The most shameless alchemist in history

Du Lei waved his hand. He carefully observed the mural. Apart from arguing, he and Nan Yin could only talk about "more money" in three sentences.

"I think you'd better die here. Money, money, money, all you think about is money. You're practically obsessed with money. You've been looking for so long, have you figured out anything?" Nan Yin glared at Du Lei. Because this guy had once risked his life to save her on the mountain path, she at least had some goodwill towards him.

But not long after, he reached out and asked for money, and this shameless behavior completely wiped out any remaining goodwill she had for him.

“These are all ancient characters, completely incomprehensible.” Du Lei shook his head, giving a negative answer that nearly made Nan Yin vomit blood.

"Since you can't understand it, why don't you hurry up and leave? What are you leisurely looking at here for? Do you think this is an art gallery?" Nan Yin was furious. Seeing Du Lei looking at it so seriously and gesturing in his palm from time to time, she assumed that he could understand these ancient characters.

Although this was a bit far-fetched, considering that this place was very close to the hot spring village, there might be records and texts related to the sealed cave in the hot spring village. However, Du Lei's answer clearly told Nan Yin that she was overthinking it, and that Du Lei was just guessing.

"Although I can't understand it, there must be someone who can. Just write these words down." Du Lei didn't care about Nan Yin's accusation at all. His right hand kept tracing patterns on his palm, getting faster and faster. When he was talking to Nan Yin, he didn't turn his head and kept staring at the wall.

"You don't even recognize these characters, how can you memorize them? Wait, are you trying to say you have a photographic memory?" Nan Yin was baffled by Du Lei's words, but she quickly picked up on something and looked at the mountain village boy with surprise.

"Ha, photographic memory isn't that exaggerated, is it? If I were really that good, why would I stand here for so long? I could just take a look and leave. It's just a little bit of memory technique." Du Lei was stunned for a moment, then shook his head in denial of Nan Yin's statement. He didn't think he was that good.

"What is the technique of memory?" Nan Yin frowned, not understanding the meaning behind Du Lei's words.

"Well, the purpose of writing is roughly to allow people to learn and to record important events so that they can be passed down. Regardless of the type of writing, whether it's the writing of your Eastern Continent or the writing of our Western Continent, after so many years of exchange, a common script has been formed."

Du Lei patiently explained to Nan Yin that although he was far inferior to Nan Yin in fighting, and the latter could easily subdue him, he had unique insights in other areas and was no less than Nan Yin, who had received strict education.

“These characters all have their basic structure, which means they have their own rules. It’s like dismembering a wild boar. As long as you master the dismemberment method, you can handle any wild boar or buffalo with ease. Do you understand?” Du Lei asked Nan Yin.

"I still don't quite understand this." Nan Yin tried to follow Du Lei's train of thought, but found that she couldn't understand his meaning at all. The mountain village boy in front of her did seem to be a little bit different.

There is a lake in front of 020.

In Nan Yin's view, the construction of the spiraling downward passage to Beishan was already astonishing enough, as it required a huge amount of manpower and resources and took many years to complete. However, after reaching the sealed cave underground and entering it, she realized that it was only the tip of the iceberg.

Inside the cave, there are numerous murals with inscriptions. The murals mostly depict the Teng Snake, expressing people's worship of it. However, she could not decipher the characters. Although Du Lei had his own way of recording the characters, deciphering them was something for later.

The interior of the entire cave is formed by relying on the natural karst cave and then being carved out by man. On both sides of the passage, you can see bronze warrior statues standing there from time to time, looking majestic. The closer you get to the depths of the cave, the more intense the red flames become, and the temperature is so high that it makes your skin burn.

"Can't you hurry up? Just now you were complaining that I was too slow, saying that others would get to the destination before us and take the star stone. Now you're acting like this is a vacation," Nan Yin urged Zhen Dulei, who had slowed down considerably because he was recording the contents of the mural.

"Alright, I've already written it down. Why are you rushing me? Don't you know that you can't rush things? I'm just being prepared. If you're so capable, why don't you go by yourself? What are you waiting for me for?" Du Lei didn't care about Nan Yin's urging. He could always find a reason.

"Hello, then I'll go by myself. If you encounter any danger, don't blame me for abandoning you." Nan Yin was angered by Du Lei's words, which showed no sense of companionship. She was about to walk forward in a huff. Her temper was not so good that she could let Du Lei bully her without doing anything.

