Seeing Murong Fu actually give her personal jade pendant to Lei Dong, all the male cultivators present couldn't help but show expressions of envy and jealousy. Especially Chen Yun, who had repeatedly tried to get close to the Murong sisters but only received lukewarm responses, seemed to hold even greater resentment towards Lei Dong. Even Wu Ji couldn't help but look on with envy, saying, "My brother, you truly have the luck. If I had known, this elder brother wouldn't have brought any ice-elemental magic treasures."

Being the target of someone's intentions was not, in itself, a terrible thing. However, Lei Dong calculated that after getting through this ordeal, he would use the Purgatory Domain as a passage back to Kang Prefecture, and re-entering the Great Qian Continent would likely be many years away. Still, he didn't refuse; instead, he accepted the jade pendant, bowed slightly to Murong Fu with a calm demeanor, and said, "Thank you, Daoist Friend Murong." In his heart, though, he was resolved. While he couldn't allow her to harbor any designs on him, this journey was exceptionally perilous, so he might as well do his utmost to ensure their safety—a way to repay the favor.

This minor hitch had managed to annoy quite a few of the male cultivators in Lei Dong's wake. After all, these two female cultivators, both dazzlingly beautiful, possessing respectable cultivation bases, and looking exactly alike, were bound to stir up imaginations. Even the oldest member present, Situ Zhennan, who was the lowest in cultivation, the vast disparity in their standings didn't prevent him from indulging in some self-gratification.

"Alright, enough small talk," Wu Ji said, becoming serious once everyone had activated their ice-elemental treasures. "This vast expanse of molten lake ahead is the hunting ground for our current expedition. Based on my experience, and what the lore left by our predecessors indicates, this molten lake stretches for several thousand li in width and length, occupying a significant area. Furthermore, the lakebed is crisscrossed with ravines, concealing untold secrets. I needn't elaborate; you all know how molten lakes form—there must be an extremely hot core deep beneath the earth. The more harsh and perilous the environment, the more formidable the life forms surviving within it. We certainly cannot venture near the core, but the periphery should not be underestimated either, as this is the native territory of the local demonic beasts, which is our weakness. If one carelessly falls into the molten lake, being scalded by the scorching magma would cost them a layer of skin, if not their life. We will now divide into four groups: the Murong sisters will form one group themselves; the others, the mid-stage cultivators, and I will each lead one early-stage Golden Core cultivator. For fairness, we will decide by drawing lots."

As the lots were drawn, Chen Yun ended up with Situ Zhennan, while Wu Ji was paired with the taciturn and quiet Gao Fei. Naturally, Li Xianxian "unluckily" drew Lei Dong. In her view, anyone would do—either the powerful Wu Ji or the handsome and dashing Chen Yun. But that rogue cultivator named Ding Dong, who was poor and crude, the kind of pauper who couldn't even afford an ice-elemental treasure, what combat strength could he possibly possess? He treasured that shabby blade of his as if it were gold.

When Li Xianxian whined and suggested trading partners, she was immediately scolded back by Wu Ji. The biggest taboo in a team was having a teammate who complained incessantly and refused to listen. This was the Purgatory Domain; if Wu Ji decided to abandon her, given her abilities and survival skills, her chances of returning alive would be less than thirty percent.

They had already encountered several Golden Core level beings, as well as another team of Golden Core cultivators, during their short half-month journey here. If their strengths hadn't been evenly matched, a classic scenario of murder and robbery might have ensued. Here in the Purgatory Domain, unless one possessed transcendent strength, it was best for humans to travel in cohesive groups.

Faced with Li Xianxian's look of misfortune and grievance, Lei Dong was indifferent. It wasn't his first day out in the world; he had already ventured into the Outer Void, a place far more dangerous than the Nine Nether Abyss, and he had seen all sorts of people. If one were to judge the seductive Li Xianxian by appearances, though she looked sharp, in matters of worldly wisdom, she was far inferior to the seemingly innocent Murong sisters. Lei Dong genuinely couldn't be bothered to argue with someone like her; whether she survived this adventure was still questionable.

The four teams separated by ten li each, flying slowly above the molten lake. This distance wasn't too close, yet close enough for mutual support if any danger arose—a formation that was reasonably safe yet efficient for searching. The pairs submerged their divine senses into the molten lake, seeking treasures.

Every molten lake had a superheated spring beneath it. When this spring erupted violently, it often propelled rare natural treasures buried deep underground to churn within the molten lake. Since the lake's temperature was high, most mundane items couldn't withstand the intense heat of the fusion process. Consequently, anything that maintained its form amidst such scorching lava was considered valuable.

Having no interest in conversation, Lei Dong tried immersing his pure Golden Core mid-stage divine sense into the lake. Immediately, he perceived a churning mass of blazing white interspersed with crimson, but he could clearly sense a lack of extraneous debris. Most impurities had either vaporized or fused with the molten lake itself. It was a pity, however, that a Golden Core mid-stage divine sense could only penetrate about three to four zhang into the lake.

