Douluo Continent: This Tang San is different

Chapter 275 The Great Eruption Period of Lava Volcanoes

With a deafening roar, rocks flew and tumbled, and scorching magma, like ferocious fire dragons, gushed from the ground, rising and flowing in the dark smoke before cascading down the mountainside, engulfing everything around it.

In an instant, the area within dozens of miles centered on the crater was shrouded in thick smoke and mist.

Gazing at the magnificent scene, Huo Wu exclaimed in awe: "The power of a volcanic eruption is terrifying. Even I would find it difficult to withstand the intense heat. Can a Title Douluo-level expert withstand this force of nature?"

"Currently, the known Title Douluos on the mainland below level 95 are no good." Tang San shook his head. "Those above level 95, I estimate, wouldn't be able to endure for very long either. Their martial souls would have to be either soul beasts that can swim in lava, or weapon martial souls that resemble a shield."

"What kind of spirit beast can swim in lava?" Huo Wu became interested.

"According to the Spirit Hall's 'Volcano Chronicles,' there is a spirit beast called the Fire Spirit Serpent that can survive in magma and can directly absorb fire-attribute energy for food. However, once it leaves the magma, its body will cool down rapidly and it will die instantly."

Tang San described the habits of these soul beasts: "Having become accustomed to the high temperatures of magma, they naturally cannot adapt to a low-temperature environment, and the same is true for soul beasts."

"Low temperature?" Huo Wu asked, puzzled. "Is the air temperature low?"

"It's a relative issue. The air temperature that's suitable for us humans isn't suitable for the Fire Spirit Serpent. It's like a fish coming to land; it can't struggle for long. Even spirit beasts can't change that." Tang San gave an example. "Of course, it's not just about temperature. The magma environment is different from the air environment. It's like putting your hand in water; you can feel the water squeezing your skin. The deeper you go, the heavier the squeezing becomes."

"The same goes for magma, it's even more viscous."

"Fish will suffocate when they are out of water. It's not that they can't breathe in the air, but that their internal organs can't adapt to the air environment. Similarly, fire snakes can't adapt to non-magma air environments."

Huo Wu suddenly understood and said, "So you're saying that every kind of soul beast has a suitable living environment, and once it leaves, it will die, right?"

"The former is correct, while the latter is a bit excessive. After all, the basic living environment that most soul beasts are adapted to—temperature, humidity, air density, gravity, etc.—is similar to that of humans."

Tang San corrected him, gazing at the still-erupting volcano in the distance, thus ending the discussion on the topic of "environment and life".

According to locals, the volcanoes in this lava field erupt frequently, usually lasting between one and three hours. Each eruption leaves behind a significant amount of extremely hard minerals.

"In addition, some fire-attribute soul beasts will also go to devour those ores to refine the fire-attribute energy within and enhance their cultivation."

"At that time, we can simply wait and see."

The two walked slowly toward the volcano. Three hours later, they arrived at a point about 50 kilometers from the volcano and, through the thick smoke, they saw the rest of the volcano.

There are over a hundred volcanoes of various sizes.

And this wasn't the only volcano erupting; three other volcanoes a hundred miles ahead also showed signs of erupting, with thick, gray-black smoke billowing from their peaks.

Between these volcanoes are thick folds of lava, which intersect to form ravines of varying sizes, but there is no doubt that there is no sign of life here.

"The volcano hasn't stopped erupting yet." Another hour passed, and Huo Wu frowned. "Didn't they say that under normal circumstances, it would only last for three hours at most? It's been four hours already."

"Unexpected things are bound to happen." Tang San didn't seem to care. After all, weather forecasts in his previous life were often wrong, let alone in this strange world where there weren't even artificial satellites.

However, as night fell, the volcano's eruption did not stop, and even the other volcanoes began to tremble, as if they were about to erupt together.

Left with no other choice, Tang San had to take Huo Wu and leave the volcano, returning to a place a hundred miles away.

He estimated that this eruption in the lava volcano zone might be a once-in-a-century event, something that cannot be expected.

Spectacular and magnificent.

But it did affect their "waiting for the rabbit to run into the tree stump" plan.

However, Tang San believed that after this outbreak, even more precious minerals would be left behind, which would surely attract more soul beasts to come and forage for food.

"The smell of sulfur in the air is getting stronger and stronger." Huo Wu covered her nose and fanned herself in disgust.

"Here you go." Tang San wove two masks using the Blue Silver Emperor. After obtaining his sixth spirit ring, the Blue Silver Emperor could materialize, and the masks woven from its leaves could filter harmful substances and gases in the air.

After putting on the mask, Huo Wu took a deep breath and felt that the air she breathed in was exceptionally fresh. She sighed, "Your Blue Silver Emperor is truly omnipotent."

