Chapter 72: The Fox and the Monster

Su Che summoned a magic shield in front of him for protection and wondered, “Is it that red-tailed fox lurking in the magma?”
“No, it’s not the red-tailed fox. It’s some strange creature,” replied Lao Hei. His detection ability allowed him to see through a certain depth of the magma. “It looks like a human-shaped flame—with limbs, a torso, and a head, but no facial features.”
“What kind of thing is this?” Su Che guessed. “It’s probably related to the underground fire veins here.”
“Probably…” Lao Hei continued. “I can’t determine its exact strength yet. So, it’s best if you don’t enter the magma rashly. Observe for now.”
“Okay.”
Su Che took out another top-quality earth-based defensive talisman and a Earth-Displacement Pill from his Qi Bag, hiding them in his hand just in case.
The monster in the magma was extremely patient. As long as Su Che stayed still, it too remained motionless on the other side of the island. After a while of this stalemate, Lao Hei warned again, “The red-tailed fox is coming. It’s on your right.”
Su Che turned to look to his right and saw a fiery red figure approaching rapidly from afar. It climbed up the vertical rock walls as if walking on flat ground, moving at great speed. With the dark red environment surrounding it, it gave the illusion of flying in the air.
“Yiya!”
The red-tailed fox, over four feet long with fiery red fur, let out a shrill scream, clearly warning Su Che, this intruder.
“Master, this red-tailed fox is already a high-tier rank one demon beast. I think even the two of us combined aren’t its match,” Lao Hei shouted anxiously from within the Immortal Prison.
Su Che also felt tense. A high-tier rank one demon beast was equivalent in strength to a human cultivator in the later stages of Qi training. Moreover, as a fire-type innate talent demon beast, it clearly had an advantage due to its location in this underground furnace.
“The records of the Tianxuan Sect clearly state that all demon beasts in the Yinwind Gorge are restricted by their innate bloodline and cannot surpass the low-tier rank one level. So, how did this red-tailed fox not only break through that restriction but also reach high-tier rank one?”
At this moment, though mentally tense, Su Che’s thoughts remained clear. He guessed that there must be other secrets hidden within these underground fire veins. The red-tailed fox must have relied on some rare treasure to overcome its racial limitations.

As such, Su Che was even more reluctant to leave. On this exploration, even if he couldn’t obtain the magical flag on the island in the lake, he must uncover another secret hidden here…
The Earth-Diving Pill was already ready; he could swallow it at any time to hide within the stone wall behind him. Although the surface of the stone wall was covered with a glassy substance, it still belonged to the category of soil and stone, posing no obstacle to the Sons of the Earth.
“The Earth-Diving Pill is truly a great thing,” Su Che thought to himself. “If it can prove useful again this time, I should reward Luo Lianqiao with some spirit stones later.”
“Yiya!”
The red-tailed fox stopped about thirty feet away, its four steel claws firmly gripping the stone wall as it hissed at Su Che once more as a warning.
Su Che smiled at it and said gently, “I just happened to come here by chance. I’ll take a quick look and then leave.”
In the Immortal Prison, Lao He muttered softly, “Little fox, don’t trust humans. Humans are even more cunning than foxes.”
It was unclear whether the red-tailed fox could understand Su Che’s words, but it didn’t attack. Instead, it turned its gaze and let out a sharp scream from the other side of the island in the lake, likely warning the humanoid monster lurking in the magma.
“Oh? It’s not on the same side as the monster in the magma?” Su Che’s mind stirred as he began to think. “Me, the fox, the monster… Since it’s a triangular relationship, there must be a way…”
Perhaps deceived by Su Che’s seemingly “third level of Qi Cultivation” strength, the red-tailed fox temporarily ignored this seemingly weak human and continued to focus on its old rival—the humanoid flame monster in the magma.
“Yiya!”
The red-tailed fox leaped into the air, its body becoming much flatter and wider. Its already fluffy tail swelled several times larger and could move rhythmically in small motions, giving it the ability to fly like wings.
Whoosh!
In the blink of an eye, it reached above the island in the lake. Its belly bulged slightly, and it spat out a pale golden fireball.
Boom!
The fireball hit the magma, causing a violent explosion that instantly blasted the humanoid monster out.
A massive shockwave sent the humanoid monster flying into the air, but it seemed unharmed, likely because it was originally a fire-based creature that lived in the magma and had an innate immunity to the red-tailed fox’s small fireballs.

Su Che was also an expert at judging quality. He could see that although the small fireballs spat out by the red-tailed fox were not large in size, their power was quite terrifying. Just from their pale golden color, he could infer that ordinary mid-tier magic weapons would not be able to withstand the extreme heat they generated.

The humanoid monster, engulfed in flames, fell downward but ended up standing firmly on top of the magma, showing no sign of sinking. It raised a hand and pointed, causing an orange-yellow flame to shoot up from the magma and sweep upward toward the red-tailed fox in mid-air.

The red-tailed fox swished its tail and dodged lightly. Although its fur was scorched by a flame tongue, it remained unharmed.

From just this first round of confrontation, Su Che guessed, “Both of them are experts at dealing with fire. Neither fears fire. In such an environment, it seems they’ll fight forever, with neither able to gain the upper hand.”

Within just a dozen breaths, the two fire-based creatures fought fiercely, causing waves of molten lava around the island, but neither managed to gain any advantage. Still, Su Che could tell that the red-tailed fox’s goal was simply to drive away the humanoid monster and prevent it from getting too close to the island in the lake.

“Probably, the red-tailed fox already regards the golden flag on the island as its own property and won’t allow others to touch it,” Su Che mused. “But only a third-tier demon beast can control magic weapons. This red-tailed fox is only at the first-tier advanced stage; it’s still a long way off from that.”

“Master, neither of them can hurt the other, so there’s no possibility of mutual damage. It seems unrealistic for you to reap benefits from this situation,” Lao He suggested. “I’ve noticed that the black island, having been submerged in magma for so long, isn’t damaged at all, and its surface temperature isn’t even hot to the touch. Clearly, this island isn’t ordinary. Perhaps you should find an opportunity to study it thoroughly first.”

“Good!”

Su Che had also been struggling with this problem. Hearing Lao He’s words, he immediately perked up. “Since the red-tailed fox guards that flag so closely, swimming across the magma is definitely not an option… Then, is it possible to use the Earth-Diving Pill to sneak through from the depths beneath the magma?”

“I think so!” Lao He replied. “I’ve already measured the depth of the magma—it’s only about ten zhang. If you dive thirty zhang in that direction, it should be very safe.”

The more critical the moment, the less hesitant Su Che became. As soon as the old man finished speaking, swish! The Earth Disappearing Pill was stuffed into his mouth.
Boom! Boom! Boom…
The pulse of the earth, which Su Che felt so intimately familiar with, resonated once again with his own heartbeat.
“Yiya!”
The red-tailed fox in mid-air turned alertly and was surprised to find that the human kid it had dismissed was completely gone—vanished without a trace!