My equipment is designed for cultivation; I started by slaughtering my way through a small world.

Gu Qing and the Burning Mountain Spirit Ape cautiously explored the underground passage. After more than ten minutes, the passage suddenly opened up in front of them, and a dazzling red light appeared, illuminating the entire underground space.

The passage they found was like a small path.

After circling around for a while, the two of them suddenly found themselves in a passage that was nearly forty meters wide and high.

"Finally, it's right!!"

"This is the main passage of the Li Huo Xuan Yuan Cave."

Comparing the markings on the map of the Crimson Emperor Sword Sect, Gu Qing's face showed a hint of joy.

"Boss, be careful."

"Someone must have gotten here before us... Look ahead."

The Burning Mountain Spirit Ape's eyes flickered with fire as it frowned and gave a reminder.

"Faster than us?"

"Who could it be?"

Gu Qing thought to himself.

Following the direction pointed out by the Burning Mountain Spirit Ape, at the corner of the main passage, there were the corpses of two serpentine beasts, each over thirty meters long and entirely crimson red.

All of their injuries were to their vital points, each one fatal. The person who infiltrated them must be a ruthless character.

……

On both sides and above the main passage of the cave, there are spiritual energy channels. These energy channels are still in operation and have not been interrupted like the ruins outside.

The light emitted by the spirit runes illuminated the entire passage. I wonder who built this ruin?

Could it be a work left behind by the Immortal Sword Lord ten thousand years ago?

Gu Qing continued exploring ahead, still filled with doubt.

They proceeded cautiously, and Gu Qing and the Burning Mountain Spirit Ape encountered several more corpses of snake-like beasts on the road, almost all of which were killed with a single sword strike.

Moreover, during the process of using his mental powers to see through objects, Gu Qing also discovered several traps along the way.

Some are spell-based restriction traps.

Some are purely mechanical traps, which are difficult to detect with ordinary spiritual sense.

These traps are not very powerful but are extremely well hidden. Their main purpose is to serve as an early warning, alerting those who have entered to the presence of others.

Fortunately, Gu Qing's mental power had the ability to see through things, and the Burning Mountain Spirit Ape's Fiery Eyes could see through magical traps. With their combined efforts, none of these traps were triggered.

Gu Qing and the Burning Mountain Spirit Ape perfectly bypassed them.

After walking for nearly a hundred feet through the passage, the space ahead opened up again, and the temperature gradually rose. Crimson flames burned on the walls of the passage.

Fortunately, Gu Qing's Myriad Laws Bloodline had already fused with the Demon Bloodline's abilities and developed them to an extremely high level. In this environment, the abilities related to the Demon Bloodline were actually strengthened.

We walked for a while longer.

Finally, we arrived at the entrance of the natural cave described by the disciples of the Crimson Emperor Sword Sect.

Knowing that someone had gotten there first, Gu Qing did not rush into the natural cave ahead. Instead, he stared at the entrance, held his breath, and carefully approached the entrance.

Holding the now palm-sized Burning Mountain Spirit Ape in his palm, he let it climb onto the stone steps at the cave entrance and quietly peek into the cave.

After a long pause, Gu Qing cautiously transmitted his voice, "Huowang, what's the situation inside?"

"Inside is a sea of ​​lava, above which are countless inverted, fiery red stalagmites, constantly dripping scalding lava, covering an area of ​​about several tens of miles."

"In the center of the lava sea, there is a square altar built of red crystal, and on the altar, flames burn fiercely."

While transmitting information to Gu Qing through its spiritual sense, the Burning Mountain Spiritual Ape kept a close eye on the situation inside the cave.

The ruins of the abandoned palace outside seem to have been built around the "Fire of Departure" in the lava sea, and the spiritual patterns on the altar extend to the energy patterns underground that connect to the palace passages.

"There seems to be a box hidden inside the fire."

There were things that even the Burning Mountain Spirit Ape couldn't see clearly, making the situation seem even more complicated.

"in addition……"

"To ascend the altar, we must first break the array barrier left by the poison dragon."

The venomous dragon erected a semi-transparent barrier, like a giant bowl inverted above the altar.

The surface of the barrier is enhanced by countless poisonous flames, from which eerie green bubbles emerge from time to time, evaporating into blackish-red poisonous gas when they burst.

Countless poisonous flames coalesced into chains that hung down from the top of the barrier, their ends sinking into the sea of ​​lava, swaying slightly as the magma surged.

Upon hearing that the Poisonous Dragon had set up an array barrier, Gu Qing also came to the entrance of the lava cave and looked inside.

Staring intently at the giant bowl-shaped barrier of poisonous fire, Gu Qing's eyes revealed a hint of apprehension.

The power of that poisonous fire was terrifying. From the battle between the poisonous dragon and the woman in red, which I had observed from outside, I could tell that the poisonous fire was definitely a Golden Core level spell.

"It really was you, Gu Qing!!"

Just as Gu Qing was pondering how to break the Poison Dragon's barrier, a female voice suddenly came from behind the altar.

Upon hearing this, Gu Qing immediately felt as if facing a formidable enemy, and a dark red rock burst bead quietly condensed in his palm, ready to be unleashed.

Don't misunderstand.

"I meant no harm."

Seeing that Gu Qing was about to make a move, the female voice behind the altar suddenly explained, and then a somewhat disheveled figure walked out from behind the altar.

The woman who came out was dressed in tattered clothes.

The woman who came out was dressed in tattered clothes.

His face was covered in a strange, ashen color, and his hair was disheveled, like dry straw, as if it had been scorched by fire.

"Who are you……"

"We seem to have met somewhere before?"

Looking at the woman's faded face, Gu Qing felt a slight sense of familiarity.