"Wait a minute, the sound ahead is a lake." Du Lei's ears twitched slightly, and he immediately stopped Nan Yin before she could leave in a fit of rage. He squinted at the front, where there was a bright red cave entrance. As far as the eye could see, there was a large expanse of red light, making it difficult to see what was inside.

"What lake? Where would a lake come from? Don't think you can change the subject. I'm not falling for that." Nan Yin thought Du Lei was just trying to change the subject and ignored him completely. She even tried to pull Du Lei's hand away, but at this moment she noticed that the latter was unusually serious.

“Even places like this have lakes, you know. Don’t forget where we are.” Du Lei put away his jokes with Nan Yin. He frowned and carefully moved forward. The deeper he went into the sealed cave, the less he dared to let his guard down. He was always ready to deal with any situation.

"We're standing on the Flaming Mountains...you mean...?" Seeing his serious expression, Nan Yin abandoned her impulsive plan. She knew the importance of prioritizing things and understood that this wasn't the time for recklessness. She had learned from her experience on the mountain path that a slight mistake could be fatal.

“That’s right, there should be a lava lake ahead. Lava is the hottest place underground. If the star stone you’re looking for is fire-attribute, then it’s not far ahead. Be careful, the closer we get to our target, the more enemies we’ll encounter,” Du Lei solemnly reminded him.

"I understand this without you having to tell me. That's why I'm here—I absolutely must get my hands on the Star Stone." Nan Yin clenched her fists. She recalled the scene of Duanmu and Old Man Teng being swallowed by the blizzard, which filled her with immense guilt. Obtaining the Star Stone was the only way to make amends.

"I hope your skills match your determination. Anyway, I'm just a guide. If we encounter any fights, I'll have to rely on you. Keep going. Once we cross the lava lake, I think the Star Stone is just ahead." Du Lei and Nan Yin exchanged glances, the latter's gaze firm.

Having received Nan Yin's affirmative reply, Du Lei said nothing more and took the lead towards the lava lake ahead. A vast expanse of red light permeated the surroundings, the air heated rapidly, and the dry air was filled with a frenzied atmosphere. Even Du Lei, as he took this step, didn't know if it was a path to destruction.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the cave, although the cave was still surrounded by a large expanse of red light, this red light was even more dazzling than the crimson light reflected by the flames. The blood flowed slowly down the ground, gathering into a trickle, and the pungent smell filled the air.

"No, don't kill me, please don't kill me, I don't know anything, don't kill me!" A disheveled mercenary-looking man sat down on the ground, holding his head in his hands, his pupils unfocused, and he spoke incoherently, his face reflecting deep fear.

He had a gecko tattoo on his arm, the emblem of his guild. In fact, the dozen or so people lying around him had the same tattoo on their arms. These were his companions who had entered the North Mountain with him, but now they were all cold corpses, and only he was still alive.

"Are you from Broken Tail Gecko? Speaking of which, it was a pretty powerful guild, but now it's almost completely wiped out. Red Sparrow, what do you think?" A man in a black evening suit walked over. He looked to be around twenty years old, with an elegant demeanor. He frowned as he looked at the mess around him.

"Tch, what do you mean by 'quite powerful Night Ravens'? You're overestimating them. They're just a third-rate guild that's not even in the best position. They were outmatched and got slaughtered. In my opinion, they deserved it. The strongest they're at is only a mid-level. They just went looking for their own deaths."

Beside the young man was a little girl of only twelve or thirteen years old. She was wearing a black court-style dress with dark red trim. Even in the face of such a bloody scene, she yawned slowly and leisurely, revealing a small tiger tooth. She was indifferent to the corpses on the ground and had an arrogant attitude.

“But this is the fourth group we’ve encountered, right? The fourth group has been killed by the same method. Without exception, they were all killed instantly by sharp weapons. The weapons were probably thin as paper. Were they hidden weapons?” The man called Night Raven pondered seriously.

"Who cares who he is? He's just bullying useless trash. If he ran into us, we'd take him down in no time. Yawn, so boring, I'm so sleepy. Night Raven, give me some candy to replenish my sugar levels, or I feel like I'm about to faint." Red Sparrow yawned.

She asked her companions for candy again, as she was someone who "would die without candy." Unfortunately, all the candy she had along the way was kept by the Night Raven, and without candy to replenish her supply, she felt as if her whole life had lost its meaning and was bleak and meaningless.

