Chapter 84: Underground Cave

The Amethyst Winged Lion King's eyes narrowed slightly. The fact that Xiao Yan had managed to escape from the claws of the Rank 3 Little Lion King earlier had already proven that his strength was definitely not as simple as that of an ordinary Dou Master.

It was just a matter of not knowing the extent of his limits.

'The land here is all dead.' Xiao Yan walked into the Beast Tomb. Even after three hundred years, not a single blade of grass had grown, and the soil was utterly lifeless.

One could imagine how fiercely that battle had been fought.

Xiao Yan followed behind the Amethyst Winged Lion King, and just as the Lion King had said, it absolutely would not intervene. If not for the Body Transformation Pill, the Amethyst Winged Lion King would never have cooperated with a human.

Or rather, the magical beasts of the entire Magic Beast Mountain Range had no goodwill toward humans whatsoever.

Meow! ψ(*｀ー)ψ

Mao Wu seemed to have entered an all-you-can-eat buffet as it plunged a claw into a ghostly figure's body. The Nihility Devouring Flame erupted, and in an instant, the ghostly figures born from the resentment of those who had tragically died in the war were devoured by the black flames and reduced to nothingness.

Not to mention the ghostly figures of mere Dou Master and Dou Grandmaster, even a Dou Spirit ghostly figure with a human-like appearance could not escape the devouring power of the Nihility Devouring Flame.

The more the Amethyst Winged Lion King observed, the more solemn it became. It had guessed that Xiao Yan must have his own trump card to dare enter the Beast Tomb after hearing about the dangers. However, it hadn't expected this trump card to be so fierce!

'That black flame is no ordinary flame.'

What puzzled the Amethyst Winged Lion King was that the black flame had clearly been very weak. Its temperature was even lower than the Little Lion King's Amethyst Flame when it first saw the flame in the cave. Although it had grown somewhat now, it was still only equivalent to the Little Lion King's Amethyst Flame.

Yet, it possessed an extremely terrifying devouring ability. Those troublesome ghostly figures, once touched by even a bit of the black flame, could hardly escape the fate of being incinerated completely.

It should be known that even the Rank 6 Amethyst Winged Lion King was unwilling to enter the Beast Tomb precisely because these ghostly figures were extremely difficult to deal with. Once they attached themselves to someone, they would inflict excruciating pain on the soul, causing a flood of painful memories to invade the mind.

If one accumulated too many of these memories over time, one could lose their sense of self and become someone else entirely.

Finally, Xiao Yan arrived at a massive chasm under the guidance of the Amethyst Winged Lion King. This area was once a vast expanse of land, but during the battle of the Dou Ancestors three hundred years ago, it had been shattered, forming a colossal fissure in the ground.

Gazing into the distance, the fissure seemed bottomless, resembling an unfathomably deep abyss that stretched for ten miles. The sight of it sent shivers down the spine of anyone who looked upon it.

'This crevice was caused by the Ten Thousand Beast Flame.'

The flame became ownerless after the Lord of the Magic Beast Mountain Range used it to perish together with the 7th-tier alchemist. As a result, the terrifying flames erupted uncontrollably, creating the canyon that now lay before them.

The erupting Ten Thousand Beast Flame had fallen to the ground, melting the earth and forming this bottomless abyss.

'This is the true power of a Heavenly Flame; it can both protect a myriad of magical beasts and destroy everything in its path.' And this was merely the 22nd-ranked Ten Thousand Beast Flame!

If the Bone Chilling Flame in Xiao Yan's ring had not been refined and sealed within the storage ring by its previous owner, once fully erupted, it could turn an area of dozens of miles into a frozen wasteland!

"Mao Wu, stop eating. These low-level resentments no longer have much effect on you." Xiao Yan beckoned to Miao Wu, who was happily feasting as if at a buffet.

Meow~ Mao Wu let out a delighted cry and traversed through the void, returning to Xiao Yan's side.

These low-level ghostly figures were not as nutritious as the beast resentment within Monster Cores. Xiao Yan had guessed that the Heavenly Flame would have a strong suppressive effect on these evil spirits, but he hadn't expected the effect to be this good.

The once ferocious and terrifying ghostly figures didn't even dare to approach him now. Although they lacked intelligence, they had developed an instinctive fear of the Nihility Devouring Flame.

