Chapter 46: The Boiling Water Alliance

An underground world more than 20,000 meters beneath the surface. To ordinary people, this place is hell—without protective measures, one cannot survive even 30 seconds. Endless waves of heat rage relentlessly, turning it into a dry pot steamed over a fire for hours. The smoke is thin, and the distortion of the air is visible to the naked eye. Without the protection of water spirits, one would become a charred roast chicken within 3 minutes. Such realities even made the usually bold Neo feel uneasy. What annoyed him even more was that this place couldn’t possibly have diverse species like a jungle—it was desolate, barren, dangerous, and monotonous. The basalt seemed like butter melting under the scorching heat; ashes floated like snow, never settling like dust in the breeze. There was also highly viscous lava, with red cracks of varying brightness beneath its blackened crust, resembling bleeding wounds. Occasionally, bubbles broke through the crust, emitting a bright red glow—like raw meat with its skin torn off, a sight that was truly shocking.

From above, the bottom of this chasm appeared as a narrow slit barely wide enough for an earthworm. But in reality, the narrowest part Neo saw was still over 300 meters wide. Vast rivers of lava flowed slowly, with scorching rocks on both banks, from which thick clouds of smoke rose—pure, deadly gas. Even he would die upon smelling it, with no chance of survival.

Neo struggled through the rocks, stepping carefully. Even water spirits couldn’t endure here for long. Time was limited, and whether he would succeed or fail, whether he could achieve his goal, depended on his performance.

Crackling…

Razor-sharp noises echoed in Neo’s ears—the sound of the lava rivers flowing, resembling the sound of glaciers melting in spring. There were also the howls of hot winds, the hissing of geothermal vents, and even the various tones emitted by lava chimneys, like horns or whistles—creating a rather lively atmosphere.

Oh, and then there were the rumblings of earthquakes and the sounds of rocks falling. Tectonic activity here was far more intense than on the surface. In some areas, walking felt like walking on a floating bridge, swaying constantly. Occasionally, rocks would fall from above. Those who wished for the luck of being hit by a meteorite could try here—they would surely get their wish. Even if not hit by large rocks, those the size of pigeon eggs had a power comparable to ordinary arrows. Even more terrifying were those rocks that fell into the lava rivers—superheated magma splashed everywhere, leaving trails in the air. Along with sparks, there was also virtual fire. If one ignored its lethality, it looked quite beautiful.

Still desolate. After running for over 2 kilometers, Neo only found a few pieces of low-quality fire crystals. This disheartened him greatly. After all, even these low-grade fire crystals could be bought for 1 silver coin each at any market on the surface. Taking such great risks to hunt for treasures here only to get such meager results was truly disappointing.

