Chapter 78

"Xiao Wu, do you know how to get through these wind tunnels?"

Hu Gao looked up at the black fire lotus flower closest to him. This black fire lotus was twelve wind tunnels away, a straight-line distance of nearly thirty meters. Normally, if he wanted to cross thirty meters, it wouldn't take him more than a second or two. But now...

Even taking a single step was a matter of life and death.

Fortunately, Xiao Wu was there. Otherwise, even with his keen perception, he would have had no way to deal with it. The fire toxins were too powerful. If he were to get even a drop on him, the jade pendant's healing function wouldn't be able to save him.

Xiao Wu's voice quickly responded, "Boss, actually, getting through these wind tunnels is very simple. I feel that the fire toxins sprayed by these wind tunnels are very regular. If you follow this pattern, the fire toxins won't touch you at all."

"Pattern? What pattern?"

Hu Gao asked in confusion.

"I'm not sure about the specifics, but I feel that these wind tunnels are not naturally formed, but rather caused by something."

Xiao Wu hesitated, "I feel that there should be something with fire attributes beneath these wind tunnels. It's because of this thing that the wind tunnels are formed."

"Something with fire attributes? What kind of thing? Can't you sense it?"

"It's not that I can't sense it, but the fire attribute energy fluctuations beneath the wind tunnels are too numerous and too intense. I can't determine anything. In this place, I'm practically... blind." Xiao Wu seemed quite frustrated.

"Blind?"

Hearing this, Hu Gao was first stunned, then suddenly understood.

Xiao Wu's perception was indeed very powerful. Within five kilometers, he could sense powerful creatures or spirit treasures. However, in the Flame Valley, almost everything had fire attributes. The energy interferences formed a layer, making it difficult for Xiao Wu to accurately sense anything.

Describing it as "blind" was quite apt.

Meanwhile, many martial artists below looked up at Hu Gao. Seeing him standing still for a long time, they all shook their heads and sighed, and some even shouted, "If you're afraid of death, just get down."

"These guys are clearly afraid of death and don't dare to pick the black fire lotus. Now, just because Hu Gao paused for a moment, they say he's afraid of death. They're just a bunch of scoundrels..." Yun Feng, seeing many people disrespect Hu Gao, felt a surge of anger and said resentfully.

"Hehe, ignore them. We just need to watch quietly. I believe Hu Gao won't let us down."

The old man with the pipe chuckled. When Hu Gao jumped up without hesitation earlier, he had a strong confidence in him.

"Boss, many people below are saying you're a coward," Xiao Wu said with a smile.

Hu Gao pursed his lips and said, "Let them talk. Damn, I'm risking my life to pick the black fire lotus, and they're just watching and criticizing. They have no manners at all."

After a pause, Hu Gao continued, "Stop talking nonsense. Tell me how to jump over these wind tunnels quickly."

"Wow, I thought you weren't worried at all and were just enjoying the view."

Xiao Wu laughed, seeing Hu Gao's face gradually darken, and quickly added, "Wow, don't be angry, Boss. I'll tell you how to jump over the wind tunnels."

Hu Gao's expression improved.

"Boss, don't think about anything. When you see the fire toxins spurt out, immediately jump to the next step. Don't worry about the fire toxins landing on you."

Xiao Wu's answer was straightforward, but it made Hu Gao's expression, which had just improved, turn completely grim. "Jump when you see the fire toxins? Are you telling me to commit suicide?"

Hu Gao had already experienced the power of the fire toxins. He couldn't resist them. Even a drop on him would be hard for the jade pendant to handle. If he lost his ability to move and fell into the wind tunnel, it would be no different from falling into a furnace.

However, he knew Xiao Wu wouldn't really let him die, so he didn't lose his temper.

"Boss, just trust me. I can't explain it clearly, but this is the pattern of the fire toxins spouting from the wind tunnels. When you see the fire toxins, you must jump immediately, and your speed must be fast. You need to cross the two-meter distance in half a second, or it will be dangerous."

Xiao Wu laughed, not worried at all. Hu Gao's speed was fast enough to cross two meters in half a second.

"Pattern?"