Upon hearing this, the woman opposite him showed a hint of frustration on her face.

"I am Chung Lai."

"Top 50 in the Bloodline Competition"

"oh--"

After the woman reminded him, Gu Qing finally remembered where they had met before.

only……

Compared to the Bloodline Competition, when she was a peerless genius admired by thousands, she is not in such a sorry state now.

Why did you end up like this?

Looking at Zhong Li's miserable appearance, Gu Qing asked in confusion.

"Um, this—"

When Gu Qing brought up this issue, Zhong Li paused for a moment, then pointed to the array barrier set up by the poisonous dragon and said, "I just tried to break through this array barrier, but I failed."

"Not only that, but they were also attacked by the poisonous fire."

"I almost got caught here."

After Zhong Li finished speaking, she looked at Gu Qing and the Burning Mountain Spirit Ape beside him:

"Is this your destined spirit beast?"

"It seems to have some kind of special eye technique that can detect flaws in spells."

"Can it detect the weakness in the Poison Dragon's barrier?"

"If I can find the weakness or flaw in the barrier, I have a way to break this poisonous dragon barrier."

Gu Qing smiled slightly, without explaining her natal object.

As for whether they could break through the Poisonous Dragon's barrier, Gu Qing didn't send the Burning Mountain Spirit Ape to investigate immediately. Instead, he looked at Zhong Li and said calmly:

"Before we break the formation's barrier, shouldn't we clarify the rewards after breaking it?"

How are the [Fire of Departure] distributed within the altar?

"And the refined Fire Spirit Liquid."

Upon hearing this, Zhong Li glanced at the semi-transparent poison dragon barrier, a glint of light flashing in her eyes, and smiled, "You don't need to worry about that."

There were not one, but two embers of fire inside the altar.

After breaking the formation, you and I will each receive one. As for the Fire Elixir, we can each take half.

"Two flames!"

After hearing Zhong Li's explanation, Gu Qing's eyes lit up immediately. Two flowers, good, everyone who sees them gets one.

Outside, there are Golden Core Poisonous Dragons and many Foundation Establishment Realm beasts eyeing them covetously.

It would be best to avoid conflict with Zhong Li.

Gu Qing looked towards the altar, patted the Burning Mountain Spirit Ape, and said, "Huowang, whether we can eat meat in the future depends on your skills. Keep it up!"

"If we find the weakness of the Poison Dragon Formation, we'll have plenty of Tai Xuan Jade Dew Pills when we get back."

"Boss, you said it yourself..."

Upon hearing this, the Burning Mountain Spirit Ape's eyes blazed with fire, and a faint golden glint appeared in the center of its pupils.

The Burning Mountain Spirit Ape's eyes flashed like lightning, with two crimson beams shooting out from its eyes, each over three inches long, its special power of penetrating illusion pushed to its limit.

In the Burning Mountain Spirit Ape's vision, the poisonous fire on the surface of the Poison Dragon Barrier gradually faded. Its gaze penetrated the barrier, following the chains formed by the condensed poisonous fire, and went deep into the magma seabed.

A moment later, Huo Wang let out a low roar:

"Boss, we found it!"

"The Poisonous Dragon Barrier is located at the bottom of the magma sea, where there is an energy flow point that happens to intersect with the spiritual energy node of the altar itself."

"The array barrier set up behind the venomous dragon interacts with the energy nodes of this ruined altar itself."

"If we attack that place and break the fragile balance between the two, the energy gathered at the ruins altar will conflict with the venomous dragon's barrier, thereby causing the energy cycle to be interrupted."

"Hahaha."

"Well done."

Upon hearing this, Gu Qing immediately praised him.

"Zhong Li, the weakness of the Poison Dragon Barrier has been found."

"It's up to you now."

After the spirit ape pointed out that there was a place at the bottom of the magma sea, Chung Lai was overjoyed.

She took out a special sword talisman and explained it to Gu Qing:

"This is a sword talisman left by my master, which seals sword energy attacks at the Golden Core level."

"Watch closely."

Upon activating the sword talisman, Gu Qing immediately saw a familiar crimson sword aura fly out.

Is that the sword aura of the woman in red outside?

Could Zhong Li's master be the woman in red with the Crimson Lotus Sword Eyes?

The crimson sword energy disappeared into the sea of ​​lava.

next moment.

A muffled explosion came from the bottom of the lava sea, causing the entire lava sea to tremble. The energy of the relic runes centered on the altar seemed to be cut off, impacting the poisonous dragon barrier.

The Poison Dragon Barrier expanded rapidly, like an inflated balloon.

"Reload now!!"

Gu Qing's expression changed drastically, and he immediately turned and retreated towards the passage at the edge of the lava sea.

If the poisonous fire above the Poison Dragon Barrier were to explode, even a tiny bit of it would leave one severely injured, if not dead.

Chung Lai was also quick to act.

The two rode on flying swords, transforming into two streaks of light as they swiftly swept across the sea of ​​lava.

"Boom..."

As soon as the two entered the main passage, a burst of energy storm blew from behind, slamming the two and the beast against the stone wall above the passage, leaving them hanging.

"The barrier has broken."

The two people and one beast slid down the stone wall and turned to look at the altar.

Zhong Li couldn't help but let out a soft, joyful exclamation.

Gu Qing didn't speak, but stepped on the flying sword and immediately transformed into emerald green sword light, heading towards the altar.

"A cunning fellow!"

Seeing this, Zhong Li felt annoyed.

He immediately transformed into a sword light and gave chase, with the Li Huo and Li Huo Spirit Liquid just ahead.

Unbeknownst to her, a mysterious box was hidden inside the fire.

……