As the terrain changed, Nio’s expectations grew lower. Twisting, dark tunnels appeared at the end of his sight—due to the enclosed environment, the temperature there was much higher than that of the open chasm. This could be inferred from the bright red color and flow speed of the lava within.
“It seems exploration must end here,” Nio said with slight regret. When he had descended to the bottom of the chasm and had to choose between left and right, he had chosen left to match his initial path from the stone corridor down into the chasm. By his estimate, going straight up from here would not be too far from that corridor, even if he couldn’t return directly. After all, no matter how difficult the path below was, it was still much easier than climbing around on cliffs.
Just as he was about to leave, he heard the sound of metal clashing coming from the direction of the tunnels. Nio thought he might have heard wrong, but after a short while, similar sounds reached his ears again. This time he heard clearly—it wasn’t the sound of lava flowing but rather the sound of metal hitting each other.
After pondering for a moment, Nio decided to go check out the situation. Who knew when he would return to such deep underground places again? What if it was an opportunity?
Nio stepped forward quietly and soon discovered that the fight wasn’t in the tunnels but in a cave opening on the side of a cliff, less than 20 meters away from where he stood. It had been hidden by the protruding rock walls. In fact, the cave’s entrance was quite large—3 meters wide and 5 meters high, wider at the top and narrower at the bottom, forming an irregular inverted triangle.
The combatants were both rare alien races: fire dwarves and boiling water elements. It seemed to be a surprise encounter, as both sides were carrying heavy packs that they refused to drop, no matter how fierce the fight became. It was unclear what treasures they contained.
The boiling water element, wielding a crystal sword that looked tempting, was facing the cave entrance. Upon seeing Nio, it was overjoyed and shouted for help in the language of aquatic beings: “Water-blessed one, help me!”
“A water-blessed one” literally meant a being protected by the power of water. In reality, it referred to intelligent beings closely related to aquatic life. Fire dwarves, on the other hand, were a fire-based subspecies that mainly lived in the plane of fire elements. Usually, they only visited other planes to collect gems, and gems often became the reason they started conflicts.
However, these three fire dwarves differed significantly from what was described in books. Not only did they burn with fierce flames, but they also had sharp spikes on their arms, elbows, shoulders, and sides of their heads. These spikes, either in rows or alone, emitted a crystal-like glow, with sharp edges that made them look extremely hard and dangerous. Coupled with a pair of fangs, they made these fire dwarves look even more ferocious.
In addition to the spikes, these three fire dwarves had bright orange-gold runes that flickered visibly. Their bodies had very sharp edges, and combined with their skin color, they resembled burning bronze statues at first glance.
“Shatter his water shell and turn him into charcoal!” one of the fire dwarves shouted. He was speaking in the language of fire beings, which sounded like the crackling of flames. Nio didn’t understand it, but he could at least grasp what it meant when the fire dwarves charged at him with their magnificent flaming war hammers.

Without hesitation, Neo accepted the challenge. He charged straight at the fire dwarf, drawing his sword and slashing with equal ferocity. Yet this was merely a feint. Just as the fire dwarf’s war hammer was about to collide with his steel sword, Neo’s left hand suddenly fired an ice arrow. Ice arrows suffered significant damage in such terrain—30% reduced power and 50 meters less range—but from a distance of less than 2 meters, their power was still considerable. Unless a resistance check was passed (with resistance exceeding the damage, achieving perfect defense), cold could deal double damage to fire dwarfs. This fire dwarf was only around level 4, quite strong in terms of stamina, but now wasn’t the time to rely on brute force. Boom! Steam rose as frost covered the fire dwarf’s chest, with cracks of varying depths appearing on it. “Ah! You cheated!” The fire dwarf screamed in pain, even knowing to curse in the common language. The steam obscured his vision, so much so that he didn’t even realize Neo had circled behind him. Neo reached out, grabbed the fire dwarf’s head, endured the scorching heat, and activated “Life Siphon.” “Idiot! Do you think this is blacksmithing?” Seeing this, the other two fire dwarfs abandoned their boiling water elements to rescue their companion. The boiling water elements took the chance to entangle one of them, while the other was blocked by Neo with his sword. In just over ten seconds, “Life Siphon” reduced that fire dwarf to scattered ashes and embers, with his backpack and the shiny brass battle robes scorched by the heat falling heavily to the ground. “Ah, phew!” The fire dwarf fighting Neo spat out flames. Even with the water element’s protection, Neo could feel the water temperature rising rapidly. His steel sword, in such a short time, had essentially been re-quenched—so red it was almost soft to the touch. “Boom!” Neo sidestepped and kicked the fire dwarf in the ribs. The fire dwarf staggered several steps, coughing and gasping for air. Neo pursued relentlessly, easily making the fire dwarf drop his war hammer. Seizing the opportunity, he stepped forward and grabbed the fire dwarf’s face. The fire dwarf’s beard and hair were flames, and in an instant, Neo’s fingers blistered and blackened from the heat. But “Life Siphon” had already been activated again, causing the fire dwarf to lose consciousness immediately. It was only a matter of time before he turned to ashes. Clang! The remaining fire dwarf threw down his weapon, knelt on the ground, and begged for mercy in the common language, shocking both the boiling water element and Neo. Was this still the honest, brave, and tenacious dwarf race? Anyway, the battle ended with Neo’s cold and terrifying method of killing. The boiling water element thanked him profusely, stating that everything, including the fire dwarf who surrendered, was Neo’s loot, and it was even willing to give half of its own gains as thanks for saving its life. Neo said it was proper to find a less terrible place first, with the rest can be discussed later. The cave had typical characteristics of a dark region, with passages leading in all directions, like a maze. Guided by the boiling water element, Neo finally chose a vertical shaft as a settlement.

