Chapter 5: Boiling Magma (Part 2)

Suddenly, runes flashed on the Abnormal Golden Armor, and its body sank slowly before plunging into the magma with a loud crash, causing the magma to ripple. It stirred the magma, creating a wall of molten rock that was hurled at the Soul Devouring Beast. A hundred-meter-high wave of magma slammed into the beast.

To their surprise, the Soul Devouring Beast also fell into the magma, triggering countless waves of molten rock. Instantly, the sea of magma became chaotic. Neither side feared the magma, and they quickly engaged in a fierce battle.

Guo Shier said with a smile, “Forget it, I’ll go help.”
His Moon Blade slashed downward, hitting the back of the Abnormal Golden Armor with a thunderous sound. Three consecutive strikes forced the armor into the magma. When it emerged again, all three saw a huge wound on its back. This ambush had dealt severe damage to the Abnormal Golden Armor.

The Soul Devouring Beast pounced on the armor’s back, transforming its golden aura into countless sharp blades that pierced deep into the wounds. The Abnormal Golden Armor let out a deafening screech that made Guo Shier and the others tremble.

Guo Shier couldn’t help but curse, “This thing has mediocre combat skills and an awful scream. Kill it!”
The three of them attacked together. Guo Shier used his Moon Blade to slash, the Eagle Demon’s sacrificial artifact emitted numerous blades, and Luo Zhan summoned a mountain-sized sacrificial artifact—his third such artifact. It transformed into a 100-meter-high peak that crashed downward.

Their combined attacks silenced the Abnormal Golden Armor’s screams.
Seizing the opportunity, the Soul Devouring Beast invaded, dragging out the armor’s essence and devouring it bit by bit. The Abnormal Golden Armor struggled desperately to escape its fate, but after being attacked repeatedly by Guo Shier and the others, it was unable to resist and its essence was gradually consumed.

A swirl of colored light appeared, and the carcasses of the Soul Devouring Beast and the Abnormal Golden Armor were placed inside the Soul Subduing Cauldron. Guo Shier said with a laugh, “I never expected a Level 14 Abnormal Golden Armor to give us so much trouble. Heh, thinking of Bone Mountain, there are many Level 15 or 16 Abnormal Rune Beasts there, yet we captured them effortlessly.”

Guo Shier wasn’t extravagant enough to discard a Level 14 Abnormal Golden Armor, so he put its carcass in the Soul Subduing Cauldron and sealed the area to prevent spirit beasts from devouring its essence.

The Eagle Demon said, “Let’s explore further. Hopefully, we won’t encounter these troublemakers again.”
Guo Shier listened carefully, while Luo Zhan asked, “What’s wrong, Shier? Did you find something?”

Eagle Demon glanced at Guo Shier and noticed that he was listening in the north direction. He also pricked up his ears and faintly heard a rustling sound. Though extremely weak, it was clear enough to him—like something falling. He asked, “What’s that sound?”
Guo Shier replied, “I don’t know. Let’s go take a look. It probably isn’t the sound of a battle.” So far, they hadn’t seen a single professional appear. This place was indeed a forbidden zone; without being high-level professionals, it was impossible to enter.
As they flew along, they occasionally saw groups of golden beetles. Guo Shier and the others didn’t bother to provoke them, knowing there must be higher-level mutated giant golden beetles beneath the magma. However, they had already collected a large number of high-level mutated talisman beasts and countless spirit beasts, so they didn’t need to hunt any more. Thus, they tried to avoid battles whenever possible.
After flying for a while, the three of them clearly heard a rumbling sound. Guo Shier exclaimed in surprise, “This… this sounds like a waterfall. Could there be a waterfall here?”
Eagle Demon shouted, “Look! It’s not a water waterfall—it’s a magma waterfall!”
In an instant, the three of them arrived above the magma waterfall. Guo Shier was horrified and said, “Damn, could this be the entrance?”
It was a huge oval-shaped pit, with jagged rocks standing in the magma. Large amounts of magma poured down from the pit’s opening, creating loud roaring sounds as it fell. In the hollow part of the pit, there was a thick layer of fire miasma. Ordinary professionals probably couldn’t even get past this layer.
A gleam of joy appeared in Guo Shier’s eyes. The diameter of this pit opening was hundreds of kilometers. The scorching magma rushed down with a howling sound, forming a massive circular magma waterfall. The rumbling sound echoed around the pit like thunder. The splashing magma created streams of fire that were terrifying to behold—even Guo Shier felt a bit scared.
Luo Zhan said with a bitter smile, “It’s too terrifying… unbelievable…”
Eagle Demon hesitated for a moment before saying, “Shier, should we go in? It’s all fire miasma… I don’t know what’s beneath it.”
Guo Shier replied, “I’ll deal with this fire miasma first. Hehe, great stuff! This only exists in specific places, and it can’t be collected without special methods. We’re lucky to find so much here—it’s even more abundant and pure than the fire miasma in the Red Golden Mountain Range.”

