within.

"If all the crystals are like this, my cultivation speed can be boosted twenty-five times!"

He then retrieved the crystal obtained just two meters below the magma surface and sensed it—it offered exactly a thirteen-fold increase!

"The crystals on the magma surface accelerate my cultivation by nine times; those one meter down offer a fifteen-fold increase; those at 200 meters offer a thirteen-fold increase. It seems the rate increases by a factor of one for every forty meters deeper. If this ejected crystal came from the very bottom, then the magma depth can be calculated to be less than 700 meters. Seventy meters is far from the core; this magma is definitely peculiar!"

Based on his past-life knowledge, magma was a substance found only near the Earth's core; once exposed, it quickly cooled into rock. This location was neither a volcano nor a tectonic fault line, yet magma and a massive cavern were hidden inside the mountain. It was no wonder he found it incredible.

Chen Feng stored these crystals and instructed Whit, "Gather as many of these ores as possible. Just pile them up nearby; I will find a way to transport them out."

Whit had been worrying precisely about how to move the ore without arousing suspicion. Hearing this was exactly what he needed, and he nodded eagerly. "I will find a few trustworthy bandits to go purchase grain and build shelters. These men can't stay living in the wilderness, after all."

Chen Feng knew that the twenty horses Whit had brought were intended for logistics and supply transport, so he merely nodded. As for how to manage trade without attracting unwanted attention, those were matters for Whit to consider; Chen Feng didn't need to worry about them.

However...

"No need to build shelters. I will carve out more caves in the mountain wall for you. Buy plenty of bedding and daily necessities. Don't mistreat these bandits either; they are working for us. Moreover, pay them wages; it will certainly boost their motivation!"

"I understand that," Whit replied with a smile.

Chen Feng realized that if a man who had led armies and seen great battles couldn't even manage a group of mountain bandits, he might as well be dead.

The two walked out of the cave. None of the bandits dared to flee, as their lives were still firmly held in the hands of the red-haired youth before them.

Whit announced his decisions, his tone shifting between icy severity and gentle warmth. In no time, he had subdued all 300-plus bandits, erasing any lingering resentment. In fact, they now considered it a blessing from a past life to be allowed to mine here.

Chen Feng listened for a while and couldn't help but give a thumbs-up. No wonder he was a military genius; it seemed he was also a master of manipulating power dynamics. But who exactly was this man, and why had he chosen to stay in this remote place for so many years?

Chen Feng had tried to ask on the way, but Whit had replied, "I am willing to serve you, but can we agree not to inquire about each other's past?"

Chen Feng dropped the matter. His own past was even more unbelievable—two consecutive transmigrations... Who would believe him if he told anyone? Besides, would these people even understand the concept of transmigration?

In three days, Chen Feng carved out dozens of living spaces in the mountain wall and felled large trees to make bed frames and furniture. The previously deserted area had transformed into a functional mining camp.

Whit also reported their safety to the Elder and Xiao Rou.

Five days later, as the number of horses dwindled, the first batch of grain and vegetables arrived. Under Whit’s masterful persuasion, the bandits settled in with surprising contentment.

Seeing that the immediate crises were resolved, Chen Feng carved a private cave for himself into a section of the cliff face. He stocked enough food and fresh water and began secluded cultivation. His physical body and mental perception abilities had surpassed his cultivation base; if he didn't catch up quickly, he would appear foolish.

A pile of Purple Fire Crystals, capable of accelerating cultivation thirteenfold, sat before him as he slowly sank into meditation.

PS:: I just checked and the monthly tickets have jumped to 135! I was supposed to have an update explosion tomorrow, but since tomorrow is Sunday, I must go downstate to buy an electric blanket, or I’ll freeze to death. Also, my laptop is being temporarily requisitioned tomorrow because my girlfriend's school is having a parent-teacher conference, and I won't have it for the whole day, so... cough, I can't even guarantee a full update tomorrow. My apologies in advance...

Regarding the word count, Old Ya will try his best to make up for it next week. As you all have noticed recently, my output speed isn't as fast as before. I haven't been lazy; rather, I've been finding ways to improve. Too many fight scenes become tiresome for readers—and for me, too. Give me sufficient time, and I will produce better chapters that are worth your subscription money. (To be continued. For more events, please log in to www**com for more chapters, support the author, and support genuine reading!)

First Published