The heat waves kept surging in from one side, then rushing upward with a howl. This vertical passage made Neo feel as if he were in a chimney, but still, it was one of the few cool places in a radius of several miles. At such depths, finding a pleasant cave was like searching for a needle in a haystack. Neo breathed a sigh of relief, and Water Guardian did the same, slowly adjusting to their surroundings. Neo used a water-concentrating snail to replenish their energy, and Water Guardian’s glow turned noticeably bluer. After hearing from the Boiling Water Element, Neo learned that they lived on Boiling Water Street, several kilometers away. It was a river of hot springs, with limited water supply, and its temperature had been dropping over the years while the population grew. To survive, the Boiling Water Elements formed exploration teams, mainly to find water and secondly to seek fire (fire crystals) in the magma river. For years, they had treated this magma river as their backyard, as they rarely encountered strange creatures in that area. Now Neo understood why there were fewer fire crystals along the banks of this magma river compared to those in the temporary lava rivers formed by volcanic eruptions—the Boiling Water Elements had collected them for use as firewood. “It’s truly extravagant!” Neo organized his thoughts. Since he had met the Boiling Water Elements, his original purpose of descending into this chasm should be elevated a bit. At the very least, the Fire Element Monument seemed worth lighting. “What about you? How did you end up here?” Neo asked the fire dwarf. “We’re a gemstone collection team, coming from the Fire River Tunnel. Deep in the Fire River Tunnel, there’s a hyper-hot lava branch that leads directly to the Fire Element realm, allowing lower-level fire beings to pass through,” the fire dwarf replied readily, even revealing their origin. But Neo’s expression turned cold. “Your lie isn’t clever at all. What kind of tunnel could yield such abundant treasures for the three of you?” he said, pointing at the three large bags, which, as he had checked earlier, were filled with raw gemstones. If they were all fire crystals, it would be understandable, but raw gemstones weren’t common stones, and the amount in those bags was exaggerated even for large backpacks. The fire dwarf insisted he wasn’t lying, claiming the raw gems were indeed collected along the river. The river was quite long—over ten kilometers—and they could dive to the bottom of the lava river, which explained their abundant haul. Over the years, Neo had consciously developed his skill in observing people. He was convinced the fire dwarf was lying, especially given his smooth answers, which clearly indicated he had prepared excuses in advance. “Since you refuse to tell the truth…” Neo’s hand turned frosty white. The Ice Spirit harbored extreme hatred for fire, wishing to erase all warmth from the world. At that moment, Little Piggy was eager to help Neo punish the fire dwarf. Although the fire dwarf’s eyes showed panic, he remained stubborn and refused to admit anything. Eventually, tortured by Neo, he confessed after half an hour. The fire dwarf came from the Ash-Burning Tribe, a small tribe that, after a great battle with their archenemies, the Fire Giants, was conquered and enslaved by a cunning dark fire sorcerer who seized the opportunity.