“Red Sparrow, don’t underestimate our opponent. He must be a high-level, or even steel-level, person to be able to kill a large number of people with mid-level strength in an instant. However, he could have killed everyone in an instant, so why did he leave one alive? This is something that is hard to ignore.” Night Raven was a cautious person.

He would never act rashly before finding a reasonable explanation, and his caution complemented the impetuous Cardinal.

"That just means he's not strong enough to do that. I'm telling you, Night Raven, you're supposed to be a three-star Steel Rank, how can you be so cowardly? Also, don't try to change the subject, candy, candy!" Red Sparrow protested loudly to her companion. Controlling her candy was worse than taking her life.

“No, he left the prisoners alive not because he couldn’t do it, but to lure them into a trap. No, Redbird, we have to get out of here immediately.” Nightcrow shook his head, rejecting Redbird’s theory. Just then, he suddenly grasped the key point and realized something was wrong.

"Coo coo coo coo, three-star steel-tier strength, huh? I've finally found a somewhat interesting opponent. I wonder if you can satisfy me?" Just as Night Raven was pulling Red Sparrow's hand to leave, one of the many corpses lying on the ground suddenly "came to life".

"Oh my god, this guy suddenly came back to life! Is he a ghost resurrected? How disgusting!" Red Sparrow was startled and immediately backed away.

"He's not some undead. He fell to the ground and pretended to be a corpse from the start, perfectly concealing his magical energy fluctuations. He even fooled me. That's quite an amazing skill. Red Sparrow, be careful, he's coming!" Night Raven made an accurate judgment immediately.

But no sooner had he finished speaking than the man who had "come back to life" suddenly charged at him.

021 Believe it or not, I'll cut off your tongue.

When Nan Yin and Du Lei reached the cave entrance, their vision, which had been obscured by a large expanse of crimson light, suddenly opened up. The intense heat that hit them scorched their skin, their cheeks burning, and even their faces were flushed red. The sound of bubbling water could be heard.

Just as Dure had predicted, the vast lake was filled with red lava bubbling with water. The lava was only a few meters above the ground. Normally, a few meters is already quite a height, but this underground world was simply too enormous.

The dome was at least fifty meters high, making the mere difference of a few meters seem insignificant. The two of them were as small as ants, as if a mere bubble could easily obliterate them. The turbulent atmosphere in the air was also unbearable.

"Is this the lava lake? I never imagined that there would be such a place underground in Beishan." Although Nan Yin had been mentally prepared, she was still incredulous when she saw the enormous and grand scene. Every now and then, small stones fell into the lake.

The moment these pebbles fell into the lake, bubbles immediately appeared, and soon a small area of ​​boiling appeared on the surface of the water. This boiling lasted for less than three seconds before quickly subsiding. Clearly, even something as hard as rock could hardly withstand being submerged in the lake for long.

"Well, although I've read about it in books, this is the first time I've ever seen something like this. Underneath the icy, snowy landscape, there's an active volcano. The power of nature is truly amazing. It seems that humanity's path to conquering nature is still very long," Du Lei remarked with a sigh.

However, compared to the shocked Nan Yin, he only remained at the level of "feeling". He walked ahead, following the path above the lava lake. Although the temperature in the air was extremely hot, and even a spark brushing against the back of his hand caused a burning pain, Du Lei could still endure it.

"Shouldn't a person who conquers nature maintain a devout heart towards this world? Why do you say such strange things? Aren't you afraid of incurring the world's punishment?" Nan Yin was somewhat puzzled by Du Lei's attitude. This was not something an ordinary mountain village boy would say.

"I'm telling you, young lady, the path to human rise has always been one of conquering nature step by step. If we hadn't conquered nature, we would still be stuck in a primitive society where we eat raw meat and drink blood. The history of human development would be a history of slaughter. Don't think you're so pious or noble."

Du Lei glanced at Nan Yin with a puzzled look. In his opinion, Nan Yin's idea was the strangest and most incomprehensible. As he walked ahead, he started to take off his clothes while talking. He quickly threw the animal skin coat he was wearing on the ground and continued to take it off.

"Oh, right, take off your clothes." Du Lei suddenly remembered something, turned around and said. At this moment, he was already unbuckling his belt. His previous actions had already puzzled Nan Yin, and now his words made Nan Yin's cheeks turn extremely red.

"What are you trying to do by taking off your clothes? You keep saying such shameless things. Do you really think I won't kill you?" Nan Yin was furious. She hadn't gotten over what happened at the mountaintop bathhouse yet, and Du Lei was provoking her again, which made her extremely angry.

