Chapter 352: Netherhell Fire

“Huh…” Exhaling a puff of foul air, Rod slowly opened his eyes, feeling the surging combat energy within him, a faint smile appearing on his lips. He got up and stood slowly, then let out a sigh after a while.
It had been three days since he arrived at the summit. During these three days, Rod hadn’t rushed to the core area but instead adapted to the surroundings. It must be said that Rod had an excellent adaptability, and thanks to his unique combat energy, he fully adapted almost by the second day—even better than the members of the Black Phoenix clan.
But to be safe, Rod stayed here for another day, partly to adjust his state and partly to observe the situation more closely.
Over these three days, Rod reaped abundant gains. His combat energy had reached an extreme level. Now, he could clearly sense the shackles binding him—breaking through them would allow him to enter the Yangxuan realm! During these three days of cultivation, he finally felt the wonderful sensation of progress he had long missed.
The Netherhell Fire indeed could help him advance—Rod was now absolutely certain of this. All that remained was to make the final push!
Ascending from the Yinhuang realm to the Yangxuan realm was an extremely difficult task—hundreds of times harder than ascending from the divine realm to the Yinhuang realm.
This was why, over thousands of years, although warriors in the Yinhuang realm were top-tier fighters, there were still relatively few of them, whereas those in the Yangxuan realm were even rarer.
Just like the current Wolf Emperor—a being in the Yangxuan realm—who led the once scattered Wolf clan to rise to the ranks of the major Dark Source families in a short time, making the four major families neither dare underestimate nor want to confront him.
A warrior in the Yangxuan realm could bring glory to an entire family and even change the balance of power. This showed just how powerful such a warrior was. The sheer difficulty of advancing by just one level was evident.
A determined look flashed in his eyes. Time was running out—only seven days remained. Rod knew he had to hurry. He slowly walked toward the molten rock outlet at the center, feeling the scorching heat. He couldn’t help but gasp as sweat poured down his face. The temperature here was likely over 50 degrees. It was hard to believe that the seemingly gentle yet slightly cold Netherhell Fire on Lucy could reach such temperatures here.

This also happened to meet Rod’s requirements—he needed a powerful energy to force himself beyond his limits. Thick smoke covered what was below. Recalling Lucy’s warnings and advice before he set out, a grateful smile appeared on Rod’s lips. Without Lucy’s guidance, he really wouldn’t have known what to do at this moment. Controlling his combat energy, he let it burst forth with a loud cry, and his combat energy armor formed instantly. In just two seconds, the armor covered Rod’s entire body, the three-colored combat energy looking absolutely dazzling! At this moment, surrounded by the combat energy armor, Rod resembled a victorious deity soaring above the heavens, exuding immense power. Looking at the armor, Rod’s lips curled slightly. How long had it been since he last used it? Feeling its protection now, an indescribable emotion welled up in him—a sense of absolute safety. With his already formidable physique plus the protection of the combat energy armor, his defense had reached a terrifying level. Even ordinary early-stage divine-level warriors would find it hard to break through his defenses, let alone harm him! “Is he about to start?” In a hidden corner in the distance, two elders watched Rod ahead. One of them asked in a deep voice. Seeing Rod clad in the combat energy armor, doubt flashed in their eyes. A three-colored combat energy armor—they seemed to have never seen it before. What was going on? Could this guy be a practitioner of three attributes? That seemed impossible! “Mm, he’s about to start,” the white-haired elder said slowly, his expression complex. “Will he succeed?” the first elder asked. Silence. The white-haired elder didn’t answer because he himself didn’t know if this young man could succeed. If he did, a new strong warrior at the Yang Xuan realm would emerge, and such a young one at that. What of the future? Perhaps he too would reach that unattainable height, becoming the second person to reach that level. “It seems we’ve grown old!” Seeing that the white-haired elder remained silent, the first elder spoke again. Seeing Rod, he felt old for the first time. Rod’s vigor made him feel ashamed. “The world now belongs to these young people!” the white-haired elder sighed, his words filled with complexity. “The waves behind drive on those before, each one higher than the last”—that’s exactly what it meant. After saying that, they stopped talking and focused their attention once again on Rod, waiting for his next move.