This Evil Fire Sorcerer is quite skilled and always ready to return to the main material plane world. After preparing and growing stronger for some time, he finally succeeded in relocating the entire Ash-Burning Tribe to this world and began systematically expanding his influence.
“The Bait Plan” is just one of the many murder and plunder schemes devised by the Evil Fire Sorcerer. Whether it’s the fire dwarves or those gemstone ores, everything can be tracked—even through the eyes and ears of his agents. The fire dwarf Vitz dared not betray him. Thanks to the Bait Plan, the Evil Fire Sorcerer has already taken control of several factions in this region.
Upon hearing this, the Boiling Water Element was naturally very distressed, especially upon learning that the Evil Fire Sorcerer was also an orc. Orks generally struggle to become spellcasters; even with powerful special bloodlines, they can at most gain half a spell-like ability in addition to their innate talents. And once an orc becomes a spellcaster, they are often like children born from inbreeding—either mentally impaired or suddenly showing exceptional intelligence. Compared to ordinary orcs, let alone the most intelligent race, the wood elves, they are far superior.
Not to mention the distant past, just look at what’s happening now: the ability to seize the opportunity to subdue a fire dwarf tribe and make those stubborn, headstrong dwarves willing to serve under his control is a sign of great skill. Consider the modifications done to these fire dwarves, bringing an entire tribe from the Fire Element Plane to the main material plane world, and silently occupying such a vast territory—each of these tasks is no easy feat. Facing such an enemy, even without direct combat, the pressure is already overwhelming. Not only for the Boiling Water Element but even for Neo, this kind of cunning and skillful adversary is often the most troublesome. Moreover, it’s clear that the Evil Fire Sorcerer is the type who, if he can’t kill the snake, will end up harmed by it. If things go wrong, he can retreat to the Fire Element Plane—who would dare chase after him?
“Bang!” Neo suddenly struck, grabbing the fire dwarf’s head and turning it to ashes in an instant. “If that Evil Fire Sorcerer can modify fire dwarves to such an extent, I’m worried he might also be able to use their eyes and ears.”
Neo’s brutality chilled the Boiling Water Element, but he had to admit that Neo’s thoughts were indeed thorough.
Neo stroked his chin, pondered for a while, then said, “How about this? I’ll help you connect with a powerful Water Element elder. The Dark Regions have extensive networks, and perhaps there’s a way to establish a water route to your Boiling Water Street. I think it’s a good option, whether to resolve the current trouble or ensure the long-term stability of Boiling Water Street. Of course, a peaceful life alone might be gone from now on. You should contact the leaders of your Boiling Water Street so they can make a decision. I’ll wait here—remember to be quick. I can’t stay long in this environment.”
The Boiling Water Element thanked him profusely and hurried back to Boiling Water Street, while Neo packed up his belongings. He couldn’t take the three bags of bloody ore with him; he decided to leave that reward for his dark minions hunting him. As for whether they’d be lucky enough to enjoy it, that depended on their own abilities.

A few high-quality fire crystals were naturally something Neo urgently needed, but that wasn’t enough. The monuments of water and earth had already reached the third layer, meaning it would be much harder to create the other two elemental monuments—this involved an issue of elemental suppression. Where there are differences in level, there will be competition; only when balance is achieved can there be peace.

After absorbing the elemental energy from the fire crystals, and including what was obtained from the three fire dwarves, Nancy calculated that this much more fire elemental energy was still required for the monuments to be created. Once successful, the fire elemental monument would jump straight to the third layer, and Neo’s shamanic rank would also rise to level 3. If wind elemental energy could be gathered as well, he could jump straight to level 5. Of course, the difficulty was immense—the amount of wind elemental energy needed was almost double that of fire!

The brass battle robes worn by the fire dwarves were valuable to Neo. The fire dwarves were natural smiths, and the metal materials they could forge in a realm like the fire elemental plane were of the finest quality. Neo had already decided to rely on these for his new armor.

He poured out a fire-resistant backpack to store the battle robes, then used nearby stones to create a Water Moon Stone. Giving one as a token of goodwill, he thought there might be another chance to meet in the future, and gaining some goodwill was also a good thing.

Without the help of the Rock Giants, the creation of this Water Moon Stone was a bit slower and not yet complete when the Boiling Water Elementals, along with several elders from Boiling Water Street, arrived in a hurry. After brief greetings, Neo contacted the water elemental elders through the Water Guardian and introduced the Boiling Water Elementals to them.

