"Commander, I suggest we set out immediately! Take the men and encamp beside the Lava Lake." Teng Qingshan murmured, "Many people are already rushing toward the bottom of that pool. If we don't leave now... by tomorrow, the entire area surrounding the Lava Lake might be occupied by others."
Ji Hong's heart jolted.
Right, securing a position!
The Lava Lake only had a curved passage spanning a few dozen zhang, and furthermore, the lava river only had a wide passage on one side. Moreover, getting too close to the Lava Lake was intensely hot; even top-tier martial artists needed to stay at least two or three zhang away from the edge. Getting any closer would drain their inner energy at an astonishing rate. This meant—the open space around the Lava Lake could accommodate at most two or three hundred people.
Others would have to stay in the tunnels or further away from the banks of the lava river.
In short, the later they arrived, the harder it would be to secure a good spot.
"If we are squeezed out to dozens of zhang away from the start, we won't even have a chance to grab the Black Fire Spirit Fruit." Ji Hong stood up, "Qingshan, Guan Lu, gather the men immediately. We are heading underground right now! Secure a favorable position up front first. Oh yes... bring plenty of food and water!"
Knowing the underground conditions, Teng Qingshan and his group spent a considerable amount of silver in half an hour, purchasing vast quantities of steamed buns, flatbreads, and other foods. At the same time, they loaded crates upon crates of large water tanks onto their backs. Once the food and water were prepared, Teng Qingshan and his group immediately set off toward the gorge.
When Teng Qingshan and his party arrived.
"Haha, Ji Hong, you made good time." Du Jiu was already standing in the gorge, his contingent of experts from Qinghu Island were one by one either carrying food or water tanks, climbing into the cave entrance.
"Not as fast as you." Ji Hong commanded, "Qingshan, take the lead, go up first."
"Yes!"
Teng Qingshan alone carried a massive iron water tank; his was the largest, weighing a full thousand jin. Carrying such a heavy load, it would be quite troublesome for most experts to climb the mountain and enter the cave.
"What's the rush?" The young island master 'Gu Shiyou,' standing below, waved his long spear, blocking Teng Qingshan.
To Gu Shiyou, Teng Qingshan, burdened by the water tank, appeared far less agile.
Teng Qingshan deflected with his Samsara Spear, immediately using the force to leap up, grabbing onto the rock face twice, then stepping on the shoulder of a Qinghu Island expert before darting into the cave.
"What superb Qinggong (lightness skill)!" Gu Shiyou praised.
"Hurry up and ascend." Ji Hong managed things from below. The other experts climbed diligently; carrying several hundred jin of supplies made flying up far too difficult.
The Qinghu Island contingent ultimately managed to get fully inside first, with the Guiyuan Sect group slightly slower.
...
Hot! Extremely hot!
Whether they were experts from Qinghu Island or Guiyuan Sect, walking while carrying hundreds of jin of supplies in an environment where the temperature exceeded sixty degrees Celsius, with the scorching lava stream flowing beside them, and waves of intense heat occasionally blasting over them—even when keeping their distance, the occasional burst of heat made the experts miserable.
Sweat poured down!
"Living here constantly in such heat? Gods above," someone muttered.
"It's too hot. I've never been anywhere this hot in my life."
The experts all felt that the next few days would be a period of suffering.
Soon, both the Guiyuan Sect and Qinghu Island groups reached the edge of the Lava Lake.
At this moment, only their two factions were present by the Lava Lake; the other groups had not yet arrived.
"The cave we entered is close to the mountain base, and the passage to the deep pool is far to the west of Flame Mountain. We arrived quickly," Ji Hong showed a hint of a smile on his face. "Alright, we only need a four-zhang-wide area to settle in. Everyone else move back. If you can't sit here, move into the tunnel to rest."
Although the area around the Lava Lake spanned several dozen zhang, everyone knew that tens of thousands of martial artists, a galaxy of masters, were coming. If Guiyuan Sect tried to occupy half of the prime space, the other experts would likely tear the Guiyuan Sect members apart!
"Qingshan, it’s this hot. We have to eat and sleep here?" Teng Qinghu grimaced.
"Can't be helped, just bear with it," Teng Qingshan smiled. "The day the Black Fire Spirit Fruit ripens, our ordeal will be over."
Four zhang wide allowed ten people to sit in a row, with six or seven chi separation between rows so they could lie down to rest.
After only three rows were seated, the rest of the men had to move into the tunnel.
...
As time passed, large numbers of martial artists arrived.
"Damn it, it’s too hot!" Many martial artists, entering for the first time, immediately cried out in distress.
"Hot and dry! You must bring large amounts of water, or you’ll be burning up by morning." Many experienced martial artists, upon entering, immediately turned back to fetch water.
...
"So many people! Where is the Black Fire Spirit Fruit? I can’t see it?" Some latecomers stared blankly at the dense crowd of martial artists sitting and lying ahead.
**
The martial artists flooding into this underground area were numerous indeed.
The path alongside the lava channel alone stretched back two or three hundred zhang, and this was despite a large number of martial artists residing within the tunnels.
"Qingshan, you really thought things through thoroughly," Teng Qinghu observed the distant, dense crowd that seemed endless. "With this many people, if we had arrived late, we wouldn't have been able to get in at all!"