Because he had three shadows trailing him, and Lei Dong temporarily wished not to alert them, he refrained from unleashing his divine sense, which was close to the Nascent Soul level. He searched diligently, and after a short while, he detected a hard object within the blazing white. He curled his divine sense around it and pulled it ashore. When the scalding object landed in his palm, he saw it was an ordinary Fire Spirit Jade, about the size of his palm.

The so-called Fire Spirit Jade is a gemstone formed over many years from the core of intense heat, gradually tempering and condensing the essence of flame elements. It offers significant benefits to cultivators practicing fire-elemental techniques. Of course, the quality of Fire Spirit Jade varies. Ordinary Fire Spirit Jade has modest effects and a low price; a standard piece is worth only a few hundred spirit stones. This chunk in his hand should yield about three standard pieces, valuing roughly a thousand spirits in total.

A thousand spirits would be an immense fortune to low-level cultivators. But to Golden Core cultivators, it was commonplace. Li Xianxian was momentarily stunned. After scanning the object with her divine sense, she sneered dismissively, "Just a raw piece of common Fire Spirit Jade." With that, she resumed searching, though her divine sense was only at the early Golden Core level, capable of scanning just over two zhang beneath the lake's surface, and even that required considerable strain. With Lei Dong nearby, after the time it took for two sticks of incense to burn, she had only managed to acquire one piece of Fire Spirit Jade. Lei Dong, however, was already reaping substantial rewards from the tumultuous magma.

The reason was simple: although Lei Dong only employed the strength of a Golden Core mid-stage divine sense, meaning his search depth wasn't great and the area covered wasn't vast, one must not forget that the acuity of his divine sense was unimaginably high. One could say that the environment within those three zhang was displayed in his mind with near-perfect clarity; no slightest movement could escape his perception.

As for Li Xianxian or the other cultivators, even though their divine sense strength reached the early or mid-Golden Core stage, the difference in acuity between them and Lei Dong was like heaven and earth. In most instances, they could not precisely grasp the movement of objects below, relying only on experience and feeling. It was precisely because of this that in the time it took for one stick of incense to burn, Lei Dong had successively gathered more than a dozen raw Fire Spirit Jade stones of various sizes, several pieces of Red Copper, and one piece of Blazing Purple Iron—the total value of which likely exceeded ten thousand spirits.

This sight left Li Xianxian utterly dumbfounded, wondering if this guy was even human. Was his luck so overwhelmingly good that he could gather materials worth ten thousand spirits in the time it took one stick of incense to burn? If he worked for an hour, wouldn't that bring in tens of thousands of spirits? A full day, hundreds of thousands? If he stayed here for a year or a year and a half, he would be rolling in wealth.

Of course, Li Xianxian was overthinking it. Even if Lei Dong could extract vast benefits from this molten lake in a short time, if he continued to consume resources at such a frantic pace, he wouldn't need a year or a half; a mere few months would suffice to strip it bare. At this point, Lei Dong began to understand why worldly resources were diminishing so rapidly.

With his near-Nascent Soul level divine sense strength, his efficiency in searching for treasures was already monstrously abnormal. Those ancient supreme experts who reached Nascent Soul, Void Refinement, or Integration stages—their speed in searching for heavenly materials and earthly treasures must have been terrifyingly fast. Without any inclination toward environmental preservation, they could quickly deplete the world's resources.

To put it bluntly, many heavenly materials and earthly treasures that various races currently hold as treasures have survived only because they were once so numerous that the ancients viewed them with disdain.

Putting those thoughts aside, Lei Dong ceased extracting these smaller items and proceeded leisurely, only taking notice of things that were genuinely superior. Suddenly, the Murong sisters, ten li to his left, let out a sharp cry for help. Lei Dong started—could those three fellows have lost patience? No, if they had made a move, Ghost Stab would have notified him immediately.

While these thoughts raced through his mind, he propelled himself onto his "Flying Knife" and swiftly moved in that direction, simultaneously sweeping his Golden Core divine sense across the distance. Through his divine sense perception, he "saw" the Murong sisters, using their escaping techniques, each riding a flying sword, locked in a desperate battle with a "giant beast" seven or eight zhang long.

The aura emanating from that "giant beast" had "blazingly" reached the peak of the Golden Core level. It was understandable that such a creature would exert immense pressure on the Murong sisters, who were only at the mid-Golden Core stage, thus their sharp cry for aid was natural. Everyone else also rushed towards the sound. Ten li was not far, and Lei Dong was swift. Seeing the Murong sisters being forced into a clumsy defense, Lei Dong drew his enormous saber, roared, and with a "threatening" force, brought his blade down upon the giant beast, cleaving out a streak of white saber light as the edge passed.