“Warriors of the water race, who have ventured deep into the heart of the flames…” The water elemental elders were clearly skilled at socializing. With just a few words, they made the Boiling Water Elemental elders smile broadly, and soon private meetings began. Neo didn’t mind—every group had its secrets. He continued working on the Water Moon Stone and completed it not long after the Boiling Water Elementals and the water elemental elders reached certain agreements.

“Consider this a small token of my gratitude. Please accept it. Once it’s in place, activate it using this activation stone.” Standing behind Neo was the formidable Nancy. Her progress was remarkable—in less than 10 hours, she was already able to create activation keys for remote activation.

The water elemental elders had mentioned the Water Moon Stone during their secret talks with the Boiling Water Elementals, so Neo didn’t need to explain much. The Boiling Water Elemental elders wanted to do the same and hired Neo to create a batch of Water Moon Stones, even preparing to spend all their wealth for it.

Neo frankly explained his situation: first, he couldn’t stay in such a harsh environment for long, and second, he had powerful pursuers behind him, leaving him with little time. One of the Boiling Water Elemental elders said these weren’t problems. Although the Boiling Water Elementals didn’t know many spells, they could still cast several powerful energy shields. These “Boiling Water Auras” could prevent any spellcraft other than divine magic from detecting them, completely hiding their traces. In this labyrinthine world of passages, it would be impossible to track them.

Nio readily agreed. Since the Boiling Water Elementals had boasted so much, there was nothing to complain about even if it led to trouble. Moreover, he judged that these Boiling Water Elemental elders, though not as powerful as the Water Elemental elders, were probably around level 11 or 12. With a few of them working together, they might not be afraid of the Dark Claws at all.

Thus, Nio temporarily joined the Water Tribe’s camp. Surrounded by the Boiling Water Elementals, he arrived at Boiling Water Street.

Boiling Water Street was far more beautiful than he had imagined. It featured magnificent natural wonders such as stalagmites, stalactites, and stone curtains, as well as countless crystals. These crystals were formed over time through the long-term immersion and boiling in the hot springs, coming in various shapes and forms. Among them were many rare gems with exceptional purity and shape, reflecting the pink light of the Boiling Water Elementals. The dazzling scenery was unforgettable at first sight and even posed a risk of causing one to get lost.

Nio wasn’t an expert in jewels and rare stones, but he could make comparisons. Once, when he accompanied Xavier to an auction, a pure multicolored crystal sold for a staggering 5,000 dinars. Nio still remembered being amazed at the time, thinking that having such a crystal would mean instant wealth. Yet here, similar crystals were merely used for decoration and could be seen everywhere. No wonder, despite knowing the dangers of the Dark Regions and the annual deaths, many people still went underground in search of gold.

One of the Boiling Water Elemental elders approached and said, “If you’re interested, I can be your guide. Feel free to take whatever you like!”

Soon, Nio understood why this Boiling Water Elemental elder was so generous. Beyond the 1,500-meter-long Boiling Water Street lay a place called Rainbow Forest. Rainbow Forest was even larger than Stone Pillar Forest. Like Boiling Water Street, it was filled with hot springs and boiling springs. The few Boiling Water Elemental elders from Boiling Water Street had all been born in Rainbow Forest. Given the scale of Boiling Water Street, it was impossible to produce warriors above level 15—level 10 was already a stretch.

After years of effort, they had completed a massive project beneath Boiling Water Street: a lava-boiling furnace that periodically added fire crystals and mineral water to create the effect of hot springs. This could be said to be the foundation of the Boiling Water Elementals’ survival. Rainbow Forest, on the other hand, served as their reservoir. The ground here formed natural puddles and ponds, each with a different color due to the varying minerals, creating a splendid and colorful sight. Thanks to geothermal heat, the temperature of any of these pools was no less than 60°C. The Boiling Water Elementals intended to use this place as a pilot site to see what functions the Water Moon Stone could have.