"Ha, why are you suddenly so fierce? It's just taking off some clothes. Hey, you don't think I have ulterior motives towards you, do you?" Du Lei found Nan Yin's reaction inexplicable and unreasonable, but he quickly saw the clue in Nan Yin's eyes and his expression was somewhat surprised.

"You shameless scoundrel! Do you believe I'll cut your tongue out?" Nan Yin stomped her feet in anger. She had never seen such a shameless person before, who actually dared to ask a girl to take off her clothes, especially in this kind of place. Enraged, she pretended to draw her knife.

"Hey, hey, are you misunderstanding something? Do you think I can do anything to you in a place like this? I'm a person who values ​​romance, and I have absolutely no interest in this kind of impromptu performance. Whether you take your clothes off or not is up to you. I'm just kindly reminding you that it's very hot here, and there are sparks everywhere."

Seeing Nan Yin's strong reaction, Du Lei sighed. He was also innocent. He had meant well and offered a friendly reminder, but he was being stared at like a thief. In the meantime, he had already taken off his leather jacket, leaving him only in a short shirt that exposed most of his arms.

"So what if the temperature is high? I can see you're clearly... well, you're on fire." Nan Yin took Du Lei's words as mere sophistry and didn't take them seriously at all. She kept her grip on the knife hilt, determined to take necessary action if Du Lei went too far.

Fortunately, Dure was still wearing light clothing, but at that moment, she noticed flames rising from the clothes Dure had thrown down beside her. This startled her, and she instinctively took two steps back. The rising flames quickly burned the fur coat to ashes.

"You finally figured it out, huh? This stuff is very flammable, so I advise you to take off your fur-lined clothes as soon as possible. Anyway, we don't need this stuff here. Aren't you hot with this temperature?" Du Lei wiped the sweat from his forehead; he had started sweating soon after entering the cave.

"But what will we do after we get out?" Nan Yin understood Du Lei's meaning and realized that she had indeed misunderstood him. At this moment, she also noticed that a small hole had been ignited on her sleeve by a spark, but it did not spread in time.

"Hey, Miss, do you think this is a vacation spot? Once you're in here, don't even think about getting out, or this expectation will kill you." Du Lei solemnly reminded Nan Yin. Although he was young, he was well-versed in the survival rules of the snow-capped mountains.

"You're still just a kid, so don't put on that lecturing tone, okay? I understand, so turn around." Although Nan Yin was very unhappy with Du Lei's attitude, she knew that Du Lei was right. She scolded Du Lei and told him to turn around, which left the latter completely confused.

"I'm giving you advice for your safety, okay? You're my biggest customer. If you die here, who am I supposed to ask for payment from? Honestly, this road isn't yours. Why should I turn around just because you tell me to?" Du Lei retorted irritably. This was going too far.

"If you don't turn around, I'm going to blind you!" Nan Yin gritted her teeth. She had to raise her voice because her meaning was clear enough, but this guy was pretending to be stupid, which made her reach her limit.

"First they wanted to cut out my tongue, and now they want to blind me. Are all people from the Eastern Continent this barbaric? Wait, are you going to take off my clothes?" Du Lei thought Nan Yin's threats to cut out his tongue were going too far and protested, but he quickly realized what was going on.

"If you know that, then don't say such shameless things! You bastard should just be thrown into lava and burned to death!" Nan Yin was completely enraged. How could she have encountered such a shameless person?

022 Absolutely no sound is allowed.

After Du Lei and Nan Yin discarded their thick leather coats, they continued their journey along the path over the lava lake, traveling light. Nan Yin looked much more dashing than before, her slender figure accentuated perfectly, while Du Lei, compared to before, now had a bright red handprint on his face.

He was suddenly hit like that, but he didn't dare to complain because he was in the wrong. The girl had already hinted that he was going to take off his clothes, but he was still standing there as if he was asking for trouble. He was just asking for a beating.

"Damn it, I, Du Lei, a dignified six-and-a-half-foot man, have been slapped twice in just three days, and by the same woman. This is an unbearable humiliation. How should I take revenge? Should I drug her or use spiked water to knock her out?" Du Lei muttered to himself.

"Hey, what are you muttering about so suspiciously? It's obvious you're up to no good." Nan Yin stared suspiciously at Du Lei's back. She had already labeled this guy as "shameless" and found him suspicious no matter how she looked at him, harboring a strong prejudice against him.