Tang San also put on a mask, smiling without saying a word.

As the two were discussing setting up a tent for the night, a large group of people wearing windbreakers, hoods, and veils were heading towards them from a hundred miles away.

"Those shouldn't be the people here to hunt souls, right?" Huo Wu asked with suspicion. "I've never heard of a soul-hunting team having more than a hundred people."

In reality, a Soul Hunter team with more than twenty members is considered a lot.

In the Soul Hunting event, too many people will cause too much noise, which may alert the Soul Beasts. This will cause the Soul Beasts to sense the danger in advance and run away, increasing the difficulty of the Soul Master's Soul Hunting.

"They shouldn't be people who came to hunt souls; they're from Lava City in the far south." Through mental detection, Tang San determined their identities based on their darker skin compared to other places.

Lava City is located thousands of miles away from this lava volcano.

Before coming to this lava volcano, Tang San and Huo Wu had also gone there to purchase the necessary medicines and equipment. At this moment, their attire was similar to that of this group of people, and they were covered up quite well.

After the hundred people approached, Tang San and Huo Wu exchanged a glance and went to meet them.

"Hello, we're here to hunt souls, but the volcano keeps erupting. What's the reason for this? And what are you all doing here?" Tang San stopped one of them, noticing that he was carrying a large basket filled with neatly stacked empty bags of various sizes, and holding a mining pickaxe. He asked about the situation.

"You're from out of town, aren't you? I can tell from your accents," the man said. "The volcanoes here erupt every three hundred years."

"You've probably heard that every time a volcano erupts, it leaves behind various precious minerals. Our Lava City developed by selling the minerals from the volcano."

"In the past, we mainly sold to Gengxin City, but now we sell to Wuhun City."

Huo Wu asked, "So, you're here to mine for ore?"

The man nodded: "What else could we be doing besides this? None of us like staying here. Speaking of which, I always thought the volcanic eruptions every three hundred years were a hoax, but I never expected to actually witness one. My life has been worthwhile!"

Tang San asked doubtfully, "Some soul beasts feed on the ore left after volcanic eruptions. Not many of you are soul masters, are you? Aren't you worried about being killed by soul beasts?"

"Of course we're afraid." The man shuddered, then added, "But every time we mine ore, we wait until those soul beasts are full before we move on."

"We'll do the same thing after this major outbreak."

"We can't compete with the soul beasts, but what they leave behind is enough for us to sell for a good price. Moreover, the excrement of most soul beasts that eat minerals is not much different from the refined metal, which saves us the processing time. We can just pick up the ready-made stuff."

Tang San nodded secretly. For the soul beasts here, what they need when consuming ores are the minerals and fire and earth attribute energy, while metals are impurities or even poisons to them, and need to be expelled from their bodies.

"Moreover, there's a legend about this massive outbreak in our Lava City!" The man suddenly lowered his voice, piquing Tang San and Huo Wu's curiosity.

"It's the same old story, don't try to fool outsiders."

Just as Tang San was about to ask a question, another person walked over and slowly said, "We have a legend here that there is a lava world beneath the lava volcano. Every three hundred years when the volcano erupts, the earth cracks open, revealing a passage leading inside... But legends are just legends and are not credible at all. Isn't there lava under the volcano? If people go in, they will be burned to ashes, or even before they get close, they will be charred."

"So that's how it is," Tang San said, thanking him.

This legend is actually recorded in an ancient book in the Spirit Hall's library. The Spirit Hall even sent a Title Douluo to investigate three hundred years ago, but unfortunately, that Title Douluo never came out again.

Tang San only glanced at it briefly at the time and didn't remember much of it. Now, thinking back on it, he felt that the lava world might actually be real.

After following the crowd for more than ten miles, the hundreds of people set up tents nearby, waiting for an explanation of the volcanic eruption.

Some even took out soul-guided cameras and soul-guided photography spheres and began filming the volcanic eruption.

Or for keeping as a souvenir.

Or they could wait until they got back and sell it to a newspaper to earn money.

"I've found out. This volcano will continue to erupt for seven days and seven nights." Tang San walked out from the cluster of tents and came to Huo Wu's side. "Within seven days, residents of Lava City and the surrounding towns and villages will also come here."

Fire Dance asked, "Should we stay here too?"

"Our main purpose is to hunt spirit beasts, not to mine." Tang San shook his head and took out a map showing the already explored areas of this lava volcano. "The Radiant Cloud Smoke Bird, Titan Fire Ape, and the like will probably only appear in deeper areas. We'll use these next few days to investigate the flow of lava in the volcano and plan a safer route to enter the deeper parts of the lava volcano..."

(End of this chapter)