Nio contacted Nancy to ask if there were any spells more suitable for the Boiling Water Elementals. He proposed an idea: since the Water Moon Spell relied entirely on water and the moon—where the moon is the opposite of the sun—and since there were many methods in the world that used fire in place of the sun, could they try replacing the moon with fire?

Nancy said that through analyzing the core power of the fire element and conducting an in-depth study of the Moon Goddess Well, she had gained a great deal, but to complete Neo’s vision, there was still a significant energy deficit that could not bemake up for. After all, the Water-Moon Formation essentially combined water and darkness, while Neo’s theory leaned toward combining water and light. Throughout history, only one being had been able to master the transition between light and darkness effortlessly—that was the God of Brenness.

However, Nancy didn’t completely disappoint Neo. Although combining water and light or water and fire wasn’t possible, they could be achieved separately, just like in the Lava-Boiling Water Furnace, which had greatly inspired her during a previous visit.

The Water-Moon Stone, completed not long ago, was placed in a larger warm water pool, and its effects delighted the boiling water elements. According to the elders of these elements, with the Water-Moon Stone in place, it would not only make it easier to gather them but also accelerate their growth by about 30%. If it were set up in Boiling Water Street, the effects would likely be even better!

Neo knew that although they were all called boiling water elements, these pink, vibrant, and lively ones were actually just food—just as fish in a river, with larger fish eating smaller ones. In fact, this principle applied to all life in the world; the difference lay only in whether it was exposed or concealed, and there was nothing truly surprising about that.

Seizing the moment, Neo said to the elders of the boiling water elements, “I have some good ideas that might further enhance the effectiveness of the Water-Moon Stone, making it more suitable for you and your people. But before implementing them, I need your help. Would that be possible?” Considering he was dealing with these simple-minded elements, humility might backfire, so Neo simply expressed his ideas directly. He now had more confidence in Nancy than in himself.

“Of course! Absolutely! Tell us how we can assist, and we’ll do our best!” The importance of the Water-Moon Stone made the elders refer to him as “you”—a clear sign of their simple mindset, not simplicity itself.

“I need reference to spells, especially those related to fire,” Neo stated bluntly.

“No problem; that’s too easy,” the elders replied readily.

These old guys weren’t boasting. Although there was a saying that water and fire cannot coexist, even among boiling water elements, fire elements at best remained indifferent. But in reality, communication did exist, especially through indirect means—such as through other combined elements.

The Boiling Water Element itself is a fusion element, and quite an extreme one at that. More moderate fusion elements include Magma, a combination of fire and earth; Smoke, a blend of wind and fire; Sludge, a mix of water and earth; Ice, a combination of wind and water… Smoke and Magma elements live in this extremely hot underground environment. Unlike the Boiling Water Element, which has a deep enmity with Fire, they share the element of fire, so they can easily communicate and even exchange resources, maintaining a good relationship. Similarly, Smoke and Magma elements also get along well with Fire and Steam elements (corresponding to the Boiling Water Element, with more fire and less water), acting as bridges between them. Moreover, fire is an essential part of the Boiling Water Element, so it’s impossible for them not to pay attention to and understand it. Thus, while Nio’s request seems difficult, it’s actually not that hard.

So, the most knowledgeable Boiling Water Element joined forces with Nio, opening up his heart and using telepathy—a fast and error-free method—to convey knowledge. Once again, Nio felt the openness and simplicity of the elemental beings. Perhaps due to their environment, they didn’t have many complicated thoughts; their sole motivations were survival, caring for their kind, and relying on each other, all stemming from the concept of survival. This reminded Nio of a phrase often said among mercenaries: “Caring for your companions is caring for yourself.”

This elder Boiling Water Element possessed a wide range of knowledge—not only fire-based spells but also some spells from Smoke and Magma elements. Nio was quite envious of the effects of a few of these spells, though he couldn’t use them. When fusion-element-specific spells were adapted to his abilities, they became composite spells, those composed of two or more elements. Composite spells could only be cast by casters at level 10 or above, representing a huge gap in skill. For now, Nio could only enjoy watching them in action.