'Truly worthy of being the Seed Flame of the 2nd-ranked Nihility Devouring Flame. If this is just the power of its Seed Flame, what would the might of the true Nihility Devouring Flame be like?' Xiao Yan couldn't help but ponder.

"Let's go." With these words, the Amethyst Winged Lion King took Xiao Yan and jumped into the gaping chasm in front of them. They both disappeared into the darkness in an instant.

As Xiao Yan followed the Amethyst Winged Lion King down into the seemingly bottomless abyss, he lit a fire stick and discovered that the space below was even more expansive than the crevice above.

Moreover, numerous tunnels crisscrossed throughout this underground realm. Venturing in alone would likely result in getting lost within this maze.

"These tunnels had been dug by countless magical beasts over the past three hundred years, all in search of the Ten Thousand Beast Flame. Only the magical beasts of the Magic Beast Mountain Range can sense its precise location. Even if you knew the Ten Thousand Beast Flame was here, you would never find it on your own," the Amethyst Winged Lion King said with a proud expression.

Xiao Yan shot the Lion King a sideways glance. He had almost been fooled. It would have been impossible to locate the Ten Thousand Beast Flame without a magical beast to lead the way.

No wonder the people from the Hall of Souls had only heard rumors of its existence but had never been able to pinpoint its location.

Xiao Yan's nose twitched as he caught a whiff of a tantalizing fragrance. Glancing toward the source, he exclaimed, "Oh? That is... a Hundred-Year Earth Ganoderma!!"

A sizable Earth Ganoderma roughly the size of two palms quietly thrived in a secluded corner of the cave. Were it not for his keen sense of smell and heightened sensitivity to the fragrance of medicinal herbs, he might have overlooked this precious ingredient.

The Hundred-Year Earth Ganoderma was one of the main ingredients used to refine the peak 4th-tier Spirit Breaking Pill. As the name suggested, the effect of the pill was to increase the success rate of breaking through to the Dou Spirit realm, with the degree of improvement varying depending on the quality of the pill.

With a lick of his lips, Xiao Yan carefully took out a hammer and a chisel and carefully chipped away at the soil. It was crucial not to damage the main body when harvesting medicinal herbs. Any damage to the herb would not only diminish its medicinal properties but also increase the likelihood of errors during the pill refining process.

He placed the excavated Hundred-Year Earth Ganoderma into his storage ring with the utmost care, then surveyed the intricate network of underground caves and exclaimed excitedly, "Could this be a treasure trove?!"

From the barren, lifeless landscape above, Xiao Yan had initially assumed that the underground would be an equally perilous and desolate realm. To his surprise, it turned out to be a hidden cache of treasures!

The birthplace of a Heavenly Flame naturally tended to produce various rare treasures. Although this was not the place where the Ten Thousand Beast Flame was born, its presence here for the past three hundred years had nourished the area, making it more conducive to the growth of precious ingredients.

Over the past three centuries, numerous magical beasts had ventured into this underground realm in search of the Ten Thousand Beast Flame, hoping to temper their bodies and break through their bloodline limitations. These magical beasts often carried seeds of medicinal herbs on their bodies, which took root and flourished in this environment. Coupled with the presence of the Ten Thousand Beast Flame, this place became a trove of rare treasures and exotic herbs.

For a moment, Xiao Yan was so excited he felt like digging up every inch of soil here.

However, just as he was humming a tune, immersed in the joy of his bountiful harvest, a dark figure suddenly and silently emerged from the soil behind him!

A venomous snake only as thick as an arm abruptly burst forth, its sharp fangs bared as it lunged toward the back of his neck.

"A mere Rank 2 magical beast dares to ambush me?!" Xiao Yan sneered and turned around, his five fingers forming a claw as he grasped the snake's vital point. Black flames instantly erupted from his palm, the terrifyingly high temperature reducing the Rank 2 venomous snake to charcoal.

His Spiritual Strength was already on par with a peak 4th-tier alchemist. Ambushing him was no easy task. Moreover, as an alchemist himself, he knew that magical beasts were sure to be present where heavenly treasures existed.

This was especially true in the deepest reaches of the Magic Beast Mountain Range, where the existence of numerous magical beasts was a certainty.

"This way." The Amethyst Winged Lion King merely gave a cursory glance before calmly stating those words and heading toward the left.

These minor threats were nothing more than child's play; the true perils still lay ahead.

Little did Xiao Yan and the Amethyst Winged Lion King know that at the other end of the Beast Tomb's chasm, two figures had quietly leaped in...

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