"Easy to leave, hard to enter!" Teng Qingshan also sighed in awe.
If the people in the inner layers wanted to leave, the martial artists in the outer layers would cooperate.
But if the people on the outside tried to push inward!
The people in the inner layers would unite! They might even draw weapons!
"The people from Xiaoyao Palace are having a miserable time," Teng Qinghu sighed, looking toward a group of people more than ten zhang away. "They must have lost at least forty or fifty men, right?"
"Yes." Teng Qingshan watched the group dressed in white robes in the distance.
That group consisted of experts from the 'Xiaoyao Palace,' one of the Eight Great Sects of Jiuzhou. Xiaoyao Palace had arrived slightly late this time, which meant that by the time they arrived, the martial artists had already packed the area nearly a hundred zhang deep. If they were a hundred zhang back, how could they possibly contend for the Black Fire Spirit Fruit?
So, they forced their way forward!
There were many martial artists ahead, and they were unwilling to yield their positions. Conflict arose, and with so many martial artists in front, who was afraid of whom?
Martial artists were ruthless, and when they fought, their attacks were vicious!
Blood splashed everywhere. Fortunately, the 'Black and White' Elders of Xiaoyao Palace managed to kill their way through in a single furious burst, finally intimidating a large portion of the frenzied martial artists. In the end, the Xiaoyao Palace contingent only managed to push to within ten zhang of the Lava Lake; no one beyond that point was willing to concede. This was because almost all of those in the very front were top masters!
If Xiaoyao Palace had continued to push forward aggressively, few people would likely have survived today.
...
"This place makes you sweat fast; it’s so easy to get thirsty." Martial artists frequently went to scoop water, as food consumption was relatively low underground, but water consumption was exceptionally high!
A full three days passed!
In this place where the tunnel temperature reached sixty degrees, staying for three days—even for formidable martial artists—many felt dizzy from the heat. Quite a few weaker martial artists had already left the underground and returned to the surface. For them, coming underground was just for show, and enduring such hardship for a spectacle was not worth it.
Over half of the martial artists departed over the three days.
However, those in the innermost layer by the Lava Lake persisted.
"The martial artists' physical conditioning is too poor!" Teng Qingshan shook his head internally. These martial artists possessed profound inner energy, but when faced with high temperatures, their physical bodies simply couldn't cope. "When they face a desperate situation and their inner energy is exhausted, they can only wait for death." Teng Qingshan only took an occasional sip of water.
In truth, he didn't care much about drinking the water.
He only did so to avoid arousing suspicion. This minor degree of heat had absolutely no effect on Teng Qingshan.
"Whoosh~~~"
Suddenly, a surge of intense heat erupted from the Lava Lake.
"So hot!" Many martial artists sitting in the inner circle were startled and retreated as the heat scalded them.
"It must be over one hundred degrees! What's happening?" Teng Qingshan was also surprised and immediately looked toward the Lava Lake. He saw that the 'Black Fire Spirit Fruit,' growing on the massive black stone in the center of the lake, was faintly emitting pulses of red light now—sometimes red, sometimes black—and each change brought a surge of heat.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
No matter how hot the surging heat became, it couldn't force the martial artists to retreat.
"The Black Fire Spirit Fruit is ripening!" Someone shouted, perhaps instinctively.
The previously quiet underground instantly erupted into a clamor, and even the martial artists further back began to push forward.
"Whoosh, whoosh~~~"
The Black Fire Spirit Fruit instantly turned completely crimson, even appearing to be wreathed in surface flames!
"It’s ripe!"
The martial artists in the inner layer all stood up. In almost an instant, several figures shot toward the black rock in the center of the Lava Lake.
"Snatch the spirit fruit!"
"Kill them!"
Chaos erupted!
The martial artists in the rear, unwilling to be left out, frantically tried to shove their way forward. Those unable to move forward shouted, 'Kill them!' or 'Snatch it!' seeming eager for the world to descend into mayhem. The entire atmosphere instantly turned fanatical. The several figures flying toward the black rock brought the tension to its absolute peak!
"Kill them!"
"!" "!" "!"...
In the blink of an eye, flying knives, willow-leaf blades, and a massive barrage of hidden weapons shot toward the first wave of people rushing the black rock. Besides hidden weapons, many experts without them simply picked up stones at hand and hurled them fiercely. A stone thrown by a top-tier martial artist carried terrifying force.
"Seven people!" Teng Qingshan stood calmly without moving.
Peng! Peng! Pū!
Amidst a cacophony of sounds and screams, six of the seven people who flew toward the black rock were severely injured and plummeted into the Lava Lake. The seventh person managed to hold on for a mere instant longer before being struck in the neck by a stone, causing him to immediately fall in.
Seven people fell into the lava!
In the middle of the Lava Lake, the magma was golden-yellow. As soon as the seven fell in, their entire bodies burst into flames, igniting! Simultaneously, they let out piercing screams!
"Aaaah!!!"
The cries were sharp, like the wailing of vengeful spirits.
"Chiiii~~~" In the golden-yellow magma, almost instantly, the flesh and skin of the seven individuals dissolved into ash, leaving only white bones exposed, but those bones too melted away quickly.
Not even bones remained!
The previously restless and frenzied martial artists gasped at the sight. The atmosphere of madness instantly froze solid.