He didn’t make the two of them wait long. Rod took a deep breath as he adjusted to the edge, then leaped downward. In an instant, he fell into the magma pool.

As he plunged into the magma, Rod’s body sank rapidly through thick clouds of smoke, like a stone moving unstoppable! The sound of wind whistling filled his ears.

After a brief descent, Rod suddenly let out a loud shout, using his feet to push hard against the rock wall ahead, momentarily stopping his rapid descent before bouncing off in another direction. Without pause, even before reaching the opposite wall, he was ready. Upon arrival, he pushed again with all his strength, bouncing back toward the original wall.

For a while, his figure darted back and forth between the two walls, with his descent speed slowing to a terrifying degree. At this moment, Rod seemed to be walking between the walls, completely free from the pull of gravity.

Muffled crashing sounds and slight tremors continued to come from the entrance of the magma cave.

After a long time, Rod finally got closer to the magma and could see everything below clearly.

The strange situation finally made sense to Rod—he understood why the temperature was so high and why things were so peculiar. This was a volcano, an active one, but it contained Nether Hellfire. Not only that, but there was also scorching magma. The green Nether Hellfire was concentrated in the very center!

Beneath the cave, the scene was completely different from what was seen above. Deep red magma formed a huge lake, surging powerfully. In the center, there appeared a strange green vortex about ten meters in diameter—the Nether Hellfire, surrounded by red magma. It seemed the two coexisted without interfering with each other. This was why only the green color could be seen from above; the surrounding magma hid it. Seeing this, Rod marveled at nature’s wonders—the Nether Hellfire stood out like an eye on the surface of this massive magma lake, utterly eerie.

There were still twenty or thirty meters left until he reached the magma. Rod took a deep breath, knowing the critical moment was approaching. He unleashed all his combat energy, covering vital areas of his body to ensure he wouldn’t encounter any problems. Then, with a final burst of strength, he let himself fall straight downward, his speed suddenly increasing.

Thud… A dull sound was heard as Rod tumbled headfirst into the vortex formed by the Nether Hellfire. In an instant, he was engulfed and swallowed by the flames, disappearing without a trace, leaving only splashes of greenish-white flames that resembled liquid waves.

Cold—bone-chilling cold—was Rod’s first sensation. His expression immediately changed, and he quickly summoned his combat energy to protect himself. He felt an absorbing force; it wasn’t consuming his body but rather his soul, exerting a tremendous pull on it.

At that moment, Rod found himself deep within the vortex of the Nether Hellfire, quickly reaching its bottom, completely surrounded by it. Looking upward, the vortex was hundreds of meters high. At the bottom lay a pool of greenish liquid—the intense Nether Hellfire. That was Rod’s first impression.

The Nether Hellfire was so powerful not for any other reason but because it could inflict unimaginable damage on a person’s soul. When utilized properly, it could also help strengthen one’s soul!

It must be understood that at their level, the power of the soul was the most crucial factor. Even if one met all the requirements for advancement in other aspects, an insufficiently strong soul would trap them at that level forever.

Moreover, the soul was the hardest thing to train. This was why those who had been tempered by the Nether Hellfire could progress smoothly in their future paths—because their souls had been enhanced and strengthened, along with the methods to cultivate them.

Many powerful warriors remained stuck at the divine perfection level precisely because their soul power was not strong enough. How many of the already rare warriors at the Yin Yellow level struggled to make progress or even remained stuck for life due to an insufficiently strong soul? The soul determined everything.

Feeling these circumstances, Rod’s combat energy surged wildly throughout his body to protect him. He dared not be careless, focusing his mind tightly to avoid being affected and to resist the absorbing force, engaging in a struggle against it.

The Xuanyuan Sacred Sword floated in front of Rod, emitting a faint glow, also resisting alongside him. The sword spirit itself was a form of soul.

Rod brought it along at Xuanyuan’s request. Such an opportunity to train the soul was rare, and Xuanyuan naturally didn’t want to miss it, so he followed, hoping to gain something from it.

For a time, one person and one sword began to resist here, starting their trials.