"Ah, I was just praising your beauty and elegance. How could I be sneaking around? By the way, this lava lake is really huge. Even with my leather jacket off, it's still unbearably hot. It would be great to take a bath, of course, in the hot springs above. This lava is too much for me."

Du Lei quickly changed his tune. He was glad that Nan Yin's hearing wasn't as exceptional as his, otherwise, given her tendency to kill people at the slightest provocation, he would have completely believed that her talk of cutting off tongues and gouging out eyes wasn't just empty threats. He traversed the lava lake, his forehead constantly dripping with sweat.

"Who was it that just said to be careful and not to treat this like a vacation? I think you're the one on vacation now. What, you want to soak in a hot spring so badly? Why don't you jump in then?" Nan Yin said irritably, pointing at the bubbling lava. At first, she thought Du Lei's words made sense.

But gradually she discovered that this guy was all talk and no action. He would ask her to do this and that, but when it came to himself, he had a completely different story. This kind of attitude could drive a person crazy.

"I was just trying to lighten the mood because the atmosphere was too tense. It was just a joke, no need to be so serious. Even if you threw a wild boar in this lava in spring, it would melt instantly, leaving not even bones behind. How could anyone be bathing in it? What is that thing?"

Du Lei waved his hand with a laugh. He was self-aware enough to know the importance of a balance between work and rest. Seeing that Nan Yin was showing signs of life, he put on a smiling face. But just as he glanced at the lava lake and saw the bubbling water, he suddenly noticed that the lake was boiling.

"Don't be so alarmed. It's just a pebble falling in. What could possibly happen? Don't scare yourself unnecessarily." Nan Yin looked in the direction Du Lei was pointing and saw a pebble falling into the lava lake, creating a ripple. She glared at Du Lei, signaling him not to exaggerate.

"It seems I was overthinking it. Let's speed things up and get through this lava lake as soon as possible. I have a feeling something's going to happen here." Du Lei's smile faded, and he quickened his pace. The lava lake was nearly two kilometers long and quite large, making it difficult to cross.

"Don't suddenly become so serious. Is it fun to scare people? How come there are bubbles in the lake?" Nan Yin still thought that Du Lei was retaliating against her in this way and didn't take it seriously. But at this moment, she suddenly noticed that there were bubbles rising in many places in the lava lake. But that wasn't the most serious thing. The bubbles were still normal.

But what was unusual was that she saw a huge black shadow swimming beneath the lava lake, the shadow standing out conspicuously against the crimson surface of the lake.

"Shh, keep your voice down, don't disturb it. Am I right? This is no good place. Hurry up, just leave quietly and silently. Yes, that's it, just a little bit more. Don't disturb that big guy," Du Lei whispered repeatedly.

Although his forehead and palms were still sweating, it was different from the hot sweat before; now it was all cold sweat. He had noticed the movement under the lake long before Nan Yin, but he was much calmer than the panicked Nan Yin and urged her to move forward quickly.

"How could there be anything under a lava lake?" Nan Yin's face was pale and bloodless. She was not someone who had never seen the world, but in this sudden tension, her originally relaxed nerves suddenly tightened. This feeling of almost suffocating made her very uncomfortable, and she dared not breathe.

"You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask? Don't even mention it. That thing can kill you. We'll be out of here soon. Let's just keep things peaceful. We're both so skinny, we're not even enough to fill its teeth. Let's just keep sleeping," Dure prayed incessantly.

The two of them continued along the path in the middle of the lava lake. They were still a few hundred meters away from the exit. From Dure's position, they could clearly see a huge black shadow swimming on the surface of the massive lava lake. It was at least tens of meters long and its size was extremely exaggerated.

But that's not the worst part. As we all know, magma is extremely hot, and no living thing can survive its ravages. In some ways, it's even more terrifying than fire. Yet, there are creatures living beneath the magma—this is enough to send chills down your spine.

"Of course I know about this. Shut up and hurry up and leave." Nan Yin was well aware of the importance of the issue, so she tried her best to keep quiet and walked quickly with her head down.

Just as the two were less than two hundred meters from the exit, a "crack" suddenly came from above their heads. Du Lei subconsciously looked up and clearly saw that a rock in the dome had developed a crack due to years of high temperatures.

"You're kidding me, right? Don't force me to increase the difficulty at this time, buddy. Hang in there a little longer. You've been holding on for so many years, what's a little longer? I've done nothing to you, so please don't mess with me." Du Lei's face turned pale with fright when he saw the rock.