Of course, for a research-oriented person like Nancy, more knowledge was always beneficial. Her work was like solving a giant puzzle, with each piece of knowledge being a tile. Her goal was to complete the puzzle, after which she would transition from a medical AI to a comprehensive AI.

Besides technical knowledge, the other knowledge held by the Boiling Water Elements was also valuable, such as their understanding of the surrounding terrain and their knowledge of crystals, lava, and other substances… Through this acquisition of knowledge, Nancy was able to quickly take on roles as a guide or interpreter. Although Nio still couldn’t speak, he could now understand the language of aquatic beings directly.

Nancy needed time to learn and research, but during that period, Nio wasn’t idle. With Nancy’s guidance, he asked the Boiling Water Elements to help by seeking the assistance of the crystal spirits here.

Crystal spirits are hybrids of water and earth. The crystal spirit here was named Rainbow, a being of maternal kindness and generosity. She was recognized as the wisest being in the surrounding area, and the Boiling Water Elements respected her greatly. After hearing Nio’s request, Rainbow said slowly, “Everything has a beginning and an end; everything should follow its natural course. As a follower of nature, you clearly don’t yet understand the meaning of these words.”

Nio replied respectfully, “Everything that exists has its reason. My presence here is also a natural outcome. It is natural to desire death, and it is natural to strive for survival. Life and death are both natural; as for the ultimate outcome, it matters not. All things decay, and even the most prosperous will eventually face decline. We only need to ask whether we have done our best.”
Hongcai thought for a while before slowly saying, “Though these words are somewhat sophistical, they are quite impressive. Very well, I’ll go along with your plan.”
The main reason for asking Hongcai for help was to create a ‘heat-conducting rod.’ Less than 2 kilometers beneath Boishui Street lay a lava reservoir. Nio wanted to use flame-curse crystals as heat-conducting channels to draw heat directly from the reservoir. The most challenging part of this project was penetrating those over a thousand meters of rock layers. With Hongcai’s immense power, she undoubtedly had the ability to do so. Moreover, controlling crystals came naturally to her, but even with high earth-elemental power, Nio couldn’t achieve this—this was determined by the crystals’ inherent properties.
Hongcai temporarily granted Nio the ability to cut crystals freely. Thus, giant crystals with diameters over 10 meters and lengths of dozens of meters were cut down like towering trees. The Boishui elements served as laborers to transport them, while Nio was responsible for inscribing curse runes on the crystals. His skillful craftsmanship once again proved invaluable. Amidst flying crystal shards, third-circle magic runes were carved onto both ends of the cut crystal pillars. Hongcai and the Boishui element elders watched from the side, marveling at the runes—they could mostly understand them, but the layout and arrangement defied comprehension. In fact, Nio himself didn’t fully understand either; the true master was Nancy. To fully comprehend and master the use of these curses required significant effort and time.
Thanks to Hongcai’s innate power, the ground resembled soft mud, allowing the crystal pillars to sink easily into it. Then, the next section of the engraved flame-curse crystal pillar would merge with the previous one, continuing downward and merging again… This process repeated itself. After advancing hundreds of meters, they went beyond Hongcai’s magical influence range. But that wasn’t a problem—she could transmit power through the crystal pillars and set up necessary crystal nodes in the deep soil. With these nodes, the force of softening the rock layers could continue to spread downward. Although attenuation and loss were inevitable, with Hongcai’s strength, there would be no issues within 3 kilometers.
One pillar after another was lowered in this manner. When the 31st flame-curse crystal pillar was inserted, the third-circle flame curses at its top began to glow. The depth was sufficient—the other end of the pillar had already entered the lava reservoir. Unsure, Nio added another pillar. Now, everything should be fine.
Hongcai observed through the crystals and confirmed that everything was going well. The pillar ran along the stone wall facing the lava reservoir, sinking over 70 meters into the magma.