The handsome old man poked his head out from the top of the altar. He peered down and exclaimed in surprise, “Kid, where did you come from? How did you get such wonderful stuff… Hurry up and collect it. Hehe, you’re really lucky. It’s a shame there’s no Gold Fiend. Generally, wherever there’s Fire Fiend, Gold Fiend tends to appear as well.”

Guo Shier said, “I don’t know. I still haven’t seen a trace of Gold Fiend so far—only pure Fire Fiend. The quality of the Fire Fiend here is extremely high, much better than that in the Chijin Mountain Range. The Fire Fiend I collected earlier can’t compare to this. I wonder how many years this Fire Fiend has been accumulating here—it seems to have all come from the magma waterfalls.”

The handsome old man said, “That’s right. It was born in such a special environment. It’s excellent stuff. Use the Soul Suppressing Cauldron to collect it… then I’ll deal with it.”

Guo Shier tapped the Soul Suppressing Cauldron on his head and chanted thousands of spells in succession. The Cauldron suddenly flew up, emitting colorful light, and soared straight into the sky above the Fire Fiend clouds.

Immediately afterward, Guo Shier conjured thousands of virtual talismans, which quickly merged into the Soul Suppressing Cauldron. In an instant, the Cauldron grew wildly larger. Eagle Demon praised, “This Cauldron is truly magnificent…”

Luo Zhan said, “What’s magnificent about it? I think it’s simple and solid—truly worthy of being a Soul Suppressing Cauldron. I even feel my soul being suppressed. Do you feel that terrifying sensation too?”

Eagle Demon nodded. “It’s normal for something like this to intimidate so many spirit beasts and exert pressure on souls… Hehe, anyway, we’re not Shier’s enemies, so there’s no need to worry…”

The Soul Suppressing Cauldron emitted colorful light as it gradually sank into the Fire Fiend clouds, disappearing into them in just a moment.

Guo Shier chanted another spell and shouted, “Collect!”

The Fire Fiend clouds suddenly began to ripple, quickly forming a vortex that silently disappeared into the mouth of the Cauldron. The handsome old man laughed and said, “With the Soul Suppressing Cauldron… collection will definitely be fast. Hehe, how did you think of refining it back then? This thing is incredibly useful.”

Above the magma sea, two waterfalls could be seen—one formed by magma, the other by the Soul Suppressing Cauldron collecting Fire Fiend.

The handsome old man said, “With such pure Fire Fiend, there’s almost no need for refinement. It can be compressed directly. Hehe, from now on, you’ll never lack Fire Fiend. It’s a shame… if only there were Gold Fiend.”

Guo Shier said, “Handsome Old Man, don’t be too greedy. Having so much Fire Fiend already—thanks to our good luck—I’m very satisfied. But… I’m also a bit puzzled. With so many metals on the Central Gold Continent, why isn’t there any Gold Fiend here?”

Zhongjin Continent was almost composed of various chaotic metals. It made no sense that there was no Golden Fiend formed in the underground magma, a fact even the Old Hero couldn’t understand.
The Old Hero reminded, “Lower the Soul-Calming Cauldron a bit!”
In just a moment, the layer of Fiery Fiend Clouds above became very thin. Guo Shieru cast several spells to slowly lower the Soul-Calming Cauldron. He flew above it and said, “Everyone, come over. We’ll descend slowly. Once I’ve cleared out the Fiery Fiends, let’s see what’s down there.”
Layer after layer of Fiery Fiend Clouds was removed, and the three of them gradually descended.
Sparks and magma spraying around formed a ring of fiery light. If not for their strong protective abilities, none of them would have dared to descend here.
The Fiery Fiend Clouds were a kilometer thick, but as the Soul-Calming Cauldron continuously removed them, they gradually thinned, allowing the three of them to see what was below. The magma was crimson in color, emitting a dazzling glow. When they saw what was below, Guo Shieru exclaimed in surprise, “Strange, where does this lead? Where did all this magma go?”
The surging magma splashed, creating layers of fiery red hues, with a deafening roar.
The Old Hero said, “That’s enough. Leave a little Fiery Fiend Cloud— it will form clouds again later. You three go down; I’m returning.” He retracted his head and went back into the altar.
Guo Shieru waved his hand and recalled the Soul-Calming Cauldron.
The Cauldron rotated slightly in the air, shrank rapidly, then turned into a streak of colored light, flying back like lightning and hovering above Guo Shieru’s head, rotating slowly. Apart from the colored light, the entire Cauldron emitted a faint red glow, caused by the influence of the Fiery Fiends, which needed to be slowly digested by the Cauldron.
The three of them descended slowly. As they got closer to the bottom, they saw a huge cave entrance. The magma pouring down from above formed a wall of fire, making it impossible to see the massive entrance behind it from afar.
Guo Shieru asked, “Is this the entrance?”
Eagle Demon replied, “I don’t know.”
Luo Zhan said, “Whatever it is, let’s go in and find out!”