Novel Full Chapter 351: Great Volcano (3)
Chapter 351: Great Volcano (3)
The contrast with the extreme heat was so great that a faint white mist formed in the air near Kyrian, vapor created by the clash between his cold energy and the hot, humid air of the volcano.
The elder in the scarlet robe also seemed comfortable. His fire Qi was dense and stable, protecting him without apparent effort. He walked at the front of the group with firm steps, his eyes scanning the terrain ahead with the experience of someone who had been there a few times before.
He stopped the group with a gesture of his hand.
"We have entered the Outer Area of the Great Volcano." He announced, his deep voice carrying a severity that had not been there before.
"But this region is already being searched by countless groups that arrived before us. Wasting time here would be useless."
He looked at the group, evaluating each face.
"I think it’s best if we go straight to the Intermediate Area. The danger is greater, much greater, but the chances of finding clues about Ming Hai’s tomb also increase significantly. The groups that came before must be spread throughout the Outer Area. The more daring ones may have already entered the Intermediate Area."
Silence.
Many disciples glanced at each other. Kyrian saw fear in their eyes, the rational fear of those who knew what was coming.
The Intermediate Area was known for housing lava beasts far more powerful than those in the outer area. The heat was infernal, enough to cause serious harm to poorly prepared fire cultivators.
Even so, no one objected.
They were behind schedule. The other groups must already be far ahead, perhaps they had even found something important.
"As the elder decides." Pan Zheng murmured, resigned, his head lowered.
The elder nodded, satisfied with the obedience.
The group moved forward, now climbing slightly along the lower slopes of the great mountain. The incline was not steep, but the effort of walking on unstable terrain, combined with the suffocating heat, made each step feel heavier than it really was.
Crossing the Outer Area was not peaceful.
Although it was the "safest" zone of the three, a relative term, considering the environment. The place teemed with hostile life. The local beasts were aggressive and territorial and saw the group of intruders as a threat to be eliminated.
First, they encountered a pack of Ash Fire Hounds.
They were beasts the size of large wolves, with fur made not of hair but of living embers that glowed faintly in the dimness of the smoke.
Their eyes were burning coal, their jaws filled with obsidian teeth capable of crushing stone.
Three of them attacked the group’s right flank, leaping from the shadows behind a rock formation.
The cultivators reacted quickly. Pan Zheng was the first to move, his flaming sword cutting through the air in a red arc that decapitated the first hound. Two other disciples followed him, taking down the remaining hounds with coordinated techniques.
Kyrian did not need to intervene. He watched, evaluating the efficiency of the cultivators’ movements. They were not exceptional, but they were not bad either. Pan Zheng, in particular, had talent.
Shortly after, a Crawling Lava Serpent emerged from a fissure in the ground.
The creature was enormous, the length of six men stretched out, and its body was covered in black and red scales that glowed with internal heat. It spat a jet of molten magma directly into the center of the group.
Two disciples were forced to retreat quickly, their Qi barriers hissing under the attack.
The elder moved with impressive speed. He appeared in front of the serpent in the blink of an eye and crushed the beast’s head with a single punch wrapped in flaming Qi. The serpent’s skull shattered like glass.
Kyrian observed everything in silence. He had no intention of helping for now. These were weak beasts, easily killed by any average group of cultivators. Pan Zheng’s group could handle them without him.
Then came the attack that involved him directly.
The ground trembled slightly beneath his feet. It was a subtle tremor, almost imperceptible, something most cultivators would ignore as just another instability of volcanic terrain.
Kyrian did not ignore it.
His instinct, sharpened by countless battles and intense training, screamed a warning an instant before the danger materialized.
A claw made of molten rock and liquid lava burst from the ground, trying to grab his left ankle.
The beast slowly emerged from the earth. It was an Armored Magma Mole, a segmented body covered in thick volcanic rock plates that provided exceptional protection, and a massive mouth filled with flaming teeth capable of melting steel.
Kyrian did not retreat.
He did not move even an inch backward. He didn’t need to.
In an almost imperceptible motion, he condensed ice Qi using his eyes. The cold energy gathered in his right palm, forming a single spike of ice, thin as a sewing needle, yet shining like polished crystal.
He launched it.
The spike shot forward with astonishing speed, cutting through the hot air with a sharp sonic crack. The mole had no time to react.
The spike pierced directly through the beast’s skull, passing through the armored plates as if they were made of wet paper. The volcanic rock shattered. The flesh beneath was instantly frozen.
The mole let out a sharp screech, a piercing sound that rang in everyone’s ears, before convulsing and collapsing to the ground, dead before its body even touched the surface.
The entire group stopped for a second.
All eyes were fixed on Kyrian, on the ice spike dissolving into white mist, on the still-smoking body of the mole, and on the snowflake eyes of the young man who had killed the beast with a single strike.
’They needed several blows to defeat some weak beasts...’ Kyrian thought.
Pan Zheng’s eyes widened, his surprise barely contained.
"A single strike..." he murmured, almost in disbelief.
"Is ice really that effective against these beasts?"
Other disciples whispered among themselves.
"He killed the armored mole with a needle..."
Even the elder frowned. His eyes narrowed as he studied Kyrian from a new perspective.