Nio asked Rainbow to help the crystals grow horizontally. This ability was extremely powerful, and it came at a great cost to Rainbow. After some consideration, she generously agreed. On this Flame Curse Crystal Pillar, crystals grew horizontally at regular intervals, acting like clamps that firmly secured the long pipes in the soil. With this starting point, the crystals could continue to grow horizontally and radiate energy, gradually crystallizing the surrounding rock layers. Once they became thick enough, they could resist ordinary seismic vibrations and displacements. After all, rock movements were frequent in this area, with severe earthquakes occurring almost every twenty years. Without proper precautions, the pipes of the crystal pillar were likely to break or shift.

“For the growth of crystals, there’s no need to worry about flame energy—it’s sufficient. The key is crystal water (water rich in minerals). Besides working together with water elements, I suggest you collaborate more with treasure hunters like dwarves. High-quality crystals are invaluable treasures to them. A small piece can be exchanged for as much as half of Boiling Water Street’s worth. Grinding and soaking mineral materials in water should yield crystal water…” While Nio and the elders of Boiling Water discussed and envisioned the future, Nancy had already completed further analyses of the use of fire elements and shared her next plan with Nio.

Also using crystals as materials, the crystals chosen by Nio—if brought to the surface—would already be enviable to mages, as they could use a small piece processed into an energy-concentrating crystal for wands or staves. Here, however, such crystals piled up like small mountains. They would form the top of the Flame Curse Crystal Pillar, the burning stack.

The creation of this burning stack also relied heavily on carving runes and magic patterns, which seemed quite complex. Crystal strips of varying thicknesses and lengths were covered with spells, though most of these spells were repetitive. The main difference lay in their different numbers, each corresponding to a primary rune. In other words, it was like a composite array, similar to Water Moon Stone. This approach allowed for modular components, reducing risk, simplifying maintenance, and making production much easier. The only challenge was high precision—no mistake was allowed in the assembly. But this was not a difficulty for Nancy or Nio, who had excellent overall vision and paid close attention to details.

The elements of Boiling Water, however, saw things differently. They all agreed that bringing in someone like this was like inviting a great power. Good heavens! Even the core structure of a magic puppet probably wasn’t this complicated—layers upon layers, hundreds of crystal strips, enough to dazzle just by looking at them.

After assembly, Rainbow was called upon to help fuse the crystals, which was a piece of cake for her.

Finally, the pyramid-shaped burning stack was completed. When the spell was activated, the burning stack quickly emitted a flame light, shifting from red to gold, from gold to blue, and from blue to white. Eventually, it resembled a giant diamond, emitting a pure white light that wasn’t blinding—sign of stable energy. The flame energy had reached an extraordinary intensity, yet what emanated outward was very weak, thanks to effective sealing to prevent leaks.

It’s simple from here on. Using the pond with the Water Moon Stone as a pilot, a Curse Crystal Stele was erected atop the stone. Once activated, no visible flow of flame energy could be seen between the burning pile and the stele, but the stele began to glow and change color, quickly turning as bright white as the burning pile. At the same time, it emitted power downward, causing the crystal water in the pond to boil, with the affected area expanding over hundreds of meters. What’s more remarkable is that the heat distribution was extremely even, and the fire element energy was abundant—making it a far better place than Boiling Water Street for the birth of fire elements.

The fire elements celebrated the success of this miraculous experiment in the most joyful way possible. Puffs of boiling water formed various patterns in the air, and under the colorful light, they resembled magnificent magic fireworks, utterly breathtaking. Even Rainbow showed a pleased smile. With this Boiling Water system, Rainbow Forest would regain its vitality, and crystal growth would accelerate once again—bringing great benefits to her as well.

Without any doubt, Neo instantly became the most respected savior in Boiling Water Street. After discussion, all the fire elements agreed to give Neo a small piece of the most precious Fire Water Core. From then on, Neo would be treated like one of their own.

Great! One clever move and success follows! Neo truly understood the value of knowledge. It was absolutely amazing!