Hu Gao pondered for a moment, his eyes brightening. Perhaps this really was the pattern of the fire toxins spouting from the wind tunnels. This explained why the death rate for martial artists picking the black fire lotus was so high. They were afraid of the fire toxins and waited for them to retract before rushing forward, which violated the pattern and led to their deaths.

"Seems like I can try it."

Although he decided to jump when the fire toxins spurted out, for safety, Hu Gao couldn't help but say, "If the fire toxins don't retract in time, you must absorb them. Don't let them touch me, not even a drop. Got it?"

"Got it, Boss. Don't worry, with me here, the fire toxins won't touch you."

"Okay." Hu Gao nodded, then focused on the fire toxins. He took a deep breath, adjusted his state, and at the moment the fire toxins spurted out from the wind tunnel, he leaped.

Hu Gao felt like he was jumping into a sea of fire, a one-way trip with no return. The next moment, he would turn into ashes. His heart instinctively turned cold.

A wave of scorching heat rushed past his ears, and then he felt himself land on solid ground, coming back to his senses.

"Phew..." Hu Gao steadied himself and exhaled heavily. In that moment, he felt like he had walked through the gates of death, but fortunately, it was a close call.

"Boss, with me here, you don't need to worry. The fire toxins won't harm you." Xiao Wu, knowing Hu Gao's state, comforted him.

Hu Gao nodded. After that one time, he believed there wouldn't be any more problems.

At this moment, he heard the martial artists below starting to chatter.

"Crossed over? He actually crossed over facing the fire toxins?"

"What? Shouldn't he have been killed by the fire toxins? How is he still fine?"

"Luck, this is definitely luck. Now I want to see what he does. Can luck always be on his side?"

"Right, next time he will definitely be killed by the fire toxins."

Hearing these almost cursing comments, Hu Gao pursed his lips, not taking them to heart. But then he frowned slightly, as if thinking of something, and asked, "Xiao Wu, if these people figure out that they can jump over the wind tunnels when the fire toxins spurt out and won't be killed, what should we do?"

This was what Hu Gao was worried about. After asking, his face showed a sudden realization, knowing what to do, and Xiao Wu didn't answer.

"Whoosh!" Hu Gao didn't stay for a moment, and his figure shot up again, crossing one wind tunnel in a single step. This time, his mindset was much calmer, and he even turned his head out of curiosity to look at the wind tunnel, finding it completely red and uninteresting. He continued crossing the wind tunnels, and each time, his speed increased.

The martial artists below watched him continuously crossing the wind tunnels, their eyes wide open in amazement.

Hu Gao ignored them and continued his impressive leaps. In less than half a minute, he crossed all twelve wind tunnels and casually picked up the black fire lotus, putting it away.

Having successfully picked a black fire lotus, Hu Gao didn't stop for a moment. His figure flashed, and he moved toward another black fire lotus.

"How... How is this possible? How did he do it?"

"These wind tunnels seem to pose no obstacle to him, let alone any danger. Can the fire toxins not harm him? No... He didn't get a single drop of fire toxins on him. How is this possible?"

"It seems that the fire toxins spouting from these wind tunnels have a pattern, and this young man has figured it out, so the fire toxins can't touch him."

"Pattern? Hmm... It seems that every time he jumps from one wind tunnel to another, it's exactly when the fire toxins spurt out. Does that mean...?"

The martial artists watched Hu Gao jumping over the wind tunnels, treating the fire toxins as if they were nothing, and were all shocked. But then someone figured out the secret, realizing that the fire toxins spouting from the wind tunnels had a pattern that didn't require sensing or dispersing the toxins.

No wonder earlier, no matter what methods they used to sense the fire toxins or try to cross the wind tunnels, they were almost all killed by the fire toxins. Even when Yun Feng used a powerful sword technique to disperse the toxins, he almost lost his life. It turned out that to avoid the fire toxins, you didn't need to sense anything, use special techniques, or disperse the toxins. You just needed to understand the pattern.

Like Hu Gao, who understood the pattern of the fire toxins spouting, he didn't need any special methods and crossed over without any danger, successfully picking a black fire lotus in less than half a minute.